Datsun 280Z -77 - Build thread

Woody928

Events Officer
Staff member
Club Member
Finally back from the wheel alignment.

The car drives well, but the steering tie rod ends prevented them from setting the caster more than -2 deg if I wanted to retain some toe out. So I think some longer tie rod ends are in order. Does anybody else have experience here? I would lite to get around 6-7 degrees.


Straight six fest with it's little brother.
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I love the stance of the car now, it looks very mean! :devil:
 

Woody928

Events Officer
Staff member
Club Member
Haha a much better choice of word to describe it. After all its setup to be driven hard, as they all should be ;)
 

peter_s

Club Member
I took the car out to a friends place outside town on Saturday. He took the car for a spin and really enjoyed it!

Drove quick on a very bumpy road (some B roads are very bumpy here due to the frost and thawing in the winters) and the car drove very well. Felt stable and planted.

Engine is at the air freight terminal waiting for a slot!

I would really like to do something about the stock seats as well, I feel like I'm all over the place while driving.

I have a set of these sitting in storage that could work until I get some proper racing seats in it:
https://www.moss-europe.co.uk/shop-...-seat-covers/classic-seat-assemblies-mgb.html
 

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
I had race seats in my track car along with 5 point harnesses. No point in generating high G force if you can keep still and feel it.

I have Recaro seats in my blue car and find them to be very good for the road - $(KGrHqZHJBoFJfGTBIQCBSdmk6jhog~~60_12.JPG $(KGrHqZHJBoFJfGTBIQCBSdmk6jhog~~60_12.JPG haven't taken it on track. They were expensive (bought by previous owner). Those MGB seats need more side support especially as they are leather.

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peter_s

Club Member
I like the Cobra seats! Are they the steel framed ones? I have a set of Sparco sprint in my MG racecar, that car have the same problem with most seat shoulders hitting the windows. Very few seats fit in that car. The Sprints are comfortable for me.

The leather MGB seats will probably work for now, they are not optimal, but better than they look. The only concern I have is I think they might increase the seating height. What gets me is the vinyl in the Datsun seats, gets my back and ass SOAKING wet... The AC in my car does not help there...

The Recaros look very nice!
 

Rob Gaskin

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I mounted the Cobra seats direct to the cross bars i.e. no runners. I was nice and low and the seat was solid. Fortunately my lads and I are similar heights. Some seats will have your crash hat touching the roof! How tall are you?
 

Rob Gaskin

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Ok so you are 2" (5cm) taller than me - sorry we work in a mixture of measurements in the UK (ridiculous really!). My seats mountings went vertically down and were a pain to use - you need to buy seats with side mounts and brackets.

Yes my seats were steel but still lighter than standard. No runners saved weight too but made it harder to work under the dash etc. and you being tall might struggle to get in and out without a detachable steering wheel.
 

peter_s

Club Member
Thanks for the input!

I also think torso/leg length can make a big difference. It's not all about total height.

I think working under the dash is my least favorite thing ever, by a margin... :D
 

jonbills

Membership Secretary
Site Administrator
Thanks for the input!

I also think torso/leg length can make a big difference. It's not all about total height.

I think working under the dash is my least favorite thing ever, by a margin... :D
I'll second that. I pulled a muscle in my shoulder working under the dash (hiding my ECU) 2 weeks ago, and it's still sore now.
 

peter_s

Club Member
Today was a big milestone: First autocross for the Datsun, and first for me in a loooooong time. So basically first time at 10th tens with the car.

It behaved very well! Except the smoking engine ;) Used 0.5 litres of oil this trip :D

The chassis is really nice, a little bit too much roll, but at the same time I don't want stiffer springs so a set of roll bars would be nice. The car was actually oversteering a bit on the first run, but I increased the setting on the front dampers and the car was really balanced after that. Camber is -3.5 front, -3 in the back. Tire wear was almost perfect.

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A friend of mine drove a few rounds with it, so I took the opportunity to film that:





The car wasn't so happy this morning though. The ignition lock locked up! It's done for. Thankfully it seized up in the ign on mode, so I had ignition and no steering lock. Took some time to figure it out but I placed a wrench an the starter (of course isolated with some foam I had) and shorted the connections. Car started up, only 1 hour late this morning...

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Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
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It goes well! Looks and sounds lovely.

Perhaps you need a baffled sump for that stuff?
 

jonbills

Membership Secretary
Site Administrator
was that tyre smoke or oil smoke? [emoji4]
how come you're on a UK registration Peter?
 

peter_s

Club Member
It goes well! Looks and sounds lovely.

Perhaps you need a baffled sump for that stuff?
Thanks Rob, not with this engine ;)

Should be fine though, I'm not running slicks. But it is a very good point and I'll look into it!

was that tyre smoke or oil smoke? [emoji4]
how come you're on a UK registration Peter?
That's tyre smoke. Inside wheel lighting up. I need a diff! :D

Good question. I bought the car from a dealer in the UK. And I just haven't changed. The car is registered in Sweden and I have the plates in the car with me. It's just a bit of civil disobedience ;) It's great, I haven't paid a parking fee since I got the car, and I can park anywhere :D Funny story: Got one ticket one time, the evil parking guy (what do you call them in English?) took my VIN and ran it and found my Swedish reg number. After that I put a little bit of tape over the VIN plate and I haven't seen a ticket since!

Also, the Police don't seem to care, they just think it's an UK tourist. The police are very relaxed here, as long as you don-t do anything stupid. If you drink and drive, or speed outside a school you are dumb anyway. Use common sense and you'll get very far here.

But most important of all, I think they look fantastic on the car!

Love it Peter! All those nice shiny bits from T3 getting a good wearing in :) .
Thank you! Indeed, can't wait to get their rear suspension arms as well!
 

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
Your car is shown as SORN on our Gov database so that implies it's not on the road. Statutory Off Road Notification.

If your number is traced through to GB you will be in breech of the law. How that will end up I don't know.
 
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