luseboy

Ah thats a good trick! Thanks! I don't know if it's stock or not... but I do believe it to be seeing as how nothing else was modified that I could find... And those are the right shape, but in chrome. That could probably be changed though... Thanks for the link! I know it won't make a huge difference (or much of one at all really), but if I can put that area to use, I think it would be great. Plus as I understand it, the cowl area has a nice low pressure for sucking in air. And it would be different. Not to mention I'd love to hear it better, and it would probably keep the IAT's pretty cool, which would be nice.

Ok well upon inspection today... my frame rails are severely F-ed up, on both sides. So I will be ordering baddog rails and sub frame connectors soon. Since I have so much rust on these... I'm thinking I need to cut out most of the rust spots and then weld on the new rails. But would it work to just treat the rust with something? I saw a recent thread about the same thing... but looking for whatever answers I can find. Anyways I should be able to afford coil overs by the week after next and I'm picking up my tranny next week. For right now, I'm focusing on my engine compartment and some other small projects, I'm taking a break from floor pans haha. Also... decided I'm going to paint the car myself. It's another one of those things that just takes time to do but if you do it right it will turn out just fine. I will probably rattle can it. So I will start doing prep/body work pretty soon. I still have to decide on color... I'm thinking green is going to be the best. I might go orange though. Oh and my boss gave me a free K&N cold air intake for an audi a6 today so I have a cone filter and some piping to play around with. I'm gonna put the filter in the cowl area, assuming I can make it clear the wiper linkages. Should be cool if I do it right. Also pulled my door panels today and got my key code. Blank keys are en route from somewhere far away. Will be nice to have keys. more questions: -How do I figure out which diff I have so I can get the right speedo cog? -What should I do with my gas tank? I've read of people "boiling them out" how do i do this? what's the deal with it? -does anyone still make a locking gas cap? I have one but no key for it... -does anyone make a passenger side mirror that looks like the stock mirror? I love the look of the stock mirror, but I want 2 of them... -is it possible to put in just the heater and not the a/c? I hate a/c's... but heaters are very usefull... if it can be done, what all do I need?

while you're in there, you might as well get their subframe connectors too. They call it a rear frame rail. I will be doing this soon, because both of my frame rails have rusted through. And while I'm doing it I will get the subframe connectors too, as I hear great things about them. What is recommended for sealing/treating the rust? I have been using jasco rust-preventing primer on my floor pans for surface rust... is that kind of thing sufficient for the frame rails?

ah i see.. I was using the wrong search terms, I didn't think to try "hat." thanks!

wow thats a really interesting way to do it. Not quite what I'm looking at doing... but still looks very interesting. And mine will be run on the driver's side with a cone filter but this is really cool still... he did a lot more work than I feel is needed, I guess just to use the panel filter, which I don't understand. Anyways my design is starting to come together in my head. It will be quite some time before I get to the point that I will start working on this for real, but it's at least starting to look right in my head. Still trying to figure out what kind of scoop/duct/vent to use on the cowl panel... But I'm pretty sure it should be facing the windshield to take advantage of low-pressure air? or do I want to force-feed it? seems like a mini cowl-induction scoop would be cool, plus that would look awesome right in front of my face while driving. Has anyone seen a good way to mate a 3" tube to a 4bbl air filter housing? I'm thinking I'll just have to find something I can use, or modify a 4 bbl air filter housing... Although I still may go triple carbs, which would mean I'd be running air horns inside a plastic box... But if I do go 4bbl... trying to figure out how to mate the tube to the much larger tube lol.

I guess I'm on an original thought then... I find that hard to believe. these cars have been around for 40 years and an 18 year old kid in the day of modern technology comes up with something simple and original (unless i'm not quite picking up on sarcasm... I still can't decide). I guess it makes sense that no one would bother though as it really won't make a big difference at all. I just think it will be cool to have it there, it will let me hear the "whoosh" of the CAI (or whatever sound a carb makes... I've never driven a carbed car ). Plus it kind of cleans up the engine bay and gives a nice inlet of cool air... assuming i can block the heat from the header going to the tube that will go from the filter to the carb. It's going to take a lot of work. But what doesn't with this kind of thing? Hell I've spent the last month just cleaning the car up... I'm ready for a fun project haha.

I stumbled upon this when I was searching for cowl intake mods. thought it might interest you http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2213380/1972-datsun-240z/page-7

Well I don't drive in a lot of rain... but it isn't a bad idea... you never know what might happen. I was worried about this with my mini... but somehow it never became an issue, and many people did the same mod i did without issue. I would for sure need to put in a drain at the bottom of the box. And if I really wanted to be pro I could get an h20-phobic air filter sleeve... but I don't think it will be much of a problem. I guess I need to think about it more. I think for the majority of rain driving I do, just the oil on the filter will be enough to stop most water from getting into my engine. But I certainly need to give that some thought. A drain will be esential though because if I have to park in the rain for a period of time for whatever reason, the sealed box could easily fill with water. Then I'd turn my air intake into a water intake. I guess it would be kinda cool to turn my L28 into a water pump! it would give me low IAT's .

it does appear that way, yes! but it looks more like they're just sucking the air in from there and then it runs to the filter... different engine and set up but I like it! I guess I could make my life easier by just running a tube from this area through a filter into the carb... but I like the idea of the filter being there better. haha ok now i'm convinced your being sarcastic...maybe my e-sarcasm app isn't calibrated correctly... but tell me your secret!

I think we're thinking of two different things... I'm talking of putting my air filter in the same area that the windshield washer arms run through... there's a lot of unused space there. If I'm not mistaken... shaker hoods and cowl induction are much different...

Well not sure if this is the right place... but I was wondering if anyone has ever run an intake into the cowl area? My boss gave me a K&N cone filter today and i test fit it and it seems like it would fit well under the cowl panel. I'd need to make a little bit of room, but not too much. I'd probably build a box that sealed to the cowl panel and put a little scoop on it to get better airflow. I read on here somewhere from someone knowledgeable that the cowl area is the perfect place for a CAI to suck in from due to pressures and airflow. The CAI I have on my mini sucks in from the cowl area too, and I like it a lot because I can hear it well from the drivers seat (I love the sound). Anyways it seems like most people use an air box with a filter in front of the rad. But I really like the idea of the cowl intake... Also I know this would be much easier with an EFI set up and a TB, but I am using either triple carbs or a 4bbl setup. Either will have their challenges with mating a pipe to them, but I think it will be very cool in the end... Anyways just looking to see if I have my facts straight and if anyone has done this before. Obviously it's going to need a lot of custom fab, but I am willing to do it if I know it can be achieved.

Thank you for your reply! you have a lot of useful advice, I appreciate you passing it along! Yes I plan on getting a top-end performance triangulating stb front and rear so that should tie it all together nicely. I think you're right about just welding in the cracks if they occur. Hell if it gets really bad I'll just do a tube front end! I should be totaly fine though haha. I need to buy more sheet, which I will use on the rocker. I'm sure it will work out just fine! Ya I know I won't love the tranny. But I'd rather save the money for other things and get it on the road. It's not that crazy hard to change out a transmission, and I'm still undecided as to what 5 speed I want. I will probably end up doing an s13 5 speed, but that takes a lot of custom work and the cost adds up, so I want to leave it for later, as I'd rather spend money on suspension and the chassis for now. Well I only need plugs, wires, and a coil. I will probably buy the coil and wires from msa, and then figure out what plugs I want and get them wherever they're cheapest (got any advice on which plugs to go with?). Ya I'm sure wiring is going to be the least-fun part of the build... not excited for that part. But at least with the ez harness I will know that it's all good, instead of hoping that my datsun harness isn't all bus-ah-mitated. Plus I will have a modern fuse box and I can run everything cleanly. It will also make doing my hatch re-locate for the battery much easier. And it's already wired for an electronic fuel pump and other things I plan on doing. It just plain makes sense. Well I have the engine mostly torn down, I just decided to not pull the pistons or crank (don't worry I've pulled some of the caps to check the bearings, and they look totaly fine!), so I'm replacing every gasket except the rear main seal since I won't be pulling the crank... But I have all new seals, including a rear main, so I was just trying to see if someone knew how to do it without pulling the crank... The suspension bushings will all be replaced with urethane as I mentioned before. They are all deteriorated. I want to do s13 coils, adjustable LCA's, stiffer sway bars (still trying to find what will handle the best, anyone have any opinions?), RCA's, adjustable TC rods (maybe... haven't decided). So it's all in the plans. Everything will get replaced or rebuilt. I won't be skimping on tires. I plan to get max/extreme performance summer tires in a 215/55r/15 size, or near it. I haven't decided yet on tires, but I'm sure I can find something that will work. Tires are really important to me. I find it silly when people spend thousands of dollars on suspension mods, then put crappy stretched tires on their expensive wheels. It just puts all the suspension mods to shame. That said though, I will be buying some cheap tires for my pair of centerline solid alloy's that came on the front of the car. Just as a pair to put on the back for fun, or if I ever do drift nights here. Anyways yes, this car will be built to what I like. Not what I love in all situations because thats too expensive... haha. But when it doesn't cost too much... I will do what I love. Well I decided today that painting a car isn't that big of a deal, you just have to be willing to put the time into it... so I may end up just painting the car myself. We'll see. I will be painting the engine bay some ridiculous color myself, at some point. In case you haven't realized at this point, I'm into the crazy colors, so you can expect to see a lot of them here . Also I love splatter paint so that will be featured on a lot of my parts, but not on the exterior paint, as I think it ruins the lines of a car then.

I'd use the f54, that's what I went with, converted to carbs. Does it have flattop or dished pistons? It's generaly accepted that porting and polishing of the head is where you make the most power. I'd say do that. Shaving will also give you a higher CR, and is reccomended because it makes sure that the head and block mate together much better. You could consider doing a stroker set up, that would give you a lot of power. Beyond that, tripple carbs and an electronic dizzy, along with headers and a lighter flywheel will free up some power. I'd also vote to get rid of the clutch fan in favor of some e-fans. An electronic fuel pump will probably take some force off the timing chain too, but you can't use one with the p90 unless you open up that part of the head for it. A performance cam will give you some more power as well. Personally I have a f54/p79 with flattop pistons, I think it's the best set up.

Ok well I'm not sure if I said this clearly or not, but this is my conclusion for this thread; While foaming of certain frame rails on some chassis will increase stiffness (sometimes by a large amount), It is not appropriate for a classic car made of steel that wasn't treated sufficently, when the car already has many rust problems. That said, if i was building a low-budget race car when I didn't care about the car that much, I'd get some of the good urethane foam and foam the **** out of it. However it makes no sense on a car that you care about. And what are these subframe connectors? I've seen them mentioned a lot, but I can't figure out what they are... is it just the bad dog frame rail replacements? That seems to be what I can find...

uh-oh ... I already welded both in...... I really hope it's not too much of a problem... ok now I'm worried. Someone please make me feel like I didn't just ruin my chassis.... I will take a pic soon. It's not bad, just one small hole... maybe the size of a pencil eraser. but it is all rusted around it and I don't know how much of that rust is weak enough to break through...

oops... I just realized that there's a separate forum for projects... if any mods want to move it there, that would be great! anyways updates, updates, updates. just got done welding the strut housings to the wheel wells, I decided not to mess around with stich welding and went ahead and just welded them solid to the well. I was really just trying to kill time while I don't have any money lol. What other places should I weld together more in order to stiffen the chassis? While I have the car all apart I'd love to get some free stiffening. Also I started masking off the engine for the gold high-temp paint . I know it sounds gang-banger... But I think it will look really good when I'm done with it. I also decided against going with the wider, vented toyota 4 piston front brakes since I can buy aftermarket vented 240z rotors and use them with the less expensive, thinner 4 piston set-up. This will save me over $400, and will likely work just as well. Also been doing a lot of work to my dash... But I'm not super happy with how it's turning out so far... I think I just need to keep moving forward really, the best fix is to do more work to it and shape it more. Also I got a great deal (one I couldn't pass up) on a 240z 4 speed tranny (it's well under $100), so I think I'm just going to run that for now, then do an s13 transmission, aluminum driveshaft, and r200 lsd at a later date. But I will get a datsun truck shifter and cut it down for a cheap short shifter for use on the 4 speed. Anyways, she's starting to come together. I've only got one more hole in the front half of the driver's floor pan... But it is going to be a tough one. It rusted through the floor pan and part of the frame rail right in front of the front seat mount... So It'll take me a lot of work to fix it. No problem, I love working on the car . A couple questions: What are the two solid lines in the engine compartment on the passenger side running up like they are supposed to be attached to the engine? They look like they go where the mechanical fuel pump would go... I assume that's what they're for? Does anyone know a good way of getting the rear main seal out and replaced without removing the crank? I don't want to pull the crank... But I'd like to change the seal out if possible... I have one rust hole in my driver's side rocker panel... When I cut that piece out, do I have to be careful of the car buckling? I've heard that if you cut the rocker panels, the whole car will buckle. would this happen if I cut out a small section off the top? Or are the rocker panels tough enough that I should just put some of my rust-converting primer on it and seal it up? Anyways I'm still just as in love with the car as ever still can't wait to drive it

seriously can we just get this thread deleted? It was a thing i was thinking of out of a whim... and it shouldn't give anyone any ideas... this stuff is bad.. even if you use the right stuff. its just pointless and has too many bad side-affects.

progress for tonight, I took the foam off the dash "chassis", peeled off all the vinyl covering (heat gun makes great work of this), and then accidently broke the foam piece into two foam pieces . I redeemed myself, a little epoxy and 5 minutes as a human clamp never hurt nobody. Then I filled a bunch of the cracks and other imperfections in with some caulking. Next step is to sand down and re-shape the foam where I caulked it, then I think I'll plasti-dip it, I think that would look nice. I've seen it done with bed-liner before.. but that seems kinda tacky to me. The other thing I was considering was glueing down some alacantra or something... but that'd really be tacky so I decided on plasti-dip. does that sound like a good idea to anyone who might know more about it? Is there a different product you'd recommend that I can spray on the dash? Anyways I'm happy with how it's looking so far. I originally planned on making an aluminum dash... but that's just fan-boi-ish and unsafe. Plus the stock dash looks really good when it's not all cracked! And a few decisions I decided upon: -Going to use an ez-wiring universal 21 circuit wiring harness, which will work well, allow the addition of things like the e-fans, electric fuel pump, etc. Plus it will use modern fuses, and it costs less than $200 shipped -figured out that i need a pertronix coil to use with my pertronix electronic converted distributor (the kid who had the engine before me did good getting this! -Found out that my school has a shop press so I can definitely do the s13 coils! Some things on my mind I still cant decide about: -side exit exhaust... haven't figured out if it's legal, not sure I'd have good ground clearance then, worried about bubbling paint on the dog legs, plus I've only seen it on one s30 and i think it was on a japanese sight -color! green, orange, yellow-green!!! can't figure out the best color for it (anyone got any inspiration?) -If I want to acctually weld the headlight buckets to the fenders when I shave that joint, and how I'll be able to change headlight bulbs if I need to (anyone know of a cheap h4-type headlight for the s30s?) -brakes... can't decide if I want to do toyota 4 piston or the 4 piston vented set up... the vented set up adds a lot to the cost unfortunately... but would be cool. I guess I'm not racing so I won't need it. -how to wire in a fuel pump... I assume it's constant when the ignition is at "on"? -stiffer motor mounts.. can't figure out if the stiffer motor mounts are even available or worth it... -and lastly, if I have a full ignition switch... it seems to be missing some things... and I don't have a steering column cover, so idk if that would have anything important for the switch or not... Anyways I'm still loving this project. Too bad I won't be making enough money to do much to it in the next few weeks... I'm gonna hopefully have enough money for s13 coils in that time period though, so I should be getting going on that. Still haven't figured out transmissions...

in my defense... no I was most definitely not planning on using the crappy foam. I was planning on using the urethane foam. I researched and thought about it more and realized how dumb it was. no need to be smart about it. Did I say anywhere that I was going to pick some up from home depot? I'm not an idiot, I just get ideas in my head, think about them, ask others about them, research them and then usually decide that they are stupid. oh btw... you spelled texas wrong in your name

Hey, so, Ive got a '73 project, and for whatever stupid reason, one of the PO's decided to ruin the wiring harness. Rather than trying to get a factory wiring harness, I've decided I want to go the route of a universal harness. i was thinking of going with a Painless wiring harness, which a few members have used, but the price tag scared me away. I then found the ez-wiring kit, 21 circuits, 18 fuses, all the wires all color coated and printed with the use of the wire... it's under $200 shipped. I'm thinking I'm going to go that route.. Been thinking about it and I know it will be a lot of work... But I can't see a reason not to go for it... thoughts?

I can maybe see people using them for chassis stiffening instead of roll cages. but safety-wise? hell no. I think foaming makes sense on some cars, but I would never do it to a car I loved, nor would I do it to a car I planned to drive for very long. It would only make sense for some sort of low budget race series where you use some crap car and only need it to hold up to the one season. Then I'd do it. But not for safety reasons, purely for chassis stiffening. It does make sense though. In chemistry class last year, we focused on the beak of a toucan for a day ( I know this sounds very obscure, just wait), which works on a very similar set up. Basically in order for the toucan to be able to hold its head up, that huge beak has to be light. but in order for it to break into nut shells for it's food, the beak has to be strong. So they have a thin layer of bone-like structure covering an interior of an intricate cartiledge "foam" structure. Just the same as a frame rail of thin sheet metal housing an interior of foam. Makes sense to me. But a beak doesn't go through the constant stress of a car chassis, and it doesn't have worries of rusting through! If anyone ever foams any rails on an s30, I'll be very , because it will basically completely ruin the chassis unless it is done perfectly.

I should never have started this thread... It was a stupid idea. If it was a more common, less cool car, I'd do it. But these cars are just too damn cool and are getting on the rare side. Good thing I never did it... found a rust hole on the top of my driver's rocker panel today. Turns out it wasn't just surface rust!

I may also entertain a 4 speed trans. I really just need something that will work, is stick, and is a good deal! Let me know! -Austin

This is starting to get complicated! lol. I'll have to look into getting the shaft shortened around here, maybe I can find it for cheaper! Thanks for the support on the welding! I've been welding for about 2 weeks now lol. I'm acctually getting it down! I did weld the bottom for most of them. I still need to do some mo0re welding underneath. I will also put some sealant underneath before undercoating it. On top, after I finish grinding everything down, I will paint over everything to make sure no more rust starts. I'm not really worried about how it will look because I'll probably put down some dyna-mat or similar underneath the carpets. yes, I am using engine enamel. The red on the valve cover was done with dupli-color and the block will be done with VHT. I've got the viton seals, but I think the ones in the head are still good, so I'll probably change them out at a later date. I wasn't looking into tires for driving on. Just looking for ones to move it in and out of the garage. I will buy new rims and some nice summer tires before I even think of driving the car, don't worry! I think I'm gonna go 15x7.5, et0 rims with 215 55r's. Bushings will all be replaced with poly bushings. I will also put in s13 coils, msa sway bars (or something better if someone has any reccomendations?), TTT LCA's, RCA's and TC rods (maybe). Those are the basic suspension mods. After I get a tranny and my floor pans all patched up, I will start focusing on suspension and brakes. I've been mostly looking for a ZX tranny (does anyone have one they'd give up?), but I was interested in the sx tranny. I'm thinking now that I will hold off on it till a later date, just like I decided with the diff. For now I think I'll go with a ZX tranny. Or maybe even just a 240z 4 speed tranny if I can find a sweet deal on one. What are the thoughts for that? My power is going to be conservative for now. The engine is going back together fully stock (as much as I hate to do it). Unfortunatley, I just don't have the income to make big power and have a nice car, so I'll have to put the engine back together stock, as I'd rather blow money on suspension (the stuff I really car about). The only things that will add/free up power are going to be bolt-ons: AZC 4bbl mani/edelbrock 500 carb, pacesetter(or another better one, if you have any reccomendations) headers, AZC 12 lb flywheel, 2.25 or 2.5" free flowing exhaust (might do side exit if I can figure out how to do it right . So I should only be putting around 175 to the wheels (I assume...). This is why I'm thinking of just going for a 240z tranny, which can be had for very cheap. Does anyone know if I can use a 240mm pressure plate with one? Anyways updates for today: Put my oil pump back together with a new gasket, was glad I looked in my "how to rebuild your datsun/nissan OHC engine" book, because of the direction of the pieces. Man that book is handy. Also put another patch in my floor. It's crazy how much my welding has improved. I also got my hood latch and hinges to work a little better, mainly just using oil, but it made quite a difference. Also got sad because hours are gonna start being cut at work since no one likes to buy bikes in the winter time, so I'm not gonna have a fun time affording everything. It's nice that I live at home still though, so I don't have to pay for any rent or food or anything. And since I'm in high-school, I also don't have horrendous amounts of homework, so I have enough free time to work on the car! oh well, I'm still holding on to some semi-valuable bike parts that I can sell, and maybe I'll try and find a second job or something. And having divorced parents means 2 presents for christmas haha, so hopefully I can knock out some well-needed things then, that'd be good. Anyways I really can't wait to drive this car. I'm so tired of my MINI, its such a piece of crap.

ok so if you have a stock engine, that means you have EFI, and dished pistons. If you want to make big power with this set up, I'd vote for going turbo, since you already have a lower compression set up, and EFI. There's a ton of info on this very site about it, and people make great power with these engines.