280zx strut swap, coilover conversion (Read 2,751 times)

[Al Ramone]

i'll start this and hopefully others with info to add will chime in.

i'd like to keep this as straight forward as poss........

i'm talking s130 280zx's here. not 240z 260z or 280z s30's, which are not suitible.

so, as i an others have found out, fitting 280zx struts to your b110,b210,b310,610,710,810,a10,c230,c210(c130?,c230? any others?) is a great way of getting bigger, vented discs and large calipers and an added bonus of a nice short strut body to enable a lowered ride hight.

the lower mounting points of the strut are the same as all the above cars (apart from b110 and early 12" wheeled b210's, they need to swap over to b310 lower balljoints and use b310 steering arms



rubbish pic, but the bolt centers are 80mm.

the top mounts can be swaped around, but care needs to be taken to ensure it's all fitted and working correctly. 280zx rubber tops are big but can be trimed down to fit inside the smaller datsuns inner wing towers.

now the 280zx springs, they are far to big to fit the inner wings of the other datsuns and need removing.
here you have a choice. either fit the narrower springs from another model, and weld on the matching spring platforms. or weld on an adjustable hight conversion kit. which allows a massive range of spring rates as well as ride hight AND frees up a lot more space for wider wheels/tyres and being able to add a load of negative camber (if using camber adjust top mounts) and still clear the inner wings.

280zx brake hoses need fitting, but fitting these means that you can remove the strut and leave the brake caliper fitted to the car without having to disconect the brake lines.



picture of a 280zx strut above and a c230 strut below. 280zx spring much wider



some of the conversion parts. (adjustable top mount not needed)





fitted to a 810.



also a bump steer spacer has been fitted. this is to keep the lower arm at a good angle.

this strut has a 10 degree stub axle. there may be different types, i'd like to see more.

here's how the car sat, with standard top mounts



best pic i have of it.

and another with the same struts fitted to my c230

[Al Ramone]

picture of one of the late type 280zx struts. as fitted to both the above cars (810,c230)
stub axle is 10 degree's. i need to check other struts to post up the angle of them (unless anyone else has?)

[Al Ramone]

master cylinders

the 280zx brake calipers are much larger then most the other datsuns, but because of this they need more fluid. so a larger master cylinder is needed. otherwise your foot will be on the floor before your stopping :shock: not cool.

280zx master cylinder is 15/16"? iirc. b210 is 3/4?
i ended up using a 7/8" on my b210 which felt right. they only have small rear brakes so don't think they need the really big master cylinder.

[Al Ramone]

picture of a 280zx strut with the lower spring platform cut off. be very careful when doing this, don't want to cut into the strut. if you do, make sure it's repaired before you finish.

standard 280zx strut on the left. my silly cut down and sectioned zx strut on the right, only needed for serious lows .

[Al Ramone]

280zx offset
the disk/hub itself sits much closer to the strut on the s130/280zx.

first,have some pics of c210/c230 struts fitted to an 810




and then with s130/280zx strut fitted to the same car.




so maybe 15mm difference?

[reece]

If you are shortening the strut, which insert should you use?

[paranoid]

alot of people use mk2 golf gti

[Al Ramone]

The ones i did on my c230 used mk1 golf inserts which are even shorter than the mk2 golf inserts.

also used mk1 golf on the b310 estate i had. they were to short really. would have been ok if i'd swapped in b210 top mounts as these would have raised it 20mm or so.

s130/280zx struts/inserts are plenty low enough for most people.

[datsfun]

Be careful with the mkI golf units...in some cases they drop the car too low even at full height. So it depends on how low you really want to go.

Also the 280ZX will bottom out if you want to have minimum arch clearance ( say 5mm). This is based on my experience of running 14" rims and 55/60 profile rubber

[Al Ramone]

thats right. you really need to know what length struts you want before you decide what inserts to use.

the s130/280zx legs were to long for the ride hight i wanted for the laurel and thats why i converted the legs to take the golf inserts.



on the left is a 280zx strut with the spring pearch cut off. on the right is my cut and shut datsun/vw hybrid.

these new struts are 67mm shorter :mrgreen:

made em by cutting the top off of the stock 280zx strut and welding on the top of a VW mk1 golf strut at the right length to use stock mk1 golf inserts. mk1 golf inserts have the added benifit of having the same size top mount thread as s13. so you can use s13 camber plates with ease. win-win 8)

you need this stuff



cut strut up


trail fit insert and cut up a mk1 golf strut for the top section



make sure it all lines up and works, remove insert and weld it all up nicely. add the coil over conversion sleeve. weld that all up







drill out the spring upper mount, i had to add a washer between the spring mount and the top mount to hold it in the correct place. reassemble, paint it all up. done :wink:


silly low laurel



and this bottomed out the lip of the chassis on bumpy roads.
heres the lip on the chassis, this is the lowest point on the car and where it grounds out.



choped these bits off from both rails


and after cutting off the lip and welding it up.



so yeh. mk1 golf inserts are too short for most people.

[Al Ramone]

comparison of a standard B210 120Y front leg and a standard S130 280ZX front leg with a coilover conversion.

you can see that the 280ZX leg is around 50mm shorter

[roddyc130]

Where did you get the red bushes from Al ? ...

[Al Ramone]

thems from a kit ment for S130/280ZX.
all the bushes in the rwd datsun range are pretty much the same.
inner track control arm ones might not fit thou.

and Cedrics are very differnt from the rest of the range....

[roddyc130]

Cheers Al

[paranoid]

has anyone used pillow ball top mounts?are all datsun shock insert the same size?