tec280zx

Well, the headgasket came in a box with a few other things so it was a good size box. I seriously doubt UPS did this. The gasket was most likely boxed up like that. I've yet to call them, but this is for my turbo engine i'm dropping in, so there's really no downtime. Anybody know the nissan part number for a 81zxt headgasket? I might just go with one of those.

Just got my msa headgasket in yesterday and found a few flaws on it. Judging by the pics, do you think this will be a problem after torquing down the head?

ha ha....no worries.

Thanks for the comments. As for the center caps, you could try calling msa and see if they'll sell the caps that go with the rewinds they sell. I'd rather have a Z logo on my wheel rather than Konig personally.

Alright, took some overall shots. With the new wheels, new front tokico struts, and power rec. ball --> Manual rack n pinion swap this car feels completely different. W/out the weight of all the power steering components and ac the car now sits a half in higher.

Alright guys, got the tires yesterday but it started raining. I just got back from trying to bed the brake pads. Brakes work awesome! A tad spongey, but I think I need to go back and re-bleed. As far as the the caliper clearance with the rewinds, I thought my first post would have made that clear. They fit great with no spacers. This is on a zx, but I don't see why it would be too much different than the 1st gen. Also, I'm using the 12.2 brakes from AZ, the 13 definately won't fit. Anyways, heres some more photos. Btw, the wheels look 10x better in person...and yes I suck and taking pictures.

I actually got the wheels from Techno Toy Tuning. Luckily when I called they had 3 sets coming in and I pre ordered them. 520 shipped, not too bad considering I wanted them pretty quick. I haven't had a chance to test out the brakes on the road yet, I still need to get the tires put on and bleed the brakes. Btw, does anyone with wilwood calipers know the best way to bleed the brakes? Each side of the caliper has a bleeder valve. Is there a certain sequence?

The rotor hats are apart of the Arizona Z car kit I bought. The weight difference between these and the stock brakes is incredible.

205/55/15 Dunlop SP sports. I've got less than a 1,000 miles on these so i'll keep em. Later i'll go with a wider tire.

Got my new 15x7 rewinds in yesterday and test fit them over the 12.2 wilwood brakes. They clear the calipers by about a 1/4 inch. Can't wait to get some tires on them.

got any pics frank? Your website doesn't seem to work.

Sweet, mine came early too. Too bad santa sent the wrong sizes.

The control arms are the same length, its the z31 crossmember that is wider. I already thought of that. I know the later z31 control arms a tad longer, but I don't think its enough.

sorry, didn't see that at the bottom, thanks.

Do you think 15" wheels will fit over the arizona brake kit?

So its basically a stock rotor with wilwood caliper? Thats all I could get from it. Is this Arizona Kit good? I'm thinking about the stage one at the top.

Good luck with the swap. If you're able to fabricate new steering knuckles then I think you'll be able to pull this off. The camber problem is due to the fact that the spindles on the strut housing are at different angles. I didn't measure to be exact, but I put them side by side and its pretty noticable. My only guess is that the z31 has its lca mounting points further apart. What do you guys think of this brake kit for the 280zx? here

Yea its same car...about a month difference in time. I liked the look of my iron crosses over the z31 wheels and painted it flat black. Anyways, I just finished up the manual rack swap and hit yet another bump in the road that will kill this swap. First off, in order to use the z31 strut housings you have to use z31 steering knuckles. The z31 steering knuckles angle in quite a bit requiring a lot of toe adjustment. This was no problem with my recirculating ball set up, the adjusting sleeve had a lot of room to play with. Well, after puting in the rack and pinion, it seems I don't have enough room to adjust the toe back out. Basically the tie rods are too long for the steering knuckles. The toe is so far in its not even drivable. It looks like a retard humping a door knob.... Nitro, i'm not sure what year Z you have but it seems that unless you have recirculating ball steering, this swap won't work without alot more work.

David, how much adjustment can you get out of the msa bushings? Right now the car is on jackstands in the middle of a manual rack and pinion swap. Maybe i'll try slotting the stut tower to see if that helps Btw, heres a pic with it lowered w/tokicos and lca's moved out 3/8". If I could get a little more camber i'd be happy, otherwise I might swap the stock stuff back on.

No doubt the one Steve made is a much shorter throw, but at the end of the day I couldn't be more happier with my truck shifter. Also, I cut it to the same height as my stock one, so I know thats not the cause of the shorter throw. Sometimes the "in between step" is better, considering the cost.

Both caster and camber are affected. This is with the stock springs and z31 strut housings. Even after I lowered it with tokico hp springs the camber is still positive. I even moved the LCA's out about 3/8" and its still not enough.

what year z31 strut housings are you using? I've tried ones off an 85 and ended up with way too much positive camber. I wonder if the later z31 is any different.

Jon, I just did this mod yesterday and posted it over at zcar.com if ya don't mind. Worked like a charm! http://www.zcar.com/forums/read.php?f=1&i=620578&t=620578

Alright, the rain stopped. Heres a couple side shots. It doesn't look bad at all in my opinion. Next week i'm ordering my tokico hp springs and struts to drop it lower.

Hey bleach, I don't have any good side shot pics right now. Unfortunately that pic you posted is before the swap. If the rain lets up today i'll run outside and take some. But you are correct that it does alter the caster. It moves the wheel about an inch forward. Does anyone know if that is negative or positive caster? Btw, the wheels turn just fine even when fully locked side to side.