OldAndyAndTheSea

Depending on the model year, I believe it would most likely include, but not be limited to... -The loom heading to your taillights. -Fuel pump wiring (model dependent) In Austin Hoke's thread about mounting the flares he specifically mentions that care must be taken on the passenger side. http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/47525-how-to-mount-them-there-zg-flares/

Figured I'd update this as it seems to have lost steam. I installed my rear brake kit tonight. Simple. Would recommend. The E-brake setup, once I got it adjusted, works very well. Happy with the kit as a whole. Wilwood stuff is really user friendly. Here are some random pictures of the e-brake setup on my car. Have yet to report on performance, as my car hasn't seen the road in some time now. Soon to change, though.

This evening was dedicated to emergency brake cable installation. Remounted the components. Spent some time adjusting the cable. Works great! I highly recommend the setup to anyone who is in the market (T3 rear big brake kit - with optional e-brake option) Emergency brake is done. Cool. What's next?

Well more of the same. The offenders: Emergency brake cable pivot lever thing(s) Sandy Powduh A little reference Tomorrow is another day.

Well....I have another thermostat housing coming in the mail. Let's just say, the attempt to fix my leak didn't go so well...It's absolutely ridiculous how many times I've failed at modifying one measly housing; don't want to talk about it. Meanwhile.... I wanted to finally mount my rear lower control arms - so I did. I can't wait to detail under the car. It is so dirty. Grimey old bolts. A quick sandblast And some powder thrown at them. Bushings! Where they belong. Ugh. Wheels are so dirty. I still need to mount the E-Brake cable, then the braking system is potentially ready for a bleed attempt. Also, tomorrow is the day I hopefully make my dash. That will seriously light a fire under me, should it turn out successfully. Wish me luck. More to come.

Thanks guys! It's been a while since the last update. I've started working in the Composites shop again, so that's keeping me busy. Finally got my rear brakes - Techno Toy Tuning's big rear brake kit, with the emergency brake cable option. I am going to make my dash on Tuesday. So that means Wednesday, I should know if I have a workable part. Assuming success, I ordered my Flocking kit. Imagine, instead of the dash cap, it is nylon flocking, and the bottom half will be exposed carbon. (note: mock fit nicer console.) And I've been dealing with a couple small leaks around the motor. Valve cover gasket. I'll be working more this evening. I'm STILL fighting a leaky thermostat....Hoping to quell that tonight. I'll update with what I get accomplished.

Happy Birthday!

I put mine in my center console. It works out well to fit in the ash tray recessed area. Easy to run lines through to the valve on the way back to the rear wheels.

If you don't have any sort of idle air control, you'll have to physically crack the throttle body open slightly, via an adjustment screw.

The surface finish with the method I mentioned can be Class A out of the mold; No post processes need to happen, aside from trimming. You wouldn't have to sand, and probably clear, your final results.. Also, the logic being that your finished mold will not truly be an identical copy of your original drawing. It shouldn't really matter for your situation, but if you were held to strict size constraints, you'd start running into problems. By adding resin, and then sanding it, regardless of to what finish, you are degrading the molds surface. Again, probably won't matter, since you don't intend on making a bunch of parts. The difference being that when you start with a plug and fair it to make it perfect, once you splash the mold, yeah you are done. Add your release, and make your part. The plug then gives you a perfect representation of what you are making. Every flaw, every wave or imperfection that the plug has will be transferred to the mold. Visually, it is easy to see and eliminate the flaws. It is much more difficult to fair a mold to yield a perfect product as it is difficult to see, and not to mention sand, a female shape such as yours. I would have cut a male plug, then faired the plug until I had my desired finish. Coat with release. Surface coat --> Lay up the mold --> Pop/Trim --> Release on mold --> Layup your part. I've done it both ways. Modelling/building/fairing a plug first has always yielded the best results, for me. My .02. Obviously there are many ways to do it. I'd love to discuss this further, if you are at all unfamiliar with composites fabrication/manufacturing I would be glad to offer any knowledge, to the best of my abilities. At least tell you my mistakes, before you make similar, expensive, ones

Making progress! Some advice, if you would allow. If you could, I'd recommend making/printing a plug first. Typically, you don't want to have to sand the mold's finished surface. Youll never get the result you want, compared to if you had a perfect plug to splash a mold from. Regardless, Cool project! Carbon consoles are not common. I approve. Excited to see your result. I start back up in the composites shop this week. I'm excited to make my dash. Oh yes.

Thanks Marcus! (By the way - I'm still thinking about/working on the clamshell pieces.) You've been so integral to the process. I honestly cannot thank you enough. Hey no worries, and unfortunately no, these particular wheels would not fit the stock suspension. The spring perches make contact. The wheels are fairly common. http://www.racinglab.com/rota-rb-280z.html I'm running 245-40-17s on the fronts and 275- 40-17s on the rear. Thanks! It feels great. Yup! Like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. A milestone indeed! That's what I kept calling it. And I doubt it, but it will allow me to leisurely assemble the rear end, and finish up my last odds and ends during the winter in preparation for a full season come Spring. Very exciting! Thanks. I finally feel like I have a handle on the project. It feels fantastic. I wont be headed back to composites work for another couple weeks, but once I am back in the shop I'll make my dash, and finish my console. Hopefully the results are pleasing. Video update

Big things a happenin' I've been busily re-configuring Megasquirt, for the umpteenth time. I finally have a RPM signal. What a **** show that has been.. Long story short. I ripped out the EDIS system. Kurk added another bip373 to the equation and I was able to rip out that 90's Ford technology. So I, reluctantly, opted to revert back to using the distributor. However, only for trigger signal this time. Shown with the DIY replacement trigger wheel - that will make it easier for the ECU to read. Here's the OEM Nissan trigger wheel installed in the distributor. and a close up of the new 24-1-1 wheel. Since I am not worried about the distributor actually distributing spark, I can cut down the washer/collar that holds both the rotor and trigger wheel in place. This will allow for a nice low profile cover to give the install an OEM-esque appearance. Collar. "A 'lil off the top, please" And the OEM cover back on. I'll be turning this into something a bit more subtle, and a bit cleaner later. So, as I mentioned, upon testing I have a RPM signal now.... I know I have fuel and I know I have air. Time to test for spark. Testing the coils - the ECU only thinks there are three of them, but I still needed to confirm each pair was firing. Spark! That was last night. I was sailing today, while waiting on some fresh spark plugs. Those arrived this afternoon. Tomorrow, I double check timing.....and then I go for it. Tomorrow could* be the day I hear it. I'm nervous. *almost didn't make this update just in case, as per usual, things go awry. But YOLO, Breh! And here is my first ever "start" video with the new setup. I walk through my test setup, and attempt to fire the car.

Thanks Although.... of all of the pinned connections on the db37, I made a grand total of 1 of them. Haha. Mr. Kurk MacKay (FricFrac) was the wiring guru behind my harness. I'm simply the guy trying to not make smoke installing it.. He deserves the credit. The dude certainly knows his way around a set of crimpers, that's for sure And I agree. Anywhere I can, I do use labeled wire, so I know what's switched etc in a moment. Kurk is so awesome, on his connections he puts little labels on the ends of all of the connections. By the way, Kurk, where did you get that labelmaker? I like reaallly want one. haha.

^^ Thanks Gents! And unfortunately the shape does indeed have bad draft. The front of the three smaller pods, and the tach/speedo pods would not be able to release from a one part mold. The draft angle is negative there. No Bueno. I made the mold juuuuust strong enough to work, so I can easily make a few well placed relief cuts, to hopefully free the finished part. Been busy the last few days. Getting organized, ordering parts, cleaning/refreshing pieces, fabrication, wiring...you know...The usual. Rear brakes are in the mail, somewhere between here and California. Can't wait for those. In the meantime, I'll continue the pace. More to come!

Thanks my friend! My birthday was a good day. Got to relax, worked a little, and spent most of the afternoon on the water. The little work I did put in went to laying up the dash mold. Scrap glass pieces hodge podged together with carbon bits in key areas. Remember, the mold will almost definitely have to be destroyed, or chopped, in order to release the part, so there was no point in going crazy with quality on this. Kind of like the plug. She isn't much of a looker, at least the B side that is. :laugh: So once cured. I flipped the plug/mold combo over, and began to separate the plug from the mold.... As Johnny Cash would say, "one piece at a time." And Voila! Looks like we've got something to work with. Great! I'm pleased. Onward! Carbon dash, here I come.

Today is my 26th birthday. To celebrate, I'll be spending a little time to see if I can't essentially finish up the mold, in between other activities. Snapped a few more pictures (what else is new) of finished waxed plug. And the first application of the surface coat. I'll be tossing another coat on this morning, and hope to at least start laying up by the afternoon. Twenty six baby!

Yup, that was definitely a swim/motorboat day. No sailing for me. It's always a good time, if you're on the water. Well after some considerable time fairing, I finally finished the dash plug this evening. I took some excited, poor quality, shots to celebrate the occasion. I probably have around 20 hours into this plug. Which will, of course, have to be destroyed. So here's hoping it all works out. Otherwise I would have just gotten some serious sanding practice for no good reason. Hurrible pictures, as promised, as always. For those that forgot, here is what I started with initially.... And some, considerable, time later. Looks like tomorrow I will be waxing and will begin to make the mold! Yes! ...Also finally updated my GoPro housing/microphone status, so expect some 280zx driving videos in the next couple days.

Some of the remaining parts... -Finned R200 differential cover. -Arizona Z Car finned billet brace kit, making an otherwise sway bar clearance issue a non factor. - T3 billet R200 mustache bar, to hold my future differential. - And a quick mock up of what it will look like. Can't wait til I can put my beautiful lower control arms on and mount everything in place. Just need the right differential. Happy Summer everyone!

Progress is slow. A fairly heavy storm from the Northeast ended up taking out my dock. That was a fun morning. Glad the Whaler and the hoist made it through unscathed. Apparently there were reported 6' rollers in the Harbor, which for a Harbor, obviously, is quite uncommon. Nor'easters wreck my property. Luckily, they are fairly rare. I lugged them out of the water and piled them on shore. They were heavy, the water was cold, and it was early (6:30am), but I was pissed. This made boat rides slightly more interesting, as you had to wade out in 5' deep water to the hoist. Needless to say, I had very few passengers the last couple weeks. But the dash plug is very close. One, maybe two, more block sessions and I should be waxing away. Then I'll make the mold. Woot! It has come a very long way from the piece of garbage I was working with initially. 2k High build primer I also bought a bunch more goodies for the car, and am expecting to order some big things like brakes real soon. Now if only I could find more time...

More sanding... More spraying... More sailing...Bought another gopro for multiple angles. I have the Hero 4 Black for fancy stuff, this works perfectly for supplemental footage. Making progress on all fronts.

That's looking fantastic!

^^ Heh, I know the feeling. That sucks that they are essentially starting over on your project. I once had my 240 at a shop (the only time I tried to outsource work) and it sat for 8 months, with very little to show for it...Never again. Inspected. Off roading it daily. Keep it up, car! Days worked on project to date: 57 Total money invested in project to date: $1623 (+$10 NYS inspection)

My busy season has begun in full swing. My business partner and I take six weeks off in the summer to enjoy the water (we are both avid sailors) I'm teaching sailing, and spending as much time on the water as physically possible. Making money so I can finish the car up. That said, I am still working, albeit slowly, on the car. First, very rough, coat of primer. Still much fairing left to do. Slowly but surely. And some of what I've been up to. Kids flying the chute! Foiling gybe moth videos soon! Life is good. Hope all is well for everyone reading.

Yup, this version would allow for such a thing, should someone want it. A simple hole saw operation to the OD of the cup holder of your choice. Fits in the recess of the, once, ash tray. That was the main idea for deleting the ash tray....along with other reasons.