The Nissan Fairlady Z that the Mighty Car Mods brought to Australia from Japan had a few things missing…the engine, transmission and brakes, to be specific. Those parts had to be replaced from items sourced in-country so that there was no issues with asbestos laws. Brake parts are easy enough, but the work to repower the car has been pretty in-depth. The decision was made to forgo the original engine in favor of an RB26 engine from a Nissan Skyline, which keeps the car inline-six powered, and the only major surgery performed to the car itself involved moving the transmission mounts. Marty, Moog, and friends continue on their path of bringing the Fairlady up to running and driving spec.
Resto-modding a car like these guys are doing isn’t an easy task. Everything has to be considered while parts are being checked and fitted. The oil pan for the RB26 itself is from a Nissan Patrol, but has been cut and modified, for example. That kind of work takes time and consideration to make everything work together, and you have to face problems head-on, such as in the case of the radiator that had to be cut down and modified. There’s serious work going on here, so click on the video below and give it a look: