First Z and build

[TheRock3tBunny]

Hello everyone. Im new to the site and just picked up my very first Z. Not in the best of shape obviously but i'm excited to work on it. Picked it up 500 miles away in Arizona.

For now im gonna try and get rid of the rusty areas and have it sit how i want, a few odds and ends on the way.. when it looks how i want i will see about a new engine if the L28 isn't doing it for me.. who knows. Anyway here is the very first picture i ever got to take of her



now lets get her to her new home.. on the way..





not much out there. On to the car.



got it set up of some stands last night and started exploring this morning...

The guy had a bunch of crap in the "trunk" with oil just relaxing in the spare tire area. smh.



Started the front now.. it didn't come with a dash at all :/ but did come with gauges.




We could be flintstoning it soon if we keep this up..



AAnd the doors..




Alright i can't stay in one place for too long .. on to the front end. Lets get these wheels off.


dont worry bushings .. i will save you.


Okay what to do about this..




Alright this is embarrassing.. its way to unorganized of a garage and i hate that. But the woman wants to go out so you know what that means. Anyway today I got a lot done. I ordered new floor boards, haven't welded in a while so this shall be fun .. Also need to find someone to buy these Enkeis so they can get out of my garage.. I will order a few suspension parts and see where that takes us. As for now.. she sleeps as is. After a clean up of the garage :/

[evildky]

An S30 with a rotten battery tray, who could have seen that one coming Looking forward to following your progress. Trying to get motivated to get back on my S30.

[datsun-s30]

Hello, hello, and welcome. Nice pictures you've taken man. The landscapes are beautiful. I've never been to Arizona, but it looks awesome.

Seeing how it's an Arizona car, your rust looks minimal as well. You've seen my car and what the Midwest will do to one, consider yourself lucky.

Well, I'm happy to see another z getting some attention and will follow along for sure. Thanks for taking the time to document your efforts, best of luck.

[TheRock3tBunny]

So i got a few parts the last couple of days. But im sort of confused..

I got Tokiko Illumina shocks. Some TechnoToy Camber plates, new floor boards, and a coilover conversion kit.. i have been reading the how to's online for the sectioning of the shock tube... but i feel like the shock should go further in the tube?..





Also.. with the frame rails on side is "regular" but the other side is uneven.. im not seeing that on the stock frame rails and didn't know which side it was supposed to be on.






Any help would be appreciated. Been trying to remove the bushings from the control arms and coilover kit should be here tomorrow.. more soon to come. For now.. Enjoy the view...

[TheRock3tBunny]

correct me if I'm wrong but should i be putting the front shocks in the rear? And order MR2 fronts for the fronts in the 280? If so its good that i only ordered the fronts for now. Appreciate any info thanks

[evildky]

Shock fitment is fine. It has to be up high enough that the seat on the gland nut wedges it in there. I really don't recall what inserts I used off hand but I sectioned my housings all around, pretty sure I did a write up on it.

[TheRock3tBunny]

OOkay.. so! It has been a busy couple of weeks, just finished a check ride so i had time to work on the Z. Picked up a few parts in the last couple weeks. The rears are sectioned and welded.





Then i went to start assembling the rear end because i finally got new bushings BUT when i bought the car the differential was not in the car.. come to find out it came with an R200 in the trunk that he hadn't gotten a moustache bar for and realized that i can't use this bar..



So its more waiting once i can get ahold of an R200 moustache bar but currently cutting shock towers for camber plates

[TheRock3tBunny]

Well since I am postponed for the moustache bar I decided to move it to the front. So decided to pull this guy out



I really feel like the wiring in these (maybe just this one) is really janky.






AAnyway... its awesome how easy these things are to get to come out.






So i got all the cludder out of the bay after this and next up should be taking the front end to metal and then installing the new floor boards. Wish it was as easy as I just said it. Also i feel like i never can catch up on keeping the garage clean :/ really trying to think of away to take it to metal without scraping it down with wire brushes and not be too expensive.

[TheRock3tBunny]

Figured its about time for a check in. Got my weld in camber plates and got both of those installed. I went with the T3 ones. Not perfect but what is around here, I think they look pretty good





Gotta fix this.. some reason there is a missing piece up front on the frame.



Also welded the floor in. I felt like a jackass because i trimmed a bit too much off in one spot I was having trouble with so i had to fill in a little strip with some extra sheet metal .. but it works.



Finally got the fender wells down to metal, primed,... aaand I borrowed a little idea from datsun-s30. I was going to put a truck bed liner and he seemed to like the Herculiner so i figured id give it a go. This is only one coat and at the time of putting it on i hadn't had the camber plates on so I left the shock tower blank for now. I mainly just dont want to have to do all the liner at once.



Now, when i took out the floor I knew i was going to buy new seat brackets too so I basically destroyed them, only to find out baddog parts says the 240z ones will NOT fit the 280.. haha.. sooo.. I decided I would make my own. Not done yet but this is what I have so far...





I think the mount will be sweet because i can really fine tune how I want it to sit... Until next time.

[Lroi]

looks like fun!

[datsun-s30]

lookin' good

[TheRock3tBunny]

got a lot done in the last few days thanks to a friend of mine.. well actually i helped him change his clutch in his Evo which was a pain of a job. So he owed me haha.. anyway both floors welded in top and bottom and joined the front rails to the new frame rails and herculined it...

By the way I am SO happy how easy it is to work in this engine bay.. I made sure he was there when I put the engine back in. It almost made him sick to his stomache






Then we prepped the engine bay for primer, acid etched it, and primed it.






then forgot to take a few photos of the bay paint but this is after we dropped the engine in.. then i etched, seam sealed all the welds and seams, and primed the inside and underside.





and here is the herculiner on the bottom.. back to the back of the floor pans.

[evildky]

You might want to tie that seat stand into the rocker and trans tunnel, the floors are flimsy enough above the rail, much less out where your stand legs land. Gotta love a firm seat.

[TheRock3tBunny]

You might want to tie that seat stand into the rocker and trans tunnel, the floors are flimsy enough above the rail, much less out where your stand legs land. Gotta love a firm seat.

I will definitely add that in there... it feels strong now but it probably will have a lot more stress on it while its driving. especially in the act of an accident. Thanks

[TheRock3tBunny]

So, it has been a while since I have posted. Been very busy all month of may and no time to work. However...

Recently I stripped out the bottom of the rear to prep so I can take it down to metal so I can re do the underbody as i did the front. I also had been really reluctant to try and get the stock bushings out of the lower control arms up front because i had been reading how terrible of a job it was.

With that being said I decided to go out and give it a try. What I did, say what you want, but i put a torch on it for about 20 minutes. Then i cleared out the rubber and took a saw-zaw and made 2 cuts about a cm apart from eachother on the inside being careful to not go too deep to go past the metal insert. Then i took and old flat head and chiseled between the insert and the wall and pulled up the small section i had cut. After that was out I chiseled 2 or 3 spots on the rest and it popped right out.

The first took about 20 minutes. The second took about 5 after the heat. Sorry for so much writing. Then i finished sectioning the front shocks and painted that and the control arms. So forgot to take a few photos. I will when it comes back apart but i did a test fit..




This is it sitting on the front tires for the first time since I have pushed it in the garage when i bought it.. only the front but hey... we are getting there.

Also these wheels and tires came with it, if anyone is interested in them, they are 16in Enkei's if you want to know more just let me know. More updates to come soon hopefully.

[TheRock3tBunny]

Had a long day today. A good friend came over for about 8 hours today and we knocked out taking the rear end to metal underneath. Only had a bit more to get the whole car bottom done.

So we:
- Took it to metal
- Acid Etched
- Washed a couple times
- Dried
- Primed

And then he headed home and I knocked out a layer of herculiner on the wheel wells and just a bit in between until i got interrupted so thats all I finished today. Here is just a couple photos.

A little primer


and some herculiner


I also left about 3 or 4 inches near the lip of the fender uncovered by herculiner so when I get to apply fender flares it wont be a hassle.

[TheRock3tBunny]

Should have the rest of it lined tomorrow. Gonna let it dry a couple days and then apply a second coat to the entire car's underbody. Then I can finally start assembling the suspension components and sit the whole thing on the ground.

Also I am going to be running new fuel lines from the tank, anybody have any cool ideas or good sources. All new brake lines as well.

[TheRock3tBunny]

Got some garage time today. Finished up the Herculiner a couple days ago on the rear end.



Today I decided to put the rear camber plates on... so...

Took off the hatch and the rear windows to get a bit more arm room



And here are the plates on so i can square them up to each other..



Then, traced the outline.. ignore the inside square



Took a bit with a dremel and about 15 cutting disks but its what I have.. haha



Not too bad just some time..



Fits like a glove .. tacked up and welded.. not the most beautiful welds in the world but it works.




Then i had to add a couple more beads on the round section and just took a grinding wheel and a flap wheel after that to smooth out the edges..


some primer aaaand there you go.. not too bad.. gets a bit tricky with the two layers of metal kind of easy to burn through so its not perfect.



Just do the same to the left side and an hour later you'll be done.




Finished everything on my white board to do list.. made a new one today and it seems near impossible to get done. i said that about the last one too so lets hope it can just tick away.

Also put the moustache bar from Arizona Zcar in and cleaned up a few parts.

Started to put the lower control arms back on the rear suspension but it is too tight of a fit with the poly bushings I put in.. not sure what I'm going to do about that one.

[TheRock3tBunny]

it amazes me how many hours i have in this thing so far.. and the fact that 90 percent of the work has been on the underside of the car so looking at it from the outside it barely looks any different haha its so demoralising. I hope the body just starts to come around and i think once the wheels and fender flares are on it will be a huge difference.

[TheRock3tBunny]

had a busy week this week with the Datsun. Cleaned up the fuel tank and reinstalled it with the rest of the rear end. Installed poly bushing in the rear control arms. I t is officially on its wheels for the first time since i have owned it.

Eventually i plan on upgrading the tank if mine becomes a problem but for now i would just like to get it running.







The rear end is a little crooked right now.. Im really hoping its something that isn't a big deal. There doesn't seem to be any damage underneath but the rear left is toed in a bit with forward caster and the other side is the complete opposite :/

Started to fabricate a downpipe, not the prettiest thing in the world but it will do for now while i still have the stock downpipe.

[TheRock3tBunny]

As of now I am trying to decide how to run the exhaust i.e. muffler type and stuff. I am going to run 2.25 all the way back and would like to custom make it.

I am also trying to find Rota RKR's for now. And am having a hell of a time finding 15 x 9 -40.. best i can find is -15. If anyone has photos of these specs, pictures would be fantastic and i would appreciate it.

[evildky]

Rear can't have caster, caster is a measure of the axis on which the wheel turns, and since the rear doesn't turn, no caster. Unless you add adjustable lca's the toe is also not adjustable.

[TheRock3tBunny]

Rear can't have caster, caster is a measure of the axis on which the wheel turns, and since the rear doesn't turn, no caster. Unless you add adjustable lca's the toe is also not adjustable.

I fully understand what caster is and toe and camber, and i also know that in the rear there is no caster adjustment. My point was it is as if the wheel has moved more forward in position. I you could imagine looking straight down on the rear axle and drawing a line through the center, im just saying that the axle wouldn't be lined up with the line. almost as if the whole rear end is slightly crooked. And yes, i know, there is not an axle going all the way from the left to the right smh

[TheRock3tBunny]

example. if the red line represents the proper alignment, then the blue line is an exaggerated form of what mine appears to be doing. the left is angled, or toed, more inward and more forward in the wheel well, and the opposite for the right side.

[TheRock3tBunny]

[evildky]

So any evidence that the car was hit in the rear? If one wheel is forward and the other is back it would suggest that the car might have been hit pretty hard. Do the LCA's show any sign of damage? Could be bent and tweaked LCA's, have you tried swapping left for right lca's? they are supposed to be identical. Ultimately the forward mounting point of the lca's on the chassis is what dictates how far forward the wheel sits. If it has been hit and the unibody has been moved your choices are to cut it all out and redo it on a chassis jig or get adjustable lca's, there are some that allow for a certain amount of shimming of the strut pin in either direction. The other possibility is that the sheetmetal on the wheels wells has been replaced poorly and not lined up properly, does this appear to be the case?

[TheRock3tBunny]

There was zero damage that i could find. I have not swapped to the other side, maybe that will change but they appear to be identical and show no signs of damage or being bent. No sheet metal appears to be any different. I was planning on buying aftermarket LCA's anyway but i would hate to spend the money on them and that not fix the problem :/. ive been extremely busy with my CFI lab going on right now, so in a week or two i will be able to dive under their again and see if i can figure out anything that is going on .. Thanks for the input

[TheRock3tBunny]

Finally got some new wheels and tires in. Mounted today so I had to throw them on the front for a sneak peek.
Once i hook up the fuel and brake lines, and reconfigure this rear end i can go for a drive and hopefully wash this thing a little bit.






Looks like i need some fender flares here soon

[evildky]

Looks like you coulda used a bit more offset, scrub radius is gonna be fun when parking.

[TheRock3tBunny]

ah im sure ill get used to them when the flares go on..