That thing looks incredible. Makes me want a clean Z even more now.
That thing looks incredible. Makes me want a clean Z even more now.
thanks a lot guys, really means a lot - and I literally debated for over a year on what to build, but once I started considering the Z it quickly became apparent as the only choice, and has only solidified that position the more I've wrenched and learned about em.
got an autox on the calendar for beginning of August as a shakedown run. Looks like best chances for mid-ohio are first or second weekend of October, hopefully everything holds together til then!
Also, turns out wrapping a steering wheel is a bit more difficult than it looks, gonna take a bit more time. Should really be the perfect final piece to the car though...
One of my favorite cars on the planet, looks awesome, keep up the great work!!!!
engine shot of the 4bbl setup for fun
Found out theres an autox on saturday so putting things together for it. was enjoying the OEM wheel novelty but really needed smaller radius for quickness so threw on the momo. it wont see that many miles realistically, ill just recover it this winter. ill get prettier pictures with it straightened out and the actual 'datsun' momo horn button on.
Also i have been running more camber in teh rear because i didnt have room to max out the fronts so finally got around to hacking out some metal to make room. prob going to weld a metal tab over the hole for at least a little bit of support haha... these things are great for a bolt in but i should have just hacked off the whole top and welded in plates to begin with.
oil was surprisingly black for the mileage, so went ahead and changed it but hoping its not a sign of a greater issue. had small trans and coolant leaks that i think i also fixed. the pass rear strut clunks, i think techno toy didnt seat/space the gland nut properly which is pretty annoying. i doubt itll get done this weekend but i need to get that done before a real track day. also need to finish fabbing up some brake ducts....
Looks like a great project. Those are such beautiful cars. Good luck.
Cool car sir. A few of us were standing around next to a 260z and a z3 in utter amazement of how small the 260z was. We all remembered them being a reasonably large car but it was amazingly svelte when compared to modern vehicles...
Great car! I miss my '71 that I sold a few years back. One day I will have another one. They make perfect track cars. One of my best memories on track is in a friends old ITS 240. It's a bit of a workout but so much fun. Keep the updates coming!
Wait you're in columbus? Awesome! I have a burgendy 260z thats been broken for a while but I daily an 88 300zx turbo.
I really want to get my 260 back on the road, but I'm probably doing an S13 rear subframe before that happens because the axle adapters are stupid expensive for S130 or Z31 axles.
Hopefully I can take my daily Z31 to midohio soon. Are you going with one of the Z clubs?
~Alex
Thanks a lot for the kind words guys, awesome to find a site with the same unbiased adoration for any and all respectable driving machines as I have myself. The S30 is a fantastic sports car, looks, engineering, driving experience - I really dont think a machine better suited to my tastes exists (until i build it from the ground up 
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84FSP wrote: Cool car sir. A few of us were standing around next to a 260z and a z3 in utter amazement of how small the 260z was. We all remembered them being a reasonably large car but it was amazingly svelte when compared to modern vehicles...
ha! it's true - when I first got this one it was on jackstands for about a year and once I finally got it out I had completely forgotten. It's basically miata sized, and parking next to "MINI"s makes em look like clown car monster trucks. I would honestly wish it was a smidge bigger and it would be a great daily driver (like maybe first gen mustang size) but for a pure driving toy I love the confine and light weight.
racerdave600 wrote: Great car! I miss my '71 that I sold a few years back. One day I will have another one. They make perfect track cars. One of my best memories on track is in a friends old ITS 240. It's a bit of a workout but so much fun. Keep the updates coming!
It's really the perfect track toy formula, just the right amount of vintage and modern car capability. It still amazes me how competitive the chassis is. And actually early on in my hunting I read several similar reports of people saying their personal favorite track experience was in a 240Z - on this forum - that is literally what sealed the deal on me going with this chassis!
Rustspecs13 wrote: Wait you're in columbus? Awesome! I have a burgendy 260z thats been broken for a while but I daily an 88 300zx turbo. I really want to get my 260 back on the road, but I'm probably doing an S13 rear subframe before that happens because the axle adapters are stupid expensive for S130 or Z31 axles. Hopefully I can take my daily Z31 to midohio soon. Are you going with one of the Z clubs? ~Alex
I absolutely adore burgundy on these cars, haha. Whats your 260 in need of?? I've got a good bit of spare parts accumulating and at least a little bit of know how.
Any reason you NEED to do the subframe swap? Never really looked into that but getting u-joint axles would be a highly desirable change. My current plan is to just accumulate stock u-joint axles and consider them a 'wear' item - at least replacements will be cheaper and also i think id rather have them break than my diff or outer stub axles (wheel rolling off car not good haha). But i hear ya, none of the options are cheap, I still need more pennies for the wolfcreek inner stub axle adapters just to run S30 axles with modern R180s but a set of those is $500!
I havent really interacted with the ZROC group much besides meeting Andrew Doll (runs a early 240 in SVRA and has another as a street car) who has been a huge help and is a great guy. But I plan on going to mid-ohio with either SCCA or NASA in October (probably NASA Oct 2-4), bring the ZX!
also Alex, I'm taking the 240Z down to autox at buckeye lots on saturday...
Well the 260 basically needs an engine and lots of various other bits. The carbd L28 blew and I pulled it apart. 16mpg and 150hp was a crappy combination any way. I bought and parted out a 280zx turbo and have all the parts from it except the chassis. It start and ran and drove but the trans was really messed up. I pulled the head to check for previous owner screw ups as there was lots on the out side of the engine.
I think my friend has 280zx axle adapters just sitting so I might just put it together with what I have. My real goal is a big horsepower build with everything modified front to back, but thats taking too long. Getting it back together with the Z31 turbo ecu means I can do 300hp really easy.
Are you talking about the ackerman lot autocross? I'll probably stop by and chat. My daily has some oil burning issue right now and I'm not sure if its engine or turbo....don't want to beat on it too might right now.
~Alex
Don't talk bad about 16mpg and 150hp! haha, although that is why i plan to build a L28 (maybe stroker) from the ground up; probably just going to rebuild to stock and do lots of work on the head. And trust me, I know where you're coming from as far as owner screw ups. Mine was one big WTF after another, which led things to a whole extra year.
But I see what you're getting at with all the 280ZX bits now. One of those engines is definitely the best formula for easy S30 power. I know a guy in michigan who has a 5speed for sale, I would take it but he wants $375. I'm sure he'll come down but thats still too steep for me. He has a head I might use to rebuild my L28 so maybe we can all work something out. But honestly I'd just throw the turbo engine in, get the ECU working and start driving it, knowing you dont want to push it too hard on that trans and rear.
And yup, its the parking lot right off Ackerman. Though it looks like they're trying to put me in SMS cause of the L28... boo. Anyway, Andrew (SVRA 240Z) will be there too, he's definitely a good guy to know if you're working on a S30 in this area.
autox went fantastic. car was set up beautifully, felt very well balanced. a little understeery, but mostly from driving/course mistakes and dropping front tire pressures actually still helped a lot. undecided at whether i still see sway bars as necessary as i thought i did. pesky rear toe in was likely keeping the rear a bit more planted than i wanted so will probably get after that first and go from there.
engine did great. i accidentally started off the first pass colder than i had intended and was burning a good bit of oil, but had it at right temp for second and third and performed flawlessly without the james bond smoke screen. the carb setup is pretty dead below 3000 which i thought would be a problem but was not at all. really impressed at how well the car did for its first time out all around.
friend showed up with a camera after the first lap and got some great burst shots through the big corner before the first big straight. stance/alignment/balance seems to look as good as it felt! anybody else see anything?
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same corner lap 3
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also was super excited to find this bad boy in the pits and get to talk to the owner/builder. a factory five 33 hot rod was to be my build if i could have afforded it and i have a huge soft spot for daytona coupes. made a great day greater.
Got some video as well, my buddy brought the setup and was his first time messing with it but thankful to have! edit: i thought i had these embedded but it deleted em. anybody know how to do that?
I unsurprisingly dicked up the course the first run. we also had rough inside the car camera mounting options but tried it anyway for the first lap. hands stayed pretty light on the wheel, which im happy about cause im pretty bad about that. shuffled pretty well too considering im not really used to it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vDCPtXjXag
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outside the car video better, second run, stayed on course, had a bit of fun with the throttle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmszeND7mLs
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third run, best time best video. having locked up the brakes was irritating
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-b3c6d5Pww
well finally got to spend some time with the car and - for once - things actually worked like theyre supposed to and i got more than expected done! garage is a mess but was eeking out every last bit i could rather than cleaning
the NASA HPDE was full up but am now officially registered for SCCA PDX at midohio !
Awesome build. Thanks for updating
My pleasure, thanks for reading.
Love seeing old Z cats gettin used. Makes me wanna get mine done faster.
Awesome car, I love S30s.... I miss my 280ZX track rat from time to time. I actually have a pair of Wolf Creek axle stubs for Subie diffs R180s. PM me if you're interested.
Fitzauto - I hear ya, sure been slow going for me, progress seemed to come in phases, haha. Let me know if anything is stumping you I might be able to help with.
Brotus - I've actually been thinking what a good track rat, or even better, a chump/lemons build a 280ZX turbo would be. Sent you a message...
Awesome save. Nice work getting it back on the road again 
can i have your address? i have a strong desire to steal your wheels.
2K4Kcsq wrote: Awesome save. Nice work getting it back on the road again
Thanks! Although I will say being my first carbureted/distributored car, it was not smart to start with something not running haha. But oh well forced me to learn and thats really what i wanted.
patgizz wrote: can i have your address? i have a strong desire to steal your wheels.
Ha, was a total luck find on craigslist. I had been deliberating for months going back and forth between circle track steelies and random aluminum alloy finds. These were exactly the look i wanted and less weight than anything i thought i could ever afford - at craigslist prices! Glad you like em as much as i do!
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