datsunlover

Nothing is going to be a 'bolt in' but all you have to do is find seats you like, and as long as they will phisicaly fit inside the Z, build some brackets to suit. I have 90 something civic Si seats in my 75 280 for example. The seat back adjustment levers were in the way, (hit the tranny tunnel) so I just switched them. (drivers seat is on the passenger side, vice-versa) I guess this depends how good you are with custom fab work and possibly some welding...

Well, I'm not 100% sure, but it seams to be a good bet.. it's not all over the place, it misses EVERY time I'm running flat out and get past about 5krpm. Actually, it feels like the rev limiter is clicking in prematurly (I have a 6000 rpm pill in it) to tell you the truth. Seams to be an electronic problem, as it's not every once in a while, it's consistant. I may never know, and it might not matter anyway if I manage to stick the 454 in there, and run the GM ignition/ect.

I will vouch for the SU carbs too, I love them. Simple and easy to work with, and they work well, despite being 35 year old technology! About the problem, I had something similar happen with my 75 280 (running 72 SU carbs) and it turned out to be a vacume leak in the intake. Turns out in my haste to get it going again, I just tied a line in a knot to plug a fitting. (instead of doing it right and putting in a pipe plug.. ) and it blew off as I pulled into a driveway. Of course, I didn't think anything of it as it was idlling fine. As soon as I tried to take off though, BANG pop burble... WTF?!?!? Easy fix on mine (when I found it) but I'm wondering if you have a leak AT the head/intake manifold? If it still runs, spray short bursts of wd40 at the intake (where it meets the head) working along slowly and listen to the idle. If it idles up/down in reaction to where you spray the wd40, there's an air leak. The 80psi though, that is not good..

I had a similar problem with my 85 RX7 / SBC swap (the one I built 5 years ago, sold, bought back, sold again, and got back AGAIN this past fall!!! Whew.......) The ignition would power evrything up in the ON position, but when I turned it to START it actually cut out the 12v signal that was suposed to power up the distributor, and the thing wouldn't fire. To test the theory, I 'hardwired' the 12V power wire to the distributor directly from the battery and BLAMO!! (only had manifolds on it.. ) That's my guess anyway...

Exactly what I was going to post.. Not that I know from expirience or anything too.. Stupid pin...

375 or so I thought... anyway, yes... very cool evolution of the 'small block chev' motor, but still a little out of some peoples price range. (mine included) Still, you can get an 'old' iron block 350 ANYWHERE for next to nothing these days. Seriously, I've bought a few sbc motors over the years, ussually still attached to a car or truck. Up here, I can completly rebuild one for around $1000 and that's including a decent cam and head work. Maybe not pushing as much HP as an LT or LS motor, but close, and CHEEP to boot! Lots of aftermarket support too. Besides, old and simplistic is what you want for your first build anyway. Down the road, the framework is there anyway so you could upgrade easily. (It's always easier to do something after you've done it once.) I didn't buy the JTR book, but it may be a good idea if you've never done this sort of thing, and even so, I hear there's a lot of good info in it.

Oh man.. I did the front brakes on my boss's 93 toyota 4runner and WOW those little clips are annoing.. but after I figured it out I realised it's a pretty good setup.. very simple to change pads (no ned to remove calipers) and they DO stop a big pig of a 4x4 very well!!

Here's my opinion; The stock sway bars are pretty weak, but if you're getting those (almost) new struts and springs, I guess I'd wait to see how the car behaves. I have the stock 280z springs (need to replace those...) and KYB GR2 struts, but when I changed the struts, I also put on a larger aftermarket front sway bar and WOW what a diffrence.. I got it cheep (along with a bunch of parts I scavenged from a guy up north.. So sad about that old 240..probly still rotting in his back yard.) but I don't know what make it is. Definatly keeps the front end planted better during those 'ya hoo' moments. Interestingly enough, a 240 rear bar doesn't work on a 280 (search and you'll probly find my post from 2 years ago.. oops..) so I've run withOUT a rear sway bar. To be honest, I prefer the way the Z handles now, as oposed to with the stock rear bar on, which was a tiny little thing anyway.. (FYI; I took off the stock rear bar when I did my frame rails/sub connectors and they ended up in the way.. I havn't got around to making provisions for a rear bar again.) Just a thought..

Heh heh.. yah, for the most part... ever open a Z door while the car is jacked up? Sure no problem.. now try to close it and you'll most likely have a bit of a hard time!

I get back online after about 6 months away from it (no computer, no money to spare cause I own a house now, ect) and within two weeks I get this in my msn hotmail: Dear Friend, My name is Chen Guangyuan, I work with BANK OF CHINA, HONG KONG. I have a Business Proposal of $17,300,000.00 for you to handle with me from my bank.I will need you to assist me in executing this Business Project from Hong Kong to your country. I need to know if you will be able to handle this with me before I explain to you in details ?.Should you be interested please send me your full names and current residential address and finally after that I shall provide you with more details of this operation.And I will prefer you reach me on my private email address below(chen_guangyuan700@yahoo.com.hk). Kind Regards Chen Guangyuan. I wonder if I should play with this idiot...

Well hang on there... if you're talking body steel, they do just fine IMO. I have no problem with my Lincoln (110v running .030 flux core) doing body work. I've used my friends Hobart with the gas and to tell you the truth, I don't see much diffrence. Yes the flux core is a bit cruddy looking and dirty, but you always do a bit of grinding/filler work if you're talking about a body panel people are going to see.

Man... I thought MY car was bad when I got it.. well, it was pretty rough and I DID have to repair some of that area on my 280, but there were good solid areas to patch too. Your pics indicate an extreeeeem amount of rusted metal are all that's left of the front end.. I'll bet the x-member and motor/suspension are the only thing holding that car together right now.. evrything is fixable, but there has to be a line drawn somewhere.. it may take 3 times as much time and money to fix this one as just ponyin' up a bit of extra cash now for something in better overall shape... Sorry man, but unless you're good with a welder and are prepared for months of work (not to mention a load of $$$), you might consider looking for another car to build, and strip this one for any good parts/panels.

Beeing patient helps, but no mater how 'slow' you go, welding is welding. It's an intense amount of heat in a small area no mater how short you keep the bursts from the welder.. The heat has to go somewhere, and it will always pull/twist metal one way or another.. sometimes a lot, sometimes only a small amount. I tried to weld a piece of my rear fender lip back on (from a spare used fender I had) to the rear quarter, and in the end I had to do lots of grinding and body filler anyway to get it to look decent. Not trying to be cruel, just telling you what I know of it... I'd make sure the panel you cut (with the indent in it) is a good size so that the weld seam is a away from the indented/bumper area at least a few inches, and spot it on all sides. Work it around with small tacks/beads at a time. IE; if the panel is roughly a square shape, dont work around it starting from one point and just going around. Rather do a tack on the top, one on the bottom, the left side, the right side and so on back and forth till it's done.. Also, I find it helps to indent the edge of the 'patch' panel towards the car, and to indent the edges of the car panel inwards slightly. That way, it gives you a sort of "V" to lay weld in, and you don't have to grind a lot off in the end, just fill over it with glass/filler.

Heh heh.. not as much of a headach as a few wrong sizes on the crank bearings would cause.. motor go boom.. probly destroy crank in the process.. another motor rebuild.. ugh.. I'd say do it right the first time.

Yah but if you know your stuff, you can ussually get what you need. I've had pretty good luck thus far by knowing my cross reference between Z's and zx's/other nissan models, even if the parts store guys are stupid. "sorry, theres nothing in the computer for a 75.. the 83 probly won't be the same starter.." "Yes, it will work, trust me" "well I don't know... " "Look.. I have a 1989 240sx tranny, an 81 distributor, and an 83 rear diff in a 75. I know what works. It'll bolt on. JUST ORDER ME THE DAMN PART!!!" And so on... If I were you, I'd take the thing apart (assuming you have an old one?) and see if you can rebuild it yourself. I've done this several times with starters, distributors, ect. Really it's all just nuts and bolts stuf and I've found ussually it's one little thing that wears out or was assembled wrong during re-building..

You know.. I think I have some laying around too... I diched my stock rear end, (for a 3:90 out of a 280zx) but I kept the halfshafts/parts somewhere... I'll try to get into the garage this week. Hey careless.. where exactly are you? (Maple..?) Sorry, just a little excited to find another Z nut in Ontario! I'm just north of Barrie.. (about 1.5 h from T.O.)

Personall opinion here, no offence ment..... I like cool wheels as much as the next guy, but I would tend to think of the rest of the setup first.. what are you running for brakes? In my case, I have the crapy stock brakes and I'm going to upgrade to a 300zx/toyota calipers up front, and maybe a rear disk setup as well. (or something to that effect ) BUT I don't know if my 14" sloted mags will fit over the calipers. SO; My thinking is if they don't work, I'll go to a 300zx 5 lug pattern (a well documented swap, it's here somewhere..) and go searching for wheels that I like with the 5 lug pattern.. I think it's the same as some ford vehicles.. and there are a world of aftermarket wheels in a 5 lug. Basically, I wouldn't go looking for new wheels if you're going to do any sort of brake upgrade in the future.. (which I assume you'll be considering, if you havn't done something yet..) if you're changing brakes, it's easy to pick and choose a new/diffrent lug pattern at the same time, rather than go the other way...

My advice? Look around for a deal on a GOOD used welder. I paid $300 (yes, canadian $) for my Lincoln 'weld pack 100' and it's a great little unit. I run flux core wire, but you can get a gas conversion/hook up for it for under $100. I havn't need it yet though... I learned to weld with it, stuck most of my Z back together, a few rockers and floors in various cars, welded a few skidoo things, a few pieces on farm tractors/equipment, some lawn furniture, LOTS of exhast pipes/mufflers, 1/4" plates to frames on machines (light curtain guards on factory machinery) my custom motor/tranny mounts in a V8 RX7, ect, ect. It has infinite wire speed control, and 4 heat settings. As you can see, it's quite handy and adaptable (I've done lots of stuff outside, in fields, back yards, snow...) You can turn it way down and do little touchy stuff, or blast through heavy dirty crap. Trust me, if you have it, you'll discover things to do with it!

Yah, up here we use 'kitty klicks' but we still drive more than the limit anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter much!

I personally haven't heard of this being done.. I think welding the 'indents' into the rear quarters would be a nightmare... you'd probly be better off getting a whole quarter panel (with the indents stamped in them) and replacing the whole quarter, or at least a good sized chunk of it. In my expiriance if you try to weld complex curves/formed or intricate little pieces, it take FOREVER to blend them smooth afterwards, not to mention the warping/pulling of the metal that takes place while welding. If you're good with a TIG then I suppose it's not too bad, but it'll still be a pain IMO. Just my .02$, maybe someone else has some thoughts?

Actually, A friend of mine has a Lightning, and earlier this year I got beside him in my Z at a stop light. His truck is pretty much stock, and he has BEAT the crap out of it, but my Z has seen better days to. (although it's not 'slow' with the 510/280 cam, msd and LOTS of advance, and open exhast.) I could almost keep up, but not quite. We played stupid for about 5 minits down this streatch of road, and from a rolling 2nd gear start I got the jump on him a few times, but he always pulled on me in short order. Don't know what gears the lightning's run, but I think my 3;90's and 240sx 5 gear helped my Z.. either way, the lighning isn't a truck to simply be dismised IMO...

Well, I must admit I don't know a whole lot about it yet (I'm currently searching and gathering info) but the truck is a 91 with a 'Tonawanda' mark 5 454. Same motor as my buddys truck, whicn we rebuilt last winter.. Comp cam, hooker headers, and he's talking about getting an aftermarket TBI system (basicaly an Edlebroke carb w/injectors in it.) His truck's a 2 wheel drive, dropped about 6" and WOW does IT go like stink!

Heh... yah, I'm back... in bits and pieces. No internet at my house yet, so I'm hijacking the girlfriends computer. I started thinking of where to put the cool 454 from the piece of crap dually I drive (you know, when the truck falls apart from all the hard launching and crazy driving I do in it) and figured I'd come back to the only place I could think of to get some ideas.

Awesome trucks, very good motors (chain I believe) and quite a tough little packege. I had a 2wd and a 4x4 with the V6, but the 4 cyl is no slug and gets good milage too. Only thing that is flakey is the auto trannys... I'd stay away from that, but evrything else about these trucks can really take a beating. I don't think it's worth $3200.. MAYBE if the body is absolutly flawless and the tailgate is good. (they are hard to find, and a pain to work if they get a ding in the wrong spot.) But it'd have to be really overall nice condition.

Well, I bought a 6AL box used last year for $100, and run a 280zx dizzy with out the nissan 'little black box' on it. Worked fine for a while, but the last few times I had it out, it'd start missing at higher RPM's. Engine was barely broke in, carbs were in good tune, ect.ect. Thing is, I have the MSD mounted in front of the passenger strut towwer and I think the heat and elements have taken a toll on it.. still, you'd think a unit like this would be designed to survive in that type of environment..