wingwalker Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 (edited) A little over five years ago I joined this forum, having just purchased a stalled project, a 280Z with a partially installed small block. When I started, I'd have guessed six months to a year until it was on the road. But as I dug into it, I found I'd have to undo much of what had been done. And I found rust--a lot more than I saw when I bought it. The transmission was an old-looking 350 automatic, a three-speed, and I wanted a fourth gear so it would cruise at a reasonable rpm, rather than scream. I bought a 2004R and rebuilt it over the winter--a nice project for the heated part of my shop. I bought motor mounts from JTR and scrapped the front mounts that the engine had been sitting on. There was no rear crossmember; the tail of the old 350 tranny had been sitting on the exhaust pipe! Along the way, I received a lot of help and good advice from folks on this site. Thank you again. All good advice. I did all the body work, which took a ton of time. The battery area was eaten up, so I had to rebuild that and part of the firewall. And acid had dripped down onto the lower passenger side of the front fender (on the inside) and eaten a hole there. I eliminated the side markers and holes from the rear bumper to smooth the car up (which required a lot more welding). Accompanying photos will tell the rest of the story. in other posts under my moniker, are write-ups on some of the efforts that went into this thing. I knew the engine was either a crate engine or had been built by a very good shop. It had never been run until I started it recently, but I have no other information on it. I pulled the rocker covers and discovered new roller-rockers, so that told me the heads had been done and likely the cam was an upgrade. Along with the car came a new (in the box) Holley 670 Avenger, and the intake was aftermarket. I was not, however, prepared for the aggressive cam in this engine. Yikes. Very lumpy, and it revs very quickly. There are still issues to sort out. The headlights didn't work properly, and after many hours I traced that to a loose wire in a relay socket. The turn signals didn't work, and that turned out to be because the new flasher unit had worked itself loose in its socket. The Holley 670 carb doesn't deliver enough fuel when I put my foot into it, so I've bought a larger accelerator nozzle to try to keep it from stumbling (but haven't yet put that in). The Holley website says that's an issue in lighter cars--that the accelerator pump system as delivered is dialed in for heavy vehicles. The Vintage Air air conditioner doesn't work, so I need to have the refrigerant pulled out in order to troubleshoot (I'm going to have a shop do it). And the tach doesn't work, so I need to pull it and see what's going on. Maybe another loose wire or something else simple. Other than that, everything else works fine. It's scary fast--too fast for a guy my age (I'll turn 80 this July). I'll post a few photos below. The bottom two are as it sat when I bought it. Lots more rust than meets the eye--all properly patched now. I have painted my recent projects until now, but this was done by a local body shop. I then did all the cut and buff (and it still needs a final buffing, then after it warms up and the paint has hardened more, I do one more swirl removal and wax it. Edited March 1, 2022 by wingwalker spelling error, added a little Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rxx2rxx2 Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 Very nice! I wish I had all the skills and time for a nice project like yours! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rxx2rxx2 Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 When you put the JTR front motor mounts in, did it drop the engine lower a bit? I have a fiberglass hood with a cowl induction hood. I'd like to get a stock hood on but the engine sits too high right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingwalker Posted May 10, 2022 Author Share Posted May 10, 2022 rxx2rxx2 The JTR mounts placed the engine low enough for a stock hood (this one is off a 240Z). I fretted about it, but even with that rather large air cleaner, it clears nicely. JTR makes a pair of spacers that lift the front end in relation to the front crossmember for more under-hood clearance, and I purchased those. But I didn't need them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rxx2rxx2 Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Thank you for that information! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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