toolman

Reapairing Right Side Dashboard Ac Vent Hose- The Right AC Vent 2"Hose was broken off from the Duct Vent. So a method to reconnect that hose would have to be found. I diecided to use a 3' piece of 2" radiator to"splint' the Vent Hose to the plastic Vent Housing. Used the Hot Glue Gun to adhere the Spint to the Vent Housing. Inside View of the Splint The Finished Repair if the AC Vent Hose and Duct I had to fabricate a Micro Phillips Screwdriver to remove the Three Phillips Heas Screws to Chrome Duct Vent. This Micro Phillips Screwdriver also was used in other 'tight spaces" where normal phillips screwdrivers would not fit. Modifying the Dashboard Center Vent- The Original Center Console Vent only had a small piece of foam around the vent tube leading to the Blower Box. I decided to construct a sheet metal Tube that provide a tighter seal to Outlet Vent. Making Template for the Vent Connector Bending the sheet metal with a 5/8" deep socket to match the template shape. Finished AC Vent Connector Next-Heater Blower Fan Replacement

Part #47 consists of Painting the Z Interior and Engine Compartment. Part#48 shoes more Exterior Body Work and Paint. Also, Taking the Car to a Local Car Show to advertise for the Shop. Found on my regular postings.

Finally, Part# 46 video-shows the complete of the Front Radiator Core Support. Use of both Mig and Spot Welding is shown to fasten pieces together. Note, the use of Weld Through Primer on the connecting sides of the welded parts prevents future corrosion. This step is commonly skipped so corrosion starts immmediately, Go to Gen II & Gen IV Chevy V8 under Heavy Duty Rails Section on Page 17.

I just added Part # 45 which consists of Body working the Rear Body Panel. correctly Right Fender gaps and Fender Body Lines. The Bodyman reworked some of their previous body work to improve the body panels fit. Got to give them credit for their dedication to do a quality job. Part # 45 can be found on Gen II & Gen IV Chevy V8 under Heavy Duty Frame Rails on Page 17.

Sorry for Not Posting for a while. After my last post on Jan 30, I went my Orthopedic Surgeon to check on my Sore Left Knee. He previously did a Partial Knee Replacement on my Right Knee about 6 years ago. At that time, my Left Knee was not too bad but I had pain occasionally. After the 2022 Sema Show, my knee got real bad to the point that I could hardly walk at the end of the day. So I made an appointment to have my Left Knee checked out. No surprises, the X Rays showed Bone to Bone Contact causing the pain. So I wanted the surgery as soon as possible. But I did not expect that there would be an opening for my surgery in only 2 weeks. So on Feb 15 , I had a Total Knee Replacement Surgery which consists of installlation of a Titanium Joint inserted into my leg. I went home the same day but I knew that the Physical Therapy would be Painful and take Months too. Pic of my Left Knee Top to Bottom -Now back to posting - continuation of Air Conditioning Installation Pic of the Sanden Compressor mounted with 90 degree Outlet Fittings to clear the Hood. Top View of Compressor Installation. Vintage AC Condensor mounted in front of the Radiator Core Support. As the new AC Compressor Location changed the Drive Belt Arrangement for the Alternator so new mounts had to be constructed. The New Alternator Mount being Test Fitted. Front View of New Alternator Mount. Mount was Powder coated and Test Fitted. Front View of Mount Because of the Evaporator Hoses, the Glove Compartment Box had to shortened in Depth by 2"' So now, the Holley ECU Box was mounted in the Lower Shelve. This postion is better for view the ECU LED Trouble Lights. The Upper Shelve would be the New Glove Box although smaller. The Glove Compartment Door Hinges were slotted to provide additional adjustment. Next- More Modifications to AC Vents ,etc.

More Good News, as of today Feb 24,2023, I posted Two More Videos #43 and #44 on my Chevy V8 Gen III and IV postings. Number#43 goes into more detail on Door Alignment and Fitment. Number #44 shows how to create Body Lines and repairing Door Gaps. Developing the "Feel Metal"(feeling High or Low Spots on the sheet metal usually takes a little time to acquire but some people never acquire this skill. Bodywork is mostly learned from experience. These Bodyworkers make their work look easy but it isn't. Toolman

Good News-There is now a #42 Video Episode of The Complete S30 Body Restoration. It seemed that Japanese Body stopped working on the S30 when they painted the Under Carriage of this car. But I think a Emergency Job for the Tokyo Auto Salon Show (This show is Japan's Version of the US SEMA Show) in early 2023 was squeezed in. But anyway, there should be at least a couple more videos coming down the road. Enjoy! Toolman

Kwik Performance Compressor Mounting Kit# L10291 Kwik Performance Kit sits high above the Passenger Side Valve Cover. Sanden Air Compressor($250) Designing the Card Board Template Trial Mounting of New Mount Front View of Mountront View of the Mountt Bolt Arrangement of Alternator Mounting Bolts Comparsion between Old Corvette Water Pump and New Camaro Water Pump Vintage Condensor#03701-OVA 12' Tall x 20" High x .83Thick was utilized($100 Amazon). It was bolted to Front Core Support in Front of Radiator. . New Foam was installed around Outlet Opening of Evaporator Core Unit for sealing purposes. New NAPA Expansion Valve on Evaporator Core was used. Factory Interior Wiring Harness had to be relocated to the Right Interior Panel to create space for High and Low AC Pressure Hoses entering the Core from the Firewall. Pic of the ARA Air Con Unit installed to Factory Heater Unit with Pressure Hoses to the Firewall. A !/2" Rubber Hose was also installed to allow Core to drain water out of vehicle. A High and Low Pressure Valve installed in-line to turn off Air Compressor to prevent its damage. top view of Kwik Performance AC Brackets Next-More Air Conditioning Work

While in Tokyo, I came across these Videos which shows in great detail show a Complete Restoration of a S30 Datsun Z. The videos even show what tools,equipment, paint, primers are used. The only problem is that the initial videos are in Japanese without subtitles. However, due to popular demand, later videos came with English SubTitles. I posted telling the general subject of repair so you can skip videos that you are not interested in. Go to V8 Z forums ---To Gen II& IV Chev V8 ----to Heavy Duty Frame Rails---Go to Page 17---Go to Posting dated December 22,2022. I hope you enjoy them. Toolman

Japan S30 FairLady Restoration Video- Part 21-Repairing Engine Compartment Panels Part 22-Applying body Filler and Sanding Engine Compartment. Part 23-Repairing Core Support and Head Light Doors Part 24-Repairing Upper Engine Compartment ----------------------------------- ENGLISH SUBTITLES NEXT PART------------------------------- Part 26--Connecting Rocker Panel and Floor Pans Part 27-Repairing Right Side Rocket Panel Part 28-Rear Quarter Panel Patch Part29-Tail Light Housing Repair Part 30-Rear Panel Repair- Part 31-Changing Right Door Panel Part32-Repairing Rear Inner Wheel Housing Part33-Repairing Right Floor Pan Part 34-left Rear Floor Pan Repair Part 35-Rear Deck Repair Part 36-Body working the Rear Deck Lid Part 37-Repairing the Car Roof Part 38-More Repairing to Roof and Rear Deck Part 39-Body Filling Interior Floor Panels Part 40-Installing Seat Mounting Brackets Part 41-Rust Patching through out the car Part 42-,Seam Sealing, Priming the Chassis and Undercoating the Bottom of Car I thought there might be additional videos on replacing the doors,hood,and hatch but it seems that the shop is finished with their portion of the job. So this is the Final Video of this 240Z restortation. 2-17-2023 Good News, I was wrong about the previous video being the last one in this series. This video #43 covers more Rust Repair around the Front Windshield. So it seems that there should be maybe one or more videos on this 240z Fairlady Restoration. Video #44 Assemble and Alignment of Right Side Quarter Panel and Door. Also. the video describes in detail how to create Body Lines and repairing Door Gaps. Part #45 Body Working Rear Body Panel, Correctly Right Fender Gap and Right Body Lines #46 Repairing Front Radiator Support #47 Finish interior bodywork #48 Exterior Bo

ShawnM, I glad you enjoyed the videos. Did you notice that a lot of the metal fabrication tools (such as sheet metal bender, bead roller, English Wheel, etc) are brand new. The videos even show the boxes that they came in. The equipment was Made in USA, too. As my Father owned a Body Shop, I can tell that their workmanship is High Quality and would recommend that Body Shop to restore a 240Z. Please bear with lack of English Subtitles, later Episodes will have more English Subtitles!!! Toolman

. I just returned from Tokyo, Japan today. While there, I found this video on YouTube.com-JP It was one of the Best Video Restoration of S30 Datsun Fair Lady car . Although it is mostly in Japanese, the video shows in great detail of the restoration process. The videos comes in 39 parts so I will try to divide the videos up into sections. Then you can just go to the restoration part that you may be interested in. Part 1-Painting Stripping, Abrasive Blasting (normally 80 Grit),Epoxy Priming the Bare Sheet Metal. This process gives the Bodyman the True Condition of the Car Body. Then he can start ordering either Repro Parts or Junk yard parts. As this car is over 50 years old, finding even Junk yard parts would lucky. So, a lot of sheet metal must be fabricated by hand. *NOTE-Press "Escape Key" to exit end of video. PART 2-Test Fitting of Replacement Panels and Hand Fabricating the Parts that could not be found. Part 3- Abrasive Blasting Individual Parts and Replacing Floor Panels Part 5 Welding Front Frame Rails A Professional Induction Spot Weld was used to weld up the Front Frame Rails. A 180Amp Mig Welder could be used as a substitute. This would be a good time to think about using a good welding primer that will be welded(spot or mig) to prevent corrosion caused by welding. This treatment should be followed up with a corrosion resistant spray after finish painting the vehicle. Additionally, Drilling Rust Proofing holes and plugs will allow the spray to go where the factory box panels didn't. Part 6-Fabricating Wheel Housing Panels Part7- Replacing Front Door Skins and Lead Soldering Small Rust Damage Part 8-Repaiing Front Fenders and Rear Quarter Panels Part 9-Repairing Rear Quarter Panels-interior and exterior Part 10-Repairing Rear Back Panel Part 11-Repairing Inner Hatch Deck and Taillight Housing Area and Repairing Wheel Housing Part 12-Repairing Side rocker Panels and Tail Light Housing Area - Part 13-Replacing Side Rocker *NOTE- After watching these videos, you may think Japan Body Shops are primitive compared to American Body Shops. The real reason is that Japan has a very strict Vehicle Safety Code. It is so strict that most cars have only a 5 year life especially in urban areas( Tokyo, Osaka,etc). Scrap Yards in Japan are full of seemly good condition vehicles that can not driven on Japanese roads. Japan Body Shops have a huge supply of ":used parts". So much, they can order replacement parts such as car door in the exact factory color needed. As most cars are only 5 years old and under strict safety standards, there is no market to do corrosion repair except for those people will to pay the big dollars to restore popular cars. I could not believe this fact till I saw stacks of "perfectly good cars" with no collision damage on them in the junkyards of Japan. Part 14-REplacing Rear Quarter Panel Part 15-Repairing Rear Panel. . Part-16-Reparing Front Crossmember Part 17-240Z on Frame Machine to check Frame Alignment and pulling the Frame to put it in specifications. The Left Side (Strut Tower) is bent in about 1/2" so they pulled it with a Hydraulic 10 Ton Ram. This was only small damage to the frame but would affect Toe -in, Camber and Caster Specifications. Part 18-Repairing Front Frame Rail Inner Structure Part 19-More Frame Repair Work Part 20-Fabricating Front Crossmember Panel This Video demonstrates creating Contours on Sheetmetal with only Hand Tools. -

SEMA SHOW LAS VEGAS ,NV Nov. 1 to Nov. 4, 2023 I went to the Sema Show from Monday to Thursday. Because of Covid, I missed going to Two previous Shows. This years Sema Show was Huge in size. The Show now occupies the whole Las Vegas Convention Hall area plus all the outside area of the major Halls. Also, They built a Giant Building called the West Hall that was the Convention Hall Parking Lots. So the Hotel Shuttle Buses dropped Attendees about 400 yards from the Convention Property. I was so tired from walking around the Show and must have walked 4 miles each day. I tried to take pics of Nissan and some other JDM Cars for you guys. Please forgive me if I could not remember all the car descriptions to go with the pics. Pics from the outside of the Main Show Halls: Crowd of people watching Live Burn Outs and Optima Street Car Races, Inside the Halls Computer Guided Upholstery Sewing Machine Lowered Nissan 370Z Dodge Charger with a 392 Late Model Hemi with Twin Turbochargers Electronic Controlled Mufflers which Driver could control the Exhaust Sound. Drifting VIDEO- 1500 HP 5.9 Cummins 24 valve turbocharged motor Drifting Demos in Exhibition Area ttps://www.youtube.com/shorts/IgrRcIZNwas Custom Made 4 Rotor Mazda Race Car Driver Seat area This Mazda puts out 2000 HP and costs $500,000 to build!!!!!!!!! Skyline with Full Liberty Walk Body Kit Skyline with RB30 with Huge Turbo Traxxas had a huge Rock Climbing display where people could try driving RC Four Wheel vehicles on it. B is for the Build had a Lambo wit Twin Turboed LS motor with Carbon Fiber Body Panels. This Purple 240Z with LS9 Sugercharged Motor was one of about a dozen cars in the Optima Ulimate Street Csr Races. an Older Nissan Skyline Beautiful Leather Interiot in the Toyo Tires Booth 240Z Motor Compartment exerior of the 240Z Another Build for the Build Project Formula Race Car BMW with a one of its kind V-12 motor Mercedes V12 motor. A Wild Custom A Single UTV Built on Top of Two Big Jet Skis Closup up the Frame between the UTV and the Two Jet Skis !970 Datsun Restro BRE Race Car Another LS Swaped JDM Race car Hand crafted all Alumunim BMB with Suicide Frant Doors Artist used Marker Pen to decorate this car. Next-Back to Finishing Air Condimtioning Installation I will be heading to Tokyo so the next posting maybe after Xmas so Happy Holidays to You and Yours111111

Before I go to Air Conditioning Installation. The construction of the Rear Tow Bracket will be covered. A Rear Tow Bracket is a necessity to hold the vehicle securely when towing the car with a Flat Bed Tow Truck. The Bracket also comes in handy if you ever end up in a ditch. Started off by Constructing a Card Board Template . The Bracket will be cut out of !/4" Mild Steel Plate with a Plasma Cutter. Then Finished Shaped with a 4 1/2" Angle Grinder. The Bracket was then Powder Coated RED. It was installed on top of the Factory Rear Bumper Bracket. Rear View of the Rear Tow Bracket. Air Conditioning Installation There are many ways to install Air Conditioning in a 240Z. Since I had constructed my own engine mounts, most After Market AC Compressor Mounts interfered with my Custom Made Motor Mounts.. Dirty Dingo Mount Kit was one example of these kits. ITC Billet was another kit that would not work with my mounts. Kwik Performance #L10291 Air Compressor Mounting Kit that located the compressor in front of the Right Side Cylinder Head. Also, the Location was not too high like many After Market Kits. Because of the 240Z Low Hood Configuration, clearance would be a problem. But, using the Kwik Performance Kit would require replacement of the Water Pump and Harmonic Balancer(about $236 additional cost on top of $230 Kit cost). These parts were required to move the Serpentine Belt ! 1/2" Forward. AC Delco Water Pump # 252-976 from $156-Amazon was used. Note- 1 1/2" height differance AC Delco Harmonic Balancer #19300488 from Amazom $85 Also, Note - 1 1/2" height differance LS Harmonic Balancers require a 3 Jaw Type Puller to remove the Balancer from the Crankshaft. This is because LS Balancers do not have any Pulling Threaded Holes and also require a Spacer Rod under the Puller Screw. If you do not have one, some Part Stores have them to Rent Out. Also, A Harmonic Balancer Installation Tool Note-Spacer Rods under Puller A Harmonic Installation Tool will be necessary to install the New Harmonic Balancer on the crankshaft. Using a heavy hammer to install the balancer can damage the Rubber Inert Ring in the Balancer. i will continue this AC Installation Process later as I am leaving for the SEMA SHOW in Las Vegas this weekend. I will post pics from the show when I return.

calZ, Thanks for the Complement. Rushing to make a Deadline can be exhausting but getting complements make all the work worth-while. Toolman