HZ Ryder

Hi, I am in the early stages of one cray interior rework. I have a 280zx that I have gutted the interior and am looking at options to redo the interior.. P.S. when I mean gutted I mean gutted all wiring is out too.. So while the car is nice I am not a big fan of the dash / interior.. So my question is has anyone installed a newer say 90-93 300 ZX dash in a 280zx? My guess is that there will be a great deal of fabrication, electrical (new 90ish wiring), etc work to do.. I hope to also bring over the interior climate controls, comp, and heater/ ac unit.. Impossible?? any info would be of great help again EARLY stages thanks

Well, I have made some progress on my 383 stroker setup and am now at the point of determining what I can and can't do in the area of AC setup. I have all the AC components from an 83 280zx is there anything that I can use and or would need to modify to make work.. I am also toying with the idea of setup up a serpentine belt system for the engine, however, my delema is which side I should place the compressor, which I assume will need to be changed out..... ANy help would be greatly appriciated..

I replaced my old steering setup in my 79 280zx 2+2 and moved towards the power Rack and Pinon setup off an old 83. I desided to do this as part of my engine work.. The original setup was performed by Dave (Dave Project), which used standard chevy motor mounts, which needed replacing... so I decided to go with the 280zx kit from JTR... so far so good right... Well I finally got the refreshed engine which is now a 383, mounted the JTR engine mounts.. new bellhousing which lets me mate a 1999 T56 to a Gen one.. put everything together... Dropped the engine in and... - The oil pan hits the Rack and Pinon and will not let the engine sit on the mount. Even if I could get the bolt through the pan would hit the Rack and Pinion... which is not good. - The engine is set as far back as the brackets permit, even if I elongate the holes to move the engine further back I would still have the same problem. So how can I do this setup.. Do I or can change the oil pan to one that is about two inches shorter in the front section as this is where I have the problem. I have searched for pics, threads on this with no luck... all the mount pics I have seen appear to have "custom" setups and non of them are JTR.. HELP PLEASE

Thanks for the response... I may have idea on how to address this SNAFU.. Thoughts as you, I hope can see from the stock pics which I am using from JTR for illustration.. - Insted of mounting the bracket where they recommend, I would just measure off of where they say to mount the harware to the location that the T56 would need, and drill mounting holes there and mount the JTR bracket there. I am enclosing drawings as reference to aid in your assesement. - The original (datsun) mounting points were cut off as per JTR insructions and the rear of the mount would attach to the lip of the old mounting point. They say for added strength, but that would old cover 1/2 of the holes of the new mounting bracket.. By mu moving the mounting points back, I would lose this "benefit" however I would like to think that the 7 bolts (4 on one side and 3 on the other) going through some think steel and through the trans tunnel would be strong enough to deal with the torque and trans movement. - Now my oppology upfront, as this is a first for me... The instructions that came from JTR and their book, which are the same thing, are not in my opion clear. I got the engine setback thing... but I still have not gotten my head around the other two, yet extreamly important points... - I was under the impression that the back of a transmission would need to be in direct alignment with the rear-end, the angling of the engine towards the passenger side would change the angle of center.... would this not impact the longevitiy of the propellar components and or cause vibration?? - what is the engine / trans angle and how do you get it - what is the right trans and engine angle - How would I messure the new propellar shaft length P.S. I am also enclosing text from instructions for review T56 TRANSMISSION CROSSMEMBER If you want to install a T56 transmission, a special cross member is required, which is shaped to accept the T56 transmission. The T56 transmission has a different mounting position than a T5 or 700-R4. This is a prototype transmission mount. The mount is positioned 1-1/8" lower, and 2-1/4" further back than a T5 or 700-R4 transmission. The transmission cross member is mounted below the transmission ears due to the different mounting requirements. JTR-T56 Pic.bmp newmount.bmp trans-distance.bmp Thank you any support you could give...

I reciently moved into the next phase of has been a very intresting journey. I need to mount a T56 into my 79 280zx. I am using the JTR installation kit which unfortunately fell short on delivery. I say this because I just found out that they don't make the mounting hardware for a T56. Unfortunately the kit appears to be well made as I have it but the T56 setup is slightly different. Soo my question is can I move the JTR trans mount back to accomodate the difference and use spacers to compensate for the drop or do I need to go out and by to pieces of metal and drill them out to make this work. This is frustrating as you would think that a popluar trans would be covered by these people... THe answer I got was there isn't a demand to make these parts... Maybe I am missing something but what are they making, they are cutting to pieces of metal, drilling holes and providing maybe 2.00? of bolts, washers and nuts.... mind you I am being kind and assuming they would provide grade eight bolts.. Sorry I am not a machinest, but it looks like I have to become one so I don't have nor do I want to spend more money on byung equipment that I have little use for.. Help.. Thanks in advance

Hi.. need some help on a topic that has been driven into the ground… 280zx brake “upgrade†I took a look at the FAQ on this site http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/38499-brake-upgrade-faq, yes THIS site, which I think is really very helpful…. but I still some additional help as I am hitting a dead end… I now own “Dave’s†old v8 280zx. Picked it up and in the process of doing a complete rework of the car…. I will give him credit… Also really nice guy, as I have exchanged emails with him.. Anyway to the point.. I picked up a pair of S12W brakes that I want use on the front and have hit a couple of speed bumps. - The stock 280zx calliper has the treaded end which mount to the strut.. The S12W is not threaded .. do I need to thread the calliper or will the spacer from modern-motorsports.com provide the missing link here… I have tried, with ZERO, success to contact Modern-Motor sports on the mater.. - what appears to be the package does not provide enough information for me not to mention it is about 300… sound pricy and it doesn’t even include the rotors.. so I am NOT sure if this is even the right setup that I am looking at. So: - does anyone have any idea on how to contact these folks… not good business not returning emails .. - can the same setup be used on the rear brakes, as I would like similar hook-up for the rear..? THIS Z project is going to be a REAL interesting one… Thanks

I had someone give me a quote for about 8k for a complete body paint job covering: 1- Pull every piece of trim, glass 2- do any body work 3- pull the interior apart 4- take the whole car down to metal,inside and outside 5- rino the underside 6- pull the quarter pannels 7- pull off body kit 8- primer everything 9- Paint the whole car, including the engine bay 10 reasemble. Body work is very new to me, I am not a body person, nor have I ever done this type of work... Is the number fair P.S. he also said that if he finds any body work where needs to fabricate anything (surprises) it won't cost extra The kob is to take about three-four months Any thoughts would be great thanks

I have a 1983 280zx turbo with about 130K miles on it. I noticed that when I pull the oil dipstick, the idling becomes rough and drops. The engine dosen't die, but you know that something is not right. I really hope that I don't need a ring job or valve job... any thoughts

Grummpy thanks for the information.. you also highlighted something that I NEVER would have thought about... salt water cooling and what it can do. I passed on the motor and went with a fuel injected 88 350.. The engine has according to the seller 86K, he is the second owner. I picked it up for about 750 and it came with a complete wiring harness, ECU, accessories, sensors, etc. I hope to use the following parts from my Gen II 350, which pushed 350hp TFS Twisted Wedge aluminum heads Keith Black flat top hypereutectic pistons ( don't know) Crane Powermax #114142 camshaft. (216, 228 @.050 - 112 LSA) Summit aluminum roller rocker Not sure, if I should play with my gen III and use a combination of the parts I listed above with some tweeking to bring the 350 up to 400.. My wish, or should I go and stroke it out to 383.. which means even more $$$$$$$$.. I really would like to keep everything, not counting the cost of the motor to under 1K. Thoughts..

Great info.. Thank you VERY much.... I did make a mistake though, the mil is a 1988 350, from a GTA pontiac. I have 1 gen II 350 with; TFS Twisted Wedge alluminum heads, keith black flat top hypereutectic pistons, crane Powermax #114142 (216,228@.050-112 LSA), Summit aluminum roller rockers.. which I hope to transfer over. I am not however, sure, if I should try to bring the cam and pistons over or if I should just go to a new set.. Yes this does mean that I am on the fence as to if I waant to go 383 and all the $$ or just bring over some good high quality...or so I think, parts and do a rebuild of the newer 88 gen III mil. What really is driving me batty is that I can't find a machine shop to do the work, and most importantly I have an idea of the refresh cost on the block, heads, cam (??) and pistons (??). The old mil was rated at 350 hp, so I need to fingure out what I need to do without spending lots of $$ bring it to the 400 hp goal.. p.s. I am not a big NOS fan..

Looking at possibly picking up a 91 5.7 350 with a low 250 hp. THis pricing is right as it comes with all accessories, TPI, wiring harness, ECU. I would like to take this mil and push it out to a 383 stroker at about 400 hp, however, before I do I have some questions. 1- can this block take it, ps original with 88k 2- I plan to put twisted wedge heads that I have, and a crane came from my other mil that is dead. 3- How much will the parts cost and what type 4. projected machine cost.

I found what looks like a replacement Maremont OE muffler 270926 for about 200.00 Not to bad considering what it would cost for a custom job.... thoughts Don't know how it sounds, but it sure does look like the "quality" unit in the car :)

Would you know if it is legal to put a what appears to be a marine engine into a Z. According to the vendor it is a 350..

Sounds good but I think a 300 and 280zx have different setups. I have a 280 2+2 Turbo.. which I cant enjoy Thoughts

WOW, sorry to hear about the down pipe... Have you considered trying to find one, from someone is parting out a Z. I have seen several people on craigslist parting out 280Zs :( .. It might just turn out to be cheaper. As for the other part... GOOD LUCK.. I have my Z parked with a mufler that looks like swiss cheese and can't seem to find a replacement. I too am very intrested in Magna Flow, but it seems that they don't make one for our car, U 2 have an 83 ZX... yes. This leads me to believe that I have one of three options, none of which seem to cool. 1- Go with another vendor, what I have seen... well :( 2- Go with a generic Magnaflow and some "custom" piping. 3- replace the whole exhaust with a custom Job 1- Cheeper but not to sure of what you really get. 2-3 Will take >>> $$$ I really would be Very intrested to see the en result... please... If I do find something, I will pass it on

U Have made my day.. thanks.. The first link gave me, what I believe, the go-ahead. It appears that cars that are 25 years years old and older are considered "historic" and are exempt from "general" inspections.. Now I hope that "general" means smog / emissions test. Thoughts??? All I can say is WOW... U really know, if not know where to get meaningful information" thanks:mrgreen:

I recently picked-up Dave Greimann’s V8Z, from someone who bought the car from him.. hope to save it from becoming someone’s jungle gym set. Unfortunately, the body is well pretty much done rotted through and the rails are bent. The engine really caught my eye, so I am doing my best to pull all the good stuff out and hopefully bring back a version two of the car… Any way… the engine appears to have been built in 1979 and I want to put into a 1981 280ZX body. I am very confused / frustrated as to if I can do this legally with this mill, from my understanding was still in production through the early eighties, so why couldn’t I just rebuild-it and put it into the new body; or should I just call it a day and part it out and work with a newer eighties engine. I have tried to look everywhere and there seems to be two camps on this; new chassis older engine, or engine of same year or newer than the chassis. The specs on the engine are as follows; 5.7 (350 cu.in) Chevy 90 Degree V8 TFS Twisted Wedge aluminium heads Keith Black flat top hypereutectic pistons Crane Powermax #114142 camshaft. (216,228@.050-112 LSA) Summit aluminium roller rockers 10.5:1 compression Holly4Di programmable TBFI on top of a Edelbrock Performer intake manifold BW World Class T5 Any help would be great.. I started the demo on the current car… what I found well let me say very intresting???? Thanks..

Thanks.. my understanding from the fabricator of the car is that it came from a 1979 Camaro, which makes my life a little more complicated.. The car was registered and passed Ca emissons test.. in the current car. I wouid guess that there is an engine ID that identifies all the production information of the motor, man date, plant etc.. and based on that the inspector would know when the mill was produced. The engine, does have several performance mods, which is the main reason why I would like to keep it.. not to mention that the package is tied to a warner 5 speed.. which really makes the combo nasty. I hope I can come to some conclusion soon, as I am getting ready for a two car tear-down. Thanks again

I have a 1979 280zx, with a V8 chevy 5.7L 350.. unfortunately the body is in bad shape.. I would like to take this mil and move into a 1983ZX.. However, it is my understanding that I can't since the recipient of the engine, etc is newer than the engine I am putting in. I would really hate to loose out on this. I have a title of the doner, however it dosen't state the engine type .. So 1- Can I do this? 2- If I can, legally etc, do I / can I bring the engine into the 80's 3- How can I deal with the emmisons testing to pass.. P.S. I live in New Jersey and finding any engine swap information is well...... Any help would be greatly appreciated.. I am eager to start.. this is something I have wanted to do for many years... but the star is becomming a real pain.. thanks in advance.