2ManyZs

Engine stands are fairly cheap. Most auto parts stores carry them. Just get one rated for at least 500 pounds and get one you can rotate the engine one. Just remember to decide on what you want before you buy, changing your mind half way thru a job wastes time and money. Been there, done that.

For more information on what head to look for and which year engine is better take a look on the web links page for The Datsun Z Garage. This is a really good site Brian has that will give you the scoop on which heads are better and which year ZX engines give the most power. I personally have never done anything with any Z's newer than 78. All the engines up to 83 with swap into a 240. You just need to decide on what year you want to get the best head. After looking at his site you should be able to come up with a good idea about what works the best. One of these days I'm planning on doing a 240 with a ZX motor but I have another project to finish first.

You could use the solid front diff mount. It probably won't be any noisier than having the front of the diff. moving up and down under hard acceleration. MSA has them, and I assume most other good Z suppliers do too. It is easy to put in, and I am assuming you have already checked the mustache bar bushings. You will get some of the "thunking" noise from them if they have any play at all in them. I prefer the urethane mustache bar bushings myself, but that is just my preference. My idea is to keep the diff in place and let the suspension do the moving.

As far as I know there is no way to rebuild the hatch strut. I have never seen anyone who advertised that they do it anyway. Sounds like something a person could go into business doing though...... Just like making repro front inner fenders, the arch at the top from the firewall out, and the radiator core support. A lot of Z's wouldn't have gone to the scrap yard if these were available. Hmmmm.......

Sounds like a great deal. Rebello is a bit pricey but from what I know about their work it is top notch. Is it worth the money? Depends on who you ask, like everything else, there are differing opinions. The only problem I see is by the time you buy a ring and pinion in whatever ratio you want and a Quaife or LSD you are talking about a big chunk of change in anyones book. I guess that is the price we pay to have our toys! The old saying goes, he who has the most wins!

If you are not concerned with authenticity go with the ZX motor. You will pick up some easy horsepower, just make sure that it's not a turbo motor with low compression. The price sounds pretty high to me, but I don't live in CA. Just as a comparison, Motorsport Auto has ATK reman. engines for 1795 plus 200 core charge for 79-83 ZX's. I know a lot of people would wonder about these engines but I have one in an old 280 I blew up many years ago. I converted the car to race in ITS and ran the ATK engine and never had a minutes trouble. I wasn't the fastest, but at least it held together, and at the time it was all I could afford. If you just want a nice street car I would consider this, 5500 is about what IT racers were paying for Rebello engines back in those days. Atk's prices are low because they do such a large volume, once you have it you can hop it up later.

He is right, the sending unit is always the first place to look. The oil pressure gauges were never the most accurate in the world because of them. You could take it out and try a mechanical gauge in the port. This way you will know exactly what kind of pressure you have. Most mechanical gauges will come with an 1/8 inch fitting that will screw right in. If you still have low oil pressure check your pump and drive gear, it may save you time and money.

Motorsport Auto has hatch struts, either expensive OEM style or cheaper generic brand. Their website is www.zcarparts.com. They have a catalog that covers most anything you could need for a Z, unless it is something that no one has.

I think the main reason people are hesitant about replacing the lower control arm bushings is because the can be very difficult to get out. I do it myself, but most people take them to have them pressed out. I have seen control arms bent, or trashed simply because the person pressing the bushings out made a mistake. I just replaced all the bushings in my 71 series 1 I have. All it takes is patience, and an air chisel. First take a small drill bit and drill out as much of the rubber in between the steel inserts. Use vice grips to rip out the inner one, then use the air chisel with a straight bit to roll the outer sleeve into the center. Spray it with WD-40 and continue to roll the sleeve inward, sometimes all it takes it getting the swaged lip bent in and the sleeve just drops out. Sometimes it may need to be split, but they will come out. I replaced all of my bushings with urethane, be sure to use plenty of grease inside and outside or they will squeak.

What is really sad about the car is the fact that people have actually posted bids! Guess they don't know much about Z's or they have more dollars than sense! Thank you for for telling ebay about the seller, I haven't dared to register on ebay, I would be toooooo tempted! I have enough sitting in my garage now.

I was looking at the SUPPOSED Z store 240 last night when I saw what is probably one of the wildest Z's I've seen in a while. It's a yellow 280 with a 94 Supra Turbo engine and drivetrain. This has to be a wicked combination. It also has a full roll cage ( probably a good idea!) and a stout braking system. This is one of the sweetest Z's I've seen on ebay yet. Well, the convertible conversions were close but not quite!

Someone is going to get ripped off on that car!!! They have bid it up to 5,100 already. That's about all it's worth in my opinion since it isn't almost certainly NOT a Z Store car. Every time I have looked at it I find more things that would not have been done by the Z store. This may be a fairly decent RESTIFICATION but not a proper RESTORATION!!! More things wrong: Winshield wiper arms are black 280 arms, windsheild and hatch glass trim is black, front bumper is also missing the rubber trim. One picture shows a black outside mirror on the passengers side. Someone registered on ebay should put in some negative feedback on this car. He's trying to sucker people into buying it ahead of a phantom collector. I'd consider myself as a collector of sorts and I wouldn't touch that car for much over the current bid.

Well, I look at the pictures a little better. It doesn't have a sunroof, I thought I saw one when I looked at it the first time. I noticed the steering wheel, bumper overrider missing on the front, etc. Did you notice the later model carpet on the trans tunnel? Or the hacked in speakers in the door panels? The antenna doesn't look original either. I hope his "collector" has "more dollars than cents"!!! People like that are what makes the rest of us look bad!! I will admit I have seem some nice cars on ebay, this never will be one of them!

I noticed today that someone has a 72 240 up for auction. They claim it is a Z-Store restoration. The car has a non-factory stereo, with six speakers (wonder what they hacked up to mount the speakers), it has a late 280z hood, and looks like Western turbine wheels. I wonder if this is what they claim it is?? I would not bid on the car without seeing paperwork to verify it. Why would someone pay the high price for a quality restoration like that and mess it up?? I think it even said it had a sun-roof! No accounting for taste!!

Check out the For Sale items here, check out the links for other z-sites. Most Z sites have classifieds. Another place to look would be on ebay. Go to ebay motors, collectors cars, there is a section for Z's. Prices run from cheap to unreasonable. Many cars on ebay seem to be on the west coast. Prices? How much do you want to pay? There are cars for sale that aren't worth the asking price, cars that are basically junk. Shop around, ask questions, check out the car from top to bottom, and don't buy on impulse. You might even find one in your local paper!

I was thinking the same thing!! Guess this means when someone finds a good deal to keep quiet until the deal is done right?? Lucky for him I already have 4 Z's. I guess I'm going to have to clean out my inventory a little. NOT!! I found a cherry Series 1 a couple years ago right here in my hometown. It was owned by my doctor, I knew had had it but had never seen it. One day in the office I asked him to let me know if he ever wanted to get rid of it. I test drove it the next weekend, looked it over, wrote a check for what he asked for. It was the most perfect 71 (11/70 build date) I had ever seen. It was bought new in DC, passed down to the mans son, then sold to my doctors brother. I'm the 5th owner, only 117,00 miles and have the original owners manual, original warranty booklet. Anytime you find something like that, I say jump on it!!

Mike, I finally got a chance to open up the rear I have. The only numbers I can find are these. P149 P150 P14 on the ring gear carrier Those are the only numbers I can see without tearing it apart, which I'd rather not do unless I had to. Now if I can do some research maybe it will tell what this Torson unit was designed to fit. I was told it required some gring on the case but can't find any evidence of it. Unless it was on the webbing on the rear cover. It definately is a Torson. Mine is showing a lot of galling on the invex gears. I'll have to do some more reading on them to find out the cause or better yet how to correct it.

I'm not sure but I believe you could get one from Motorsport Auto if you had to. You might look through the for sale postings here. You may be able to score a complete intake etc. for what a new one would cost. If you wanted to fab your own it shouldn't be too difficult. Just remember that the throttle return springs hook to the shield. If you are unable to find one get back to me. I believe I have a couple take offs. All I would have to do is find them, in my garage that sometimes is a job. I believe I have a couple off the 72's I've had to strip for parts.

By all means, replace the hoses!! Some of the hoses can be replaced with fuel line if you don't want to spend the money for the original replacement hoses. Motorsport Auto has the hoses you will need. They are expensive, but a couple of the hoses have curves that a regular fuel line will not make without pinching shut. I would be very nervous with the hoses plugged off. By doing this you may be building pressure in the tank which could lead to a disaster. Not only is there no way to vent the gas fumes but by having gas being returned to the tank you may build up quite a bit of pressure in the tank if your gas cap does not vent. A 240 gas tank should hold 16 gallons. I believe the 280's held about a gallon more.

Be sure to check for rust in the front frame rails and around the strut towers. The frame rails rust out from the inside out so until the sway bar mount falls off or a hole is found you never know how bad the rust is. Other places to check are the rocker panels, behind the tension rod mounts where the frame meets the floor, radiator support, under the battery tray where the inner fender meets the firewall and under the hatch. If all these check out OK then you have found a great deal. The mechanicals are usually the last thing I worry about, if the chassis is good you have something to build on. As far as what it might be worth, that is a tough thing to judge. Is it a Series 1 with the vents on the hatch? This will add to the value over a Series 2. In my opinion, if it is a Series 1, it might be best to hang on to it for a while. Replace the little things that need to be replaced and slowly restore the car. Right now you could probably double your money with little work but who knows what it may be worth in another year or two? The earliest models are sure to gain in value. Being a one owner car with paperwork to prove it's relatively low mileage it sounds like a keeper to me. At least until someone makes an offer you can't refuse. That is just my opinion.

You are right. I've never heard of anyone trying to put one in a 180 rear. Last time I looked on Quaife's web-site their prices seem to be coming down. I think the prices started around $895 for a 180. This is probably because the demand for them has increased since the 240' and 260's have been clasfied in E-Production. I know there have been a lot of people going with the Quaife unit for racing. IMO it is not an unreasonable price considering the prices of the limited slip units that really aren't set up for racing. Most IT racers just go with a welded rear as the limited slip units must be shimmed up to such a high breakaway to prevent them from slipping and burning out the clutch packs. The limited slip units would be OK for a street car but by the time you set one up you could probably have paid as much as you would for a Quaife unit. I will try to post anything I can come up with on what is in my R-200 if anyone wants to get one for an R-200. If I go ever get the 240 I have back on the track I plan on using a Quaife. I'm selling my ITS 280 so I'm planning on using the Gleason rear in a street car I'm rebuilding. So before anyone asks, sorry it's not for sale, but I will share any info I can come up with on what will work in the R-200.

I was hoping there would be some part numbers on the unit. I know for certain this was not a unit for a Datsun but was made to fit. I am quite certain it was for a Subaru. If my memory is right Subaru offered Gleason units in their 4 wheel drive cars from the factory before most manufacturers. I'm going to do some checking around and try to find out where the unit came from, hopefully from the guy who had it built in the first place.

I have always been satisfied with Motorsport Auto, see them at www.zcarparts.com. They have a catalog with most everything to restore, modify, and some hard to find parts. They have a large selection of New Old Stock Nissan parts and have many outside suppliers for parts that are no longer available. A couple other places are www.strictlyz.com or www.zparts.com. I have not done business with either of these yet but they have some things not available from Motorsport. Good Luck.

I don't know how many Gleason units there are out there, but I too have a 4:11 R-200 with a Gleason unit. It was built in the early 90's for an ITS racer that blew away the competition, especially in the rain. At one race he lapped the entire field at Watkins Glen. Unfortunately no one ever got a look under his 240 to see that he was using an R-200! He was protested many times for supposedly illegal engine mods but I think he got away with the one mod that put him in the winners circle most every time! I came into possesion of the rear a few years ago from the man who purchased it from him after he quit racing. I have not opened up the case yet to check for any part numbers on the unit. From what I can gather it was a Subaru or Mazda unit. I was told the case required just a little grinding for clearance but obviously it works quite well. If anyone knows where to look for part numbers let me know and I will try to get the numbers so maybe more people could do the same.