EuroDat

wal280z (wayne) has done a wondefull job making a coloured wiring diagram of the 77 280Z. See link for the last revision. It will come in handy when looking for places to check the voltage. Chas http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/electrical-s30/13131-color-wiring-diagram-280z-3.html#post430989

Good to hear you got the rubbing problem solved. MSA also stock Tokico springs, see link. Motorsport! Tokico Springs - The Z Store, Nissan-Datsun 240Z-260Z-280Z-280ZX-300ZX(Z31/Z32)-350Z-370Z Parts Chas

You can also post an ad in the classifieds on this site. I also look there first when looking for stuff. Goodluck parting out. Chas

Hi Bart, What Carl says is right. I have the same wheels and lug nuts on my Z. I can take a photo of the lug nut and wheel if you want? Cheers Chas

The PU bushings make the ride harder. They improved the handling, but that is not a truly fare judgement because the original bushes were old and worn. If you have things that rattle in the car, they will rattle alot more. I was on a rattle hunt for awhile after changing over. IMO it depends what you want most: better handling or comfort. Chas

Well said Carl. I couldnt have worded it better. Chas

A fresh coat of paint does wonders. Your making good progress. Chas

I second Pop's Z on the tyres. My 280Z was original bushings and steered like a boat, all over the place. The bushings were old and falling apart to such that the rack was coming loose. I opted for the PU bushings and the Tension rod kit. The ride is a little harder but it steers really well. Glad I went PU. Chas

Can you remember if there was any play in the anchor bolts for the lower control arms? Just thinking if there is play in the crossmember holes it could add extra chamber. Looks like it has quiet a bit on the photo. It might have been like it before you did the work, but because it sat so low the geometry corrected it enough so it wasnt that noticable. After doing my front suspension with PU bushes, lower ball joints and Tie rod ends, my chamber is very slightly positive. My strut towers measure 905mm from center hole to center hole. Thats the hole for the shock nut. Chas

Hi tamo, I used a 3/8" drive 17mm (single hex, 6 sided) deep socket with a uni-joint to get enough deflection. I could not use the impact type socket. They are too thick to get the last nut. See my link in post #3 for an example. Chas

Hi tamo, I had similar problems with mine when I removed my gearbox. I ended up buying a 17mm 3/8" drive deep socket and spaying the threads with tranny oil/acetone mix. It still wouldnt budge so I used the oxy/acetylene to heat the nuts to a dull red glow and then using the socket while they were still hot. Use gloves and dont grab the socket after doing, its hot. Goodluck Chas Northern Industrial 17mm Deep Socket - 3/8in. Drive - Amazon.com

Quick delivery:D. UPS is generally very fast, but can be expansive. I have used FedEx a lot through MSA and RockAuto. They take a couple of days longer via Paris, but are cheaper. Hope the shocks help with your vibration issues. Chas

If the engine is still original, it should be a N42 block with a N47 head. If thats the case, your not even half way there. That head is not suitable for any turbo. Its regarded as the least of all the Z heads due poor emmision chambers and the exhaust port emmision liners. The exhaust ports are also round and the standard turbo exhaust manifold uses square ports from the P90 head. If you want to go standard, you would be better off looking for an old 280zx and using it as a doner car. Use the complete engine, the EFI wiring harness and ECU. The EFI harness is apart from the body electrical. Goodluck Chas Edit: link to info about engines and modifying. It doesnt go into detail on turbos, but gives you an idea on the engines and what is out there. Datsun L-series ZCAR engine modifications

Im looking at your u-joint in the photo. I cant see any burrs. Looks like yours have snap rings on the inside holding the cup in place. I have seen these being made in a ford plant and looking at how mine are made, its the same procedure. In the factory they mount the 2 cups by pushing them in from the outside with a press. The operator fits the cups into the press (the press has magnets to hold them in place) places the spider in the nuckle and fits that into a jig. The press pushes both cups in and makes the burrs to hold them in place all in one movement. Then he turns it 90 degrees and fits the other knuckle and repeats the procedure. This is how the 280z joints are made, but the 240z might be before the procedure was used and still used the type using circlips on the inside. The type with the circlips is easy to service, but parts could be harder to find. You could revert to your idea of welding the newer type or maybe getting circlip grooves machined onto the cups on the new type. Third option would be to take up Captains offer, which would be the easiest. Chas

Only way is to drop the tank to get the passenger side shock out. While you are at it; check the fuel hoses. Banzai Motorworks (GF-17 & GF-18) The section that the bumper mounts to (curved like a banana) will fit through the oval hole in the body. The panel is spot welded and has 4 small brackets under it for extra support. You can cut the brackets and move the panel up and down which will show you where the spot welds are. Then it grinding them away or using a spot weld drill bit. Then the paint work.... Chas

Goodluck bargining:) If he knows anything about Zeds he will know they are worth alot.

The threads look pretty stuffed. The PO dun a good job making it useless. I would run a M8 x 1.5 die over it and buy a set of think machine washers. If you dont have a metric stock and die set you could take it to a machine shop and get them todo it. Chas

As far as I know they are interchangable except for the early 240z with no side vents. There is clear differences between the 240 and the 280.. If you google images of "datsun 280z rear quarter panel" you can see the different recessed area for the different bumpers. Or with the 280z its the lack of a recess, just a bolt hole for fixing the rubber bumper extension. Its a golden opPortunity the go for the 240z bumper mod;) Chas

I found a couple of photos of my steering U-joints. You can see the lips I was talking about. Your idea of welding would work, but I would try to use extra rings to fill the gap behing the cups. That way you would get any heat into the cups. Chas

Did the 300zx rotors come from the parts car? Someone sure spent some time building it with a turbo, T5, LSD and the brake upgrade. Is ther anything else done to it? It sounds likethe donor is in better condition then a lot of cars we are restoringLOL

It wasnt rocket science, just doing acceleration tests in 4th gear (1500 to 4500 rpm) and adjusting till I got best results. Its running a little rich. I did the testing on a long straight stretch of road. It has made the engine run a lot better. I would like to fine tune it on a dino, but first I need to upgrade the old exhaust and change some dodgy connectors in the EFI wiring. I was thinking on making a box with a doulble circuit like your diagram to create a Econ/Power. Then a switch to make an Econ/Power function that you see on some modern systems or a contact that would be activated by the gas pedalpassing a certain point. Chas

The u-joint cups are held in by 4 lips (for the want of a better word) pushed in from the outside. Its like a burr that pushed in from the outside and stops the cup from coming out. You can tap them out easy enough, but the challenge is locking them back in place after assembly. You could get a machine shop the machine grooves on the outside to mount circlips. The circlips would then hold the cups in place. It would not need to be a thick circlip. The steering doesnt have the centrifugal forces like in the driveshaft or axles. The U-joint size is 15mm x 38mm. These could be possible alternatives: Universal Joints - (UJ15) 15mm x 40mm U-JOINT - Driveshaft Parts Steering Ujoints Chas

I just read through pieces of this thread again and I tend to think its a fuel issue. - If it was spark (HEI, coil, leads etc) and it dies under 4000rpm you could see is on a timing light. If the timing moved you could test it buy turning the dizzy. Also if it dies under 4000rpm because spark fails. How do you get it started? - The compression is good. Very good in fact. - Valve timing should be ok because the engine ran good in the other car and hasnt been touched before this started. The good compression also indicate correct timing. That leaves fuel/air, vacuum leaks etc. Your going to try the SU carbs. I think that is a good plan. Hope it works Goodluck with it Chris. After all your good work and effort restoring the car you deserve a bit of luck now. Chas

I used a 2k pot (made by Alpha, p/n: B2K) to adjust mine. Ended up at around 1250ohms. That was driving by feel with acceleration tests. After that I cleaned the dust out of the ECU with a vacuum cleaner and now its around 950ohms. If I had a spare ECU I would try washing it in ultra pure water and drying it for 4 to 5 hours at 50 degC to see if that improves drift any. The water would need to be deionized or double distilled to have a low microsiemens range preferably under 10us/cm* (microsiemens). Then it has the best absortion rate. We use this process where I work to clean Siemens S5 plc's with about 90% sucess rate. The plc's use less energy, run cooler and perform better after washing, but they have pleny of spares, I on the other hand don't:disappoin.

And a T5. Lucky bastardLOL You call that a donor car. You guys are so lucky