Pharaohabq

Hey Justin, That's a great find! How much do they want for it? I would love to find a series 1 like that. It doesn't look like it needs too much (figuratively speaking) work to get it going. Those Rust holes do not bode very well, in that you know there's gotta be some more hidden rust underneath most likely, and also, how are the frame rails? The Rear wheel arches can be replaced with Tabco parts, and that crack by the roof could be rust in the A pillar. It really looks good for it's almost 40 years of age, so if the price is right, then buy it. Either that or let me know and I'll come get it Too bad you didn't find it before you bought the other two, but that's learning... the other ones you can work on, this one you can restore to drivable, then you'll have something to run to the autoparts store in. Just remember, you're running down a long road having multiple Z's to fix up It's hard enough conscientrating on one Z, much less 2. I know a guy in Espanola and some others here in ABQ that might have parts for you cheap, like that door, and center console.. I totally want a series 1 vented hatch. The Brown interior is really cool, but it might be hard to match vinyl. you might call MSA, black dragon, or Datsun restore and see if they have that "spice" kind of color for 240z's. Again, nice find, hope the price is cheap... Phar

Yeah $1500 might be too much, but it depends on what shape the body is in, I wouldn't let a Dash really be a deal breaker. I think starting at offering him $1K is probably pretty good. Though make sure you check the Vin #'s to the title if the dash is out. you don't want to have any issues. It's unfortunate that it's been taken apart, hopefully he's got all the little nuts and bolts. it's a pain to have to run down missing pieces. If you get to do it yourself, then you have better control over things, but on the same token, if it's already out, then he's saved you some work (maybe) in your teardown. One piece of advice I've heard many times in preparing for my own teardown: "Don't throw anything away until you're done" even if you think you're never going to use a part, you might find later on it had a plue on it, or a special sized bolt, or that an aftermarket part doesn't fit right. So get a pallet and a big rubbermaid trash bin, and just put everything in there until you're sure you're done. Your plan looks pretty similar to mine, tho I'm putting a VQ35HR into a 78' 280z.. Pharaoh

What Grit do you wetsand your primer coat with? and with your base coat, if you end up with a drip or obvious imperfection, can you sand it out if you're going to spray another base coat over it? How long between base coats should be waited?

EPA, the environmental protection agency. they're the guys who'll come fine your butt heavilly if you pour used motor oil out in your back yard.. (just take it and drop it at any oil change place. )Yeah, It's important when you're doing body work, to pay atention to both sides of the panel you're repairing, if it's external, then the back needs to be sealed too. Could rust from behind if you don't.. Seen it lots of times.. Phar

that was interresting, I think I'll stick with the modified crossmember first and see later what I need to do with the Caster. I'm not planning on autocrossing, so hopefully I'll be good with just stock suspension. though I'm still kicking the idea of power steering around. by "U" in the crossmember down and forward under the steering rack I should have plenty of space for the front of the engine., and It should still be plenty strong for the suspension to mount to. Guh, I need to finish my honey-do list so I can get started on mine...

Hmm... So moving it forward 1.25" would improve caster, What other effects would it have on the steering? I don't understand so much about steering geometry, but as much space in front of the engine as I can get would be best. My lack of steering knowlege makes me nervous about making any changes. Phar

Yeah, I know. Getting info from them is kinda like pulling teeth. it's kinda annoying, but hey, what can you do.? It would be nice if the junkyards around here actually kept the 350z cars they get in, but most of those go to the big yards on the coasts.

I'm glad you guys worked it out. If you're going to keep the car, justin, you'll need to get the other plates to match the one stamped into the body. it's a pain, I know, but it's how to do it, it doesn't matter if the plates aren't original, it only matters that they match the body, and that that matches the title. Keep a copy of the police report, since that's your protection should you decide to sell it, or even part it out. You should be able to get registered on the Body stamped vin if it matches your title. Rolling Chassis only req 1 VIN. The other parts are legal unless those parts came off a stolen car. so I'd assume the cops checked Both vins and found them ok. If someone is driving around w/ your VIN, having talked to the cops already is also your protection, tho again it's the body/chassis vin that really matters in this case. Phar

Wonder if that worked... It's possible when you ran out of gas your Fuel filter sucked in some crud and became clogged, you probably want to replace it and see what difference that makes. Z gas tanks are notorious for getting rust and crud inside over the past 30 odd years.

if you do scratch it you can clean it uing a soft cloth and pledge. At least that's what we use on the cherokee windshield before a flight.

that sounds about right, Though how much is it really worth to do that kind of work? You can get a Southwestern car, w/ little to no rust then strip primer and paint as above, with the bedliner as he'd described, and likely the car would last longer than you'll need. It is also possible to take a car, strip it completely and have it vat dipped and zinc plated. though again what's it really worth to have that done? You can go through all the work you want, then get a scratch and in a salty humid climate (rust belt) you'd have bubbling under your "perfect" paint job. So, I'm not saying don't do it, I'm just saying you'll need to keep in mind that maintinance is just as important. Phar

yeah, looks like a pretty decent base. It doesn't need too much cosmetically, though I would wonder how much work has been done to it since there's obviously some previous restoration efforts. What are you thinking of offering? I wouldn't doubt $1000 would be a good start with the interior. Though east coast prices may be higher. Be sure to check the body behind the front wheels and floorpans for exterior rust.

It's looking good there Justin, Have you guys decided on a paint color yet? I've been trying to make that decision myself, and it's kinda a tough one, but since you'll have everything out of the car paint is going to be a question soon. Are you planning on pulling the suspensions and cleaning that up w/ new rubber bushings, and maybe some coilovers? Phar

I didn't want to move mine forward, only making it more U shaped for better fit. another idea is to "U" it lower so it fits under the front of the engine, this would also give me a good surface to mount a skid plate for the oilpan. I don't want to move it since I don't want to change the steering geometry. Myron, if I remember correctly you did something similar to how Austin did his. Cutting and notching then boxing in the remaining parts.

Oop! you're right, Somehow I really thought he asked weight... I'll have to get out the tape tonight and see, it'll be interrsting to see what the hight difference is between the DE and HR Vq35's. I'm expecting to have to put a good skid plate on my 280Z after I get it put in, since the HR is supposed to be a taller block, tho shorter heads/intake I guess we'll see. though the top of the intake on my HR is all plastic. I may be able to sand down the ribs a little if I have clearance trouble. I'm also planning on mounting my HR a little more forward than you and Austin did. though that'll mean really modifying my crossmember. I was thinking about getting a plate cut in sort of a "U" dogbone shape and welding that below the steering rack, boxing it in and bolting it in front of the crossmember and to the crossmember fame mounts. Then modify the crossmember so that It's mostly under the steering rack which should hopefully give me enough room to keep my hood latch. Unfortunately I don't yet know what spacing I'll need for the shifter to be in more or less stock position. I was going to buy one of Austin's adapters, but until I know the fit on this I may need to wait. Phar

that sucks. It could be that prior your turbo overheated w/o enough flow to keep it lubed and it cooked it's bearings. being an inch off I'd say it was installed wrong, to start with, but you're going to need to put it out and see what's going on. Sucks, it hurts to think it might be dead... jim... heh.

okay, looking for a source for bolts... I need the bolts to bolt the tranny to the engine, and other misc M10 and M14 bolts. Anyone know what grade the engine/tranny bolts should be? 5? I've never had to worry about these before so it's hard to say even what size I need. I guess I need to hit the dealership up and ask a lot of questions. Phar

He's probably got better numberts than me, but My VQ35HR weighs about 375lbs sitting on the pallet. but that's w/o my cats or flywheel installed. phar

I know this is a little off from our current topic in this thread, though it's still the right thread... But... Derek, what do you think of making instead of triplets, or dual horns, just making single horns that have mounting holes predrilled, or dempled for different intake bolt patterns. this way you could sell, 4 for 4 cyl, 6 for 6 cyl, or 12 if someone has an old jag engine. hmm I guess dual horns work just as well, but singularly they have a better chance of fitting multiple engines, or at least being made to fit... linkages may be difficult though, unless you can come up with n easy standard configuration for them. Separately, have you looks down inside to see how the plates and that goo stuff are holding up? all the screws staying tight? Interresting lessons learned on this about the MS tuning.. Keeping the Map away from the IAC, you wouldn't think was a big deal, but apparently there's enough vaccuum variance at that point to really make a difference. Phar

Well good luck with it. It's now been 2 years for me, and I still see just fine! Hope it all goes well.

Well as soon as you get the prototypes finished, you can get someone like klearz to do injection moulding for production. that should bring your price way down since you'll only be milling the originals, the rest can be moulded and shaved and should be easy to produce. though I'm not sure what small lot costs would be. though you might already have a production house in mind... Phar they look nice though, and I will keep you in mind when I decide how I'm doing my gauges for my VQHR swap.

Here's to hoping you get hired. In the meantime can you call the dealership and see if they have a Quest tonewheel/flywheel availiable in stock? maybe napa? I don't expect they burn clutches very often. so probably it would have to be ordered. If you ran the Z31 system on an L28, and the Z31 is similar to the quest, wouldn't it stand to reason that the quest system should run on a L28 pretty easilly. Oh and I highly doubt anything reads the ring gear on the flywheel, they have you inspect the teeth since they're easilly damaged if you drop the wheel, and you don't want to install a flywheel with bad teeth, since you'll end up pulling it again in short order. that's the only reason is says to inspect. Phar

Okay, just to be positive on this: ~93 Subaru Rack (legacy?) not the tercel rack. The Tercel EV168 inner ends M14x1.5 both sides My Stock S30 outter ends Should work as a bolt on setup, right? I don't want to spend a lot of $ on this part if we're not certain. Alternatively we can use the Celica EV167 inners and the Forrester ES3712 outers to work too right? For the PS pump/reservoir, How about a Stock 350Z pump and reservoir, think those would work? Thanks Phar

The Stock 280Z vaccuum reservoir should work. it's just a 1/4" hose you could reconnect. Phar

Well I had a little spare time, and I used a picture of Austin's (Ahoke) 240z. I photoshopped the mini lights into it, but I need to measure a mini bulb and see if it's a similar diameter. I think the S30's use 7 and 1/4 in bulbs. Phar