flatout Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 Those are incredible. I'm with Mitchel on needing to know the weight difference. You gotta put them on a scale for us. Very interested in fitment and your thoughts along the way. They look like they allow for roll up windows and factory door handles too. very nice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFloridian Posted April 8 Author Share Posted April 8 3 hours ago, Mitchel0407 said: I would love to see a full weight comparison between the original and carbon fiber door. I know from lugging my 280z doors around that the factory doors are quit heavy. They are super light, I’ll get a weight on the shell this week and share, and in a few months when I get around to installing them I’ll get a full weight with windows/hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFloridian Posted April 20 Author Share Posted April 20 Axles finally came in. Didn’t have much time this weekend, but cleaned the top of the motor and bolt holes and got one head installed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatout Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 Trickflows are a great choice. I have a turbo 351 so not a direct comparison but when I switched from GT40s to 11r 190s it made a massive difference. Unrelated to the engine. I weighed my stock 280z door today. Its gutted so I can paint them. so no glass, regulator, handle, lock, hardware, window frame ext. just a empty door shell. 34lbs. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74_5.0L_Z Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 Don't forget to use sealant on the short head bolts / studs. They go into the water jackets of the stock block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFloridian Posted April 24 Author Share Posted April 24 On 4/20/2026 at 9:53 AM, flatout said: Trickflows are a great choice. I have a turbo 351 so not a direct comparison but when I switched from GT40s to 11r 190s it made a massive difference. Unrelated to the engine. I weighed my stock 280z door today. Its gutted so I can paint them. so no glass, regulator, handle, lock, hardware, window frame ext. just an empty door shell. 34lbs. Got around to weighing the door and the heads. Old heads were 50.8lbs new ones are 29lbs. The carbon fiber (shell) is 10.4lbs, looks like big weight savings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFloridian Posted April 24 Author Share Posted April 24 (edited) On 4/22/2026 at 10:49 AM, 74_5.0L_Z said: Don't forget to use sealant on the short head bolts / studs. They go into the water jackets of the stock block. Thanks for the reminder, I had not. That’s a couple things you’ve caught, I really appreciate it as I’m doing a lot of these things for the first time. I owe you a few beers if we ever meet up. Took the lower bolts out one at a time, cleaned and torqued back with plenty of thread sealant. Got the second head on today too. Edited April 24 by FastFloridian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74_5.0L_Z Posted April 26 Share Posted April 26 What intake gaskets do you intend to use? I like the FelPro 1262S3 or 1250S3 depending on the intake part size. The S3 version of the gaskets are much more durable than the standard Felpro gaskets. I also apply a really thin smear of Right Stuff RTV around the water jackets when I install the gaskets and lower intake. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFloridian Posted April 26 Author Share Posted April 26 3 hours ago, 74_5.0L_Z said: What intake gaskets do you intend to use? I like the FelPro 1262S3 or 1250S3 depending on the intake part size. The S3 version of the gaskets are much more durable than the standard Felpro gaskets. I also apply a really thin smear of Right Stuff RTV around the water jackets when I install the gaskets and lower intake. Good tip. I’ve got trickflow heads, so I got their gasket kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74_5.0L_Z Posted April 26 Share Posted April 26 If they have the standard paper intake gaskets, throw them on the garbage and get the FelPro S3 gaskets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFloridian Posted April 26 Author Share Posted April 26 2 hours ago, 74_5.0L_Z said: If they have the standard paper intake gaskets, throw them on the garbage and get the FelPro S3 gaskets. No, they look really good, have a little metal in it, and have some rtv type material around all jets, not paper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFloridian Posted April 26 Author Share Posted April 26 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFloridian Posted May 3 Author Share Posted May 3 I’ve been struggling with these Apex rear axles. They require OEM 370Z axles, no aftermarket and not G37 ones. I ordered used ones on eBay, which they recommend, one wasn’t OEM because it had 6 bearings, OEM has 8. So I think I have correct axles and after struggling for a while with the side that has the internal snap ring I looked at the donor axle and the groove is deeper than the new ones. So not sure if new ones have an issue, or if I still don’t have the OEM 370Z axles. Sent Apex and email, we’ll see what they say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFloridian Posted May 9 Author Share Posted May 9 Apex said that batch with the new vendor had the groove to short, they are sending some new ones. Glad it wasn’t me, was racking my brain trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. Go the rockers and intake on today, engine is getting close to done. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatout Posted May 9 Share Posted May 9 engine looks great. Really loosing confidence in APEX parts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFloridian Posted May 10 Author Share Posted May 10 12 hours ago, flatout said: engine looks great. Really loosing confidence in APEX parts. Most of the Apex kit has been good, a few minor fitment issues on some parts and that front bracket to attach the subframe with the hidden carriage bolts was a PIA to get in. Getting these axles has been a mess. I ordered the rear kit 8 months ago and still waiting on parts. Luckily I’ve got lots of other things in my build to work on, but if I didn’t I’d be really upset. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calZ Posted Monday at 06:02 PM Share Posted Monday at 06:02 PM On 5/10/2026 at 5:39 AM, FastFloridian said: Most of the Apex kit has been good, a few minor fitment issues on some parts and that front bracket to attach the subframe with the hidden carriage bolts was a PIA to get in. Getting these axles has been a mess. I ordered the rear kit 8 months ago and still waiting on parts. Luckily I’ve got lots of other things in my build to work on, but if I didn’t I’d be really upset. Flatout got a set of control arms that were made too narrow and don't fit. Apex seems to have been sending things very slowly lately and then having a low rate of good parts when they do send them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFloridian Posted Wednesday at 10:52 PM Author Share Posted Wednesday at 10:52 PM New axle shafts came in today, woohoo. Now that’s how the snap ring is supposed to sit. Hopefully I can put them together this weekend. Also got some other goodies, push to start electronic locks and window kit. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatout Posted Thursday at 11:07 AM Share Posted Thursday at 11:07 AM interested in the power window kit, my cage makes my window crank a bit of a challenge so i was considering a window kit aswell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFloridian Posted Friday at 12:44 PM Author Share Posted Friday at 12:44 PM On 5/14/2026 at 7:07 AM, flatout said: interested in the power window kit, my cage makes my window crank a bit of a challenge so i was considering a window kit aswell. Might be a month or so before I get to it, but I’ll post updates. Figured I’m moving all the guts to the carbon fiber doors, why not see if the auto stuff will work. Played with one of the axles last night, fitment seemed good and went together really quick when they are manufactured correctly 😅. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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