Guest CarGuyChuck Posted July 29, 2003 Share Posted July 29, 2003 alright, this is gonna sound stupid to some people I guess, but I really need some help. I was watching that supertunertv show on the Datsuns, where adam corrola built the racecar, and I decided that's what I wanted to do with my '79 280ZX. I think it would be cooler as a race car than as a daily driver. So the car is entirely down to bare metal now, and the engine is pulled. I've got the engine in the shop getting switched over to carbs, and I still plan on keeping it emissions legal and all. I want to be able to drive the car on the street, but also be able to enter it in SCCA events if I want to. I've found my wheel, and racing buckets, and shocks and springs, so now I'm deciding what to do about the interior. I am going to order the rollbar from victoria british (or motorsport, I can't remember which one), and fill in most of the dash with fiberglass, cause I'm taking out the AC and stuff and I want a cleaner look. So now here comes my question. What do I do with this newly rust proofed interior? I don't want carpet, but I know I shouldn't just leave bare metal everywhere should I? Should I put the trim pieces back in? I was thinking of that rhino lining spray on bedliner material throughout the floor and rear, just to kind of rustproof the car, but I guess POR would do the same thing. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can go about this, or has anyone built a racer and have pics? I know I sound like a noob, but it's because I have never done the racer thing before... Please help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cbrunberg Posted July 29, 2003 Share Posted July 29, 2003 I've used por 15 and had great results in a very rusty 64 nova. It's going to be the lightest solution to your problem. There are also Q pads but they weigh a ton. Rhino works well (I've had a lot of the things made in my shop coated) is not as heavy as Q pads but costs a lot. I suggest. Do it yourself Herculiner. I used my utility truck as a test bed. I applied the Duplicolor and Herculiner products and by far the Herc is better and tougher but costs about 40% more, $90 for a one gallon kit. It's fuel resistant has little ground up rubber in it (for traction), deadens sound and it's tough.. My .02 Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted July 29, 2003 Share Posted July 29, 2003 How are you going to switch to carbs and remain emissions legal? For the paint question you may want to send a PM to RacerX. He will give you a more definitive answer than I can. If all of the rust is gone I would just primer and paint. Since your car will be street driven you will want some type of undercoating to prevent rocks from chipping off paint and causing rust. But if this will truely be a race car, then you shouldn't be worried about sound deadening. Skip the weight of the rhino liner and just live with the painted floor. You may want to do a search on POR15. If the search engine is working there are numerous post about people's experience with that stuff. If you aren't covering rust then I don't know why you would want to use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tannji Posted July 29, 2003 Share Posted July 29, 2003 I would recommend giving a couple of the products on this page a gander.... I am going to treat my car liberally with several products from this company, and my headers with another that isnt quite on the market yet. I suspect that a combination of Rustgrip and Supertherm would out-perform most of the other products on the market, and I am pretty certain it has a longer life expectancy. http://www.supertherm.net/ru100000.htm tannji Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CarGuyChuck Posted July 29, 2003 Share Posted July 29, 2003 Thanks a lot for all of the help so far. Like I said. My goal is to have something that's street legal, in case I want to show it off for the ladies, but also something I can drive to the SCCA events. I mean, I'm like an hour from the superspeedway (talladega for those not from the south). I figure why not. The whole car is stripped to bare metal, and it would be a lot cooler than just another restomod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clifton Posted August 2, 2003 Share Posted August 2, 2003 A true "race car" on the street is something I would not drive everyday. You here everylittle peice of debris the tires pick up, It's loud, stiff, and you'll wander and bounce down anything that's not as smooth as a race track. I would do a cage not a bar. I would also not do a ZX due to weight, you want to be as light as possible and a stripped and gutted ZX with no windows is still heaver than an S30 with interior. I stripped my interior and scraped all the black sound proofing off the floor then painted it with can paint to match the exterior. I need to do the occasional touch up but it works good. I rewired it, lexan hatch window, fiberglass doors, hatch, and hood. Made an aluminum dash and removed everything that was not needed all to get it as light as possible. There's some pics if you click my link at the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tannji Posted August 2, 2003 Share Posted August 2, 2003 wow, what a shame to hack an original Z that way..... = ) now that I have that out of my system.... that is one mean machine.... love it! those brake rotors are pretty extreme, and I really like that cage. Too bad I will never be able to justify that kind of work on mine, lol. I guess I will have to settle for only getting the brake conversion parts from Ross at Modern-modersport..... and that is going to take some explaining to my financial partner = ) I havent had the opportunity to drive a really hopped up L28 motor, just heard one rev that some kid had dumped around 600hp into, and ended up being to scare to drive. (too scared, or too wise.... my memory kinda blurs the distinction a little = ) Anyhoo... really like the car.... picking up a digicam replacement soon, so I'll be posting some project stuff here soon. tannji Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted August 2, 2003 Share Posted August 2, 2003 STOP! If you are going to race with SCCA or NASA or any of the other sanctioning bodies you must BUY AND READ their rules books before you continue any farher. A number of the things you have listed are illegal modifications and you are missing a couple required safety modifications. If you showed up at a track you would not be allowed to race. Again, BUY THE RULE BOOK, and don't rely on any rule interpretations from people posting on message boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted August 2, 2003 Share Posted August 2, 2003 What John Said... Doing a bolt in ROLL BAR will NOT make it club legal for any of the groups I'm aware of. Are you truly planning to "RACE" it or just do instructional "Track Day Events"? You need a plan and you need to stick with it once you put it to paper. Mike Kelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CarGuyChuck Posted August 2, 2003 Share Posted August 2, 2003 wow... okay... here goes... First, I just want something with a race car look, hence the roll bar and not a full cage... second, It's great that a Z is lighter, but I have a ZX... period I can't afford another car. And third, I only want it for like open track days and stuff.. not actuall SCCA racing. I just want something with a race car look... only.. Thanks, and sorry for the confusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted August 2, 2003 Share Posted August 2, 2003 CarGuyChuck, Sorry to come off so strong, but we're pretty tech oriented here. We get lots of inquiries about projects like you describe, except some guys really are under the impression that they will be able to race on the track and drive it on the street. Guys don't think about fire systems, roll cages, window nets, safety harnesses, tons of other "Little things" to make a race car a race car. Glad to see you are well grounded and just want the "Look". Check with NASA or Carguys to see what you need for track events. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CarGuyChuck Posted August 3, 2003 Share Posted August 3, 2003 Thanks for understanding man. Yeah, I don't have the cash to even afford the insurance to drive a racecar. But I just didn't want another everyday 280ZX on the streets. I just love the idea of pulling up at one of the clubs in my old school racer looking car, that still has a stereo and comfortable seats. So anyway, if NASA or Carguys is out there, I would love some help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rc's240z Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 First i am glad that you saw that show, it was pretty cool. Les Cannaday invited John Morton to show up and managed to cut himself out of the show..The 510 you saw originally belonged to a guy here in southern california (Dave Wilson) who built the car with the help of Les Cannaday. It is really a street car with a few extras. the tricky part was finding all the parts for the JDM motor out of Canada. I apreciate your interest but the following posts are correct, you need to have a plan and follow it. If you have questions about the 510 you can call Les at 760-940-6365. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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