# 280zx vs 510 what would you do?



## nizmo559 (Mar 4, 2003)

Well I have a non op 280zx NA automatic I have been working on little by little. I have an opportunity to pick up on a 510 with a 4spd and a decently running L16. I could get that and sell the 280 but damn I really want both but damn I just dont have enough space for 3 cars. What would you guys do.


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## B11sleeper (Oct 15, 2003)

what year is the 510?


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## nizmo559 (Mar 4, 2003)

its a 72.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

510. It's a stick , plus engine swaps are fairly easy in the flying box.  Your NA auto 280 Z will take a lot more work to be a really great car.


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## Marc Z31 (Jul 25, 2004)

go with the nickeldime. they are bad ass.


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## nizmo559 (Mar 4, 2003)

Im gonna go try and see it in person sunday see if it will inspire me a little more.


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## nizmo559 (Mar 4, 2003)

*Question*

Question abou the 4spd. Bad for freeway driving right? Just curious I have never drivien a 4ps manual transmission.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

nizmo559 said:


> Question abou the 4spd. Bad for freeway driving right? Just curious I have never drivien a 4ps manual transmission.


 the engine might be bit busy at highway speeds , but remember that 4th gear was the OD gear on the old trannys. It's not as tall as on the 5-spd cars , but it should be more than adequate for simple highway cruising at 50-60 mph.


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## nizmo559 (Mar 4, 2003)

Ewww thats to close to the speed limit for me hehe. I'll have to get a 200sx or 280 5spd with that then. That should help right? I'm hoping the guy pm's me today I wanna go check it out. Its pretty nice Orange and has a black hood from the picture I seen.


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## B11sleeper (Oct 15, 2003)

you can use any tranny off an L series I think. swap in an l20b with webers too  if you don't buy it i might ant to buy the 510.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

nizmo559 said:


> Ewww thats to close to the speed limit for me hehe. I'll have to get a 200sx or 280 5spd with that then. That should help right? I'm hoping the guy pm's me today I wanna go check it out. Its pretty nice Orange and has a black hood from the picture I seen.


 Care to post that? I wanna see....


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

nizmo559 said:


> Ewww thats to close to the speed limit for me hehe. I'll have to get a 200sx or 280 5spd with that then. That should help right? I'm hoping the guy pm's me today I wanna go check it out. Its pretty nice Orange and has a black hood from the picture I seen.


 I didn't mean that was the cars top speed , just that it may be close to 2500-3000 rpm at that speed , maybe higher. My Z cruises at about 3000 rpm at about 70 mph in 5th gear , so I'm just guessing what 4th gear would be at 60 mph in the older car........


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## nizmo559 (Mar 4, 2003)

Ohh I see, well if it hit 70mph and the rpms go down to 3000 i'll be very happy with that. I'll post the pics i'm buying it tomorrow (monday) for 1300. I got to check it out today and its very very nice. It has civic seats and some pretty decent rims im not sure what kind but i'll take new pics and post maybe you guys might now. The only thing wrong with it is that the temp gauge automatically goes to Hot so something is wrong there. I'm guessing thermestat or wiring or something. Or maybe even the gauge its self. Well i'll post some pics tomorrow guys.


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## nizmo559 (Mar 4, 2003)

Oh I should have mentioned the car has a salvaged title. This is a Ca. car so I was looking on the DMV website that this can be a problem. Something about it has to be inspected by the DMV or CHP to make sure its drivable. But I will ask the owner to make sure that this has been done since he has owned it. If so i'm guessing I wont have to worry about it. Any comments on this anybody gone thru this process? Oh and lastly the trun doesnt close properly I was inspecting it and it does lock down. Just doesnt close properly like the rubber lining is missing or maybe the alignment on the closing arms are bent.


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## nizmo559 (Mar 4, 2003)

*510*

Okay got the 510. Its actually in a lot better shape than I expected. Ran really good and it stayed cool. I was able to touch the radiator cap and it wasnt even hot at all even though the gauge went to hot after start up. Here is a pick of it.










The NX is for sale 3500. My roomate might buy it hopefully.

shit it aint working i'll take some pics tomorrow.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

nizmo559 said:


> Okay got the 510. Its actually in a lot better shape than I expected. Ran really good and it stayed cool. I was able to touch the radiator cap and it wasnt even hot at all even though the gauge went to hot after start up. Here is a pick of it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Fixed


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## nizmo559 (Mar 4, 2003)

here is the link to the rest of the pics 510


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

nizmo559 said:


> here is the link to the rest of the pics 510


 Lookin good....... :cheers:


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## Marc Z31 (Jul 25, 2004)

BAD F-ing ASS man. Now you can talk to all the australian guys who have theie nickeldimes modded to the max.


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## asleepz (Feb 24, 2004)

[email protected] said:


> I didn't mean that was the cars top speed , just that it may be close to 2500-3000 rpm at that speed , maybe higher. My Z cruises at about 3000 rpm at about 70 mph in 5th gear , so I'm just guessing what 4th gear would be at 60 mph in the older car........



Good then my speedo is right after I had to mod it a lil to get it to work. I didn't know if it would throw it off any


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## B11sleeper (Oct 15, 2003)

i have a mirror that would look way better than that black one. it's a chome one i salvaged off an 81 210.

It looks pretty good. how is the suspension?


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## nizmo559 (Mar 4, 2003)

Suspension is pretty mushy but not all that bad. The previous owner explained that the stock springs were cut and that the shocks/struts may be due for replacement.


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## B11sleeper (Oct 15, 2003)

which engine does it have? you have many cheap/easy engine swap options.


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## nizmo559 (Mar 4, 2003)

It has a L16, so yea i'm definately keeping an I out for a 620 at my local junk yard for the L20 engine and tranny. If not i'll keep this until I can afford a ka swap.


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## das280zx (Jul 17, 2003)

the first year 720's also had l20b's. You can also put a z24 in there. The z24 is in most 720's and early hardbody's. I guess you can modify the z24 and put an l20b head on it and you still have the l-series look. You would think that the crossflow z-series head would be better, but I guess it doesn't flow too good, and has the goofy 2 plug per cyl. setup. Cool rig though! You keeping the zx too? They are easy to convert to manual tranny. Nice to see people interested in the old school stuff!


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

VG30ET will fit in there also. Imagine that car with some boost..........


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## nizmo559 (Mar 4, 2003)

Yea I think i'm gonna keep the zx after all. I may sell my nx2000 to my roomate and just have a small feet of datsuns to run around in. 

I been doing a lot of reading on everybodies swaps. So many options. I'll probably keep reading until I actually have then money. I think thats whats cool about these cars is that parts arent to expensive and they are plentiful at the junk yards. Power, economy, not common on the streets.


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## Marc Z31 (Jul 25, 2004)

RWD>FWD always... in all ways


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## das280zx (Jul 17, 2003)

you must not autox much.


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## B11sleeper (Oct 15, 2003)

rwd requires more technique.


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## nizmo559 (Mar 4, 2003)

*update*

okay so update if you guys havent caught me in over in the classic section. I did get the car after all. It runs pretty good, and body is in really good shape also. It has a 4spd like I mentioned so freeway driving is a lil slow. I checked the temp when its heated up and it was at 170 F. Not to shabby for an older car. Its all registered along with the 280zx. So i'm thinking about selling the nx after all now and using the money for an engine swap for one of the cars. Might do the Z first since it will be cheaper to just swap in a engine with little modifications.


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## das280zx (Jul 17, 2003)

the z might be cheaper, but it is getting hard to find L28ET's. Is that what you want to swap in there? KA24's are probably easier to find. Not sure how hard it is to swap into the 510 though. Looks like you have some fun projects ahead of you though!


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## nizmo559 (Mar 4, 2003)

78Yea I wanna swap the L28t since it would be my cheapest choice for that car right now and still have lots of potential.

The Ka's are a fairly easy swap. But for me the wiring and fabrication of a couple things wouldnt be something I think I couldnt tackle. I called around for estimates Mckinnely is charging approximately 5000 for ka24e and 5800 for ka24de. So i'm guessing using a smaller local shop would be a lot less but risking quality. 

They 280zx probably the only real cost is the engine since the swap requires no special fabrication.


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## das280zx (Jul 17, 2003)

the z will be simpler, but maybe not as simple as you think. Yours is an auto, and you would want to change to a stick, right? Well I think you probably have the r180 diff too, so you would need the r200 probably, just to make the driveshaft work (depending on your tranny combo). Wiring up the L28ET is not all that hard, but can be tedious. Wiring up a KA for the 510 shouldn't be too bad. Nissan is really good at keeping their engine harnesses completely separate from the main harness. This simplifies things. But you would need to get an electric fuel pump set up, and maybe have to mod the fuel tank quite a bit on the 510. I wonder, does a ka and L series motor share motor mounts? They might, but I doubt it. That would be another pain. Anyhow look for an L28et first, see what you can find. You might get lucky, there are alot of z's in cali.


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## nizmo559 (Mar 4, 2003)

Yes I just learned recently that my car has the r180 in it. I'm not sure if I would be forced to get the r200 I dont think so. But I have seen many 280zx at the local yard that should have one if I cant get it to work with the r180.

Yea the 510 can except the mounts to the KA from what I have read. 

I dont know but i'm guessing that the 510 would be more work all together.


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## B11sleeper (Oct 15, 2003)

nizmo559 said:


> Yes I just learned recently that my car has the r180 in it. I'm not sure if I would be forced to get the r200 I dont think so. But I have seen many 280zx at the local yard that should have one if I cant get it to work with the r180.
> 
> Yea the 510 can except the mounts to the KA from what I have read.
> 
> I dont know but i'm guessing that the 510 would be more work all together.


there are several 280zx's down here at out pick a part in sun valley. I took the front suspension off one to upgrade my 210.

there's also a fairly complete 81 200sx. which def had a r200, and rear disk brakes.


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## 0341TODD (Nov 15, 2003)

keep them both man- I have two cars and its cool as hell, both are hooked up and its like a dream come true - I just cant drive both at the same time unfortunetly


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