gretchen/jason

To start i have some rims on my 78 280 that are 15x7 0 mm offset 4 inch backspacing . The rims i want are 15x10 -45 mm offset and 3 11/16th backspacing . I cant move the rim any closer towards the struts then what the 15x7s are now . I read a site about off set and backspacing the way i understood it because of the 0 mm off set compared to the -45 mm offset that the 15x10s will be closer to the struts . The web site with the rims had me a bit confused if the 15x10s have less back spacing the the 15x7s doesnt that mean that the wider rims will move away from the strut , but the way they worded the offset setting it seemed like it would move closer to the strut ? So would the 15x10s work for me ? Im running a 295/50/15 tire now with about 1/8the clearance between the strut and the rubber hence my concern on the rim not moving inwards . Thanks for the advice/help with my question Jason

Thats what i figured but since ive never used spacers i wanted to ask the masses . As i see lowriders with rims sticking 1 foot out from the wheel well with small spoked rims i figured moving the rim out 1/4 of a inch shouldnt hurt . Jason

I had the same problem on my 78 when i got my bushings from MSA . The passanger side rear controll gave me a hell of a time what it was is the large bolt that goes in from the front kept coming loose the one threaded into the controll arm itself " so i used a little bit of loktite" and i had to put a washer behind it to take up some slack and the clunk went away . Jason

Ive been thinking of switching to full length headers but i want to know are they worth the 650$ places are asking for them . I now have shorty headers sanderson headers big tube design , will full lenght make any difference in performance over shorty headers . Jason

I put the type 3 air dam on my 77 280z was fairly easy to install , I did have a issue where the frame sticks out near the turn signals nothing a little triming didnt solve . A few months latter i ordered the matching side skirts and rear bumper &^%$& is all i have to say about installing the skirts and rear bumper . to install the rear air damn what i did was let the gasses out of the stock bumper shock and colapsed them then i removed the stock " cover spacer" thet piece tack welded under the tail lights that covers the gap between the stock bumper and roll pan . I bought a piece of angle iron 1 inch angle and ran it from one bumper shock to the other then bolted it into place . Then laid the bumper on top of that then secured the bumper to the wheel wells then drilled to holes through the bumper and anlge iron and bolted it into place .There are gaps but im not worried im not going for perfection just a different look . I had a type 2 rear skirt/ bumper it was a breeze to install had a section to bolt to the roll pan the type 3 doesnt so i called MSA and asked why . They said to many people complained that the section that bolted to the roll pan left a gap between the bumper and the car about 1/8 of a inch so they elimanated it . I now have a early 240z type air damn as the type 3 doesnt like being a snow plow as i got stuck driving through a big snow storm when i got home all i had left was a part of the molded bumper . Jason

So i have a set of rims 15x8 with a 2mm offset or so the sticker on the rim says i still need to measure backspace to be sure . I just mounted a wide set of tires 295/50/15 11 inch wide tread 12 inch wide sectional 27 tall if i remember . Ive lowered the car 1 1/2 inches over stock only issue is i have 1/8th of a inch between the rubber and the rear spring lower perch . Im not sure if it will rub in corners as im still building the engine , main question is i was told by a local tire company if i use a 1/4 spacer and of course longer studs i will destroy the wheel bearings and perhaps loose a tire while driving down the road . Has anyone used wheel spacers before on a datsun ? I plan on ordering different rims in the future about 6-8 months from now but if a spacer will be ok then i dont need to order another set of rims . Jason

Well i went through 2 z cars a 78 and now a 77 . The 78 was a " test platform " it had very very bad frame rails and had been hit before i bought it . 78 280z 1 grand current 77 280z 500$ with 1 rust spot on rocker pannel even the factory A/C worked AZ car controll arms just under 1,300$ for all 4 BG blower carb 580$ tokico struts and springs 300$ " if i remember corectly" JTR mounts around 150$ radiator 180 $ rear diff mount solid 55$ and roost monkeys mount 55$ electric fan 300$ weiand supercharger 1,800$ crate 350 1,800$ SBC 400 with crank and rods 150$ " bought to convert 350 to a 383 . piston rings 300$ trans Th350 600$ With every line having AN fittings even the heater hoses are AN line fittings and other stuff 120 amp alt pulleys machine work roller rockers electronic gauges etc etc id guess between 6-7 grand geeze no wonder im broke Free stuff well i get to use the lifts where i work as i work for Hyundai so a shop is a nice thing to have and lots of good advice from other members . Jason

I guess i didnt state everything i should have in my first post i apoligize . Im using screw in rocker arm studs 3/8 on 3/8 . Im not using a roller cam just stock hydraulic lifters with a max lift of .490 . So im guesing maybe the studs are longer then what i have not sure i ordered some anyway now i just have to have the threads on the head redone . So ive been looking at stud girdles would that be a good investment my rpms wont ever go over 6 grand . I went to a local hot rod shop and they told me that the screw in studs i have wont work for roller rockers even though my machine shop says not to worry , that is why i posted this question . Jason

So ive noticed that there are rocker arm studs for roller rockers . Are they made different then studs for stamped steel rocker arms . I have a set of rocker arm studs that came with a set of stamed steel rocker arms and the roller rockers i have seem to fit just fine . So is there a difference . Jason

Say where di ya get the floral foam at . Ive tried places hobby shops florists and such with no luck . I even show it to them in flower pots with fake flowers and they go duh no idea Jason

Thanks all i wasnt sure if it was a usless question or not but thanks for the info I found a place that sells the stuff i would have never thought of it myself . Jason

So im going from 300 horses to about 440 not sure about torque taking a stock 290 horse 310 ft lb of torque sbc doing a balanced roller cam roller lifter stroked 383 with a supercharger . Question is the bolts where the shaft mounts to the diff . Ive been using grade 8 bolts from the local hardware store are these good enough . They fit but have thread the entire length of the shaft of the bolt . Is there a better bolt for this aplicaition ? Ive seen grade 10 but how stong is that as i really dont know ive just been told the higher the grade number the stronger the bolt . But is that for say stretching strength or shearing strength like snaping a twig kind of thing . Jason

Nice strut bar that gives me a idea seeing as the PDK strut bar wont fit a 280z which is what i have . Why wont the PDK bar fit a 280z is a 240 or 260 wider or a bit more narow in the rear strut aera . Just thought id ask Jason

All right just what i wanted thanks . Jason

So i have a sbc 350 with a oil pan that has indents on each side passanger and drivers side for a dipstick on either side as the block has a hole on each side for a dipstick . I ordered the engine from jegs i told them which one i ordered and got the wrong gasket 3 times they said they didnt understand why my pan has two indents for a dipstick . So i tried summit racing no help there the local autostores arent of any help either and i cant do jack with my new / rebuilt 383 untill i find a gasket . Anyone have this same pan on theire ride if so do ya have a part number . Thanks Jason

So if im reading youre other thread corectly the laser on the trans output shaft will be at the same level as the one pointing from the rear diff two " side by side lines " is what i would be looking for or would one beam be pointing directly at the other beam . I read the thread 3 times just want to be sure about what i was reading . JAson

I used window cleaner once worked good as some punk threw a rock through my rear quarter window 78 280 and reached inside just to realize that i remove the " pull rod" that unlocks the door haa haa but then i got my drivers window bashed out because the only way to unlck the door was a slim jim or key . Well the snatched my radio didnt take the full NOS bottle sitting loose in the floor board or the tools i had in the seat . I used the aerosol can with the maid on the front of it simply known as glass cleaner blue and white can . Same crap with the cops though didnt take prints or anything but they did have 15 cars broke into that night im my complex cd,s and stereos were all that was stolen from anyone sucks . Hope ya get the stains out damn thieves . Jason

Ive done some searches but havent found any pics of where trans coolers are mounted to give me a idea of where to put mine . Before on my 78 i had it in front of the rad but it helped heat up the rad to much when i moved it it lowered rad temps by 10-15 degrees . Now i have another z a 77 starting all over again , my trans cooler is the size of a phone book that is no joke it came with a 10 inch fan mounted to it . im not sure where to put it ive though of the wheel well or something i even thought of putting in the trans tunnel above the drive shaft evn if i get a smaller cooler id like to keep it away from the face of the rad itself . Jason

I removed everything i mean from end to end and used a painless wiring fuse block 12 circuit if i remember maybe 14 circuit i forget . I installed a push button for the starter , everything else had toggle switches for head lights wipers " wipers ran at one speed fast " it doesnt rain much here so i wasnt concerned . At each bulb be it brake light or head light i sniped the wires rit at the bulb holder itself . For instance the brake lights . 1 wire from the fuse box to the brake light switch the 1 wire from the switch to the bulbs that was it 1 wire . I grounded the bulbs about 4 inches from each bulb . The turn signal switch was left intact , ran power from the fuse box to the turn signal switch then to the built in relays in the fuse block then to the bulbs . I ran 10 gauge for everything the starter i ran 0 gauge as is with the alternator wire to the battery . But lots of toggle switches fuel pump switch one switch for the distrubitor one for the wipers etc . That was on my 78 280z now on my 77 im leaving everything intact as its eaiser then what i did before . Im just using autometer gauges so im running a few seperate wires for those the stock wiring will be for lights only and starting the car nothing else . Fuel pump and distrubitor will be on toggle switches . Jason

Not to be rude and a great idea there but to much work for me . The up and down angle of the shaft is easy to figure out as for side to side now that ive seen the laser light idea or pointer . If i were to mount one square to a magnet then stick it to the flange on the diff and pointed it towards the tail shaft of the trans till the dot hit the tail shaft center point would that do the same tjing for side to side . As with the msa mounts i just used a tape measure but theire mount had no side to side adjustments though to deal with .

When installing the mount and using the JTR engine mounts will it be somewhat self centering ? I mean will i have to wiggle the trans any and how can i tell exactly if the trans tail shaft is pointing straight at the rear diff other then the calibrated eye ball check . Before on my other z i used the MSA mounts and ya had to check height of the tail shaft and side to side measurements to aling the drive shaft properly just wondering if ya have to do the JTR mount the same way . Oh and i noticed the knotches for the exhaust are different sizes does the longer hump go towards the drivers or passanger side or does it not really matter . Jason

Yep ill be using block huggers again , the previous mounts from MSA required me to indent the header at the collector about 1/2 inch above the colector flange and i had to beat it in about 1/4 of a inch . Jason

So the steering shaft/ rod whatever the term on my 77 280z was a issue when i ordered a set of tight tuck headers on my first swap . I had to massage the header a bit to clear the rod and they were 1 5/8 tubes . Ive since then done a lot of mods to the engine and im going up to the 1 3/4 size tubes and im wondering if there is a way to move the rod like they do with hot rods from the 30's and such . I did a search but couldnt find what i wanted . I was using the MSA motor mounts but i know will be using the JTR mounts so maybe this isnt a issue im not sure as i havent stabed the engine in the car yet but im just asking from past issues ive dealt with . Jason

Very nice man way to go and the weight seems good to . Some day il weigh my 280 and add my 296lbs to it for laughs . Nice car man way to go Jason

Ah ya remember me from that long ago , im not giving the JTR rad a bad name in fact i used it for a few months after i slowed down the water flow . I did reinstall the other rad because i had the aluminum polished to a nice shine for looks . But i still keep the JTR rad at hand just in case . Jason