Heya all

been a while but uv all gained another crew member

sorry for the length of this, just i need a few things cleard up, cheers

i currently am driving my 79 280zx auto n/a, some parts r really good while others are a little dodgy.
iv bought a 79 manual fairlady, n/a from a friend after he wrote off the body, iv stripped it completley, and on sat am taking delivery of a 83 rolling chassy (auto), (everything there cept the motor)

the plan is to take the best parts from all 3 cars and whack them all in the 83, heres my delema......

im goin to put the manual box onto the new body which was an auto b4, will i need to change the diff? (iv got the stock diffs from 79 auto + man, and the 83 auto) i think the manual is an R200 and the autos r R180???? im not to sure and what is the difference?? (i want the fastest option)

iv got all the parts i need for everything with plenty of spairs so its all good.

another couple of things, suspension.... is there any difference in the 3 cars stock suspension? if there is id prefer to put on the stiffist more sporty one.

ok last queastion when installing the peddle cluster and so forth, will i need to be doing any cutting of the firewall or anything or will it b fairly bolt on?
(its a 79 manual box and peddles going onto a 83 auto body)

sorry just 1 more, what the hell is the difference between a 280zx and the 280zx fairlady??

thanks every1 PP

 

From what I've read, the '83 you plan to put everything into should already have an R200.

"Fairlady" is just the Japanese name for the Z-series of cars ("Fairlady Z")

 

I think all three of those cars mentioned are going to have a 3.54 gear ratio. The 79 5-speed, and 83 auto will have the thicker gears. (R200) The 79 auto might have an R180 in 3.54 ratio.

What you want is the rear from an 81-83 5-speed (non-turbo) for a lower 3.9 gear ratio.

Fairlady Z means right hand drive... but all three of yours should be RHD!

No difference in suspension that I know of. The 83 has better brakes so its good you're putting everything into that engine. The 83 will also have flat top pistons and a little bit better engine. The 5-speed should bolt right in and the pedals should also bolt in. No cutting required if i remember right.

Remove the plug in the firewall where the clutch cylinder goes and run the hydralic line to the other side of the transmission. That's it.

 

Really? Better, how (I haven't heard of this before)? I have an '82 NA, so is the difference big enough that it's worth tracking down an 83's components to swap?

 

Better than a 1979 cars he has!

79-81 had one style. 82-83 had the "better" style. You're good.

 

would that explain the larger hub in front compaired to 79-81's? a buddy of mine swore up and down that my Z could fit his old toyota wheels, but it was a no go. my front hub was too big.

 

awsome thanks guys that helps heeps

im goin for a full respary once iv patched a few parts of the body up, any suggestions for colours???
i was thinking maybe a deep purple of some kind, or maybe juat black
what u guys reken would be a good colour?

also i was deffinatly goin to put a new sterio into her, have any of u guys installed a new sterio in ur z's?
and if so where did u mount the new speakers???

thanks again

 

deep purple is my idea! ...but go for it! I'm planning to try to copy the 2003 350Z "Brickyard" color which is a very dark purple.

I have a new stereo in my car. The rear side speakers are an ok location. I just replaced those speakers. The front speakers in the dash have a poor location for the left speaker. (which is actually centered in the dash)

The doors are a good choice if you can and are willing to cut where needed to mount them. 6" round or 6x9 are best for a full sound. You could build a little rear deck to mount two speakers that face forward for added rear sound fill.

 

Possibly. I did not know about a difference in the hub. The front rotors are a slightly different size as well as the calipers. The rear rotors are the same but have a better caliper design.

Toyota AE86? ...typical

Those "82-83" brakes were first used on the 1981 Maxima. (L24, RWD) I guess they worked good so they put them on the 82+ Z-car and kept them on the Maxima through 1984 where it changed to a FWD V6 after that point.
...but, they are not exactly the same on the 1st gen Maxima and 280ZX. I tried to interchange brake pads and they vary in size slightly.

 

yeh im a big fan of purple on cars, there r a couple of locally built cars that use a couple of purple colours for there newer model cars, so i could probs get hold of the paint fairly easily.

As for the speakers iv already set up a sterio in the daily driver ATM, did it on the cheep and regertted it evers since, i disconected all the factory speakers, mounted a headunit where the tape deck was, for the speakers i mounted 2, 6/9's on a bit large bit of plywood i cut to shape and then coverd with fake leather material. for the fronts i had heeps more trouble, i found i couldent mount them in the doors as the glass was in the way when the window was open, (k is this the same as u guys or is it just me being a retard?????)
So i mounted the 6's kinda under the dash, like on the plastic either side of the centre consol where the head unit is, the big problen with this is that the speakers play directly to your feet.
The end result is a cheep system where the back speakers dominate the front ones, oh well live and learn right?!

k for exhausts i want noise, lots of noise any suggestions what i should do? what do u guys have?

also for suspension, it seems quite spongy especially the rear, when i put ya foot down, is this a common trait? and any suggestions on products or relacements?

thanks guys hey

 

For the most noise in your exhaust, run tube headers to a 2.5" exhaust pipe. Straight pipe all the way back with no muffler.

 

If you want loud, do what I plan on doing - run it straight through. It's illegal if she's going to be used on the street, but for my purposes, it works plenty fine. I'm building up my Z for competition drift events, so I don't have to worry about legality. I plan on running 2.5" all the way out, off an aftermarket header, with a long 3.5" angled chrome tip commonly found on 5.0 Mustangs. Should make a real nice sound.

Of course, this could change greatly if I snag an RB25DET before competition starts in the next two years ...

As for stereo stuffs, I installed an aftermarket deck, and learned the hard way that it's not easy. I would strongly reccomend not using the stock wiring, as it joins the negative terminals for both front speakers, as well as for the rears. Just run thicker wiring. As for speaker locations, I'm making custom door panels, and have already built a housing for my 6" Infinity's ... yes, I plan on a NICE Infinity sound system in my racecar .

Hope this helps,
-Dave-O

 

YOU ARE A BAD BAD MAN DORIFTO KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK

 

Heh ... I just know what makes a great car, in my mind .

So you're a Z-drifter as well, I see ... we should get together sometime - when my Z is built, we'll try out some tandem drifts, or something ...

 

coolies thanks ppl

yeh once iv got the whole car assembled and painted and all the little things sorted out i reken ill run the 2.5 striaght trough, however the cops here r renowned for being dicks when it comes to cars so i want the car SPOTLESS b 4 i do anything that might get up their asses.

custom door pannels eh? any cahnce of some pics dude that sounds pretty cool???

cheers all