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Showing results for tags '1977'.
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This is a build thread to document the progress on a 1977 Datsun 280z 2+2. The previous owner had started stripping the car with intentions of restoring it but it ended up just sitting in a storage container. Before that, the car sat in someone's yard because of a lien against it and eventually a tree fell on the back portion busting out the rear glass and leaving a nice dent. Because the car has been sitting for so long, it has a bit of rust but nothing structural, like the frame rails, is damaged. We've never done any car restoration work before so any pointers would be appreciated. The long term goal is to swap a LS v8 engine (probably a 5.3L or 4.8L), upgrade the suspension and brakes, and have a solid daily drivable Datsun. Below is a list of what we have done to the car already: -Stripped the interior and exterior -removed the sound dampening material with some freeze spray and an air chisel -removed the engine, transmission, and engine bay wiring -misc metal work (cutting out the usual Z rust and welding in patch panels) -coated all internal frame rails and cavities with east-woods internal frame rail coating or POR-15 Here is what we started with. Inspiration / Goals Pulling the engine - relatively easy. When you don't have a load leveler, you just use screw drivers to make sure the chain doesn't slide! Hopefully, the steering rack will be salvageable. Cutting out the rust (floor pans, battery tray, and a big spot in the bumper area) Here's some of the welding / patch panels. We used weld through primer so the the welds won't rust through. Battery Compartment The front nose area - patched on both sides driver's side floorpan (not nearly as bad as passenger side just one patch panel near the seat mount). Passenger floorpan - we fabricated a floorpan that was mainly plug welded in place and also replaced a rusty spot in the trans tunnel. a shot of some POR-15 rust convertor work underneath the cowl panel. That brings the project up to present time, lots of work to do still.
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So I've been debating pulling the trigger or not and have finally found my favorite year of the 280z's and i must say in decent condition with minimal rust and for $2,000 must say it was definitely a good find. On to the details..The frame has 53,909 original miles and came with vin matching Motor and Transmission (4spd) previous owner also threw in a 5spd transmission. The motor was rebuilt using flat top high compression pistons, all work done by previous owner. Most of the rust found on the car was surface rust but no real rust except from the Radiator support in the front which seems to be a bit more severe. The interior is complete although the car has a missing front windshield so the interior has gone to shit but the good news the floor panels seem to be in great condition, found no holes on the underside of the car. Now onto the Project - My intentions are to do a 2JZGTE VVTi swap with the Getrag v161 6 speed transmission and a ford 8.8 differential (still haven't decided on gearing). I know in order to surpass the 1000whp mark I'm going to need to increase head flow, pistons, rods, springs, valves (3 angle valve job), retainers, cams, single turbo exhaust manifold and lastly the turbo still debating but will AT LEAST be starting with a 72-85. As far as suspension goes definitely open to suggestions. ....and some pictures
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Hi all, I just joined the forums. I bought a 77 280z a couple of days ago and I'm having trouble passing emissions. The previous owner installed a megasquirt EFI which wasn't really the issue during the test. However, some vacuum lines are missing. The EGR valve isn't connected to anything and the vacuum line diagram shows that I must have a BPT valve, which I don't. Would it be ok if I connect the EGR valve directly to the intake manifold? The other issue is the purge valve on the carbon canister isn't connected to anything either, form what I understand, it should be going into the throttle chamber where you can see that it's plugged in Thanks!
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Great to have found HybridZ Forums. Have been reading lots of useful zinformation for 2-3 hours and decided to register. This red ‘77 280Z is my 4th Z recently purchased in November 2018. In my late 20s to early 30s I owned a ‘73 240Z, ‘75 280Z and ‘74 260Z in that order. Of course they were fairly new back in the day. That’s me in 1979 with my silver ‘75 280Z. Wish I could have kept it. LOL Yes, I absolutely love these beautiful S30 Datsuns. Look forward to the forums here being a great resource for maintaining our 40+ year old cars. It’s a passion and love affair!
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Hi all, I have been a reader on this forum from 2013 and now decided to transfer my blog also to here in hopes that someone finds it useful and interesting. Hopefully you have some good feedback and also criticism! This is my first car project and first time welding on a car or with a MIG so all help is appreciated! Best regards, Olli-Pekka My quest to find a suitable project started when I saw a article/video called "Dare to be different in a Datsun 240Z" (Dare to be different in a Datsun 240Z). Although my goal was not be different but the lines and the body of the Datsun appealed to me so I had to find one. So the quest to find a suitable car from Finland started, because it looked that the prices abroad were higher than in Finland. As by order, there were two specimens for sale on Nettiauto (Finnish car-sale site), that piqued my interest. Both of them were in a reasonable condition and so was their asking price... that is if project cars can be reasonable priced. After few events, it was time to decide which of them I would like to go to see. The choice was to see the car in Eastern part of Finland which was a 1976 Datsun 260Z 2+2. This decision was based on the fact that the car in question was priced better and it was in "better" condition. By better I mean that the condition was good but not too good not to warrant a full going through and to build the car just the way I would like. Added bonus was that car was reasonably rare: the car was sold new in Germany in the year 1977 and for the European market there were 454 cars made that year. (ZHome - Production numbers). The car changed owners after few hours of negotiation and kicking the wheels.The fact that the car had been in a garage for the last eight years, caused a bit of a problem to get the car on the trailer, because car did not move on its own (gearbox was broken and fluids had been drained from the motor) and the trailer we had did not have a winch. With the car came a "new" transmission, all of the parts that were needed to make the car run again and a rust free right fender. The seller also had all of the cars original documents and a Factory Service Manual, which was really nifty! All in all, I drove about 600 km to get the car and all of the driving was done in the worst weather that early winter 2013 had to offer... It snowed very heavily and it was slippery as... well it was very slippery. We did manage to get the car to its resting place without huge problems and the "great journey" towards Gran Turismo could begin...
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Looking for some advice before I dive head first into the engine bay. It is a 1977 280z pretty stock minus headers So I had accidentally left my head lights on. So, of course, my battery died. I tried to jump start the car and it cranked and smelled of gas but wouldn't turn over. I figured I might have flooded the engine for trying to much so I let the car sit for about 24 hours. I brought a new battery (tested and all so I know it works) and it was the same problem. The engine cranks and I smell gas but it won't actually turn over. The ignition coil has spark. The distributor has spark. But it just won't turn over. Any ideas of what to check? Also I should add the for about a week and a half before this happened my car has been running a bit rough. It just started out of nowhere. The engine has a bit more shake to it and there seems to be a good loss of power. I kind of suspected the water temp sensor since I had a problem with it in the past. I replaced it's plug but not the sensor itself. And if I ever touched it while the car was running it would cause a rough idle. Anyways if anyone can give me some advice it would be much appreciated. I'd just like to add that I'm a young car enthusiast. I know my way around a wrench (I've changed the intake and exhaust manifold myself and cleaned up some wiring) but I'm far from an expert. And I know very little about the science of electricity.
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Hey everyone, this build will document my tear down and rebuild of a 1977 280z. This is my first restoration project and as such, I plan to take this slowly and methodically so I can remember how to build it back up! My goals for this build: Complete teardown, soda/abrasive blast entire body Fix any rust and dents Paint - Not sure what color yet, but factory color is blue. I like the blue color and might think about a white racing stripe, but again, I am not 100% on the color scheme yet. Install a 5.3 LS (LM7) engine and t56 6-speed (eventual power goal is 350-400 hp) Install a R200 LSD (final gear ratio TBD). The car has a R180 open diff most likely, I will confirm as I get to removing the suspension. Refinish the interior - Most the plastic is in terrible condition, everything is very brittle and the center console and dash are cracked pretty badly. My goal is a light tan leather interior with some modern updates (power windows, locks, seat heaters, new head unit, racing wheel). The interior is white/tan currently and I like the white with blue combo so that is in the running. I feel I am about 1-2 years, at least, away from having to decide on this. Complete everything myself so I can learn about each and every aspect of this process. I might consider farming out engine rebuild because I really don't want to mess that up, but my initial plan would be just to use stock internals on the engine, and rebuild the engine after the car is up and running for a while. Have Fun! Don't get too frustrated or more importantly take a break when stuck. My next post is going to detail the current state of the car. I welcome all input, advice, and suggestions!
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So about a week ago my car started to have issues when it got up to temp. It would originally start, idle, and run fine, but after the car began to get warm it would lean out like crazy (have a wideband installed) and there would be no response when throttle was applied under load. It did this for a few days until it decided to completely die on my way home from the gym. After a few minutes the car would start and idle lean on the side of the road, but then die immediately with any throttle (not under load). The engine is from a 1983 280zx turbo. After a little bit of research I'm wondering if it is my Crank Angle Sensor in my distributor, but I'm still very confused. I don't think it's a wet Throttle Position Sensor because I had that problem recently and I removed it/dried it out and the car ran fine. Also the symptoms are different due to not even idling rather than failing at 2000rpm. Short video with symptoms: https://streamable.com/nn9ls
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So smoke started coming from my steering column one day ... My right turn signal does not work and my left "freezes" . Has anyone else had this problem with their 77? I'm suspecting it short circuited . Is there any KEY areas to check ? Any help is greatly appreciated
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1977 280z project looking to turn this car into a auto cross/canyon/daily driver really hopeing to get some help from everyone on the forums and it would really be appreciated any words of wisdom or welcomed as a newer z owner as myself has much to learn. Will upload more pictures as time goes by in the build I went with a plan to start from the inside out and go from there so as of now the whole interior is stripped to bare metal and looking to just tidy it up on the inside with a coat of paint and a performance seat soon
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Hey, This build topic will be constantly changing as I learn and take input from you guys and other sources. So please feel free to let me know if you have found a better way or part for where I am heading. The goal of this build will be to take my Z from it's stock daily driver status and take it to a completely rebuilt machine and return as my daily and occasional autoxer. I am planning on starting the rebuild in the beginning of the new year as I am currently in the middle of moving across country. So for now, it's planning... Engine/Intake/Exhaust LS based - I would like to start with a 6.0l, either iron or aluminum. I am waiting to see what I can find in the local scrap yards. EFI - I want the fuel economy and space savings that come with it. Heads/Cam/Rotating Assembly - The LS6 components look like they will be enough for me for now. Still need to choose headers, exhaust will be based on what is best for the engine/performance Drive Train/Suspension/Brakes/Wheels T-56 6 Speed No clutch setup chosen yet Considering full T3 suspension/coilovers/disk brakes/rear end conversion/5 lug conversion - Looking at the Q45 for the diff and other parts - whatever ends up being the strongest is what I will go for. T3 Front and Rear Sway bars Polyurethane in applicable areas I have several rims that I like, but I will go with the largest tires in the rear I can find...I have a lot of reading to do on that topic... Electrics/Gauges/Interior Glowshift Tinted 7 color gauges - Speedo, Tach, Oil Temp, Oil Pressure, Water Temp Full rewire kit - American Autowire Highway 22 circuit kit NRG Steering Wheel NRG or Sparco Seats Power window and locks - Spal kits Dash repaired using the how to on the forums Body/Exterior Body completely taken down to metal, cleaned and repaired. Lizard Skin 2 coat system and Dynamat then new carpet 20 gal fuel cell All new weather stripping HID headlight conversion Fender flares Skinny front bumper and air dam 240 style rear bumper I will paint it myself...not sure what color just yet This is what I have so far...So like I said, please feel free to throw in your two cents...Also, I have two 1977 280Zs...My daily is a 4 speed and I bought the other as a parts car (it's a 5 speed). So, when this is all said and done, I will have a lot of the stock parts I won't be needing like the engines and drivetrain/suspension components...So when the time comes I will be looking to get those out to those that need or want them...Thanks and I am looking forward to getting started and hearing back from you all... Volition
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I'm looking for a dash for a 1977 280z coupe. Doesn't need to come with electrical, just need the dash itself. PM me with price shipped to 53220
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Hello, I am in need of a few factory nissan/datsun parts for my 1977 280z. I am doing a factory restoration and would like to keep it all original parts if possible. Factory air intake tube everything before throttle body except AFM. This includes stock blue airbox/hoses Braket for fuseable links Braket for Carbon Canister and a Carbon Canister Braket for AFM 4 bolt on the bottom of AFM Almost all Brakets that are on the passanger side of the engine bay Stock Radiator -This is off an automatic car with A/C If you are doing a part out of a 280z and have alot of miscellaneous engine bay hardware that you cant get rid of let me know. zspeed22@gmail.com or PM me on here.
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Hello, I am after 4 separate switches/relays that are on the passenger side of the car. If you look at the attached picture I have circled in red what I need. Pressure SW. (A/C Only) Magnet Valve-Vacuum Source (A/C Only) Compressor Relay (A/C Only) Starter Relay w/pigtail harness (Automatic Trans Only) This is based off a 1977 280z with an automatic transmission and A/C. Please PM me if you have anything or email me at zspeed22@gmail.com. Thanks,
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Hello, I have searched the database and could not find any threads that answer my question. I apologize in advance if this has been covered. Is this l28e rebuild kit as far pistons any different than the Factory L28e I have in my 280z? Keeping in mind it states l28e 280zx rebuild kit. I only ask because I'm rebuilding my motor and this kit is in my price range. Also if anyone has any remarks to Clegg engines or any other reasonably priced rebuild kits on the market. I would greatly appreciate your input, good or bad. http://www.cleggengine.com/nissan-2-8l-l28e-280zx-sohc-12v-81-83-complete-engine-kit.html
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Side by side comparison of the Z tank (bottom) and the mustang tank (top)
BubbaDog127 posted a gallery image in Members Albums
From the album: Cobra 5.0 280z
1977 Z tank 1995 mustang cobra tank-
- z tank
- mustang fuel tank
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So I'm now in the bodywork phase of my project trying to smooth out the dents and dings, I'm going with a flat green after I primer it. I'm kinda doing everything backwards mechanically. I've decided to refinish all the suspension and underbody hardware after I get some paint on her. Its been a hell of a road with this car, house buying put me way behind on this whole deal. I love this car! Oh and the pic, I got a notion to just up and do it last night at like 1am. I brought out the flash gun and my camera. Anyway back to the bondo party outside.