Kevin.pk

I bought my car for $500 out of a junkyard and have spent about $11K in parts right now. I did the body work, so that made things slightly cheaper. It still needs the interior finished out though. It could have probably been done cheaper with better planning. An engine swap is no small undertaking financially. A build can quickly snowball if you don't budget wisely, and it will still cost more than anticipated. Kevin

Look closely... the "fourth" pedal on the right is actually just a reflection. Kevin

The cell is mounted about an inch below the hatch deck with the spare tire well removed. It has about 8 inches of clearance to the ground at the lowest point, if i remember right. If I could do it all over again I probably wouldn't do the cell. I more or less did it initially to shave the gas door and it snow balled to battery relocation etc.. I plan on upgrading it to something other than a cheap plastic cell when I have the cash flow. Kevin

I posted earlier with really a really old picture but have updated pics with exhaust and gas tank installed..... Kevin

This is my old Z with polished 6 spokes. The tires were 205/70/14. I always thought the sidewall was a little tall and think something slightly smaller would probably have looked better. It had tokico lowering springs. Kevin

My initial plan was to use the stock sending unit and gauge. Plans have a way of not working out and my gauge didn't work. I changed to an auto meter sport comp mechanical gauge with a stainless braided line instead of the little plastic line they provide with the gauge. I just pictured that plastic line breaking and covering the interior with oil. I personally wouldn't rely on the stock gauge to tell you much more than simply that you do or do not have pressure. I wouldn't necessarily trust its accuracy. Like Davyz said " these parts are 30+ years old." Kevin

It should make around 300-350 rwhp. Nothing too wild. Just a fun sunday driver... or just any day there is sun...haha Thanks for all the compliments... I'll make sure all videos to come have ants involved haha. Kevin

Its amazing how wheels and a lowered stance can transform the look of the car so easily. Looks great! Kevin

The car is just entering a wormhole. haha ... yeah just the license plate blurred as you already figured out. No coilovers... yet (they are in the plans). Stock spring perches with tokico lowering springs and struts. Clearance is close though. I have about ~3/16"-1/4" of clearance in the rear between the tire and spring perch. The front comes very close. The wheel is millimeters away from the spring perch but doesn't rub. I did grind away at the spring perches to gain a little peace of mind. Tires are 245/45/17 Thanks

my bad... Z31 hubs. Its a pretty well documented swap, but yes they bolt straight on. They do push the hub out about 3/8". Kevin

Front: 300zx hubs with the toyota s12w calipers and vented rotors with rotor spacer from modern-motorsports. Rear: redrilled stock stub axles with a 1/2" spacer The wheels are off of a 01-04 mustang gt. They really are never done. I can still think of an easy $5k I want to spend on it. Kevin

Its the silver off of the 350z. don't remember the name of it... might be chrome silver. Haha... I knew someone would notice that. Thanks for the compliments. Kevin

I could not have done it without yall. It took 5 years since I started this project as a senior in high school (thats where I painted it) to get it on the road, but it was all worth it. It may not be completely done(still needs interior work... etc) but its finally road worthy and it is fun. Exhaust start up video at the end... The exhaust is 2 1/4" into a muffler under the driveshaft. Its a dual in, single 3" out muffler. Its 3" to the muffler in the rear stock position and a 4 inch polished tip out the back. Both mufflers are magnaflow. Its sound kind of quiet in the vid but is much louder in person. And it really opens up when you get in to it. Kevin

Oooo.... I like that idea. That would take care of the issue with the hood sloping down. I wonder how tall it is. Now I have to decide if I need carpet more than I need this air intake setup. Decisions... decisions.... That at least give me an idea of something to fabricate as well. Kevin

Well the car is finally 100% street legal. It is registered. I got the exhaust installed. It has been inspected. It is good to go. Sorry for the bad pics. I didn't get around to taking any decent pics since it was raining all day. Here are a couple of pics showing the few things that have been done to finish up the mechanical and appearance of the car. New throttle bracket installed Exhaust installed. Front grill and turn signal surrounds installed. Kevin

yep he is a hybridz member named dot Kevin

Yeah I'm 6'4" too. I'm thinking I might be able to make them work if I mount the rails directly to the floor though. Kevin

Looks like this one.... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CORVETTE-DIFFERENTIAL-REAR-END-CASE_W0QQitemZ280264577944QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item280264577944&_trkparms=39%3A1%7C65%3A1%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245 out of a 63-79 corvette Kevin

The more I see these seats, the closer I am to buying a pair. They fit the car so nicely. I am just so reluctant because I am tall and with miata seats my head is pretty much at the roof. Lots of head room? Looks great. Kevin

Well as far as I can tell I have about ~2" of clearance from the front of carb flange. The issue I run into is that the hood really starts to slope around the area in front of the carb. The other issue I have is if I change to a drop base like that, I may have to change my throttle setup as well as move the pressure regulator/gauge on the passenger side of the carb. I'll try and reach up from underneath the car to take a pic to show the clearance i have and hopefully that will shed some light on the situation. Its looking more and more like I am gonna have to fab something up or find something like grumpy said about an remote air filter set up from a efi car. Or at least that is what I am currently leaning towards at this point. Kevin

Thats exactly what I have been looking into. I do have access to a welder and such. I have just been going back and forth as to whether I feel like doing the glass work on the hood to mold in a scoop or /cut/weld/fabricate. Basically I need to get off my @$$ and just do something. Thanks you for the links. It definitely opens some options up. The current filter is absolutely a temporary solution as to get the car on the road. I knew y'all would have some good ideas. Kevin

1978 Datsun 280z Kevin Kalchthaler Plano, TX

That is impressive work but you know what.... I think the wheels are too small. Hahahaha:bling: Kevin

yeah it doesn't block too much. It really depends how tall you are too. I'm 6'4" so I look more down at the gauges and the wheel obstructs the top left of the speedo and top right of the tach slightly. Kevin

I took a pic....It might give you a decent idea as far as gauge visibility.