Chewievette
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Posts posted by Chewievette
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Since I cant work on my car right now I've been pondering exactly where to start on it. I've heard from quite a few people that I should take my time and go through the entire car, rather than throw together a poor example of a Hybrid. So, I'm trying to get some advice or at least a different perspective on how I should attack this. The major point of this whole post is to ask, should I build a new tube chassis for the car or not?
That little bit of info wont do you any good so here's the deal. I have a 1979 280zx thats in baaaad shape(follow the link in my sig for pics). I need to rebuild more than half of the unibody due to rust and general neglect from previous owners. and to do that I need to strip the entire car. So I was thinking (here it comes...) While I'm at it I might as well build a chassis for the car, that way I dont have to worry about the strength of the car when I chop the top. Yeah, I want to make it a convertable. Compound that with my engine choice, a BMW V12, and you've got yourself quite a strength testing little beastie.
With a lack of top its going to need some reinforcement, so it Has to have some sort of roll bar. I just need help deciding if I want to rebuild and strengthen the existing unibody or if I want to start from scratch with a new chassis. The chassis opens up the possibility of having different suspensions, or even a solid rear axle. It also would make it easier to tub the car.
Considering the engine which has a stock hp/torque output around 350/350 and a potential around 1000/1000(citing a quote from Mclaren), and knowing my own attitude of 'Exactly How Much power can I get?' The car is going to need all the strength I can give it. I know the tube chassis will add a considerable amout of length to the project, cause a large set of headaches, and tack on quite a bit of additional cost. Which is why I'm throwing this question out to the masses. Should I build a new chassis specifically designed to take the stress of no top and lots of horsepower, or rebuild the car and modify the existing unibody to meet my requirements?
Does anyone else find it hard to decide what to do with your car? I've had this car for a little over three months and I've gone through more decisions than I care to remember! Thanks for the help.
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Do any of you guys have info about Shelby Wheels? I think I have a set on my 280zx but I dont know and I wont know till I pull them off. but I was just wondering if anyone had some more info on them. Especially how to clean them up!
Thanks.
My Wheels:
Shelby Wheels:
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I've seen worse... That looks like a fun project. It's going to look like that 5 years after the new body and paint job anyway, I say make it a Rat-Rod and forget about the rust.
God I hope not! After the resto it's basically going to be a show car, no winter driving and no rain. I thought about doing a rat rod, no one would suspect it to have a v12!! Muhahaha...
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But if your just going to put a full custom interior, fiberglass body panels, and a tube frame under it...
That's exactly what I'm going to do to it! I'm going to replace the rockers and floor pans with new metal and the doors and front fenders will be replaced. Every other part that has rust will be cut off and replaced with fiberglass.
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Dude, you are gona have some battle scars fixin that one! Doesn't look as bad as, well... MOST of the cars I've had! I'd definatly do a subframe, and make sure those strut towers aren't rotted too bad.. aside from some clean up though, its not too bad for free! Are those panasport rims on it!?? Heh.. good luck man, have fun!
Well I did want a project car...
I'm planning a tube chassis for it and a few other goodies, basically when I get done with it there will be maybe one or two parts from the original car.
If you draw a line about two feet off the ground all the way around the car you'll be hard pressed to find anything other than surface rust above it. That includes the strut towers by the way.
I havn't a clue what kind of rims they are but I know that I love them and I still have yet to see another like them, with the 'copper' spokes.
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Yeouch...you're a braver man than I. That's one heck of a project to tackle...are you sure you don't want, say, oh I don't know, an '81 N/A automatic in much better shape? Not that I happen to have one for sale or anything. It's funny how what one person considers to be too much to work on another person considers an intriguing side project.
Well I got it for free, so I'm not complaining. If I can save it that means there's one less ZX to send to the scrapper. I'd rather have a manual anyways.
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The color is like a brown with gold metal flake in it, I acctually found a can of touch up paint in the back but I'll have to look at it to figure out what its supposed to be.
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I FINALLY got some new pics of my car!! I know its rough but I love it! Let me know what you think...
More pics:
http://photobucket.com/albums/v11/c...ars/My%20280ZX/
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It isn't a picture, but this is my dream of how I want my '79 to look when it's finished. mjp g-nose, reaction research chop top, and my "stinger" hood scoop. I also want side pipes but I just cant seem to draw them correctly. Have you guys seen that lifted Z? I think it's a first gen but its definately something to see.
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If you want to get like totally uber-anal about this I'll give you a sheet of my 12,000 grit polishing cloth! Its going to be hard to resist, but I just might get that crazy perfect with my car! Then I can totally freak out when someone scratches it.... muhahaha...
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That G-nose transforms the 280ZX, the original front and the tail light area are the S130's ugly points IMHO. Plus they desperately need lowering and a set of wide wheels
I Totally agree! that's why there's no doubt in my mind that I'm going to be getting this front end. Now I just have to figure out what to do with the back!
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Well truthfully, I havn't thought that far ahead yet! but the best idea I heard so far was teaming two megasquirts(one for each six cyls) and then another unit that controls the first two, kinda like the stock BMW unit ...only cheaper.
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In my opinion, you know if I had a first gen... would be sublte z fronts and yz rears.
I dont know why you want carbon fiber stuff, especially if your going to be painting over it. unless this is going to be an all out race car that is. The weight diference will be minimal at best, especially when considering cost!
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At one time, I was considering buying that G-nose from him, but seeing as how it's in the U.K., shipping was going to be way more than the G-nose itself. But, if you have money, go for it!
That's one of the reasons why I dont have one yet. Maybe if shipping was a little less I'd be more willing to buy. but since cash flow isn't as good these days, I'm hesitant. I just finished this drawing yesterday, I thought I'd put it up here for those that want a better idea of what it looks like on the car.
When I do get mine I'm going to have clear headlight covers made to fit this g nose and I was wondering if anyone would be interested in a small group buy for these covers?
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Perhaps these would interest you:
I believe new wheels have been installed since then.
All I see are red X's perhaps you could provide a Link to that page? Thanks.
I've been in contact with the guy that built this car and I REALLY like the look of these sidepipes. and since they are readily available from summit I think I'll be ordering a set ...when I get that far.
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Look up MJP Auto they do a g nose for the ZX. I'll get the link for you...
Here it is:
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Okay, I FINALLY got around to doing the front drawing! You should be able to pick out HUGE differences between this drawing and my first drawing. I've been thinking long and hard about what exactly I want to do it and here's what I've come up with. I'm still debating about the taillights but I'm getting closer to deciding.
You'll notice that it has mjp's g-nose(very similar anyways) and custom headlight covers. btw, would anyone be interested in these covers if I did a group buy for like a dozen? The 'Stinger' hood is a carry over from when I wanted to put a sbc in it, I like it so it'll probably stay. The stock hood is far too flat for my taste. Fender flares have disappeared and I've decided to stick with stock wheel size until I redo the rear end and tub the wells 2-3inches. Of course the convertable stayed, well acctually now its a roadster since I have yet to see a conv top that I like. I also want to do side pipes but I just couldn't get them to look right so they are not present.
My biggest fear right now is that drop top will weaken the car too much. For those that dont know I'm going to be putting a BMW V12 in the car, so with mods I'll be looking at 450-500hp. maybe more in the future. I'm very scared that the power will turn it into a pretzel. So I'm in the middle of designing a 'roll cage' that will basically take over the stresses from the unibody.
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If they are not bored out then it's probably in the crank stroke?
Or Both... Its really not that great of a leap to get the McLaren engine out of the base BMW engine, especially with the new dohc heads out. I read somewhere that the McLaren guys are working on getting 1,000hp from this engine!! Naturally Asperated!!
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About how much would it be to pay someone to reproduce that body kit? Anyone have custom body parts made before?
That depends on how you want it. You could bring your car to someone and have them do it to your car or have someone make a body kit and ship that to you for installation. Its really up to you. By far the cheapest solution would be to make it yourself. Its really not that hard to do, just make a couple of practice projects and do a bit of research first and you'll be all set.
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Seriously, with this config, do you really need a rotary in the rear?
Dude, where's your engine??
j/k
That's a pretty cozy looking setup you got there! Awesome work.
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Can the old V12 be bored out to bigger displacements? (5.0 -> 5.6 or more?)
If your really commited to boring out this engine what you can do is remove the aluminum cylinder barrels and have the engine "sleeved" with steel barrels, you'll pick up a few pounds but gain displacement. The major concern is warping the block when you remove those aluminum barrels, so make sure you go to a good machine shop and make sure the guy who's acctually doing the work is keeping an eye on it. Dont skimp here, you dont want to be ruining a $500-$1000 block!
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I noticed in your earlier post that you had a V12 lined up in Oklahoma. How much were you going to pay for it? Was it a salvage yard or an individual? Reason I ask is because I live in Oklahoma, and if you're going to pass on the deal I might be interested in picking it up.
The engine that I was going after was one on ebay, it was about $450 plus shipping. I dont remember if the engine sold or not, but I decided that even if I went and picked it up I'd still be paying top dollar for shipping. Keep an eye on ebay, every once in a while a good one pops up that you can snag. I found an exotic car salvage yard about an hour from here that has a few of the engines for $700-$1200.
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I've tried E-mailing them twice and I've only gotten a reply AFTER I talked to him on the phone ...go figure.
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That reminds me of a saying about Helicopters... They're just a bunch of parts flying in close formation trying to destroy each other.
I like the sound of that 440! but I think a 360 would be a little easier on the weight. But for anyone that was really wanting me to put the V12 in there, dont dispair! I'm still commited to that engine.
Doesn't look as bad as, well... MOST of the cars I've had! I'd definatly do a subframe, and make sure those strut towers aren't rotted too bad.. aside from some clean up though, its not too bad for free! Are those panasport rims on it!?? Heh.. good luck man, have fun!
Chassis Dilemma
in Brakes, Wheels, Suspension and Chassis
Posted
Well I'm the kind of guy that likes to hear advice from those older/wiser/more experienced than I. I'm also the kind of guy that doesn't shrug off an old rusty car as too far gone. I'm willing to spend the extra time and money to bring this car back. and while I may not be the most experienced guy in the world, I've always been told that the only way to learn is to do it.
edit: Okay nevermind you can relegate this thread to the achives. I've decided to build a new chassis for the car because I'd rather be safe than dead. If this thing has to stand 1000hp I want a new chassis underneath me. I guess I just needed to think out loud. Thanks.