HizAndHerz

When the hatch is unlocked the key slot is vertical. When it is locked, the slot is horizontal. To unlock, put the key in and turn in clockwise one quater turn so that the slot is horizontal. If the key won't turn, you need to have the lock re-keyed. The button will press whether or not it is locked. When it is locked, pressing the button will not open it. From what Ive seen, some Z's had two keys, one for the ignition and one for the doors and hatch. Others had one key for everything. It cost me around $20US per lock, if I remember correctly. I've had lots of trouble with the locks on our 3 280Zs. I paid the locksmith to fix the cylinders and re-key them all so that we could use just one key for all of our cars. Then I found that the doors could not be unlocked with the keys because the surfaces that actuate the locks arms were worn. Unfortunately, that kind of wear isn't repairable. In the end, I threw out the old Datsun door locks and used locks off other Nissans (Infinity G20 and Stanzas). I re-keyed them myself to save the expense. That's not an easy thing to do and not something I can go into right now. If you research it you might do able to re-key you own locks. Just be aware that you'll probably destroy the face shields to get the locks apart. There's also parts that are under spring tension that can go flying as you work.

I've taken my locks and keys to a local locksmith and they fixed me right up. I think you can take the hatch lock and the key you have, and the locksmith should be able to re-key your hatch lock.

Yes, and not a bad idea to replace the little baulk springs at the same time. It is a real drag to rebuild and replace all the baulk rings to find that shifts are still crunchy or resistant because of weak springs. In fact, based on the handful of 5-speed rebuilds we've done, I wouldn't do the rebuild without new springs. Last time around, I couldn't get replacement springs in time so I heated the old ones gently with a torch and stretched them slightly. Has worked great for several years. The Z Doctor does sell stainless baulk springs that he claims are superior to stock. Next rebuild on one of our other Z's, I'll try these out.

Changing direction: Junk yards are so wacky in their pricing. I brought an intercooler and oil cooler up to the cashier and she didn't know what either were and could find no price for either in their system. She brough her supervisor over and they ended up charging me for a heater core ($17 for the intercooler) and an oil sensor ($3 for the oil cooler). Next time I went up with a hood safety catch (flat piece of metal). I expected to pay $2 at the most. The cashier would only ring it up as the whole hood latch for $20. Sometimes chickens, sometimes feathers.

The tachs are flaky on all 3 of our 280z's and two of them have been replaced with known good units that failed within 6 months. That's 5 bad tachs! I read somewhere that it is commonly a mechanical failure, not electrical. Heat causing parts to bind that are already dragging due to wear or contamination. From what I think I remember, the mechanism has to be treated like a clock: checked and cleaned, but no lubricant to attract dust. I haven't tried fixing one yet but I'm refurbing a dash for mw wife's Z and will try to get the tach working.

My local O'Reilly's had AGS hard brake lines with the correct fittings on each end. They are easily bent with a cheap tube bender. When I put Toyota 4x4 calipers on I used part number BLJ-308 left (8-inch line) and BLJ-312 right (12-inch line). The lines where about $5 each.

I just bought an aluminum jack from Sears on sale for $99. The only thing I don't like is that it tops out at 18". The 6-ton stands from HarborFreight are far more stable than the typical 2 or 3-ton stands. Buy them when they go on sale. Their 12-ton stands are great when doing major rear end or transmission work.

Off the top of my head:1) Bellhousing from a 280Z/ZX 5-speed must be used. 2) Front bearing must be swapped (bearing on 240sx is too large) 3) Shift rod holes must be enlarged in the bellhousing 4) 240sx trans is longer and requires crossmember to be modified 5) Driveshaft must be shortened 6) Shifter is further back. Console may need to be cut. Can't remember which years have trouble with this. 7) Some have an electronic speedo gear. Don't know how to get around that. There's more info at http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/240sxtransmissioninstall/index.html

When your old fuse link housings are completely melted, the mounts are broken and the wires are corroded, that setup there looks just fine I've had the maxi-fuse setup in a couple of our 280Z's and have had trouble with corrosion. Now I'm installing a sealed fuse/relay box from a Dodge Neon to replace all of the relays and fuses on the hood.

I've been using GM alternators with excellent results. The existing alternator-to-engine bracket can be easily modified without welding. Swapping the pulley fixes the RPM issue. I can see why the Z Specialties alternator is a great choice, but with three Z-cars in our family, using the GM alternator made a lot more sense (1/3 the cost, get a replacement anywhere). Here's an article on the alternator swap for those interested: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=115550

I put the L4N71B 4-speed OD transmission from a 1984 Maxima into my wife's '76 280Z. Big project unless you're good at fabricating. The good thing is that the tranmission bolts right up to the engine as long as the torque converter and flexplate/spacer from the Maxima are used. Unfortunately, this transmission is huge and requires that the existing transmission brackets be cut out and new ones welded or bolted in a few inches back. If you are use the existing crossmember, you'll have to have the exhaust routed under it. I came up with a crossmember that didn't require the exhaust to move. You might also need to have the driveshaft shortened. The transmission is somewhere between 1/2" and 3/4" longer than the 4-speed manual box. I was able to get the drifeshaft in with a little more than 1/4" clearance before the yoke sleeve bottoms out. That's really too close for comfort so the shaft will need to be shortened a bit. I also found that the auto shifter from a 77 280z needs quite a bit of modification. The length of the shift lever under the pivot is too short, making it impossible to adjust it so that you can get from Park all the way to D1. I haven't modified the shift lever yet, so I can only shift into P,N,D,D2. Forum member Darrel helped me a bunch via email with the project. He says that gear ratios are the same as the 3-speed tranny plus OD: 1--2.458 2--1.458 3-- 1.00 OD-- 0.686 R--2.182 With that much overdrive, I'm thinking that a 3.9 differential will work much better in 1st and 2nd gear than the 3.54 that is on the car. I'll be swapping that out soon.

78 280z - Free. Spent $1500 on rebuilding the suspension, brakes, drivetrain, etc. Too bad I never realized the hidden rust until the Bondo started falling out in chunks. Will be dumping another $2000 in body parts and paint into it. 75 280z 2+2. Free. Parted out due to rusted out floors and firewall. Engine used for car below. 76 280z - $500. Moderate rust in floors and lower quarter panels. Burned up crank. 78 280z - $6000. Paid at least $1500 too much for a 99% rust-free car with a rebuilt engine, new paint and seals. Just got tired of waiting to have time to repair the rust on the other cars.

I upgraded all three of my 280z's with flywheels from either a 2+2 or ZXT. Luckily two of the junkyard donors had just had their clutches replaced. I see Exedy clutches on Ebay for around $85 fairly often but have never tried one.

The last 280z I bought had a cam cover leak due to stripped threads on a couple of the bolt holes. I went ahead and installed heli-coils on all of the bolt holes and now I can torque the bolts to 10 ft-lbs. And yeah, Permatex on the valve cover side works great.

Check the collar on the driveshaft yoke. If it gets dented, it'll rub the extension housing.