My Datsun 260z

[h4nsm0l3m4n]

Hello everyone. I always enjoy browsing this forum for pictures of the different cars people are driving, all the cars here are very cool in their own way. Now its my turn.

So here's what I have, a 1974 Datsun 260z. This is technically called a "late " or "1974.5" 260z because it is essentially a 280z chassis and suspension but with a 2.6 liter motor and carbureted fuel delivery. The early 260z's were the same except used a 240z chassis and suspension.

Anyway, I got this car about a year ago for less than 1000 dollars, from a small dealership specializing in selling old cars in Eugene, Oregon. I had a hell of a time getting it home because the fuel filter was so clogged up it couldnt drive over 35 mph. Thats not fun on I-5, let me tell you. I wisely decided to limp to my girlfriend's house in Springfield and have it shipped the rest of the way to Portland.

Since then over the last year the car has improved dramatically. That fuel filter was the first to be replaced, but I soon turned larger upgrades. Heres a basic list of what I've done:
-Swapped stock 4 speed for a close ratio 5 speed from 81-83 280zx
-Swapped stock 3.36 r180 to a 3.9 r200
-Removed crappy flat top hitachi carburetors and emissions systems, replaced with Arizona Z car 4 bbl manifold and Edelbrock 500 cfm carb with electric choke.
-Installed a used 6:1 performance header, and 2.25" custom exhaust
-Installed Tokico Springs with 5 pt adjustable Illumina shocks, lowered the car about 3/4 of an inch.
-Replaced old torn seats with some decent used Bomz "racing" seats
-Replaced rusted up radiator with a JTR aluminum radiator, similar specs to Camaro radiators
-Installed urethane bushing kit
-Installed ron tyler style front differential mount, to stop it from lifting on acceleration
-New ARP extra long wheel studs, if you call that a mod
-New tires, Falken Azenis 205-50-15s

I think that's it. A lot of work, but its worth it. The suspension upgrades have made the handling very sharp and actually removed almost all of the odd squeeks and rattles I was hearing. The new carb and manifold were definitely an improvement over the original hitachi carbs although could use more tuning.

This summer's work likely includes:
-Repair/treat rust, I've been putting it off since last summer.. probably not a good idea
-Wideband 02 sensor and controller, for accurate carb tuning
-Lower the car another inch with modified/custom top strut isolators
-CNC machine custom bump steer spacers with shortened steering knuckles
-Install urethane front air dam
-Suspension techniques swaybars

My hope is to get into as much autox action as possible over the summer as well, hopefully my driving will improve. Then I can prep the car further for track events or more autox events.

Long term work plans might include:
-CNC machine custom adjustable front and rear suspension arms and tension rods
-Upgrade to rear disc brakes from 240sx
-Upgrade front brakes to wilwood 4 piston setup
-Coilovers, camber plates
-New paint?
-Engine work (turbo motor?)


Alright heres the pictures. I might add more later.

Yes I have the hood, I'll put it on tomorrow or something. The gen1 Forester's my parts hauler, DD excellent car btw

Good shot of the wheel fitment. Wheels are off 1984 300zx non-turbo, run with 1/2" spacers all around

Engine pic, bit dirty but still has good compression and runs without issue

Best view of the Z I think, hey look there's my hood...

Interior is kind of dirty, I'm going to rip out most of the old carpet, clean it up and paint it black to match the dash. The door panels were in bad shape so I threw them out.

 

[Spectre]

Not bad, good start.

By the way, the N/A Z31 called. It wants its wheels back.

 

[BlaRo]

Not bad, good start.

By the way, the N/A Z31 called. It wants its wheels back.

Indeed, they don't suit the car at all. Maybe some Panasports, instead?

 

[Spectre]

I've always liked the old-style BBS wheels that were popular in the 80s (for those cars):

I liked them better in black or polished/natural, though.

But PanaSports can look good, too, especially on a dark car:

Also, the 4bbl manifolds I've seen before. It's far from ideal for that engine, you'll never get individual fuelling correct. You should convert to triple carbs, preferably Weber DCOEs.

 

[prizrak]

I want a Z to work on. Awesome car dude!

 

[h4nsm0l3m4n]

Yeah, the wheels are what came with the car. I'm not happy with the look, but I had a limit on $500 for wheel/tire setup. I couldnt find a decent deal on used wheels and tires so I just went with new tires, and will have to deal with what I have. Also, the photos make the paint look much better then it is.. its actually fairly terrible, especially on the sides. It would look a little silly to have nice rims on a trashy body I think.

Either way, these are the wheels I want to get theyre XXR 513s, a panasport knockoff

15x8s, 0 offset with nice wide tires... someday

Also, the 4bbl manifolds I've seen before. It's far from ideal for that engine, you'll never get individual fuelling correct. You should convert to triple carbs, preferably Weber DCOEs.

It was either 4 bbl, or 2 SU carbs, and after hearing many suggestions I went with 4 bbl because they offer comparable (many people say better) performance to SUs, tuning is also very easy, jets and other parts are available down the street, and the price was much lower. Yes triple webers would be much better, but I really dont want to deal with tuning and balancing those things, theyre also very expensive. For the price of webers I'd probably just swap to a FI manifold from the 280z and megasquirt it, then I'd at least be half way to a turbo setup!

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Be different, get some multispokes like I got for my Mazda:

(They're actually Nissan wheels too....)

Mine are 15x6.5 with some 205's on them. Offset was like +20 I think? Impul made them god knows how long ago. Got them for $200!

 

[tigger]

If I had an old Z a set of PanaSports would be at the top of my 'to buy' list, I love the way they look on those cars. That Z is a great find too, at least it would be down here. Every Z I've seen in that price range (my price range :lol: ) has been riddled with rust.

 

[Twerp128]

Great little cars, I almost bought one back in '05 for my first car, albeit a 240z. Great fun to drive, very loose at the rear, and more torque than you expect. Only reason I didn't get it, the dealer wanted $4,000 for one in average condition with a sun-cooked interior. To this day it is still sitting in the lot, and he still wants $4,000 (They go on Ebay, mint for $4,000.)

 

[LeVeL]

love the classic Z cars

 

[MattD1zzl3]

shh dont tell anyone: I saved up a few grand to buy a cool old car, a datsun 260Z just like this in white. The night before i was going to go pick it up i ended up going to my friends (money in pocket), smoking a bit too much and i woke up in the morning with his camaro in my drive and the datsun money missing...

which means of course im living vicariously through you, enjoy a great old car, ill get mine someday!

 

[public]

shh dont tell anyone: I saved up a few grand to buy a cool old car, a datsun 260Z just like this in white. The night before i was going to go pick it up i ended up going to my friends (money in pocket), smoking a bit too much and i woke up in the morning with his camaro in my drive and the datsun money missing...

So that's comparable to Hammond logging on to eBay after a bottle of wine and buying something unrestorable?

 

[h4nsm0l3m4n]

Be different, get some multispokes like I got for my Mazda:

Those suit your mazda very well. If I found a set for 200 I'd definitely take it. I'll keep my eyes open.

I've put the hood back on and taken a couple more pictures.

Same as before, note unsightly gap between tire and wheel. I hope to be "addressing" this soon...

What the neighbors see when they walk by... menacing..I think anyway..

Since my last post I've bought a wideband o2 sensor off ebay and ordered a NAW_OEM wideband controller (http://www.14point7.com/Widebands/NAW_OEM/NAW_OEM.htm). Its supposed to be the smallest, and cheapest wideband controller on the market. Its not fancy but will work well for sizing the correct rods and jets for my carb. Its still in the mail but I'll post results after I install it if people have interest in it.

I've also bought 240z strut isolators. I plan to put them on the rear of the car. They are a much shorter than my rear isolators and should lower my car by another inch, with on loss of travel. Here's a picture of them along with the wideband sensor.

Lowering the front isnt so simple. The only easy way to go is to cut the springs, but I do not want to loose any more suspension travel. So I'm in the process of designing my own strut isolator. It will be made out of 2024 aluminum on a lathe and have a pressed in monoball bearing to capture any changes in camber as the strut goes through compression. Very similar to a camber plate on a coilover suspension setup but will fit over stock struts. I was curious if anyone knew somewhere where I can find a good selection of monoball bearings (in the US). Anyway, here is the concept, mostly just thinking via solidworks and about 10 minutes of work.

Finally, I will be attending my first autox event in just over a week (May 2nd). So I'm checking and rechecking my various components to make sure I will not have any issues on the track. Might posts pictures of that if I get a chance to take any

 

[Nabster]

I just have to say, that you have the silliest throttle return spring I've ever seen.

Carry on.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Time to polish that valve cover! The one on my XR4ti looked like that (probably worse), and it came out pretty good after a few hours.

Before:

After:

I know it would look sexy on that big six!

 

[tigger]

I was curious if anyone knew somewhere where I can find a good selection of monoball bearings (in the US). Anyway, here is the concept, mostly just thinking via solidworks and about 10 minutes of work.

My Formula SAE team used to use Dynaroll bearings, iirc. They can custom build stuff for any application, and they've got locations all over. Hope that helps, and good luck at the autox.

 

[Dogbert]

Either way, these are the wheels I want to get theyre XXR 513s

Don't get those. The black with red stripe or lip combination only really works with black cars.

 

[h4nsm0l3m4n]

Quick update I had my first two autocross events this last weekend. The first was an event for novices only, they had instructors to walk us around the course and ride with us to give us advice. I learned a lot and had a great time. The weather was alright, a little damp pretty much most of the day. I got 12 runs all together and did pretty well (got similar times to a Viper SRT10). My car faired pretty well, but I still have a lot to learn about driving.

The next event was on Sunday, it was an open event for everyone. The weather was excellent and there were many cars that showed up. I also seemed to do alright, although I screwed up my first timed run. At the end of the day I was surprised to learn I was not last and actually did better than a few pretty hot cars (Turbo Minis, WRXs, and even a Miata or 2).

Here are some pics of my car from Saturday's event. I saw a camera or two on Sunday as well but whether they will surface or not I cannot say. If they do I will post them here.

If anyone is curious here is the full gallery of pics from the Saturday event:http://cbfamily.smugmug.com/gallery/8083693_gw7xZ#526685579_e4Vw8

 

[Werner]

Great car, really love the old Z'ers.

 

[z.arnold74]

i like your red car and gold door jams... i have the same problem dont worry. i need info on a good set of coil overs anybody have any feedback.