jhm

The main point of the original post was the fact that someone was producing the Pantera hatch. I have edited the title to add proper emphasis where needed. Can't comment on the vendor or the quality of his work. He also advertises on some the of S30 FB pages under the name "Jhosua Ramos" and it appears that he produces parts for other Japanese cars as well.

Quite honestly, the easiest (and best overall) solution might be to replace and reroute now. That just does not look like a good location for the fuel line for several reasons. Keeping it inside the trans tunnel is good for protecting the lines, but choose a more accessible location so you can easily repair or replace in the future. Not sure about running rubber line for that long run from rear to front. That's typically metal line for safety and durability purposes. I personally prefer Cunifer (Copper-Nickel); but others prefer stainless steel, or something else. Maybe rubber with braided stainless wrap is an option here if you are against running new metal line for whatever reason? I'm sure others much smarter than me will pipe in with recommendations. If you don't have previous experience fabricating brake and fuel lines, now's as good a time as any to learn. It's actually quite easy once you've done it a couple times, and it's a skill that will pay many dividends for a long time to come.

Hmmmm....that looks pretty sketchy (for at least a couple of reasons!). I'm assuming that's from a PO; and it's probably already on your long-term "To do list" for full replacement and rerouting. Looks like a mounting tab or piece of the casting on the transmission was cut away to make room for the fuel line? That's definitely a high-probability area for damage to the fuel line....lots of vibration and movement on the drivetrain, which can obviously translate into rubbing on the fuel line. If you're not planning to replace and reroute the line anytime soon, you may want to try completely cutting that tab off now. A small angle grinder may be able to get into that space and do the job. On the plus side, your engine compartment looks quite clean and tidy!!

If I'm reading your most recent post correctly, you're saying that your fuel line ("fuel pipe") runs inside the tranny tunnel (above the transmission) and there is a connection fitting somewhere in there that's leaking but you can't reach it due to it's location above the transmission. If that's the case, you have a couple of options... You can access that area (from above) via the hole in the tranny tunnel where your shifter is located. I don't know how much room you need to access the fuel line fitting, but that may help. Second, you can unbolt your transmission mount (and the driveshaft), loosen the engine mounts, and let the engine/tranny rock back/down which should give you more working room on the fuel line. It sounds like a lot of work, but it's really not, and it may give you enough room without having to resort to pulling the tranny out entirely. Obviously, you need to fix a leaking a fuel line; but whether that's the cause of your engine not running....I honestly doubt it. It would have to be a HUGE leak to prohibit your engine from at least idling once started. It does sounds like a fuel issue, but probably something other than this one leaking line in the trans tunnel. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but good luck with the fixes.

Excellent point, Miles. I have always found NastyZ28 to be a good source for high performance SBC and BBC engines. H.A.M.B. Is another good one I've gotten useful info from.

"Too close" in which axis? I.e. What part of the caliper is too close to the rotor; and what do you mean by too close, in quantifiable terms?

Relays are a good idea on any high-load circuit.....which of course will vary from car to car. High output stereos/amps are a good example. At a minimum, I would suggest considering adding your running lights and starter to your list of relay circuits. If you have a manually-controlled electric fan, that's another good candidate for a relay, as well as the blower fan for your heating/ventilation system. You can add as many relays as you want to your harness, so don't artificially limit yourself to six.

Did your Painless harness not come with a fuse box? Or maybe it did, but you're wanting to retain the originality of your stock fuse box? If I understand your question correctly, you're asking "what's the best way to source 12V + for each of my relays?". Is that correct? If so, then you can really use any hot source available. If your stock fuse box is in good condition, then there's no reason why you couldn't use the lead for the fuel pump from the fuse box (using your example). That has the added advantage of keeping some semblance of the original circuitry should you need to trouble-shoot an electrical issue sometime down the road. Regarding the stock fuse box....if you haven't already done so, I would recommend going through it to ensure all leads, connections, and solders are in good shape. Resolder any leads that may look questionable. Clean up all contact areas with fine-grit emery paper. MSA offers some nice upgraded fuse boxes that you may want to consider: https://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/CTGY/classic10a03 .

Where did you get your rebuild kit from? Only reason I ask is because I had a similar experience recently with a rebuild kit from ZCarDepot. The seals provided for the main shaft would not seal properly and I was never able to get the rebuilt MC working properly. Ended up buying a reman unit from Cardone for about the same price as the seal rebuild kit cost. This is not intended to slam ZCarDepot; because it appears that they are just a distributor for the kits (which are produced in the UK, IIRC).

Haven't seen this vendor before, but it appears that they are producing the Pantera-style hatches....which may be of interest to folks here. http://www.jpfiberglass.net/datsun-240z-260z-280z.html

Tremendous amount of work for a couple of months. Nice result -- sounds like you're having fun with it. Welcome to the forum, and thanks for sharing!

Wow, that's insanely cheap! Please be sure to post your impressions of them if you do purchase. I don't have any personal experience with those exact flares (and that vendor); but I did purchase some cheapo flares a few years ago that look to be very similar from a vendor called "jendosa" at the time. They can certainly be made to work; but the difference in quality of materials and fitment between them and quality flares was immediately apparent. I eventually bought a nice set of fg flares from Retro-Spec (before he ran into all his recent issues); and like them much better. Thicker and stronger construction, and much better fitment to the S30 sheetmetal. I kept the cheapo flares as spares, and use them with my race setup because I don't care if they get damaged.

I'm assuming he meant strut tower bar.

Yep, I think most major car parts stores should carry them.....Autozone, Advance Auto, etc. Duralast and Cardone are two of the big providers for reman units, so anywhere that carries their line of products.

1) Relays....yes. They are an excellent addition to any high-load circuit in your system. I integrated relays into my starter, headlight, and running light circuits. Physically located them on the firewall in the passenger footwell. 2) Voltage regulator....should not need it. Any SBC in the last 30 years or so had an alternator with integral voltage regulator; and if your engine's older than that, there's a good chance that the alternator was upgraded somewhere along the way to include it. You can visually inspect the alternator to verify. 3) 3rd brake light....have you physically added a third brake light to your car? If so, then it should be wired into the same circuit as your main brake lights. If not, that part of the harness is not necessary. I added a third brake light to my car for safety, like this one: https://www.allpar.com/reviews/other/LED-third-brake-light.html

Someone here did something similar (full dash cap vs sheetmetal).....not exactly the same, but similar concept. Final product should be a good bit lighter than the stock dash. Skillard produces custom gauge pods, which may be helpful for your gauge mounting.

Yes, those areas are indeed highly structural. The upper frame rails are important for locating the upper strut mounts, and the area around the door mounts ties the upper frame rails and the rockets together (as well as providing secure mounting for the doors). It can certainly be replaced with stock metal, from a donor car. There are some good threads in the "Owners Builds" section about folks that have undertaken projects far worse than yours....so anything is possible with enough time, money, and effort. Yes, many people have replaced their entire front end with tube chassis (or partial replacement). It's not an undertaking for the faint of heart, nor is it typically done for anything but a dedicated track car.

I would agree with you and the others that the "clunk" appears to be the u-joints (or possibly even the diff itself....they are notorious for having a lot of slop in the backlash settings). A grinding noise is completely different. Put the car on jacks, run it in different gears (i.e. neutral, reverse, first, etc) and check the components individually with a stethoscope. If you don't have ready access to a scope, a long metal rod does a good job transmitting internal noises (I often use a long screwdriver or ratchet extension)....just put one end on the component and the other end in your ear. If you're hearing this noise while the car's in neutral, doesn't seem likely that it would be your differential. Possibly tranny or clutch, as you suspect.

Jon, what size allen bolts are you using? You can usually find pre-drilled allen or 12 point bolts for CV axles. Vendors like Swayaway and Kar Tek carry most common sizes in pre-drilled. Might be worth the extra expense just to avoid the hassle of drilling 2 dozen bolts.

FYI -- this is a forum for Datsuns and Nissans. You will probably have better luck posting your question on a Cadillac or GM forum.

Yes, those pictures explain a lot. I don't think Edan will be able to offer much help, given that your entire front end is custom. It may be possible to bend the sway bar, as JMort described; but I suspect it may be harder to bend wider than it would be to bend it narrower (especially with a thick bar, as yours appears to be). Custom end links might also be a practical solution. Universal sway bars can be had for pretty cheap, so maybe just look for a wider bar, and possibly one that will be adjustable to boot? It does not appear that you will be able to adjust those Silvermine LCAs any longer without significantly changing some other aspect of your suspension (e.g. LCA mounting points, sway bar mounting, the sway bar itself, etc.) And as Silverado pointed out, do you really need more neg camber (or track width)?? Good luck with it -- should be quite a nice track car once you get it all sorted!

MSA Auto is also a possible option: https://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/classic10e07/12-4250

Dave has closed up shop and moved on to other life pursuits. Someone may have one of his kits that they never installed and may be willing to sell to you... https://www.datsun-240z-upgrades.net/

MSA carries those same end links as well (slightly better price, too). https://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/classic20g/23-4115

That doesn't look like the stock crossmember. Has it already been modified or replaced with a different unit? If so, that could certainly be causing you problems (if the LCA mounting points are different than stock).