240z Alternator upgrade to 70amp 280zx Alternator

The first steps are to purchase a 79-83 280zx or a non-turbo or 81-83 turbo alternator. The non-turbo alternators are 60amps and the turbo model is 70 amps.

Purchase the part above from motorsport auto. Cost about 30 bucks. This parts allows the new alternator to perform right. Remove the External regualtor and plug this unit in.

They are the same size, thus the larger amp/internally regulated alternator will fit. Bolt the new alterntor in and adjust the belt, and your set.

1982 280zx TURBO 2+2 Automatic -Swap engine into the 240z

I picked this bad boy up for $850 off craigslist.com. Didn't run very well when I picked it up, but now most of the kinks are worked out. The plan is to swap the turbo engine into the smog exempt Z. It will be capable of about 220hp stock. That is about 100 horespower increase, then I'll add some more goodies and be looking around 320hp which will be good for 12second quarter mile runs.

New master cylinder and braided brake lines

I have a used brake master cylinder off my other Z that needs to be swapped. In conjunction I will change all the brake hoses to the Earls steel braided lines. She should stop much better and not pull to the left under hard pedal pressure.

Motorsport Auto sway bars

Here is a comparison of the factory front 240z sway bar to the MSA 1" upgrade. It stiffened up the front end quite a bit. With addition of the energy suspension sway bar bushings, it's really stiff.

The 240z never came with a rear sway bar. To intall the rear one must drill into the body to mount the hardware. I'm going to try and get the rear finished sometime next week. The rear bar is 7/8".

Centerforce stage II clutch installed

I installed the clutch last Friday and it is much better than before. When I first installed the 5spd transmission out of the 81' 280zx non-turbo last month, the wrong throwought bearing was paired with the wrong pressure plate. Now the correct parts are paired up, just need to break in the clutch and it's ready to smash on.

My new clutch and other parts

Centerforce II, new slave cylinder, throwout bearing, stainless steal clutch hose, and pilot bushing. Car is going to drive awesome. Will install this weekend.

New clutch parts on order

I just ordered the Centerforce II clutch kit, throwout bearing, pilot bushing, and slave cylinder to fix the clutch problem. A grand total of $371.01.

I lowered her about an inch

After
Before

Urethane bushings, tokico 5way struts, eibach springs

I installed all the parts listed and the car handles a bit better. The sway bars are still on back order, so once those come in, that will be the real test. Although most of it went smooth, the rear strust don't seem right to me. I put a question on zcar.com about the rear strut replacement.

Things to do will be the stainless brake lines and sway bars.

Installing suspension, have strut bars so far

Front
Rear

More body work

Sanded and filled all dents and holes for a clean quarter panel. Need to sand one more time with a 2000 grit and it's ready for paint.

Engine Bay Clean Up

Below is the engine bay the day I bought the car.
I used some Purple Power cleaner. This took me about 10 hours total to clean it up this nice.

Performance suspension parts on order

I have the following parts on order through Motorsport Auto:
Front Strut Bar
Rear Strut Bar
Msa Sway Bars
Eibach Springs
Tokico 5way adjust shocks
&
Steal braided brake lines,

Should all arrive on Monday. Will have post that show installation and explain performance increases.

Removed soft throttle valve

There is a valve that allow the throttle to slowly close. I removed it so that the throttle action will be more precise.

Intalled new vacuum advance

Purchased a new vacuum advance from Kragen Auto Parts for $42.99. Now the z runs great. I can adjust the timing so it pulls all the way to 6000 rpm. Now it's time to make more power. But safety first. I'm going to order steel braided brakes lines, and install all the Engery Supsension bushings I have. It will handle and stop better.

New carpet in rear cargo area

I was going to purchase the carpet kit from MSA, but I'm not ready for the full kit yet. I need to paint it and get new weather stripping first. I purchased a piece of black carpet and used 3m spray adhesive and attached it the the sound deadening material. Is that a word(deadening)? Check out the pic, it looks great for a temp fix.

Replaced another clutch slave cylinder

The 280zx slave cylinder I installed failed like I expected. Went down to Kragen and bought another one for 29.99 and installed it. Now the car shifs great. At first I thought the syncros were going out. This is a better, easier, cheap fix than I could hope for.

Removed coolant through intake manifold

Removed and pluged the coolant lines that passed through the intake manifold. This will decrease the intake temperatures by a few degrees added a bit of power. Probably not even a 1/2 horse, but it's better than nothing.

Rear bumper clean up and removal

Old bumper, I removed the rubber and the horizontal crash peice.
The picture is fuzzy, but the bumper looks better this way.

Smog pump and California Emissions removed

Today I removed the smog pump and all the other smog related parts. The car runs great, just a bit more exhaust smell than before. The car was bad enough as it was, so I'm a bit bummed out.

240z Four piston brake upgrade

Finished product.
Four piston caliper off a 79-84 Toyota pickup 4wd front straight axle onlly is a direct bolt on. The only modification is you must cut the dust shield, and bend the hose that attaches to the caliper.

Factory two piston brake. The new pads cover 20% more area.

Bad vacuumn advance

I just tested the vacumn advance and realized it was bad. The seal is blown. That's why there wasn't a lot of pull after about 5000rpm. Need to buy one and then the car is good to go.

Wheels painted on car..

Finally got a garage for her

Finally got a garage for the beast. It's a large single car, but for only $40 a month. It's nice to keep the car out of the elements.

Began the repaint of my XXR wheels

I think they look good. I stripped the paint of with Jasco Paint remover, and then repainted them aluminum.
The Jasco removal process. Took about two hours. Then it started raining.

This what they originally looked like. Not bad, just dont care for the red.

Installed weather stripping on the doors and hatch

I installed some new weather stripping and it didn't quite fit how I wanted it too. Even after adjusting the door striker there was still a gap present. I have talked on the zcar.com forum, and everyone says there is a break in period. We will see. Other wise, less road noise, and virtually no exhaust smell the cab.

Rear differntial mount

The differential had a broken mount. This caused the rear end to moved around when throttle was given, or the clutch was let out. A loud clunk became irritating. Used a mount out of my 73 parts car, took about 30min to pull both and replace it. Now the car is ready for some burnouts.

Replaced old points distributor with electronic ignition

The car now rev's all the way out. It has double the power and doesn't miss. The original distributor mount was busted. Causing the timing to advance way too much.

Below is the schematics for adding the electronic ignition. I used a 1983 280zx distributor, but kept the ballast resistor and factory upgrade bosch ignition coil.
The 240z distriubtor also has a vacumn advance. The base was broken.

Factory upgrade Bosch ignition coil

Top veiw. The new distributor has a larger diameter due to all the electronics inside. To install make sure you use the base mount off the l28e engine. It has two 10mm bolt to unbolt.

Another view, mainly of the control module on the side.

This is the best upgrade I've done to the car yet. Would reccommend that everyone does this conversion.

New Passenger side fender and Light bucker

This fender and light bucket only took me about 20 min to replace, due to already replacing the drivers side and none of the bolts were rusted to the uni-body

New shift knob

It's an original wood shift knob. I added a 50cent peice in the middle. I'm going to put a 1971 Kennedy Half Dollar when I find one.(That's the year of the car)

Performance Radiator

I replaced the old two row radiator with a motorsport auto three tow radiator. It holds an extra quart of water, and makes the car run at about 20F cooler. This is a good upgrade for how hot it gets here in the Summer.

Converted from 4spd to 5spd manual

The conversion was straight forward. I busted a knuckle or two, it was a really tight fit. Now I have that extra gear for top speed and gas mileage. Also the five speed can handle more horsepower.

Rear tailight bezel, and rear bumper clean up

New wheels, clean bumper(without strips and horizontal bumper), and tailight bezel

New Wheels...16X8 rota xxr

Need some bigger tires, and I'm going to repaint the center either black or just strip the paint to metal

Rear bumper clean up like front, and tailight bezel install

Need to removed the trim on the rear bumper, hope it's not too rusted underneath. Takes an 8mm socket and some wd-40
Old pic with old interior. There's a bezel missing around the tailights and license plate. They screw in easy.

New wheel

Put a Nissan Emblem in the center of the wheel. Looks ok

Installed the electic fan and Nology Spark Plug Wires

Got rid of the mechanical fan and fan clutch. Installed a 15" electric fan with an automatic thermostat switch. Also installed a set of Nology spark plug wires. Car ran better, but to wet outside to drive fast. It just burns the tires everywhere.

Front bumper clean up and new turn signals

Removed horizontal bumper guards. Had to remove front bumper, took 14mm socket, easy but everything is rusted. Turns signals were tricky due to hardware being small and fragile.
Much cleaner look than before.

New parts installed today

Water temp sensor located under the upper radiator hose. Take a 17mm deep socket to remove.

Purchased this one from Kragen auto parts, the thing didn't even work, had to find an old used one I had around. It fixed my water temp gauge.

Replaced hood release handle. Just unscrew counter clockwise and replace.

Take a pry tool and pop out the old dome light, and pull off the three electrical connectors. Do just the opposite to replace new unit.

Right rear lens was broke. Take a phillips screw driver and remove lens, and replace new one.