WizardBlack's '77 280Z 'street' car

[WizardBlack]

Well, I've been working on it for quite a bit. Plenty of stuff to fix first (and still ongoing, of course), but I've made some progress so I figured I would post a "starting" point. It's a 1977 Datsun I bought from someone with most of the cosmetic stuff already stripped.

The paint job is bad, the rust repair wasn't the best, etc. I am going through the mechanical stuff first. It had blown shocks, loose lifters, terrible cooling system, every rubber line under the hook leaked if you touched it (literally), the wiring was so old and worn through that half the amperage was flowing straight from positive to the negative cables (or through the frame), AFM was wet and rusted stuck, rear drum cylinders were both blown and leaking brake fluid into the drums, etc. The good thing is the body wasn't hideous (so far after extensive peeking around). It has rusted floorpans in a 6" diameter hole, the frame rails have a few spots, a few spots on the doglegs, etc. but it's not falling apart at least. It had no dash (just the frame underneath) with aftermarket "cut to fit" carpet (no insulation) installed using essentially self-tapping screws.

Externally, the fenders are bad (already have one Victoria British fender and going to buy the other). Other than the carbon hood and spoiler it is as-is externally. I had seen an S30 once a long time ago and never knew what it was. I must have seen it when I was busy during my years owning a speed shop and acting as tuner. I always thought they were gorgeous. When I ran across this one, I had no intentions of buying another project car. I had just gotten married a year before and was just putting around the 'for-sale' threads to see what people had been up to.

I ran across this one and realized what it was. I pointed it out to my wife in passing and she practically approved purchase on the spot. I was a bit surprised. I've owned lots of cars in the 8 years I've known her and she rarely "approved" of a car. She didn't like the '95 DSM, '03 WRX, 03 EVO, '06 350Z TT, '87 Mustang, '08 Mustang, etc. All for one reason or another. The only one she liked was a '95 Supra TT. She loved this one from the day she saw it, so I hurriedly started absorbing info on HybridZ. After showing some images of other modded/restored S30's she thought it was one of the most beautiful cars on the road (and she can talk car mechanics/tuning and identify cars as well as the average car enthusiast) so we went to look at it and we ended up buying it.

[WizardBlack]

After re-setting lash to fix the "sewing machine" emanations from the engine, I realized the cooling system was, uh, poorly modified to say the least. The PO had slanted the top of the radiator so that it was in front of the core support and cut the stock hood so it had a Ford GT40-style vent down into the engine bay. Since that would completely interfere with the upper radiator hose, they did an Autozone-special and hacked together a "U" shaped rad hose. Needless to say it didn't work, etc. Most of the engine had stuff like that, even though the engine had been rebuilt with head studs and decent bearings, etc. the rest of the engine bay was poorly maintained.

I basically pulled everything and started over. I bought a ZXT powerplant and swiped the turbo oilpan, valvecover and manifold from it. (the rest of the engine sits for now in case I go with a built L28 instead of a VH45DE or LSX) I cut all extraneous stuff from the intake manifold, ported for a 240SX throttle (note the LACK of a spacer), coated it, etc. I built my own Megasquirt II and used BRAAP's old EDIS crank trigger brackets and GM 1-wire alternator relocation brackets. I built my own 3" aluminum pipes, bought an ebay 24"x12"x4" intercooler, Holset, etc. I used Mitsubishi Evolution injectors, which have a 560 cc/min. flow rate and a pretty fine mist (four holes in the tip). Basically here's what it has at the moment:

 

ECU: Megasquirt-II V3.0, EDIS-6 with passenger side adjustable sensor mount, Deleted Dizzy

ELECTRICAL: Completely rewired chassis and engine harnesses with new fusebox and toggle switch gear, GM 1-wire alternator, 4 gauge battery wires from rear-mounted Odyssey PC-680 battery and billet battery hold-down

FUEL: Palnet Fuel Rail, Evo 560 cc injectors, Aeromotive FPR, fuel lines patched into stock lines at the firewall, ZXT fuel pump

ENGINE: N42/N47 rebuilt by PO with ARP head studs, ZXT exhaust manifold and simplified intake manifold

EXHAUST: Self-made 3" mandrel-bent 304SS piping TIG'd with v-bands, flex section, all-stainless Borla XR-1 muffler, stainless hangars, etc. It connects to the Holset turbo through a 4" v-band which is tapered to 3".

TRANS: Late model 5-speed with ACT clutch and lighter flywheel

SUSPENSION: Tokico springs/struts, Energy Suspension master bush kit, POR-15'd suspension bits, new wheel bearings front and rear, new spindle pins, Rota RB 17"x9"/9.5" staggered wheels (-13 and -19 offset) with 255/40-17 and 275/40-17 BF Goodrich gForce Sport tires

BRAKES: Toyota 4x4 non-vented fronts and 240SX rear calipers with MM brackets, braided lines, new pads/rotors (just Autozone Gold stuff)

TURBO: Holset HE351 with cut and re-welded wastegate bracket, HKS adjustable wastegate for an SR20, ported wastegate, TiAL BOV, 3" aluminum pipes and silicon couplers, ebay 24"x12"x4" intercooler

INTERIOR: Mostly stripped with Jeg's 8-point, aluminum dash (weighs 3.8 lbs), Autometer gauge set, Kirkey aluminum seat and seat brackets, g-force 5-point harness

EXTERIOR: BRE carbon spoiler, carbon hood with 1/4 turn clips at four corners, tinted headlight covers, Xenon urethane front lip, shaved rear end, shaved front bumper

[WizardBlack]

Here are a few shots of the suspension. I plan on doing a sectioned strut, custom coilover setup after a few other stages are completed first. The new struts, springs, bushings will have to do for now. Note that I still have a few things I am doing before it's out on the road. You can see the rear wheels stacked up next to the original 195mm wide wheels.

[WizardBlack]

Here are some shots of the interior. I don't have anything but a factory butterscotch colored passenger seat, yet. Another Kirkey seat and harness is close to the top of the list, now. No one is gonna ride in the seat until it at least has a harness. The dash is shiny, yes, but in the first pic you will see the blue shift boot at the bottom edge of the pic that my wife is sewing together. It's made of Alcantara. I got a pretty good deal on 3.5 yards of it so I am also covering the dash and new aluminum door cards in it to build a little bit of color and nice texture to the inside. Note the last pic shows the fender mirrors. I really like them. They are more of a modern fender mirror with a bit better view than the round ones.

[WizardBlack]

For the megasquirt guys, here's a few images under the dash. I used a relay box. It's bolted to the firewall. The ECU is mounted to custom aluminum supports that are bolted to original mounting tabs on the trans tunnel. I figured this would give it some vibration resistance and make it easy to access. I have a second piece to fab up yet, but for the time being it is taped to the two supports. It looks messy under there but that's all the wiring in the car and I haven't gone back through and run everything together with split loom yet. You'll see from the second shot how it looks from the driver's seat. Likewise, the third shows you a shot from the left end of the dash. You'll see a socket being used to space the steering column up to give me some more room until I install an aftermarket (ie., lighter) steering column. In the first shot you will see the wideband sensor wire running down through an original hole in the trans tunnel. It's a straight shot to the wideband bung.

Likewise, I made the dash myself with an electric nibbler and a brake bender. The ends have a 1" tab on all ends for more rigidity and for the provision to mount end-plates if I so wish. There are three panels to this one-piece dash; the top (horizontal to the ground), the face (which you mount the gauges in) and a 2" plate underneath for more rigidity. The face is at about 78 degrees which seems to point the gauges straight at my head. There are a total of 6 mounting points with 4 aluminum brackets (two to the trans tunnel in the center and two at the top on each end to a pair of tabs on the firewall) and two 4mm bolts with spacers for original tabs up at the base of the windshield to the top-center of the dash. It's stiff enough that we thought about mounting a sliding laptop tray on the passenger side to the bottom 2" strip. I weighed the dash itself (not with the mounting brackets) and it came in at 3.8 pounds.

The center area has three rows. First row: wideband, boost, oil press, coolant temp. Second row: , rad fans, blank, blank. Third row: Ignition, turn signal, , marker lights. The funky shiny spots are just where I used a metal polisher wheel to take out rough spots and scratches on the aluminum.

[WizardBlack]

Here's me (Mark) and my wife (Catie). Sorry for the blurred pic; my mother-in-law was sipping too much coffee. > I wanted to give a big thanks to her for supporting me in my never-ending car modding habit and for being a good sport about the expenditures. I am also happy that she has joined in on helping pick mods and the overall design/layout of the car. She is excited to cruise around in the car a bit. I've been holding her off until I thought it was safe/reliable enough to run about with passengers.

[WizardBlack]

OK, I've been slowly tinkering with the car and whatnot. It starts and idles but I haven't done any road tuning. Most would probably think I'm procrastinating, but I've done this long enough to know to wait until I really feel like it's the right time.

Anyways, it's already turned up a few good things. For one, I got my dash covered in blue alcantara. I hope to post images here shortly. It adds a LOT to the interior of the car.

Likewise, while tinkering about and idling the car for a long time tuning in neutral, I got to check the heat soak condition of the car somewhat. It holds steady at 180* F max. I know it'll get hotter but I like to "season" everything before setting a hood on it and driving about. It's a good thing I did...

If anyone installs a palnet (or equivalent) fuel rail, be SURE to shield the fuel line running to the front of the rail. If you run the rubber line alongside the rail itself, it will literally cook the line from the radiant heat of the turbo manifold. Mine had gotten so hot that (as the rubber relaxed) it was hanging an inch from the manifold. The line was hot enough to burn my fingers if I held onto it.

Needless to say, I immediately shut it down and drove to Jeg's. I'm lucky as Summit Racing delivers next day from where I am (even if I order at 8PM at night) and Jeg's had three stores and a warehouse within an hour drive of me. The closest is 30 minutes. I bought some Fire Sleeve to cover the fuel line. I hope to get it installed in the next day or so and resume "tinkering" until I get the good feel that it's ready to thrash. I bought the big 1" stuff as I don't plan on having the N/A L28E in there forever and I'll need the stuff for dual -8AN fuel lines eventually.

[WizardBlack]

I finally got the dash covered in Upholstery Grade Alcantara. It has a bit of backing to give the Alcantara some more thickness. Alcantara by itself is pretty thin and soft; flexible like silk I suppose. The upholstery backing also gives you something to bite into with adhesive, etc. The colour is a bit off in the images, it's not as green as it shows but it's somewhat like the blue in the forum menu bars, etc. The spray can adhesive works pretty well. Just give it a good 3 coats and lay it on there. You can't really get it back off if you press it down. Be aware that the adhesive comes out like spider webs; very strandy. Likewise, be careful not to stretch the Alcantara as you apply it because it has a flexibility factor and you can end up with some wrinkles if you aren't careful. I am debating whether or not to add endplates now. I kinda prefer the visibility (with the doors open) to access the stuff behind the dash.

Everyone loves the dash. It adds a lot to the interior and goes well with the silver bezels on the Autometer gauges and even the orange of the Butterscotch door panels (soon to be replaced with aluminum and Alcantara) and the wood grain of the shift knob.

[WizardBlack]

As an update, I have been road tuning the Megasquirt/Holset setup. I find a bit of the fuel curve a bit odd. I suspect the fuel pump isn't raising pressure adequately since I continually have to jack up the VE numbers for each load row. Either that, or the new Aeromotive regulator isn't doing it's job (doubt that).

The car pulls pretty hard. I've got it partially tuned, so A/F ratios are in the high 11's to low 12's. I am at 10 psi creeping up to 14.5. I see no reason to lower the A/F ratios more than that. Likewise, I will be adjusting my wastegate actuator up so it stays at a solid 15 psi across the board. I've really no idea what amount of whp it has now, but it should pull on a 350whp EVO at 50mph+ quite nicely. My diff is welded (by previous owner) and totally shot so it SCREAMS at 45~70 mph really loudly, so it's tough to hear some things at those speeds. I took it up to 95 mph today (for the first time) and was surprised how smooth and quiet the whole car felt when it got up in that range.

When I get a chance, I need to shim my (brand new) turbo oil pump more since hot idle oil pressure really doesn't read on the Autometer oil pressure gauge. I have a -6AN line to feed the turbo which is part of the issue. I use the throttle to keep the revs up to 1100 in traffic to bring oil pressure up to 12 psi for the time being. I know the Holset is oil cooled but I am probably over-oiling it at the moment which just slows the spool down (theoretically) even though it spools well.

I am in Ohio and temps have been 70~85 degrees F when I operate the car. I have a carbon (non-vented) hood and dual electric fans with a cold thermostat and 20 psi rad cap. It stays anywhere from 170 F (on cold days at speed) up to 190 (on hot days in town). I will say that the radiator cap is the last thing I changed. I went from 13 to 20 psi and it made a notable difference.

I'll post some pics of the car actually sitting outside and on the ground (for once). I've been busy with work and my newest toy; a '94 Q45 without active suspension and with TCS. I bought it with some electronic (not electrical) issues that I have been routinely going through and fixing. Likewise, it came with a spare motor which had a tweaked rod from a stuck fuel injector (stock injectors fail routinely on these engines). It had slight interference from a crank throw to a pad on the bottom of the associated piston. It ran that way and supposedly sounded like rod knock, but I doubt any block or crank damage occurred. I have been tearing it apart with plans to build it (not rebuild) and go 20 psi on pump gas with twin 35R's. That's a couple stages away from now, however.

[WizardBlack]

I figured it was time to post an update. The car has been running pretty stable for quite a while. It is tuned out to 16 or 17 psi and typically hits 15 psi in the gears. It pulls pretty decently, but I still want more.

I have two disassembled VH45DE motors that may get pieced into one with some new bearings, balancing, custom stuff, etc. We'll see. The differential on the car is welded and howls something fierce. I fear it will lock up one of these days. I have everything I need to put a Q45 differential in (including Modern Motorsports axles and companion flanges), but I still need to either fab mounts or buy the Modern Motorsports setup. Still undecided.

The car has recently developed an odd coolant leak along the passenger side of the headgasket outward. Compression and power still seem stable. I ordered a FelPro gasket kit to fix this and determine if the cam timing has been stuffed this whole time (as a potential for low power).

I will post more updates after fixing the head gasket, re-timing and re-tuning.

[WizardBlack]

After taking the head off, I realized the valve stems seals were shot, the valves were carbon-ed up, the springs were weak, etc. I decided to buy a set of Isky springs and retainers. The catch is, the Isky retainers are only used with a reduced base circle cam (ie., a reground cam). Well, shoot.... Time for a cam. I send my cam out and had them grind it. I went with the standard turbo cam; .490/.480 lift with 290/280 duration and a 114 degree lobe separation angle. I manually resurfaced my rockers enough to remove the oil varnish by wiping them face down on a piece of wet/dry 1500 grit sandpaper that was placed on a hard, flat surface. I lubed the paper with WD40 or PB Blaster heavily and changed spots frequently. Likewise, I counted the number of swipes and repeated with all rockers the same number of times. Using the new, thicker lash pads that I also got from them (.175" thick), I attained the wipe pattern shown.

After discussing it in this thread, I decided to keep them pretty aggressive.

Note that I used Permatex Ultra Slick for the assembly lube. This stuff sticks in place very well.

[WizardBlack]

Following that, I reassembled the head and looked around for what else I could mess with while I have it apart.

I decided to do something about the detonation and head issues with the L-series to the best of my own abilities. After having the head machined flat at a local shop, Fowler Engines, it came back with a .010" shave. This bumped the compression ratio to about 8.63:1.

I went through and bumped all the sharp edges with a 3M rolloc disk to reduce heat transfer (ie., detonation prone) spots on the combustion chambers. Likewise, I went through and tapered the throats out where the head had been cut for the valve seats but not transitioned into the runner properly. It had a large ridge all the way around; as much as 1.5mm in spots right after the hardened valve seats. I have an N47 head with the exhaust liners.

To describe this area in more detail, if you imagine them installing valve seats in a new head, they machine a cutout in the raw head casting to press the seats into. Just past this, the diameter of the aluminum should be machined out to the diameter of the upstream end of the seat for a nice transition, but mine were not. It made for a nice step to disturb airflow. Just past this spot, it opens up again and starts the turn to the main portion of the runner. I made sure to carefully blend my work into both the valve seat and the short side radius. I wanted it improved, but I was careful to quit while I was ahead.

Having done this, it was time to install the cam and cam towers. I could not use a pry bar to compress the valve springs to install the rockers, so I installed the cam and cam towers with the rockers in place. As I do this, it will compress some of the valve springs, so I very carefully alternated cam tower bolts to work it down. I will say, however, that I didn't follow the order in the manuals, but rather focused on the bolts in a cam tower on either side of a lobe that will bring a valve off of it's seat. Those are the ones under tension, so I worked those down carefully and went back every so much and made sure the "slack towers" were keeping up.

With this installed, I decided it was time to focus on some coolant flow mods...

[WizardBlack]

Having read through the head cooling mod sticky thread several times, I decided to give it a go and add some coolant circuits. The gist of the situation is that the coolant flows into the head on the passenger side at the very rear (for the most part). The coolant can flow around the combustion chambers, but because of rough casting in tight spots and the fact that the passenger side is pretty open, it flows mostly on the passenger side and never flows laterally across the combustion chambers until it gets about halfway. The coolant exit is, obviously, the thermostat housing on the driver's side. This leaves cylinders 5 and 6 with relatively poor coolant crossflow.

The idea is to drill into the coolant jackets, install an AN outlet, and route them to an appropriate location to draw coolant across these two cylinders. Given that 6 is on the end and therefore cools more from ambient air, 5 is the cylinder targeted for the heaviest flow. I routed 5 to the water pump inlet for a large amount of pressure difference. The water pump will literally suck the coolant across the chamber very well. I routed 6 to the thermostat housing. This still provides some flow, but not as much as 5. Aside from the "flow balancing" to match to proposed amount of cooling deficiency, you don't want too many circuits routed to the water pump inlet or you will bypass the radiator and thermostat to a large degree.

Shown in the images is the location of the AN taps, the fittings on the thermostat housing and water pump inlet neck, routing of the lines, etc. I used push-lok hose instead of stainless braided line. For the holes in the head, there are two circle-shaped dimples cast into the head. I drilled my pilot holes about halfway between the very center of the circle and the bottom of the circle. Having peeked into the jackets, I feel these are at a good level.

Please note that these lines make it harder to bleed all the air from your cooling system. I was careful to try to keep the cooling lines as low as possible, but there's only so much you can do with these lines. I use one of these to fill and bleed my cars. They are pretty much mandatory on some cars, like Subaru's. They basically install onto the top of the radiator, form a seal and act like an extra 12" on the height of the radiator. You run the car with it installed until the thermostat opens and you see all the bubbles stop coming up. You can keep the car running with it with no problems (just keep a level of coolant in it). All air will bubble out automatically and when the thermostat opens, it will suck quite a bit out. When you are done, the included rod pokes down into the funnel and plugs the neck so you can the whole thing out with the funnel still full of coolant.

With these coolant lines, be sure to jiggle them vigorously to get air to come out, too. Likewise, I reach down and grab both coolant hoses, one in each hand. I slowly squeeze one all the way and then as I release that one, I squeeze the other one. Doing this back and forth causes the coolant to flow back and forth and dislodge air bubbles stuck anywhere in the system. Keep doing all this until you can't get anymore bubbles to come out. I do this before I ever start the car.

[WizardBlack]

Since I never really identified my ignition system very well, I took some pics of this. Keep in mind that I did not make these brackets. I bought the EDIS trigger system that BRAAP had on his yellow race car. He machined the crank trigger sensor brackets out of aluminum. They feature full adjustment for sensor to wheel gap and for about 30 degrees of timing adjustment.

I bought a new EDIS-6 trigger wheel and sent the wheel and my crank pulley to him to have it installed. He machined the second v-groove down, pressed the EDIS wheel on and then drilled and tapped for three screws right at the seam for additional support. This eliminates the possibility of the wheel spinning on the pulley. Neither the bolts nor my dual electric fans interfere with the sensor whatsoever. I installed the system, configured the Megasquirt in the pulldown for EDIS and it fired right up and I haven't looked back. I've spun it past 7k.

This system requires you to relocate the alternator. I used a GM 1-wire alternator and mounted it on the driver's side. It doesn't interfere with my Holset turbo or K&N crank breather.

I apologize, I didn't get pics of the VR sensor mount. I will try to do that later.

[WizardBlack]

OK, no pics on this one; just a summary. I got the car back together. First thing I did was break the cam in (idle high at 2krpm for 10~15 minutes). After driving it around, I realize that since I can now spin to 7k rpm, it is boost creeping really bad. I installed the wastegate actuator with the arm loose. This would set the base boost pressure as low as possible (spring pressure). I have a modified HKS SR20 adjustable wastegate actuator, so it's set for about 7 psi. By the time I hit 5k rpm, it is sweeping past 10 psi and at 6k rpm, it is on it's way to 20 psi.

I have ported the Holset HE351 fairly decently. I think the HKS wastegate actuator is designed for a shorter stroke than the holset wastegate actuator (which has a base pressure above 20 psi, IIRC, so no one uses it). Having seen quite a few T3 turbos, etc., I believe the pivot arm on the wastegate flapper is longer on the Holset; thus requiring a longer stroke on the actuator to open the flapper fully. Because of this, at full stroke, the HKS actuator doesn't open the wastegate flapper enough; thus causing boost creep. I suspect others might be dealing with the same thing to some degree.

Anyways, the car is pretty quick. It idles at 160* F now with the cooling mods and never really goes past 185. I consider it quick even though it essentially doesn't hit much boost until 5k, plus the fact that it completely misses the powerband of the intake manifold and stock head since I haven't intentionally forced it to spool beyond 7 psi, plus the fact that the EDIS sensor was 6+ degrees retarded.

I never got around to re-setting it after disassembly/reassembly until today. I haven't driven it yet because I am trying to come up with a solution for the wastegate issue. I have Cam2 in the car, but haven't pushed timing or air/fuel ratios for octane beyond pump gas. I am merely using it as a safety factor until I decide if I want to switch off of pump gas. I feel 20 psi is safe for pump gas on the L-series if it's been modified (knock resistance) and tuned properly.

I also adjusted the cold and hot start pulsewidths. To anyone using Megasquirt, beware that any basemap you borrow is very dependent upon the injector size. I am using 560 cc injectors. Since all cold start, hot start and priming values are explicit pulsewidths, they don't scale based on your primary map or by your basic fuel injector settings. My car was practically (well it was, actually) flooding itself on hot starts. I would use flood clear to get it going. Bah, too many things to adjust for the time I have. LOL.

So right now, I am going to tighten the wastegate so it'll spool to 15~20 psi and run the #*#$ out of it for a little while and enjoy it while I tinker with other minor projects on the car.

 

Next things I am considering:

#1 - Fender Flairs (my wide wheels and tires rub on the quarter panels REALLY bad with any slight bump)

Aluminum Door Panels covered in Alcantara to match the dash

Installing a Kirkey passenger seat to match the driver's seat

In-car inverter for the laptop

Adjustable suspension mods to get toe, camber, etc. under control

[WizardBlack]

Just as a quickie, I should mention that I finally got the welded diff out of the car. The PO had installed this; intended to autocross with it that way.

Anyways, it would howl like a purpose built race tranny with straight cut gears. The inside was covered with bearing/race material like someone scooped up a handful off the floor of a machine shop and tossed it in before buttoning up the cover. The replacement is just an open diff of the same ratio, but it's blessedly quiet. Many thanks to Seppi72 (a fellow HZ'er and recent addition to the group) local to me who had one sitting about. Well, actually he had three and a Nissan gasket to go with it, etc. Plus two of his own Datsuns and a ton of other stuff. Check out his details. Long, long time Datsun enthusiast.

I scrubbed the diff with a wire brush and then painted it with black engine paint. All the other suspension stuff has been lightly scrubbed for rust, etched with acid and then painted with POR15. You can literally beat two pieces together like cymbals and it won't even mar the surface. It's slick, too, so it rejects dust and dirt fairly well. They're a bit dirty in the pics and have antiseize all over them in places from installs. (that stuff gets everywhere) The diff will work until I get around to mounts for the Q45 diff and halfshaft setup I have waiting to go in. In the meantime, plenty of other stuff to work on.

[WizardBlack]

I wanted to post a quick update to my project. I have all the components to do a Q45 swap ready to go. Likewise, I have a nice low mileage (or looks that way, you know how it goes) RB25DET with Wolf V500 almost prepped. After cutting the cage out (can't drive it without helmets, otherwise) I realized that I have some rust that the PO covered with bondo before painting. The RB sits on an engine stand whilst I prep the body panels for surgery. Phase one will be both quarter panels and back end. Phase two will be some floorpan repair (or replacement) and frame rails.

Pics should be up soon of everything!

[WizardBlack]

OK, I have the car completely stripped. Everything is off. Wiring harness, steering column, panels, suspension, carpet, etc. I am planning on doing Bad Dog and Zedd parts to get the frame rails and floorpans replaced first. After this comes replacing the quarters and back panel with California takeoff quarters and an MSA back panel or something else instead. The MSA panel is not 3D curved, but rather just 2D curved; it doesn't curve from one side to the other. I may look into a metal working tool to fix that. I don't know yet.

I am still a bit unsure on the floorpans and frame rails procedure, but I have an idea. Here is what I am going to do:

 

- Jack the car up level on a wood beam on the moustache bar mount points and another sitting under the front subframe mounting points on the front frame rails.

- I will leave the seat mount points in to retain trans tunnel to rocker panel dimensions.

- I know people say to put the trans mount in as well, but mine has been cut out partly to necessitate an RB swap. The reinforcement that the trans mount bolts to fouls on the trans somewhat and the speedo sensor is entirely fouled by the reinforcement. I will instead weld a bar across the area instead.

- Take some measurements to line up the frame rail laterally and perhaps make some marks at the front and back of the car to run a string for rail centerline, etc. Take some measurements for span between rails.

- Having done that, I will cut one side out. Frame rail and floorpan both.

- Weld in the floorpan.

- Weld in the frame rail.

- Repeat with the other side.

 

I know the front has been hit and one front frame rail seems to be bent right at the front subframe mounting point. I have not decided if I want to replace those, or just leave it as is. Either way I will install reinforcing tubes and plates for the swaybar mounts.

 

For reference, as of Feb. 2014 the Zedd Findings floor pans (which come from Canada) were $260 plus $69 shipping and the Bad Dog 280Z Frame Rails were $230 for the pair including shipping.

 

As you see in the picture, there is a lot of bondo in the back end. It seems that the back panel was smashed up quite a bit and had the rear end 'shaved' by welding everything together and filling with bondo. There was at least 1/4" or more in a lot of places. The right side wheel well had sections gone from rust. They ground the rust off and then filled it in with bondo. In that area, there were two spots that had max depth of 3/4" of bondo. Fortunately I got a set of quarters (not just quarter panels) from a California car that someone was scrapping out by cutting the car in sections with a sawzall. I just need a rear panel if anyone had one as the ideal solution.

Edited February 7, 2014 by WizardBlack

[WizardBlack]

I have been collecting my body parts together for the big repair job. I want to try to do this in a faster manner than some of my last stages.

I tried the Tabco dogleg panels in basic fitment. They seem to actually fit quite well in shape and curvature. The pinch weld needs bent in a bit more and trimmed so it is parallel with the ground, but that is not too bad. I did notice from all the Tabco panels that they seem to be formed from a mask made over the original part. All their panels seem to be able to fit OVER the existing pieces rather that fit in place of them. I am not sure how badly that could trip someone up. I also got a lower rear quarter repair panel. It is terrible and doesn't fit well at all. I will probably sell that one. I don't have the time or skills to work it in. Likewise, the lower fender repair panel lays neatly over the bottom of a stock fender, but that is mostly OK.

The MSA rear lower panel (below tail light area) is only curved in the vertical plane. It does not curve out from left to center and back in from center to left. The panel could be fit in place since there is nothing that it welds to on the bottom (and the top is mostly straight). I suppose you might be able to work it with english wheel type tools, but the panel is very thick and heavy, so I am not sure that would work. I ended up buying a cutoff for that area.

The replacement floor pans are very thick in comparison. So is the Bad Dog frame rails. In some manner I need to fabricate a reinforcement hoop around the trans tunnel where the RB trans will mount, so these parts are necessary for that, if not for replacing the few rust spots. Realistically I could merely do a ~8"x8" square on each floor pan and pull the frame rails back down where they are smashed in and I would be have acceptable strength for what they are, but I want it solid.

[WizardBlack]

Another project I completed a while ago was patching out the stock hinge plates and replacing the upper core support. The upper had been substantially weakened by a silly attempt to run a tilted stock radiator. The neck interfered with the majority of the upper radiator core support so they hacked it off. I used a reinforcing plate at either inner fender and used 1" square tube for the upper core support replacement. I have sections of 1/4" hollow tubing welded to it for bolt installs of the radiator, intercooler and associated air ducting (which is mostly finished). I have had some non-HZ people say the support is too flimsy, but I intend to use rod-end braces from the core support to the front of the strut towers after the powertrain is sitting in place to avoid interference. I will also add some supports from strut towers to fire wall as well if I don't do that with a cage.

I propose that the core support will be as strong as the stock piece when this is done.

My lower is also bent a bit, but I will probably replace it with much heavier square tubing later on.

The stock hinge replacement plates are butt welded in place. That was very difficult with a 110V welder on lowest setting. I would also propose that paying $1000 for an infinitely variable power 110V welder instead of a 'good' $500 stepped power welder is probably one of the best tool investments you could make for working with most of the metal components on a car. Even on the lowest setting, the typical Lincoln model is either way too cold or instantly blasts through the metal. I now have a Hobart welder which supposedly features better control.

Edited February 14, 2014 by WizardBlack