New Member - Socal - 1981 280zx
09-30-2008, 11:31 PM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Orange, CA
Posts: 19
New Member - Socal - 1981 280zx
Names Adam
Live in Orange, CA
Got this Z for free from a friends of mine. Went to high school with him. he lost interest in cars, so his brother went to town on it. he wants to see me driving again, so he helped me out by just givin it to me. I've owned 2x s13's, 2x s14's, a 240z, 510, and couple others. Can't let go of nissans.
here's the just of it:
1981 280zx
L20 head - Ported / polished
L28 top
Crazy upgraded Cam
ported intake manifold - not by much
Converted to Fuel injection
MSD coil
Vintange Recaro bucket seats - reclinable
stripped interior
What i plan on doing:
POWER STEERING!!!! for the love of god i need power steering
z32 rear end so i can put a Kaaz 2 way LSD in it
suspension - still in the air - prob tokico's and eibach's (suggestions?)
Paint
eventually i'll prob green sticker this car, and make it a track car. Throw a SR20 in it , or a Turbo KA24DE from a 240. I know KA's like the back of my hand so i may go that route.
Anyways. Onto the good stuff:
WIRE MANAGEMENT?!?!
LOVE MY NISSANS! My 05 Nismo 4x4 Frontier
My mastif Maggie approves
Maybe i'll paint it like SMOKESCREEN from transformers hehe
Thanks for looking.
Adam
Live in Orange, CA
Got this Z for free from a friends of mine. Went to high school with him. he lost interest in cars, so his brother went to town on it. he wants to see me driving again, so he helped me out by just givin it to me. I've owned 2x s13's, 2x s14's, a 240z, 510, and couple others. Can't let go of nissans.
here's the just of it:
1981 280zx
L20 head - Ported / polished
L28 top
Crazy upgraded Cam
ported intake manifold - not by much
Converted to Fuel injection
MSD coil
Vintange Recaro bucket seats - reclinable
stripped interior
What i plan on doing:
POWER STEERING!!!! for the love of god i need power steering
z32 rear end so i can put a Kaaz 2 way LSD in it
suspension - still in the air - prob tokico's and eibach's (suggestions?)
Paint
eventually i'll prob green sticker this car, and make it a track car. Throw a SR20 in it , or a Turbo KA24DE from a 240. I know KA's like the back of my hand so i may go that route.
Anyways. Onto the good stuff:
WIRE MANAGEMENT?!?!
LOVE MY NISSANS! My 05 Nismo 4x4 Frontier
My mastif Maggie approves
Maybe i'll paint it like SMOKESCREEN from transformers hehe
Thanks for looking.
Adam
10-01-2008, 04:06 AM
#4
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Orange, CA
Posts: 19
Heres a youtube vid of my car with seats in the vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojxjGuvP4yY
Sounds quality sucks though. Typical youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojxjGuvP4yY
Sounds quality sucks though. Typical youtube
10-01-2008, 07:50 AM
#5
The Evil Twin
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 9,294
Nice start! good job on the primer... why not shoot a coat of color?
Just some thoughts for you....
1981 280zx
L20 head - Ported / polished You actually have an E30 head? Those are rare and have very small valves. I guess the only upside is the small quench
L28 top the top part would be the head. So do you have an L28 head or L20 head?
Crazy upgraded Cam
ported intake manifold - not by much
Converted to Fuel injection that car came stock with fuel injection. did it have carbs when you got it?
MSD coil
Vintange Recaro bucket seats - reclinable
stripped interior
POWER STEERING!!!! I haven't seen a 1981 Z with manual steering. Again, maybe somebody converted it to 1979 manual for more power. (less drag on engine)
z32 rear end so i can put a Kaaz 2 way LSD in it ya, good luck with that
suspension - still in the air - prob tokico's and eibach's (suggestions?) Shox.com sells a kit of Tokico springs and struts that work well together and at a good price. Less than $400. Look up 'Nissan' 280zx in their menu
I personally liked the firm ride that the ST Suspension Techniques springs gave. (shox.com) and then ordered KYB struts separate. This time around I'm going to try the Tokico set since the struts are supposively made to work with the lowered ride height.
I'm going to throw this out there, but I think your car is a 1979 model. Check the plate on the driver's door jam
You've got manual heater controls, slick top, no cruise control, 130mph speedo, manual steering, no rear wiper. Not all of those are exclusive to 1979 but some of them are. The others are more common on a '79
---
and another thing, you're right in the same neighborhood as Motorsport Auto! They are the classic Z primary source for stock and aftermarket parts. lucky
Just some thoughts for you....
1981 280zx
L20 head - Ported / polished You actually have an E30 head? Those are rare and have very small valves. I guess the only upside is the small quench
L28 top the top part would be the head. So do you have an L28 head or L20 head?
Crazy upgraded Cam
ported intake manifold - not by much
Converted to Fuel injection that car came stock with fuel injection. did it have carbs when you got it?
MSD coil
Vintange Recaro bucket seats - reclinable
stripped interior
POWER STEERING!!!! I haven't seen a 1981 Z with manual steering. Again, maybe somebody converted it to 1979 manual for more power. (less drag on engine)
z32 rear end so i can put a Kaaz 2 way LSD in it ya, good luck with that
suspension - still in the air - prob tokico's and eibach's (suggestions?) Shox.com sells a kit of Tokico springs and struts that work well together and at a good price. Less than $400. Look up 'Nissan' 280zx in their menu
I personally liked the firm ride that the ST Suspension Techniques springs gave. (shox.com) and then ordered KYB struts separate. This time around I'm going to try the Tokico set since the struts are supposively made to work with the lowered ride height.
I'm going to throw this out there, but I think your car is a 1979 model. Check the plate on the driver's door jam
You've got manual heater controls, slick top, no cruise control, 130mph speedo, manual steering, no rear wiper. Not all of those are exclusive to 1979 but some of them are. The others are more common on a '79
---
and another thing, you're right in the same neighborhood as Motorsport Auto! They are the classic Z primary source for stock and aftermarket parts. lucky
Last edited by Bleach; 10-01-2008 at 08:05 AM.
10-01-2008, 08:30 AM
#6
Über User
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: lemont, Illinois
Posts: 9,532
+1 to everything he said ^^^^^
only want to add, cant tell if theres a crazy cam in there since the idle is way high and the sound quality blows, the other, when you say Z32 rear end, you mean you think it HAS one in it now? or you want to put one in it?
only want to add, cant tell if theres a crazy cam in there since the idle is way high and the sound quality blows, the other, when you say Z32 rear end, you mean you think it HAS one in it now? or you want to put one in it?
10-01-2008, 11:01 AM
#8
Über User
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: lemont, Illinois
Posts: 9,532
its a HORRIBLE LS its a VLSD probably the least effecient LSD sept maybe a helical, BUT its a very strong rear end they handle well over 300hp and thats the R230 the NA's came with a different rear end size. i've never heard of anyone swaping out their rear end in a TT unless they do a complete motor change over and thats on 700 and up hp cars, the manual trannies and rear ends from the TT's are probably the strongest nissan has ever made. but the work and money that goes into making a Z32 rear mount up in an S30/S130 is ALOT especially for a puny NA L motor....
10-01-2008, 02:38 PM
#10
Haterade by da gallon!
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Valdosta GA
Posts: 2,306
dam he will never show up on here again... ********!!!
and i do like the old Recaros and the 79 speedo swap...
one thing though... so you started with a reg L28... you swaped on a l20 head then took off the carbs and put on the fuel injection? and isnt that a 79 intake manny though? im very confused... or mabe you just have a 79 with a L20 head....
DUDE WHERES YOUR WINDSHIELD WASHED FLUID!!!
and i do like the old Recaros and the 79 speedo swap...
one thing though... so you started with a reg L28... you swaped on a l20 head then took off the carbs and put on the fuel injection? and isnt that a 79 intake manny though? im very confused... or mabe you just have a 79 with a L20 head....
DUDE WHERES YOUR WINDSHIELD WASHED FLUID!!!
Last edited by 280zx2by2; 10-01-2008 at 02:43 PM.
10-01-2008, 04:38 PM
#12
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Orange, CA
Posts: 19
sorry for not gettin back to ya guys.
Why would it be a 79 if the pink slip says 81?
As far as the head goes, it must be a L20 if he says he converted it to fuel injection right? According to him, he says its an Older L head, so it must be a L20. Dont know why he told me L28 before.
It did have power steering. Car came with it. Again, this car has to be a 81. But he took everything out. Which is why it has MANUAL steering, and has L20 parts in there.
Thanks for the shox.com info, ill be sure to check that out.
When I said z32, i was talking about putting one in. But for some reason the Z community likes to keep it a secret on their rear ends for some reason.
I've done multiple searches too see who has done a 2way LSD swap for drifting or track purposes, I cant find a dam thing. Only thing people are interested in is just throwing in a better rear end from a model few years newer, and not touching the gears.
Motorsportauto. Im very familiar with them. My old Z was a product ***** of theirs:
Thanks for lookin,
Adam
Why would it be a 79 if the pink slip says 81?
As far as the head goes, it must be a L20 if he says he converted it to fuel injection right? According to him, he says its an Older L head, so it must be a L20. Dont know why he told me L28 before.
It did have power steering. Car came with it. Again, this car has to be a 81. But he took everything out. Which is why it has MANUAL steering, and has L20 parts in there.
Thanks for the shox.com info, ill be sure to check that out.
When I said z32, i was talking about putting one in. But for some reason the Z community likes to keep it a secret on their rear ends for some reason.
I've done multiple searches too see who has done a 2way LSD swap for drifting or track purposes, I cant find a dam thing. Only thing people are interested in is just throwing in a better rear end from a model few years newer, and not touching the gears.
Motorsportauto. Im very familiar with them. My old Z was a product ***** of theirs:
Thanks for lookin,
Adam
10-01-2008, 04:47 PM
#13
Originally Posted by silentsamurai
As far as the head goes, it must be a L20 if he says he converted it to fuel injection right? According to him, he says its an Older L head, so it must be a L20. Dont know why he told me L28 before.
Originally Posted by silentsamurai
When I said z32, i was talking about putting one in. But for some reason the Z community likes to keep it a secret on their rear ends for some reason.
I've done multiple searches too see who has done a 2way LSD swap for drifting or track purposes, I cant find a dam thing. Only thing people are interested in is just throwing in a better rear end from a model few years newer, and not touching the gears.
I've done multiple searches too see who has done a 2way LSD swap for drifting or track purposes, I cant find a dam thing. Only thing people are interested in is just throwing in a better rear end from a model few years newer, and not touching the gears.
-Quaife LSD = $2000
-Nissan / Nismo LSD = $800
-87-89 Z31T LSD = $50 - $800 (depending on where you get it)
-Powerbrute = $600
-S13/S14/Z32 complete rear end suspension swap = ? - $3000
10-01-2008, 04:51 PM
#14
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Orange, CA
Posts: 19
NismoPick.
You know if a s13 rear end bolts onto a 280? If so, i can get those for cheap. I've been in the 240 comunity for sometime, these Z's are a new thing for me. So i dont know muc habout L heads (as you can tell)
But if i can get a 240 pumpkin on my 280 rear end, i would be stoked. then i could just throw a tomei or kaaz LSD and be done with it.
You know if a s13 rear end bolts onto a 280? If so, i can get those for cheap. I've been in the 240 comunity for sometime, these Z's are a new thing for me. So i dont know muc habout L heads (as you can tell)
But if i can get a 240 pumpkin on my 280 rear end, i would be stoked. then i could just throw a tomei or kaaz LSD and be done with it.
10-01-2008, 04:57 PM
#16
Über User
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: lemont, Illinois
Posts: 9,532
"bolts" no.... only rear end that "bolts" into these cars is any R200 (assuming you use and R200 mustache bar) from any Z car 1969-1989 (but they didnt bring the R200 into the Z's until like 76 or something everything pre that year used an R180 which is just a different mustache bar) but after that you need CV or half shafts that work alot will require mix and matching parts or if you want to use the Z31 CV shafts i know you need an adapter for the S30's and blah blah blah its alot of bullshit, might be easier for the S130 though. if you want a good strong affordable CLSD get teh power brute theres plenty of write ups out there on how to install them seems easy other than i know some people had to shave down the housings a little for clearence i think but seemed pretty easy.
10-01-2008, 04:57 PM
#17
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Orange, CA
Posts: 19
sorry i was talking about the entire rear end. the links/shafts , pumpkin,everything. i can take down a 240 lsd in 10 minutes. almost seems worth it to me to do the entire swap. since i know that read end better than anything.
and its more likely you have a L24 head than a l20... or so id think
10-01-2008, 07:15 PM
#20
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Orange, CA
Posts: 19
hmm. looks like i have to look into it some more. Silly me.
As far as checking the door tag. Only number that shows is a stamped number "10" and then a " / " then a number 80
dont know if that helps ya. That mean the pink is wrong and its a 1980? #10 production line?
As far as checking the door tag. Only number that shows is a stamped number "10" and then a " / " then a number 80
dont know if that helps ya. That mean the pink is wrong and its a 1980? #10 production line?
10-01-2008, 09:48 PM
#25
Über User
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: lemont, Illinois
Posts: 9,532
yeah idk, i think we can fix the confusion, we realize now its a 81 for sure, now we need the head and block cast numbers and we can tell you whats up. get those for us and we can end this mystery lol
