OldAndyAndTheSea

Thanks everyone, the (optional) matte finishes may actually solve a couple of the last remaining difficulties in making these. I'm actually pretty excited to get back to work on Monday and try out these new ideas. And yeah Marcus, I'm with you on the two tone/flocked theme. Also, I'll have you all know that we are currently making plugs for door panels. We wanted to change it up a little and do something simpler, as we reevaluate the clamshells, yet again. More on that later.

Ah gotcha, I was taking the "dry carbon" in the literal sense. I will order some satin/matte clear and play around. Thanks for the input, it is very much appreciated, everyone.

"Dry" carbon is kind of a new buzzword in the composites industry.Its commonly misused, and misunderstood. Forgive me if you know the following. The satin/softer/dry exterior appearance is only attainable using prepreg fabrics, which is a whole different level of manufacturing, and are also extremely expensive ($100++ per yard of material). The parts do have superior physical properties (sometimes weighing as much as 70% lighter) then its "wet" counterparts. Here is a wonderful article on the difference. http://www.gruppemusa.com/2010/10/carbon-fiber-101/ Unfortunately, at least currently, we do not have prepreg capabilities. But this does segway nicely into a question a I have for you, et all. What is the preferred finish on these? Do people want these cleared? Do they want to clear them themselves? Do they want to refinish the parts themselves? I ask because so many people want so many different things. I'd like to only do the bare minimum required, as that saves us time, and you money. Also apologies if this reply seems unorganized and jumpy, I'm out of town for a few days helping my brother recover from surgery, and I'm posting from my phone.

Haha! That's wicked!

Small update...a couple beers later.. Pre Post Hopefully I'll never have to do this again. I forgot how much it sucks. Next step: Engine IN the car. Oh boy!

You're telling me. I'm SO ready for progress. Some engine upgrades/prep for installation. I've spent whatever free time I've had the last few nights prepping the engine for installation. Powdercoated a bunch of miscellaneous parts. Thermostat housing Distributor block off plate Coils are mounted. Everything seems to fit well together.. 12 pound flywheel....Finally got to install that. And the ACT clutch components. And I am currently in the process of finishing up my valve cover....FOR THE LAST TIME. The LAST TIME I say... You hear me, valve cover? This is the LAST time you're getting painted, you fickle....Last chance, don't mess it up. High temp primer - ready to be sanded Just sprayed - once it cures, I'll, once again, painstakingly remove the paint from the letters. This time, since I am tired of installing transmissions alone, I'm going to mate the engine to the transmission and install both components at the same time. Hopefully it will beat bench pressing the transmission in place, and all the rigamarole that goes with that. I have the hoist ready to go. I'm about to head out now and do some mating

Thanks! yeah, I find this project hilarious. It also annoys me that this car is up and running, for pennies, and my 'good' car is perpetually on jack stands. C'est la vie. How are your cars doing? I miss your build thread. Your zx was definitely a contributor to my growing appreciation for the s130.

^^ Heh. Lets start with making a set of freakin' clamshells that work first, then....maybe... Here's my "Project's not dead yet" update. Updates... We have made, I believe, 5 consoles so far... All currently in various stages of assembly. And if you wonder what 'assembly' means, the following pictures should help. After a console and an insert are made... Step 1. Freshly popped. Untrimmed. (Each one looks nicer than the previous, that's a plus.) Step 2: Trimmed console shell and insert are bonded together using Plexus. Step 3: Final fair, then clear. Here you can see the three post production stages. A lot of work..I mean.."love" goes into each one of these. Also, we would like some feedback. The last console shell we made, as well as the one we are making tomorrow, has this stripe on it. This is to allow us to use two separate pieces, which really improves the uniformity of the twill, and helps reduce 'bridging' (where the fabric doesn't conform 100% to the mold surface) much easier. The b-side explains the overlaps. What are your thoughts? Offensive? Deal breaker? Hate it? Like it? Let me know. Thanks. Also, remember, this has yet to cleared. As you can see in the picture it is barely trimmed. Judge the idea. And the clamshells...Ugh...the clamshells.... I have been spearheading the console R/D and production, and my business partner has been in charge of the clamshells..We are still working on the design, as we have made several iterations that we were not happy with....So the saga continues... But I figured I'd update and let everyone know that these are still being worked on daily. Here's a picture of our graveyard... And as always...Thanks for the click.

Item #25304 http://www.eastwood.com/professional-brake-tubing-flaring-tool.html The ebay store has the tool for around 200 shipped. That's where I got mine. Wicked savings right now, compared to through Eastwood's website http://www.ebay.com/itm/Eastwood-Pro-Double-Single-Brake-Line-Tubing-Flaring-Tool-Kit-/231469438926?hash=item35e4a757ce&item=231469438926&pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&vxp=mtr Kurk, if my stupid lines hold fluid (fingers crossed) I'll be able to toss my engine back in, and then....WIRING HARNESS! Hooray! Very soon. .

....Still snowing. This was yesterday. Today was worse, if you can believe it. Finally had a productive couple of evenings in the garage. Operation leak stop was in full effect today. Powdercoated the last remaining brackets that run along the transmission tunnel. Figured, while I had it apart to redo the lines....might as well. And I received Eastwood's flaring tool. I absolutely love it. LOVE it. Line goes in... Flare comes out... So that allowed me to easily redo some abysmal flares. This one was the worst offender. I just remade this whole section of line. Magic. Redone. And now, after hooking all the lines back up, with a full master cylinder....I wait.....and watch.... Paper towels at the ready. C'mon big money! Big money, big money, big money! No whammies!

High quality doesn't even begin to describe this man's work. Through a series of text conversations, a totally custom harness was designed and built for my project. Unbelievable patience, customer service, and the quality... I've yet to see anything comparable. Masterful work. Without question, one of the best investments I've made to the car to date. (7 year project)

Posted the same on facebook. High quality doesn't even begin to describe this man's work. Through a series of text conversations, a totally custom harness was designed and built for my project. Unbelievable patience, customer service, and the quality... I've yet to see anything comparable. Masterful work. One of the best investments I've made to date (7 years of ownership).

Thanks! Yes, carbon happens to be a pretty decent conductor. However, the various coatings should insulate from any potential problems. That said, I am looking into some added insulation for that exact reason. Excellent point. Thanks for bringing it up. I'm on it. First off, apologies for the lack of updates these last weeks....I have been in New Orleans for the past two weeks for a Sailing Symposium, and I finally got back into town a day ago. I'm now back on track at work..... Here's the progress.. -Insert is bonded to the production prototype. I'm happy with the result. Looks like this system is going to work. That's great news! Prepped for clear. Whoops....Stray tow bundle.... Clear. First gen vs second gen. So yeah....That's the proof of concept prototype v2.0. This means we will be able to go into production starting this next week. Contingent on interest from potential buyers, of course. It takes either myself, or my business partner, the better part of 3 days to complete one console. These are very time consuming. After finally crunching some numbers, we are looking at around $400 shipped for a full on production console. I am willing to sell this first prototype for $350 shipped, due to the small imperfections, and being that it's the first. Pm me if you are interested or have any questions. Thanks for bearing with me this long. I promise, I haven't flaked yet

Wow...instead of doubling down on your arguement you really should rethink what you are saying. You're letting your ego get in the way.. If you HAD done your homework, you wouldn't be making this thread asking for advice from more experienced people in the first place... Tony, for example, has forgotten more about z cars than most of us will ever learn. Ask a proper question? Receive a proper answer. Play stupid games? Win stupid prizes. If people don't understand what you are asking, or they can't answer based on a lack of information, is that the fault of the reader, or the fault of the writer? "Creating a motor that is fun and not a power machine" is NOT clearly describing your power goals. What does that even mean? You're being vague and subjective. I have done this exact swap from n/a carb to n/a fuel injection to turbo conversion on my n/a motor..There is not a black and white, cut and dry answer...There are lots of variables. Like I said before, every project and every budget is different...and you've given us very little information to go by... Before you come back and secure this thread going in the tool shed, please rethink responding in a defensive, hostile tone...Despite what you think, we ARE trying to help you. However, your attitude and hostile responses are making that increasingly hard to do.

Zeto, Since you're planning a carb - efi swap you need some sort of engine management. I'd recommend spending any 'motor fund' money on some sort of standalone ECU. Once you've gone standalone. it doesn't matter, you can go turbo easily later. This way you can absolutely step your way up slowly. Fuel system will essentially have to be entirely redone. EFI gas tank need some sort of baffling to prevent pump cavitation.. Your N/A tank doesn't have any. You could have a sump welded in, with a surge tank feeding the pump for injectors. 75-76 (maybe 77, can't remember) gas tanks are a common swap for this. Your fuel return line, I'm assuming is 3/16", is too small for EFI, so that will need to be swapped as well. Clutch is a biggie. Don't forget about that... Don't get bent out of shape. It's the internet, mate. You asked a what you believed is a specific question, but in reality it is actually pretty vague... "cheaper?" sure. Who's doing the work? What type of parts are you using? What are your power goals even? None of us can answer your questions adequately, because you didn't provide enough information. This, despite said past efforts, shows that you have NOT done your homework. All of this information is easily available, it may just take a couple extra search queries. That's what warranted the previous responses. Many of us have spent days upon days doing research only to discover that there is NO SET ANSWER to the turbo question. Figuring out what's right for YOUR project, well, that's up to you, my friend. Every situation is different. Best get searching.. If that small amount of advice was enough to get you angry, you may be in the wrong place.

I have a single phase 5hp 60 gallon Ingersoll Rand. It pushes around 19 cfm at 90psi. It has been spectacular. Especially for the money. Easily charges up with continual grinder use. I've never ran out of air when using a tool. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_211720_211720 The more CFM the better, there is nothing worse than waiting on a pump..

Thanks, the pictures make it look better than it is, in my opinion. This first one is testing a couple different things. Mainly seeing what I can get away with. There's lots of surface imperfections in this one, those will be reduced in the future. Some, moderately, better pictures. Insert plug. I'll be making that mold tomorrow. And a sneak peak at a modified top clamshell section plug. The new plan is to have the bottom piece fit into the top piece. So we have (hopefully) modified accordingly And the console plug is tuned up. Ready to seal and frekote. We are supposed to get a ton of snow tonight, on top of the two solid feet we got yesterday...Hopefully work continues in the morning. I'm the red star. Fingers crossed it isn't too bad.

Thank you, Gentlemen. I'll keep at it. Sprayed a little clear today. Benefits: Added luster, and UV resistance. Changes the piece completely, in my opinion. Some horrible, just sprayed, low light pictures in my usual fashion. Tomorrow, obviously, when it can be handled, I'll update the pictures accordingly. Ignore the proportioning valve hole, that is specific to my project. Certainly an improvement. Made the dud console look decent. Nice. Can't wait to spray something without defects. Also got the revised insert plug in Duratec tonight, so I will be making that mold very soon hopefully. Sorry no pictures, was too excited about spraying the console to remember.

Thanks Adam! Yeah, they cleaned up real nice. I can't wait until I can start assembling everything again! Here's the random update so far. I redesigned a new insert plug, because I wasn't thinking and the first one sucked. Haha. If it weren't a blizzard out, I'd probably have that in duratec before the end of the day...Maybe the weather will let up... Figured out the mounting points for the ashtray. ABS plastic extrusions are bonded to the underside. Threaded screws go into the ABS. Ignore the obviously modified portion of my ashtray. My brake proportioning valve sticks up through my console, so that's why it is cut. (also the main reason I made this console to begin with) Also note, this is the first console version with the messed up twill. It's the guinea pig. Good enough to cut holes into! Mocked in the car. Lots of things are still happening. And who knows? maybe a non composites related update here soon...One can only hope. Unfortunately, composites don't make 'er go!

Haha, thanks for the ultra kind words. Originally, I was intending on making these only for my personal project. However, since receiving interest from a number of people I have decided to work toward a production run. There's a big difference between making a one off part for yourself, and making them repeatable with the intent to sell. That process takes time.... I don't like to write checks that I can't currently cash. That's where we are currently. I am still working out the details with the pieces. Essentially I have recreated all the shapes, but I still need to engineer them to work. Here's the random update so far. I redesigned a new insert plug, because I wasn't thinking and the first one sucked. Haha. If it weren't a blizzard out, I'd probably have that in duratec before the end of the day...Maybe the weather will let up... Figured out the mounting points for the ashtray. ABS plastic extrusions are bonded to the underside. Threaded screws go into the ABS. Ignore the obviously modified portion of my ashtray. My brake proportioning valve sticks up through my console, so that's why it is cut. (also the main reason I made this console to begin with) (Note: this is the first console I made. This is going to be the prototype that I use in my car. Ignore the known defects in the twill.) Have tried a couple iterations of how the clamshells will close. I'm still not quite happy with the result so far. It works, but isn't pretty.... so I'll be tweaking that a little bit. We have a new plan. Random gauge pod. Less progress on this front, because I want to prioritize my time on how the clamshells close, first. Once we have a developed system that we're happy with, the gauge will take no time at all. Regardless, some random pictures. Still shaping it down as small as I can. Lots of things are still happening. (I also haven't forgotten about you t5 transmission guys. I am tuning up the console plug to start thinking about those required modifications. This stuff, as you're all aware, unfortunately, takes time.)

At the top of the page, next to the "feedback" link. http://forums.hybridz.org/donate/

The holidays have really been getting in the way of work...Once the new year rolls in, then I'll once again be on a steady work regiment. Updates: Received the carbon, made another console. Finally the twill is what I would deem 'acceptable'. Changing the geometry helped enormously. First Insert - dusty. Also, made another set of clamshells, as well as a trimming template to expedite that process a bit. Took only about one hour to trim both clamshell halves. Sure beats four hours..... hoping to have a finished inner flange for the clamshells by Friday. Then I can start making them look pretty. Happy New Year all!

...Tonight's the night. It happens, most here are lurkers. Personally, I love the updates, keep em coming. Know that I'll be reading them.

I'll be going back to composites work tomorrow....Til then.. Update: Bought some 280z 27 spline stub axles to replace the weaker 25 spline axles that came in the 240z. Thanks again Adam! So, I've started cleaning and powdercoating those. Today, I'm going to continue with where I left off. EDIT: Continuing where I left off. haha Continued cleaning/sandblasting of various components. Rear differential stuff......43 years of grease caked on there. Nice. Go Go Gadget sandblaster! Feels good. Beer time.

You have them correctly oriented in the third picture. (Your original belief was correct.) Many would recommend installing them underneath the strut top. I recently installed these on my car. Below is the page where I documented my process. http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/97180-luna-the-cause-and-solution-of-all-my-problems/page-9 (Post #173 I believe) I'd highly recommend reading all write ups regarding measurement and camber plate install instructions. This isn't for the faint of heart.