JP

Its very straight, my whole car was amazingly straight when I bought it. Just has the rust around the vent I mentioned a small dent in the nose tip I put in it when transporting it between garages. I am in Chadstone. I'll take some photos when I get a chance.

I have one. Not sure on the condition your after, this one has a rust pin hole near one of the vents along with a little surface rust.

I would grab the inlet side of a regular 280ZX from a wreckers and hunt Z forums and ebay for a 280ZX turbo manifold. They are rare but not THAT rare, i had one for a while. Their design is not that great, but its a factory low mount which should give a nice stock appearance to the authorities. Seeing as your car is a '74, you can pretty much do what you like. I would use aftermarket management as suggested as the early ECY was a analogue electronics dinosaur.

How did you load it up? Did you deliver to the depot or did they pick up? Who was responsible for fastening/packaging the motor for transport? I am doing a similar thing soon, I already have a pallet i had lying around, not sure about fastening.

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That bolt is tapered so make sure you are trying to remove it in the right direction. It has never given me any trouble in the 3 or so cars I have dismantled the rear end from, except the first time I did it and was trying to drive it out the wrong way :-\ Its usually the spindle/pivot bolt thats the tricky one.

It couldnt really be easier on any other car Just disconnect the obvious and lift it out. My only tip would be to do it in one piece, as seperating the gearbox from the block under the car is a headache. Also I find it easier to roll the car backward rather than pull the hoist away, so the engine/gearbox doesnt sway, so I make sure there is enough room behind the car. All you need is a hoist, some spanners/sockets and a breaker bar for some of those stubborn nuts like the exhaust.

Media blasting wont get it off in my experience. Just bounces off. The best way I have found is using an angle grinder, knotted wire wheel, ear muffs and face shield.

I went down there last night to check it out. They new guy there, Justin, seems nice enough although the place looks more orientated towards valiants now. He assured me he is still wrecking Z's though, and said he had a '75 2 seater coming in next week. All the wrecked Z's are gone from the front yard now though, there are still a few parts and L motors inside though.

The two points I would consider since your overseas are: 1) Which will look better on your resume for future jobs back home 2) Which would facilitate more social activity i.e provide more out of work activities/experiences that make living overseas so worthwhile. This depends of course how short term this is. Long term I would be looking at company stability and the money

No centre consoles, and not much in the way of panels other than bonnets.

Guys, I'm chasing a basket case '74 parts car. Smashed, rusted doesnt matter, as long as the price is right. Must be '74

Thats true, but most people are trying to get engineered without the (very) expensive emissions test.

Sanjay Bhide did my initial inspection and was one of the few to be willing to consider an RB25/30 hybrid. I havent completed my certificate yet, so I cant say I recommend anyone yet, however at least he will give you the time of day at a reasonable price.

Thats the one, Trevor. I was about to say Terry but I thought I would double check

Easily the best parts dealership I have dealt with so far with a great knowledge of S30Z. Highly recommended

Good condition, has been kept clean on my shelf for about 4 years. $250obo In Melbourne

I am using the same engine mounts that you have and haven't noticed clearance issues yet. I may have missed it as I have been concentrating elsewhere, perhaps it depends on the gearbox angle? I will take photos of this area as I am curious to know, as I had a small run of 3 sets made which were all identical and even those were essentially based on well known mounts. I brought the sumps in from overseas, not really interested in doing that anymore as it was a lot of trouble. My car is at Meridian Motorsport in Moorabin, I had seen their roll cages before and therefore was confident their fabrication was right up there. Might still be a while til the car is on the road, but I am trying to speed things up by using places like Meridian rather than my earlier backyard trial and error approach. The car is there getting the gearbox mount, tail shaft, CV's, exhaust and intercooler piping done. Looking at 280zx CV's at the moment as custom parts were quoted at $1700. I think sco_aus has done a lot of research in this area.

Yep, its pretty much exactly what I wanted from a structural point of view considering the weight it is supporting. Also it maintains the servicability of an OEM setup. Might be expensive for some, but considering the cost of such a conversion, its pretty minor. My only regret is that I couldnt do it myself, but I am over cautious with saftey/structural items, my metal working skills are pretty basic, and I didnt know much about critical driveline system angles.

I havent got a bill yet, and don't know if the bill will be itemised or not. Should get one next week, but would think it would be less than $400 at a guess.

Finally, here is my gearbox mount: (PS: This thread could be put into the engine swap forum?)

MSA have a vertical hinge kit if youre that way inclined.

Check this out, I have never seen this before: http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/107411911 http://page18.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/w14454901

So who have people used and what have your experience been? Who do you recommend? I had a lot of my bodywork done by Rob at Zworx, which wasn't cheap at times but quality was always good. Unfortunately I hear he has retired and I have lost his phone number since coming back from overseas to confirm. Another 260Z I owned I had resprayed by Racefix in Braeside. Quality was pretty good, all work was done on time and cost was around $3000 for exterior prep/full respray, filling the rear bumper, and all hanging panels/lids etc. I have had several bad experiences with smash repair chains with various other cars so generally steer clear of them.

Nice work Ash.