lazlo

I'm having an ID10T error and can't edit my previous post. Did you try running it with the plug out to see if you are getting any flow out of the hole?

Now you are on to something. If your are actually getting your finger all of the way into the passage, you have a blockage somewhere and the coolant isn't circulating properly. Like I said, mine had a rust plug under the bolt and I had to scale it out with a pick.

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There are as many different ways to tackle wiring problems as there are people who do it. Being a noob to electrical and wiring, I would invest $50 in a couple of auto wiring manuals and read them before you start. Next I would invest in some good tools. I used to do a lot of industrial controls wiring and I can say without a doubt that the quality of tools is directly related to the quality of the work. The worst outcome would be to spend the time and money to do the job, and then get a fire because you had a bad connection or wired something wrong. A good electrical tool kit includes a decent multi meter. Once you understand the principles, you can do a lot with one. It is way easier to to have a good record of what you did and perform a 10 second test at a termination than to go back and start tracing wires one by one. There are some decent kits out there, and there are different opinions to whether or not they are a good value. There is nothing EZ or Painless about them if you don't have the fundamentals figured out.

Considering you already have the tools and experience and a plan to do a ground up, I'll go out on a limb and say that a lot of the questions will answer themselves once you are going. I have seen several examples of people cutting out the front frame and starting with fresh steel, and the trans tunnel looks like it will probably be sheet metal work for the most part.

You have some pretty serious repairs ahead of you if you are going to make the car safe. My guess is that you probably have some other rust hiding that you can't see right now. You are going to need to pull the lower interior to get at the floor pans, you should remove the doors first to get them out of the way, and then you are going to need to drop the front assembly to do the work on that section....which means that the motor and tranny have to come out. Make sure and get good measurements on everything because the bolt holes are going to have to line up when you put it all back together. Others will have differing opinions, but I think that you want to treat this as a single project and not split it into pieces. The work will be cleaner and easier if you have everything out of the way. I would also tack in some temporary braces in addition to getting good measurements, as things will start to move as you cut out the rust. At the end of the day, it is just steel. Try searching youtube for some videos of how others have repaired similar issues. The general principles are the same and you can get some good tips, even if the subject isn't specific to Z's. The key difference between a Z and a lot of the muscle cars that people restore is that the Z is a unibody design, and you need to keep this in mind. With an old hunk of detroit steel, you can typically just separate the body from the frame, here they are integral to one another. Take your time, make a plan, and don't get discouraged.

White foam, also called milkshake, in your coolant is a sign of a blown head gasket. Any white smoke coming out of the exhaust? That would be coolant being burned in the combustion chamber. After you get that sorted out, and hopefully confirm that your headgasket is intact, then you can return to the original question of why it is running hot. A compression tester could come in handy here. Blockage somewhere in the system not letting the coolant circulate? Have you tried flushing it per the FSM? There is a plug on the drivers side of the block. I had a motor that had a nasty rust and crud booger behind the plug that I had to excavate. Everything was good after getting that cleaned up and properly flushed. However, I did have to go back a couple of thousand miles later and re-flush as all kinds of other schtuff got picked up in the coolant after I got it all flowing again. Water pump OK? Where is the timing? Someone may jump in and call me an idiot, but I don't think it is your coil or plugs. Why did you hollow out your T-Stat?

That's funny. I suppose it is better that he is selling it off rather than tearing it apart and losing interest just about the time that half of the parts were misplaced or damaged in removal.

The front bumper is interesting... As a GENERAL rule, there is twice as much rust that you can't see. You are looking at thousands of dollars and probably months of time to send this to a shop and say "fix the rust". Buy yourself a welder and get to learnin Do yourself a favor and don't even think about a flux core welder. Go straight for a gas set up. Regarding the bedliner, there is no magic answer that I know of other than a lot of elbow grease. If you are lucky, the PO didn't prep the surface well and you can make some good progress with a scraper. If you dig around, you will find a good amount of discussion on the various ways people have used for this type of thing: Heat, cold, abrasive blasting, needle scaler, chemicals, etc. Enjoy your Z, they are addicting.

Start here: http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/101809-chassis-reinforcement/ http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/91330-240z-chassis-prep-reinforcements/ I spent days researching this for my build and what I gathered was that there are a few solutions that re non-controversial and about 50 more that there is no consensus on. The JTR V8 conversion manual would be a good resource as well.

I got her up on the rotisserie on Sunday and will be moving the conversation over to a build thread very soon. Thanks for all of the input.

What was so bad about a rear disc brake conversion using Nissan components? I feel like I have read about 40 threads on brake conversions and the only downside was the effort, not the performance. I would really appreciate any specific feedback. I can get the Maxima brackets to go with the ZX calipers and rotors that I already have for $56.40 each. It seemed like a bargain to me, even when I add in another $100 for a new MC. I'll need a new MC no matter what I do other than keeping them stock. The money spent on switching to disc in the rear seems well worth it on the servicability factor alone when I consider refurbing the drums. Conversely, Other than the bling factor and being able to throw myself into the front windshield when I stomp on them, what is the compelling reason to go with an AZC conversion.The rear calipers, rotors, brackets, lines, and then parking brake calipers will be almost $1100. Add another $850 for the front end. I have a healty budget for this project, but am trying to balance performance and money. I can swallow $1600 on a coilover setup, but dumping another $2000 into brakes is a little tougher. My budget looks something like this, and I am doing everything myself, including paint and body, except for machine shop services: I budget fat and add a contingency because I have learned over the years that it is the only way to avoid cutting corners that I will regret later....which is the theme of this whole thread. Paint and Body: $1000 in materials Suspension: $2000 Engine & tranny rebuild: $1500 Interior: $1000 Odds and Ends (air dam, electrical, mild brake mods, exhaust, etc): $1500 Wheels and Tires: $1200 That gets me to $8200 Add another $1300 for contingencies and I am at $9500 for this build. (still considering reverting back to the round top SU's I have sitting in a box and a few other items) I am confident that this is a reasonable budget to get me a clean, reliable, and fun sports car that I will be proud to own and maybe even pass on to the kids someday. Adding $2000 for a high end racing brake conversion is a +20% adder that I can't see the value in.

Recap of what I have gathered so far in the way of advice Yes- Do a coilover conversion now Brake and fuel lines Rust Wiring Sealing I am already planning on doing the entire underbody in white with no undercoating, except for the wheel wells Bushings, bearings, sway bars, end links, tie rod ends, and any other wear items Maybe- Fuel cell...I pulled my tank out and looked at it again, it actually is in very good shape on the inside (still shiny ) No real need or benefit for a street car and you lose the spare tire well but I really like the idea of having a modern, easily servicable, and almost infinitely configurable fuel system. Brakes... The AZC brake kits are a work of art but are they really worth $1700 in performance for front and rears when I can do the Toyota Calipers up front and the ZX calipers and rotors I already have for the rear? I just need the maxima brackets at this point. I get it that this wouldn't necessarily be a performance upgrade but is much better for serviceability. And AZC is an easy upgrade later without affecting the body work/mods I will be doing now. ZG flares...lots of functionality and opens up the possibilities for many more tire and wheel combos, but I am just not a fan of the ZG look and would like to keep it more of a sleeper. No- Roll cage, this car will 99.9% likely never be raced and I want to use the stock seat frames with new foams and vinyls I have the overall build pretty well figured out, this will be a street driven car, no radical body mods, L28 for now but I want the option of doing something different in the future if the urge hits me. So for the purpose of the work while it is on the rotisserie, it will go something like this: Clean all to bare metal and kill any hint of rust. Moderate seam welding, shave marker lights and lower rear valance for early 240 style bumpers, shave vents, stiffen firewall in front of pedal box, frame rails, camber plates, new brake and fuel lines, notch crossmembers for possible future dual exhaust (is this a waste of time if I choose not to do a fuel cell?) Am I missing anything that would be required chassis mods IF I were to to an SBC or VQ swap later. I am not concerned with bolt-ons for now. It'll be several months at best before I have her ready for paint and start re-assembling. Thanks all!

Thanks Folks! It's not surprising that I got different opinions, that is what I was looking for and expected. The responses kick in a few questions: Why install a roll cage for street driving? I am 6'4'' and guard my head clearance pretty jealously. Is the recommendation because you consider it mandatory for chassis strengthening in high HP applications? Bill, Thanks for the thoughts on a spare tire. I already keep a full size spare + a can of fix-a-flat + a plug kit in my other cars. You definitely need belt and suspenders out here. I was leaning towards storing my spare on the deck with some custom straps if I do go fuel cell. Wiring and fuel delivery are two things I don't mess around with considering the backroads here. I had an electrical gremlin stop me dead in a canyon a couple of years ago in my 82. I am just paranoid enough to travel around with a high end meter and electrical repair kit. It came in handy getting me going again. Had a fuel hose start leaking on me 75 miles from home as well. Long story short: I've learned my lesson the hard way on electrical and fuel delivery. I am a fan of AZC and was already planning on getting Dave's mustache bar. I got my intake manifold from him a few years ago. I was in Mesa and gave him a ring, he invited me over to pick up the parts and showed me around his garage. I had a question when doing the install and he was super helpful. I'll definitely be buying from him again. Any recommendations on Fiberglass? A good many of the threads on here are many years old now. I was thinking about getting a hood from Unlimited. Good insight on the fenders, I just really wish I could get some metal ones to weld in without fabbing my own on a wheel (but I do have access to one ). I could learn to live with some ZG's but metal would be so much better. Seems like I saw some available out of Japan but I gagged on the price when you throw in shipping. Thanks on the heads up about crossmenber notching. That's a good one to consider now.

I acquired an early 260 and have her just about to go on a rotisserie. Hopefully this weekend. I have my goals pretty well mapped out for the car, but I also know myself well enough to know that no project is ever truly complete. What I am looking for is advice from members who have been down this road before. It will be street driven, not a daily driver but not a trailer queen either. I live in Montana where the fun roads have posted speed limits that are often in excess of what most cars can safely handle. I used my 82 2+2 as a donor and will be using the F54-P79, 4 BBL, close ratio 5 speed, and R200 3.90. That being said, I want to build in the option for other combos while I have her completely torn down. I have very good fab skills and all of the goodies in the garage to do what I need. What I would like to know is what should I do now to prepare for future options? Some things are a given for this project, such as frame rails, brake upgrades, all new wiring, 100% rust repair (thankfully very little of this to do), moderate seam welding, all new bushings and sway bars, etc. The big questions right now are whether or not to do coilovers with camber plates (probably overkill for a street driven L28) and whether or not to remove the spare tire well and convert to a fuel cell (definitely overkill)? In addition to these two big modifications, what would you do, or more importantly, NOT DO while she is completely torn down in anticipation of possible, maybe even probable, future powertrain swaps?