rreford

the 200SXT cv's (from the '85 R200 4.11) do have six bolts - three sets of two, 120° apart. haven't compared them to turbo 280ZX hubs yet.

tried a search and got terribly tangled up in 'which head makes the most power' or '4 barrel manifold' threads. if i missed something in the search, i throw myself upon the mercy of the hybridz court. i've been searching for a while for an early 280 manifold - cleaner looking and no EGR. Now I'm wondering, EGR aside, is there a clear choice of intake manifold for better performance? I notice that the ZX stuff is tapered as it moves toward #6 runner. I realize that not all Nissan mods/evolutions were for performance, but I'm wondering if there is better balance/distribution in the later manifolds. If you took a latter manifold and sealed up the EGR stuff, would it have any advantage over the earlier manifolds?

here is an e-mail I saved from years back on estimated weight differences in the 240 vs. 280 discussion From: Donn Vickrey Subject: <z> Reconciling the weight of a '70 240 to a '78 280 A number of people have asked what caused the weight increase from the 240 to the 280. Magazine articles attribute the weight gain to bumpers, emissions devices, and luxury items. It appears that the car gained weight every year, except '77-'78 when the car's weight decreased by approximately 90 lbs. (according to Car and Driver). What follows is a mixture of (1) data from magazine articles, (2) personal observations (i.e., I, or someone else on the list weighed them), and (3) educated guesses. Each source of data is listed below with a number of 1-3 corresponding to the data type. When more than one source of data is available, personal obserbvations are given first priority below due to reliability. Curb weight, '70 240Z (per Road & Track) 2,355 Air conditioning (2) 50 Bumpers (2) 40 Wheels and tires (3) (see a below) 45 R200 differential (1) 25 5-Speed transmission (3)(see b below) 15 Flywheel (3) 10 Stronger clutch components (3) 10 Suspension components (3) (see c below) 20 Additional soundproofing (3) 5 Upgraded interior pieces (3) 10 Catalytic converter (1) 25 Engine, stronger internal components (3)(see d below) 50 Miscellaneous underhood components (3) (see e below) 15 Larger gas tank (3) 5 Stronger frame, unibody (plug figure) 100 ----- Curb weight, '78 280Z (per Car & Driver) 2,780 ===== a. Wheels increased in width from 4.5" to 5.5" from '70-'78. If each wheel/tire weighed 50 lbs. (a conservative, low estimate) then the increase in weight will be approximately 1/4.5 X 50 X 4, or approximately 45 lbs. b. The car I am reconciling to is a '78 280Z equipped with a 5-speed. The 5-speed must be slightly heavier due to an additionl gear, synchros, etc.. It probably also is stronger than the original 4-speed on the 240 due to the increased torque requirements. c. If the car weighs more, it will need heavier springs and other suspension components. Also, the 240 had no rear anti-sway bar. This weighs 10 lbs. alone. d. Obviously boring the engine will reduce the weight of the block minimally. However, add larger/stronger pistons, larger/stronger valves, a heavier/longer crank, stronger/heavier engine mounts, heavier/meatier head, and so on, and 38 lbs. seems entirely reasonable. The figure could be closer to 50 lbs.. e. There are a number of underhood componenents that the 240Z did not have to cope with. Included are fuel injection components, the odd charcoal cannister, and other emissions equipment. If these observations/guestimates are correct, it is interesting to note that one could take a 280Z and, after weight reduction efforts, wind up with a car very close in weight to a '73 240Z (2,450 lbs.), yet with a larger engine and stronger body. One IZCC member reported reducing his 280Z to an observed 2,575 lbs., including the A/C and even larger wheels and tires. The car could have easily been brought down to 2,500 lbs. without these two items. Given that most 240Z owners tend to add weight to their cars through larger wheels/tires, A/C, 5-speed, heavier suspension components, and occassional L28 conversions, in many cases, I wouldn't be surprised to see some modified 280s and 260s that weigh less than modified 240s. Donn Vickrey '78 280Z (BSP),'90 300ZXTT (ASP next year???) IZCC #443, ZCSD #56

Grunt, what did you find out? I'm heading this afternoon to get the 4.11 diff out of an '85 200SXT and planned to get the CV axles with it. Should I get the hubs/brakes, too?

Went to local dealer to get a 3.9 (white 19 tooth) speedo pinion gear to match the 3.9 in my '78. They could sell the whole unit that fits in the tail of the tranny, or they had just the plastic gear and the shaft on which it is mounted. I opted for the latter since it was cheaper. Now I'm trying to figure out how to swap it into the carriers I have on hand. There is a pin driven through one side of the carrier that matches a shoulder on the gear shaft - I'm pretty sure that is what holds it in place. I'm having no luck in driving that pin out, however. Anyone done this swap, and can you tell me how you did it? I may go to the local JY and get what I need off an '82-'83ZX...

still running a turbo on this motor? would make a difference in the choice. one point to watch on the n42 is cracking between the #3 & #4 cylinders - common problem.

interesting - 280z badges on a late 280zx....

You are a kind person! I will definitely check it out - considering the Mega SnS myself.

Nissan Motorsports recently had a selloff of a lot of inventory. They opened it up to anyone, not just dealers. I got one of the racing cam sprockets for ~$50. You might try to contact them just to see if the sale is still on and if any are available. Nissan motorsports @ 1-310-538-2610 Fax the order to 1-310-538-1462 They only take Visa or Mastercard If you want to see the whole parts list, contact me and I'll get a copy to you.

Thanks for the input. Appears to be 19mm, right? Pretty crudy/rusty. I'm talking about the nut on very top, inside the insulator.

i'm a suspension newbie - please be gentle! Seriously, I got the suspension off of a '72 240 that had nice upgrades, little mileage, and terminal rust. The only way I could get the stuff before it went to the crusher was to drop the whole assembly, front and rear. Borrowed some spring compressors and started on it tonight, only to find that I can't loosen the strut caps due to their ability to spin now that the units are out of the car. Can anyone share some great ideas on how to break the caps loose with the strut units free and out of the car? Thanks for any input!

wow - i spoke too soon. Got this reply from jcr: Hi Lee, The JCR springs lower the car 1" from stock and the springs rates are 129 lbs./in front and 184 rear. Sway bar rates are 426 front 1" bar and 120 rear .875"bar. Hope this info helps, Sandy Cook, JCR I'd still like to hear any feedback from those running this setup or those familiar with it. Thanks!

forgive me greatly if i missed something, but i didn't find much using the search function... just got my way with a '72 240 parts car. i got a set of jim cook racing springs, some adjustable struts, sway bars, and miscellaneous parts. anyone have experience with this set of springs? They are grey with 'jim cook racing' in red script letters. I checked the jcr catalog but saw nothing like them. no response to a e-mail query at jcr. the 240 didn't appear to sit much lower than stock, and it did not have strut spacers. I'm just wondering what to expect if/when i put them on my early '71 240. Thanks for any input!

I don't know what the odds are that someone on the list has parts connections in China, but I've seen quite a lot of the older President models running around in all parts of industrial China - the hotels use them quite often for fleet and limo cars. Nice ride!

I found the plans. If you want a copy, e-mail me and I can send it as a fax or an e-mail.

i've got similar plans for a rotisserie i got out of a restoration mag, but mine go into much more detail on assembly. i'll try to put my hands on them this evening.

i love yellow - my favorite color - but i don't like most of the ones i see on cars. too pale, too bronze, etc. my favorite right now is the corvette racing yellow, found on the '90,93-96 models. I believe the late model corvette yellow is the same color, or very similar (called millenium yellow). here's a link to an '03 millenium yellow corvetter for sale on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6168&item=2456961035 link to '95 competition yellow vette http://www.rogerscorvette.com/spots/sep03/spot.htm?PHPSESSID=8762f62f8319884695d07d87cfa71712

I ran a maxima n47 head for a little while. ended up overheating it when the radiator split while running down the interstate. we decided not to run the larger valves because it will make it even more difficult to unshroud. compared to the z n47 I had been running, it pepped the car up quite a bit. i had ported, polish, and cc'ed it, though. now it's useless because the exhaust liners have come loose in two cylinders.

The HF system has worked great for me so far. I find that is using a lot less powder than the professional gun, too. Coated an intake manifold, valve covers, coolant piping. If you're not going into business for yourself, it would probably do you just fine. The IR lamp is interesting. Don't know how you'd get an even cure, but you'd probably have to go that route to cook big stuff. I want to powder coat the window channel for a 240, but I don't have access to any oven any where that size.

I would think that a targa top would have even less support in the roof area, especially on the z-car. I bet the t-bar has a lot to do with the structural support in mine.

i don't know how to post a pic - forgive my ignorance; Jason is going to try to post one for me. As far as frame reinforcement, none was done except for tying the roof posts well down into the A pillar. I've done several track events and had no major problems with twisting that I know of. There is one tiny crack just coming out of the rubber on the driver's side A pillar that I've been watching for several years - hasn't gotten any worse since I noticed it. Stopped by to see the car one day right after the guy had cut the roof off - made me sick to my stomach! Glad he knew what he was doing. I have a couple of pictures from that stage, but they are absolutely buried somewhere. Did this conversion back in late '90/early '91.

Harbor Freight sells a setup for ~$60 that has been working well for me. I've used a professional gun and spray booth before, and I think I get comparable results with the cheap gun. How long it lasts, don't know, and I've never compared it to the HotCoat system that Eastwood sells. I use the Eastwood powders. Don't coat anything that can't stand 400F temps for 20 minutes. Also, have really good ventilation and a really good mask/respirator - you don't want this stuff in your lungs. Any oven you use will no longer be suitable for food preparation - something to consider before taking over the kitchen stove!

Jason mentioned that I've had it done to my '78. The ZX roof is the right width, but the angles on the Z windshield are much different from the ZX windshield - you'll have to fabricate the entire channel at the top and rails to use the original windshield. You'll also have to graft the ZX roof into the rear of the Z roof to avoid the scalloped portion of the ZX roof. I would not recommend any of the aftermarket kits for an early z, if you could even find one floating around anymore. I saw one years ago and it looked like crap - too flimsy. There is absolutely nothing to the stock z roof - scary once it is cut out and you see how little is there. The ZX roof is much heavier, much sturdier (double wall). When I did it, I cut the roof off a junkyard ZX getting the wiring harness and all the A pillar along with all the door rubber. The wiring is easy; the z's a pillar plastic trim and rear roof trim require some modification. Used the ZX headliner, mirror, front windshield trim, visors. We pulled the window channel out of the z doors and tilted the window glass inwards for a very nice fit on the ZX rubber. The guy who did if for me said he'd never do it again, but it turned out very well.

Hi! Brand new to the carbureted z-cars! The car I'm looking at buying is leaking dampening fluid into the manifold. Is this common with old carbs? I wouldn't think wear would cause leaks to develop in this area of the carb. Any input appreciated!

Thanks!