California 1978 Datsun 280z Restomod

[siteunseen]

We might be brothers!

[Patcon]

Will the collar on the old drive shaft move over to the new drive shaft?

[Kevin McSweeney]

15 hours ago, Patcon said:

Will the collar on the old drive shaft move over to the new drive shaft?

Good question. Is it necessary? As far as I can see it would be a cut and weld which I'm not thrilled about..

[Patcon]

2 hours ago, Kevin McSweeney said:

Good question. Is it necessary? As far as I can see it would be a cut and weld which I'm not thrilled about..

I believe it prevents oil that might leak out the rear seal from slinging around every where. That's my theory at least

[Kevin McSweeney]

On 6/21/2019 at 10:41 AM, Patcon said:

I believe it prevents oil that might leak out the rear seal from slinging around every where. That's my theory at least

Makes sense. I'm replacing the rear main seal next week anyway so may leave it without the collar, for now at least. 

[EuroDat]

On 6/21/2019 at 7:41 PM, Patcon said:

I believe it prevents oil that might leak out the rear seal from slinging around every where. That's my theory at least

I have wondered that too. I know older cars with leaf spring suspension used them to protect the yoke from stones etc scratching it. Leaf springs would push the yoke in and out of the transmission when they moved up and down.

That doesn't count here because the rear diff on a 280Z is virtually fixed and does not move forward.

Preventing oil from slinging all over the place sound as good as any.

Edited June 27, 2019 by EuroDat

[Kevin McSweeney]

No real updates at the moment, I've been so busy, but a few opportunities have presented themselves so looking for some opinions:

First off, let me say that I'm putting the original stock motor and transmission back in the Z within the next month, and I do plan on driving it as is for at least a year once it's ready. I'm aiming to have it on the road early to mid 2020.

 

Now, I have done lots of searching and reading and I'm aware of the facts and figures and advantages and disadvantages, so here I'm really just looking for subjective views. I've been offered 2 motors from different people so here are the options:

1. I was offered an L28 N42/N42 combo in good shape for just a couple hundred bucks. I'm considering buying this as a 'spare' and over time dropping flat top pistons and potentially some 240 rods in there to up compression, and farming the head out to be ported and polished, valves deshrouded, and have Isky or the like do me a light cam to work with the flow of the head. The aim would be to have a street motor with compression close to 10:1 that sounds great and is a blast to drive, even if it's not that powerful. I'd be sticking with FI so likely changing out to MS.

2. I was also offered an L28ET with turbo and downpipe. These are rare now from what I can gather so this is appealing, but it's not cheap. I'm looking at $1,500 and closer to $2,000 shipped to me. I would need to pick up a harness and ECU among other accessories so could end up being a sizeable investment.

 

I'm leaning towards the first option because (a) I feel like it'd be more of an opportunity to dive into working on these motors (I'm mechanically inclined but not very experienced with engine building/rebuilding), (b) I just prefer the sound of an NA straight-six, and (c) the initial investment is much less which is important, given that I still have a lot of time and money to invest in the resto(mod).

 

Anyway I'm rambling but interested to hear opinions. Again, to be clear, this is a side-project for the longer term. The aim is to have the original stock L28 up and running within the next month.

Edited July 26, 2019 by Kevin McSweeney

[grannyknot]

I would grab that N42/N42 engine while you still can, a spare is always a good idea but these days with prices going it will also be an investment.

[Patcon]

I have 2 turbo engines in the shop but when given the choice I would go NA over installing one of the turbo motors I have. It's just simpler and much more forgiving. If I build the other Z in the driveway, providing I live long enough, we might go turbo in that. If it stays broken all the time I will still have another Z to drive

[Kevin McSweeney]

Agreed, I think I'll pick up that motor next weekend and work on it in parallel with the rest of the build.

 

In other news, I managed to get myself another steal this morning.. ?

[rcb280z]

Just make sure your tach and speedo are up to par maintenance wise. Bulbs, etc. are good. Because once you install that dash cap you will NOT be able to remove the tach and speedo. I have tried several times to remove mine with no luck! 

And the cap won't fit without some finagling. Mine required heat to make it fit "better", not perfect by any means. To this day I wished I had just covered all the cracks with a dash mat instead of a cap. Was lazy and had an upholstery shop, that a friend recommended, do it and they put freakin' silicone all over the dash which is incorrect. But I didn't find this out until I made an attempt to remove it at a later date! 

Biggest mistake I've made with this Z besides the cowl induction hood, which is going away soon.

 

[Kevin McSweeney]

1 hour ago, rcb280z said:

Just make sure your tach and speedo are up to par maintenance wise. Bulbs, etc. are good. Because once you install that dash cap you will NOT be able to remove the tach and speedo. I have tried several times to remove mine with no luck! 

And the cap won't fit without some finagling. Mine required heat to make it fit "better", not perfect by any means. To this day I wished I had just covered all the cracks with a dash mat instead of a cap. Was lazy and had an upholstery shop, that a friend recommended, do it and they put freakin' silicone all over the dash which is incorrect. But I didn't find this out until I made an attempt to remove it at a later date! 

Biggest mistake I've made with this Z besides the cowl induction hood, which is going away soon.

 

So that is actually a full new dash - as opposed to a dash cap - courtesy of Vintage Dashes in Albany. That being said, I will definitely be giving the gauges a once over and replacing/upgrading all of the bulbs before it gets installed. I'm really thinking of fitting the dash to the frame, and then farming out the installation. I definitely like the feeling of doing as much of the work as possible myself, but there are certain areas that I just know are better handled by the professionals ?