Hoss

I found out that I don't have the money to get new rims for my Z so I'll be refurbishing my stock rims. I don't know what width they are but they are stock for a 76 280Z and right now they have 195/70/14 on them. Will I be able to fit a 215 width tire on those rims? What is the widest tire I could fit? Some of you have 225/60/14s, are those on stock 280 rims?

Wow Jeff, that looks fabulous! Thanks for that guys email by the way.

I just don't want too little rubber that I end up burning out the tires alot faster than normal. Maybe someone could post what size tires theyr using and how much hp they have? I'm looking to make around 300-330hp after my stroker.

It's not gonna be a racecar, just something for me to have a ton of fun out on the streets during the summer. Maybe take it to the drags and the track a couple times a year, but mainly just street use. Maybe if i go 245/45/17 in the rear and go 205/45 in the front? Or something like that

Wow, thanks that was very informative. So now I understand that I need to know the tire width and wheel offset to find out if it will rub. Is that for when the wheel is turned or straight? Is there a way of figuring out if rubbing will occur at the maximum turning angle? I was at one point thinking about going with smaller front wheels/tires than the rear but I'd prefer to use 245/45/16 or 17s on all 4 corners.

Jeff, what color is that? I am absolutely in love with it right now. edit: also if you custom made that hood you should think about selling those, i want it!

I can imagine how excited you must be. I dropped my Z off at my body shop guy in late May, he said it would be back in my garage by late July.....he's about halfway done right now and all I can think about it getting my baby back on the road. I'm looking forward to seeing your finished product soon!

so im guessing that i am in fact limited to 7.5-8" wheels since im not using coilovers?

to be honest, i don't have an exact "plan" but i was planning on using eibach springs and tokico HP shocks. i have not found any coilover sets for the 280z. would 8" wheels work with that set up if i get flares? or would it rub on the suspension somehow? could you also point me in a direction to find some coilovers for the 280z?

I've tried to find the answer to this question before I asked this so please bear with me on this question that seems so simple I don't know why I don't already know the answer to this. Anyways, here goes. What size tires will fit on 7 and 8 inch rims? width wise obviously. For my Z i want something like 245/45 on either 16s or 17s whichever will fit, but I'm just curious as to which rim width I would need for 245 wheels. Thanks alot,

hey mark, what size rims and tires do you use with that setup? i need to get new wheels and tires soon and i dont want to have clearance issues. i was thinking 17" rims with something like 225/45 or 245/45

I must have missed that part about the warranty, that right there just decided for me.

I was looking at the HPs, they seemed really good for the money, what about the tokico illuminas? does anyone have them and would they reccomend them?

Oh nice, that's really helpful to know. I just can't wait till this spring to test out my new springs!

very nice choice of color! I wish I could see that beaut on the road

I just purchased some Eibach Progressive Springs for my 76 280z and I was wondering if anyone had any input as to which struts have worked well in the past with these springs? My dad bought the KYB gas shocks a couple months ago, still in the box for now. What I'm looking for is performance, not necesarrily comfort since the roads aren't too bad around here during the summer months when I'll be driving it. Thanks for your feedback.

thank you guys for posting this thread....a while back my dad and I had some issues with MSA and decided to not deal with them for a while. so i've been using black dragon auto for my Z parts....they don't carry eibach springs for anything before a 300zx. anyways i was going to ask you guys if you could suggest good springs for a 280z but i found your post just now and went on the MSA site and picked up a set of springs for 180 bucks, alot cheaper than ive seen them for before!

do you mean like a seat re-covering kit? one that you would use to re upholster the whole seat? or just something to cover the existing seat with?

o yeah im aiming for around 300 ish hp. although if i go with a 350 small block id like to get more than that.

my budget is probably around 4-6 grand. i was thinking about swapping in a small block 350, that would probably be the most bang for my buck because they are so abundant and easy to work with. i dont have a lot of experience with turbos, and my local performance shop said they would prefer to keep me naturally aspirated unless i REALLY wanted a turbo for suer. my brother and i are leasing a 2008 VW GTI while we are both at the same college and i'm not too pleased with the performance of it. there is quite a bit of lag when you floor it, its a mix between the turbo lag and the stupid electronic throttle thingy. when you floor it, it gives you 25%, 50%, then 100% of the power, so its not an instant neck snapping throttle responce which is what i want. and yes i have already posted on hybridz.org but seem to have gotten alot more responses on here.

Hey guys, I have a 76 280z that ive been working on with my dad for about 2 years now, we havent really gotten that serious about it until now. The only problem is neither of us are very mechanically inclined, nor is anyone in our family. But i've done some research and figured out some things but the reason im posting this is i still have a few questions im hoping you guys and gals can shed some light on. I plan on stroking my L28 to 3.1 or 3.2 liters, i havent decided which yet. I also have the N42 heads, just purchased a borg warner t5 transmission, stock fuel injection stuff, and have a monza/pacesetter exhaust system. 1. heads- what does it mean to get them ported and polished? What purpose does this serve? since im basically rebuilding the motor by stroking it, would it make sense to port and polish my heads? 2. fuel injection- i really dont know much about this, should i be looking at new injectors or any of that stuff? or a programmer like megasquirt or something? 3. exhaust- i think the system i have is 2", is that gonna be too small for all the power i hope to be making once this is all said and done? 4. transmssion- the bellhousing from the transmission, which came out of a 84 camaro i believe, wont fit my l28 correct? Anyone know where i can pick up a bellhousing for this tranny and my engine? i just got home from work so im a little tired, but i think thats all the questions i can think of. so thank you everyone for taking a look at this and giving me your opinions, information, anything really. also if you guys that have done this before, if you have any pointers, i would appreciate anything you guys have to say. Thanks, Josh

hmm those engines on ebay seem like theyr worth looking into. thanks for the help. i definately wanna go all out and get a 350 if i do the v8 tho. ill definately need to get a new tranny and rear end to handle all that extra power wont i?

I suck at conversion factors and whatever but a 4.8L is a 305 right? I've been reading up on alot of things lately and my friend has also talked me into going v8. Did my dad overpay when he get his built 350 from the shop for 3500$? Where do you guys find motors and trannys for so cheap? Also we don't really have any mechanical experience so we'd have a shop do the install/rebuild on any motors that we deal with.

Or would it just be better/cheaper to drop in a chevy 350? We replaced the 305 in our 79 camaro with the 350 and we got it installed and tuned to 400hp for a little under 3500 bucks which seems pretty decent to me so would it make sense to drop in the custom built 350 instead of keeping the l28?

Yeah I had thought of the turbo lag issue but I'd be doing more street driving, like booking it through back roads and soaring on the highway so I was thinking turbo would be the way to go. It's sort of a project car between me and my dad but it's my car. What would be the best way to get the most out of my Z? Turbo or other sorts of mods? I already have a K&N air filter on there, and the cam was reground to a little more aggresive but still somewhat mild from the previous owner. I'm planning on getting a new clutch and flywheel (any suggestions?), and probably an even more aggresive cam and a performance exhaust. Basically I'm looking for suggestions for making my car as quick as i can without swapping the engine (yet).