Zetsaz

Tiny updates and partially just a list for me to do over summer while I'm thinking of it: Recent purchases: -Floor mats (finally). We'll see if these even work, Between my sound deadening and carpet, I think the gas pedal might start rubbing against the carpet. -Engine lift hooks (mine were cracked). Important for lifting and replacing the crossmember and steering rack this summer -OEM brake booster check valve. Summer work in order of priority for this summer: -Replace glass fuel filter -Replace crossmember along with steering rack and re-align -Purchase correct size coupler for new throttle -Chamfer IAC inlet on throttle with a dremel (some serious whistling sounds happening, really obnoxious) -Redo intake side of intercooler piping -Tighten coolant lines and refill coolant. -Make power subharness from relay board on passenger side out to driver side where the ECU is under the seat -Install catch can (even if hose routing isn't super tidy) Lower priority -Redo center section of exhaust to improve clearance (would be high priority if I was driving more, but moving to mexico changed things haha. -Replace exhaust hangers with more rigid pieces to remove rattle. -Finally bother to build the AC hoses and charge AC system. -

You always seem a few steps ahead of me and with better attention to detail haha. That RMS is a job I'm hoping to do this summer. I have a leak in the same area. Same with the Z Car Garage brakes.

Are you still running the original ammeter? There's a reason they switched to volt meters with the 280z, lots of current going through the dash harness.

Where did you get the flywheel tool? And any chance you can share the file for that seal tool? I've had a notorious leak that I'm almost positive is the rear main seal so I may be doing this next time I'm home. My brother wants the leak fixed so he doesn't have to have cardboard under the car when it gets stored at his new house haha. Debating going with a lightweight flywheel while I'm there, but since I'm making less money now (though saving as much with fewer expenses) I'm avoiding too many "mid cost" sort of items so I can save for a major brake upgrade down the road.

Do you already have the engine? If not I'm not sure why you would go through the trouble, when a VQ swap is probably more readily available and has more support now. If you already have the engine, Simtec Motorsports did a VG30DE a long while ago and could be of some help. More people have done the VG30E just due to space constraints. Biggest issue with V6 or V8 with DOHC is just the width. Lots of space in the engine bay on an S30, but it's not very wide.

Moving is no joke! I'm out of the country now. Just did some work on mine for the first time in 6 months and I thought that alone was long enough

Heading back to Mexico tomorrow. First thing I got done was shortening the coolant line to the turbo. But also remembering the housings make this thing impossible to tighten. Need to find some low profile AN wrenches or something. Didn't quite get everything done, but DID manage to make a better wiring harness. It's not amazing but it's better than it used to be. Notable improvements are: -Actually reaching the new sensor location -More tucked up wiring around the thermostat housing -No more terrible grounds. Ecu grounds now run to an intake bolt near injectors 5+6 -Fewer crimped or soldered connections that were just temporary repairs of of PO's work to better suit what I was doing -Sensor ground connections and splits are more well thought out -Pre-ran required wiring for a fuel pressure sensor for extra security later -Now has boost controller wired, Owner had de-pinned a lot of the other harness. Notable wastes of time: -My longer harness may not even get me where I wanted. Planned for under driver seat, but may not work as well as I thought -Didn't improve the way I was running 12v lines for the injectors and coils. If I wasn't a total amateur I'd be rewiring the whole car same time and putting the ECU in a way better spot right next to relays. -Need to make a little sub harness to get power from driver side of the car to my relays on the passenger side, but it'll at least be better than the hack job I did last time -All that work meant I didn't replace the glass oil filter -Bought the wrong size silicone coupler for the throttle, but I may need to remake the intercooler pipe going from the IC to the throttle anyway, so this thing isn't moving soon.

Didn't quite want to do that just yet but ended up having to clearance the exhaust housing just slightly so I wouldn't risk the rod rubbing and restricting the movement. So here's what I ended up with for now. I removed the bolts and clocked it over to a position that cleared the plenum then marked and drill new holes. Couldn't go the opposite direction without cutting and rewelding to change the mount. Most aftermarket billet pieces are only two bolts and slotted so you're not limited by the clock of the compressor housing, so I figured this will be okay. Compressor threaded hole that used to be occupied with the hole on the far left of the bracket will just be a washer now. Got the intake mounted and it clears fine! Did the throttle cable as well but not entirely happy with how much it has to flip direction with the skillard Lokar bracket. Seems to work fine for now, but I'll just run it through the firewall and direct to the pedal when I have more time. Next step is shortening the AN hose going to the turbo, but now that's it's looking so much tidier I'm tempted to start rewiring. I initially just used the partially completed harness from the previous owner but it's not as nice as I'd like.

Drilling into that brand new flange on such an expensive part (even with black friday discounts) raised my blood pressure for a few hours haha. Especially on a part that's so Immediately visible when you open the hood

Yeah I just drilled a hole. Took a sec to figure out the most Ideal way. At first I did it with some tape, but then remembered it had to be reversed. Piece of paper then taped was easier to flip, but i tripled checked some distances just by using masking tape as a straight edge and measuring the distance (roughly) to the bolt holes. 3 different types of measuring and checking got me close enough. I drilled out to 5/8" which was big enough to account for small measuring errors (like the PO not drilling and tapping straight into the head for the cooling mod...). I'm juuuuust off center after checking. Might take the drill and just give it a tiny bit of extra clearance with the 5/8" bit. If I had better tools and a more proper workspace it would have been very Ideal to make some sort of U cut out from the top to pull it without disconnecting things, but as it stands I'll just have to deal with draining a bit of coolant and topping it off any time I need to service it Realistically it might be as simple as taking a saw and cutting down into the drilled portion from the top, but I don't want the exposed aluminum so visible against the anodized aluminum. Other mini project was a cable stop for the Lokar universal cable. I know one guy had issues with the cheaper one melting so I got the one with a stainless sleeve. They all come with cable ends for carbs though. I figured out the smallest cable end from a Dorman cable stop kit from any auto store is about the right size, but the hole was too small. Borrowed my brother-in-law's vise and drilled it out with his second smallest drill bit haha Currently the bigger hangup is my wastegate actuator bracket. The way I positioned it puts it right below the intake. I thought I could give it enough clearance by very slightly filing the threaded piece but it's still not enough. (my Tial piece is a bigger diameter than a more OEM style actuator). The intake is sitting right on the weld to the plenum in the center. Gonna check later if it might be possible to just reposition the mounting point by cutting it and rewelding closer to the exhaust. I still have enough room that I'm not worried about temps, but if I can move it maybe an inch and a half closer to the block It'll clear the weld and sit right between the runners for cyl 3 and 4.

Home for the holidays! Seen here is me embracing my gift to myself haha. Assembled the throttle and got the correct IAC valve (forgot mine is a 4.0l Jeep valve which is just the right amount of different from a GM valve) Did all the preassembly on the new crossmember and bolted up the new steering rack. Current job is measuring for the hole I need to drill and making my current coolant mod a bit closer to the second pic which should flow better and clear the new solid flange on the Protunerz intake

Cousin 3D printed one for me. I didn't bother smoothing it out. Didn't have to be red, just what he had available out of PETG for better heat resistance at the time. Could still be smoothed out more.

Top End Performance also does work on Datsun engines. Apparently they did most of the work on my block before I got it, but I also have a custom ground cam from them They have a lot of albums available so you can see some of their work. Their site says they do flow testing too, but I'm not sure many people have that much info out. https://www.flickr.com/photos/tep_icp/sets/

PETG. Should hold up fine. Cousin said the biggest difference (since it's not in the trans tunnel like on a 240) will be UV resistance so it's fine since it's not exposed to sunlight really. We'll reprint in ABS if it's an issue. Apparently he would have just printed in ABS first time (even though he thinks it won't be necessary), but he only had neon green haha

New 3D printed fuel and brake line brackets done Hoping to get these while I'm home for the break. Cousin is shipping them out today. They're designed for stock, I'm hoping my situation is close enough that they're usable. Printed 10 just in case

I'll probably take you up on this! I really appreciate it Bit of something happening at my cousin's right now, too 👀

Oh sorry, considering your location I should have been more clear haha. My paint job was done in Utah He did more full jobs when he lived in California. Since he hadn't done it in ages he was up for it.

I paid $6300 for my paint job a couple summers ago. To be honest it may have been low for the level of work done (the $300 over is from triple stage since I chose to go with Lexus "Ultra Sonic Blue Mica 2.0" but slightly adjusted to be a bit darker so it only really POPPED in daylight) I will second @JMortensen, jobs like this are the sort most places will just have in the back while they're working on insurance work. I got mine done by a Mexican guy that used to do customs in California but has basically exclusively done insurance work lately. I was lucky enough that he was up for doing a full car because he hadn't in a very long time, but at less than a month start to finish as that shops only project he probably actually lost a tiny bit of money on the hours. If we had taken more time with it and spent closer to 7k+ it would have been closer to perfect. It's a great job and I'm happy for the price, but certain things just take more time and imperfections on anything done relatively fast start to show. I saved some helping with assembly, but agree with Jon again. Do all your prep to your standards, take it in taken apart so they know exactly which parts you want apart and what you want sprayed, then assemble yourself slowly.

Black Friday sales plus an extra discount since I didn't need the fuel rail made me cave. Brother took a pic for me when it arrived. Lots to do when I get home for Christmas! A lot of my family will actually be out of town when I'm home, so it'll mostly be working on the car when I'm not hanging with my twin sister/brother-in-law/nieces. Sold my engine hoist to a friend when I left WA, so I'm not sure I'll be under the car much to install the Apex crossmember (plus I don't want to be on the cold floor much. I'll probably assemble the crossmember and steering rack so it's ready to install in the spring then focus my time on drilling out the hole on the new intake necessary to clear the head cooling mod. Super excited to have the cleaner setup, much improved IAC location, and an intake that'll actually work better with the ported head.

Looks about like mind did after sandblasting at @jpndave's place and having his son help me weld haha. I remember they just sort of handed me the little blast pot and let me go to town in the "yard" of the new property haha

Thanks! Also related, things you're mentioning are why I went with BC coilovers. I like that the full strut body adjusts without affecting the spring preload. In the future if I want much better performance I'd just go with KW but I can't justify it with how little I drive the car now that I'm out of the country

Where did you get your silicone sheet for the shifter? Did you just cut your own hole? I need to do something similar. I have a stock boot flipped 180 with the shifter hole opened up but since it's formed for the opposite direction it's pulling slightly while in gear which isn't good.

Wanted to buy this but need to relocate my MS3x first. It's in the stock ecu location but much fatter, so these wouldn't work until then Just rear 6x9 speakers in a replacement taillight panel cover like the one MSA sells is your best bet then if you want something easy. You can always wire for front speakers and figure out what you want to do with those later.

Route your aftermarket FPR the way the manufacturer recommends, I have mine off the vacuum port in the middle of the intake between the 3-4 runners. Yes! Fast idle valve, but no, not necessary yet. Pretty sure your car also needs vacuum going to the bottom of the distributor for the vacuum advance. Fast idle isn't needed for heat, but you do need the vacuum canister with vacuum lines going the right places for the stock system to have heat. IIRC, the system defaults to AC mode if your lines are unplugged. Probably a failsafe so you're not cooking in the summer when people are more likely to drive a sports car.

Do you have the FSM? There's a section that can help you with vacuum line routing. I would double check where you have your lines routed to and see what's missing or incorrectly installed compared to stock. Realistically here aren't that many vacuum lines you NEED just to move, but stuff like the AAR definitely help for cold starts. Also looks like you have an aftermarket fuel pressure regulator, so I would double check your vacuum to that. I forget what the FSM calls it, but it looks like you're also missing the little booster that pulls on the throttle linkage when the AC puts load on the engine. Kind of primitive but functional piece that would also be connected to the vacuum canister.