Any straight advice on this? Will it clear the tunnel? Would I be best advised to go look for a 77-78 5-speed? Should I use the 240Z driveline or not? It will be bolted up to the '81 R200 rear end.

Sorry Mike, I realize I just crossed over into two topics. Whoopsie...

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"Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass his defences; hit him where he does not expect you" -Lao Tzu

Yes, that is what I did, after alot of research. I found an '81 5 speed at the boneyard. I took my chances, and did not have it checked out by a tranny shop after I bought it. At the junkyard, remove the drain plug - it's okay, the fluid will drain out and you'll be left with a magnetized drain plug. The telltale sign of a worn tranny is lots of pieces and small irregular chunks of metal attached to that drain plug. If you're lucky, like me, you'll find only fine metal filings.

With that info, I decided to forgo the checkout and just installed it. Not very scientific but I just played the odds. Nissan trannies don't generally go bad.

I heard about notching the tranny tunnel and went ahead and did it - then I started reading about 1.) bending the shifter after applying heat 2.) use a 76-78 shifter, which has the bend in it (haven't checked that one out though).

I found someone who had a bent shifter, so I installed it with my notched tunnel anyway.

Maybe you've already finished your project but if you haven't, post back any questions you have.

Good Luck

Rob72

240/5spd/4.11/SU's

The 280ZX 5-speed transmission will fit in the Z with no problem. It should just bolt in. The handle idea in the last post is a good one. I didn't do it to mine and I had to cut a small area of the fuze box area to get it in. You can all so shorten the shifter by a inch and retap the treads. So it won't hit your stereo. You already have put in the later model rearend. To make the 5-speed work the best. The older 280Z rearend is not good. The 280ZX rearend is the best. If you can find a 3:90 geared rearend, put it in and have a great off the line machine. Most everything is a bolt on. Good Luck with it.