Considering a 1980zx

[Zed Head]

2 hours ago, JHzcar said:

i also 3d printed a carb spacer

What's the material for the spacer?

[JHzcar]

What's the material for the spacer?

PETG, it has good resistance to gasoline and should be ok with the temps, if it has issues then i can switch materials and resolve it. i’m currently soaking a sample part in E10 gasoline for a few days to see how it reacts.


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[JHzcar]

 

 

 

 

trans got back in the car, it drives and shifts great! the shifter i had before kept skipping 2nd so i ordered a new one thats gated and it should be bitchin! also got a new tv cable and shift cable so i been working on installing that. car has purple one way tints that look gorgeous! timing was set at 35 total and hadnt slipped but its breaking up at rpm so im looking at my carburetor to figure out whats up.  i drove it to the first day back to school and didnt get pulled over this time so im quite happy! ill update when i get it tuned right

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Edited January 6, 2022 by JHzcar

[JHzcar]

finally got this car onto the autocross course!! super fun stuff, only real issue im fighting is just keeping the #5 wire from arcing onto the header, its too close to the plug to even fit an actual boot or sleeve, much less a ceramic one, so ive been experimenting with heat shrink and it works for a while but eventually will tear around an edge or something.  

as far as autocrossing the car, it definitely needs some dialing in, the car is very raw, rowdy and unrefined, as to be expected with a v8z driven by a 17 year old.  i live on dirt roads so keeping everything set is near impossible, but if i can get my suspension set evenly then i can work on effectively setting tire pressures.  i met another racer with a turbo L28 280zx, and his car was a lot better around the cones than mine, he had a lot better and a lot more dialed in suspension setup.  ill try to upload videos from the past 2 events ive gone to, if youve never done autocross before, get out there and do it! so so so much fun!

[siteunseen]

Looks fun!

I've always heard the weight difference between the straight 6 and a V8 throws the handling off. V8's are good and fast in a straight line is what I've always been told.

Some reading when you're not auto crossing...

https://www.google.com/search?q=280z+with+a+v8+handling+fix&rlz=1C1BOFA_enUS494US494&oq=280z+with+a+v8+handling+fix&aqs=chrome..69i57j33i160.18681j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[JHzcar]

On 3/25/2022 at 4:00 PM, siteunseen said:

Looks fun!

I've always heard the weight difference between the straight 6 and a V8 throws the handling off. V8's are good and fast in a straight line is what I've always been told.

Some reading when you're not auto crossing...

https://www.google.com/search?q=280z+with+a+v8+handling+fix&rlz=1C1BOFA_enUS494US494&oq=280z+with+a+v8+handling+fix&aqs=chrome..69i57j33i160.18681j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

i think the v8 weighs similar or possibly less than the l28, no accessories, aluminum heads and intake ect, but the positioning sets it off, its not hard to slide the engine front or back an inch or so to help balance, i just really need to start with a full day and a set of scales, the car has a little bit of a lean towards the driverside and a lot of rake, but i haev adjustable height on all 4 corners and i can move the engine around to help get it dialed just right, i think if i get 4 bathroom scales i can stack wood under the other 3 tires and balace the cat corner by corner.

[JHzcar]

quick update, shifter is awesome with the full manual vb, I got a new carb proform 750, switched to a holley style carb with high speed airbleeds and more stuff i can tune. i started college, im at ERAU prescott studying aerospace engineering, learning a lot of good things that i can later apply to the car, and theres lots and lots of mountain roads around here so once the cars up here that should be fun.

over the summer i did do more autoX racing and claimed a first place finish in my class by default(no one else was racing in my class) and ive been improving my handling, i adjusted all my ride heights for even height side to side and even camber, and slightly less rake to keep the back end a lil more planted, illl document my handling journey as i gain more seat time and can hit my now local mount roads more often.  

i blew a headgasket before leaving for college, caught it early enough that there wasnt any damage, but i snapped a headbolt on reassembly so ill deal with that when i get home for thanksgiving.  going to rebuild with head studs and mls headgaskets, and gonna swap to a much bigger cam, 4/7 swap with 250ish duration and .530ish lift, solid lifter ect.  i also have nitrous if i need more speed, but i imagine i wont get much use out of it around here. 

i been looking at swaybars to help with the bodyroll, but theyre pretty expensive especially for a now broke college student, anyone have any experience with making their own for these cars? i was looking at doing like a splined setup but ill have to see, may just end up buying some anyways. ill upload pics when i get back to texas next week.

[JHzcar]

[JHzcar]

On 11/15/2022 at 4:18 PM, JHzcar said:

quick update, shifter is awesome with the full manual vb, I got a new carb proform 750, switched to a holley style carb with high speed airbleeds and more stuff i can tune. i started college, im at ERAU prescott studying aerospace engineering, learning a lot of good things that i can later apply to the car, and theres lots and lots of mountain roads around here so once the cars up here that should be fun.

over the summer i did do more autoX racing and claimed a first place finish in my class by default(no one else was racing in my class) and ive been improving my handling, i adjusted all my ride heights for even height side to side and even camber, and slightly less rake to keep the back end a lil more planted, illl document my handling journey as i gain more seat time and can hit my now local mount roads more often.  

i blew a headgasket before leaving for college, caught it early enough that there wasnt any damage, but i snapped a headbolt on reassembly so ill deal with that when i get home for thanksgiving.  going to rebuild with head studs and mls headgaskets, and gonna swap to a much bigger cam, 4/7 swap with 250ish duration and .530ish lift, solid lifter ect.  i also have nitrous if i need more speed, but i imagine i wont get much use out of it around here. 

i been looking at swaybars to help with the bodyroll, but theyre pretty expensive especially for a now broke college student, anyone have any experience with making their own for these cars? i was looking at doing like a splined setup but ill have to see, may just end up buying some anyways. ill upload pics when i get back to texas next week.

this did not happen, instead i advanced the existing cam by 4 more degrees, grabbed a set of stock head bolts from oriellys and my friend helped me remove the broken ARP head bolt, got the engine back in the car and it fired up on open headers and no tune whatsoever, but the cam definitely sounds different from the last time with open headers, sounds like hot for teacher now!

had to leave for school before i could drive it, but ill be back in less than 3 weeks where ill get things dialed in right. i just want to drive the car, beyond any modifications i need seat time.  im not driving around the understeer very well and its causing some very slow driving.  i orginally believed that the car was too oversteer prone, but further review of old racing footage brought me to realize hat its the corner entry understeer, then when the front finally catches i have too much input to the steering and its being too hash on the rear for corner exit, and v8 power isnt helping that.  plan of attack is learning the tendancies of the car, adjusting my driving style as best i can, amd then starting with moving the engine/transmission forward and backwards since i have about 3" of adjustment to play with. once i get them in a happy place balance wise i can start looking at swaybars and such.

I'll try to update again after ive driven the car some.  the debate for more power always exists, its pretty fun being able to put bus lengths on them fancy dodge hellcats from a 60-160, but thats just the car showing off and i want something more, i strive to be a better driver regardless of what car im in, and i think the z will help with that. i can also detune the engine at will, and when the car comes up to AZ next semester and sees 5500-8200ft of elevation the loss in hp will be significant, which wil force me to improve my driving to keep up, especially against some of the boosted cars we have up here.

I'll also likely be switching to some cheap all seasons for AZ until the weather warms enough for the nittos to provide an advantage, i hope to use them as an opportunity to get better at driving near the limit, as well as learning the roads around here.  i will not drive in the snow rain or on salted roads, the nittos just cant get enough heat in them when its cold out, which happens a lot around here.  we have a mountain road that gets very twisty nearby and with the average age in this town being 55, the whole road is empty after 8pm, a few weeks ago 10pm i drove from one side to the other and back and didnt encounter a single other car for over an hour of driving, but that was in the truck which handled those corners impressively well all things considered.  

with regards to swaybars as i approach that step in coming months, do yall have any recommendations for swaybars?  im looking at the 1-1/8" front and 1" rear or possibly 1" for both, but starting with modifying my stock ones to get a real world understanding of how it affects the car. for now im primarily focused on handling, ride quality doesnt matter, im young and my body can still take it.  on that same note, is there any handling benefits to be had for swapping from polyurethane bushings to steel ball bearings on the control arms? none of these suspension thoughts are critical for now, just something to daydream about until i can get back to the car.  ill try to upload some pics and possibly video later this week of engine assembly. thank y'all for your continued support and advice throughout the years