Twisted46

I have a 280ZX setup that was on my car for over a year and worked fine with stock fronts but you will need to remove the proportioning valve and retention valve in the the MC. I recently upgraded to the SM Wilwood kit because even with $200 hawk pads they were getting cooked at the track. If your car never leaves the highway this won't matter. Please don't take what TTT told you at face value. I swapped an SBC in my garage and the rear disk swap was 10x more frustrating to finally get everything working. Also make sure you're aware of what is required to remove the backing plates. You need an adjustable prop valve. TTTs statement doesn't even make sense, if you don't need a prop valve then upgrading the fronts later would be pointless and throw off bias... Just saying There is a reason to swap to disks, just do it right or you will end up wasting time and money.

My main goal with the cage work was to protect myself but also to eliminate the work of the body between the rockers. There clearly isn't a lot of meat there so I tied the frame rails to the rockers at the T/C rod mount points and the roll hoop legs are only about 3 inches from the rear frame so that was an easy box weld with some plate to connect the rear suspension to the rockers. Door bars are there to triangulate the rocker structure and provide side impact resistance with vertical bars that come down behind the front seat brackets. I plan to add some material that connects those vertical bars to the tunnel and figure out something stronger at the firewall. I also want to add a bar that connects my rocker to TC bars to the upper frame horns. I don't expect to feel that difference very much but I do think it will be critical when running 400 in/lb springs. In other news, I got tired of the 280zx rear brakes overheating and went with a SM wilwood kit.

Good to know! I just got my Wilwoods in and will be putting them on next week.

I had a hell of a time getting my SBC V1.0 started on my first go around, replaced just about everything external to the engine with new stuff. Turns out it was way too retarded and any attempt to start failed or resulted in a backfire. Here is what I finally did and suggest that you do as well. -Remove #1 spark plug and valve cover (removing the timing cover is preferred but not easy) -Find top dead center of the compression stroke via methods already discussed (align crank and cam dots if you have the cover off, more accurate) -Take note of the position of your harmonic balancer "zero" line and mark it on the timing cover (I use paint marker) -Line up the rotor with #1 spark plug pole on the cap -disconnect vacuum advance -Rotate the distributor 15-20 degrees counterclockwise (if you have a clear cap this is very easy, I usually set mine so the rotor is resting just before the leading edge of the cap pole) It should fire right off, I use this method now every time I have to resent timing for various reasons and it works without fail. Now this is only a starting point and you will yield too much advance to most distributors but makes for easy first starts if you are doing a new engine break in. What I have learned is that it takes a pretty serious carb or intake issue for the car not to start AT ALL, running poorly is a different issue. If it still won't fire run a wire directly from the battery positive to the distributor 12v terminal and check your ground connections, the problems a bad ground can cause are immense and frustrating.

Had another good day out this past weekend, dry with temps in the 80's so it was near perfect. I beat my previous personal track record by 4 seconds and was hanging around with some prepped spec Boxsters, they were faster in the corners I was faster in the straights. I am going to have to go to different rear brake setup though. The 280zx kit has been giving me issues with dragging/sticking that is causing me to miss some track time to adjust and bleed, keep warping rotors. I don't think they can handle the heat and abuse of slowing the car from 140 mph so I am gong with the kit I probably should have in the first place, Wilwood 2 piston. Other than that I am really happy with the car's balance still. @heyitsrama I am running a fairly stock rear end with just KYB struts and German springs. I am planning on A-arms and coilovers this winter mostly for alignment tuning. I am not sure if you consider a suspension mod but I have a welded rear tower brace that ties in to the roll hoop I replaced every bushing with poly stuff. Also running no rear bar. In the front I have the same strut/spring combo with T3 NCRAs and the triangulated brace, and 280Z bar. The last two, and to answer your question, are mandatory in my book on a Z that gets driven hard. Those were my two latest additions and completely transform the car for a few hundred dollars. The best way I can explain how the car felt before is vague, disconnected, and unpredictable which I would attribute to poor suspension geometry (after lowering) and very weak suspension connection in the front. I think you could get to the same place with control arms but those are 3-4x the price of the NCRAs (comes down to how much adjustment you want) and . I don't know that the brace actually increases grip but it makes the car FEEL better and respond more consistently corner to corner which is worth way more that a few seconds off a lap to me. I have two conclusions (which are much the same as those before me) the S30 needs major help in front suspension connection (side to side) and frame to frame connection (front to rear) once you start eliminating the unibody as the main carrier for suspension loading the car feels much better. Second the front suspension geometry is a mess when you lower the car, I would wager that given the same spring rate a standard ride high Z is faster around a track than a lowered one, all other factors being equal.

There are literally two threads about this right below yours.. Also google.. http://zhome.com/ZCMnL/tech/240SX5spd/transmission.htm Anything can be done for a price but unless you have the skills of TunnelArmr you are looking at spending at least $1000 on a custom plate or bell-housing from a shop. You also did not mention if it is a ZXT T5 that would change things slightly but either way you are better off finding a Camaro WC T5 if you are looking to save money or not planning to launch the car and do burnouts all the time. I would put money on a ZXT T5 being worth close to T56 money these days. If you have an FS5W I would question it's ability to handle the torque of a mild 350, even WC T5s tip toe that line if driven sensibly.

I have some lap data to sift through but the car (and me) were much faster, around 10 seconds without getting 100% clean laps since the track was really busy. I didn't get much seat time because it rained all morning but I have 3 more weekends lined up. Most importantly the car feels GREAT now. I wish I could explain better how the car felt before but images driving around on 2" wide tires. Now it feels like a car should again with amazing predictability in the corners and improved grip in the front. The additional reinforcement is very noticeable and turn in is awesome with the NCRCAs. The fronts are wearing evenly now which is probably where 90% of the change that I feel. It also tucks the nose in really nice mid corner if I ease off throttle a bit. Anyone that has seat time at the track understands just how important confidence is to lap times and I feel comfortable in the 260 now. As for the engine and brake upgrades.. hoboy does she fly now, actually slightly terrifying going 136 down the back straight with no ABS to rely on . But seriously there were very few cars on track that pulled harder in the straights. The HT-10s are amazing and will lock up the tires pretty easy at higher speeds so I buy in to the guys who say that you only need better pads in most cases, If I was running longer that 20 minutes I would looks for upgrades to manage heat but that is a non-issues for the time being. I may look at getting some spacers for the rear this season but am largely happy with improving my times in the car as-is this season. The next big project is coilovers to reduce roll and rear end replacement. I will get some video next time and post it.

That looks like the R200 case in my car. The problem with project cars is you never know what you will find and people do some pretty hair brained stuff. On top of that I have learned that Datsun did a lot running changes in those years (my 74 is a mixed bag of what "should" be on there and it was all original when I bought it save for some fuel and brake lines. If you want to be extra sure and not have to reorder parts then pull the diff and measure the ring gear.

The answer as usual is it depends. If we are talking a few degrees then mostly just alignment(camber). If you start going crazy you will start changing the way forces are loaded in the suspension and chassis which may or may not become a problem. I would say there are better options out there.

Does anyone use the DS series (formerly DR series) from BC? Every post I can find only references the BR series which it seems are not suited for long term track use. The DS series is race specific but I can find little information related to the S30 platform. I am trying to decide between the DS series, Feal, and AZC.

Rotate the front tires to the rear, that is an easy check. If you replaced the rack then I am guessing you replaced the rod ends? The Z steering linkage isn't too complicated, if you follow the route from the wheels back to steering wheel there are only a few things that can cause a shimmy or shake. If you let go of the steering wheel can you feel a shake in the seat/floor?

My only guess is that the manufacturer is sharing tooling between similar brakes and disregarding the OE sealing method. I even measured the piston diameter to confirm they were the correct calipers. Who knows, but they work great now just something others should watch out for is buying aftermarket I suppose.

Well I ended up getting the NCRCAs and T3 front triangulated bar installed. Two new tie rods and a fresh alignment (2mm toe out) in the front, I did find that the rear has a pretty big toe in issue. Nothing I can do about that at the moment but the tires don't seem to upset so I will just run with it. I did some more cage work in the mid and rear including a welded STB and connecting the main hoop to the roof rails. I still want to tie the front of the rockers to the frame rails and up to the strut towers but can't find time. The car feels extremely tight and planted now even a lower speed. The Hawk HT-10s should help in the braking department and give me more confidence. The biggest change though was an unexpected engine rebuild. I started to loose a rod bearing so why not just rebuild the whole thing and give it more power. I followed COMPs XE274 cammed vortec build and holy S does this thing scream now. I can tell I will easily be 30 mph faster down the back straight just based on how fast 4th gear is over. I plan to do some logging this weekend but I am estimating that 40-90mph in 4th takes less than 6 seconds which is roughly my hairpin exit speed. I haven't tested 5th gear out yet since I am only running up and down the highway and try to keep things safe and reasonable but if it pulls anything like 4th I will easily be over 130mph before I need to get on the brakes. Only two weeks left until proving day.

A set of 240SX lines and banjo bolts did the trick. 🤔

Absolutely awesome work. That is certainly the crux of the gm v8 swaps. I spent more on my t5 setup than my engine rebuild and I know it is temporary while I keep adding to my T56 fund, waiting for the t5 to blow up. Interested to see the final results.