Gollum

I wonder where they get thier motors... ::dramatic movie sound:: As if there was a high theft rate for nissans....

I'm totally sorry to ehard about the car. I know it's hard to go through something like that. My brother's 93 stang cobra was stolen about a year and a half ago. Never recoverd. Very painful. New project looks good. At least you got another right? Any idea what HP you're shooting for?

Well, i know i'm fickle. But i KNOW i'll have this car in 6 years unless it get totalled. I accually know 2 people in the bay area with 350 chevys in thier 280z, and 1 guy with a 240z with a 350. Personally i think it's a fairly common swap. But maybe i'm mistaken. I totally see where your comming from, that it's a hard swap, and such. But i care more about just streetable power. I want something that i can be proud to say i put it. And personally i'd like to have the knowlege and experience in 6 years to be able to do most the work myself. I understand the logisticst of an engine swap, but some of the key element i'm amiss on. Like welding. I have no first hand eperience welding. There are a couple of things like that that i would have to learn. But come on, 6 years is a long ways away. And i'm still young. I could go to college and still have the time to learn everything i need to know. I'm the kind of guy that looks for the uncommon reaction with people. Personally, if thre was a V12 out there that i liked i'd consider it because of the shock value of it. But i'm still worried about reliability. I know a chevy would be great for that. But i still feel like that just doesn't have the track value of saying i put a 427W in my 280z. I don't mean to sound like i'm arguing at all, but rather clarifying my opinion. I don't want money to be an issue. The last thing i wanna be is one of those guys that russed to get a project done and drives the car to a show 90% complete. I'm a perfecitonist, and i want a motor wothly of a perfectionist. It needs 1. Shock value 2. Huge street power 3. And be able to last more than 150k before a rebuild. The last rule there is what really knocked the skyline motor out of my head. Engines with lots of turbo power require tons of TLC to keep them running well. That's not reliable in my opinion. That's a reason i don't like a rotary sway much. Because it'll just have to be changed out at 80k anyways. Maybe i'm crazy. But that's what people told me when i told them i wanted a 280z in the first place. So am i really wrong to want to put the best SB Ford engine made into one of the coolest looking sleepers in the world? Sure it's alot of work, but it would be worth it right?

Ok, now... i decided that i want to stick with my stock blcok till my car is smog exempt (80' 280zx). So i had benn playing with the idea of putting in a skyline R33 motor... but the more I thought about it the more i hated it. Having to deal with tuning and maintaining and such. If i went skyline i'd go all out. I'd want 400 to the wheels on 91 octane with the turbos as low as they go. But really, it's just out of my league. So i thought... "I wonder how well a ford widsor modor woulod fit". And i figured, if a 5.0 will fit, a winsor will fit. After all, the 5.0 was based on the windsor block. http://coasthigh.com/Assemblies/Ford/ford_408w.htm?Submit333=408ci So i decided i'll have chp build me a motor. It'll cost a pretty penny, but it'll be worth it. It will have the street power i want. While easy to maintain. Also keep in mind it will be 6 or more years till my car is smog exempt. So, questions. Do you think a larger bore windsor is less reliable than a smaller bore winsor? If i can fit it i might supercharge the sucker and run low compression. But that would probly just lessen the relability factor. Ok, second question. Any idea how you mate a mustang 6pd to a windsor. I know it's been done, but i couldn't find much very easily. Maybe someone has something bookmarked. If anyone has another idea for a high hp easliy maintainible engine swap let me know (don't say chevy 350. It's not that i don't like the motor, but i refuse to be yet another victom of the chevy cheep sticker price. There are too many people with the 350 swap).

Hry yall, i'm a new z owner and my z make a little bit of noise and was curious if anyone coud help. It's a 80' 280ZX I'm not sure if it's the tranny but there is a bit of hum that sounds like tranny whine, but i'm not too sure what it is exactlly. Any suggestions on how to trouble shoot it? And something in the rear clicks when i shift. Not when i move the stick, but when the clutch is enguaged and disenguaged. It sounds like a mild thumb. Not loud or painful sounding, but noticable. Any help would be apreciated.

Yea, your probly right about that. Weatherstipping isn't the simplist thing to get right. But i'm kinda ghetto. I'd rather spend 10 bucks to experiment than not experiment at all. I just hope i can get wholesale price through my friends auto shop. Should be a bit cheeper that way.

Sweet. I'd love to have that arm rest/cup holder. Storing drinks in the center capartment is a skill not easilly mastered. I usually have to drive about 1/4 mile to lunch and have to drive back with a drink... not very easy to do. I've noticed that if the cup is only about 3/4 full i can fit in between the passanger seat & console. But other than that it's a neet trick not to spill. PS. Is a little tranny wine normal for these engines/years? The tranny is a little louder than the engine below 2k. That's kinda anoying. I know that might not be bad. But i have no idea what a brand new z would sound like. Oh yea, the rear end clicks a little. Like sometimes is just knocks. Not too loud, but noticable.

Are like one of those wierd people that have a beater vehicle for the winter? Like, you accually get snow... I'm from california... I can't help but give you a bad time. Our winders are like seattle's spring. Quite cool with lots of rain. But never accually cold. Although.... The deliemma we face is that you still can't race in the rain.....

Hey just a thought. Would anyone kill me if i kept this car mostly stock till it was smog exempt? It would make my life so much easier if this this was smog exempt. But if california advanced the year by one every year (wich is unlikelly) it would be a good 6 years till i was exempt. I'd LOVE to be able to put a skyline motor and not worry about arguing with the smog ref.

Yo, i'd check these guys out too. Expensive, but at least you can compare. http://www.zcarparts.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=SWR02E Personally it seems like it would be cheeper to call a company that could supply you with custom stripping. Buy i'm probly worng as usual... Mine is a 80' 280z T top and the t tops leaks mildly says the past owner ( i just got it like 2 days ago.) I'm not sure if i want to spend all that money. I might try to do a custom fix by using rubber sheeting. You know, cut it and adhesive it to the existing stripping. It'll be tight, but it would cost 50 bucks instead of 500 + for both T tops and doors. Just a thought. Don't know how possible it is.

Thanks for the tip. Yea, right now the enguagment is way to high for my taste. I want the clutch to enguage once i've gotten about 1 inch away fom the floor. I like mine low.... and i mean low.

Well, i have a good multimeter. I build amps man. Multimeters are esencial to consistancy. What i should invest some money in is some good guages. It's got to be a hydrolic clutch. There is no way i'm pushing 100% of the plate's pressure. If that were the case the car wouldn't move. The clutch grabs ok. I accidentlly chirped 2nd leaving a parking lot in a hurry. Mild traffic, you know how it goes. I'm confuse. Does that crutchfield dash adapter work with the stock mount? The stock stereo is offset to the left. I havn't taken it apart so i don't know how the mounting works... Yea, about that motor fitting in that acura... And engine can fit in anycar... Just how much time and money do you want to spend.... Well, after a full day of running to the post office, taking care of back desposits and a good 4 hours of town driving i've learned a couple of things. 1. It needs a full tune up... 2. Those new tires STICK 3. This thing can be a little touchy on what gear it like as certain speeds. 4. Even the cleanest car needs a cleaning.... I spend a good 3 hoursa today cleaning it up. I took the back window vision inhibiter out. Also took out the mounting bracket for it. And cleaned the window for the first time ever. It was really dirty. More fabreeze was implied. I need to buy an air freshener. The stock speakers are 4 inch.... I have a pair of 300 dollor infinities that are sitting in the garage. But they're 5 & 1/2. Suck face. No cup holders..... anything out there to remedy this? Well, should a do the entire tune up myself and take a whole weekend to do it? Or have my local machanic do it all in a couple of hours. And change the ebrake cable while he's at it. He could do it 5 itmes faster than me. I have no idea where to start. I'd just jack up the car and use my logic... "Well, this is the replacment ebrake cable... The ebrake is in the front... wait... back.... So lets look for this back near the back brakes..... Hey, i think this is it" ::as i pull it out to find it's a coolint line... "What in the heck are there coolant lines near the brakes for?" That would be my attemt. I'd get it done... but who knows how long it would take. And if i have him do it i know that the spark plugs are spaced right, things like that. And i can come back is somethings wrong. Where as if i did it i'd say. "Whos the idiot that did this work?" Oh, and the real clentcher to all you people out there that might think i'm something i'm not..... I'm 16.... i'll take my time and learn how to do things the right way.... So, should i do the tune up myself? Any idea how much more it would cost both ways? Keep in mind i live in the SF bay area so mechanics are a little pricey. Usually around 70 and hour. A good friend of mine (that's going to help me paint it) makes 140 an hour. Because he only paints. And he's good.

I don't think that the ebrake is accually aplling ny pressure right now. But i'll have it fixed soon. Probly in 2 weeks or so. I'll be driving the fairlly easy. The highest the rpms got one the way home was 4k while getting on the freeway at a rest stop with a 200ft onramp. I got it up to 5.5k with my bro in the car once i got home. I just wanted to see how it reved past 4k. And it did well. It really came alive past 4.2k. Past that point i felt a huge increase in rev rate, and didn't seem like the slow reving boat i was driving home. Oh yea, i look at the guage again on the volt meter. It was at a solid 14 all the way home. Isn't 12-14 the right amount? Dup= Dial up Internet that's a piece of crap that i was forced to use the past 6 years because i was out of range of DSL and on the other side of my house is water.... I have cable now. I got it 2 das after it was availible That smell... She wasn't THAT old. Probly early 40's. She bought the car new when she got her license. So she was about 16-18. And the car is a 80' Ok, some small questions. The clutch peddel.... It's really loose feeling. Like there is no pressure compared to any car i've driven. And the enguagment is really high on on the pedal. How can i adjust it to be lower and is the loosness normal? The shift linkage is HECKA loose. Like, i'm used to driving a mustang that takes 3 seconds to shift becuase it's like moving 30lb of weight. This shift linkage feels like it would shift itself. Is this normal? I checked the throttle just now and i'm getting full throttle responce there. That's nice. So i'll probly just change the air filter to K&N and just change this things that need to be. Like pumps and all that like RPMs suggested. I want to put in a CD deck asap. I have some speakers. But i have no idea how i'm going to ount this deck... should be fun. The stain in the seat was from water leakage i think. The laidy said she had never noticed it before the day a looked at it. She always had seat covers on. She had just bought new sheep skin covers and took them for her 300z. And low and behold stain. No biggie. Carpet cleaner = friend. As far as the suspention goes. I'm going to have to find someone to do the work for me. At least if i want the car back in less than a week. I'll take it to a local shop and see what it would cost to get a decent setup all way around. I agree that money i put into it should be things that are worth what i paid. Like if i change the pipes i'm going to 3inch so i doesn't have to be changed in a swap. Things like that. I wonder if this motor would fit in that acura......

Ok, pics... I'll just post a link to all pics. They average avout 600k per pic. Unless some Dup people complain i won't make any small versions. But if I get anyone that want them, i could make them in 10 minutes and hav them up in 3 minutes. So just ask. I don't know how many people here have Dup. Here is the link to all the pics i took. http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4287223881 Well, on the 3 hour drive back, the temp was solid at about 5 degrees cool of the middle of the guage. The oil presure flucuated from 11:45 to 12:00. So it fluciuated a little. Never extreme though. The baterry/ volts meter was stuck solid at like 16 i think it was. It was solid the whole time. trip meter doesn't work... or rather, can't reset. It's jammed up some how. It rolls, just not back... Interior only has one real stain and it will come up with 3 minutes of cleaning with meguires carpet cleaner. We just got some oxiclean, i might try that. Just to see how it works. The car smelled a little funny, so i flooded it with fabreeze. The E brake stick if enguaged too tight, so i'll be replacing that soon. First thing i'm going to have looked at is the rear suspention. It's pretty loose, and i think it's the suspention that makes noise. At first i though it was the hatch, but i don't think so anymore. The back sun blind things are coming off tomarrow. Window is so dirty it enveloping. Second mod will be plugs, wires, filters, ans such. Third will be all new weather striping and paint. Should all be done by end of summer. And i'll have an alarm in by the end of the month. Plus a stereo. The motor is at 190k, and ideas how long it will last? If it can last till i'm smog exempt (presuming they move it one year every year) I'll hold off for engine swap till then. If that't the case i'll be willing to put 1k into getting this motor running strong and reliable. Nothing fancy. Just fix problems it will have. Performance wise i'll just chage full intake, throttle body, headers (maybe), pipes, muffles, and MAYBE some nice injectors. Depends of price. And convertability. This thing is plenty strong to get from a to b. And if i can wait till smog laws to pass me up... my options fly open. So, if the motor will last till 250-270k..... (in other words, can it?)

Wow... rust.... Well, what you gain in wieght with the bed liner you make up for in lost steel :malebitchslap:

Woohoo!!! bought a 80' 280ZX today! and it's in great shape. It's a 2 seater T top (perfect...) It has the turbo tail light because that's all the owner could find at the time. It owner was the origonal owner and kept it garaged. She drive it every day though. And where she lived things aren't exactlly close together (redding). I had to drive 3 hours to get there (i'm from richmond). I can carpool with 2 people. The way it works is 3 people, or max capasity, and bikes are all ok. So a 2 seater can commute with 2 people in it. So i'm good on that end. Origonal motor, never rebuilt. Has 190k. Just put on 200 miles with no hicup. As far as i could tell the undercarrage of the car was clean, from rust that is. I'd probly have to power wash it to find any small amount of rust. The lady i bought it from had been in a few fenderbenders, in wich case she had the paint touched up everytime. So some panels have been painted. The only part that looks like it might have rusted through the touch up is under the bumper in the back. Thie first mod will be cage. I won't catch myself dead at a streat race without a cage even if i'm not racing. Next mod will be rear end. I mean, the car does like 45 in first. It's crazy. (or so it feels.) The engine is strong enough to get me by. So i'll just tune it up and once it has any major problem i'll look at a swap. I'll probly change things like the plugs, wires, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter, and such changed in a couple of weeks. So that should be a few horses, depending on what condition it's all in now... K&N all the way baby. I'll have pics soon... just have to find that camera....

Becuase of my lack of car knowlege i'll need some help along the way for sure. I sound a garaged one owner 80' 280z that looks clean. I'm going out friday to look at it. It was owned by some old lady as her daily driver. She just bought a new car so she is getting ride of the z. The only problems she stated was that the dash was a little sun damaged, the E brake sticks if you pull it too high (bad cable), and the antenna is broken. So the problems are very minimal. The engine has 170k on it, but she says that she hasn't had any problems with it. It also has fairlly new tires. So it's usable till i have th money for my engine Yesterday i went and looked at a 280z that was really close to where i lived. The rust was bad. It would need an all new shell, at least. So i passed it up...

dang that thing is small.... that could probly fit in the back with and audi transaxle..... or maybe a porche tranny convertion.... :::drool::: I bet that thing will fly in the corners. And will take boost like a stoner to drugs.

Ok, I'm about to buy a 280Z. I've always loved the Z and it's ability to perform with many engine swaps availible. But I've been searching a couple of days and havn't found answers to my questions i have. I'll try to make this quick. 1. I want to have my engine swap done by 2006 or so. And my target HP is around 315-350 to the wheels. Should i stick with the stock motor, or go with something like a ford 5L crate? 2. I want a 2 seater. Is it illegal to take the back seat out of a 4 seater and call it a 2 seater roaster that pulled me over for being in the diamond lane with 2 peoplei my car? (commute lane is 3 here) 3. What are the exact smog laws that i must meat for a 280z motor swap. I have a close friend that might be able to get me smogged mo matter what, but we'll see what happens when he gets his B16A CRX smogged from his "buddy".... Oh yea, Hi... i'm new... first post. I'm mechanically inclined... but not a whole lot of exepeince with cars. Just routen matenince and helping my friend with his B16 swap. In my spare time i build guitar amps. So i consider myself a di-it-yourself type. I also used to be a black hat hacker, but now i use my powers for good. I'm considered grey hat. So if anyone needs computer advice, i'm hear for ya.