Selling the X & Bought an 75 Datsun 280Z

[lookforjoe]

Ordered a generic Jeep CJ6 3 row aluminum rad. Has the I/O in the correct orientation for the VQ35DE (reverse of stock). Similar overall H & W (24.25W 20.75 H). I will have to modify the mount flanges. Significantly less than a Datsun-specific rad, which I would then have to modify anyway.

 

[lookforjoe]

Rad for the VQ conversion came - very well packaged & looks great, especially for the price. Application is mid 80's Jeep CJ series. Have to cut off the mount flanges & reweld. Easier than cutting off the necks on a Datsun specific fitment, and half the price ($130 shipped) for the 3 row that I bought





Also picked up some more 1/4" foam backer for when I remove the hatch / strut tower vinyl to do the permanent seat belt mounts

 

[lookforjoe]

I bought the GKtech shifter, even though it is untested in the S30 chassis. The shifter and brackets are all steel, so not hard to modify if required, and it's the only one with the clever solution of eliminating the factory yoke link, which adds at least a couple of inches to every other shift adapter I've seen advertised. The base linkage design is the same as used by Volvo, and probably most EU market brands since early 2k, ball & socket, just with a brass bush instead of a "plastic" version.

 

[lookforjoe]

Seats will be going to Santa Rosa, CA. Making a 22x22 height to be determined ) box - this was 24x24, and there is just too much slop around the seat - especially as they have to be stacked headrest to seat cushion (that's the way every set I've purchased has been packed, seems to be the safest & most cost effect way. Original wall folds are reinforced with a glued strip on the inside, and the base flaps are also glued in place to help maintain integrity of the box

Under mattress foam cut in strips as padding around the base (repeat for upper) in going to add another wall of HD corrugated cardboard around the seat cushion, just to be safe.

 

[lookforjoe]

Finished making the (double wall) box yesterday, made sure the seats were well isolated & protected.

On their way to Santa Rosa, CA, where they will help a 72 240Z come back to more original spec.

 

[lookforjoe]

Sunny day today, and projected for tomorrow - so I drove the Z to work.



I hadn't started it at all in the past month or so, so the battery was flat. I I had to jump it with my compact booster pack for my lunch break, and again when leaving school. By the time I got home, it was charged enough to start right up. I've put it in the garage on the trickle charger to get it back to a healthier state. I'll have to figure out a way to add a quick disconnect terminal - I have that in the Fiat, since that also sits for months at a time. Bit more awkward in the Z, because I added the battery mounted fuse block.

The stitching on the headrest looks good to me.



The X1/9 is going on BaT beginning of April, so once that's gone I'll be able to garage the Z. It's at the bodyshop now to finish up the work on the nose around the headlamps.

Got the sheathing finished, except for the strips I need to add around the window opening



Added bracing to the studs like this. Not sure I really need to add the ones at 66" that I was planning, everything feels pretty tight now.



With my tool box & the benches out of the way, the Z is a better fit inside. Still close quarters, but I could work on it inside if I had to.

 

[dllubin]

I've put it in the garage on the trickle charger to get it back to a healthier state. I'll have to figure out a way to add a quick disconnect terminal - I have that in the Fiat, since that also sits for months at a time. Bit more awkward in the Z, because I added the battery mounted fuse block.

I use the cigarette lighter socket in my X as the quick disconnect for my trickle charger.

 

[lookforjoe]

I use the cigarette lighter socket in my X as the quick disconnect for my trickle charger.

That's a good idea - I wired the connector to the battery on the X1/9, however the Z still has a functional cigarette lighter socket, so I could do that once the Z resides inside. Until the X1/9 is gone it has to live outside.

This is what I used on the X for quick disconnect - on the Z, I have to make it work on the (+) terminal

 

[lookforjoe]

Added the positive terminal cutoff switch, it comes straight, so I had to offset it it 90, or the fuse panel would no longer clear the hood

 

[lookforjoe]

Battery disconnect is doing marvelously, haven't driven the Z until yesterday (no rain, no salt/snow residue), and it started right up, so I'm good until the Fiat leaves & I can keep the Z inside on a tender after that.

Parked next to a Wildcat (Buick?) at the Dr's yesterday

 

[lookforjoe]

Z is back inside for a couple days so I can drive the X1/9 & make sure all is honkie-dorie before I start getting things set for the BaT auction

 

[kmead]

Z is back inside for a couple days so I can drive the X1/9 & make sure all is honkie-dorie before I start getting things set for the BaT auction
View attachment 82504
View attachment 82505

I hope all things go your way with the auction. Got the videos down? Cold start, warm start, acceleration, the let it rev to 5k so that one loon can listen for rattles….

 

[lookforjoe]

I hope all things go your way with the auction. Got the videos down? Cold start, warm start, acceleration, the let it rev to 5k so that one loon can listen for rattles….

I have to shoot new videos & pics, all the ones I had are a year old, so they asked for new. Hopefully have time to do that for April, or it will have to push back another month

 

[kmead]

I have to shoot new videos & pics, all the ones I had are a year old, so they asked for new. Hopefully have time to do that for April, or it will have to push back another month

Sorry I won't be coming to NY very soon. Cleveland for the eclipse but that's as far as I am going for a few months

 

[lookforjoe]

Tried to take the Z out for dinner Sunday night, and only got a block from the house, no throttle response, engine stalled. Restarted readily, but would only idle. WBO2 indicates that the system goes waaay lean when any demand is placed on the delivery system.

Yesterday I looked it over. Again, the car would idle fine - but - sometimes (ugh) the pressure (mechanical gauge after filter, before rail) drops off until the engine stalls. Blipping the throttle would sometimes make the regulated pressure pop back up.

What was bugging me was what the heck in the system could cause the pressure to drop off & then pop back up? I'm not familiar with the workings of the air flap meter to understand if there is an element of it that can shut off fuel delivery.

I replaced the fuel filter to eliminate a possible flow restriction. After that, I swapped out the fuel pump, no change. Removed the pulse damper, no change. I pulled the cover off the AFM, couldn't see anything out of order, checked the connector & pins.



When the pressure dropped off, the pump didn't get louder, so I didn't think it was a flow restriction with the tank or feed side.



By the end of all my futzing the car was running normally again. Very frustrating, since I hadn't found anything concrete.

Did remember to put the protector plate back in finally. Couldn't find the original screws though



Today I replaced the Fuel system relay - another Z owner said he had the same symptoms with a failing system relay - apparently the fuel pump side of the relay can flake out, and give the symptoms I experienced. I used the original one from my X1/9 (used to have L-Jet like the Z) - I checked the pinout & function. Only had to move the ground wire (85) from one side of the relay to the other



Took the old relay apart, to see how it looked inside:



Contacts are crusty, definitely didn't smell as cooked as I thought it might, given how it was cutting in and out. The contact plate definitely looks rough



Since I was under the dash, I started figuring out the wiring for the pump primer circuit. It will tuck nicely up under the steering column, and I will make it insertible, so I can remove/delete it without harming the factory harness.




Started right up & hasn't faltered since. I do need to add a pulse damper back, as it doesn't sound as clean as it did at idle before I removed it. Instead of putting the stock one back, I ordered one that will screw into the ORB-8 fitting on the protunerZ fuel rail.

 

[lookforjoe]

Added the three sec primer circuit after work today. I could actually make it anytime duration but 3 seconds seems more than long enough.



Harness tucks neatly up under the dash

 

[lookforjoe]

Replaced the leaking (less than a year old, almost no miles) left rear caliper(2014 Mustang GT) today. I had noticed that the front reservoir of the master cylinder had dropped about halfway. Couldn't see any signs of fluid in the driveway on wheels, so I had to get underneath and look around. I found evidence of dampness on the left rear lower slider boot, so it was apparently dripping down out of the main piston boot.

No warranty, so I bought a reman off RockAuto
Installed, and bled

Also aftermarket pulse damper arrived today, so installed that as well definitely makes the fuel rail quieter at idle. Never seen a factory one that required a vacuum reference, but this one is intended to have it.

 

[lookforjoe]

Driving the Z as long as the weather is clear. It is pleasant to drive, just annoying that one cannot drive with the windows open. I'm hoping the rear spoiler will help break up whatever is going on with the airflow back there that causes the exhaust to get sucked in.

 

[kmead]

Looking good.

 

[fastx19]

Looking at that radiator (older post, I know...) I wonder if it will tuck in for the 128. I always love how other threads give you ideas for something not even close to the same. It's looking great, keep it up!