datsunlover

Ok.. Tyson; whatever. I'm not sying the zx is 'worse' or 'better'.. the ORIGINAL poster asked for DIFERENCES between 280z and 280zx. I was listing some obvious difreneces BESIDES the body style/ect... (as you seamed to be trying and turn this into a 'zx is better than the z' thread..) I LIKE the zx's I like the older Z's too. They're cool cars man... And as for my car, COME ANT LOOK FOR YOURSELF!!! There is NO o2 sensor. I don't care if you say there is, because I know it's not there. I looked for it, trust me! There is a THROTLE VALVE SWITCH instead of a THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR. (look it up in a FSM if you still don't believe me) No head temp sensor either... YES its EFI, but it's a basic.. less advanced system then the 280zx's had. Perhapes in Canada only, so be it. Thats the way it is. Really...dude.. I don't pretend to know evrything.. but what I do know, well.. I know. I am insulted that you think my post was 'utter nonsence' but hey.. thats your problem, not mine. I'm done posting in this thread.. Ther's no need to start a 'war' over this.

4.3 can be a good motor.. (esentialy its a 350 with two cyls chopped off) the 'Vortec' 4.3 is pretty potent as it is stock.. headers/intake ect will get around 220 horse I believe, and LOADS of torque compared to the L28z motor... problem I see is using the stock Z tranny.. Anythings possible, but I don't think it would hold up to the power (ie torque) of a 4.3 chev...

Heh.. when people say that to you, just smile and say "whatever.. it's MY car, and MY project/intrest." And watch their jaws drop when you pull out in your shiny clasic sports car in a year or two.

Well, yah a V8 or turbo is gona do it for sure.. but sticking with the L6.. 250 is possible but is that a number you just 'picked' to shoot for? Really, in a well setup Z (good suspension/brakes/ect) 200 horse is lots.. Shaved head, thiner head gasket, cam, port inntake and exhast manifold/header.. and there's the 'stroker' motor build up as well.. Guys have pulled 300+ hp out of the L6 (highly modified, yes) N/A.. but around 200-250 is doable and can still be streetable IMO.. like has been said, it'll take a bit of $$$.

I believe the vac advance IS mainly to get better mileage... by using it, you run less initial advance. I don't run mine and I have no drivability problems. Not so great gas consumption, but for me, thats not a big deal; it's a sports car, a toy if you will.. I bought/built it to have fun, and I drive it hard. If I was conserned about fuel economy, Id buy a honda civic. I run an electronic zx dizzy as well and found the car a bit slugish with the advance attached.. and at hight rpm/heavy acceleration, it would ping.. so I disconected it and run as advanced as I can at idle... I'm not sure if this is corect, but I think the control module advances timing a bit as well on it's own..

Wow.. ok man.. welcome to the forum, and the joys of old Z's. #1- rust 'bubbles'; If possible, after wire wheel/grinding you can try sand blasting (if possible.. you can get little handheld sand blasters and they work pretty good..) but yah, get that rust gone, and clean the bare metal before spraying anything on it. There is a chemical that shops use, but I can't remember what the name is right now.. basicaly takes off all the dirt and oils from your hands. (use it to clean primered surfaces befor paint as well) #2- I would definatly scrap off the years of acumulated 'undercoating' from the whole underside.. as much as you can. Clean the rust, and then there are differing opinions.. You can spray rust paint, truck bed liner, the canadian tire brand 'under coating'.. which there are 3 difrent kinds of.. Me? I use flat black rust paint (armor coat) and it seams to work well.. but I don't drive my Z in the snow.. or rain if I can help it. #3- body shops.. hmmm.. I'd make sure they're not gona.. screw you. A lot of shops will 'cheeze' stuf quickly, and it doesnt hold up over time. If at all possible, I'd say get your self a welder (or a friend with one.. ) and learn to weld. If that's not an option, yah fix with weld, not rivets, it'll last longer and be stronger. #4- Ok.. there is the cheap stuff (crapy tire red/grey $6 a can) and the expencive stuff (about $14 a can) but if you're gona do one area at a time, and want to 'preserve' any body work till final paint time, DO NOT use the cheap stuf. The expencive stuff is an 'Epoxy sealer' primer and will bond to the metal/bondo/f.glass and seal it, unlike the cheap stuff which will absorb moisture.. which will cause rust to start quickly.. If I was closer, I'd drop by and help you out as much as I could.. what you are talking about is a BIG undertaking.. I spent a good 4 months on the body of my 75 280z.. and it's still not perfect, but "It'll do" and I'll redo it in a few years. Good luck man, youve come to the right place!.

I don't think the zx suspension can be called 'upgraded' really.. ANY zx I've been in/driven (stock mind you) has had a very soft ride and plently of body roll compared to my 75 280z. Basicaly, the older Z's were a true 'sports car'.. but the zx ended up being more of a 'sport touring' car.. heavier, lots of power features, softer ride.. Better arodynamics yes, but less power and worse handeling (from a performance driving stand point) than the earlier Z's. Also, (JMHO here) I think the zx rear suspension is inferior to the set-up in the older Z's.. I believe the N/A zx's made 132 horse.. and I'm sure they are at LEAST 3300 pounds.. My '75 has basicaly the same size engine (2.8L), and the tag in the engine bay sais '170hp @ 5600 rpm' and the weight tag says 2750 iirc..

Heh.. my guage dies sometimes. Just drops to E.. then I'll rock the car side to side, or hit a bump and it'll come back up. The first time it died, I took out the sending unit and cleaned it up which 'fixed' it.. for a while. It apears that it's just old and worn out, so I'll be buying a new one soon. May be the same problem in your ZX.. although I don't know how hard it'll be to get to it.. (is there a round panel in the floor of the hatch? I can't remember.. it's been a few years since I had a ZX)

I think the subframe conector is definatly a performance thing, but can ALSO be a part of the 'repairing the rusted floor boards' aspect of Z cars.. heck, anything as old as these cars really.. I've seen a few cars with the subframe 'extending' out to the rockers in some way.. I think the member here named DOT (V12 Jag in a 240z) did something like this. The rockers are actually 'boxed' for aditional strength and to resist flex. (He was originally intending to install a big block V8 I believe..) I would say that yes, the zx could benifit from conectors, as it is a unibody rear wheel drive car.. it really depends on how much power you're making though. IMO if the car is esentialy rust free, and the drivetrain fairly stock, there would be no need for a subframe conector setup. If you plan to up the power (turbo/V8/?) or do a lot of racing though, I'd consider it.

Well from personal expiriance, a ZX is a little... tricky compared to the earlier Z's.. the front/rear subframes don't line up quite the same (in line w/eachother) but it's doable. Basicaly, it's a lot of work no matter what you do.. but planing/measuring, and CLEANING of the rust/ect (prior to welding anything) is most important..

Good to hear you got it going man! Good luck with the rest of the car.

So.. from 75 280 to 83 ZX have the same shafts then.. Cause I have a 75, and am swaping in a better (ratio and overall condition) r200 from an 81 zx.. I have had to change the driveshaft yoke (difrent bolt hole circle) to use my 280z driveshaft, but the axles apear (to me) to be identical between both..

Yikes.. rockers to jack up a vehicle?!?!?! I know.. they are SUPOSED to be the jack ponts, but I to was told (at a dealership I worked at) NOT to use them even on brand new cars. As for Z's, I have found the front x-member or the flat spot just behind the T/C rod 'box' is pretty strong. it was the only thing left to jack up on in my 75 280 when I got it.. And the rear, yah I used the diff (in FRONT of the cover, on the cast part of the unit) for a while, but I now have subframe conectors I use. 2x2" 3/16 square tube fron the T/C mounts back and up to the rear subframe, welded all along the way.. I can now jack my car up with ONE little jack from the center of the car (roughly the middle of the door.. in about 12") and the whole side comes up at once. As long as I get it 'balanced' in the middle ind you..

Heh.. -37c yesterday and the day before.. brrrrr...yes it sucks. It sucks BAAADDD. I hate the cold.. now back to Z's.. As for reving.. it'll probly run out of fuel/cam around 7500 and just float there if held to the rug in park.. I don't recomend doing that too often though.. And the MSD 6AL box is just ignition as far as I know.. I don't know anythng about datsun autos either, sorry man.. don't know what to say.. aside from.. swap in a 5 gear!

Bah.. you americans and yer cheap prices... buggers... and...Was that a shot? EH?!?!? heh heh.. As for the stock cam ..I'll agree on that one. I'd hit 6K rpm once in a while.. but I was making more noise than power at that point.. (Such a beutifull noise though!!) I actually hit about 7k rpm once, cause of a mised shift 2nd to 3d.. but I'll need the limiter next year as I'm getting my head re-done and puting a cam of some sort in.. havn't decided yet. I found with my stock 280 about 4800-5000 rpm was a good point to shift for the best acceleration... EDIT; ahh.. well, yah it'll rev to the moon in park/nutral.. but unless the auto is slipping, it shouldn't rev past 6000 or so while driving..

That was... disturbing...

wow.. tis the season to be angry.. fa la la la la.. f@$K you too eh? heh.. I still have to get my girlfriend something.. I HAD something.. but I have to return it cause her mom got her something similar.. shite.. two days left and I'm drawing a blank.. she said she wanted a vacume.. HA! Like I'm gona be a dink and buy my girl a VACUME... crap..

Well I think a new MSD 6AL is going for around 4-$500.. but I picked mine up used for $120. Mine's a few years older, and has a seperat 'box' attached to it for the rev limiter. The newer MSD's have that built in I believe.. Personaly, I'd rather spend the money on an MSD.. as they are 'current' and IF they break, fixing/replacement is easier than stock 30 year old Datsun electrics.

Well.. IIRC, you're going to have to drop the gas tank. yah.. oh boy. Well, for the passenger side anyway, the tank blocks the 3 bolts from the bottom side. There are 3 inside as well, through the floor from the hatch area. Most likely, they will be rusted beyond belief and you'll have to try to twist/snap them off, or drill them out. good luck man!

Maybe just a new forum.. right at the top. "Popular mods + swaps" or something like that.. something only mods/admins could post in too... if someone has a swap/mod, they could PM a moderator and it could be " ok'd " before beeing added... Off the top of my head I can think of a few that I'm SURE a lot of ppl on here know all the info for.. -The turbo ZX driveline into a 1st gen chasis, -300zx map/ecu conversion -toyota caliper/300zx brake swap, -links to sites that offer other brake upgrades -coversion to 5 lug -sectioning struts/coilovers -zx dixxy/msd ignition upgrade There's a lot more, but you can see what I'm talking about.. All this info IS HERE.. somewhere.. and to find it, you have to search forum after forum.. and if the info was given in a reply, it obviously get shuffled down the list... I have had issues with the search function as well... Perhaps a "please browse this forum before asking questions" under the popular mods/swaps heading would prompt people to at least look..

Well when you gone this far... I'd say pop in a new TPS.. you never know. I've seen LOTS of electronic sensors/ect check out OK, but once replaced, solve a problem. But a loose/corodeed wire could be the problem as well.. maybe as you're driving, it vibrates 'just right' under ceartain conditions, and breaks contact intermitently..

Yah, I have a spare dizzy/module for mine. (if/when it craps out on me..) But I think next year I'm just gona run my MSD box. I have an explaination/write up somewhere on how to wire it to the ZX dizzy.. it's quite simple really. That 'box' only has two wires coming into it from the pick up coil inside the dizzy. You just hook those to the MSD box, and wire the rest up acordingly (I'll see if I can dig up thos distructions..) and it should work well.. and be reliable!

Well I wish it was a simple as a dead battery. And I can hear the ignition relay clicking under the dash.. Anyway, I got the thing going today, and I think it's a problem with the ignition cyl in the stering column... I turned it to start and nothing happend at first, (like yesterday, except it's only -2 today...wtf?) but as I was about to turn it back and pull the key out it suddenly fired up! So I shut it down and try again.. same thing as before, nothing happening. So I rock the key back and forth as it's held in the start position and it kicks over. Huh?!? Maybe it was just a coincidence that this problem reared it's head yesterday.. the coldest day of the year so far.. or maybe it WAS caused in part BECAUSE of how cold it was.. evrything was so cold that the ignition cyl. wouldn't rock enough to 'make' that loose contact? Possibly the ignition/key componants are just worn out? (truck has 272K's on it.. previous owner worked construction with it.. ) Figures.. it just HAS to do this right before xmas.. and I have to work overtime evry night this week.. AND I'm not stressed out enough to begin with.... Stupid truck..

I should mention this 'thing' seams to have happend a few times recently, just not this bad. Every once in a while, I'd turn the key to 'start' and nothing would happen.. (just like now, evrything else just stays on, keeps working, like I didn't even try to start it..) It would be just long enough for me to say "What the fu..." and then it would start. ??? IE; I had to hold the key in the start position for a few seconds before anything would happen.. I was out there a while ago (yes, still - 30 DAMIT THATS COLD!!!!) and still can't get the starter to 'engage' the engine. Obviously there is power at the starter, seeing as I can jump it with a screwdriver and hear it spinning.. it's just not doing it from the key/ignition...nor is it 'kicking' out... A few ppl I've talked to today think I just have to replace the starter.. but ..I'd hate to find out after spending that $$$ that it's something else causing this no start.. Anyone?