Leon Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 (edited) Just using the knowledge that I've been compiling over the years of being a car-addict, Z-cars very much included. Hopefully soon, I will be racing cars often. For springs, JohnC recommends using 280Z Tokico springs as they are linear rate and can be cut to size. Keep in mind that when you cut springs, you are increasing their rate. FWIW, I remember at least one person here posting a video of the suspension moving during a track day. Just found it, brought to you by clarkspeed: http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/97034-video-of-working-suspension/ I think it's great that you're getting your kids involved! Not enough people have any sort of mechanical aptitude (let alone aptitude of any kind) anymore. Edited January 14, 2013 by Leon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCan Posted May 5, 2013 Author Share Posted May 5, 2013 Hello all... It is time for an update. Since my last post we connected the dash electrical and mechanical, and have installed the interior, cleaned up misc wiring in the engine compartment and connected up gas pump in rear of car. Interior: We used new plastic panels and vinyl from motorsport. The Vinyl went in okay however the plastic panels needed to be trimmed prior to installation. We purchased 50sq feet of be quiet sound deadening and used it on the outer door panels, roof, floor, interior hatch, and as many places we could find where thin metal could vibrate. next we went to home depot and purchased 4 linear feet of carpet and glued it into the front of the car and laid it on the rear deck with no fasteners. Weatherstripping. We purchased weather stripping kit from Motorsport. Everything worked out great except for the hatch and door openings. The wetherstriping at the door openings seems too hard! Wehave to slam the hatch and the doors to get them to close. i hear this is a common problem and may revisit this issue. Doors. I made a mistake and cleaned two drivers side door mechanisms so I had to go back to the plater. I took advanntage of this by removing all metal inside the door and having it all replated! Additionally I took the old stainless steel and polished it around the windows. Metal is great cause you can sand away years of neglect and it comes back looking great! Spare tire trim. I used a CNC machine (I had a membership at Maker Place in San diego) so I went a bit overboard... _____________________________________ All in all, the car has taken shape and we displayed it at the Motorsport show two weeks ago. Today we have 200 miles on the engine, and as expected first gear goes from 0 to 40MPH, and the car is not tremendously (due to gearing) fast off the line as designed. However after about 30mph, the car pulls pretty good.! Last picture is the car at the Motorsport show. We had a great time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Awesome work, Jim! The Z looks great, just replace those wheels and you're all set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCan Posted May 7, 2013 Author Share Posted May 7, 2013 Believe it or not, the car came with some really nice 14" rims. I would have polished them and kept them but today it is simple to purchase 17" rims and as a kid I always wanted to do that! Did you say you were going to come to long beach this year? That's not too far away from us, maybe we could meet at the show and you could show off your car?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Domzs Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 Great job , guys ! Car looks great . Making me wish i have a son , have been doing all the work myself . Getting too old . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 Believe it or not, the car came with some really nice 14" rims. I would have polished them and kept them but today it is simple to purchase 17" rims and as a kid I always wanted to do that! Did you say you were going to come to long beach this year? That's not too far away from us, maybe we could meet at the show and you could show off your car?! I like the 14-inchers, wish there were decent tire options out there. I will hopefully be at Long Beach this year. I went last year in the orange car and I don't think I want to put myself through that again... It would be awesome to meet up, will you be taking the Z to the show? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCan Posted May 8, 2013 Author Share Posted May 8, 2013 Leon. If you're coming out to the show, of course I'd drive the Z. It would be nice to meet you! I would really like to learn about the cam you are specifying (maybe you will make one for me also? ) and learn more about tractive effort. Regarding rims... you like the the old 14 inch rims? I have a set of 4 in my garage (see below pic). Back in the day, I powder coated them flat black then polished the outer edge of the rim (mounted the tire on the rear axle and idled the car in 2nd gear and used sandpapaer then a polish rag. The rims looked so nice when I was done. You could do the same to my rims, if you want them. I'll check to see if they are 6" wide or 7" wide. Regarding rubber for the tires, I suggest 195 65 14s for the front and 215 65 14 for the rears. 225 rims wont work on 6 inch wide rims, you need 7 inch wide rims for the rears to make that work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Leon. If you're coming out to the show, of course I'd drive the Z. It would be nice to meet you! I would really like to learn about the cam you are specifying (maybe you will make one for me also? ) and learn more about tractive effort. Regarding rims... you like the the old 14 inch rims? I have a set of 4 in my garage (see below pic). Back in the day, I powder coated them flat black then polished the outer edge of the rim (mounted the tire on the rear axle and idled the car in 2nd gear and used sandpapaer then a polish rag. The rims looked so nice when I was done. You could do the same to my rims, if you want them. I'll check to see if they are 6" wide or 7" wide. Regarding rubber for the tires, I suggest 195 65 14s for the front and 215 65 14 for the rears. 225 rims wont work on 6 inch wide rims, you need 7 inch wide rims for the rears to make that work. Cool Jim, it would be fun to chat. Taking the Z to JCCS is in the plans, I'll just have to talk it over with the fiancee (will be "the wife" by JCCS time!). I've actually been selling off my rims, I had 4 sets of 14" rims at one point! I still have 2 sets of slots, one set of 14X6 and the other 14X7. The 7-inchers don't fit within the stock fenders though. The funny thing is, is that the other set I have is almost just as you describe! Here they are mounted on my first 240Z: Besides those, I also have a set of 14X6 turbine-style wheels. I just wish there were decent tires for 14 and 15-inch tires. The lack of tire choices have me looking at 16s. I'll probably be boring and go with another set of Panasports unless I find a wheel that works well with the green color and vintage motif of the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCan Posted May 9, 2013 Author Share Posted May 9, 2013 Great rims! I'm going to send a picture to my brother! when he crashed his z they towed it away and miraculously next morning the rims were stolen from the car. I guess there is not a high demand for 4 bold rims these days... What are the odds? I guess great minds think alike? See you at JCCS. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 Great rims! I'm going to send a picture to my brother! when he crashed his z they towed it away and miraculously next morning the rims were stolen from the car. I guess there is not a high demand for 4 bold rims these days... What are the odds? I guess great minds think alike? See you at JCCS. Jim I bought these rims from a guy in Livermore so I hope that they're not actually your brother's stolen wheels! See you there, Jim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCan Posted May 10, 2013 Author Share Posted May 10, 2013 LOL That was a long time ago! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCan Posted June 1 Author Share Posted June 1 I am resurrecting this thread. Attached is the picture of the '73 240z in May 2013. Today after maybe 60k miles, the car still looks the same engine is pulling harder than ever, but we need a new Transmission and Rear end. After consulting with my son, I believe we are going to go the Subaru R180 LSD route for the rear end. For the transmission, we are planning to go to the CD009 or the 240SX FS5W71C depending on what we can find. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetsaz Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 On 5/31/2024 at 9:47 PM, JCan said: I am resurrecting this thread. Attached is the picture of the '73 240z in May 2013. Today after maybe 60k miles, the car still looks the same engine is pulling harder than ever, but we need a new Transmission and Rear end. After consulting with my son, I believe we are going to go the Subaru R180 LSD route for the rear end. For the transmission, we are planning to go to the CD009 or the 240SX FS5W71C depending on what we can find. If you are still just running a hot L28 the CD009 is probably overkill, and will require drilling into your floorboards or heavy modification. The FS5W71C transmission is probably enough to handle the power, but if you're set on a 6 speed, the BRZ/FRS engine is becoming more available now as well. A lot has changed since you last posted. https://www.godzillaraceworks.com/drivetraintl70/tl70swap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 On 5/31/2024 at 8:47 PM, JCan said: I am resurrecting this thread. Attached is the picture of the '73 240z in May 2013. Today after maybe 60k miles, the car still looks the same engine is pulling harder than ever, but we need a new Transmission and Rear end. After consulting with my son, I believe we are going to go the Subaru R180 LSD route for the rear end. For the transmission, we are planning to go to the CD009 or the 240SX FS5W71C depending on what we can find. Hey James, so great to see this thread resurrected with you and your son enjoying the car! 60k miles, love it. I've maybe put 6k on mine in that time. Coincidentally, I've had to replace my diff this year (for upsetting reasons) and went with a 3.9 STI CLSD R180. The 3.54 is way easier to find but having had both ratios in my car, the 3.9 feels more appropriate with the close-ratio late-280ZX trans gearing. With that said, my transmission feels a bit worn and I've been thinking about rebuilding or retrofitting something newer. I'll be following your adventures with much interest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCan Posted July 9 Author Share Posted July 9 My son purchased a Subaru diff... Installation in 2 (approx) weeks. I'll update w pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCan Posted July 9 Author Share Posted July 9 Leon - good to hear from you! I've read your build notes... And am impressed. Few builders have your expertise. Re transmission, I like the cd000a, primarily because of the upgraded synchros and relatively low cost. Been thinking about printing ( either directly or indirectly ) a bell housing. Zetaz - Nice 2 meet you. the current motor puts out approx 200 HP at the crank. I am planning to purchase another L28 and turbocharging it with a goal of 400bhp at the wheels... Will the FS5W71C handle 450 HP. Noting my son seems to eat transmissions almost yearly... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCan Posted July 9 Author Share Posted July 9 Zetaz. - 280zx 5 speed .. seems to be the weak link in the drivetrain.... ( I've rebuilt it 3 times now ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calZ Posted July 9 Share Posted July 9 13 hours ago, JCan said: Leon - good to hear from you! I've read your build notes... And am impressed. Few builders have your expertise. Re transmission, I like the cd000a, primarily because of the upgraded synchros and relatively low cost. Been thinking about printing ( either directly or indirectly ) a bell housing. Zetaz - Nice 2 meet you. the current motor puts out approx 200 HP at the crank. I am planning to purchase another L28 and turbocharging it with a goal of 400bhp at the wheels... Will the FS5W71C handle 450 HP. Noting my son seems to eat transmissions almost yearly... Derek at Datsunworks already makes a bellhousing. They're sold through Godzilla Raceworks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetsaz Posted July 9 Share Posted July 9 18 hours ago, JCan said: Zetaz. - 280zx 5 speed .. seems to be the weak link in the drivetrain.... ( I've rebuilt it 3 times now ) The ZX 5 speed is definitely much weaker than the "71C" The later 5 speed was in the 240sx/Silvia/D21. I think maybe the truck transmission had slightly different ratios? If your goal is 450 I'm not sure it'll handle the power. Probably fine if you're not launching it or abusing it regularly, but that's kind of on the upper extreme for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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