maltese Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 I have been interested in this Z for a couple years. My buddy has had it for about 5 years, slowly building it, but rarely driving it. He offered to sell it a couple times, but I didn't bite....until now. My wife and I have our 4th child on the way, so this clearly isn't going to be a practical car, instead it will be my budget built toy. I'll drive it daily, to work, and plan to attend autocross events with it too. So far it has been pretty dependable transportation. I have replaced all the fuel lines, except the vent lines on top of the tank, since they are new. I also installed a new fuel sender o-ring. The brake lines were weathered, so those were replaced with braided lines from The Z Store. The motor is stock with a recent rebuild. I haven't checked casting numbers yet, but I'll do that soon. The cam is internally lubricated (??) from a newer L series motor, so no oiling problems there. It has electronic ignition (E12-80) already, and I added new NGK plugs and wires. Other mods already done by the PO... -Suspension Techniques sway bars -Suspension Techniques springs -Tokico struts -280zx 5 speed -3 row radiator -electric fan -internally regulated alternator -header (brand unknown) -down draft webers -Toyota calipers -new carpet kit -new weatherstripping all around (need to install) I needed to fix the battery hold down, so I ordered the complete kit from The Z Store. I like OEM parts! The headlights were terrible, so I got the upgraded harness, also at The Z Store. With the safety issues handled, I can start to have some fun with this car. Here's a shot of the engine, before I cleaned it up. A friend hooked me up with a polished valve cover. This is the engine bay, currently. It runs good as is, so it will stay this way for a while...until I build something with more power. I sanded the body down to get rid of the surface rust. Sprayed it with etching primer. I've got a little rust repair to do, but not too bad. At least it's one color for now. I wanted a little more rubber on the road, so I did some research. I found, in a 15" wheel/tire, I could fit 15x7 with low offset and 225/50 tires with no rubbing. I wanted all black wheels, so my choices were limited. I chose Rota RB's (+4 offset) and Kumho tires. Got them mounted today, and they fit perfect. Thanks for all the know how here, and the awesome community. I am addicted to this Z, and Ratsun as well. 1 Quote Link to comment
h190 Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 Nice car! I love how you quickly addressed its small issues so you could enjoy it on the road. Awesome job. Quote Link to comment
TENDRIL Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 welcome great intro!! paint looks nice and even and looks great with those wheels :thumbup: Quote Link to comment
maltese Posted January 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 Nice car! I love how you quickly addressed its small issues so you could enjoy it on the road. Awesome job. Thanks. I absolutely love driving this car! Quote Link to comment
maltese Posted January 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 welcome great intro!! paint looks nice and even and looks great with those wheels :thumbup: I really like the color, too. Looks similar to my old 4Runner. I was pretty impressed with how well the paint went on, considering the cold weather lately. Not too bad for rattle cans. 4Runner... Quote Link to comment
fivetenguy Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 Car looks bad ass. What did you do with your old wheels? Quote Link to comment
maltese Posted January 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 Car looks bad ass. What did you do with your old wheels? Thanks. The wheels are stacked in my storage shed. I'm trying to pick up a 510, and thought about using them on that car. I might just sell them off, though. Quote Link to comment
maltese Posted January 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 Looking into better seats. I have two sets of stock seats. Both are torn up. I need to sit a little lower in the car, so I can fit with a helmet on, for track days. I removed 3/4" of spacers from the seat mounts, but it's not going to be enough. Hopefully I'll come across a good deal, on a decent pair of seats. Also on the list, are new seat belts. The driver side is original, but doesn't retract well. The passenger side is out of another vehicle. It works, but I'll feel better with the appropriate belts in place. Looking at the shoulder belts from The Z Store. I may have a lead on a used air dam, too. If it doesn't pan out, I'll be shopping for a new one. Thinking about this one... http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/7AD1/50-1411 Any reason not to go with urethane? Quote Link to comment
maltese Posted January 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 Got this in the mail... Thanks crackerjack! 1 Quote Link to comment
TENDRIL Posted January 20, 2013 Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 that sticker kind of makes it official !! Quote Link to comment
maltese Posted January 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 that sticker kind of makes it official !! Yeah, I think it fits. Today, I machined the front rotors. They are below minimum specs, so I'll be replacing them soon. I ordered a set of pads already. The new rotors will be sent out to be cross drilled. I'll also replace the wheel bearings and seals, since the races are a little discolored. I'm going to start working on replacing the weatherstripping next. Good times! Quote Link to comment
maltese Posted January 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2013 Brake pads are here. These are OEM Toyota pads, made in Japan. We'll see how they work. The rotors will be here this weekend. I'll send them out for drilling, next week. Quote Link to comment
maltese Posted January 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 Drove to Fresno yesterday. Doing 70 on the freeway (according to the speedometer), and passing everyone. It dawned on me that I should check my speed with the GPS. Well, my speedo is 8 MPH slow! Oops. Makes me want to get the Subaru diff (LSD 4.11) installed, sooner than later. In other news... I Simple Green'd the engine bay. Quote Link to comment
mattyhacks71 Posted January 26, 2013 Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 Awesome car! Your engine bay is the bee's knees Quote Link to comment
dat77sun Posted January 26, 2013 Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 i recognize that 4runner, are you on yotatech? Quote Link to comment
maltese Posted January 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 Awesome car! Your engine bay is the bee's knees Thanks. My plan is to keep the engine compartment looking nice, as well as the interior. The exterior can remain a little rough. Quote Link to comment
maltese Posted January 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 i recognize that 4runner, are you on yotatech? Yep. Built that 4Runner from the ground up. Been on YotaTech since '06. Haven't been very active lately, since I'm between Toyota's. Kind of got the Datsun bug! Quote Link to comment
dat77sun Posted January 26, 2013 Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 yea im 1986yota4x4 off there, been on this forum longer than yotatech Quote Link to comment
maltese Posted January 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 Cool. I like it over here. People are pretty down to earth. I've been around 510's and Z's since high school. Finally got one of my own. Shopping for a 2nd now too. Looking forward to getting back into AutoX as well. Quote Link to comment
dat77sun Posted January 26, 2013 Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 yea people here are pretty chill Quote Link to comment
maltese Posted February 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 Brakes are on the way! I got my front rotors at O'Reilly, which are being sent out this week. Surprised to see 'Made in USA' on the box! New bearings, seals, and pads sitting on the work bench, waiting. Also, I bought a Datsun Parts LLC rear disc brake conversion, from Rustbucket's part out thread. Should work much better with the 'Yota calipers up front. Very excited to get these parts! And, for grins, I ordered a grenade shift knob from 67 411 here! Good times. Quote Link to comment
maltese Posted February 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 Had a little hiccup today. While climbing long grades, my Z would start to run out of fuel. I figured it might be a bad fuel pump. I stopped at my old Auto Shop teacher's shop, to see what he thought. He was a Nissan Tech back in the 70's, and still huge into Datsuns. He gave me a filter for the electric fuel pump, said to give that a shot first. I'm going to put it in tonight. While at the shop, I found a center console from a '71 240Z, and a good front fender. He also told me he had an extra urethane air dam, in storage. I'm going back later this week to pick them up. My front rotors should be back from the machine shop, by the weekend. Can't wait for the brake upgrades to go on. Quote Link to comment
maltese Posted February 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 Just got back from the test drive. The filter was definitely the culprit. Quote Link to comment
maltese Posted February 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 Got the shift knob on today. Thanks 67 411! 1 Quote Link to comment
maltese Posted February 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2013 Got another box of parts today. Datsun LLC rear disc brakes. Thanks, Rustbucket! Quote Link to comment
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