ThatGuyFromGates

I forgot to ask, and didn't see it while glancing back over your previous posts, but are you using a 71C (n/a) trans, or the turbo borg-warner t5? I've got a 71C lined up under the car now, positioned about the same as you have shown, but looks like the mounts aren't quite spot on compatible as what your pics show. Nothing that can't be fabbed; I was just curious as to which trans you were using. Cheers, JK

MOAR!!!!!!!! Sounds good- everything worked out now? Also from all of the pics you've posted (and I've downloaded, saved, studied, etc.) it looks as if you've solid-mounted the engine, as in no rubber isolator/bushing for the mount. Are you running into any problems, vibrations, things like that running straight mount-to-mount? Looking forward to the progress man, cheers

Awesome man, there seems to be a few of these swaps catching on- I'm in the midst of dropping in the same motor in my 280. Would you happen to have build pics showing mounts, relocation pipe, etc.? Running megasquirt? Noticeable lag with the added piping for the turbo? Keep us updated with the progress, cheers

Awesome build man- keep it up and cheers for posting everything you've done so far. I've got the same project sitting in my garage, waiting for me to finish up my other stuff so I can begin. I see you had mocked up the 71C tranny from the z31- and the 280z driveshaft attached. I wasn't aware that you could essentially use the stock driveshaft with the z31 tranny, depending on how far forward/aft you located the engine mounts. Are you keeping with this idea or is a custom driveshaft coming your way? I admit, I've saved your build pics for my own reference, keep it up man and good luck. Looking forward to the progress.

Just wanted to throw this out there as well- I had the issue of the gauge showing zero, with a full tank or empty. My car sat in the PO's garage for about 10 years before I acquired it, and I ended up dropping the tank to clean it out and found the sending unit "arm" attached to the float had rusted in the lower/empty position. Didn't take much to break it free, just that the new fuel in the tank wasn't strong enough sloshing around to break it on its own. Used some light sandpaper to clean the contacts and cleaned it with electrical contact cleaner, lubed up the pivot/joint and put it back in. Not sure if it is related to your problem or not- mine was just stuck all the time, but I just wanted to give my experience with that similar problem. Good luck, JK

Just wanted to add my two pennies to the McMaster-Carr 1120A33; just installed in my 76 280z and I have no problems to report. Granted, I did not have the opportunity to try the garden hose test and see just how well it seals, but I must say it looks great and I don't see any issues arising anytime soon. No big issues with the doors having to slam shut; I noticed that my drivers' door seemed to shut almost like a new car afterwords, passenger door about the same as before. Instead of trying to contour the 90 degree corner however, I treated it kind of like you do J-channel around windows/vinyl siding- I cut/started from the corner working forward, but I notched the center of the groove about 3/8" so that it would essentially slide the rubber "bulb" more towards the rear, and the vertical piece (other end) ends up butting up square underneath. I still need to add a dab of black silicone/rtv but this way I don't have to worry about kinking the weatherstrip in the corner, worrying about it eventually pushing out/off. Anyways, thanks to lumberjackj for bringing it up! Cheers, JK

Awesome work man...I've got a VG30ET sitting on a stand, begging to go into my S30 as well. Thanks for the pics of the mounts, keep us updated on your progress. I like your thinking on the engine mounts; definitely saving these pics for reference once I take mine off the road to begin the swap. Are you thinking about fabbing up a turbo relocation pipe similar to the one SatanZ sells for the z31 crowd? This should be a sweet build man, green with envy! Cheers, JK

Check fuel pressure...just dropped my tank on my 76 this past weekend to clean it out. The conical filter screen at the inlet of my fuel pump would clog within a minute or so (car sat for 10 years) with this rust/sludge stuff. Cleaned the tank out and fuel pressure stayed constant through WOT. Before it would idle fine, but once it was under load (especially if you punched it) the fuel pressure would drop to nil, almost stalling out. If you're running carb I would check the usual- fuel filter and fuel pressure. Cheers, JK

I know the thread is a little old, but did you figure out the problem? I just fixed my heater/blower motor electrical as well on my 76. Here is what happened: Checked the connectors going to the unit = no power. Checked the relay = no power. Checked the fuse panel, fuse good, power across both clips........but..... here is the catch. When I was checking for power on the fuse panel, by touching the top of the fuse itself, obviously it shows power across both terminals, thus completing the circuit. By taking the fuse panel off of the kick panel area, turning it around, the lead wire going from the fuse panel to the actual unit had NO power. Even though the fuse was good, if I carefully prodded the multimeter probe down to the actual spring-clip fuse holder, the hot side had power (of course) but the other side actually did NOT. Conclusion- took the fuse out, noticed a little bit of corrosion on the inside edges of the actual fuse holder/clip, lightly sanded them, popped the fuse back in, blower works. I did the usual electrical clip cleaning as said in most of these threads, but I didn't think to clean the actual fuse panel itself. May or may not work but I just wanted to pass it along just in case. Cheers, JK

Correct- I'm just using the same gloss white in a spray can for the jambs, hard to reach areas, spots I missed, etc. I used a cheap spray gun and it came out okay...not the greatest but I've almost finished the wetsand/compound/buff process and it definitely makes it better. Sprayed with a 4-1 paint to acetone mix. I'll get some close-ups once I get the compounds worked in...thanks!

Thanks guys- No real rubbing in the rear as of yet...I honestly have not driven it much though, so I can't say 100% but yeah it is going to be close. Clearance to the strut towers is VERY close, but doable. I may try to roll the rears if it becomes an issue...at least do that before biting the bullet on flares or not. Not spray bombed...although it kind of looks that way in spots. Don't think my gun was dialed in very well, but I have just finished the first/second wet sanding, and first buffing w/rubbing compound and it definitely smooths things out and gives it a decent gloss.

I appreciate it- they are xxr 522's, 16x8, 225/50's all around

Doing the low-buck Rustoleum treatment here...still have to buff and polish but you get the idea. Better than before though, that's what I keep telling myself!

Thanks for the kind words- the rims are 16x8 all around, 225/50 tires. Yeah it's lowered a "tad", pretty close in the rear as of now, I planned on using a set of flares, but for the moment I'm going to try and roll the lips just a touch to help out some. I did have to tweak the inside/lower lips of the front fenders, as they just barely kissed the tire at full steering lock.

Hello all- I finally picked up a 280 I scored on Craigslist a few months back. It had been sitting in a garage for roughly the past 9 years or so, but thankfully it had been kept up fairly well, and it already had a swapped 280zx motor/tranny installed. Just wanted to share some pics of the progress so far, I've got about 4 too many projects going on but this one is the closest to being drivable at the moment. Off of the trailer: Rusto' paint!: New XXR wheels, tires, fairings, still have detail stuff like trim and some interior items left: