81_ZXTurbo

thats got Z written all over it.

Maybe a silly question and a bit off topic, but in a RHD car, is the gas to the left and the clutch to the right? That's kind of what I'm seeing in pic #3

Never tried it but the mechanic at my work told me oven cleaner works real well.

Kinda look like seats out of a generic minivan!

This is awesome! If the PO of my zx hadn't hacked up my hatch area already, I'd probably do something similar...alas, he turned my storage compartments into amp storage and speaker boxes already.

I de-badged my Civic the same way, worked really well to combine the two methods - heat it up and use the floss to cut it out. I think I used a product called Orange-off or something like that to remove the goo residue.

I may have to. The only z's I could find are older. And z's. However I'm thinking I may be able to weld it all back up, going to be ugly but might work. Or it will just break again around the welds.

Wow, I feel dumb. Turns out its a 1983, Jan of 83 to be exact. Don't know where I came up with 81, unless thats how its (was) registered. Also found out its going to be in the neighborhood of $350 to get it all registered. Ugh, I guess its worth it Oh, and the driver's door gave up today - the bottom hinge pulled out taking a good chunk of metal with it...looks like I need a new door. Dang it.

Someone just posted a similar question a few days ago. Quick answer, just bend it how you see fit.

I guess that explains it, then. Is there a way to tell if the proper transmission was installed? My understanding is that the whole reason the auto tranny was used in 1981, was because the standard one at the time wasn't strong enough for the turbo. So, could it be that the weaker transmission was installed?

It already is running, drives pretty well, so I don't see anything major needing to be done right off the bat. I am however, going to do the standard stuff - new belts (timing included), new water pump, and definitely change the oil, filter, and oil pump. Any other suggestions? I've heard these eat clutches so I'm going to just run it on the clutch thats in it until it needs a replacement. And yes, the car is in EXTREMELY good shape considering how old it is and how long it may have been sitting. Good thing I get free help working on it!

It's turbo and standard transmission. Not sure how that happened, from everything I have read the 81 turbos were all automatic, and yet, mine has a standard and as far as I can tell the turbo came stock (it has the stickers on the side and above the license plate it reads "super sport". Inside the door jamb it claims to be an '81 model, also is registered as so. Only thing I can figure is the standard tranny was swapped in, and yet, the pedal, shifter, and master and slave cylinders all appear stock and not hacked in at all. A mystery?

I'm not sure what either NA or AT are...

Hi everyone. After lurking these forums for a good long while, I figured I'd sign up. I finally got the car I've always wanted - A 1981 Datsun "by Nissan" 280ZX Turbo. I am so excited to get started on fixing up my new ride. Although it runs and drives fine, it will need a lot of work in the months to come. I'm not going to sell my Honda yet!