1976 Datsun Z-Series

Chevrolet 350/5.7L Vortec

700R4

1976 Datsun 280Z with Chevy 350 Vortec/JTR conversion !!! You are bidding on my 1976 Datsun 280Z JTR conversion. This car has a Chevy 5.7L (350 cu in.) Vortec engine out of a 2000 truck.The transmission is a 700R4 with a shift kit installed and new seals placed. It works very well and shifts correctly.The exhaust isa very restrictive exhaust that ends up as a single exhaust. I am a physician and drove this to the hospital quite often. It had to be whisper quiet. The downfall of this is, of course, it robs horsepower. It really needs to be a dual exhaust to let it breath much better.The cam is a Chevy performance ZZ unit. I think it is rated for 375hp. The motor has a bit of lope to it but still very drivable. Asyou can see it has an HEI ignition. The hood latch was moved to the side to make room. This is a mod I picked up off of HybridZ.org andit works extremely well. The Vortec engine and heads are known for flowing extremely well and making lots of reliable horsepower. They also take Nitrousvery well and you can easily boost the horsepower by 100 or more very quickly and easily. The original air conditioner was retained and works well. The car was sanded and primed as well as shaved before it was painted with DuPont Chroma base slight metallic blue. The flames are painted using the DuPont Hot Huesline with clearcoat overall. All of the glass was removed as was all of the seals and rubber. These were all replaced with new and it is very tight now. The body was shaved and the fiberglass front was put on. You will notice that the side lights are shaved, the mirror mounts have been shaved, rear side lights, rear side emblem and the rear bumper. This gives a much cleaner look. The interior still needs some work to be very nice but is completely useable as you can see from the pictures. It has a Holley 4 barrel carb that works pretty well but probably needs to be fiddled with to get max horsepower from it. It is a rebuilt unit and is easy to work on. The radiator is a stock unit that has been re-cored and cools wonderfully even here in 100F+ weather. It has a Taurus 2-speed fan with a simple temperature regulator that turns the fan on at a preset temperature. As I said, the transmission is a 700R4 automatic that shifts well. It is connected to the stock shifter which makes it look clean but you can't manually shift down to 1st gear (who ever does that anyway?). I also have the emblems that go with the car as well as the stainless steel pieces that go around the windshield. You can leave it offand go with the black, more modern look or re-install them. Some of them are bent a little but overall they are in pretty good shape. You can see some videos at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I261j8u6Ayo ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRNgEuYyPJs ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eEkV_-5Pkw Just so it's clear, this is a great little car with a lot going for it. However, it was not a professional off frame restoration and still needs some tinkering to continually improve it. That brings us to the negatives. I'll try to describe these as best I can. The paint still needs to be finish buffed. I just haven't found the time to do it and it kinda makes a mess slinging compound all over the place. The wheels are original and look great when the aluminum part is polished. I was going to put some 225 tires on for a much wider tread however, some might want to put different wheels on it eventually.None of the door jambs etc are finished. They have been painted but no clear coat has been sprayed on them. You would eventually want to clean these up, mask off the jamb and spray some clear. The inside of the hood has not been finished. It needs to be painted and cleared. The interior is serviceable but not up to the rest of the car. The door panels need new upholstery (the panels themselves are fine and useable). The dash cap was not put on great. It's ok but again it would be easy to remove it and reapply it after trimming a bit more. Again, it looks fine but to make it really look good this is something you would want to do. The fuel gauge works intermittently. I put new wire from gauge to the first connector in the passenger sidewall but it likely has a break from there to the sender unit. There is some rust on the bottom rails. Eventually you would want to cap these by putting channel over them. Every Datsun Z-Car has this. There is a place in the right rear corner of the rear hatch that had a little rust when when pulled the rear window out. It was wire brushed and then treated with a converter. We thought the paint and then the clear would fill up the area but you can see it when you get real close. To be perfect you would want to mask that small area off and sand then paint it or you may be able to level it with the clear that is on it. It also has a place in the key switch that seems like a dead spot. It always starts but occasionally I will turn the key and nothing will happen. I replaced the switch part but haven't had time to troubleshoot it properly. Again, not a perfect car but I am degrading it much more than what it is so that no one is disappointed. Everyone who sees it really likes it. If you didn't care for the flames it would literally take less than 2 afternoons to sand the flame areas, mask it and paint it all blue, blending it using the clear at the A-pillars and doors. Deposit and picking up: I will require payment in full within 1 week. i will store the car for 2 weeks unless other, specific arrangements are madewith me. I understand that not everyone can take off suddenly and will work with you to some extent but I want to get it out of my shop to makeroom for other projects. Everyone always asks if it will make it cross-country xxx number of miles. All I can say is, it has been extremely reliableand has never let me down, although I have only driven it locally. So if you decide to venture out on a 2000 mile trek with it, you are on your own.Again, it has been 100% reliable for me locally (much, much more reliable than the original engine was!) I may consider a Pontoon boat with trailer as trade. It would have to be decent (no junk) and 24 feet or longer. Depending on what you have I would accept straight across trade or may even kick in some cash myself. This is for sale locally and I reserve the right to end the auction earlyif I end up making a deal with someone. So if you want it, make me an offer and I'll let you know. The reserve is ridiculously low and would even cover the cost of the engine so only bid if you are ready to complete the transaction. Thanks