So this is it. The beginning of a wagon project build. I've been dreaming of having one of these cars for a while now and after selling away my most valuable toys... here it is - The most valuable toy I'll ever own.
So far, my plan is to patch a little rust caused by the battery / tray in the engine bay and re-attach the current / or new valance. I'll eventually blast clean the bay, coat it and then drop my L16 into it along with as many new components as possible under the hood if i can swing it. I'm currently trying to sell my Dodge durango and once it's sold I'll have some moneis to purchase my wheels as well as some new parts and a 5sp tranny. I plan on going with 15x7 with a +20 offset on the wheels. The wagon currently has the camber plates and 240z struts with ground control coil overs and I'm hoping that the +20 offset will just bolt on so, let me know if you guys have heard different. As far as ride height goes, i'd like to have the wagon as low as possible while still being able to carry a passenger and a small child. I've done a little research and it seems like rear end lowing is a touchy subject. I'd like to have the rockers (front to back) be level as well so the rear wheels may tuck in the end. I don't plan on racing this vehicle or pushing it to it's performance line (yet). It's just going to be a "grocery getting" and a "take the child to school" vehicle.
I'd like to hear what you guys have to offer as far as advice goes. As you can see, I'm very excited and very scatter brained as far as my actual "plan" goes but I intend to get it all together and start from the beginning.
Feel free to ask me questions. I'll need your advice.
Last edited by djfootball on 20 Nov 2012 16:26, edited 1 time in total.
djfootball wrote:The wagon currently has the camber plates and 240z struts with ground control coil overs and I'm hoping that the +20 offset will just bolt on so, let me know if you guys have heard different.
240Z struts don't bolt to the 510. 280ZX struts do. A side-on picture of your brake caliper and rotor will solve the issue. Your strut choice and lowering amount can have big affects on your wheel choice.
djfootball wrote:I've done a little research and it seems like rear end lowing is a touchy subject.
Not really. There are issues. "As low as possible" doesn't really mean anything, though. It's possible to have it very low, and if you have stiff springs/shocks then you can still carry loads. Won't ride very well, but that's a whole different ball of wax.
Measure from the ground to the bottom of your rocker panel (not the bottom of the pinch weld), then suggest how many inches lower you'd like the car. From there a general plan can be suggested.
Because when you spend a silly amount of money on a silly, trivial thing that will help you not one jot, you are demonstrating that you have a soul and a heart and that you are the sort of person who has no time for Which? magazine. – Jeremy Clarkson
Exploded views are really only in the Parts Catalog, and then they're not incredibly detailed. Does the keyed button depress?
Because when you spend a silly amount of money on a silly, trivial thing that will help you not one jot, you are demonstrating that you have a soul and a heart and that you are the sort of person who has no time for Which? magazine. – Jeremy Clarkson
djfootball wrote:As far as ride height goes, i'd like to have the wagon as low as possible while still being able to carry a passenger and a small child. I've done a little research and it seems like rear end lowing is a touchy subject.
Maybe you're thinking of the sedan? The wagon has a solid rear axle and leaf springs; the sedan is independent rear.
Lowering a wagon between 2 and 3 inches crosses the invisible line leading to issues of the diff contacting the body in various scenarios depending on how much it is lowered and what sort of loads are present. The more, the worse.
2" lowering doesn't seem to present problems. I had my wagon 2" lower in the rear without issue. There are fixes and such, but it all depends. You might also look into a set of air-adjustable shocks for the rear. I had a set from Monroe connected to a standard Schraeder valve. Load it up, then air it up to level it up.
Because when you spend a silly amount of money on a silly, trivial thing that will help you not one jot, you are demonstrating that you have a soul and a heart and that you are the sort of person who has no time for Which? magazine. – Jeremy Clarkson
okayfine wrote:Exploded views are really only in the Parts Catalog, and then they're not incredibly detailed. Does the keyed button depress?
The core is missing and there's a "latch" that you can push in or pull and it doesn't do anything. It looks like there's a slotted bracket that allows a bolt to move up and down on it but I can't get it to move. I don't want to mess the bracket up so i've been pretty careful with it. I think it could be jammed and i just need to get into where the "hook" is and free it up i guess.
okayfine wrote:
240Z struts don't bolt to the 510. 280ZX struts do. A side-on picture of your brake caliper and rotor will solve the issue. Your strut choice and lowering amount can have big affects on your wheel choice.
Whoops! I probably ment 280zx because they're bolted onto the wagon. I'll take some photos of the struts attached.
The vinyl panel on the hatch can be unscrewed and give access to the hatch innards. I don't remember if the screws are accessible with the hatch closed. I believe they are, but it's been a while.
Because when you spend a silly amount of money on a silly, trivial thing that will help you not one jot, you are demonstrating that you have a soul and a heart and that you are the sort of person who has no time for Which? magazine. – Jeremy Clarkson
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Because when you spend a silly amount of money on a silly, trivial thing that will help you not one jot, you are demonstrating that you have a soul and a heart and that you are the sort of person who has no time for Which? magazine. – Jeremy Clarkson
DJ - you haven't figured out how to open the hatch yet? Don't take it off the car, for goodness sake. I'll get it if you haven't figured it out by the next time we meet!
The wagon has 280zx struts, shortened by the p.p.o. (previous previous owner) -not me.
I beleive that, and the axle-over-spring placement in the rear are the current lowering changes VISIBLE. I did none of these, so can't comment of specifics, just what I see.
If a wagon owner could kindly remind us how many springs are stock, we'll be able to confirm if any are missing. Sag from time, swapping helper springs... or re-arching are other variables that result in height, but it matters where it winds up...
and the other variables Jay points out.. ones we can't fully predict.
D.J. You are further ahead on wheel decisions than you might think! Going 15" is good, like we talked about - arguable one of the best "modernizing" size -- good tire availability (versus 14! or 13!) yet can still come up will like-stock overall diameter.
15x6 or 6.5 gives you lots of fitment flexibility. 15x7 starts getting tigher, the oe wheels were 5 or even ? 4.5 wide? So going to 7 on the WHEEL is starting to get snug. There are entire sub-forums -on this site and others - dedicated to wheel fittment...so if you haven't alreadylll
BUT! the reason I say you might be "further along" in this decision is that not only are you in the right ballpark, but you know what wheels you like!
We can measure and estimate clearances (I will show you) but once you get tighter, one manufacturer's 195/50/15 isn't exactly like another's in every case.
DQ 9.1 is the wagon issue, and has a huge article on rear springs.
OE rims were 4", 240Zs got 14x4.5. Corvairs were the big time with 5.5" rims.
Because when you spend a silly amount of money on a silly, trivial thing that will help you not one jot, you are demonstrating that you have a soul and a heart and that you are the sort of person who has no time for Which? magazine. – Jeremy Clarkson
blueridgespeed wrote:DJ - you haven't figured out how to open the hatch yet? Don't take it off the car, for goodness sake. I'll get it if you haven't figured it out by the next time we meet!
I'm going to feel really stoopid when you come and open it in one second
Thanks for clarifying my front end for everyone and I don't mind thinking about 15x6's instead of 7's as long as I'm going to be able to get the wagon to sit this low:
I'm going to feel really stoopid when you come and open it in one second 
