fusion

June 23

The best option, in my opinion, by far, is the super 8.8 option.

June 23

On 6/13/2022 at 2:21 PM, Invincibleextremes said:

Going to point out that jason hit a personal best of 9.88 @ 137.8 with his turbo 4.8 using cheap neon coilovers and his super 8.8 swap kit which has NO issues holding down the power.

The second thing worth mentioning is now the latest version of the kit allows moving the wheel back up to 3/4 rearward.

This is dependent on what you are willing to do up top to match, i designed and now offer conversion tops that move the shock back if using cheap coilovers like jason did.

Using other brands of coilovers you can redrill the shock tower and rotate the camber plate if you like to squeeze a little more. 3/4 is about the limit because after that you run into the sheetmetal.

Can you post pics showing what has changed in the kit that allows the rear wheels to move backward?

June 22

Yes. The fronts are skinnier and have a more pronounced bend to contour the fender

June 22

I just installed mine. The fronts are obvious and easy to tell which side is which. Rears are much more subtle. From my research and fitment, you want the flares oriented with the wider portion towards the front of the car. Hope that helps.

June 2

Great work

May 22

Thanks guys. I do have the Marugen flares so they should fit tight

May 21

My main reason for wanting to weld nuts instead of rivnuts is to have the flares sit flush on the metal. I am really hoping to not have to use welting.

May 21

Any downsides to tack welding nuts behind the sheet metal for ZG flares instead of using rivnuts? Car is still in primer. I was thinking of drilling holes slightly oversized and using flange nuts to give more area to weld to.

Is there room to fish a flange nut between outer and inner sheet metal on the rears after the first cut on the outer skin?

For the fronts I think it's pretty straightforward.

Any comments?

April 24

Just to follow up on this, I purchased the vents and they are nicely built and look sweet but they do NOT fit without modifying. I had to remove at least 1/4" of material from the edges to get them to fit in the hood recesses.

April 23

Thanks jhm. I'll definitely look at moving the flares forward a bit.

April 23

I tack my exhaust pieces usually laying under the car and never back purge. It's just not practical or necessary. I have back purged the full welds but usually use solar flux instead as it's much cheaper and easier. No real risk in after turbo exhaust. Pre-turbo, back purge only. If you are building an extremely high end vehicle maybe back purge everything.

April 22

I went with 15" wheels so I can run a taller sidewall on the back for traction. This put me in a bit of a bind for front tire selection. I could either go with 26" tall or 24" tall. I chose 26, and it's a bit tight.

I am planning on cutting the lip on the fenders when I install the flares. But I'll have to cut back the air dam as well, and I'm worried it will look funny with the tires being very close to the front of the wheel well, and a much larger gap in the back of the wheel well. Maybe this is really common with Z cars, I'm not sure. I'm not worried about rubbing on the top of the tire, just the front where it gets really close to the fender and air dam

Is it common to use an adjustable tension rod to pull the wheel back? How far back can I reasonably expect to move it? How much does it affect driving stability? This is a street car, no road racing or autocross. Just trying to get a feel for what it really means for a street car.

I could run a 24" tire up front, but don't love the look of a 2" difference in tire diameter.

April 22

I finally got spacers so I can mount my new front wheels and tires. I will be running ZG flares and the spacers push the wheels outboard so the tires are close to flush with the flares. Tires are 235 60 R15 (26" tall).

The tires hit the bottom of the front fenders when they just start to turn outward. I still need to mount the flares and cut the metal which should free up space but I was just wondering if this was normal and if anyone uses an adjustable tension rod to pull the wheel back.

Also, does anyone know why Nissan had both front and rear wheels not centered in the wheel wells?

April 19

13 hours ago, jhm said:

Yep, that link worked. Thanks for the reference data!

@fusion, the discussion may have gotten a bit off track....but did you get the info you needed to make a decision for your 280?

Yeah, I ended up ordering the newer version of the BRE spoiler. Since I have the Type 1 air dam I feel that I shouldn't have to worry too much about the front end feeling light. I also hope my hood vents keep the pressure underhood to a minimum.

April 15

I have the 2 large vents in my 280z hood, I'm assuming that greatly reduces the drag from under hood air?

Also, I am adding a 'splitter-like' aluminum plate to stiffen up the front air dam, will this help a lot? Similar to how grannyknot did it:

April 12

I would like to get a rear spoiler for my 280z. I like the look of the BRE style 1 piece spoilers. I have a couple of questions:

1) I have read that if you have a rear spoiler without a front spoiler, the front end becomes light and squirrelly at speed. Is this true, and what speed are we talking about? This will be a street car with a few passes at the dragstrip per year. Is the BRE spoiler short enough that this effect is minimal? Car will have a Xenon type 1 urethane air dam with aluminum supports so it doesn't deform at speed, but no splitter per day.

2) Is the 'real/original' BRE spoiler a good choice? ( https://www.datsun-garage.com/products/the-original-bre-rear-spoiler-1970-78-240z-260z-280z?variant=31473838391380 ). Anyone have any experience? Any pictures? Seems like the 6 mounting points is a good idea.

3) Any other good options?

Thanks

March 7

Wow, that's nuts

February 23

I put this off until now doing other things. Would appreciate any additional measurements people have. I plan to start from the back and work forward.

Looking for gap measurements on:

Fender to hood

Fender to door

Door to quarter panel

Hatch to body

February 21

Thanks man

February 19

I am going to rebuild my door hinges on my 76 280z. Is the Dorman 38397 still a good option? Has anyone been able to source the roller detent pin? One of mine is broken.

Does the pin from a 280zx or any other vehicles work?

Otherwise maybe I could drill/tap for a shoulder bolt.

February 10

Thanks jhm. Did you use any sealant?

February 7

Thanks for the replies. I'm sorry to hear of your experience with Vintage Rubber Ironhead. I am planning to go with them as they offer the no trim Cal style front and rear glass option. From what I've seen, most others have had good experiences. But this makes me nervous

January 21

I am painting my 280z and will be replacing every piece of weatherstripping on the car. I am going with Vintage Rubber front and rear windshield gaskets since I want to go 'Cal style' without the stainless trim. I am also going to use Kia Sportage weatherstrip for the doors and hatch.

I believe these are the most critical seals on the car and people have had issues with some brands.

But for the rest of the car, I am wondering if it's worth paying a premium for Vintage Rubber, or if the cheaper seals on Zcardepot (Precision?), or another vendor are totally fine

Any comments welcome.

January 10

Has anyone powder coated or painted the hatch or door locks? I am going to paint my chrome/stainless trim black on my 280z but didn't know about the locks, especially the hatch lock, given the fact that it pushes in.

Thanks

December 31, 2021

Thanks for the comments. I understand about having enough space so the tires don't bottom out. My question is how do you determine where to cut, when the tires hit the factory sheet metal before I can reach the bump stop.

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