3/'70 240z + 280ZX Trans + R180 Diff. Drive-shaft question

[ksbeta]

I know this has been covered ad nauseam, but I can't seem to parse together enough facts for my particular situation.

Car is a 3/'70 240z. I'm fairly certain I have an R180 diff, but it's alleged to have 4.11 gears. I have a 280zx transmission on-hand that I plan on dropping in. Which drive-shaft do I need? The transmission & drive-shaft that are currently installed are going to go in my '70, so I can't start there. I need to find a drive-shaft - is there a particular year/length I should be looking for?

Thanks in advance. Free beer to anyone who (a) has the right answer and ( comes to my house to pick it up

[Diseazd]

The 70 Z's had the angular half shafts with the short driveshaft. Use what comes out of the car......Or, go ahead and do the conversion which is a late diff mount, a long driveshaft and reversing the mustache bar. I'm only two hours away.....I like IPA's from the keg. All of this assumes the PO didn't already do the swap.

Edited December 22, 2012 by Diseazd

[EuroDat]

Like Diseazd said; you got the short shaf already. In the series I 240Z the diff sat 35mm forward. You can move the diff back to the series II position and use the driveshaft. I think there are issues with the tunnel not clearing the gearbox on the early models. The rear gearbox mount needs to be modified because the 5sp is 50mm longer.

This is a good blog on the swap http://www.motortopia.com/cars/1973-datsun-240z-11118/car-pictures/240sx-transmission-swap-14041/DSC04293JPG_Thumbnail1.jpg-266482

Chas

[ksbeta]

Ah shoot! Sorry Guy, I typed the wrong dates there. It's a 3/'71. Does that change anything?

I can't reuse the driveshaft I have because it's going in the other car. I need to buy something, but want to buy the right one. Is there a drive-shaft I can buy that will pair with the 280ZX transmission and the stock '71 R180 Diff? I don't believe any modifications have already been done; this is the car that had the Roadster transmission installed when I obtained it.

Edit: I can't keep two cars straight. Not sure how you manage to do 6+

Edited December 22, 2012 by ksbeta

[EuroDat]

You have a series II. The series I stopped in jan 71. You will need to find a driveshaft out of a seires I or shorten your shaft.

Follow the link I posted in #3. Its a good blog with info about the driveshafts.

Chas

[Diseazd]

I believe the 3/71 is an early model (short driveshaft).......If the previous owner didn't do the update, you simply use the same length driveshaft that came out of the car. Measure it.....if it's the short driveshaft, he didn't upgrade the drive train....if it's the longer driveshaft, he did. The dimension of the late and early trannies are identical except the location of the shift lever......that will require mods to your console or shifter if you indeed have the early Z. Do you have an early ashtray etc.? Someone else could chime in regarding production dates for the early cars.

[ksbeta]

Guy - Just rec'd and responded to your PM, but wanted to answer some of your questions here that I just noticed. Fred B. and I scratched our heads over this matter of production dates in my driveway today, but the windchill probably affected our ability to recall.

My '71 does indeed have a Series-1 Ashtray. It does not have vertical defrosters, rear hatch vents, Series-1 B-pillar emblems, Series-1 gauges, or anything else my '70 has.

[Diseazd]

Hopefully it's the updated series (longer driveshaft), but with the early ashtray, I doubt it. My 71 is the same thing...early ashtray but everything else including pillar emblems are late Z items. My driveshaft was the short one. I'll check the build date, but I believe it's 5/71. Just checked.....it's 5/71 which means you probably have the short driveshaft unless updated. To upgrade to longer driveshaft, you need a late diff mount, a long driveshaft, a 72 diff hanger and you'll flip the mustache bar. If you don't want to do that, you'll need the short driveshaft and as Eurodat stated, you're going to need to either modify your console or shifter as Zedyone just finished doing to keep the shifter from hitting your early console.The tranny mount in your 3/71 will fit the ZX tranny and bolt right up.

Edited December 22, 2012 by Diseazd

[ksbeta]

Pulled the differential and roadster transmission. Will try a Series-1 driveshaft once I pull it from the '70. Thank you all for your help.

[Zed Head]

I can't really tell which car has what parts in it and where they're going, with a 70 and 71 240Z and a roadster, but I think that you can easily identify the forward shifted differential in the 240Z with the short drive shaft by looking at the angle of the half-shafts to the wheels, from the side of the car. The later 240s, 260s and 280 half-shafts will be perpendicular to the wheel and side of the car, the early 70 cars have an obvious forward angle. I seen it with my own eyes, in the wrecking yard. Might have to remove a wheel but it seemed obvious when I was looking at them.

Or you can measure from u-joint cap center to u-joint cap center (easiest measurement if it's installed). The short one's are ~21 1/8", the longer ones are ~22.1/4".

[EuroDat]

Zed, you beat me to it. I was just going to post the length of my shaft at 565mm. Thats the long one.

Chas

[EuroDat]

Looks like they had a lot of series I parts over when they started the series II and used the parts until stock was finished. Or maybe the parts supliers didnt have the new parts ready in time through logistical or communication issues bla bla.