This lovely 1977 Datsun 280z belongs to my roommate Ben Cort. He picked this rig up a year or so ago after tiring of his 05 WRX wagon. These cars aren't too easy to come by these days so when this one popped up on Craigslist he jumped on it. The previous owner had pulled the head off and apart for unknown reasons. The plan was initially just to get the motor back together and tidy a few things up here and there. However like many car projects do, things escalated rather quickly. Ben is only just getting started to! More on Ben's 280z after the jump. Photo's by me,
Jake Wolf Miller.
The suspension was totally blown and needed some serious attention. The car now sports Arizona Z Car coilovers, billet front control arms, steering knuckles, tension rods and camber plates along with with Techno Toy Tuning tubular rear control arms. MSA sway bars front and rear round out the handling package. Steel wheels fit the bill for style so a set of Basset Racing wheels were bolted up. 15x10 in front with 205/50 Toyo R888 and 15x11 in the rear with 235/50 R888 tires.
The head was rebuilt to spec along with other motor maintenance such as new chains, water pump etc. For exhaust there is a new MSA 6-3-2 header with a custom merge collector that goes into a 2.5" straight pipe exhaust with a glasspack resonator somewhere in the mix.
A shaved intake manifold and a S14 throttle body make up the motor modifications to this point. An aluminum Mishimoto radiator with 2x 11" electric fans bolted to home brewed tubular core support make up the cooling system.
The interior is pretty sparse. A Status Ring GT bucket for the driver and replica Bride Vios for the passenger with G-Force harnesses make up for the creature comforts. A Momo Mod 8 deep suede steering wheel with a NRG quick release bolted to a custom short hub provide the flashy interior cred.
The car has seen a fair amount of shaving such as the side view mirrors and side markers. The bumpers were tossed in the dumpster and a urethane air was sourced but otherwise the exterior is pretty standard. The tires sit under some MSA ZG replica flares and Ben made his very own custom spoiler that is adjustable using threaded road and heim joints.
I am more than likely forgetting about a ton of stuff, but this should be just about everything that is really important. I do know that the car should be seeing a Weber carb swap and a proper brake setup in the near future. Anyways, enjoy the photos! - Jake Miller
