Hoffman5982's Super Awesome Driveway Swap- Finally Running

[Hijacker]

If you're running a solid bushing for the rear cover mounts, I would consider going with solid bushings for the tabs as well.

[jsturges18]

really like how simple and clean your car is. great work!

how did that amber tint go on the lights? was it similar to window tint? it made big difference and looks much better

Thanks! And yeah, pretty much the same as window tint except it was thicker and I had to use a hair dryer to make it stick. Cost a whopping $7 off ebay and hasn't started lifting at all, so I'm happy.

cool! gonna look into that myself!

whats with the stocks wheels?? i have a feeling something big and exciting is happening in this area

[Hoffman5982]

Shame you don't live closer. I've been wanting track Z33 wheels for a while.

My VLSD has been making some crazy whining noise on decel. I should take a look at mine too, pretty sure it's very worn out.

The guy is being super flaky, so they may not be sold afterall..

[Hoffman5982]

If you're running a solid bushing for the rear cover mounts, I would consider going with solid bushings for the tabs as well.

The rear bushings are just the oem bushings, but they're in much better condition than the tab bushings were.

cool! gonna look into that myself!

whats with the stocks wheels?? i have a feeling something big and exciting is happening in this area

Even if the wheels aren't sold, the back tires were done. When pulling the differential I noticed that one of them was separating, and I'd rather not die just yet lol.

[Hoffman5982]

So I got the dif back in today and it's howling worse than before. Bummer.

Gonna get under there while someone has it in gear and see if it's coming from something else, but right now I'm looking to throw my spare ghey open back in until I have time off to go pull another VLSD. Should be ordering my new wheels this weekend, but until then all I have for you guys is this awesome picture of how my car is sitting at the moment. Almost looks like it did when I had lowering springs. LOL

[DylanM240]

I really like this build, super clean and understated! Good job man.

[Hoffman5982]

Well guys, wheels are on hold for a few weeks, but for a very good reason

I think for now Im just going to find some cheap tires to throw back on the z wheels and rock them a little longer. Im already over the stock look. On top of that I threw the open dif back in yesterday, I feel like Im just going backwards with this car right now.

[BCs300z]

Extremely interested in your wheels. Sent you PM and reply in your classified thread. Hit me back when the time comes that you are going to sell. happy to buy wheels only...no need for tires.

BC

[Hoffman5982]

Hmmm.. I wonder what this could be..

[kouki munster]

Navan front bumper, at least that is my guess.

[Hoffman5982]

Bingo. I just got it in my possession today. Im taking it to the body shop tomorrow to see if it can be fixed, otherwise Im sending this piece of sh** back

[jsturges18]

def thought you'd go with wheels before aero. glad your staying oem

[Hoffman5982]

That was the original plan but this navan bumper popped up for a decent price and I thought I was getting a good deal, but I guess not. I don't know what I expected, when has anything ever been that simple with this car?

[danshaz82]

whats wrong with it? just beat to hell?

[Hoffman5982]

Yeah it's super beat. I'm gonna take by a body shop and see if it can be fixed for a reasonable price. If not, I'm sending it back.

[Hoffman5982]

Alright guys, here's some pics. I just got back from the body shop and he said there's no way to fix it completely. They'd pretty much have to reconstruct the bottom.

Keep in mind, I was told that the only issue were the sides where they meet the fenders, although I wasn't told that it has probably been "fixed" 100 times.

Look OK right?




This is the largest crack, and you can see how un-straight this section is


This part was actually buckled in. I left a vice on it over night and it straightened it up a little




So yeah, $400 got me this hunk of sh**. Hopefully I can get my money back and wait til I find a better one or just save and buy a brand new one. It sucks, I was so psyched about getting this thing

Edit: deleted some pics to save space

[kouki munster]

I hope you used Paypal to pay for it so you can get your money back, because that thing is in crap condition.

[Hoffman5982]

Yea, a claim has already been filed. I did a google search of the picture today and found the guys original fs thread for the bumper...from over a year ago. So yeah, this guy sent me a year old picture and when contacted, he simply said I have no money to give back. Hopefully Paypal will take care of me and I only lose the ~$50 to send this turd back. If that happens, wheels will be ordered immediately and I will either wait til I find an actually clean bumper or just splurge for a new one. Either way, I'm bummed out.

[jsturges18]

damn that sucks, maybe second times a charm like your motor? are you doing the fill navan kit eventually?

[Hoffman5982]

damn that sucks, maybe second times a charm like your motor? are you doing the fill navan kit eventually?

I'll probably end up buying one brand new so yeah, second time will be the charm I guess. And yes, everything by the wing. I may ditch the rear valences for a jdm kouki rear setup with the kouki wing. I'm trying not to copy Beni Alway's setup, but it's hard but both his old and current setup are exactly what I've been wanting. We'll see how it all pans out.

But as is the current trend of this car, my light switch has failed. It's been giving me weird issues. First it would keep the passenger light on until I unplugged it for the night, then it would be fine for a few days. Then it stopped turned my fog lights on. Now it only turns on the drivers side low beam, while at the same time blowing a $20 bulb on the passenger side. Luckily I can get a brand new one for $50, so I have it on order.

[Hoffman5982]

Well guys, I think I've had it. New light switch didn't change a thing, except that now I have no low beams at all. I'm sick of having one problem after another. I know we all joke about that being common with this cars, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone with THIS many issues. We'll see how everything pans out.

[kouki munster]

Nissan is notorious for headlight issues through out the 80's and 90. Hell, almost every z31 I have ever had anything to do with had headlight issues. IIRC the s14 doesn't use relays for the low beams,(if it did this would be a non issue) so just wire in a relay to come on when the switch is turned on, then run the power to the lights from the battery through the relay. This takes the load off the switch and puts it on the relay that is a crap ton easier to replace than a headlight switch.

[Hoffman5982]

Nissan is notorious for headlight issues through out the 80's and 90. Hell, almost every z31 I have ever had anything to do with had headlight issues. IIRC the s14 doesn't use relays for the low beams,(if it did this would be a non issue) so just wire in a relay to come on when the switch is turned on, then run the power to the lights from the battery through the relay. This takes the load off the switch and puts it on the relay that is a crap ton easier to replace than a headlight switch.

Can you elaborate on this a little? I'm not a total noob when it comes to wiring, but Im having a hard time understanding how the headlights are setup. When checking for power with a multimeter, the low beams are getting power all the time. Also, it seems that the low beams get brighter when the brights are on. I say this because I currently have the high beam bulbs unplugged so that only the inside(low) beams are on when my lights are on, yet I still get flashed by 90% of the people I pass on the road. If you have some sort of diagram for me to follow I'd be very greatful.

I'm still pretty set on getting out of this car in the near future. I'd like a Z. If I could, a 350z because I'd really like something newer. I'm also toying with a non turbo 300zx and either a bike or another s-chassis that I can beat on.


Edit: scratch that. I skimmed through the fsm and apparently the inside lights are the highs. I guess I was thrown off because I searched low beams at work and it gave me that bulb. I'm also assuming that bulb I replaced wasn't blown and I wasted $20. Anyways, I know how to get the actual low beams to be the only lights on, but I'd still like a diagram so I can get both the lows, highs, and fogs to come on when they're supposed to. If I can avoid buying this new harness I will.

[kouki munster]

I will try to throw a ms paint diagram together to make it a little easier, but basically you are cutting the wire that runs from the headlight switch to the bulb and using that to energize a relay.(connect the headlight switch to one side of the relay coil and then ground then the other side of the relay coil) Then connect battery voltage to one side of the normally open contact on the relay and connect the other side to the headlight bulb, and be sure to fuse the power circuit to the bulb.

But, before you go through with this I would give the harness a good once over with a multimeter to make sure that there are no wires shorted together, and that there is no continuity to ground where it shouldn't be.(be sure to unplug the bulbs and the switch first)

[Hoffman5982]

Well, I feel stupid.

Lights are fixed. Apparently both of the low beams blew at around the same time. After looking of the fsm while not on sleeping medicine I found it was a pretty simple setup. For some reason I though the inner bulbs were the highs. Shows how much I know about my own car. The filaments looked fine but when I switched the low beam signal wire to the high post on the bulb, it came one. So I picked up some new $40 Silverstar Ultras and new pigtails to replace the crusty and broken plugs that are currently on there and everything is good now. If there is in fact an underlying problem and my bulbs blow again, I'll just warranty them out at work and go from there.

With all that said, I'm a little less peeved with my car but all options are on the table as far as it's future. As for now, wheels aren't happening any time soon. I guess I can tell you guys that the plans were 18x10 Konig SSM's all around. Yeah, replica wheels. Kinda glad I didn't fall to that.

But now for the good news. Sold the bumper to a friend for $300. So I still lost over 100 bucks on it, but I'm over it. Tomorrow I'm checking out a completely unmolested 89 coupe rolling chassis that a guy is selling for cheap. I have the money and I'm pretty set on buying it. Plans for now will be to throw a DOHC in it and use it as a beater, maybe trade for an equally clean hatch. We'll see.

Here's a pic from the ad. Check out those 80's decals on the side!


I'll let you guys know what happens

[krash]

trade a coupe for a hatch? BLASPHEMY! haha, looks cool man! sucks about the bumper

[Hoffman5982]

Thanks man, and yeah, it's just one of the things I'm considering, although I've been trolling through the various coupe pages and am getting attached to it already. And yeah, I'm still pretty pissed about the bumper, although had I have gotten a clean one my money would be going towards paint and/or wheels and I wouldn't have money for this coupe. The only problem is my paycheck doesn't hit til midnight tomorrow so hopefully he'll take half as a down payment lol.

[krash]

if you do it, you should lower it, make it look cool, etc, but keep that vinyl on the side haha

[Hoffman5982]

Lol the graphics are staying for a little while. They're way too retro and rad. I will be getting rid of the thing on the trunk lid. But right now the plan is to throw a dual cam in and get it running, new struts and lowering springs, and then maybe 5 lug swap it with j30 front calipers and throw my SE wheels on it. That will most likely be it til after summer at the earliest.

I'm actually heading out now to go look at it, so hopefully I can report back with good news!

Edit: It's mine! Car is super unmolested. The woman selling it is the daughter of the woman who bought it new. It has a HUD with the usual problem of going in and out. Only rust is on the battery tray. $550. I'm picking her up tomorrow!

[Lobo240sx]

keep that vinyl on the side haha

That is too awesome to get rid of.