Zetsaz

Nearly 1000 miles covered over the past few days between testing and tweaking, then driving home to see family after having nearly totally self isolated for a few weeks. I'm bold or crazy, but either way these cars were meant for driving and that's fully what I intend on doing. First fill up on a long trip. Having to be super careful since the vapor tank isn't in yet. Middle of Nowhere in Eastern Washington The ONLY hiccup along the trip. My speedhut fuel gauge calibration doesn't seem to be close enough. I also experienced first hand the wild swinging people were talking about. It's not fast, but it would go down by an 1/8th or more before settling back in! Not happy about it right now and it's making me consider going back to the stock gauge since I'm back to a stock tank and not the camaro one anymore... Home is just over the hills though, so fortunately my sister was able to come get me quickly. Whole trip went great until I was on this ramp connecting to I-15. Otherwise, car is doing great

FINALLY got the silicone couplers in the correct size. No more IAT sensor dangingling in front of my throttle with a zip tie. Next small steps -Cousin will be printing me a new cap for the distributor from a shared file I recently found. -Drop the tank to check fuel pump clearance, I think I might have the pickup too close to the bottom of the tank and it's creating flow resistance. -Bleed brakes again. I think I MIGHT have finally fixed the brake leak issue.... maybe.... need to bleed the brakes again and confirm, the lines aren't wet. I adjusted the clamp on the reservoir, but it seems like it might have been the fitting that the line goes into. If I continue to have issues I may just be replacing the brake master. -Purchase clamps for valve cover hose and pcv hose.

Thanks! You were the one that pushed me more that direction Didn't bother with an extensive alignment since I don't have a lot of correction to be made in some areas, but I did have a local shop a few blocks down from me adjust my front toe so i'd at least be close and wouldn't wear my tires so much. Some small issues creeping up as I've tried more short test drives -Replaced brake lines coming off the master cylinder, seems like I'm still getting a leak from the reservoir... -Installed the heat shield, along with the smaller shield for the PCV hose that a friend got me. -I was so sure that I ordered the correct speedometer pinion gear, but it looks like my speedo is reading 7-8 miles high on cruise! I did the math and should be just over 70 at 3k rpm, but I'm reading 78, which puts me closer to what a 3.7 pinion gear would show... but the color/teeth are accurate. I checked against a gps speedo on my phone that's showing 70-72 range at about 3k rpm. Not sure what the deal is, will have to look more into it. -Fuel gauge doesn't seem to be displaying correctly. checked resistance at the plug that's wired all the way back to the tank and it's showing about 50ohms which should put it at roughly half, but it's only ever reading full or empty depending on calibration, which makes me thinking something isn't wired right at the gauge and it's reading 0 resistance as a result. Kind of confusing since it should only depend on the plug going to the sub-harness leading to the tank, but I've been meaning to rewire it properly into the plug for the clock instead of being spliced in elsewhere so it's a good excuse to get that done. Need to route new vent hoses from the tank up to where the vapor canister will be, and new (hopefully correct ID) intake elbows should be here Friday and I'll hopefully have some of the small things worked out by this weekend. If all works out on longer cruise locally it should be good to go to make the 13 hour drive to my parents'!

In about a week actually! I just got the new correct speedo pinion gear for the 3.9 and a new cable. Two summers ago when I last drove down in my hardbody, the speedometer was inaccurate, and I got a ticket going 83 in a 65 down a hill in middle-of-nowhere eastern washington. Speedo needle turned out to be bent and started sticking past 65, never saw it go past 70. Not taking the same risks in the car and don't want to run a gps speedometer off my phone the whole drive haha.

Pictures and angles can hide a lot haha. Occasionally tempted to leave it ratty, but have a nice quiet interior with AC and audio then pursue more power, but I'm spoiled and part of the reason I like the car to begin with is the aesthetics. If all I cared about was speed i already have something better and more comfortable and for the same money could have just done a twin turbo kit or supercharger on that or called it good.

I'll try to get some video sometime! So many small adjustments to make. I lowered it just slightly. I think this may be permanent for a while. It's just baaaarely touching gravel on my way out of the carport but not on the way in (can't get the angles right) so I'm not going any lower unless I move somewhere else haha. I'm a bit upset that my silicone couplers for the intake filter that shipped weren't the correct ID... so now I'm waiting on new ones that are hopefully correct this time. In the meantime, here's another gratuitous pic of the car in all it's ratty glory (will probably adjust the hood tomorrow... it's bugging me haha)

Updated. Seems like it was trying to link to my google account when I posted it and I have to edit sharing settings. Just uploaded them instead. Notice I did a little bit of cleaning on the 5 speed before resealing it. I hate greasy cruddy car parts, so I try to at least clean most of the bigger grime and dirt that's accumulated over the years on anything I ever pull or work on. Unfortunately no new flywheel or cutch right now. I firgued the expense isn't currently warranted. Everything is fully functional and the current clutch isn't slipping so I figured I'll put that money elsewhere for now and save that money for when I commit to turbo or swap. In it's current form I don't think there's anything more I care to do to the engine. It's all quality of life stuff now.

5 speed is in. New wheels and tires on (with appropriate lug nuts that I forgot about initially..) Exhaust adjusted. Y pipe wasn't as far in as it should have been and the muffler is no longer fouling on the valence. Decided that gauges were low priority, so a new speedo cable is on the way and some other small odds and ends. Will be adjusting height slightly tomorrow then hopefully getting an alignment.

If I can get the 5 speed in and run some test drives to seattle and back by the end of the week maybe I'll have a chance to stop by and see yours! have been seriously wanting to get it good enough to drive to visit my parents. We've hit what Washingtons not-so-endearingly refer to as "Juneuary" and it's been raining a fair amount 😕 Those of you who know me well know that half the reason this poject has taken so long (aside from mental setbacks and money) is my agonizing over every major item on the car. I spent entirely too long choosing wheels. Quite frankly, expensive wheels with high quality rubber aren't in the books right now considering how far I have to go to make it pretty so I stayed with 15x8 rota RKR. They're a period correct look at a reasonable price. Knowing I want some mileage out of the tires since I want to drive this as often as possible, mostly on the street and a bit on some winding roads, means I was able to just stick with the Kumho Esta "high performance all seasons" for now. Looks like I'm waiting another day for the tires to arrive at my closest tire place though. Maybe sometime another 5 years from now the car will be in a position where I can justify spending on some refinished vintage 3 piece wheels that suit the car, but these will look great for now and won't look out of place agianst the somewhat 'rat rod' appearance I have going on.

True, but at least it makes me feel better while I work on other things haha. I drove a BRZ exactly once and it was ... disappointing for a modern sports car. Being comparable power with more torque and lighter chassis I think I'll be satisfied for now. Did a few more small things this weekend. -Fixed a short in the rear right side-marker -Swapped all the cheap spade connectors on the sidemarkers with weatherpaks -Replaced burned bulbs in the rear housing -Got tachometer working (it was turned off in my tunerstudio settings... 🤦‍♂️) -Got an improved fuel map and corrected my VE table a bit. -Cleaned/degreased the bell and tail housings on the 5 speed. Still debating replacing the bearings for security or just running as is until something goes wrong. -New wheels and tires should be here tomorrow or Tuesday

Just read the meter match description. That same function is built into the speedhut fuel gauge. Meter match looks more like it's for adapting a different sender to an oem type gauge.

Weight is definitely a downside. I don't think I'd go that deep into the interior without going the turbo route first to compensate for extra weight. Speaking of power. I've been fine tuning some things and getting feedback from people familiar with the engine and megasquirt. Just saw someone with a nearly identical setup to mine dyno their car with a comparison on the same dyno to the stock efi. About a 9% increas in whp, and 11% increase in tq. Not. Bad. Was about 158 whp and 178 ft/lb of torque. That's without an upgraded cam and stock compression. That's very similar hp to dyno charts I've seen for stock BRZ's and FRS's, but with noticeably more torque and a few hundred pouns ligher (more considering how empty my interior is and the weight I've shaved from stuff in the engine bay). I think I'll be pretty satisfied with that for now once I dial things in.

Haven't purchased it, but I'm slightly jaded as Derek is but only from reading others' experiences with kits. Literally every time I read about brake upgrades and swaps it comes with a miriad of comments from people trying to balance or something along the lines of "well to balance it, you'll need this booster with unobtainable master, but if you get this other booster from this other vehicle and use this adapter from this company to pair this other master cylinder, you can run it, but mine still seems to bite to much from the rear brake so I bought this other thing, or this other guy said his worked well by purchasing this brand of pads for the front and this other type for the rear..." Not worth the headache. When that time comes I'll probably just use the Z Car Garage kit that's designed to be balanced to the stock components from the start. I love DIY, but there are some areas where I have to concede to the expertise of others.

Impressed as always! Love that engine in my G37s, can't imagine how fun it'll be in the old Z.

Ahhhh, I was thinking of something totally different I wasn't familiar with this. Thanks for the link!

The pictures only show the best stuff haha. The front definitely looks nicer than the rear (patched holes are uneven and still just primered, and there is some masking tape over the pin holes and mounting holes for a spoiler in the hatch) old wheels with skinny worn out tires are probably detracting the most from performance and looks even with the old mismatched paint right now. Got some quotes on paint and it's a bit painful to say the least, but I want it to look great. I want to end with a car I'm happy to show off and can drive any day the weather allows. The MZR Sport is kind of my visual motivation right now. If I could somehow perfectly match that color I would. Not totally sure It would flow, but that blue color paired with their brown/tan interior would be a dream. I'm not sure there's a way to do what you're suggesting. the connector right now is what splits the controls on the steering column from the dash sub-harness. I think I found the culprit, it's a connector with two grounds going in. and on out to the dash harness. Haven't had issues with it yet now that I got them to plug in fully, but hopefully it stays that way. I've avoided installing any interior panels and trim like the column cover so things are easy to service. Still a long way to go before I can just reassemble everything and enjoy driving it.

I envy how clean your car is. I love the focus on the small details that make it as drivable and practical as it was when new! That's honestly eventually my goal. I'm a lot farther into the modded world, but still a standard L28, and hopefully once it's painted my only goals will be updating hardware and rubbers back to form and making it a car I'd be happy to use any day of the week.

The pigtails I made for the early turn signal/halo (don't mind the mismatched plugs... I ran out of 3 pin weather pack connectors and those were the last two I had with 4 pin. Repinning when more connectors are shipped will take maybe 5 minutes) Wiring under dash in progress. Still don't have an ideal location and routing for the O2 sensor. Was thinking of expanding the original speedo cable hole and running it through there since that's the only way to avoid drilling new holes. It's still just running through one of the old AC holes until I pick which AC I'm going with. Honestly, even without HVAC and the center console installed, this is a cleaner and straighter interior than I ever dreamed I'd have. Best phone pic I could get of the lights. Went for a drive and everything is going great but the bullet connector for the wire that powers the lights at the combination switch seems to keep coming loose or is making poor contact. Lights will sometimes not turn on and even touching the bullet connector will suddenly make contact. Might have to get a new connector or make use of the excess single pin weather pack connectors I have. Went for a long-ish drive and the engine is feeling great! Even with the 4 speed it's fun to drive. Highway cruising is a bit annoying but surprisingly still doable even with the 3.9 rear. Week links are starting to show themselves starting with my old roller tires that only mostly hold air. Next big money items will be: -Commit to a wheel/tire package -Order lighter flywheel and new clutch to put in the same time as the close ratio 5 speed I have going in -Pick modern AC and install at least the cabin stuff so I can stop pulling the dash repeatedly. -.... Get a quote on paint???

TONS of progress on big and small things the last few weeks. Will try to give more of a list form in no particular order than excessive details on each. Pictures to come, I haven't been taking many -Ceramic coat applied and cured -Most of the bits that had stuck to the windshield scraped off -Leash relay board fits almost perfectly where the old ignition box used to be, just needed to notch the ends to get the bolts 1mm inward -Removed and tucked away most excess wiring on the chassis harness -Wiring back in the car, mostly mounted where it will be -Rear wiring tucked into frame around wheel well where it belongs -Headlight issue power issue solved -Dapper lighting LED Sevens installed (went for chrome housing with "OE" glass to make them look close to original when turned off) -Custom pigtails for the headlights and front turn signals made (with LED halo tied to the front signals as daytime running light and redundant turn signal) -Dash, seats, and tail lights back in -Hazard switch cleaned and repaired so it's not finicky -Rear coilovers lowered by 1.5" to sit more level. Double function was getting rid of the slight positive camber in the rear (when I first installed them I measured everything to factory lengths. Kept things even left to right and allowed me make more accurate adjustments without going back and forth) And.... That's it I think. I think. I'll add some pictures to this post when I sort through some stuff on my phone.

I'm all for propulsion heads. Some people get weirdly elitist about having a big V8 for some reason. I think you can appreciate the sound of old cars and appreciate that objectively speaking electric is faster and more efficient.

It's only mostly back on the road haha. I tidied up the engine wiring just slightly to get an idea of lengths before taking things apart, but my interior was held together with lik a half dozen bolts haha. I tore out everything yesterday including the steering rack and pedal assembly to finally spray lizard skin. This stuff is messy! I had some tape lift that I didn't notice until I went to check on how the sound deadening was curing this morning and unfortunately got some splatter on the windshield and a couple other spots. I can already notice it's not fully adhered to the harder to reach spots I couldn't scuff up, so hopefully it's not too hard to clean off the glass once it's hardened, even if it'll be a bit tedious.

Oh here are a few random pictures since I haven't been posting many. The engine is actually even more tidied up than the pic shows. Bundled the sensor wires a little better. Didn't really have to cut much, just route them to the firewall then alongside the injector harness. My intake piping is slow to ship so I just had a mesh filter tied over the throttle with the intake temp sensor just hanging off the front. Today I welded the rear valence and test fit the 240z lights. Looks MUCH cleaner than with the holes since I don't have the rear bumper. Picture makes it look much neater than it is though. Will need to be properly prepped and evened out before paint.

Thanks! The debate between the two gets annoying. By any objective measure, the s130 is the better chassis. The early hard tops were even lighter than the last 280z. A 280zx turbo in a junkyard when I was a kid is actually what first led me to discovering Datsun Zs. First car I drove was a 620 when my dad taught me before getting my license. This thing will be fun, but right now the exhaust leak coupled with the serious drone from the empty and un-deadened interior is driving me crazy. Want to do more work but sometimes I'm just tempted to have someone take care of the bodywork and paint already so I can move on with more mechanical things and just enjoy driving it.

Car is now registered! Took it on a slightly longer drive yesterday and did some more tuning and tweaking. Feels good at cruise, but on acceleration I'm hearing a ticking or tapping sound. I know the valve train is a bit noisy on these, and it doesn't sound like knocking. Seems like it might be an exhaust leak at the manifold gasket or the Y pipe into the 02 sensor not seating properly. Today's job is swapping over the 240z tail lights, welding the rear valence. Already pulled the rest of the unnecessary interior, will tape things up and scuff and clean the interior for lizard skin tomorrow!

Car officially drove around the block today! Interior is still just a mess of wires, but everything is now functional. Finally swapped over the clutch slave cylinder I had on the old shell and bled the system again as well as bleeding the brakes (again). My tune is VERY rough and it seems like I have a charging issue. Likely a blown alternator/ignition fusible link, or the light in my voltmeter. Swapping over to a maxi fuse block this week and maybe bypassing the stock voltage regulator to one with a digital readout that fits almost perfectly in the old fuel warning light. It's incredibly nice to have new hardware everywhere underneath the car. Not dealing with corroded bolts when working on things and rust falling on your face. It was so easy to drop the tank down when I decided to redo the fuel pump and ditch the o-ring plate and just use the foam gasket for the extra 1/4" of clearance. Now in tank pump sits 1/4" above the hard rubber isolator that's still left on the top side of the tank and it took maybe 10 minutes of my time. Sadly, my d sub connector tool broke first time trying it. Still have a bundle of spare wires hanging out and the mount I had made for the ecu won't work since the DB37 connectors in the back are barely too wide to slot farther back.