Matthew Abate

I meant dumping cash into an engine I'm not keeping. Not the car. In general, freeway speeds on I80 or I78 in NJ average about 85mph to flow with traffic. I frequently do high nighties cruising in the afternoon on the weekends to get out to the west of the state where my extended family is. People drive pretty nuts out here with all their German metal. Add to that my aggressive driving tendencies and a distaste for being behind people and you get the picture. So what I'm hearing is that the L28Et and the R200 are bolt in but I'm better off with an earlier 5-speed if I don't want to cut or weld, which I don't. I guess now the question is what's the cost of that change and what am I really getting for it?

I get the point of that thinking, but the time and money invested in what I have could be put into the new system, so I'm trying to figure out the plan before I dump a bunch of cash into something I'm not keeping.

I just took my 1973 240z off the PO's truck and put it in the garage this weekend. As I start to assess the situation I've been thinking about the possible drivetrain options open to me. The block is not the original, and I cording to the PO it's been bored to 0.020 over stock. I haven't gotten in there to check which block I actually have, but plan to next weekend when I get in and power wash the whole car. It does have round tops already, though. So the main question I have right now, assuming it is a 1973 L24, is what is the overal impact of switching to an L28ET? I like the idea of getting hydraulic lifters, electronic ignition, the R200, and the T5 in a system that was designed to work together and isn't a cobbled together hack job. However, I'm concerned about the potential to need to cut or weld the car in any way, and while the engine isn't the matching original, it is much more stock right now, which might be better in other ways. I'm very curious to hear what people's experience is in this area.

Nice! I just got the same yesterday. Very different scenario, though. Mine's in boxes. [emoji16] Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Dug around in my boxes of parts today. Looks like there's a lot of nice stuff and a lot of junk. The next two weeks will be about getting the garage & basement in order for parts storage, as well as prepping the motorcycle for sale (the Z was the bargain for getting rid of what my wife calls the "death machine." If you've ever ridden in NJ you might see her point). After that I plan to give all of this stuff a thorough but careful bath. Then the fun begins! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

He told me, and his reason was to strengthen to roof. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sure, if you cut on the roof it will cause problems, but does a roof with no dents and no rust need a skim coat of bondo or is that just inviting problems? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Speaking of previous owner body work, here's a question: have you ever heard of anyone skim coating the roof with bondo in order to strengthen it? This is the one thing (other than riveting metal to the floor) that I feel like I have to undo immediately. I knew these cars have thin metal, and I knew people did things to them to "fix" it, but this is the first I've heard of this. He said it was rust free before he did it, and looking from the underside there aren't any dents, but this seems like a recipe for an unintentional convertible to me. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So the current plan is to do a rotisserie job on the body and upgrades not unlike what HaZmatt has done to his 280Z. The power plant is a big question: Need to do some research to compare a 20-over but otherwise stock motor with SUs vs. an '83 ZX L28ET. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks Captain! I'm not worried about the electrical. I'll probably be buying all new wiring harnesses for the entire car. This ones going on a rotisserie. Probably. We have ridden together, actually. It's a great way to work on my low speed maneuvering skills. Up and down the culdesac, over and over. Good times. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

A few things about the car: The block is not original. Apparently the car was in Alaska for a while and someone used water instead of antifreeze. This opens up possibilities and frees me from slavishly restoring to original condition if I choose to veer off. The engine is 0.5 mm over. It supposedly runs, but there's a fuel leak somewhere in the back, no battery, and the carbs need syncing. The rear break cylinder is seeping. The floors need to be replaced. There's some metal riveted onto them and I see bindi underneath. That is the biggie for now. The clock works.

Hi all, I've just received my 1973 240z! The previous owner towed it out from MO for me along with piles and piles of parts. We went over it together and it's in better shape than I expected (it was a Craigslist transaction over the phone between MO and NJ). I'm sure that I'll start finding nasty surprises once I start into it, but for now I'm basking in the glory of having a Z in my garage.

I looked at 57 cars before I found one that had the right combination of price, lack of rust, and completeness to satisfy me. It's not that they aren't out there. It's that the vast majority of them are on the west coast or complete rust buckets. The availability of a good project car on the east coast sub $6,000 is terrible. So my philosophy (and I really don't care what other people do, nor am I trying to convince anyone) is that if you have an S30 that has the original engine, at least use the block and hold onto the other original parts that are restorable. If you don't have the original engine put what you want into it, but I would never cut a car that has a good body. These are the main reasons why I am not doing the RB26 mod. Also, I would hunt for a car knowing what mods I want to do. I was looking for a 280Z without it's original engine and no rust, but possibly beat up wheel wells *OR* a 240Z that was restorable. All that said I'm sure there are plenty of more experienced Z shoppers who would disagree, and I might contradict myself in 24 hours.

I'm sure there's a wide variety of opinions on this, but as the cars get older and there are fewer of them, I would argue that adding fender flares and/or a sun roof are not recommended. Unless you have a car with rotten wheel arches. Then maybe I would add the flares. Otherwise make sure you don't ever need to sell it.

I went to see the new Mad Max movie yesterday, and during the scene where Immortal Joe traverses the rocks I noticed an S30 among the other rat rods. So this morning I did an image search and found the off set shot. It's pretty subdued compared to the rest of the cars in that movie, but nice to see anyway.

I just purchased my 1973 240Z and, before I start going crazy, I was wondering what are considered "sensible" updates. I will figure out if the numbers are truly matching receive it on Saturday (the condition justified the price regardless), so that will determine my long-term plan, but if it ends up being numbers matching I will be much more inclined to do an actual restoration as opposed to a rest-mod. Mostly I'm thinking about rear disk breaks. I can't stand changing drum pads. I'm also looking at a front air dam and Minilites. If the car doesn't have the original engine I am thinking of going with an L28et/T5/R200 setup. So, please, let the opinions fly!

Thanks! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I just picked up a '73 restoration project and am looking for some good Z books (this is my first Datsun). Does anyone have any recommendations? So far I'm looking at these: How to Restore Your Datsun Z-Car https://www.amazon.com/dp/1931128022/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_11Ovvb0AAQRTR How to Rebuild Your Nissan/Datsun OHC Engine: Covers L-Series Engines 4-Cylinder 1968-1978, 6-Cylinder 1970-1984 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1931128030/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_C4Ovvb1GA93K6 Essential Datsun Z 240Z to 280Zx: The Cars and Their Story 1969-83 (Essential Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1870979516/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_w5Ovvb17NTV8C Haynes Datsun 240Z, 260Z, and 280Z Manual, 1970-1978 (Haynes Repair Manuals) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0856962066/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_95Ovvb0RSM84Q

Hi everyone, I just picked up my first Z, a 1973 project car that's totally disassembled but seems to be complete, and was originally Orange. I'll be bringinging the car back to original condition, with perhaps a performance modification or two. This is my second restoration, but my first import and my first Datsun, so any tips for noobs is much appreciated!

As soon as I get it in my hands; it's in transit.

Thanks for the advice everyone! I ended up passing on the 260Z and, after almost buying serval times, ended up finding a 1973 240z (Orange!) that is restorable (and runs!!) for less than the 260 would have cost me and in better condition (!!!). I'm officially part of the club, an will start posting my process as soon as she arrives.

That's what I haven't figured out. Ideally, I would have a stock early 240z and a tricked out rest mod 280z. That isn't going to happen due to space and spouse. The issue is that I've found 260s a few times and they sit in a great area for me. I feel like they shouldn't be customized (especially the ear lies) but they require performance mods to be comparable to the other cars. I think I'll just end up hunting for a 240 and go stock. Most of the guys I know who have older cars regret the modifications after a while and wish they had gone for a restoration, so I have that in the back of my mind.

I think the thing that has me hung up is the price. If it were $2,500 I would probably have it in my hands by now.

I haven't seen anything around that has solved this conundrum for me, so forgive me if this is a topic that has been beaten to death, but I have found an early '74 260z near enough to me that the cost to buy and ship it will come to $3,750. It seems to have a complete interior, but will need a new dash and carpet. The paint will need to be completely redone, and the engine is not working. I plan to go see it on Saturday, but I'm hesitant, because I'm on the fence about 260zs in general. If it turns out to be truly rust and dent free, would you go with this, or would you hold out for a 240z? I feel like if I found a 240z I would restore it, and if I were to do a resto-mod I would just go with a 280z in order to save money and start from a better performance position. This car is the worst performing Z in stock condition and begs to be updated, but I feel like modding a 260z would be a mistake if I wanted to try to get a good return on it someday (I know you aren't supposed to do this for resale potential but I can't help but go there in my mind). Thoughts?