JDSM

Hey Chris, good to see another black sheep entering the fold Don't be discouraged about your age. I started mine when I was about 18 and it'still not done! It is each to their own, but sorry Owen, I'm going to side with the majority on this one, I HATE my 80s mullet t-tops. But having said that, people that aren't in the car often seem to love them, so go figure. It's novelty factor thing, but I don't like how the car literally flexes when you really get into a corner. Good luck!

Roger, was that you guys (well, guy and gal) stuck on Pole Rd in the silver 240 at about 4:30ish? Should have stopped in hindsight and now I feel bad

Glad to see so many of the local boys up the top so far, great job! Night stage was interesting,impressed with the amount of spectators. Now if you excuse me, I'm heading up to have a gander.

I had heard that, but never really had it confirmed by anyone. If it was standard, I love me some fender mirrors so, I agree, that would be a way to go to go. Would look nice with flares taken out of the normal formula for a hella-mad-tyte JDM 240. Actually, I don't care, looks hot either way, haha.

Mmm, I want looks great. On the mirrors, you seem to be going for a period correct concourse-esque resto, ie. as the car was delivered, and with that in mind, I would have thought to go with door mirrors. Don't get me wrong, if it was me I would go fender mirrors all the way, but I think that would detract from how period correct the car is, for an AUDM delivered vehicle, that is. That's kind of a black and white view though. I'm just one of those darn kids, so what do I know? Haha.

Yeah, the seller is not that clued-in on the origins methinks. I highy doubt it is factory, most ones in Aus are cobbled together. The ECU and injector sizes are the things I'm fussed about. I'll be able to work it out when I get my hands on the thing.

Haha, yep, that is the one. The gent selling it was a really good bloke about it all. Did you know any history re. the car or did you just spot it on gumtree? A friend of a friend had one that was very similar and it was a lot of fun. Then it got rolled... haha, not so much fun. But still a great parts car.

I was planning on taking Paul's option first, pending a quote, as that is darn cheap. But my sources and the good gents on here have recommends Martin Falconer and that's where the car will be going if transport isn't viable. A trip across the Nullarbor will be character-building for me, haha! My last l-gata powered road trip ended in kangaroo related tragedy though, so that's not my first option :-\

Ok, so update time. I've been so poor and busy, I haven't had much time to fiddle with the car... Having said that, I just picked up something I am pretty pumped about: THE BRODOZER: It's pretty darn ugly, but in a funny way I kind of like it. The real reason I bought it is that it has this inside: I've picked it up sight unseen, and it has done a head gasket. Given the cost of transport for a non-moving vehicle, I've decided to sent it to a workshop or similar to get the head gasket done and the starter replaced. If it turns out its in decent mechanical condition I'll do something I've always wanted to do and drive across the Nullarbor back to Adelaide. Otherwise, I'll throw it on the back of a truck. So, any WA boys with recommendations / advice? From my research, I'll probably get Martin Falconer to have a look at it, as he seems to have a good reputation: http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php?topic=12339.0 The plan is to swap the turbo engine over to the Z, then my N/A chugger can go in the Patrol, mmm low rpm torque. Doing this seems to be much more cost effective than building a L28ET from scratch as I've been doing and plus, if the block, etc is cactus, should be able to recoup my losses by parting the car out. Only thing I'm curious about are the sumps. Without looking at the actual setups, I'm assuming the pickups will all be fine if I leave both in the respective vehicles; ie. swap just the engines. My L28 is a patrol block anywho, so I'm not really expecting many problems... Cue people with helpful advice

Hey all, Some wisdom and experiences would be helpful on transporting a car interstate (Perth to Adelaide). A little background: The car is a non-starter (starter motor and head gasket), otherwise, I'd take a hack at getting it home on it's own power. I don't have time to get over there and fix the problems myself, as I plan to do once it gets here. The other option is send it to a workshop over there and then drive it back, but I'm not confident that I could find one to replace the gasket for a reasonable fee. Any recommendations there from any local boys? If anyone has had experience with good (read: cheap) transporters? Insurance isn't a biggy for me either. Cheers! Jamie

Someone in WA buy this for the engine? http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/carramar/cars-vans-utes/swb-mq-patrol-l28-petrol-turbo/1025136983 Already asked if he would seperate. He said no. Too many $$$ and much time to bring the whole car over to Adelaide.

Pretty sure I've bought something off this kid before... http://m.gumtree.com.au/datsun-280zx/v?adId=1024526196#280zx E-GO couriers are pretty cheap and apparently it's NOS stock.

I've got one if you need. Its in Adelaide, but I can post. Brand new from the States, it's minty fresh. PM me for details.

Celebratory end of semester skids at uni. Jks, I wouldn't do that... Need to put those tinted covers you gave me back on, Owen. Also, will paint te rocker cover this weekend. Red, silver Nissan letters, or black, silver Nissan letters? I'm thinking black...

+1 for Peter Hall. He was in Lobethal last time I checked...

This. Would be nice, but my car isn't blue or a 280z Carbs would be nice, but I figure I'm going to invest iin an s30 or a ta22 in the next few years anyway, considering how prices are going. That can be my aural pleasure car. On another note, finished the car this morning and drove it to uni. Had been sitting for a while so the tyres were flat, yay. Pumped them up and the car had an alarming pull to the left. Didn't end up looking at it as the pull eased off my the time I got to uni. Now it is a small pull as it normally is, which I dont notice unless I haven't driven it for a while. I'll post some pics tonight, when I have time.

Up for sale is this distributor bought over from the States. This one was a spare and has never been used. Still sealed in its packaging for ULTRA-FRESHNESS! It's fully re-manufactured using new parts, so it's as new as you can get them these days. This is a complete electronic ignition conversion distributor for s30s. I have one of these installed on my L28 and I'm very happy with the results. Included are cap, rotor and L28 Mounting Base. Its surplus to my needs and I'll take $300 for it. PM me if you have any questions. Happy to freight anywhere in Australia. Cheers! Jamie Also, have these S15 seats for sale, if anyone needs them. Special deals for forum-goers http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/kent-town/other-parts-accessories/rare-s15-original-front-leather-seats-oem-360-great-condition-/1022799467

Not sure about the laws for you easterners, but it's fine in SA as long as you aren't driving or attempting to put a vehicle in motion. Some states can get pretty funny about sleeping on public property, though depending on where you are. That time was in a backstreet in a quiet hills suburb near a reserve and a mates property, so who knows... Each time I sleep that goddamn car, I say never again! All that glass makes it freezing, not to mention the space! Yeah, I was also looking at those Otomoto etc sleeve kits. Doesn't look too hard to do and you know you can't really run onto any issues as long as you get the right size. TT would be so sweet, shame I'm incredibly poor. I just know I'll miss NA when I go turbo, but I've been borrowing my uncles Golf R every couple of weeks and, I hate to say it, but it's depressing how slow the Z is in comparison. I see turboing it as the most cost effective way to increase power. Don't even have to intercool the sucker for low boost applications. I've gotta beat that porker somehow! It'll be especially satisfying as my car has had next to.nothing spent on it in comparison. Maybe a little driver training is in order also... any volunteers who know Collingrove? Haha.

Oh, and also, I'm not aware of anyone hillclimbing 280ZXs, but if anyone has any advice on what I should spend on to get the best 'bang for my buck'. I was thinking suspension sorted (for now), brakes sorted, next rigidity and sticky tyres, and lastly, more power.... Maybe I'll work with something like this for the last one. http://page13.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/r101898726 Tempting, but unlikely. Last exam on Wednesday, so pics will be up of the so-far completed product around then. I'll try and mock up those wheels, too. Too much fender pulling and too larger spacers and I'll give up, but it will be much easier to see by playing with them, rather running the sums.

The 17s are stepped so they don't LOOK as big as they actually are. Tyre availability is tempting, but I'll see how I go. There seems to be a few Wat replicas going around these days, so that's my second option. You should come to Adelaide, there are heaps here... oh wait, no there aren't any. Literally see more s30s. This time capsule parked on my street around Fringe and I occasionally see it on the ring route, but that's really it. Plans for this one will involve s13 coilovers at some stage, but not in the near future. It's low enough that I cant get in my driveway, literally. I think the springs are the lowest that Kings go, can't remember if that's super low or what. There's no such thing as too low, as you should know, Zac

Cheers for the support blokes. Don't worry, the rate at which the early Z boys etc are destroying 280ZXs they're going to be rarer than 240zs and 260zs, so I hope my efforts will pay off. Not crossing my fingers though considering how they look in comparison, haha My RKRs are: 17 x 9.5 -5 17 x 9 -10 If my chicken scratchings are correct, they probably wont fit, but I'm willing to look at small spacers and rolling the guards, which should hopefully be easy. Shouldn't have bought them, but I just had to. I'll get my hands on the car this weekend and test fit them, but I don't think I'm too far off with my guestimations. I had the same thought re. the tyre availability, sooooo many good cheap wide tyres, especially compared to my 14s, which I love, but you can only get econobox tyres for these days it seems. I'll let you know if I give up on them, if you want to have a go. I like your Wats, but I'm not sure they have enough offset to satisfy the fanboy inside of me. More offsets and lows, bro! I hate what I've become. Then again, they look nicer than 17s imo.

Righto, in order to motivate myself to work on the car and also to stop being such a lurker, I thought I’d finally start the build thread for my ’82 280ZX. I’m pretty bad at taking pictures regularly, so it’s a bit of a novel… A little background first… When I first bought the 280, I knew nothing at all about cars (I was 17 at the time). So much so, I was about to buy a Fiat X1/9, which would have been a horrible decision, looking back. Long story short, the seller rescinded on a stat dec I got him to sign confirming the purchase and I was without a car again. Then I saw a this 280ZX for sale the same day. I went to look at it and then bought it for about $1500 a few minutes later. If I’d bothered to look, the car had no oil in it and if I had touched the radiator, my finger would have gone through. Other than that and the part-patina’d, part ancient reprayed paint it wasn’t too bad. Oh and some bright spark had lost one whole side of the body mouldings and decided to paint a black strip there instead, great idea. A pic of it when I was moving house... It was probably a bad starting point for what was meant to be a daily at the time. The car overheated multiple times, once the engine shut down and there was some insane engine knock ( I didn’t understand what a temp gauge was –haha) and I was soon realising I was in too deep. Flash forward a year or so, and the car managed to teach me how most parts on the car work and how to fix them, by breaking. Luckily, I had one mate who knew cars and had a workshop I could use, so I got things like a manual conversion, new radiator, dissy cap, new tokickos, etc etc sorted in the early years and actually managed to learn something (imagine that!). While all this was happening, I also was occasioned the chance to learn those crash statistics about red cars are true. To this date, the Z has been a write-off three times, so don’t buy it if I try and sell it haha. The first was the morning after this incident (the ladies can’t resist, who could blame them ) An Indian bloke reversed into the car at a fair speed while I was passed out in the passenger seat after a party. Luckily, he came back.... and apparently I'm a pretty heavy sleeper (or drinker?) as the crash didn't wake me up UPDATED: Pictures of the actual damage. Still haven't replaced that grill Then a lovely young lass rear ended me on the way to work (no pics of that one). Lastly, a mate and I were driving across the Hay Plain (at dusk!) and he hit a roo at what he thought was about 130km/ph while driving. I was resting my eyes at the time, so it was pretty amusing to open them to see a roo hit the car, arc over the roof and then land behind us. My mate then proceeded to ‘park’ the car at high speed into some farmer’s field. We waited all night for a tow and were surprised by cops waking us the next morning, taping on the targas and asking us what we were doing buried in grass in a field. Ended up pulling the car out ourselves in half a day and driving it all the way back to Adelaide. Who says 30 year old cars aren't safe? So after all that, the insurance money I had accumulated from the accidents allowed me to paint the whole car and learn how to prep and spray from an accommodating panel beater who’s now a good mate who lets me use his panel shop when I need. I’d say it was worth the stress… maybe. We cut the rust out we could find and gave her a nice new coat. Also deleted the boot lock, pretty sure I like it. Most of the rear of the car was bog and rust, so I learnt a fair bit. Still not happy how this came out... Then came the engine, which dropped a head gasket and gave me carbon monoxide poisoning before I could get out of the car, pretty cool, eh? I sourced a P90 from Brissy and picked up a race-prepped and shaved F54 for a song. Some higher comp flat-top pistons came from Jason (Cheers!), heat wrapped headers from Owen (also cheers) and a new dissy from the States (it would have been cool to refurbish the one I had, but it had no advance and looked complicated – haha – one day). I have a spare dissy brand new from the States if anyone wants one. They sent me two, how's that for service?! Also, thanks to Owen for sending me all of those odds and ends. I used most things and the excess ‘bling’, as you put it, went on a mate’s Bayside Blue R33, nice and rice Lately I’ve done a calliper rebuild all round, with new pads and braided lines and all that good stuff. Thrown a Nardi rep and a heavier Trust gear knob on for Right now, I’m finishing the last of the painting I’ll do for a while: re-blacking the window surround and hitting the scuttle with some colour. Can’t decide whether to black all of the chrome, but the front chrome was already ruined by the PO, so why not. I’ll take some pics when I get around to taking it home this week. Exam time, so I’m pretty busy at the mo. Future Plans: -Try to put on the RKRs I got cheap, if not replace with Wats. They are 17s, so not perfect in my opinion, but they look pretty good... -Get some sticky tyres and maybe some strut braces, hope to have it ready for hillclimbs at Collingrove by Summer. A mate’s dad hillclimbs an old 911 there regularly, so I look forward to showing him what the ‘Jap crap’ competition can do, haha. -Go L28ET. Got a line on some optical dissy and have some more suitable injectors in storage... other than I'll need a turbo manifold I guess... I've done a lot of reading, but some hand-holding here would be appreciated, what are people running in re. Aussie L28ETs. -3-4 years time: pull everything off the car and have at it with a welder, etc. I’ll do the job properly once I have the space to do it at home as the under body of the car is pretty darn ugly. Also, the interior is pretty dismal too, so some period seats will go in. For now though, the Z is back on daily duties as the gf needs my Liberty for her new job. I’m pretty stoked to be back in it every day, aw yeh! It still has a lot of what my gf coined as 'Racecar problems', but it's not an auto Corolla, so it does the job, haha

Pretty sure I just saw this car on the back of a trailer going down Cross Rd. Very nice, nearly snapped the neck looking. Will be much better with a deleted stripe, methinks. Good luck!

To be fair, I am one of the interested parties. Perhaps too interested for my own good, haha. I have a fairly decent bid on the head at the mo, but it is almst expected that, on ebay, that an item such at this will have a few people bidding on it last minute. At Z, if you want to chat, flick me a PM

PM sent.