Zetsaz

I gotta say.... Tinkering with the IAC and idle advance makes this thing feel almost new. The closed loop idle control made cold start when I checked it during lunch feel satisfying instead of like a chore. IAC opens on start up and I have it tuned close enough right now. No more blipping the throttle to get it to start. Idles a bit high on warm up and comes down smoothly as the coolant temp goes down instead of bogging down and stalling like it did before. VERY satisfying

Spent maybe a solid 3 hours after work today tinkering around with things. Mounted the IAC Block where the ignition coil normally went. I'm still not sold on the square block, but it's an alright placement for now. Drilled and tapped the holes it already had on the back to be M6x1.0 like most of the bolts holding the car together and bolted it on from the opposite side in the wheel well. Only attached with two bolts for now, that way I'm only drilling one hole right between the original two for the ignition coil bracket. Didn't want to add more holes than necessary to the engine bay if I change my mind on how I'm doing things later. Notice the hose routing is... not ideal in terms of a tidy engine bay I want but it'll do for now. Also finally used the 3D printed TPS bracket to replace the random piece of sheet metal the last owner had it bolted in with. Spent most of the time tinkering with my idle settings. My idle was nice and stable when warm, but I hadn't bothered diving deeper into it. Realized that I didn't have VSS turned on for engine state, so Megasquirt was always assuming I was at cruise and not switching between engine states. Now the IAC is functioning properly. Messed with IAC and Idle Advance to get target RPM and I think I have it in a pretty good spot. Responds within a second when I put the high beams on and crank the fan all the way. Settles into the target rpm within 2-3 seconds. Also finally turned on Idle VE since I hadn't bothered doing that at all. Now my AFR isn't floating around at the lightest change when it's just idling and I leaned it out just slightly. The engine bay is becoming less tidy as I make it closer to the cruiser/touring car I want but that's alright. Tidiness balanced with servicablility and driveability is what I'm aiming for. I'm still having an issue with a sticky throttle at small blade angles. Tends to stick slightly instead of closing all the way. I think if I swap to a 240sx throttle with a spacer, switching to a throttle cable will take care of the problem, and the spacer I would probably have to use could be tapped to be the hose entry point to make my routing on the IAC hose much shorter. If I decide I want turbo power it'll also keep things more serviceable.

That Dynomax Ultraflo you first linked is exactly what I have now. I'm gonna try it with the muffler tip that came with the MSA unit (45 deg cut aims it slightly down once it's out... if I could just get it out of the MSA muffler right now. It's a bit stuck haha). If that's not enough I'll stick with the Dynomax Super Turbo which is supposed to be much quieter. Fortunately they're quite cheap. Both new are less than a Borla XS and I can still return since Dynomax has a pretty straight forward 90 day return policy. For now, thermostat is going in tonight and I'll finally be able to check some things at proper operating temp. IAC pigtail should arrive by tomorrow afternoon and I'll be able to fool around with that.

This exactly is part of the struggle with quieting our exhausts compared to bigger American cars. Length of the muffler makes a big impact. Unless I start cutting at the piping, longest I can fit is about a 14" housing

Interesting... I'll have to look more into it. My understanding from other members is the "super turbo" is quieter than the straight through and isn't a chambered design, but sound cancellation and harmonic resonance is a such a fickle science. Will look more into it later in the day, currently on lunch.

Dynamax straight through? I have a Dynomax Ultraflo I've tried and the sound was worse. This is a Dynomax brand I ordered as well. I think there are some nomenclature weirdnesses when talking mufflers. The one I ordered isn't a big straight through or cherry bomb looking one, it looks almost like an oem and has the redirected airflow with holes in the channels as well as matting on the inside. The straight through Dynomax Ultraflo doesn't sound bad outside, but it's just so loud when casually driving around.

Small parts updates: Exhaust: Have been upset at how loud the MSA muffler is considering how... not... aggressive my engine is. I ordered a Dynomax Super Turbo since I've heard they're decent quality and not too loud. Here's hoping it's a bit less obnoxious because right now even with the resonator it's still annoyingly loud (for my taste) until you're cruising steady at 3k rpm. Bumpers: I finally got an update that my bumpers are are arriving at the reseller and will ship out as soon as they inspect them. They've been stuck at port for a while now. Shipping industry in general has been very slow, so I'm not blaming it at all on Datsun Garage who have done an excellent job maintaining communication. AC Hoses: Decided to ahead and order the Vintage air hoses and drier. Shipped yesterday. Opted for the extended length. Most of the brackets/tie downs from the factory AC were all on the rubber parts, so I'm hoping it's actually reasonably tidy if I route them the same way. The extended length will allow me to relocate the drier up front or wherever it looks tidiest, since my fuse block that replaced the fusible links is mounted where the original drier was. IAC: Ordered the pigtail I need to wire the Jeep IAC. I've seen some people use a Bosch unit that's round, but I think my block will work for now and I'll still be able to mount it where the original ignition coil was. Thermostat: I've been meaning to do this for ages, but just never got around to it. When I was cleaning up the gaskets and replacing the water pump a few years ago I replaced the thermostat, but the parts store gave me a 160 deg unit. Finally purchased a proper 180 deg unit which will let the engine run better and actually give me heat on cool days.

I'd have to go digging for the picture, but I just opted to have a shop pull them for me. Was worth every penny for my peace of mind, but when I picked up my stuff one end of the threads on both of them was crushed down about a 1/8-1/4" if that gives you any idea how much force was required to press them out.

It's probably just poor color accuracy in the picture. I'd describe it more like a warm white, just like home incandescents which usually look yellowish or a very very light orange . I'm pretty sure the included LEDs are warm white instead of "sunlight" or a more pure white like what I installed in the dash. I could potentially replace them pretty easily, but I kind of like the contrast. I keep forgetting to take a pic while it's light out now that it's back together, but here's another from while I was testing. For now, the controls are mounted on the metal plate I had cut, but I really do want to mount them on a more accurate 3D printed plate I can epoxy or plastic weld to the HVAC panel. Cousin's printer went down after finishing my vent and the school's are still at warehouse since we don't have students back at the high school yet. Also, my turn signal switch fell apart after trying to repair it one more time. My $5 fix has been documented on here before, but I don't like the way it returns (or rather it doesn't), but at least the signals are reliable now until I do a more OE style fix that doesn't stick quite like this or just pony up the money for a really well refurbished unit.

Check 1, 2. Check 1, 2....

911s are weird mix of "it shouldn't be this effective" and "let's dump money at engineering to solve this problem" resulting in an amazing car that's better than just about anything out there despite that intuitively you'd think it shouldn't work with the weird weight distribution. My 2 cents, if you're building a Datsun to the extremes that you somehow need the Track attack or suspension that much different from stock, you're better off just racing a Miata or a Porsche. It'll be less money for a better car. You'd have to REALLY love the body style of the S30 to commit to that much of a change. A lot of people here have built amazing custom suspension, so no disrespect to them, but most people I see going to extremes like this on facebook or elsewhere rarely ever drive or even finish their cars. I'd rather be out cruising and having fun in a "just okay" car that looks great, and didn't cost me as much as a 911.

Honestly it's the same even with mine. I'm sure it has some hidden rust, but most of it was sandblasted before paint. There's no rot anywhere that I can see, so I've used internal frame coating anywhere I could reach to hopefully prevent rust problems, but it seems like the smallest bits of exposed metal can spread rust. I'm at a point where I just don't worry about it as much because I just want to enjoy it.

Despite the rust, my first shell was suprisingly complete... But did not have the compressor. I haven't bought one yet. Probably won't get it until spring. The original isn't great anyway, but the winter I've saved for anything inside the car. I don't have a garage and my carport is downhill from the alley so anything I have to work on for more than a few minutes outside the car or on the floor isn't a fun time. I'll check into adapters before I order anything! If not I'll check with a local shop to see if they're willing to modify my lines.

The VVEL is exactly the issue, unless you have a VQ35DE in which case the later engines also have dual throttle bodies instead of a single one. There's no cheap clever trickery you can do to to just bolt up the engine where a VQ35 was. All the engine electronics have to be swapped over, and your electronics may or may not play well in the new chassis which is where at 350/370z group would come in handy. G35 isn't particularly expensive anymore, I'm not sure all the cost and effort would be worth it. Unless you're swapping the engine into some other fun project like an old Z like ours, you're better off just selling the engine and buying another G35 or 350z. If you have a manual tranmission in the G37 I'm sure the selling price of the engine/trans combo alone would get you most of the way to a decent G35. Google is your friend for kits. Major differences are what I listed above.VVEL and .3L extra displacement are the most notable differences, but it's different and more difficult enough that I can count on one hand how many people are using the vq37 in a swap.

This pictures make me so happy I opted to buy a better shell from someone out of Texas before doing more to the project. I despise rust. Work looks good so far though!