seattlejester

The die grinder I was referring to was the electric 10-15$ angle grinder from harbor freight. I use mostly electric, it is nice for the portability not having to have a hose follow you everywhere, and my current situation doesn't allow me to park a big compressor anyways so my options are limited. When I was doing a lot of cutting I bought my electric angle die grinders with warranty from harbor freight ~$20, I could use them up in about a month or two and they would keep giving me new ones as the old ones burned up. The newer design makes it harder to swap out the carbon brushes, but they seem to last a lot longer. For air, unless you can afford to purchase and run a big compressor (they are pretty darn loud when they kick on) I'm not sure I would recommend them. I've run a couple small ones in series as I have seen others do to keep the CFM's up, but the energy bill kind of killed any benefit of using the compressor. The benefit is the tools are cheaper and you don't replace them since the motor don't burn out (they don't have one), but the noise and the initial cost of the compressor can be a turn off. On the other hand there are quite a few tools that don't have electric counter parts (pneumatic hole puncher, pneumatic flangers etc etc), the tools are physically smaller so fit better into tight spaces, and once your setup you are pretty much set. For me, I don't have space anymore so I don't tend to spend long hours working on my car, maybe an afternoon there or maybe even an hour or two when I can squeeze it in, that means having to wait to build up air pressure is not really beneficial to me.

Welcome sir, yes make sure to post pictures! Seems fine, I haven't played with that specific unit, but it has a gas attachment, adjustable speed and amperage. Not much more you can ask for a cheap welder. Three year warranty is pretty fantastic to boot. Double harbor freight engine stands is a go to for a rotisserie. Easy and cheap. With a welder you can really build your own. Regarding tools...depends on if you want to stay electric or air powered. 2-3 diegrinder. I would say ideally 4 or 5. I keep a cut off wheel on one, a grinder on the other, a wire brush on the third and the others for backup. Sawzall Drill or even better a drill press Electric metal shears Bending brake Holesaw Step drill Tape measure Permanent markers Masking tape Metal shears Hammer Drifts Punches That is what sits in my demo/fab tool box As others will say with all those tools you should also grab all the right safety equipment, respirator, heavy duty gloves, face shield, welding masks.

Ugh, I hope not. Even with the clutch in and in gear I can rev it and the car won't move though. Which makes me think the clutch is disengaged (or I guess I might be glazing up the clutch). I read something about similar symptoms when the input shaft bearing is catching? I think a trans drop might be in my future

We definitely should! I think OmakZ is around your area, though I haven't seen him on in a while. It seems like more and more of us are getting on the road. I still have a bit of an overhaul left to do, but a Z meet and cruise sounds like massive fun. So on a car related note. I actually broke the Z a few days ago. I took it for a drive to get a log, but while parking the transmission stopped wanting to shift. Pumping it would barely help and I ended up parking it where it lied and climbed out through the passenger side. I found that the shifting problem was related a lot to poor clutch engagement point. It was really close to the floor, bringing it up an inch or two and reverse flushing the clutch master seems to have helped a great deal. In retrospect it was a no brainer as I barely had to let off the clutch before the car would start rolling. However a new problem seems to have arisen. When I shift the car into gear with the clutch engaged, the car stalls. In neutral it is fine, but the moment it goes into gear even with the freshly bled clutch the car wants to die. If I give it a bit of gas it will stay running, but heel toeing to shift at a stop seems really silly. Quick solution seems to be to up the idle RPM to compensate, but the underlying problem is still there. Somehow the transmission is engaging, even though the clutch is engaged and causes the engine to stall only when in gear. In neutral once again it seems happy to idle with the clutch engaged or not.

Why would anyone weld a VLSD? That seems insane! Yes the J30 uses a longer input shaft on one side, I think all VLSD's need at least one longer input shaft. From what I remember, the VLSD center only takes in one c clip from the shorter side. I really don't think you should assume though. Opening it up would tell you right away.

So decided to really spend a bit of time with the car. I used the Sawall to cut the spindle pin from the 280z strut uprights as I wasn't confident with them pressing out. Ground the nut down with a die grinder and put the stub axle in a spare wheel upside down and impacted the nut off. Needed a little more height to pop the stub axle out of the rear end. I had trouble with the first one, did not pop out nicely so I had to spend a bit of time with an aluminum pipe to hammer it out, second one popped out nicely as did the other two from my 240z struts. Bought a 2 inch pipe cutter to cut the strut down to size. Will have to wait to decide which coilover system I go with. Leaning towards prepping for the bc coilovers I really like their system so we'll have to see. Was supposed to pick up the 300zx differential, but unfortunately the guy had to cancel last minute. So hopefully I can grab that soon to try out my LSD install. Spent the last night and today helping out boog, managed to get a rough tune and get the car up and running. The contrast between the two cars were quite interesting, both turbo, both lowered, similar air damn, similar mirrors, similar wheels, similar yet different in every way.

Sure thing, I can swing by. If you could just make sure you are updated (firmware etc) and have an internet connection that would be great.

Just verify each setting regarding timing events and make use of the test panel. Are you getting RPM readings during cranking? Haven't mentioned which megasquirt you are running. I think MS2 can run both styles of injectors so you don't even need resistors if you have the right settings. Feel free to hit me up if you need someone to take a look. I've been playing with mine a fair bit recently. Edit: Also do you have the DIY wheel for the dizzy? I always get confused, but I imagine you are running the optical dizzy and if I remember the optical dizzy needs a different wheel from DIY to communicate nicely with megasquirt.

Looking good sir, regarding the rear, was it just because something was in the way? Or your nozzle was too big to fit between the hub and the strut housing?

Excellent, I think Russian River was mentioned in our talks, I'll have to throw in some of your suggestions! Thanks.

Howdy, A few friends and I are planning on road tripping down from Seattle to San Francisco via highway 101 in late August and were hoping to gain from other individuals experiences. The main thing we don't really know is how frequent/available rooms are on the way down and places to stay in/near san francisco. We have a loose itinerary, but as we are all driving older/modified cars we are imagining some break downs/delays along the way and that is kind of pushing us away from pre-scheduling stay. Anyone know or local to the coast that knows the sleeping situation? We have decided to take tents and sleeping bags in case we are between hotels/motels/inns etc. If possible we are trying to keep it under some ludicrous amount (some airbnb places were asking more then hotels!), the location would have to be able to accommodate 4 cars. If anyone has a backyard or spare room we could also pay, assist with car stuff, buy dinner, etc if you were so inclined to offer 4 strangers shelter for the night. If anyone has recommendations on places to stop that would be swell, currently we have picked out a couple coastal towns with nice roads, the redwood forest, and I believe thunder hill to visit.

What I've found and plan on ordering, unless the Timken ones give better peace of mind or some such. Precision is the manufacturer Part number I have found: RW116, RW117, 224720 First two being the part numbers and the last being the seal. Total 95 with free shipping through prime. Estimated delivery is unfortunately 2-4 weeks. Hopefully that is not the actual case. Will look for a source for the zx lock nut part number: 43262-S130 I think I'll just call my local nissan dealer and see if they have the nuts, and how much they charge for the wheel bearings. Thanks for the info guys

Thanks guys, I was just unsure if there was anything particularly special about the MSA ones, but I'll just search on here for the part number. I found the ones from my local O'reiley, I'll try amazon I always forget I have prime.

Howdy folks. Managed to find some 280z stub axles so I plan on cleaning them up and putting them on my spare suspension set to put in the car at a later date. Question is the supplier for the wheel bearings. MSA has the 2 inner and outer wheel bearings for 200$. I don't mind paying to get the right part, but if it is going to be the same stuff I can get from my autoparts store ~100$ I would rather take the savings and go. I've been burned by MSA and Summit before going with the "right part" and finding out it is exactly the same as the budget version. Just trying to find out what people have used to find their bearings.

Glad you got it sorted. I went through a similar panic when I cleaned up a diff, I thought I seized it real bad. I had cleaned it out with brake clean and such prior to working on it so a couple squirts of oil and working it back and forth and it spun great. Make sure to prime the oil pump and such before running the motor, and with all the penetrant (I imagine WD40) and all you put in there, make sure to do an oil change soon.

I hear ya, I have 5 point crow harnesses in my Z with a set of 4 point schroth harnesses waiting to go in, I feel like it will eventually end up at 3 point with the way it is going. Sometimes I just do the lap belt until I get read to leave or enter traffic, just too much head turning and stretching to reach key pads etc makes being buckled a difficulty. I want to say I track my car all the time, but really I just put around town. Driving the car puts a smile on my face, and buckling in kind of makes it more special then just getting in a normal car. It sounds like you have decent fab skills, why not make mounts and install the roll bar so you can run the 4 point, and have a regular 3 point with a reel when you go around town? I have that on my daily, the harnesses unclip and I store them under the carpet in the rear and when I want to use them I clip them all back in and voila. depending on what style you have you might be able to run the reel on the schroth harnesses, I kind of doubt there is enough room, but a 4 point reeled harness does exist. https://www.schrothracing.com/tuning/autocontrol/autocontrol-II Found it, maybe it is just a 3 point/faux 4 point.

Seats: Fixed buckets are fine, but if you need to or want to recline they obviously won't do that. Lack of lumbar in most makes longer drives a bit tiring as well. Depends on how often/long drive for. I like them more for racing, even stockish reclining seats have a bit of flex and can kind of throw you off if you are going back and forth. Harnesses: I really like harnesses, they really hold you well when adjusted right. Regarding watching for blind spots, in the Z I got a wider rear view mirror so I rarely turn my head to check my blind spot as I can see everything from that mirror, and given that I drive with the windows down I can usually hear a car right next to me, or see them in the fender mirror. In my daily I kept the stock seat belts as harnesses and regular mirrors make it really difficult to check when you are properly strapped in. My problem with the modern seatbelt is that in an accident it is designed to work with a airbag, but the lack of it means that while you are still retained you can get some nasty whiplash and such, the schroth harness would keep you strapped to your seat unless it was a massive accident where the ASM portion would come into play. I suppose at that point it would be the same situation as having a regular belt. Bottom line, I like harnesses in the Z, they don't bother me much. In a daily I think it is a bit cumbersome.

http://www.datsunzgarage.com/dyno/ I bought them, but never installed them. Based off of reading/research it kind of brings your AFR down or up to 12 across more of the rev range. Idle up from 10 to 12 means less of a dog at tip in, at peak power down from 13.5 to 12 means a little less pull up top. Overall a bit safer and a bit more pep off the line. I'm not sure they are necessarily an upgrade per say. I think it was 40$, if you plan on sticking with the SU carbs then a good rebuild kit and such might go further given the effort it takes to install the SM's.

If you pour it into the valve train it will make its way to the mains, the oil pump will distribute it through the block if you can get it to circulate. If worse comes to worse and it doesn't do anything, you can just collect the oil in a clean pan and plan on reusing it if it comes out clean. I mean short of a valve dropping into the cylinder I can't really think of how the engine would get stuck cylinder wise with the spark plugs out.

Oil does go a long way, especially if you don't have anything in the motor like assembly grease, if it is really that dry and you have been cranking it then you have probably run the oil pump dry as well. Before you jump ship try adding some oil and see if it will move. Then it is as NewZed says, you have to go backwards until you can get the engine to move again assuming it isn't something that broke or seized which would mean until you took everything apart you wouldn't find it.

Without reading through all the posts yet, I want to say. Timing chain tensioner? If you did the FMS, did you remember to keep the timing chain taught and all that? Also to do the FMS you would have had to break the crank pulley loose, how did you break it loose and tension it? Possible that you may have skipped a few teeth or something. Edit: No oil in the tranny or engine? I hope you didn't score anything by turning it by hand, but I would add some. A little lubrication goes a long way and if you are bone dry then that alone could cause difficulties. Something that is highly unlikely, but can you get a bit of movement with turning the engine every so slightly backwards? If you get traction in that direction then it is possible something dropped into the cylinder and is actually physically preventing you from turning the motor. This is a really unlikely scenario though, but something to look into.

Yellow headlights at night is pretty poor. Looks cool, but the lighting is terrible. If you don't do a lot of night driving it does make the car stand out a bit. Are LED bulbs up to par now? I have some foglight that have an LED bulb in them, and their light output is mediocre at best.

Listen to the people man. If you are on your 4th motor, in a year, yea maybe they weren't the best, but something is wrong. There is nothing wrong with a junkyard motor assuming that it was not the motor that landed it in the junkyard. Run some basic tests like compression and check for bearing material in the oil pan before you throw the motor in, but don't throw money at it until everything else is set. Megasquirt can control boost, like it has been said in your past posts, it is powerful, make use of it. Stop trying to hit certain boost numbers, the tuner which it seems you are in need of will find the sweet spot for you. Take a step back, NewZed's analogy is spot on. Find the target and aim for it, don't just start spraying and praying especially with expensive parts.

Yea, you aren't going to be able to do a lot of this in a condo, unless they are real lenient. As for your goals: 240z make terrible drift cars, they have relatively slow steering, small amounts of angle, lack of power steering, the steering wheel is real big and thin and the seats don't have great bolster or retention, the parking brake tends to not work on these cars given their age, and rear drums stock make it not the greatest. Drag racing and drifting with clutch kicking etc is also going to put a lot of strain and shock on the rear driveline which the 240z has the weakest from the Z family. Not to say people don't drift or drag race them, as a starting base they aren't too great, they do have massive engine bays and they are light, but as a base not the best choice. As long as you keep that in mind and plan on addressing those faults.... You have accounted for.... Engine Trans Adapter plate Mounts Wiring Harness Coilover Strut Braces Brakes Exhaust (250-400 locally) Differential (200 or so for an r200 differential, 500-1600 for an LSD) Drive shaft (300 or so locally) You have not mentioned... Fuel pump (a carb pump will not feed an EFI system very well at all) Fuel lines (stock will be woefully inadequate) Fuel tank (if it isn't already consumed with rust, it will be inadequate baffling for drifting, lots of fuel starvation) In lieu of a full on fuel cell you could run a swirl pot, which would mean even more fuel lines and another fuel pump etc. Blow off valve Intercooler piping Silicone couplers Clamps Intercooler New radiator New radiator lines Radiator fan Radiator shroud Fan controller Axles/halfshafts Fittings for fuel lines Clutch Pressure plate Flywheel Gauges, you can spend over 1k here easy. And if you can't do this at home, this is going to cost a lot in installation, you should budget quite a bit for labor depending on who you hire. Local shop wanted 2500 to have a 2jz mounted if I supplied all the parts, this did not include wiring, base tune, first start up etc, just 2500 to put the motor in the car and take the old motor out. I would start shopping around for a shop, make it clear that you don't want to start yet, but ask them for a general quote and if they are familiar with swaps and such, should be able to get a baseline that way. If you just want a 2jz in the car, you can find a wrecked is250 or is300 and take the engine and trans from one of them and put the NA motor in and boost it at a later date, the trans won't hold a lot of power and blah blah, but if you want a 2jz in the car, that is the easiest, cheapest way of doing it, you could recycle the gauge cluster and stuff as well. If money is no problem, then it is as easy as handing your car over to a shop telling them what you want, and writing them a blank check.

Motivation was apparently pretty stellar. Picked up some strut housings from a 280z (parts for my eventual LCA project and 27 spline stub axles), and found the first step in the LSD swap by finding a 94 Infiniti J30. Pulled the input shafts and the center pumpkin, just need to find a Z31 to pull the differential for the 12mm crown gear bolt thingy from and start swapping things over and look for a machinist to work on the input shaft. Then the decision becomes whether to run a wolf creek CV or go straight to existing CV's by purchasing adapters.