New girl from GA with a '76 280z named Audrey. Oh, and my name is Emily.

[SixSquared]

Hey all! I've been lusting after a Z car for a while and when one almost listerally fell in my lap, well, I had to jump! Audrey is a bone stock 76 280z, I'm the third owner... She needs some love, but I have been daily driving her no problem and really enjoying the old girl.

I do have a question... I read online about swapping out the 4 speed manual for a 5 speed out of an 81 280zx... Is it a direct bolt in? If not, any other recommendations for getting her to be a 5 speed relatively painlessly? I drive on the highway to work and aside from the sheer agony of hearing that L28 screaming at 4000rpms for a half an hour, I would like a bit better fuel economy haha. Any suggestions please let me know!

Looking forward to getting the modifications started and getting rid of the horrible flat black spray paint that she's been covered in!

[zdogg]

Welcome, though I can't answer your question directly, If you search the arcives the answer is in there.

Good luck with the swap!

[cygnusx1]

Welcome. The front bumper/grill indicates 1977 or 1978 model, but the non-vented hood is consistent with 1976 and older. Maybe it was titled wrong, or parts have been swapped around. Not that it really matters. Any Datsun 5-speed from 1977(?) to 1983 280Z or 280ZX will bolt right in with zero modifications to the car. The 5-speed transmission from the 280ZX Turbo models, offered from 1981-1983 will not fit, without a custom drive shaft made.

Edited March 22, 2012 by cygnusx1

[SixSquared]

Welcome. The front bumper/grill indicates 1977 or 1978 model, but the non-vented hood is consistent with 1976 and older. Maybe it was titled wrong, or parts have been swapped around. Not that it really matters. Any Datsun 5-speed from 1977(?) to 1983 280Z or 280ZX will bolt right in with zero modifications to the car. The 5-speed transmission from the 280ZX Turbo models, offered from 1981-1983 will not fit, without a custom drive shaft made.

Thanks for the info about the transmissions... the hunt begins!!! Yeah I have no idea about part swappage or anything like that. There's no title, since it's so old one isn't needed. All I know is it's a Z. And, more importantly, it's MY Z.

[EhlersRS]

Welcome to the board Emily! There's a 1976 280Z just down the road from my house which I considered buying, but the rust is so bad underneath it would take a team of welders to repair! The car spent most of its life in Iowa, however for a short time it was in Marietta, GA. You aren't too far from my old stomping grounds in Chattanooga! You'll find a lot of great people here and more information that you can retain!

Robert S.

[SteveJ]

Welcome, Emily. If you have the chance, stop by a Georgia Z Club meeting to meet some fellow enthusiasts. Also, upcoming local events that you might be interested in are the Caffeine & Octane shows in Alpharetta and The Mitty at Road Atlanta.

Caffeine and Octane happens on the first Sunday of the month, early in the morning. The next one is on April 1.

The next Georgia Z Club meeting is April 5.

The Mitty is at the end of April this year. A few of us from the Georgia Z Club usually attend.

[gogriz91]

Welcome from Warner Bubba. The commute to RA must be nice.

[KAL7467]

Welcome from a fellow atlanta metro z owner. Their are a few gooz z shops in the area aswell as the ga z club

[SixSquared]

Welcome, Emily. If you have the chance, stop by a Georgia Z Club meeting to meet some fellow enthusiasts. Also, upcoming local events that you might be interested in are the Caffeine & Octane shows in Alpharetta and The Mitty at Road Atlanta.

Caffeine and Octane happens on the first Sunday of the month, early in the morning. The next one is on April 1.

The next Georgia Z Club meeting is April 5.

The Mitty is at the end of April this year. A few of us from the Georgia Z Club usually attend.

I'm at Caffeine and Octane every month with my dad! He and I go check out the cars and then we go to brunch/lunch in ATL. My parents live over in Athens so it's not far. I'll definitely check out the GA club. I'm trying to get off for the Mitty, but I have a bunch of weekends requested off, and now with TWO high maintenance children (I also have a BMW 328is), I need to make as much money as possible haha.

The main reason I was so stoked about getting a Z, aside from the purely sexual looks, is that my good friend Kelly owns Garage Zero (garagezero.com), and they specialize in Z's, so I knew if I got one I would have a solid support system.

I took a better pic today, since I removed the horrible diving board of a front bumper and washed her... juuuuust in time for the rain to start, as always haha

[SixSquared]

Welcome from Warner Bubba. The commute to RA must be nice.

there's no commute... If I'm home on the weekends I throw open my windows and listen to 'em running I can be from my front door to theirs in under 5 minutes. It's wonderful.

[280~Master]

Welcome. The front bumper/grill indicates 1977 or 1978 model, but the non-vented hood is consistent with 1976 and older. Maybe it was titled wrong, or parts have been swapped around. Not that it really matters. Any Datsun 5-speed from 1977(?) to 1983 280Z or 280ZX will bolt right in with zero modifications to the car. The 5-speed transmission from the 280ZX Turbo models, offered from 1981-1983 will not fit, without a custom drive shaft made.

Check the door plate to find out exact yea and build date. The zx tranny will fit without a custom drive shaft. The T-56 is the turbo tranny. You may need the zx drive shaft but I believe it's the 240 that needs the longer drive shaft to use the zx 5 speed tranny.

[LeonV]

Check the door plate to find out exact yea and build date. The zx tranny will fit without a custom drive shaft. The T-56 is the turbo tranny. You may need the zx drive shaft but I believe it's the 240 that needs the longer drive shaft to use the zx 5 speed tranny.

The turbo transmission is the T-5, which needs a shorter driveshaft with the correct splines in order to swap in. The typical swap is a ZX (or Z) 5-speed. Use the driveshaft that connects to your current transmission and you'll be fine (same spline count), unless you swap differentials at the same time.