zeeboost

Looks great, can’t wait to see more pictures of it. Thanks for keeping this thread updated and not abandoning the project. After trying several attempts myself at just trying to build a presentable rear fiberglass spoiler for a widebody 280z of mine, I can definitely appreciate the skill and time required to getting the body lines looking that well-manicured. Keep at it

Looks like a variation of Jim cook racing fenders / flares

The fact that they have a 5 lug floating rotor, along with a caliper that I'm about 99% sure is not a direct bolt on for the 240z, doesn't instill a lot of confidence that the items will fit properly. It may just be generic stock photos that they use, but that doesn't help as a selling point. I have no experience with them, but brakes are typically not an item I try to cheap out on. The stock brakes are decent in most applications, once the system has been gone through and restored (new rubber brake lines, fresh fluid, sealed system with no leaks, properly adjusted drums, good set of pads of front, properly functioning check valve in brake booster, etc). And if you're wanting to build a track warrior, then I'd recommend to upgrade to a tried and proven brake system. But if you want to be the first to leave a review with them, don't let me stop you.

I have a parts car that may have what you’re looking for. If you can send me a picture of exactly what you need, I’ll check underneath it tomorrow

Thanks for the heads up aux, it was just enough motivation for me to splurge a bit.

You could also just do it the old fashioned way and find TDC with a piston stop. Just need some kind of pointer on your crank pulley, even if it's a makeshift one. And timing tape helps but isn't necessary. Then you'd be able to easily verify ignition timing and cam timing.

I'm planning on doing something similar as your setup, and so far I have a forged piston L28et (roughly 8:1 cr) on megasquirt, spearco intercooler, and plan on running e85 since we have easy access to that stuff all around austin. I haven't run mine yet to test it out, but I honestly think you'd be fine with just a stock bottom end as long you as run a quality intercooler and e85. E85 obviously isn't necessary, but it's definitely a godsend to help keep detonation at bay. Oh and I'd highly recommend finding a p90 head. I've ran a p79 with on a turbo setup before and it worked fine, but some people talk about the exhaust liners coming apart. I couldn't care less if it was an n/a build, but I wouldn't think you'd want that shrapnel going through the turbo. *edit* For longevity of the turbo, I'm also running a water-cooled t3, larger aluminum radiator, and an external oil cooler.

Well, dogs and Zs both have a Datsun in their lineage.

I thought it was a pretty good price for that piece, glad it worked out for you.

Not sure if this is the same one I posted earlier, but the listing just went up last night https://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/pts/d/jim-cook-racing-whale-tail/6476577320.html

Not mine but you can try this ad: https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/pts/d/240z-260z-280z-whaletail-wing/6452838157.html

If it truly is a solid chassis with uncracked dash then yes it absolutely is worth that price. I sold a 280 a few years back for that same amount, pretty much same history and same solid shell as that one, except I had a dash cap over a cracked dash, but the triple webers helped offset that. Still regret selling it bc I haven't come across one that clean since then (for under $10k anyways). Keep in mind this was several years back before the value of the s30 chassis started going up. I'd snag it while you can and don't look back.

Thanks you two for the advice, I've been reading up on autobody101 as well as many other forums looking to gather ideas on how to set this up. Here's what I have so far, let me know what you think. To answer some of my earlier questions, yes I should put any electrical switches inside the booth within their own sealed setup, but I think I'll just have power to the paint booth controlled by breakers in the fuse box of the main shop. (1 breaker for lights, 1 for fans) For the lighting, looks like that'll be behind sealed plexiglass. Also I plan on sealing the concrete to help with dust control. Here's a rough sketch of how I'll be setting up everything. The gap between the main shop and body shop (with the compressor) will be enclosed, with a man door to be installed on the body shop right next to the compressor. I'm considering running intake ducting into this room along with a heater to help with winter temperatures, but not set in stone yet. I may see how well insulation alone works first. With the intake fan high and exhaust fans low, 1 large intake fan on the back wall and 2 (or 4) smaller exhaust fans on wall with door. Will there be any negative drawbacks to staggering the exhaust fans on each side of the door? Or do they need to be in the center of the building where the door would be? I'd prefer to stagger them on each side of the door so they can be a permanent fixture in the shop and I can use the style doors that I'd like to. In regards to the walls, is there a specific material that's preferred for painting (without using plastic sheets)? I would assume something that doesn't trap dirt very easily. Figured I'd have plywood walls or sheetrock. I thought about corrugated metal but it's very humid where I'm at and will randomly start sweating at any given time, so I'd prefer to not introduce that into the paint booth. I'm also assuming I'll want to insulate the walls for better temperature regulation. So far it looks like for the compressor I'll be running a copper line 25 feet into the main shop (to the right) then loop it around and slope it downwards back towards the paint booth to try and trap as much moisture as I can. I still have a bit of reading to do on this. I was hoping to do bodywork in here also but am terrified of all the hidden body dust that'll get flung everywhere, waiting to find it's way into fresh paint. Does it seem feasible that I could just blow everything out with compressed air before I begin spraying, or is that just wishful thinking and not worth the risk of introducing body work to the spray booth? Any other criticisms or suggestions are welcome.

I have a 20 x 21 concrete slab that I'm working on turning into a paint booth. I've done a ton of reading on the subject over the last couple of weeks, mostly trying to find the best intake / exhaust type setup to use, but information seems to get pretty conflicting after a while. Some say to use pusher fans with a filtered vent, or puller fans with a filtered vent, many setups use both pullers and pushers for intake and exhaust. I'm not sure what all factors come into place when trying to properly design a spray booth (what type of fans to use, should one be high and the other low, are there special outlets that need to be used to reduce chances of explosion). End game is to have a properly functioning spray booth without using plastic walls, that I don't have to worry about going up in flames. I'm known to overthink things and have seen some pretty good paint jobs just by spraying a car outside in the elements, but since I'm building this from scratch I want to make sure it is done properly. - Should I use double plywood doors that swing open on hinges, and can latch closed to weatherstripping to make sure it's sealed? Or should I install a rollup door so it can open a couple of feet and set it on top of box fans for when I spray? - Wind where I'm at is typically 10-15 mph on average from the southwest, should I setup the vents and fans on the north / south sides of the shop to have the wind aid in air flow or set it up from east / west to minimize it? - I did have some pretty large fluorescent shop lights already set aside from the booth, but that was before I found out about needing explosion proof lighting. So I'm between boxing the lights in I have inside a cabinet with plexiglass, or springing for the explosion proof stuff. - What is the ideal setup for intake / exhaust flow when setting up the fans? I've seen some pretty good setups with squirrel cage fans, but also equally good setups with box fans. I'm pretty sure neither or these are explosion proof fans though. - Are there any special power outlets to be wired in to minimize the risk of fires? - Any other tips will be greatly appreciated, I'll be sure to post progress pictures as well.

I don't know how mechanically inclined you are but since there has been considerable work done to the wiring, the factory service manual won't be able to help you much should a problem arise. Megasquirt is great when it works, and it is definitely more user-friendly than ten years ago, but it is a picky system and can be a little finicky at times. I'm sure a lot of it is user error or quality of installation, which is another thing to look out for when checking this car out. Did he crimp the wires or solder them like they should be, run shielded wiring, how well did he tune it, etc. It may be a great car and drive around without a hiccup but I could never put Datsun and reliable daily driver in the same category. YES they can be reliable cars and when rebuilt to OE specs these little guys are bulletproof, .but they are 40 year old cars that are prone to develop issues as you drive them, it's just the name of the game. There are much more reliable options for that dollar amount, since this would be your primary driver, though you may not share the same excitement for them. If you had a primary driver aleast and wanted this as a weekend / nice weather driver, then if this one wouldve fit that category. But your call, worst case if you buy it and it doesnt work out then just sell it and move to plan B.

I could see doing that to a 2+2 but the lines of a coupe conflict with the abruptness of that front end.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading any of his replies, and will continue to as I search through the archives. Safe to say he's taught me a majority of what I know now about Datsuns and performance / fabrication in general since I first started visiting this site back in 2001. My heart literally sank as I saw the title of this thread. He's pretty much the only forum member I planned to visit on my first trip to Cali in one of my datsuns so I could thank him personally for all the help and advice he's volunteered over the years...now I feel terrible for not doing it sooner. Geez, just so sad

Tube is just shy of 32" from what I remember

Looking to get one for a '77 280z 2+2 that is straight (not bent or out of round) and the ujoints are still healthy. I'm thinking all 2+2s came with an r200 rear diff but just in case, make sure that the companion flange will fit the r200. Let me know what you have, thanks.

I'd have to see how the wiring for the fans is setup to be able to figure out what's going on, but im assuming the ect sensor works off a 5v reference so either the sensor was pegged or there's an open circuit. Either way if you don't get it sorted out PM me and I'll be happy to swing by and look into it.

May have to call first dibs on the wheels. How does your z hold up to the competition there?

Forgot to add that no the 78 front end doesn't directly swap over to the 83...anything is possible with enough work but wouldn't be worth it imo. The stock 78 front doesn't even look aggressive until you start modifying it. I removed the front bumper on my '83 and added a couple small things, didn't take much but it definitely looks more aggressive now. Of course all of that is subjective, what think looks "mean" may be completely opposite by your standards, so you should at least start off by googling pictures of 280zx to see what you like and go from there.

I was fiddling around with my '70 240z cleaning all the contacts for my exterior lighting switches and managed to break the little contact board for my hi/lo beam dimmer switch when I removed it. Looking to see if anyone has just the guts for the dimmer switch since my entire turn signal switch is in good working order. Let me know, thanks

www.ztrix.com www.zcarparts.com These two will get you started

Think testarossa