LLave

THIS! I agonize over these small details/imperfections in my build. If I keep chasing them trying to get it perfect, I am never going to get there. I don't have enough time/money/skill. However, I can building something really fun and cool. I have had cars that were total piles, but a blast to drive. Keeping this perspective is really important.

My apologies, I just read your most a bit more carefully. 280z cross members are not completely identical, the horn part that has the rack mounts is larger, and the mounts them selves are wider. I believe (but I am not sure) that the racks are the same diameter. Check out this thread, These are 280Z rack bushings: http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/23-4151

It is located on the back side, toward the bottom, approximately center left to right. Its a right angle barb fitting. It should have come with a short length of hose to put on it. I have one in the box at home, I can take a pic for you this evening.

Correct, Bondo is 3M's brand name and became a standard term. I suppose "body filler" is what the pro's call it. Bog is way better.

Earlier I mentioned the 3M bodymans bristle disc, the purple ones. They are awesome for irregular shapes, or materials that overload sanding or convoluted disc (IE undercoating, seam sealer). https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/Scotch-Brite-Roloc-Body-Man-s-Bristle-Disc?N=5002385+3293083481+3294297763&rt=rud

If the overall size still fits, I would get a 3.5 to 3 exhaust reducer, and move on. No biggie.

I am totally calling bondo bog from now on. You are crazy for saving those doors, much respect.

Good tip. I know a lot of people have had difficulty with burning plug wires.

I think the original mini was approximately 1,400. I bet Binkey is under 2,000. I know they are adding a lot of creature comforts and even silly motorized bits. Side note, I really didn't think that motorized hood lift was a good fit for the project, but I am sure it impresses the masses (and brings them views). So I guess I get it.

I am going to work on my cowl this weekend. I am going to look around with a borescope and see how it looks in there. Then make an effort to not get too crazy.... Most Z's have a little rust, if it's no big deal I will treat and encapsulate. Last time I said that, I ended up cutting out half the wheel well under the battery tray.

In on of your last videos you were talking about warping as a result of heat generated from grinding down mig welds. 3M makes a 3" grinding wheel specifically designed for grinding mig welds. They are a little pricey but honesty they work amazing. Loud as heck, they make a bit of a mess, but they remove weld very quickly and somehow minimize heat build up. The ones I like are part number 1991. I get them on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002SRLF2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I have learned that good panel fit-up with a gap about the diameter of my mig wire, results in a stronger flatter weld that takes way less grinding. It's like bondo, put it on clean and you have less to sand off. But also like bondo, it doesn't always go as planned.

I really dig this discussion, I have been doing chassis repairs/reinforcements and I am at the point where I am considering blasting or dipping. My biggest trouble spot is in the interior of my cowl. It has some rust, some difficult to remove paint (looks like the P.O. applied POR15). I am considering getting a little spot blaster for just the hard to reach spots. Most of larger rusted sections I just cut out and replaced. A couple of notes on the methods I have tried: Doing it area by area with wire wheels/rolloc discs, convoluted discs. This is time consuming and surprisingly expensive. The 3M bodyman's bristle discs (purple) are amazing. They work really well, they don't catch edges, they don't remove hardly any base metal, and don't fling wire wheel bits. However they are really expensive. You are going to go through a fair amount of consumables. Good grinders and a big compressor are a must for me. This works for most of what I have run into. Sandblasting yourself (I did a 70' challenger chassis), again surprisingly costly, and a pain in the ass. You go through way more media than expected, more tips and consumables. I bought a cheap Harbor Freight pressure blaster and had to fix it over and over. It took a long time and made a huge mess. I even constructed a wood and tarp booth to contain it. I used a supplied air respirator (which I already had). You are probably money ahead to pay a shop to blast and epoxy primer it. If I saved the materials expenses and spent half the hours I had into blasting at work picking up some overtime, I could have just paid to have it done. Home chemical stripping, Aircraft remover for paint and acid (Ospho) for rust. Chemicals and fumes are nasty, aircraft remover will burn you. This method can be pretty effective. Get some plastic sheets to contain the mess, use good quality gloves, be careful. Also note epoxy primer does not play well with Ospho, you need to have a really solid procedure to wash and neutralize or you will have paint failure. Ospho must be re-wet with Opsho then flushed with water and a little dawn dish soap, then water born was and grease remover, dried very well, then painted.

Try to be aware of the date of the post you are replying to. That is 3 years old and, most tragically, that member is no longer with us. I am guessing that John was seeing performance increase from sidewall stiffness and contact patch, as a result of the wider rim.

That's what makes your channel good. Home tech is where most of us exist. I love watching a pro in action in a well tooled specialty shop, but most the time, it just doesn't translate to what I am hacking together in my garage. Sharing our successes and failures in the home shop can be so valuable. Keep up the good work.

Hmm... Not I can visually see just how far off my mounts are. My rotisserie was already constructed for another chassis (70' challenger), and the dimensions of my mounts were based around clearing my garage door opener track, so I can easily rotate in my garage without worry. At least, that's my excuse for having mounts so hight.

Hey, it's that guy from youtube. Welcome aboard, I look forward to following your project progress. Thank you for making educational videos with tech. Can't get enough tech!

Convert to electronic flasher, or add resistors, as stated above. Easy-peasy

I commented on your build thread as well, there is a boss on the block that you have to grind to clearance for these headers, if you did not, it may be pushing them toward the steering shaft.

Did you grind the boss on the block on the driver side?

A volt meter would absolutely be no prob. However you have to be more careful with ammeters, the gauge is wired in series with the load. There is usually shunt to reduce the current that the meter takes. The meter and the shunt are calibrated. The meter/shunt must be sized to handle the load output of the alternator, or you will have an electrical fire. I have no idea where the shunt is on the Z, I have aftermarket gauges and modified wiring. However I know that you should not just hookup the gauge to the alternator. Best case it will just burn out, worst case, you will have an electrical fire.

Also, are you using someones mounting kit? Or did you fab your own?

IRC JMortensen built his rotisserie using two engine stands. Might want to check his thread. I found that as I removed pats from my Z the center of gravity moved, so I welded old brake rotors to the rotisserie was ballast. That was an easy fix.

Dang it... RIP Z-car brother.

I love how they use basic hand tools. It makes me pause for a second and say to myself "whats your problem? You have a grinder."... in a good way. I wish they would show more engineering/design time and even more layout and fab technique. I understand why they don't, that probably wouldn't be palatable for the larger audience. But i say, more tech! The last bracket they fabbed out of a piece of square tube really got me re-imaging what to do with tubing.