a 280z restoration one morning at a time
Rolling down the street into downtown…
Those tail lights are unmistakable! 🙂
Blue 280zx 2+2! Woot woot! Ultra clean with two tone paint. He spotted me first as he was ready with a thumbs up when i rolled up!
Drove with him for a block before he turned off.
Now my wife is sending pics: bronze brown 240z sans bumpers!
I’m on my morning Datsun CL search routine. and come across something very interesting: a Turbo Tom.
The Turbo Tom was an aftermarket turbo setup in the 70’s for the early Datsun L-series engines (think, a turbo before the 280zx). It was developed by SCCA racer Tom Wyatt III, which in his own right has a pretty inspiring Datsun racing story of his own. Supposedly as he raced his turbo’d L20b Datsun 510, they had to continue to move Wyatt up in class. He was blowing doors off each class all the way up to the Corvette and Cobras.. the big boys. And even then, he beat Porsches and Cobras by seconds*.
From what i gathered, the Turbo Tom was a BYOT (bring your own turbo) setup, coming with intake and exhaust manifolds, and featured a mount for a sweet 4 bbl carb.
240Z car straight 6 with a Turbo Tom
Like any other aftermarket product, it’s subject to nay-sayers and the Turbo Tom is certainly no exception (one forum member harked it should stay dead). But also with pieces this interesting, there are those who create builds specifically around this turbo setup (zcar.com forum). Personally, I like the setup – it’s unique, it’ll no doubt give that L-series some more get-up-n-go, and it’ll be sure to generate talk with who ever sees it.
Worth $700? eeehhh sounds like a stretch, but I suppose for the right enthusiast, it’ll be turbo-riffic.
Original posting: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/pts/4006283760.html
*DatsunHistory.com, http://www.datsunhistory.com/Racehistory1.html
Datsun is still among us – sometime you just have to look hard enough..
Maybe it’s parked under a tree, or the blur that just caught the corner of your eye… or maybe in the recent Car & Driver (Sept 2013)!
In a new Juke Nismo ad (Thrill-seekers, seek no more), there it is: an S30 Datsun Z!
Look closely as this isn’t your normal Z – yep, it’s the East African Safari #11 Rally car! This car was the first Z to win an International Victory in a Pro Rally*. A Z in a rally race?.. in that terrain? haha the drive would be a hoot! :]
Ah yes! we’re talking transmissions today.
The Datsun 280z came with two manual transmission options in it’s lifetime: the 4-speed and the 5-speed (for which the car is also badged noting the upgrade). And after driving the 4-geared ’77 280z for nearly two years, I’m kinda at that point: I want more gears! :]
But wanting is often different from needing, and we just need to build a case to bridge the two. Call it, justification through research – let’s do it.
Here are the gear ratios for Datsun / Nissan transmissions at the time*:
’74-’78 280z 4-speed:
1st…. 3.321
2nd… 2.077
3rd…. 1.308
4th…. 1.000
’77-’78 280z and first year ’79 280zx 5 speed:
1st…. 3.321
2nd… 2.077
3rd…. 1.308
4th…. 1.000
5th…. 0.864 (13.6%)
’80 280zx 5 speed:
1st…. 3.062
2nd… 1.858
3rd…. 1.308
4th…. 1.000
5th…. 0.773 (22.7%)
’81-’83 280zx non turbo 5 speed:
1st…. 3.062
2nd… 1.858
3rd…. 1.308
4th…. 1.000
5th…. 0.745 (25.5%)
As you can see the ratio drastically changes in the ’80 280zx 5-speed when going from 1st to 2nd. Additionally, the ratio of the 5th gear gradually moves further from 4th’s 1.0 ratio as the years go on (differences noted by percentage changes).
With regards to the first difference mentioned, the change to 2nd gear really depends on driving style and fuel economy needs. A taller ratio in 2nd (closer to 1.000), will require more power, higher RPM, and thus more fuel. Gears 3 and 4 are ok because we’ll be moving quite a bit at those gears, but 2nd is tricky. Spend more time in first, or bang through gears?
For me, I actually spend a lot of time in 2nd. I usually take back roads for my commute, and time out traffic lights so i’m rolling into the green. So it’s natural to use 2nd to get the rolling 280z moving again (deeper than that, I’m terribly used to 2nd because i swear we used to have to start my brother’s 510 in 2nd gear – 1st was kind of wonky…though he says it was never that way hahaha).
So just by looking at the gearing, we can see with the early Datsun 5-speeds we’ll get better proportioned low-end, but not as tall on the top-end. Now that we’ve decided on a 5-speed…what are our 6-speed options? :]
Data specs from Ratsun post, DatzenMike, 09 July 2012.
Heading toward downtown, and a red blur allowed me to catch up with him.
It was a red Datsun 510 with Bluebird plates, roll cage, white side markers and rolling on Rota RBs – all bowed up with a CA Historic plate. The friendly guy mentioned a SF ride with details on the Ratsun Forum. I should really get on there and do a ride one of these days…
Rolling out of Magic card shop, Channel Fireball, when a guy in a Volvo waved me down…
“Hey that a 240 or 260?”
“It’s a 28…”
“Hawt sh*************t….”
ok, thank you
My friend Truong spotted me on San Tomas heading to work a few weeks back! haha zpotted again!
Can you find me?
Bonus Question: can you guess what he’s driving? :]
Aaahhh I clearly remember this time last year I swore to get that air conditioning fixed…
Anyways, like all non-working AC cars, you gotta find that sweet shade in the summertime. I have to admit, i’m getting pretty good about it. You at least have to crack the windows open a bit, get that sun shade out (maybe even a window shade or two), and if you can, find that ultimate shaded spot.
But not all shades are created equal, I’m afraid! No no no, NEVER park directly under a tree if you can avoid it. Summer is in full swing, berries and fruit is in full bloom, and the birds.. those terribly messy birds… are calling a picnic. Sometimes I even check the trees when parked just to make sure – but somehow they know. They know you’ve just washed your car. They know you’ll be gone long enough for them to call all their bird buddies. Crack open cans of berry juice, and let all bowel hell break loose. And as they’re slumbering away in the cool shady tree, all they can dream in their bitty birdy minds: “oh yeah, we done good. We done real good”.
Baked berry juice: a real b*tch.
No that’s not high-quality paint flecks; that’s berry stains…after a wash and scrub. Image the whole car, littered.
Oh, so the best shade to park your car under is the shade that’s off to the side of the tree! (ding ding ding). Yep, that means avoid parking outside around noon when the sun is high. Or spray a tree with a few rounds of buck shot before hand…
Saw a fresh posting for a 1969 Datsun 510 with KA24DE motor and in need of some work (needs a new transmission)… for $2500.
For a car that still runs, new clutch, bubble flares, 4-door, Enkei rims, and that looks like it’s in relatively great shape? That’s a flat out no-brainer price. Especially since 5-speeds can go for as little as $200, and man, we’ve pulled out that 510 engine soooo many times…
My brother better get on it!
the DAILY DATSUN 