Search the Community

After looking everything over and doing some digging I came to the conclusion that using 65 mustang hubs on 240z spindles is not a cost effective solution for big brakes. I am now looking into a ball joint adapter that bolts to the control arm of the 204z and uses press in 2014 mustang ball joints. I intend to use this in conjunction with 2004 Subaru wrx coil over struts to allow the use of 5 lug 2014 mustang hubs and brakes. Which are 5x114.3 The intent is to have the outer wheel mount flange be pushed out roughly 35mm.... effectively converting our cars from a "zero offset" wheel to a "plus 35mm" wheel... aka just like the 300z and the 240sx, Toyota supra etc... It's a front steer, rear caliper spindle just like the stock 240z, once I know what the bump steer geometry will be I will have a clearer picture of things. Someone could use a widebody or flared setup if they chose to run a zero offset wheel, or use cheap and readily available 350z wheels and have stock track width. Let me know if anyone has any input on this. Good idea, bad, etc...

Im looking for a replacement for the brake cylinder reservoir for a 77 280z. I pushed a bit too hard on mine and it cracked, I guess thats what happens to 40 year old plastic. I cant find any reservoirs for sale anywhere, just the full master cylinder replacement. Thanks!

Hello, I just recently bought a 1976 280z. and the only problem im having is the driver side brake light. all the lights turn on but while pressing on the brake that light is really low and isnt as bright as the other side. how can i make it as bright as the other side? Thanks in advance.

Hello, im new here and was looking for racing/track suspension and chassis almost everywhere and didnt find it. So i have got a few questions. 1. Does 280z suspension and chassis fit into 280zx? 2. From what company can i buy suspension and chassis ? (In Europe if possible if not its ok) 3.Does 300zx brakes fit in 280zx? Datsun 280zx 2+2 1979 2.8l 5speed manual. Hope You guys will help me!

Hi everyone, Got a brake question. Since getting my 1973 240z on the road and running after an intensive tear down and rebuild, all has been good except for the brakes. For some reason, with even the slight amount of pressure, the brakes grab really hard. So when I drive I have to barely feather the pedal to brake normally. When I pull the vaccum line off of the booster, the opposite happens, the brakes take a LOT of effort to decelerate normally. So I am thinking the booster may be providing too much assistance. Wondering if you guys have ever experienced something like this in your builds? Brake system "brake-down" -240z Original booster (tested and working) -Aftermarket check valve installed in vacuum line (the correct direction) -Vacuum line connected to the crossover tube on the intake manifold (SU carbs). OEM has the vacuum connection on one of the runners. -1981 280zx master cylinder 15/16" -wilwood proportioning valve (for rear brakes) with built in splitter for front brakes L and R. -toyota 4-piston front calipers with vented Z31 rotors -maxima rear disc brake conversion -All new hard lines and brake hoses. Any feedback is welcome. I will be repairing a very minor leak in one of the inverted flare hard line connections soon and can use the opportunity to try to solve this issue. Thank you! -Aaron

Ive been looking for a few hours now and i cant find what im looking for anywhere. Something i need to get out of the way, im not going to use toyota brakes... thats not what im looking for. What i would like to do is put z32 (or z31 5 lug) wheel hub, rotars, and calipers on my 1981 280zx turbo. My thought and question is, can i take off my 4 lug wheel hub and bolt on a z32 5 lug hub, then bolt directly on z32 4 piston stock brakes. I plan on doing 5 lug 15 inch wheels so I should have clearance but i dont know if everything will line up. I dont want to spend more than $500 on the brake conversion but I can go higher if i need to.

Did some digging around, and I'm going to get an adapter set made to adapt the 240z spindles to s550 disc brake mounting points. This are massive brakes that sell for pennies on the dollar. Good for the guys with 800 hp ls v8s and 2jz setups. Going to use 65 mustang hubs which have the same A2 and A6 inner and outer bearings as the 240z spindles. Still got some fitting to do, more to come later. We are talking 4 piston 14 inch brakes for under $200 sometimes. Or 15 inch monster 6 piston brembos setup if your heart desires. Anyways, let me know if anyone would be interested, I'll be building the setup for my own 240z, but if 5 or 6 people want some, I will make extras. I did something similar for 1968 dodge chargers and people love them. Made an adapter that allowed use of 2014 mustang brakes on drum hubs and people have been buying and using them with great results, so I'm not new to designing something that works and offering it to people. I'll post pictures as I make progress. Currently dealing with a child who has a fatal heart defect so this may take a few months, but this is something I'm seriously designing right now to go along with the super 8.8 rear irs conversion I'm developing... The idea is to have a balanced braking system off a 2015 mustang complete, front and rear, no mismatch.

I've searched the forums and found good info but hoping to sanity check my plan before pulling the trigger. I've a stock 72 240Z 4-lug that in time I will want to upgrade to a big brake kit, probably the one from Arizona Z Car or others. I have an immediate need to put new tires on the car but don't want to throw my money away. My plan: Buy 16's/17's rims with +25 offset and use a 4-lug to 5-lug bolt-on 25mm converter/spacer to allow them to fit. Probably XXR531s. Looking at a tire size of 235/40/17 or slightly smaller if possible in a 16. When I do the brake upgrade, the AZC kit moves the offset +19mm, I drop the convertor/spacer and use a thin 6mm or less spacer on the wheels. This way I'm thinking that I can buy the new rims and tyres now, and then the only thing I'm throwing away or selling at the time of the brake kit upgrade is the convertor/spacer. I do not plan to run flares, but from my research this set up should fit flush or within the stock fenders. I'm fine with trimming front valance if necessary and worst case rolling the fenders also. I plan to run coilovers at some point and drop the car only enough to make it look right. Thoughts from anyone that has been there and done that GREATLY appreciated.

I've probably pulled my front wheels off 5 times messing with these brakes and now I need to ask for advice. The car is a '75 280z, all stock brake components except for maybe the pads. They're the same ones I bought with the car 1 and a half years ago. Every time I brake I get this HORRIBLY loud squeak/squeal/grind noise coming from both the front wheels. The noise changes depending on how hard I brake, sometimes if I brake really hard it doesn't squeal at all except maybe a little noise. The loudest noises come from light braking. All of my front brake pads have plenty of meat left on them. They honestly look new there's so much. Every time I've checked the pads and rotors they've been glazed. So I pull off the pads and sand them pretty good with rough sandpaper and do the same with the rotors. After I sanded the pads and rotors on both sides and start driving, it's great. Barely a peep out of them for the first drive. But the next day/couple days later they start progressively making the horrible noise again, and they glaze again. Also I found that if I spin my rotor with the pads and caliper on, I hear kind of a light scraping noise. It only happens on some spots on the rotor, rest is silent. I'm so over dealing with this I think it's time to just buy new rotors and brake pads. Maybe even do the toyota 4x4 caliper swap. But I don't want to spend money on it considering I believe both the rotors and pads have good life on them. I just replaced all studs on my drivers side front wheel and repacked the wheel bearings too, so I don't wanna pull off that rotor again. What do you guys think? Should I just bite the bullet and replace my brakes? Anyone else have similar trouble? My worst nightmare is replacing the rotors and pads to find out it still makes noise. I just want this embarrassing noise gone. Thanks

1978 280z: When I hit my brakes my side marker lights and dash backlight come on. I haven't had the car very long so not sure if it's always been like this but I just started noticing it. Any ideas?

I need brakes for a 240z 4 or 5 lug.

I wanted to try to upgrade my brakes mainly the S12+8 caliper. However, I ran into so many problems because I tried to piece it together with parts from friends and things I could find on a budget. After a long time of trouble shooting here are my problems that I ran into. All parts needed will be highlighted. 1. The 240z stock brakes S line. These won't fit any set of calipers you get from sumitomo/toyota ones. You will need to bend them but I just chose to delete it. I bought myself some braided brake hose with AN-3 leads and M10x1.0 FEMALE adapters since that's the thread and shape s12w, 12+8, stock etc use. (2) Brake hose -3AN straight to straight M10x1.0 female inverted to AN-3 male AN-3 male to M10x1.0 male inverted 2. What calipers did my friend just give me !!!! I was given some S12+8 VENTED calipers. This lead to ALL of my headaches. Thanks Man!!! Some people say that the (S12+8 vented) and (s12+8 non vented) are the same casting but I think that they are slightly different. What that means, simply, the calipers poke out more than your stock ones and the non-vented s12. This made me need wheel spacers because I am running the 14x6 0 offset slotted mag wheels. (Depends) Wheel Spacers for fitment 3. I ran stock 240z rotors (I have the stock hubs *they are finned*). BUT and this is a big full bodied BUTT. My dumb butt was reading the wrong build. So I had this horrible pad to rotor clearance. I could drive it but the pistons on the calipers were almost popping out. LOOK AT ATTACHMENT ONE AND TWO. 4. S12+8 vented needed different rotors and those rotors needed a spacer. So basically I am forced to upgrade to vented rotors... oh what a shame . I ordered some TechnoToyTuning spacers. This is a warning for (S12+8 Vented) people, if you buy the (S12+8vented) you are now doing the same build as s12W guys. Brake Hub Spacers 300zx rotors 1984 model LOOK AT ATTACHMENT 3 AND 4. ANITSIEZE the SH*T out of surfaces that touch The bolts provided with the Techo spacers where way too short. So had to buy new hub bolts. The thread for the hub bots are M10x1.25 length of depends. I got 40mm. 5. Interesting fact about S12+8 calipers. So some say that the castings are the same THEY ARE NOT!!!! Look in the attachments. I have pics showing what I mean. I have mixed calipers. Attachment 5 is considered a (S12+8vented) caliper and this shares the same casting as the (NONvented12+8) but notice the metal spacer in between the two sided(circled in red). This means that the caliper will stick out more and may interfere with your wheels and stock rotors will not work well. Attachment 6 shows a caliper without the spacer but it is also an S12+8 vented. This means the castings although are stamped the same they are different. 6. LASTLY........... You will need washers to put behind the caliper mounting brackets about 2mm (depends on clearance) (4) Washers to space out caliper TOTAL COST 250$ AND A HUGE HEADACHE

First time doing a write-up so bare with me... I autocross my series-1 240z last season and needed to upgrade my rear brake, but did not wanted to go to Willwood because I am running a smaller wheel, so I contacted Edan at Silvermine Motors to get his Stage 4 Rear Brake Kit. I currently have one inch Willwood master cylinder and Toyota S12+W front brakes. Shipping was fast and prompt, customer service was great. Complete install 4 - 6 hours, depending on skill level. The kit comes with all necessary hardware and instructions. Stub axles needs to be removed for the install. Mounting brackets needs to face towards the front of the car. Caliber mount needs to be installed next, see picture below. Install brake pads guides; grease as necessary. Next, place caliber on where the bleed nipple faces down. It's designed that way to use stock e-brake. Bleeding caliber will have to be done unbolted from the mount, then placed back on the mount, then adjust e-brake accordingly. Edan states the kit won't fit 15" wheels, but my Atara Racing 15x10.5 - 32 offset clear by a quarter of an inch. I'm sure I missed a lot of details, but the instructions include in the kit are very clear. I am excited to test out the kit on my SCCA car. For anybody that wants to follow how the kit does, feel free to follow the link to the car's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-DragonballZ/701471269934147 Here's the link to the brake kit : http://www.silverminemotors.com/datsun/datsun-240z/brake-upgrades/stage-4-rear-big-brake-kit Any questions, feel free to ask.

So yesterday I was on my way home and my ABS light came on. This was disconcerting since it's NEVER come on before, not in the 17 years I've had the car. So I was looking into the symptoms and aside from the light, there's a hum of a motor coming from the back right rear of the car. Shutting off the car clears the ABS light temporarily, but it comes back on after a few minutes even at idle. I checked the ABS fuse and it's good, I pulled the fuse and the hum continues. I do still have brakes so that's good, but the motor noise continues even with the key off and out of the ignition. I was worried I'd run the batter down so I got a wrench and disconnected the negative cable. Today I read around a bit and it seems this is a fairly common issue we'll see more of. The ABS relay apparently can get old and get stuck. Tonight I will open the panel and rap on the relay then reconnect the power and see if the ABS pump still is humming. If so I'll pull the relay and it should from all accounts stop. If that's the case I'll order the $50 relay and be done with it. If a new relay doesn't fix the issue then it could be the wheel sensors or some other part. I'll have to break out the FSM to see how it's tested. Failing that it's a dealer diagnosis. I'd much rather do it myself than pay someone to guess at the issue. There are some savvy Z32 mechanics around, but even at Nissan, the newer mechanics have barely touched these older Z cars. I'll let you guys know what I find out and hopefully snap some pictures in the process. Phar

Hello everyone, I just ordered s12w calipers, 84 300zx rotors, 1 inch wilwood master cylinder, and hub spacers from silvermine motors for my 73 240z. I have 14x7 mesh wheels. Well my concern/question is if I will need a wheel spacer? I would like to get the spacers now if I need them rather than wait until I already have everything going together and get held back. Any help or information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Further to my prior post these FIA brake pads, part number 41060-A1281 were often installed by Scarab Performance.

I have a set of new in the box FIA front disc brake pads, part number 41060-A1281. These work with Sumitomo MK63 calipers on vented rotors. I am not sure what they are worth.

Hi all, Over the past few months I've came across a few disc brake setups for the 240z-280z chassis using AP Racing components. I've tried to investigate these setups so I could share some information about them and perhaps use them, however, my efforts have been futile. If anybody has any information or guides on how to build one of these setups I would love to hear about it. Here are some pictures from D.S.G. Sweeden's build. (There was one more member on here who had AP Racing Brakes but I couldn't get a hold of him) Liam

Looking for a good condition 15/16" Master Cylinder to power dual-piston 4x4 Toyota brakes up front and don't want to go the Wilwood route. Would prefer to not rebuild but not a big deal for the right price. Thanks HybridZ!

Hello, I am lost on my all stock brakes on my 1977 280Z..so here it goes...I replaced all of the rear drum components, the front calipers, rotors, pads, soft lines are now steel braided, brake booster and the master cylinder...so with that, the rear brakes work well but the fronts require that I pump the pedal a bit to engage...I have bleed and bleed them and no improvement...I can't find any leaks, except on the forward most brake line that comes right off of the master cylinder...I tightened it and have got it to stop leaking for the most part, the pedal has no firm feeling at all with the car on and it has some resistance with the engine off but can be pushed all the way through its travel...any help or advise would be greatly appreciated... Alex

I have read every post I can find on brake upgrades and have run into an issue I hope someone can help with. I have a 4/73 240 with a brand new 8.5" booster that I really dont want to replace, but will if I have to. I also have the non vented Toyota 4x4 calipers on the front with stock drums in the rear. The master is a stock 7/8" unit and the fluid volume is not sufficient to operate the new calipers to full brake pressure, which is exactly what numerous posts have mentioned. I have read and heard countless stories about premature failures in the 15/16" rebuilt masters ('79 to '81 ZX?), so I have been looking at the 1" Tilton, which looks like a good unit. However, I have read in my many searches that using the Tilton with the 8.5" booster gives a very stiff pedal and high braking effort. I dont really want that feel when I'm just cruising most of the time. I did auto cross my last Z at times, and may do the same with this one, but it will mostly be used for fun runs and the like. So, my question is, what to do?? Is there a good vendor with reliable 15/16" masters? Am I wrong about the 1" Tilton/8.5" booster combination? I tried another larger booster, from an unknown year Z, but it didnt fit. The diameter measured out around 10.5" but that could be off a little. The bolt pattern was correct to the firewall, but it hit the throttle bracket going in. It also looks like it will interfere with the clutch master, but it is out of the car so not sure. Maybe this one is just too large and their is another year that will fit?? Thanks in advance Bill

I am currently rebuilding/restoring a 1976 280z. I am located near Youngstown Ohio and would prefer large items to be within driving distance. Send me a message and we can discuss anything you may have. Items I'm looking for as follows: ZG flares Z432 rear spoiler or BRE Ground control coil-overs (280z) Camber Plates Toyota Front brakes vented or non-vented setups Rear Disc Conversion MSA 6-2 Headers (coated) MSA Twice pipes Fender Mirrors Rota RB stagger package wheels (black or gunmetal) Triple Carb setup (complete) Ignition Box Universal Fuse box and or Wiring Harness 5-Speed Transmission 280Z or ZX R200 LSD Flat top pistons (new not used) Cam (new not used)

Hi everyone, HybridZ is really where I come when I'm at a complete loss and everything I've tried hasn't worked. I'm going to be as detailed as possible so bear with me, I'll try to keep it concise. A few weeks back, I replaced the passenger side rear suspension assembly- everything from the control arm to the shock insulator. The driver side had already been replaced as it was previously damaged in a crash around the spindle area. At this point both sides of the suspension are from a later 280z. When I was adjusting the drums, the flathead I was using slipped and bumped the rubber boot of the wheel cylinder and a little fluid oozed out. Guess that explains my inconsistent brake pedal. I wasn't drastically losing fluid or anything, but it must have been a small leak that would occasionally rear its head and my pedal would be just a bit softer than usual. I grabbed an extra wheel cylinder I had that looked like it was in good shape and replaced it. That's when the trouble really started. I stripped the brake line bolt and the wheel cylinder threads. Bit the bullet and ordered a brand new wheel cylinder... cheap and not a bad thing to replace while I'm in there. I also got pre-flared brake line to replace the OEM one I messed up. I made sure it was Japanese style brake line- double flare and 10mm bolts. I "rented" a tube bender and shaped it as close to the OEM one as I could. I ended up with a 30" line as it was either 20" or 30" and I figured it was better to be a bit long than a bit short. Replaced the wheel cylinder, bolted the line up, made sure it didn't leak and didn't hit anything with the car lowered, and bled the rear brakes. Here's where I may have gone wrong- my understanding is the front and rear circuits are separate so leaving the fronts alone I only bled the rears at first. Finished the rest of my work and finally was ready to drive my car after not doing so for several weeks. I could tell immediately something was off. The pedal practically went to the floor right away but I could pump it and build up pressure. Ok, air in the lines or drum is adjusted way too loose. Checked both drums and they're tight but rotate as much as I want them to. Must be air in the lines still. Bleed the rears again and retry but it feels exactly the same. I think I bled my rear brakes about 4 times, then bled the front and rears, then bled the master cylinder, rebled the rears, and the pedal never felt different. On a recent endeavor to bleed the rears for god only knows-th time, the passenger bleed screw snaps in half inside the wheel cylinder. Fair enough, now I can have two new wheel cylinders. Again, cheap insurance. Replaced it, bled the rears again, and the pedal still feels the same. I get very light braking on the first push, but if I pump it quickly I get normal feeling brakes. Today I attempted to bleed the rears yet again. I bought a simple vacuum bleeder to do it myself. I'm a bit stumped because the driver side wheel cylinder just doesn't seem to want to bleed. I recruited someone to hop in and push the pedal so I could get a better view of what's going on. I crack it wide open and it seems like fluid is barely moving through it. On top of that, the pedal feels normal with the bleeder open and seems to build pressure better than with it closed! Is my cylinder bad? Am I going insane? To quote Zoolander... "I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!" I have a turbo motor waiting and this is really the one thing standing in the way. SOS!

Hey everyone, so i recently got my 280z with a l28et running.... Thing drives perfectly!!! I cant get my freaking brakes to work though, so ive been driving it around the neighborhood with the handbrake lol.... So I tried bleeding, that didn't work... then I rebuilt master cylinder and put dot3 and bled again, that didn't work.... So I picked up a new master cylinder and put dot4 and bled again and went around and tightened every fitting on the brake system, that didn't work.... What else can be going wrong? There is no leaking throughout brake lines but when pump the pedal hard you can hear some air or bubbles or something near the master cylinder area (I think thats normal though). The reservoirs seem to leak just a tad around the base where they are secured to master cylinder, but i figured that that couldn't have much of an effect (gunna pick up new ones soon). Also when I was bleeding my rears (one at a time), the brakes got to feeling normal, but then when I tightened the little bleeding bolt thing and pumped the pedal again, it was back to its light feeling... When driving around if I press the brake down all the way while using my handbrake the rears skid, but it feels like the fronts are barely resisting. Any advice would be very very appreciated. Thank you in advance! <3

Been doing some digging, to start piecing together this project build over the next decade or two. Found some interesting things here for everyone with an S130 or other models. Seems like they have 5 lug hubs, and other fun things to make swapping easier.