69sroadster

thanks zentech but I actually need the hard a/c line from the drier to the condenser not a power steering line

Yeah, I was thinking of just making another line myself. It looks like a copper tube to me and the flare ends look pretty simple. I may even just be able to reshape the old one that now has a kink/splint in it from the motor hitting it on the way out of the bay during the head rebuild and wiring harness repair.

Hey all. I have had no luck searching eBay and here. Does anyone have some spare a/c hard lines for a 79 zx? I need the passenger side that goes between the condenser and drier. Mine doesn't have o ring style, just the flared ends. Original got damaged during last engine removal.

Not sure anymore if I can get the twinscroll 6758, but don't care too much anymore about that. Once I get my PFC tuning done, I'll repost what the results were from changing over to the solid lifters, bee-hive springs, bronze guides, tomei 260's and titanium retainers. It's killing me right now staying off the boost pedal, but I don't want to detonate on a leaned out motor.

I'd be silly and try to stick to the inline 6 too having done the SR swap...mostly now for the awesome sound of the 6 vs the 4.

I also used the ZX temperature wire on the SR sensor. I tapped the oil pan for the ZX oil temp sensor. Also used the ZX oil press sensor on the SR oil port near the filter. I just recently started reworking the tach from what I had before...more to follow on that. Depending on the transmission your RB has you might just be able to plug the speedometer cable right in to the case.

Hi BumbleZ, sorry I didn't see your questions until just recently. Yes I did most of the wiring myself. I found some pinouts of the donor car from the manual and had a donor silvia wiring harness. Using those two together I worked with the existing zx harnesses and relays to get it working. You should be able to use the zx ECU relays for running the RB ECU. I also used the ZX AC relay to run the SR compressor, just had to splice in the SR connector on the ZX compressor wire. Doing this I lost out on the ECU controlling the compressor which would turn the compressor off during full throttle...something I'm not worried about since my hand on the a/c switch can do the same thing. The RB ECU might not like the ZX fuel pump relays, but I just ran a hot lead from the ECU relays to the ZX fuel pump to energize just one of the ZX fuel pump relays. It basically runs the fuel pump anytime the ECU is turned on by the ignition switch...so it runs all the time and maybe costs me just a small margin of fuel economy with the constant cycling of fuel through the return system. Either way it still works well since I can get about 29 mpg on long highway cruises.

Well I finally got the head rebuilt after a little drama. I also learned a lot in the process about degree'ing cams in the process and that Tomei's lobe centerline spec is in reference backwards from TDC rather than forwards from BDC...HUGE difference. Basically I put in solid lifters & solid style tomei 260 cam's, supertech dual springs, new stem seals, metal head gasket, mang/bronze guides, and titanium retainers. When I clearanced the shims, I used the slotted guides on both sides of the rocker arms which required a little bit of machining on the rocker tips. Clearancing the shims was a royal pain in the butt so I just took a long time and triple checked it. I also had my timing cover still on and found that the chain slipped at one point before reinstalling the cams...contributing to the pain of degree'ing the cams and resetting timing. I also did a port match on both sides of the head with my gaskets. After cleaning up the whole affair and addressing a lot of small issues on the motor, I finally put it all back in the car and fired it up about a week ago. I haven't driven it yet as I need to finish the transmission first and that's in progress as I write. Bottom line the 350z 6 speed is officially mated to the back of the motor using the adapter plate. I'm going to have a hybrid driveshaft made using the donor 350z slip yoke and the 280zx rear diff plate. It measures out to 44" between transmission seal to the diff face for my 2+2 with the way I have to motor mounted in my bay. It seems like I'm going to need at least a 3" diameter steel tube for the critical speed issues on the driveshaft at high speeds. FWIW, the stock 350z driveshaft (carbon + steel/aluminum) weighed around 13 pounds and the previous 280zx steel 2.5" dia driveshaft about 38" long (not original due to SR swap) was only 6 pounds. I'm going to make a custom transmission mount to hold up the back end of the 350z transmission and leave room for the exhaust to stay more tucked in. I made my own backup lamp switch "plug" for the 350z transmission using small female blade connectors shaved down. Later on I will get a Cable X box and a Kia Sedona ABS ring gear on the differential input shaft to drive the stock speedometer again.

Thanks tooquick.

So first I searched the forums, then I downloaded the manual and read it over, now I'm asking before I tear into it if there are any tips for taking the 350z 6 speed apart just to the point of having the front and rear covers off. The only things I've seen so far are to replace 4 of the one time use bolts on the front side and replace the front and rear seals. I'm guessing these 4 bolts don't stretch again properly after their removal. Any thing else to watch out for? The purpose of this is to take the front cover to get the front of it milled down by a shop for the adapter plate to SR20...it is a lot easier to handle/ship etc in this form and most shops don't want to deal with it in its normal state.

I need to get a micrometer, but the NA 300zx cv axle centers counted out at 27 teeth and are not 29mm. My guess is something closer to 26mm. The 1994 pathfinder cv axles I pulled at the local yard are just shy of two inches shorter than the 300zx NA shafts and are 27T 29-30mm diameter. I'll have to see if I can get a shop to re-cut them down to the smaller diameter to match the outers from the 300zx NA.

Before I get flamed, yes I did search and no nobody has posted the info yet that I'm looking for on hybridz. What are the center section (drive bar) dimensions of the Z31 na cv axle? Are they 27T 29mm? Are all Z31 cv axle center sections the same 27T 29mm? I understand the differences in lengths and outer stub teeth exist but haven't seen much on the center drive bar. If it doesn't exist I'll get it later this week for another option to look at shortening the ones (Z31 NA CV axle center sections) I have using other Nissan parts with a similar tooth/diameter.

Well, I need some recommendations on where to go and what to ask for to finish some of the drivetrain updates. All of the local machine shops are saying they can't help me out and don't offer any solutions. 1) The 350z 6 speed does not have a removable front bell housing and needs to be milled down about 5/8". Nobody thinks they can cut it back this way. 2) My Z31 cv axles need to be shortened and nobody wants to help cut them. I can disassemble them and have the actual shaft in the middle ready to go. From anyone who has done something similar or is a experienced machinist, what do you recommend I do now? Sam

Well, found ground wire to ecu disconnected but that wasn't it. The ecu and engine wire loom was touching the exhaust down pipe and was partly melted. I'll have to repair the harness with the engine out at the same time as I do the head work and transmission swap.

So after doing some of the A/C work the other day, I must have shorted out one of the wires going to the ignitor chip or pulled one of the connections apart. I'm on the way now to go trouble shoot her where she sits in a parking lot at my work. She's getting fuel but isn't sparking it seems. Here we go...

What's this going in? Personally, I'd stay away from the RB series for long term parts ordering issues and the pain dealing with the oiling issues too. Of those options and your desired HP/Tq level I'd say go 2JZ. My brother has worked a handful of those into different cars and they can be very good options. I would ask why 450 hp though? You can do just fine in most lighter cars drifting with just 300.

Copy...I'm going to work out another speedo solution then for the 350z 6 speed swap into my S130.

What year S130? My 79 does not have a pressure fitting on that tube, but it would have been nice in some ways for ease of access. My hoses are no longer stock on the driver side near the compressor, but I seem to remember both the high and low were on that side originally. I wonder if a fitting over there on the pax side would affect the readings much.

Using an e-brake for drag racing? I'm curious how that works, or do you just mean to hold the car in a parking spot or during staging? Anyways, I got one for about $160 (not cheap) from the local Nissan dealer. I don't know where they found it in their system but I guess the same place that Courtesy does. I seem to recall that if your self adjust mechanism on the rear calipers is not working properly, the e-brake can be a pain in the butt for constant adjusting.

350z 6 speed swap a few weeks away from execution + an ACT clutch kit. Working out a Z31 right side CV axle replacement...just needs a 1/2" trim.

Just got the 350z 6 speed and it's mount and shifter in the mail. First glance it seems a little bit thicker height wise than the SR 5 speed. I have to wait on the adapter plate for a few more weeks to try all of this out. I also will be replacing the 7 year old SPEC clutch for the SR that is finally starting to slip. I can't remember what marketing gimmick "stage" it was but I can't complain that I beat on it for those 7 years. I'm going to use an ACT HD PP + 6 puck sprung clutch kit to replace it and be ready for the extra torque I'll have in a year or so. No better time I guess than while I have the transmission off anyways.

Just got a Z31 N/A cv axle (tripoid) with 6 bolt outers. It measured out to 20.5" compressed from the outer flange flat surface to the tip and 23.0" extended. Looks like I may get it cut down a 1/2" and call it good. They didn't have a left side available but my guess is that it would just be even longer and not necessarily wanted.

What is the diameter of the 350z clutch? I seem to recall the SR20 was 240mm.

I agree exactly with everything TonyD says above for extra reference. My father legally imported my 79 RHD JDM ZX through California. He had to add the dash VIN plate to match the firewall plate, take some pictures proving the safety conformance and pass an inspection only one time. That was over 20 years ago though so maybe some of the importation laws have changed. From what I've seen though I think it would have been the same today though. Like you said though, I'd be more worried about the actual condition of the car and the cost/time to drive it instead of the VIN stuff.

Just another wild thought I had after spending time under my brother's many S13's...maybe you could swap in the entire front crossmember and suspension from an S13 under your 280zx. This would solve your issue with the oil pan sump as well as the motor mounts. They look so very similar but I don't have measurements.