280z build

[norbert]

So this is my first build thread, thought it would be cool to document, and look back and just get opinions as i go.

     Little background, Im Norbert, this is my second Z, first was a 260z 2+2, but i ran out of interest, so i ended up selling it. But with time just couldn't forget the car, so while looking on Craigslist for no reason really I came across this beauty for a steal of a price. Compared to the first Z this one is in alot better shape, no bond, but a tons of rust (to be expected as I live in Illinois, the snow and salt did a no, on my car)  When I bought her she wasn't running, the previous owner said the fuel lines ware clogged. As soon as we got her home, my dad and myself got to work, aired out the hoses, which non ware clogged. check to make sure the new fuel pump was working which it was. Turns out there wasn't enough gas, or it was never "bled" after tinkering for a few hours we got her to start  
     She was misfiring, started to play around with the engine, bought a new coil pack, and checked to spark plugs, cylinder 6 spark plug cable was ripped, so my dad throw in an old cable as a temporary fix, now she sounds way better (is it wierd that at idle it goes from really low rpm, to really high? Wish i can give you the exact rpm but the gauge doesn't work).
    Anyways today after work both my dad and myself started taking her apart, we got the fenders, the doors, and hood off, and decided to leave it at that since we both get up before 6 to go to work.

    We plan on rebuilding the l28e, fixing the floorpan and rails, just making this car an over all beast I'll try to update this every time we do something to it, we hope to be done before May, as this is a Father son project, and just a hobby for us neither of us are mechanics or even work in the automotive field. Looking forward to the build and learning as much as I can from all of you guys.

 

[rome03]

congrats on the new car. I got mine yesterday! what block and head does it have. Are you building the one it came with?

[Pharaohabq]

Hey not bad, but definitely you've got some rust issues.  You're going to need to do a bit of welding.  since this is a father/son deal I'm not going to tell you to go find a better body, I'm just going to say you're going to spend a bit of time fixing that rust.   The Wheel wells are important to address, the rear more cosmetic, but that front area that's rusted through is structural. You're definitely going to want to fix that.  Also look at the frame rails, if yours are rusted through anywhere, then you should probably replace them with Bad Dog rails.  Lift your carpet and see if you're driving a flintstones car.  I would not be suprised to see daylight by your feet after you remove that carpet.   The other places to look are the spare tire well, and the rear deck,  It's common to find rust there. 

 

Now don't worry. All of these locations are replaceable. Tabco.com makes most of these panels, and MSA or others (I think I bought my rear arches through Rock Auto cheap) can sell you the rest.  Once you get the body in decent shape, then  look deeper into the engine etc.  The interior is cosmetic, so don't worry about it till you get there.  Brakes and suspension  should come before any engine upgrades.

 

You said this is a father/son deal so keep our advice in mind, but what's important is that you're spending time together.  Some inspiration for this can be found on YouTube, look for "I blame Chip Foose for this"  series of videos.

[norbert]

 I'm not too worried about the rust, as i stated before i had a 260z that we redid the whole underbody and rails, so welding, i think is gonna take about a month to get it to decent shape, but yea everything is rusted for the most part i guess thats why it was so cheap. The head is a stock head dont think there was anything done to the engine will find out saturday after i take it out and get a closer look.

pic of the 260z half way done.

[ZXT_bean]

I happened to see this car listed on craigslist about a month or so ago. looked like a semi solid start to a project. keep up the work and keep us posted!

[norbert]

       
    So last night my dad and I, started stripping the interior, like Pharaohbq said, its a flinstones car but not suprised. The only thing that bothers me is the frame rust, it didnt seem so bad, but when we start jacking up the car, we just saw the frame bending where it was rusted out so thats the worst part and also the first thing we're gonna address, we don't want the car falling apart when we are gonna flip it on its side. After the interior we got the exhaust out, which was connected only in 2 places, by the header, and by the muffler, real easy to get off. Since we had the rear end in the air, we decided to get the fuel tank out, so it doesn't wreck up the garage, in its, 36 years I don't think it has ever been off haha. 
   Then we started with the transmission, compared to a chevy turbo trans this thing was light, like I thought some thing was still connected because it was too light haha. After that we secured the back end of the engine and called it a night.
   This morning we got the engine out, and it was covered with about half an inch of grime, So i spent the last hour or so cleaning it making it good looking. It turns out it has a; n47 head and n42 block, which is standard for a 77' but correct me if I'm wrong. As for the engine, I plan on getting stage 2 cam shaft, new injectors, rebuild the engine, add headers, intake.; nothing too serious but if any one can give me some tips to making 250-275hp I'd love to know, (want to keep it n/a don't want to go turbo)

[Pharaohabq]

Well that's no fun about the Rust, but hey, Upgrade opportunity.  The Bad dog rails will take care of those rusted rails and add a lot of rigidity to the frame.  It's easiest just to buy the replacement floor panels from Tabco or others rather than fabbing your own, but you've been there, Looks like you got an idea.  

 

Now for the engine,  that stock combo isn't bad at all though it might fall a little short of your power goals in EFI NA form.  I'd heard that a cam won't do you a lot of good with the intake restrictions on the NA manifold. BUT if you switched to SU's or Mikuni's they breathe a lot more easilly and thus the cam will have a greater effect, though you'd lose EFI.    With the stock EFI system I think you're going to be limited to around 200HP in NA stock form.  That's not to say that there's nothing that can be done about it, just the intake runners are a little restrictive.  There's a lot of guys on here that know a lot more about building an L28 than I do.  Staying NA is what hurts.

[norbert]

 I most likely am gonna go with su, or most likely do an rb25det swap, not too worried about performance just yet, so we'll get there in time, but for now im gonna have the head rebuilt.

  Man the past few days have been long, I started of sanding down the top half of the Z, with 80 grit, didnt get to finish it, but soon ill have it sanded, and get the body work prepped for paint. But before that my dad and me, decided to fix the rust, on the frame and front wheel well, We also started the interior floor pan, but just wanted to have today off, all I can say is, i think this will be one of the last restoration projects i do, so much work, its nuts, any ways here are some pics from what we got down the past few days. Also im thinking about switching up to a 5 speed transmission.

[ZXT_bean]

looks like its coming together! I love seeing fresh metal going back into a Z, it means a new life!