attworth

I'd recommend taking the compressor you bought back to the store (if you only bought it to spray the fender.) You should probably take that fender to a reputable shop and have them at least spray the top coat and clear coat to match your car. I really doubt 7 gallons will be enough air. And that scfm rating is not enough to use a quality gun. When it comes to body work, you don't want to rush anything. Do it right once the first time.

I've seen some pretty good Maaco jobs. I'd say before you start thinking about spraying it yourself, look into the expenses in creating your own paint booth. You want to make sure you have a proper space to spray it safely and correctly. It can be quite a hefty sum of money just to set up the booth. Do some google searches on home paint booths and get some ideas. Lots of people use wood framing and vinyl sheeting with good fans, etc.

I haven't had good communication with that guy. I tried to get him to let me come take a look at the car and he never responded after about 3-4 emails. Oh well... I wasn't a huge fan of the front end at all.

naviathan, I started another thread regarding the head I'm deciding to use. Do you think ARP studs will be necessary? I don't plan to make more than about 300hp if even that much. I was planning to use the stock turbo studs as sold by Courtesy Nissan (which is local.) The ARPs are about 4 times as much, and I'm not sure I'd ever be pushing enough power to warrant that cost. Although, I'm the newb here...

What about using the P90(a) cam in the N42? If it's the hydraulic lifted variety would it work? I hate piece milling the thing together but I'm on pretty strict budget as is. Wife isn't too happy with the prospect of another Z.

I'm considering purchasing the 83T for sale in the classifieds. The current owner says it has a blown head gasket. Easy enough, right? At first, I thought I would just have the head checked and cleaned up. Then I started reading around and found what I was looking for. The head in my car should be a P79, which seems to be a good fit for the turbo application based on reading around. So I walk outside to check my 81 NA to make sure it is indeed a P79 like it should be. Nope! It somehow has an N42 in it. So unless my facts are mistaken, the motor in my car is not the right motor (at least the head...) Can I use the N42 on a turbo motor? I understand it has square exhaust ports, which is right for the turbo manifold. But what about the other aspects of the head? I hadn't even thought about this, but I assume the cam from both the P79 and the N42 aren't really going to react well with the turbo. Any advice?

I'll be replacing the head with one I have on another motor. Prior to replacement I'm going to have the head checked and check the mating surface of the block as well as the cylinders. I will probably replace the timing chain as well (and associated pieces.)

I've done a bit of searching and have a few questions. When removing the head from my car, it seems a good way to protect the block and head is to coat them in WD-40. Is it necessarry to clean the WD-40 off before reassembly? What about all the coolant and oil passages? Any special way to clean them out? Is there anything better to use? Thanks!

Is there anything that prevents a 240mm flywheel/clutch from being in an NA trans?

It'll be stock until I find a turbo tranny I can put in it. For now all I've got laying around is one from an 81 na.

Sorry, I guess I should have searched. Jumped the gun a little bit. And I'm usually pretty good about it.

I can't figure out why 79-81 and 82-83 cars have different head gaskets according to black dragon auto. What if you have an 83 car with an 81 head on it?

I don't mean to hijack but I have a similar question. What about swapping an 81NA manual into an 83T auto car? Obviously the pressure plate and clutch will have issues. Thanks Edit: I may have answered my own question by re-reading. If I use the flywheel and clutch from the manual tranny there wouldn't be any issue, correct? I assume the turbo motor would have bolt holes for both the 225 and 240 flywheel, unless it's the same bolt, different contact patch.

I'm in need of a working fuel sending unit for an 81ZX NA. Please let me know your price with shipping to 76137. Thanks! 817-two-01-6900 tcaugustyn (at) gmail.com

Thanks Nismo. I was able to track that page down in my FSM. Not sure how I missed it the first time.

I checked my FSM but either couldn't find the right page or I wasn't looking in the right spot. The area in question is directly in front of the fire wall about 3-4inches away from the block on the passenger side. Can't really tell what's going on it your pic, but I do appreciate the help.

Does anybody have a picture of the heater/coolant hoses coming out of the firewall on the passenger side of a 280ZX? Mine's an 81 if that makes a difference. While poking around last night, I noticed that two hoses were unhooked with no apparent "home" in sight. I seem to remember the heater working, so this is odd.

Thanks for all the great info guys. Now just to bone up and spend the cash.

Thank you for the links. I wouldn't mind getting some logs every once in a while to help keep track of how things are working. It'll probably stay in the car full-time unless I get another project (doubtful.) The plan for present is to use it in my 99% stock L28. That is until I can figure out where I'm heading with this project and pick up another motor.

I've actually been looking at that one. Thanks for the rec.

I'd like to purchase a wideband o2 sensor and start fiddling in the tuning world. I've never messed with anything like this, so I was hoping for a good, knowledgable start. Can anybody provide me with any information or a book I could pick up to read up on these things? What about brands/types of widebands? Thanks all.

woldson - none taken. I'm by no means a builder - yet. Six shooter - like you said, playing around with a stock motor is fun. I've gone pretty far with my previous cars, but have never done real hands on tuning by myself. I think that'll probably be a good start for me. At the moment, I'm working to prepare the rest of the car for what I need. I.e., it needs an alignment and tires really bad, and the suspension is horrible. The interior is pretty sketchy and there's a little cancer here and there I need to cure or have cured. I hope to pick up a bare block this weekend or next to start cleaning and envisioning a build-up.

Six Shooter, You bring up some very valid points, and I commend you for doing so. All throughout my high school years I saw kids doing exactly what you're mentioning. My intent with this car is to make a very streetable, but fairly poweful and reliable machine. Although money is, and will continue to be tight, when I start my build-up, I intend to spare no expense. That's not to say I'll waste money on parts I don't need, but I'm not going to cheap out on parts that aren't going to meet my standards. I've yet to find a good machinist/shop/tuner, but it's on my high list. I've got a good bit of experience and knowledge when it comes to working on vehicles, but I've never actually BUILT a motor package other than on paper. I think it's vitally important that if you don't know what you're doing, have somebody who does over-see and/or do the project. Anyway, that's all I have for now. - Tony

I do appreciate the advice guys. I am fairly new to Hybridz. I've been hanging around zcar.com for the past 6 years or so, but there's not much info on building up, but rather posts like, "my headlights stopped working." I literally JUST picked up my new 81, so at this point I'm just trying to decide what direction I'm going to go with it. I'm getting married in a little over a month, so this isn't something that's going to happen over night, or even the next few years. It's going to be a slow build-up involving lots and lots of time and "miscalculating the check-book." My major questions were answered, and I do appreciate it. I guess I was thinking that perhaps the head I have has some sort of clearance issues, or other unknown variable not involved with a carb setup - not to mention the folks I talked to saying stroker+turbo=bad. So again, thanks fellas (and possibly ladies.) - Tony

Well, looks like I've got some deciding to do. I've always wanted a stroker, because frankly, it's a cool idea. I've never messed around with actually fine-tuning an engine, so ms would be a fine way to jump into it. Turbo, well that's another option too. Thanks for the responses, folks.