My New (to me) 280Z

[MontanaZ]

Hi all. Im a long time Zcar lover, first time Zcar owner. I just bought a 78 280zx and Im going to pick it up tommorow. Im VERY excited about this car and I think I got a pretty darn good deal on it. Paid $2,950 for it. Here are some pics:
Modified by MontanaZ at 4:31 PM 1/7/2007

[81na ZX]

I though this post was about a F-Body...

Its a 280Z or a s30, a Z28 is a trim level of a f body.

Clean though

[MontanaZ]

I though this post was about a F-Body...

Its a 280Z or a s30, a Z28 is a trim level of a f body.

Clean though

Yea, I meant to type 280zx but had a brain fart.

Thanks

[icice9]

Yea, I meant to type 280zx but had a brain fart.

Thanks

sorry man.. but thats not a 280ZX.. thats a 280Z the 280ZX didnt come out in America till 1979...

but your 280Z is still nice none the less...

[MontanaZ]

Thanks- still learning about these cars.

[evildky]

very clean 280Z, congrats, are the frame rails and floor pans in as good a condition as the rest of the car? if so you got a heck of a deal, it's getting nearly impossible to find a solid chassis anymore

...just add turbo

[MontanaZ]

Yes, the car is rust free. Its never been out of southern cal or texas where it is now. Everything under the hood is supposed to be original except for the coil and clutch fan. I REALLY would like to add a Turbo as Im going to eventually need to rebuild the engine anyways and that would be the time to do it. I struggle with that though from the standpoint Im not sure how much I want to mod a car that is that close to original still after all these years. Its a toss up too be honest. I know there are some body mods (trim), and the paint and stereo have been changed, but other than that, the car pretty much appears to set just like she did 29 years ago.

Im sure Ill end up with a Turbo in'er.

Taking off in a few mintues to go pick up the car. IM JACKED!!

[breadbox]

WOW! that is one hot Zcar. I am truely jealous.

[jEzTeR]

Great car!

[evildky]

not too origional, and unless you have an early 240Z they tend to not be terrible collectible, looks like it's been repainted, has 280ZX wheels swapped on, front valance with sideskirts and tail finnisher have all been added, as well as the louvers, spoiler and someone cut holes in the door for speakers and cut the dash bezel to add a din stereo, so don't fret about modifying it, someone already did quite a bit of modding on that car

and if turbo isn't your thing, you can get well over 250whp with a good high compression or stroer rebuild, but you'll have to go to tripple sidedraft carbs or aftermarket managment, the stock system sucks

[nsrZ32]

Very nice s30! Looks to have had a lot of work done but not bad at all for the money

Welcome to NICO!

[Boosted 70z]

I don't know why but I never like S30s with side skirts or louvers. Not a bad price though so I hope you enjoy it.

[evildky]

I personally don't like the look or a rear bumper on an S30, love the smoothed out rollpan look, mine is lumpy and ugly

[MontanaZ]

not too origional, and unless you have an early 240Z they tend to not be terrible collectible, looks like it's been repainted, has 280ZX wheels swapped on, front valance with sideskirts and tail finnisher have all been added, as well as the louvers, spoiler and someone cut holes in the door for speakers and cut the dash bezel to add a din stereo, so don't fret about modifying it, someone already did quite a bit of modding on that car

and if turbo isn't your thing, you can get well over 250whp with a good high compression or stroer rebuild, but you'll have to go to tripple sidedraft carbs or aftermarket managment, the stock system sucks

Your certainly right, there are many more modifications than I orignally noticed. I think I will add the turbo afterall. Also, I was wondering if anyone has had experience with putting in power locks from a later model Z? The previous owner installed a car alarm in it and I have a keyless remote for it. Id like to put in some power door locks since I have keyless remotes as part of the car alarm. The windows Im fine with being non powered. What is the best Turbo configuration for these? Can you only install one turbo since it is a straight six or is there a way to install two? Sorry but this is a new hobby for me and I have lots of questions. The previous owner has threw in the shop manual for the car so Im going to be doing alot of reading on the car to familarize myself with it as much as possible.

[MontanaZ]

Just got the car back from Amarillo. 1200 miles one way. Ran into a blizzard in Montana and drove on snowpacked - ice covered roads for about 200 miles @ 30 miles an hour. : Drove the car a little ways down in Amarillo. WOW, what a joy to drive. After 177,000 miles with no rebuild, I thought the car would be a dog. I am happy to say I was WRONG. The engine is still very tight and peppy. Still does over a 100mph. When I got it home though, I found out that the car doesnt like -10 degrees for some reason . So my wife is having to wait till it warms up a bit. I do believe this is the first time this car has ever been snowed on. WELCOME TO MONTANA

[DJButton]

Wow, amazing condition, I'm very jealous. But grats none the less!

[Boosted 70z]

Better wash the undercarraige and the rest of the exterior and put in the garage. Keep that ***** clean so it'l last. Love your Z.

[MontanaZ]

Fortunately we dont use salt on our roads in Montana. Im also not planning on driving it during the winter months anyways. So the car should stay in excellent condition like it is now. We dont have rust problems for the most part in Montana and you can find a lot of classics cars in great condition in this state because of it. That being said, it will be pampered.

[evildky]

the easiest way to do the turbo is the complete 82-83 280ZX Turbo swap, you can often find complete cars that were running whenthey hit and swap harness, ECU, engine turbo and all into your car, it bolts right in and it 6 or 7 wire hook up as I recall on the stock injection system which sucks, there are a few people who have doen custome twin turbo exhaust manifolds but it's a huge expence for very little gain, the stock system wtih an I/C boost controller and RRFPR will get you to about 230 WHP then the injectors and fuel pump need to be upsized, then the stock injection system and turbo will give way at about 260whp, then you'll need to upgrade the turbo, add a metal headgasket and ARP headstuds the block is good to go to right about 400 whp but don't expect the stock cast pitons to live very long, get some forged pistons and it's gam on which is where mine is right now, I got 299whp and the compression on my 183k mile junkyard motor is not holding all the boost

as for the locks, I know MSA sells a kit (zcarparts.com) I'm sure you could find a less expensive universal aftermarket kit but MSA does offer good tech support and if you call them and tell them you are in the local Z car club (which I highly recomend Zcca.org) they you'll likely get a discount and they have good tech suport for the products they sell

[MontanaZ]

So basically I get a turbo+engine from an 82-83 Z, upgrade the pistons, headgasket, turbo, and fuel system. WOW, sounds spendy.

[Boosted 70z]

So basically I get a turbo+engine from an 82-83 Z, upgrade the pistons, headgasket, turbo, and fuel system. WOW, sounds spendy.

Its not that expensive really, you can find a l28et for ~500 for the full swap. Piston are not nessasary unless you want 400+hp. You really don't need the headgasket unless the one in your motor is bad, I've seen guys running 300+hp on unopened 150k+ blocks for years. The stock stuff is good for ~230hp, ofter that then you need a fuel system, if that still not enough, then get a bigger turbo. If thats still not enough, then do pistons and headgasket. It really all depends on your goals

[evildky]

start small and cheap, just do the stock 280ZX turbo swap and turn the boost up to 9 psi, that should get you to about 200whp, considering you likely have about 120whp now is a huge improvement, then you can start upgrading as you need more speed and have more money

[MontanaZ]

Sorry for my idiocy but what is whp?I think if I go the route of getting a l28et, I will forgo putting it into the car until I can build it exactly how I want. That way I can drive the car in the mean time and also when I go to swap them out, I only have to do it once. I will then paint the engine bay before swapping.
Modified by MontanaZ at 8:23 AM 1/14/2007

[Boosted 70z]

whp = wheel horse power, or horse power measured at the wheels, as opposed to the flywheel. There is generally a 15%-20% loss of power between the flywheel and the wheels. Its a better measurement of how much power your car is creating because it factors in drivetrain pwer loss.

fwhp = front wheel horse power.rwhp = rear wheel horse power.awhp= all wheel horse power.

[Flicktitty]

looks like a nice Z! good score!

[MontanaZ]

whp = wheel horse power, or horse power measured at the wheels, as opposed to the flywheel. There is generally a 15%-20% loss of power between the flywheel and the wheels. Its a better measurement of how much power your car is creating because it factors in drivetrain pwer loss.

fwhp = front wheel horse power.rwhp = rear wheel horse power.awhp= all wheel horse power.

Thanks, I know of the concept but hadnt heard of the acronym. Kewl

[MontanaZ]

BTW, does anyone know of the accuracy of Nissan's factory claim of 9.2 seconds 0-60? It said that on a flier I saw someone post on here. There hasnt been any mods to my car's engine and I KNOW that car does 0-60 faster than that. I havent timed it yet, but Im certain its much faster than that.

[evildky]

how do you know the engine is stock? nothing on the exterior is and how do you know it's faster? fast is reletive, it might "feel" fast but might not be, this is where dyno's g-tech's and time slips come in

and you're 78 engine code (in front of the driver side engine mount near the bottom) should be N47 and should have dished top pistons, the cylinder head should be a N47 (cast on the base of the head between the #1 and #2 spark plugs) whish has sleaved exhaust runners and yeilds a compression ratio of 8.3:1, a flat top block or pistons could have been swapped in or a lower volume head could have been swapped in as well, or maybe it just feels faster than it is

[MontanaZ]

I am the 3rd owner. The 2nd owner was a relative of the 1st owner; his aunt I believe. The engine has been relatively untouched. He said he replaced the existing clutch fan with some better cooling fans, and he put in an aftermarket coil. Other than that nothing has been modded on the engine. Fast is relative and I understand where your going with that. When I took it out and I by no means redlined the engine, it was faster than 9.2 seconds 0-60. I didnt stop watch it but I did count in my head using the '1 mississippi, 2 mississippi' method. (which we all know is the most accurate way to time a car) Anways it came out in the neigborhood of 7 seconds. At any rate, all I wanted to know is if anyone else has noticed this discrepancy, or if its just me??

[240swapped]

why can't i get a deal like that. instead it goes to the guy who hardly knows what he bought and happily risks blowing the old girl up at 100+mph. glad you're taking a rust free chassis to a snowy area. awesome. chalk one up for the elements. sweet camaro!

forgive my indescression. just jealous. ignore me.