Mitchel0407

I think both chassis are doable if you can get the engineering of the rear engine layout to work. If the rear engine layout doesn’t work out great then I suggest looking at a mid-engine layout in a 2+2. As a bonus the 2+2 is usually a lot cheaper as they are less desirable, at least here in Europe. I would suggest starting with a really good 3D model or scan of a S30 Z (model and year doesn’t matter to much) and try and work out the engine and transmission placement as much as possible while leaving the rear taillight panels in place. The rest doesn’t matter for now. This is an ambitious project but I’m really excited to see how you’ll handle it.

I could be wrong but I believe the extra length of the 2+2 sits mainly in the doors and middle of the car. That should make the rear wheel hub to rear body distance the same as a 2 door 280z. As the extra length of the 2+2 sits in front of the rear axle would it not be more beneficial to rotate the assembly and consider a mid-engine layout? I’m no 2+2 expert so I can only use my 2 seater ’77 280z as a reverence but this might give you more room to work with and eliminate the rear weight bias. Also consider adding some aerodynamic improvements to the car (especially the front) as the S30 Z’s naturally gain lift add speed. A front spoiler or air dam in combination with a ducktail spoiler should be enough for most Z’s. As for your other questions, if you brace the subframe good enough and also add a roll gage then I wouldn’t be that afraid of rear body twisting. Just extend the roll cage toward the rear and trinucleate the rear quarters. As for cooling I would keep the radiators in the front together with a good size fuel cell and use water to air intercoolers for the turbo’s as you still want to increase front weight. As for ECU’s it’s mainly up to (the tuners) preference, I personally like halltech as they have a lot of support and pre made aftermarket engine harnesses. But the most important thing is just doing what you really want to do and making your dream a reality. I really like the idea of this project and love the renderings, the front arches reminds me a bit of a 250 GTO.

I got a tradition with my dad that I took over, every time we buy a new vehicle we stop at Mc Donalds on the way back and get a milkshake. This also gives us some time to look and admire our new purchase. We will probably continue this tradition this weekend as I’ll be looking at a 2015 BMW M550D touring (almost 400hp diesel station wagon) as a new daily driver.

Finally had the time to head south and pick up the replacement transmission and enjoy a cup of coffee while we were at it. And what better way to pick up a transmission for the broken one in your Z then with said Z! 😂 All jokes aside she still drives fine except for a worn out syngro on second gear and a missing fifth gear. The replacement gearbox is a >80’s FS5W71B 5-speed from a 280ZX that’s been in storage for a long time. I’ll be ordering some new seals and transmission oil before switching out the gearboxes for some peace of mind.

Got to love a fresh coat of paint, she looks amazing!

I finally had some time this weekend to work on the Z again and finish off some of the little things that where nagging me. I finished my DIY door card project and got them installed in the car. I must say that they turned out pretty good. The only finishing piece would be to add the wood trim back in but I would have to make one myself. A few weeks ago I managed to pic up a set of Euro taillights from an original Dutch 260z that where in excellent condition. So with the remaining time I had that day I quickly switched them out. Yesterday there was a small all Nissan/Datsun meet I attended which gave me the opportunity to compare my Z with others and do up some inspiration for future modifications. Afterwards I finally had the time to take some proper pictures of the car (with the car not half apart) and cruise along the dikes. WhatsApp Video 2026-07-13 at 09.15.40.mp4

Your engine bay looks very clean, nicely done! You really are flying true this project, keep up the good work!

Those sleeves are really had to take out, that’s why they sell inserts that reuse the old outer sleeve. Because of this I went with polyurethane bushings in my 280z and I must say they are pretty comfortable. People always complain that they cause massive vibrations and are undrivable on the street but I really don’t know what they are talking about, they feel fine to me.

I can’t wait how she looks out in the sun!

Last weekend I went to my first classic car event with the 280z which was a lot of fun. To my surprise I wasn’t the only Datsun at the event. A bit later a one owner Datsun 1200 coupe (talk about rare) and an early 300zx also showed up. On my way back home in the Z cruising along at approximately 75mph she decided I didn’t spend quit enough money on it yet and turned my 5 speed into a 4 speed transmission. What probably happened was the main shaft nut backed off. Guess this is another nice surprise left behind from the previous owners “restauration”. Surprisingly the car still shifts into reverse and doesn’t pop out, 5th gear just acts as an extra neutral now. For now I will need to find a replacement FS5W71B gearbox or modify another 71 series gearbox to fit the Z. I know a guy who bought a 280ZX 5 speed as a spare 25 years back and is willing to sell it to me for €800. It’s ether that or trying to find the correct parts for a pre 80’s 71B and rebuilding mine myself. There is a local shop that builds rally cars out of S30 Z’s who can sell me a rebuild ZX 71B or modified S14 71C close ratio transmission but those cost €4k-€6k. For that price its more interesting to swap in a modified brand new NISMO S15 6 speed from Japan. Escort makes them to fit the L series engines complete with mechanical speedo connection and CNC transmission crossmember. Anyway I guess that’s just the life with a classic car…..

Great to hear that you found the problem! I had a similar problem when upgrading my dashboard backlighting to LED. I knew that they alle worked but after reinstalling the dashboard into the car and testing everything out only the tachometer backlighting didn’t work. Turns out that the connections to the backlight had reversed polarity. After switching the two pins around in the connector everything worked perfectly. This wouldn’t be a problem for incandescent bulbs but seeing as LED’s are diodes the switched polarity suddenly did become a problem.

The settings recommended for my setup (front and rear control arms, front crossmember and quick steering knuckles) by Apex Engineered where: Front: Camber: -1.5° to -2.5° However if it's a street car, it can be reduced to negative one to even zero. Caster: +4° to +6° Toe: 1/16" to 1/8" total toe-in Rear: Camber: -1° to -2° Same as above in the front in terms of camber Toe: 1/16" to 1/8" total toe-in I agree for the most part with these specs but unfortunately this was as far as they could go at the moment. At least the car is way easier to steer now and she drives stable and straight as an arrow. The steering wheel does self-center but it could be a bit more. The rear needs a zero toe or a bit of toe in but for that I need to increase the track width of the control arm a bit and then come back for a new alignment. My shocks are a little done for (especially the right rear is nonexistent) but for just cruising around this is good enough for now. I do plan to install a set of coilovers from Intrax (local to me) or KW. I was considering BC Racing but they were discouraged by the shop if I wanted to have them last more than just 2-3 years especially since I can’t park the car in my garage. Don’t worry, she still has a roof over her head as she is parked under my carport with a cover over her. The more time goes on the more things I want to do, it truly is a never ending project. The next thing I would like to do is add a BRE style spoiler and an air dam as they are a bit cheaper then the rest of the suspension upgrades. After that I want to replace the stock shocks with coilovers and some stiffer sway bars. Way down the line I also want to replace the stock EFI system with a Halltech ECU but I will probably combine that with EFI Hardware ITB’s and a Zstory exhaust system. Separately from everything I would also like to upgrade the brakes for a full set of Willwood disk brakes at some point but that would also require increasing my wheel size to 16 inch. But my current brakes work more then good enough and I like my wheels so that isn’t really a priority. And when everything is set and done and I have some money to spare then I will send the body off for a full restoration and probably some carbon body panels. But those are really long term plans, you might have guessed but I am never ever selling my Z. This thing truly is my one and only dream car and I will pour my heart and soul into it.

Took the car to an alignment shop near my work last Friday to have them realign the wheels. I was in luck as one of their most experienced techs was in that day (old guy with almost 40 years’ experience with wheel alignments). He immediately recognized the car (old Z’s are pretty rare over here) and remembered working on a few of them back in the day. I gave him the recommended alignment specs I got from Apex Engineered and with that, my own complaints about the handling and his own intuition he got to work. Turns out the previous tech just absolutely butchered the alignment. He told me he set everything (camber, caster and toe) to zero but turns out I actually had a lot of positive camber and toe out in the front. For reference a -0,67 degrees toe means a 0.286 inch toe out, that’s massive! The rear still has some work to do as the track with needs to be increase slightly (by turning out the rod ends) so camber can be improved and toe can be turned in. As the rear control arms sit now (stock as shipped from Apex) the toe adjustment is slightly too long and the outer rod end needs to be turned out a bit. Unfortunately the front office didn’t really get how modified the car was and didn’t plan enough time for the tech to tackle this himself so I’ll have to do it myself and come back later for final adjustments. But man the car feels so much better. I have way more control over the car now and steering has become a lot lighter. I hope to make some time next week to fix the rear as I can feel she doesn’t like going over 80mph but that might also be because of a lack of aero. I do plan on buying a reproduction BRE style spoiler and an air dam. Zservices in France sells them made locally and even offers them in a textured black at no extra cost which might be interesting and won’t look that out of place on a silver car. They are also easy resell afterwards as I plan to replace some body parts with carbon fiber down the road once I have the body stripped down and restored. But those plans are for way down the line.

Sometimes the “original” works the best. Part for these cars are quite expensive and although there is a lot of information out there a lot is still missing or people just haven’t posted online, especially electrical. So please if you find things out that you had a hard time finding information about post it in one of the forums. I had trouble with my AFM (Air \Flow Meter) on my ’77 280z a while back and it was absolutely impossible to find information about the workings of them. Being from Europe also made it pretty hard as everybody just said to go on Ebay or another US supplier and buy a new one, not really an option for me. So I went on a big research spree and with some help of the Australian Z car and Land Rover forums I managed to find a suitable replacement AFM of a 90’s Ford Probe / Mazda 626. These where sold plenty over here and used parts for those are pretty cheap. In the end the 280z just uses a generic Bosch L-Tronic injection system and parts can, for the most part, be interchanged between brands and cars from that same era. I’m even running a few Porsche 944 parts. 🤣

Try and see if you can find a wiring diagram online. Unfortunately I only have one of a 197 280z which I will upload just in case as I suspect not much has been changed regarding something like the washer motor over those years. Try and follow the wiring with a multi meter and see where the power stops once you press the button. Also try and check the fuses, one might be blown or has a bad connection. It might be a stupid tip but try and activate the washer with the ignition switch in different positions. I was once lead down a rabbit hole thinking my blinkers weren’t working while in fact I needed to turn the ignition switch all the way to the on position (accessory position didn’t work). N77ZCAR-WIRING.pdf