nolant178

So over the past few days I've taken the mustache bar out. I've decided that while I have any parts out of the car, I'm gonna clean them up, hit them with a wire brush, and get some fresh paint on them. I'm hoping this will clean up the look of the car as I go! The uninstall wasn't bad, the only problem (aside from 44 yr old seized hardware) was that the previous owner routed the exhaust directly over some bolts I needed to remove. As a result I had to detach part of the exhaust, just enough to move it to the side to make room for my impact wrench. In detaching the exhaust, I snapped the end of an exhaust hanger, so that will have to be replaced before I cinch it all back up. The underside of this car is so dirty... it's just caked in dried mud! The paint is already in pretty poor shape... I'm wondering if I might just run it through an automatic wash with an undercarriage cleaner just to get it a bit nicer under there... My PU bushing set should come in today! The reinstall should be much easier, as I wont be fighting 44 years of rust and Iowa mud. After I get these bushings in, the next step will be to use the rest of the set!

Yeah, the LED bulbs is a great call. I'm looking forward to getting this working, I may spring for gauges at some point, but I have some more pressing places to spend money on the car right now Thanks for all the input, I really really appreciate it.

Thanks. I'm definitely gonna pick up the JTR book, it sounds like it'll be extremely helpful.

I found the issue last night! I no longer have bushings on my mustache bar! I've ordered a PU Master Bushing set, and 6 U Joints. I'm gonna go ahead and do all the bushings and U joints in the car soon so I'm done with that...

The issue is not related to lug nuts. The sound is definitely coming from the rear. At this point I'm guessing maybe a broken U Joint or something with my half shafts... I wanted to take a break from troubleshooting that tonight, so I picked up some aluminum polish and a Mothers Powerball and polished my slot mags. I'm blown away with what 5 mins can do. I'm 100% gonna buy the cone version to get into the tighter spots to finish this job!

Quick update: I found a video that demonstrates my sound. I found that I had one lug on the passenger rear that was slightly looser than the FSM 65lbs of torque, but I doubt that was really it. I guess i'll go for a spin to find out. Heres the video:

Alrighty. So I got the car running for a little on Friday after I got home from work! My mistake was... I ran it too low and sucked up junk from the bottom of the fuel tank. Saturday I spend the day troubleshooting my fuel delivery issue, and got my new tires (cheapo tires). I replaced the in-line filter on sunday and got it running, and nice and clean. It looks like my electronic choke assembly has a vacuum leak. The kickdown cable is frayed and currently disconnected from my Henderson Quadrajet Carb. I may look into a rebuild or new carb at some point. I did get her cleaned up and running pretty well, so I went for some cruises. I did hit a large bump though... and UH OH! I think I popped a mount somewhere. When i'm on the gas, everything is fine, but when I take my foot off and coast at speeds greater than about 10-15mph, I hear this rhythmic THUD and feel it in the floorboard. I'm thinking I busted a trans or diff mount. I'm gonna lift the car up when I get home from work to see what I've done. It was nice driving it around for a few hours. I had a guy jokingly want to buy it, and lots of looks and questions throughout the day. Too bad I broke a mount, however I'm glad it happened during a leisurely cruise and not during a drive to/from work! Wish me luck in the diagnosis! While i'm under the car looking at the mounts, I'm assuming my suspension bushings are all gonna be shot - I plan on doing PU bushings soon - I've heard that PU TC rod bushings tend to cause failure, has anyone else heard this? I may get some OEM rubber bushings for that application unless someone else has a different suggestion?

Whew! All my parts for the bearings and brakes came in. I went with OEM parts for this job. My buddy and I worked on this for a while last night, and finally got the job done! After cleaning up the garage and putting the car back on the ground I was finally sitting in the driver seat, ready to take my first ride since I've owned it. I turn the key and hear *Crank...Crank...tickticktickticktick". Turns out I drained the battery while testing the lights and electronics earlier. I looked around for a bit, but I couldn't find my jumper cables. I'll be buying a few sets of cables for my various cars, and probably a portable jumper on my way home from work today... I'll get to drive her soon!

Miles, you're absolutely right, I know I'm missing info! This is my first project, so I'm a tad bit overwhelmed. I'm hoping to find a way to make the stock gauges work, but the Speedhut gauges seem like a great alternative. Thanks!

These look awesome. Thanks for the suggestion! If I'm not able to figure out the stock gauges I'll go for these!

I dug around a bit more, and found that Autometer gauges will work for me. Seems that others have found success in using the JTR Datsun V8 Swap Manual with the OEM Gauges. I'll be looking to see if I can find a copy at a library or something, if not I may purchase the book!

Hello all! I just purchased a '74 260z with what I believe to be a GM 350 powering it. I say I believe it to be that motor because the previous owner had said separately that it was a 327, then a 350. Upon inspecting the motor, I found the cast code: GM 3970010. My research tells me that its either from a '69 z28 Camaro, or any Chevy V8 from the 70's, most likely a truck motor. I'll be doing more research, but if anyone happens to know more, let me know! I picked her up from a gentleman in Iowa for $8k. The body has a little bit of rust here an there, but nothing terrifying that I've found yet. The motor runs like a monster, which is great! The gauges are mostly not working, which is my 2nd project, after I replace the brakes. The car currently has a "pantera" style hatch, and came with the OEM hatch as well. I will probably swap to the OEM, however the pantera is growing on me.... I plan on adding an air dam, fender flares (I know, you either love them or hate them...), and a ducktail spoiler. I haven't decided if I'm doing coils yet, however it's very likely. For wheels, i'm leaning heavy towards Watanabe replicas, but that's a way's off still. To Do List Brakes - Completely Replace front: Waiting on Parts Gauges - Almost all are wrong/not working Paint Correction - rust removal and paint run repair Suspension Bushings - Probably PU, except for TC rods Interior - Dashboard replacement & cable management (likely at same time as gauge repair) Tires - Existing tires are very old, tread is great but there are some cracks forming, replacing with mediocre tires since they will be replaced w/ new wheels Suspension - Probably Coils, will need to do research Body Accents/Aero: Air Dam, Fender Flares, and Ducktail. All painted black. Wheels: Probably Rota RKR or other Watanabe reps, not until flares/suspension are sorted out, need wider tires to match. Color: The paint job the previous owner gave it is of decent quality, however I'm not a fan of the pull-me-over red. Will switch to color code 302: Leave Green Metallic. Engine: Bigger/better carb, long pipes, and replace wimpy exhaust.

Hello all! I just purchased a 260z with a 350 motor. The car currently has aftermarket tach and coolant temp gauges. The fuel gauge works, and the speedo is about 20mph fast (due to the th350 trans). I'm trying to get the rest of the gauges working, but don't have any clue where to start. I've searched around a bit, but my usual google-fu is coming up empty! I'd really like to get the factory gauges working, but would be OK with replacing the gauges, given they fit in the dash. Is there a way for me to accomplish this? If anyone knows of any guides or resources to help me tackle this, I'd be beyond appreciative! Thanks in advance! I'm not sure if any additional info is needed here, so please let me know and I'll get any information I can!

I AM NO LONGER SEARCHING, THE CAR HAS BEEN PURCHASED! Hello! I'm looking for an s30 within a weekend's trip of Chicago. I'm looking for a car that is either drive-able or only needs a few things to be drive-able. Highly prefer manual, but automatics will be considered Open to various levels of modification and project status, given its drive-able or near drive-able condition. 100% willing to come see the car and take it home with me if it's right. Please reply here, or PM me for more details or with any offers! Thanks, Trent