Tidoubleger24

Not sure its been posted 11+ pages but theres a Z in war of the worlds.. you know the blue one.. thats supposed to be a Ferrari GTO.

Super late thread revival, I just keep coming back to the Z, there's no denying its strong influence over me. I have some time, and would like to reply to everyone's thoughtful input.. it was nice to read them again since its been a while since ive been here This doesnt bother me and i miss no power steering and the effortless wheel movement of modern cars is uninspiring.. good point though This would never be an investment for profit. It would be an ultimate hot rod that would put a smile face everytime i started it, and driving it would take my breath away. it would be a shame for a classic z to drive like a modern car unfortunatly my friend, you have hit the nail on the head. i am extremely fickle.. and it takes much to impress me ( with regard to my own happiness and expectations from things i own ) which btw is a huge curse as it is hard for me to be happy with personal purchases. I see the things that i dont like or i am unhappy with first. I am not a pompass person towards others or their possessions. This is why I came here looking for input from others, and why the budget is starting where it is. This is also why the compairsons to the gtr where there. At the end i am sure the amount spent on the z to make it just so for me would rival the cost of a used gtr or porsche but they do little for me. This would be hard to swallow, especially if the end result is not satisfactory, and it would not be resell-able. BUT if it is satisfactory, and just makes me little kid waking up for christmas giddy everytime i see it and drive it, then itd be worth it. I make a very modest income, but when it comes to things i want, the money aspect is easily the last on the list. I dont live to pinch penny's, i live to enjoy the penny's ive earned. This is what i am struggling with. I searched as much as i could about the car and it was a beautiful project. I am not looking to set a land speed record to complete the project. your post was insightful and congrats on aquiring a decent shell. They are hard to come by. There would be no monkey business with what someone else started/didnt complete, this would a completely redone car from top to bottom.. albiet even if done in sections. The project and journey aspect is i think what draws me to a z more than any other aspect. Purchasing a car to drive leaves so much more to be desired, even if it is a supercar, imo. I believe the z is the only car that i could ever invest so much of my personal time and money in.. at a loss. Your car is very nice, and a good representation of what can be done with a good budget. Congrats! Thanks for the link.. this is further than i want to go, but gives a great representation of where i would want to go in certain areas. This is a similar view of how i would feel about my project. Having it as a weekend car would relieve alot of pressure about timelines and make tinkering much more enjoyable.(Tinkering is like relaxation therapy for me) I just finished my 08 sti and at the end it became very stressful, as it was a daily driver, and my wife's car. Tinkering on it was not in her plans either although she was respectful. True, and to each his own. I would intend on keeping the very spirit of the z alive and well, just modernizing alot of its outdated technology (pretty much just electrical, engine, trans, suspension, diff, brakes, and seats). I wont go further, as i dont want to alienate anyone, but trust me the last thing that will go in my car would be a v8 of anykind. I wouldnt purchase a complete car. I want a shell (id buy a complete car for a shell though, but the car would be in rough shape). I want to build the whole car from the ground up, as that is the whole reason to do a z (for me). Thank you for all of your replies, and kind input, as it has been extremely insightful. Sorry for the long delay in replying, ive read everyones post and reseached builds and everything is helpful. Happy Holidays everyone.

i dont have much time, but i just wanted to say thanks for those who replied, the alternate views put things in a new light, refreshing one at that. Oregon z wish you the best with life and your car! Buying a nice driver first sounds like a perfect trial period to see if i will be impressed with it or not.

thanks for the reply, yes i think that i am most interested in this because of the journey not just the destination, but i want to like where ill end up as well because that will be part of the journey for me too. i plan on doing most of the work myself, and farming out a few items only. 40 - 60k is the overall buget, and the higher i go the more years it will take to complete, and im glad you brought up the hobby aspect, its a good perspective to have about it. yes i did forget im on classicz where people are crazy about making cars authentic, which is nice. But its not for me, i just cant stand the intake and exhaust on the same side, and there is much better engine technology today. I plan on running full s2000 hardware, which i already have (engine, trans, rearend, ecu etc) with a mild turbo kit. I would post here because i intend on keeping the very spirit of the z alive, light, fast, nimble, conservative, i guess i would call it a tasteful resto mod. thanks for the link reading it now.. i wondered how people who finished there expensive cars, and how they felt about them when they were completed? when its under construction its fun and new and challenging, but when its done im scared ill become bored and prefered something else.

Heres the short question; For those that have spent alot of money on their z restoration / customizations, are you happy with the end result, and was the money worth it? if given a chance would you take a check for all you've invested and move elsewhere? Heres why i ask; im reaching the point in my life where its time to buy a car, a nice car, even maybe a final car, but what car do i get? ive had a s2000, and its nice but im too tall and its uncomfortable. my wife has an 08 sti wagon, nice, but not jazzed about it either.. the list goes on 350z, 370z, 135i, TTS, nsx, even a GTR, but im not really crazy about any of them. dont get me wrong, i like them, but im not in love with em. Then the idea of getting another z came, and this time doing it right. this includes getting rid of that L24, doing a fully custom interior, custom paint and body work, and a rotissory resto. I can imaging being in it for excess of 40k before im done, and thats alot of money to be into a 35+ year old car. By the time its done it will probably be equal to what the GTR's are going for used, and thats kind of a steep compairsion, even though to me the GTR's are ugly. what do you guys feel about you cars, now they are complete?

i forgot they also say DELTA on the inside too.

I have these rims which came with my datsun 240. There 14" and on the inside they say AUST and something that looks like it could say JIC. It also appears to say 7-J x 14. It also has a few other markings inside, i cant really make sense of them. It says MAX LOAD 1680 LBS. I have never seen them before and just wondering if someone knew more about them. Are they from a different car manufacturer and just happen to fit a z? Are they a factory rim, factory aftermarket rim, old school autozone special, ect? Thanks in advance Dan

id rethink that t-5 esp if you went with a turbo.

also interested, which head?

I need a bell housing for the '83 280z turbo model. any leads on this would be helpful. just for information, its a t-5 transmission, even though nissan doesnt list it in there books like that. my dad threw it out on me when i left for college and now im stuck trying to find one. my dad called all the junkyards to no avail, and z doctors in tampa also. any leads would be great!

i am interested, can you send more pics to my handle @yahoo.com. thanks in advance

edited for clarity.

man ive seen alot of jap street fire videos - one of an s2k blue vs a 4wd wow - most impressive - that skyline was fast too i dont think fast is the word either. ive seen a silver skyline one time on hills ave - i have no clue if it was the tommi or not but it was cool to see drive past. on that exvi link see those twin dump exhausts with the bov exhaust tube (on the blue skyline) - totally what i want to do - flip a switch and open exhaust and no back pressure - the noise must be just short of a cataclysmic explosion. hls30 ive seen your web page but never any of your car in progress or body work or little projects - dont be afraid to post sometime.

26th - how did using a bug sprayer wand work out for putting primer on in difficult/enclosed areas?

i thought so - was like what is that intake piping doing going to that pump - wow thats impressive

cdavid - umm holy crap if thats yours ... wow ... hsl30 last thing i remeber you working on was drilling leds to give them a concave diffusor "lens" ive never really seen pictures of your progress (hint hint) - but you have to be one of the most giving members here 26th - thats awesome you must be really excited! how did the dip go for you? any problems afterward - the chemicals causing primer adhesion problems? i talked to an old timer restorer and he said that the only dipping place in florida was revamped/bought out and the new people didnt know what they were doing - but man that was a while ago too.

I plan on getting a good shell, and then slowly building it up to a finished car. i would like to do a rb26 conversion or have a turbod L28 but its going to be a long time before i have to make decisions like that

no i dont use drugs, sorry. i just havent been on in a while and i guess im easily excited. and i thought it was ironic that the day i finally do come back is the 4 year mark to the month. I mean you sign up to a forum and then leave for in excess of 2 years and come back and post on the same month you signed up? sooorry if im excited about z's and to see everyones progress since i have left but thats what i thought this place was for.

Dooode its been 4 years to this date since ive joined this site wow thats crazy! 4 years! ive missed sooo much! ive got alot of catching up to do!

Hey - you guys out there that i didnt call out - dont feel bad - i want to know of your projects as well. Its been soo long since ive been on this board - im sure alot of new people are on board with their own awesome project too - and theres people that ive forgotten too. Man one breath of a Z and your done for life. So lets here it - updates - links - whatever lets see progress guys!!!!

its been a loong time since i came on this board, I had to get rid of my z a long time ago and it was too painful to come here - or i was in denial (yea i can live without a z right? right?). The other night i was riding along a evo and i was like man some nice little mods and it looks really clean and it was white too - so nice you could eat off of it. All i could think about was how bad a$$ it would be to have the z of my dreams and be running along side this guy and flip open my exhaust dump valve (located right after my turbos on a rb26dett conversion) and just idle along side him. Doooooooooooooooode!!!!! where the heck did that thought come from????? - I havent thought of a z in forever! Anyway enough about me! I want to hear what has been up with Chris 26th Z - hls30 projects (man i hope i got your name right) - and that crazy guy with a yellow rb26 in his car. Ive checked out 26th site and the yellow rb site but man where are you guys in your projects - id love to hear about em - like up to the minute project status!! Hey you got a shell i can get too right?? it'll be a while but man i want it soo bad now - i need it!

tigger is just plain awesome... and 24 is my favorite racers number.

to change the oil, theres two plugs with a half in drive square in them. the bottom one is to drain the oil and the upper one is to fill up to where it starts to flow out of the hole. just use a 1/2 in rachet w/ or w/o extention and it comes right out. let the oil drain for a while, id say for about a half hour and do it after the car is warm because the oil will come off the internal parts easier. id reccommend using a small squeeze pump to put in the oil, because theres not much space. and the oil you use to fill it is gear oil, like 90 wt, the container should specify manual trans fluid, and anyone at pep boys or autozone should be able to point you in the right direction. id also recommend a slight over fill, lets say to the top of the fill plug instead of the bottom but it can be messy, and its alright if you dont. 5 gear usually rides higher than the other gears, and the overfill is help keep it in the oil bath.

i was told by putting in a turbo oil pump inplace of the factory non turbo one, it helps with boosting oil psi at idle and through powerband. ive read and even experienced low to no oil pressure waiting at stop lights. i was informed that the swap made a huge difference. just wanted to let people know.. However i dont know the casting numbers for which pump is which ie turbo vs non turbo, because i have both in stock.. anyone know?

i just removed my dash the other day, and its not too bad, you have to remove the back metal tray thats infront of the dash and then theirs 6 to 8 screws 10mm i think, and then remove the heater controlls and unplug the fan speed switch, all the ignition plugs, but everything can stay. theres a couple of screws around the center console, two on sides, and maybe some more. i forget. also you have to undo all the plugs that go up into the dash on the passenger side. and then it should wiggle out 6 inches, and reach you hand in and undo the speedo. its akward to handle by yourself like i did, but with 2 ppl it should go easily. if it doesnt wiggle out freely double check yourself until it does