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1982 280ZX "shakotan" build


CGreene

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Hello Datsun lovers,

 

I have owned my ZX for about 4 years and only ever did maintenance to it just to keep it all up to date (still not finished though). I've always been a huge fan of Japanese shakotan cars and I noticed an abundance of S30 Z's in this culture, but very few S130's, especially here in the states. I guess this sparked a fire inside me to build a fine example of a shakotan 280zx, and so now 4 years later, this is where I stand!

 

My plans for this car are simple, I will lower the car via coilovers as soon as I have the money to do so. I'm going to do an s13 coilover conversion in the rear, and buy technotoy coilovers for the front to save time and hassle. To any of you who know about shakotan style, you know there are 3 main things that are involved:

1. It usually involves older Japanese coupes/sedans and the car has to sit VERY low to the ground.

2. The car has to sport very aggressive wheels that are usually 16" or smaller

3: the car has to show a little slice of your personality through the modifications of your choice.

 

So the first picture is how I got the car. Bone stock, 108,000 original documented miles. 5 speed, slick top, leather interior.

The first thing I did, is I removed all 4 struts from the car to prepare the springs to be cut for temporary low. I don't have any pictures of this, but I do have pictures of how the car sits afterwards.

 

I then bought some wheels. The wheels I chose measure 15x10.5 -32 on all four corners. These are some beefy wheels, exactly what I was looking for! As I was installing them, I realized the center bore was much too small for the wheels to fit in the front, along with the actual inner barrel of the wheel contacting the strut. My quick fix is to buy some of the smallest bolt on spacers I can find until I want to replace the lug studs with longer units and buy slide on spacers. The smallest ones I could find that were all the correct sizes were 1.25in wide.

 

I will come back and post a full parts list and build sheet soon, for now, here's a couple pictures of how the car looks as of today!

 

 

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Im trying to figure out how to post pictures on here through mobile, I'll probably have to wait til later because I'm at work right now. As for the car you posted, that car is way on the "bosozoku" style of things. They all overlap to a degree, but I'm looking for traditional shakotan style, less body modifications, more subtle aero, still very much low. Hope I don't let you down!

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This might be a dumb question, but can anybody share with me how to upload pictures on mobile? I have a bunch here to share, just can't figure out how to

I found postimage.org to be easiest from a mobile phone....

Once you upload a pic there they have a "hot link to forum" button.. . Copy and paste that here....

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https://postimg.org/gallery/1ck4g9tla/

 

So starting from top to bottom, that's how the car had looked when I first obtained it. It was in great shape besides the hail damage. It needed regular maintenance, but it was mechanically sound and drove excellently. I kept it stock for longer than any car I've ever owned, waiting for the right time to modify it. I did a good bit of paint correction on the car to hold it over til I get it all fixed up. For old paint it holds its shine nicely!

 

I bought the wheels for it in September of last year, 15x10.5-32 all around. These aren't permanent, just letting me get a good idea of what kind of width/offset I can get away with on this car. These ZX's can fit a big wheel under them for sure! Ideally I want to go with 14x10 -60(+/-) in the back and around 14x9.5 -45(+/-) in the front to get my ideal fitment and ride height. This car is low and will be even lower when a select few items are bought. I know not everybody likes this style, but I love it!

 

Next on the agenda are some of the more expensive bits to get the Z closer to the ground and with some more negative camber. I plan to buy some used s13 rear coilovers in good shape to fit in the back, but the fronts I'm going to just bite the bullet and buy new technotoy tuning coilovers for the front. Ive thought a lot about this, and I'm a decent diy'er, but something about those coilovers just makes me feel like the couple hundred dollars extra will pay off in the long run for my mental health lol. I'll also be buying their adjustable front LCA's and TC's. They're going to be very important when it comes to how this car is going to sit and drive!

 

Also, there's a few exterior mods on their way to me as we speak. Side skirt extensions and tinted headlight covers. Should be here by the first week of February.

 

More to come, I'm constantly working on the car and buying parts!

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Also, I'm on the lookout for some rear window louvers if anybody has any stashed in their garage they wanna sell. Those are next on the list right now.

 

Sides or back?

 

MSA has some for the back window...

 

ABS

http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/50-1063

 

Aluminum

http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/50-1063AL

 

 

For the side...

 

http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/50-1082

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I was gonna try to find some used ones to try and save a few bucks, but honestly I wouldn't be upset to just buy new ones. Been looking through craigslist posts trying to find somebody parting out a s130 so I can see if they've got any thing I might want lol

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