will 77 hood fit on 73?

[Guest Philanthr0py]

Hi i got a 77 280z and a 73 240z in my garage, the 240z's hood has a crack in it and i was wondering if the 77 280z's hood will fit bolt directly onto the 73?

[Guest Anonymous]

yes

[Guest Philanthr0py]

So how many parts can be directly switched over?

[Guest Anonymous]

Undo the hood from the hinges and take the hood latch off since it will most likely be a chore to align a different hood to an old car thru trial and error.. and you do not want to fight a mis aligned latch getting stuck or "locked" to the cowl bu accident.I have taken off hoods to pull a motor and found when re-installing the same hood that there was every reason to believe the hood would never fit right again and that is when I premarked the hood bolt locations. Lubricate and work all the hinges on the damaged hood prior to removing the hood to ease that burden during trial and error alignment of the replacement hood.You may have to move the fender alignment to get the hood straight with the fenders, After 30 years ..Things shift...

[Guest Philanthr0py]

Will the headliner from the 77 fit onto the 73?

[Guest Philanthr0py]

if it's not too much trouble, can you make a list of all the things that can be swapped over?

[Guest Z-rific]

Just about everything will swap over. If you have the R200 rear end in the 77 (which I think you do), it's larger and stronger than the R180 you have in the 240.

 

You may just want to take the cowl off before swapping hoods. It's only about 5 or 6 bolts and it may make getting to the latch a lot easier.

 

I got my hood caught on my cowl once when I loosened the cowl to get the right fender off. Little bit annoying.

[Guest Philanthr0py]

how do I tell visually which rear end I have?

[Guest Anonymous]

web page check this out for reference. The 280 pumpkin diff is slightly larger and pooched out further on one side. I almost have to use a picture for comparison. Also Victoria British has some good diagrans in their free catalog, 1-800-255-088

[Sleek Z]

About the "just about everything will swap between 240Zs and 280Z" comment above, you are dead wrong. Even though all were designated "S30" bodies, Nissan re-engineered and restamped the Z body and doors 5 times between 1970 and 1978. Although many parts will interchange properly, an amzing amount will not. To save time and money when buying and hassling with swaps and installation it is wise to be well informed so you will not ind out the hard way by trial and error.

 

If many of you are interested in finding out what parts will and will not swap, best economical set of info I can recommend for quick answers is the small, but super informative publication titled Parts Interchange Guide, that I sell on my website at http://zparts.com/literature/icminfo.html I carry it everywhere I go. It's save me tons of money and time over the years.

 

Larry, did you know that I have an even more graphic photo comparison on my ZPARTS.COM website between the big and small "pumpkins" you referred to above. Link to that photo is at http://zparts.com/zptech.html half way down the page.

[Guest Anonymous]

Hello Eric, I have been referring fellows to that great pumpkin comparison photo of yours in your informative website but my computer memory got wiped out. Yes that guide of yours would be very helpful for parts chasing. Recently I just tried to interchange internal door parts in a 1976 from a 1977 Zee which were totally different save for a few screws.. BTW that last red Z convertible must have had a modified G nose to simulate a Ferrari grille opening . The seller's late fatherinlaw had two Z's (V8 also)that were for sale. Sad that a guy puts this together and the heirs just peddle it off.

[Guest VertexZ]

the following are compatible:

guards

headlight buckets

bonnet

scuttle panel

seats

hatch

most mechanicals

 

will not:

doors (different latch mechanism)

[Guest Z-rific]

Well if you want to nit pick and talk about door internals and the like, then, sure there is a nice list of parts that aren't interchangeable (without modification or fabircations).

 

But, come on, a ton of the major parts do interchange. Engines, transmissions, rear ends, intake manifolds, heads, hoods, rear end, bumpers, blah, blah blah.

[Guest Anonymous]

Z-rifck... The point being made was that there are differences in the 70-78 Zs and a little knowledge "guide" would save a person time and money... Yes a ton of parts interchange but we would not want to give a person the idea that these cars are all identical clones with total parts compatiability. For example.. awhile back I got the notion from reading a few Hybrid posts to go out and get some maxima brackets to bolt up some rear discs real cheap. My friend and I spent the whole day at a pick and pull jacking up Maximas to find every bracket combination but the right one. A little parts knowledge would have saved a lot of time.These threads are opinion searches for "what works" and my "opinions" have been corrected many times and I have benefited by those corrections from other members. Todays knowledge :A person wants an engine tilter and combined responses from members produces the same engine tilter available $40.00 less from one source. Hopefully this will save many time and money selecting an engine tilter. and Eric Nyerlin has probably forgot more than I will ever learn about Datsuns. His website is always a learning experience for me.. Plus photographer Eric is also our Datsun historian that has been collecting examples of "different Datsuns" for years

[Guest Z-rific]

Hey, I'm not questioning anybody's expertise here. I've learned way too much from this website to do that. And there's no harm in having additional reference material.

 

Maybe I shouldn't have said "just about everything" and should have said "most parts either interchange directly or with some minor modifications"?

[Guest Anonymous]

u r a rite Z

[Sleek Z]

 

I just happened to check back to this thread several days after my last post and have read the several "assumptions" made about how many parts interchange within the 70-78 S30 models actually interchange and already can see how some could be easily mislead by some of the comments.

 

While it is true that many parts will "bolt up" or can be modified to interchange from one model to another with time, skill and extra expense, the list of what will not interchange is quite long. I think what is being overlooked here is that when one needs a part to replace a worn out or damaged one on his particular model, most would prefer to find a part that will interchange without a lot of hassle or extra expense.

 

For instance, one person said seats are interchangeable, but not all are without significant modification. It can be done and if one likes to tinker, all kinds of non Z model seats can be adapted as well, but strictly speaking not all S30 seats will practically. If you are just trying to replace that worn out passenger seat that your main squeeze is always bitchin about do you want to reinvent the wheel just so she'll cruise with you again? Think about it?

 

Another mentioned bumpers as being interchangeable, but actually very few are without heavy and time consuming modification.

 

Another waved off the problems of door part interchange, but wait until your 240Z door window gets smashed or your door regulator goes bad and the only parts car available in the junk yard is a 260Z with the thin looking 240Z style bumpers. To an untrained eye, the 260Z door window and regulator may look interchangeable, even after you pay for them and bring them home to swap them ou, but hours later, cursing everything in sight , you will have discovered that they are not.

 

Hey, it's only time and money, right? So off you go again to the local pick and pull, out your money, to go "guess searching" once again. Anybody been there before? What if you had a Parts Interchange Guide with you the next time??

 

Same goes for some engine exhaust manifolds, header pipes, throwout bearings, transmission mounts, differentilal hanger bars, distributors, air flow meters, ECUs, driveshafts and some differential flanges,

 

Questions: will all interior panels in all 240Z models interchange and fit properly amongst all years? Are all steering wheel column surrounds interchangeable? Do all gauges, fuse blocks, head light & turn signal switches, wiper motors, consoles and bumpers interchange properly within all 240Z models?

 

Will all gas tanks interchange on all S30 models or at least will all 280Z tanks interchange within that model series? What about bumper end pieces on just the 77-78 models? Are all S30 windshields interchangeable?

 

What I am driving at is that although the Hybridz spirit here is strong on adaptation, modification and fabrication, setting out to purchase many used parts for your S30 cars can turn into a nightmare of hassle and failure if you are not equipped with either a lot of hard earned experience or a little handy Parts Interchange Guide such as what I mentioned before.

 

Being in the parts business for over 16 years now, I have answered thousands of phone calls and emails from parts buyers which ask endless questions about what they can swap into what. Trying to serve them over the years has taught me to be very careful about shipping out just any old part from any old model year. These days I deal with many sub groups of the Z community which make very different demands upon me as a used parts source. Collectors and restorers especially are becoming the most demanding about finding only the most original and best quality used parts proper to their car's production date. Racers are after "trick" parts that they can swap in or modify legally to maintain a competive edge. Hybridz'ers constantly want me to solve "mix and match" problems in order to install the latest trendy hot mod on their project cars while many daily driver types just want to fnd the correct OEM part that will tix their cars so they can get to work the next day.

 

So, in short, before anyone tries to tell ya "virtually all S30 parts interchange with little or no hassle", think again. The friendship, marriage or life you save by knowing your interchange facts in advance may be your own!

 

OK guys, ball's in somebody else's court,

[fl327]

one of the reasons i LOVE my 280, no guessing, i want a door, im going to any jy and grabbing one, same with dashes, consoles, door panels, windows, hatches, locks, trannies,headliners, motors, oh yeah baby r200s, yeah baby. oh yeah. he's c-walking, oh yeah, hes doing the 280z-walk

god i used to my m21.

[Sleek Z]

Len,

 

Uh Oh, another "assumer" loose on this thread . I figure you were trying to play it safe with your guesses, but sorry to inform you, of the 280Z parts you listed, one will absolutely not interchange amongst all 280Z model years, another will not interchange without further modification and a third is a nit pic border line issue that I'd have to research a bit more before claiming that it will not work. Care to guess which ones? Anybody?

 

"I am outta here"

[Guest Z-rific]

Let's remember what website we are on here. This is not a website for purists or those who are looking to keep their car OEM. I would like to believe that anybody who has found their way to this site and posts here understands that this is a site dedicated to MODIFYING their Z car.

 

It's all semantics anyway. Will a ZXT engine swap over to a 240Z? Of course. Will it need modifications? Of course.

 

Certainly a list of directly swappable parts is a big help for anybody with donor cars or JY shoppers. But if they are led to believe that items not on the list should be avoided, then they are missing out on another large list of items that may need only small modifications to work.

 

Your website has given me some valuable ideas (particularly in the tialight mod section). But to call me an "assumer" is in the same way "assuming" on your part, making it a hypocritical comment.