RE: 1981 280ZX suspension (new member topic)

[280zx18]

Hello fellow Datsun fans,

I am new to Datsun and have a few questions about my 280zx I got last summer.

 

I received this car from my great grandmother who won the car in a drawing back in 1981!

She had left the car sitting for about 5 years before i got a hold of it. I am now in process of upgrading/ restoring this car.

 

My questions:

1) The car is in serious need or struts, so I am thinking of replacing both the struts and springs in a single blow with Tokico's HP series kit and possibly a bushing kit. any tips? suggestions?

 

2) I have a bad leak somewhere in my exhaust. I know it's my exhaust manifold but I'm unsure if it's a crack in the manifold or a bad gasket. So what is the best way to test this? and is there an easy way to access the manifold without completely removing the top of my engine IE my intake and all the wires and such.

 

3) Anything else that i should know before attacking the suspension of my car?

 

Anything helps and thank you much for your time!

 

 

[Stupid_fast]

30 years old, replace all the bushings.  It'll handle like a 5000lb american sedan if you don't.

I know because my brother daily drove and 83 like that for a year!  Was scary when I started tearing into the suspension.

Inspect everything, replace -EVERY- component that looks unfit to use.

Personally I replaced every bushing, new KYB shocks, and all tie rods/ball joints. 

Have not had a chance to drive the car on this setup yet, but should get it back to stock handling at least and be safe enough to drive and the cheapest option. 

 

If you're looking for performance, I've heard bad things about the tokico HP255 kit.  Better than stock but not really a good performance suspension, but I have no personal experience.

I hear you can replace the front strut fluid with motorcycle fork oil, stiffen up the stock shocks they work just fine.  But I'm not sure if you can get new seals- when I removed the stock shocks the seals had to be torn to remove them.

You could put bigger sway bars and upgrade to urethane bushings while you're doing it if you want, it'll give you a stiff and noisier ride but will tighten up the handling.

 

Check the brakes.  Bleed new fluid through all the lines and make sure the pads have enough material left. 

 

 

Should take very little work to get into a drivable/safe condition, especially if it has been well maintained.

[280zx18]

Thank you. I've done a little research and hear nothing but bushing talk. So I was planing on buying the shocks/springs along with a master urethane bushing kit from motor sport.  The only "problem" i have with my suspension is i have excessive body roll when i accelerate, brake and turn. i don't really have the budget for a complete custom suspension (i'm budgeting about $800 for it all). that's why i was attracted to the tokico's (for a minor lower and slightly better than stock performance) and the bushing kit for an overall tighter feel (totaling about $800).

I don't plan on racing this car, it's my daily driver with which i want an occasional autocross race now and then. 

[ArchetypeDatsun]

I also had an 81 280zx (now sold) both front & rear shocks where shot but it had already an aftermarket msa big sway bar kit front & back with urethane bushings. It handled really well never once tailgated on me on the corners. I never got the chance to do the shocks & springs but I was looking to doing S13 coilovers.

[280zx18]

I've also looked at sway bars. I might see if I can afford the MSA sway bar kit.  The S13 coilover conversion looks really cool but I've heard you have to weld some and I don't trust my welding on my suspension not to mention my car is extremely clean and original so i don't want to ruin the originality of the car (just yet) with a conversion like that, right now I've been doing all my upgrades under wire so it looks 100% stock. 

[captaingamez]

In the rear i dont think you have to weld, i think their drop in almost, the front I am not sure what is involved with. but I am sure interested to find out because Im pretty sure the front and rear on my 910 are the same as a 280zx.

[Stupid_fast]

@280zx18 and captaingamez,  S13 coilovers have been done dozens of time, there are ton of write ups on hybridz, zdriver, and other sites.

 

Basicly front strut tubes need to be cut, collars welded on, rear strut mounts have to be re drilled for S13 top hats. 

 

If you're daily driving, there is no point to having coilovers.  They blow out and need a rebuild 20-40k miles depending on the set, and a lot of the cheaper $800 range are not rebuildable.  think $1000-1400 for a good set of just the coilovers.

 

 

MSA sway bars is what I went for, as I said have not driven yet but it should provide the best balance.  Its the kit with the larger rear sway bar, should be more neutral than the other kits I saw. 

 

I would go for a mild drop while you're at it also, stock ZX height is preposterous.  1-2 " drop can still retain comfort and utility depending on where you live.  

 

My cressida had a ton of body roll stock, I cut the springs 1" drop and replaced the shocks with KYB GR2 and it eliminated a huge amount of body roll.   

[darrel]

shox.com for struts

 

suspension restoration for bushings-- There is no "master" kit for the 280zx.

 

Do not use eurathane bushings for the T&C rods, these tend to snap the rods on the 280zx. You can use a turbo or 2+2 front sway bar, it is thicker than stock 2 seater.

[Stupid_fast]

@darrel, agreed, only use outer urethane or stock rubber bushes.  Or preferably get Techno Toy Tuning adjustable TC rods !!

 

zcarparts.com sells a master urethane kit for the ZX, its what I have.

[dattoboy70]

upload some pictures!

[datzenmike]

Forget polly. It just another racing part that does not translate well for use on the street. Polly are too hard and do not give. Rubber on the other hand grips both moving surfaces and can twist. Polly  has to rub against one or the other and rubbing makes squeaks and they wear out. Polly also transfers road noise and vibration. Race cars are fine as the suspension is rebuilt several times a year, noise and vibration? who cares?.... for a street car they are the wrong move.

 

Coil overs.... have to ask.... how many times a week do you plan to adjust your ride height? or change the spring rate? Probably once you get the car where you want it the answer is none at all. So why spend hundreds of dollars on an adjustable ride height that you never adjust? If you have the original dampers inside the strut you can simply empty out the thin strut oil and replace with heavier viscosity motorcycle strut oil. (about $17 and comes in a variety of thicknesses. Thicker is harder to push through the internal valves so the action it stiffer.)

 

While the strut is out and the spring off, you can cut a coil off to increase the spring rate (there are formulas for working out the rate (the zx is likely like the Maxima and about 150 lbs/inch) and how much 1/2 or a whole coil will increase it. On my 710, one coil raised the rate by 50%.

 

Now the interesting part. Trim around the lower spring mount and grind away the old weld. This will allow the spring mount to be moved up or down to adjust the ride height. To support the spring mount in place use 2" split collars. ($25 for two)

 

Increased dampening, increased spring rate and adjustable ride height for under $50. I swapped Maxima goon struts onto my 710 and they are very similar to the zx strut for brakes and strut length. I used my 710 spring. 'Course if you want to spend $800 just for looks... fly at 'er.

 

 

 

Finished

 

Don't worry those split collars will support 6,000 lbs. each!!!

 

Exhaust leak. See if it's where the manifold joins the down pipe. There's no gasket on the '81 just close fitting pipes. One of the bolts may be broken or loose. If it's the gasket on the head it also is used for the intake so everything must come off to change it. If the manifold is cracked everything must come off also to replace it.

.

[280zx18]

Alright...
My initial plan for my '91 280 was to buy a new set of Tokico HPK shocks/springs. But now I have found out that Tokico has a negative inventory of these and just about every dealer that carries these shocks will not have any more for "an unspecified amount of time".
So now I’m stuck. My car is in serious need of new shocks an springs (yes they need to be new... she springs sag a LOT and the struts are just dead).
Any suggestions for a kit that would give me a 1'' lower all around with better performance than stock?
And I don't have the time or ability to install new bushings.

Thanks

 

 

Original post:

"Hello fellow Datsun fans, I am new to Datsun and have a few questions about my 280zx I got last summer. I received this car from my great grandmother who won the car in a drawing back in 1981! She had left the car sitting for about 5 years before i got a hold of it. I am now in process of upgrading/ restoring this car. My questions: 1) The car is in serious need or struts, so I am thinking of replacing both the struts and springs in a single blow with Tokico's HP series kit and possibly a bushing kit. any tips? suggestions? 2) I have a bad leak somewhere in my exhaust. I know it's my exhaust manifold but I'm unsure if it's a crack in the manifold or a bad gasket. So what is the best way to test this? and is there an easy way to access the manifold without completely removing the top of my engine IE my intake and all the wires and such. 3) Anything else that i should know before attacking the suspension of my car? Anything helps and thank you much for your time!"

[bananahamuck]

You should really bump old thread when question is almost the exact same,, so people trying to help see what advice you have already been given ,,, in order to help you and not give same advice again...

Whoa! posts got merged while i was posting..... :P


have you tried here.?

https://technotoytuning.com/nissan/s130/full-front-coilover-conversion-280zx



And if your in Seattle area there`s alot of us around here and making it to a meet and discussing this face to face with someone like QTip or if your lucky,, one of those suspension freaks from Everette area could probably help more than anything posted here.. Think about it,, we would enjoy meeting a new person that isn`t driving a 510 or 620.

[datzenmike]

Yes, two posts on the same thing is just wrong. I merged to old one with this new one to preserve any info and advice. Your last post is in chronological order.

[280zx18]

Thanks guys. i've never really used forums before so i don't know much about the "protocol".

 

but i've done some looking and searching, and it seems like i might end up with the tokico HP struts and using a different spring and leave it at that instead of using the kit.

i'm now looking on Motorsport auto and i found the Tokico performance springs and some eibach progressive springs. i like the sound of the eibach's  "These great Eibach lowering springs are wound so that the spring rate increases as more demands are placed on the suspension, thus achieving good ride quality under normal driving conditions, but stiffening when you're cornering quickly. Will lower most cars approximately 1" from stock ride height, depending on other factors, such as choice of struts & shocks. Made from the highest grade automotive spring steel" but i'm not sure if they work with the tokico struts or what? if this fails then i'll just go with the tokico struts and springs.