my 78 280z for sliding?

[jumpman2334]

i bought one for 600 bucks, its still not running, but its pretty damn clean. i think the fuel lines are clogged or some relays are good. but for 600 bucks you cant really beat it. and what i wanted to know was if this would make a good car for a drifter.

i already did i search and really only got this
http://www.drifting.com/forums/gener...5842-280z.html


and my 78 IS fuel injected. and i know to have a car that will actually drift youll need to have coils. which i planned on getting anyways. you have to cut off crap to make em work tho. thall be fun. and it has an open diff. can i just weld it? or is an lsd absolutely necessary?

[jumpman2334]

oh and im also concered about the power and the weight. are z's heavy?

[socalwrench]

Yeah, the 280z is a tad on the heavy side, around 2800 lbs. You could probably ditch 200 lbs if it's a dedicated competition car. But, jumpman2334 has a point- the stock L28 engine only puts out ~140hp. Ditch the smog equipment and find out what you can do to the intake and exhaust.

For serious drifting- a LSD is a must. Welding the spider gears basically eliminates the differential action- making to act LIKE a spool. I wouldn't recommend that though- unless money is super tight and the car will never be put on the street.

[Cavi Mike]

I'd restore that and get something else to crash.

[240Z_Master]

Check how much rust is in that bad boy... if there is too much rust then you have no structure... All old S30 Z's were unibodies.

[dori ninja]

You'll have to do some work to increase steering angle.

Strut bars are a MUST as the nose on a z is pretty long, & torsional rigidity is an issue (think cracked radiators.)

Your best bet as far as figuring out your setup would be to go to Hybridz.org & classiczcars.com & read everything you can, while completely disregarding the v8 swap guys. You can get plenty of power out of the l28.

Weight-wise, get rid of the bulky hydraulic bumpers. You can swap 240z doors if you're willing to do a little work. Carbon hood, ect...

You can get a Z to slide nicely, & if you're all about it then I wish you the best of luck, however I'll agree with Cavi Mike, if you want to drift, get something disposable. Build the Z into a street car.

[dori ninja]

Also, post some pictures!

[jumpman2334]

thanks for your help everyone. im already regestered to hybrid z and such. so i will be reading as much i can about it. and yeah the z is long. so ill be buying strut bars. and for weight, the bumpers are already off. and there going to stay that way, and some of the interior is going to get ripped out too.

oh and i kind of want to keep this car. i got it for a really good price. but it needs a lot of work. and from what i understand, not too many people drift these. correct?

and these pics are old. the car went through a complete pressure wash, so its not as filthy anymore.

[jumpman2334]

oh and how much lighter are 240z doors? would this work but with 260 doors? i know where a 260 is, at a local pick n pull. i could go and get those doors, if there any lighter than my 280 ones.

[socalwrench]

Generally, all the 240z body panels are lighter than the 260z and 280z. Every generation got heavier because of stricter crash testing. Bumpers and doors from a 240z would work nicely. Although- you could probably just cut the inside of the 280z door with similar results. First off though- the park benches (long bumpers) have to go. Good luck and have fun! Besides, just because it's not a dedicated drift car, doesn't mean you can't get it sideways every once in a while.

[jumpman2334]

the park benches are already laying on my garage floor

and i actually thought about that, just sectioning some pieces out. but i didnt know if it was a good idea or nawt. thanks.

[socalwrench]

Here's what I would do with a S30 (yes, it's a grip car):


Thank you Speedhunters!

[SidewaysGts]

Be mindful about those door swaps. The 260z might work if i remember corectly (go back over to HZ and dig around to be sure). But for sure the 240z doors wont work. The latch system on them is different due to some standards about the doors comming open in an accident if i remember correctly. So theres a bit more fab work than you might anticipate.

[jumpman2334]

thanks for the info, i have the door panels off on the z right now, and i looked and saw a few places that i can section some stuff out, its nothing big tho, i dont wanna make my door a tin can! haha and its still bone stock so i got a lot to buy, so the 260 doors might come later, unless sectioning my doors comes out real good.

[socalwrench]

Cutting out the inside of the doors is a very easy way to save some weight. Just don't cut out the impact bars unless you plan on running a cage with door bars.