The Crusty Z (1978 280Z)

[Syncro]

all you need is rwd trans flywheel and start plate for a 4g63. I have everything to do the swap. a mighty max starion and some rx7 trannies will work interestingly enough, an l28 flywheel has the same bolt pattern as a 4g63 and will bolt up.

[rustynuts]

all you need is rwd trans flywheel and start plate for a 4g63. I have everything to do the swap. a mighty max starion and some rx7 trannies will work interestingly enough, an l28 flywheel has the same bolt pattern as a 4g63 and will bolt up.

 

Interesting. I might look into that instead of a KA. It mostly comes down to cost and power per dollar. The fact that the KA24DE has a distributor is also a bonus for me, since I can use MS1 with it which is a lot cheaper than MS2, but if the stock computer for the 4G63 is easily tuneable then I guess thats an even bigger bonus. Tough decision, I better get reading.

[EndStar]

Yeah I haven't actually seen too many 280Z build threads around, I just read through your build, looks like a good start, and way more solid than mine  :rofl:. I'll have to check and make sure the bumper shock mounts aren't rusty. I do wanna ditch the bumper and go for an air dam or 240z bumpers eventually. I think once I sell my Trans Am I'm going to start buying stuff for the Z, I'm thinking coilovers and some wheels, maybe fender flares but I haven't decided. Then I'm after an HX35 turbo off a Cummins and see about a custom turbo setup. Probably not gonna bother with any of the L28ET stock stuff, and go with Megasquirt/Mallory box and modern injectors, and a 240SX TB for the TPS. I'm gonna leave the paint and leave the rust but make sure my wheels are nice n shiny and run rat style. Partly because I like the look, partly because i hate bodywork. Thats kinda where I'm at, waiting on funds 

i have a rear body kit piece still for sale if you want it! trade for front bumper shock mounts? :D

[rustynuts]

i have a rear body kit piece still for sale if you want it! trade for front bumper shock mounts? :D

 

I appreciate the offer but I think with this car I'm either gonna run 240z bumpers or just no bumper on the back and shave it smooth. I prefer the rounded look of the Z body, especially with fender flares. 

[EndStar]

I appreciate the offer but I think with this car I'm either gonna run 240z bumpers or just no bumper on the back and shave it smooth. I prefer the rounded look of the Z body, especially with fender flares. 

yeah nobody really does... i just want to put on the 260z front bumper i have and thats it

[rustynuts]

So this is what I've been up to the past few days, non Z related but hilarious enough to be worth posting here:

 

Drives like a brand new car

 

Throw some brand new 20 year old snow/mud tires on it

 

 

Take the other door off and bolt down some cavalier seats and call it trail worthy!

 

First run in the woods

 

 

 

 

Then a little body work when I got home

Before:

 

My special body work tools

 

Good as new! I bet the old tail light will even fit, I'll try tomorrow.

 

 

But yeah, thats what I've been up too. Not much to update on the Z until I get some money, just waiting on the DMV to mail me the title to my trans am so I can sell it. What a shit show, they said 8-10 weeks for an out of state title transfer. Can you believe that? Hopefully it'll get here soon because it'll be week 8 on monday

[EndStar]

I've been waiting for a title since early June... But that's a whole another story!

[EndStar]

My dad has a Vista cruiser! Olds are nice!

[rustynuts]

My dad has a Vista cruiser! Olds are nice!

 

Yeah they are great cars. I have another 1969 Olds Cutlass S thats been my project car for the last year or so. Its been in the family since '71 but sat since '88 until last august when I got my hands on it. Its nice and safe in the Garage though, this gold car I rigged for off roading was originally a parts car I bought. I stripped the interior and bumpers/grill for the good '69 I'm fixing up and figured shit, it still runs and drives, might as well do something with it. 

[TheGam1ngK1ng]

 

Thats hilarious. I have a Mallory ignition box with 2 step limiters and a switched nitrous retard, and MAP sensor boost retard and all that. I'm definitely wiring up the 2 step in this car so I can scare tourists in town with the limiter and to flat-foot shift. 

 

General update: Today I checked each injector including the cold start injector and they all click open and shut when I apply 12v from the battery to them via my sloppy probe setup, pictured below. The terminals did have some corrosion though, so I'm gonna have someone turn the engine over (no fuel of course) while I have the tip of a screwdriver on the injector base, and my ear on the handle as a stethoscope to make sure they are getting power from the stock wiring. If so, then I guess I'll just run fresh gas thru the car until the running issues clear up. if it persists, I'll pull the injectors and clean em. So far though, I still need new calipers/rotors and to bleed my clutch and brakes before I can even think about the test drive. Also, this evil god damn gas tank won't come out, I can't get the clamp off the filler neck because the screw head faces torward the front (inside) of the car rather than the easily accessible rear of the car  :(

 

Heres a pic of the magnificent test probe tool:

 

And heres my lovely brake rotor. same deal with the other side

 

LOL that is a brake disk?! That is one crusty Z! The build is lookin good so far though!

[rustynuts]

LOL that is a brake disk?! That is one crusty Z! The build is lookin good so far though!

 

Yep, as much as it looks like an ancient rock grinding stone it is a brake disc. Thats why i need new (or good used) ones. And thanks, the car is coming along slowly but surely. The fuel filter I have on the car is pretty clogged, I blew it out just so that I could use it but its still a big restriction, you fill it with gas on the inlet side and turn it so the outlet is facing down and you get a consistent slow drip/pour. Between that and dirty injectors is why I believe it runs so rough. Just needs a new fuel filter and some run time/injector cleaner. Once the brakes are done and the clutch is bled I'll be running it and hopefully it'll clear up, then I'll sell the engine/trans and start the swap. Turbo 5.3 LS ftw. 

[rustynuts]

I figure its worth asking atleast, Does anyone know wether or not a '78 280Z fuel tank has a check valve in the feed tube inside the gas tank? Cause I put a hose on the barb on the outside of the tank and hooked up my compressor at 30 psi to it and nothing, the hose expanded a bit but no air went into the tank. Is it really that badly plugged? Or is there a check valve to prevent drain back? I know there is one inside the fuel pump so I can't see the need for one in the tank

[rustynuts]

MORE UPDATES! Well just one really. after 2 failed attempts to bleed the clutch I decided to yank the master cylinder and see if it was squirting fluid. It wasn't. The piston is seized bottomed out in the bore despite how nice the outside of the MC looks. So, I need to get another one. One thing that impressed me that datsun did, was put a 12mm bolt head on the pin that connects the clutch pedal to the MC pushrod. Its just a smooth pin with a hole thru it for a clip, yet it has a 12mm bolt head so that you can get a wrench on it and spin it to get it free if its stuck and you can't just push it out. Genious. Heres the MC:

 

 

 

[rustynuts]

Just a quick update. Stopped by autozone while i was out today, ordered a new clutch master cylinder for 20 bucks. Since they had to order it anyway I went ahead and set it up for ship to home, should be here early this week. Once thats in and bled then I need to plumb a temporary gas tank, change the driver rear tire that doesn't hold any air at all and then I can do a quick test drive. I'll only have the E brake since I have no front calipers but even a quick drive up and down the driveway would give me more motivation to get this thing done. Right now I'm just waiting on cash - and thats waiting on the fuckin NYS DMV. 

[hobospyder]

2 gallon gas can works wonders, just make sure it's secured before you start driving anywhere

[rustynuts]

2 gallon gas can works wonders, just make sure it's secured before you start driving anywhere

 

Yeah thats the plan. I might have to put the can right behind the passenger seat and feed the lines thru the body plug, the feed line that goes from the tank to the pump is too short to reach all the way up into the trunk area. I'll probably put the feed and return into the 2 gallon can and stuff a rag around them to catch any sloshing. 

[rustynuts]

Got the new clutch M/C in the mail today and slapped it in. 

 

Yipee

 

Brand new, not even a reman'd unit for once

 

getting closer

 

Bam, shiny

 

Had a bit of a problem, but it didn't surprise me. Thought I'd end up needing to do this. The rod was too short, as pictured

 

So I swapped in the old one

 

Like a glove!

 

So, looks like tomorrow I'm gonna bleed it and hopefully, god willing, the slave cyl will be intact and I'll have a working clutch

 

Thats all for now. Tomorrow I'll bleed the clutch and keep trying to get the one old tire that doesn't hold air off the rim and toss on a tire I found in the woods and see if it'll hold air long enough for a short test drive! If it works out, there will be video. 

[rustynuts]

 

Got the clutch bled! Works mint. the plate was stiff at first, but one firm push on the pedal and now it feels mint. So, that means pull the driver-rear tire (or whats left of it) off the rim and mount up one of the two old tires i found in the woods off a trail that look like they'll hold air, using starting fluid and a lighter, then see if this gem of a car will drive! For the test drive I'll just use the E brake and/or shut it off in gear to stop. I need to run some gas thru the system and see if I can't get the injectors cleared out and get it running better. 

[EndStar]

woop woop :w00t:  making more progress than me. but not for long  B)

[rustynuts]

woop woop :w00t:  making more progress than me. but not for long  B)

 

I'm pretty much dead in the water at this point, so I don't doubt you'll make more progress than me soon haha. I've tried a few methods to try and get this god damn evil son of a bitch 20 year old tire off the rim and it JUST WON'T DE-BEAD. Its gonna drive me insane. So, no drive until I can figure out some way to get a tire that holds air on that driver rear side. I hate tires. 

[EndStar]

well im taking off carbs, maybe putting on my su's and idk what else i will get done this weekend. being away from your passion sucks

[hobospyder]

I'm pretty much dead in the water at this point, so I don't doubt you'll make more progress than me soon haha. I've tried a few methods to try and get this god damn evil son of a bitch 20 year old tire off the rim and it JUST WON'T DE-BEAD. Its gonna drive me insane. So, no drive until I can figure out some way to get a tire that holds air on that driver rear side. I hate tires.

run it over

[rustynuts]

run it over

 

I was going to use our huge conversion van and a 2x6 propped onto the tire, drive up the 2x6 and rip the bead off. Thats a fine idea except the steel belts in the tire are basically completely seperated from the rubber and theres no structure to the tire, it just gets flat like a fuckin pancake, and the sidewall and tread just collapse. it has the structure of a baloon. I can't push the sidewall down until the bead pops off because theres no real structure. The tire is just too rotted. I had no issues at all using this method to pop the bead off the rim on both sides of an old tire on my '69 Cutlass spare rim, and that tire had been on there for much longer. It was in better shape tho. Not really sure what to do, drill a hole in the tire, run a chain thru it, bolt it down to something and use a winch to rip the tire off the bead?

[hobospyder]

Hmm, push down on it, with a large flathead screwdriver get in there and try to break the bead? Then take the handle on a medium-sized crescent wrench or something and use the to swing it over the rim of the tire, have someone help you with two more crescent wrenches and just work your way around the rim. Do the same for the other side

 

Might work? Only idea I got

[hobospyder]

Or my favourite idea at this point: dump gas on it and burn it off