northwoodz

Thanks, and I know it only started out inexpensive! (maybe I should update the title?), the recent work added up but was well worth it. I do plan to increase the handling before my next auto-x event and I also plan on doing more to the aesthetics to the car like bodywork, fresh paint, a front air dam and rear wing. I also want to upgrade the instrumentation and possibly cam the engine or upgrade to more displacement. We'll see how things go. I appreciate the comment!

My cheap EBay fuel pump has gone bad (surprise) and so I have not been driving the Z lately. I have an Airtex with a lifetime warranty picked out to get her back on the road. I have lost interest in the car again so may be going up for sale not sure.

Had a great time at autocross over the long weekend with the z! Went great had a blast . VID_20180526_135032803.mp4

Memorial weekend is going to be packed with local car events I thought I would miss but the Z is actually at a point where if I decide to not start any body work besides fitting the flares I could attend. Friday there is a local car meet and saturday there is an autocross event as well as street night at the local drag strip and autocross again sunday. I am really going to push to get this z back on the road so I can attend all of these I think it will be a blast. Forgot to post pic of exhaust reworked for new trans and trans mount Vogtland Springs installed. Went smoothly old struts were in good shape. Liking the stance a lot that these springs gave

Did you take the small bolt out of the middle? I believe it is there to keep the pin located. That mount certainly is interesting.

Another update. Tax return parts are rolling in! Shifter relocated back and down and linkages modified. New moog radius rod bushings vs. old ones New sway bar links vs. old ones Tires came in Picked up a R200 from a buddy. Was supposed to be a LSD from a 300zxt but I immediately could tell it was from a 280zxt instead by the mount. Turned out to be a welded up open diff 3.54. Bummer but price was right and I guess the 280zxt cv's are a good future upgrade. Driveshaft fit like a glove Urethane mustache bushings in Copper-nickel fuel lines run Wheels! Carpet kit also came in so will be installing that in the next few days and getting interior back together. Waiting on Vogtland springs and flares to arrive and will start repairs on rear quarters and body work

Unpacked the wheels last night, got tires mounted and test fit on the car. Interestingly once they were in the states were sent next day air to me. Very pleased with the overall quality of these. The castings and finish is very nice, the powder coat is tough too I had a couple whoops moments getting the tires on, not a scratch left behind. The only negative thing I can say so far is there is clear packing tape holding the lip protectors on in the box, if you don't take your time removing it will leave residue all over your new wheels. It will be awhile before I can actually road test them though, I still have a ton of work to do to the car. Should be a good test subject for them being on a heavy 2+2 with some torque. I will post plenty of pics in my build thread. Didn't want to clog up your post with my junk. Hope this helps in your decision. I would not hesitate to deal with this guy on EBay. We talked back and fourth for a few days before pulling the trigger. He is good to deal with.

The watanabe knockoffs. 15x10 and 15x9 -25. Going on a v8 street car. https://www.ebay.com/itm/JDM-15-GunMetal-Staggered-wheels-240z-watanabe-RS-banana-Z31-s30-ae86-s31-rkr/162985674604?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

I have a set of wheels that just arrived at the house from that same EBay seller, will let you know if they fall apart and attempt murder on me. They showed up really fast all the way from Malaysia.

I would for sure grab the hazard switch from the console and plug it back in the car. All the lights usually work in my 280 but the second I removed the console and that switch all kinds of weird stuff happened. Turn signals in many vehicles will partially ground through the running lights and cause weird things to happen when they loose part of the circuit. Not saying its your problem but it only takes a second and won't cost you anything. Just trying to help.

Definitely check the 4 big fusible links by the battery. One of those feeds the lighting for the car and those have messed me up so many times. They often have a loose connection at the blade terminal or the wire snaps off. Also make sure you didn't remove your center console for whatever reason. I chased having no turn signals all day once to figure out it was because the hazard switch in the console wasn't connected. Is your multi-function switch working for any other functions (wipers?) maybe it got disturbed when replacing the blinker relay.

Sorry for the bad luck! But welcome to the forums. I'm sure there is more than a few people with the parts you are looking for. Cool Z you picked up there. Hopefully back on 4 wheels soon!

Well, Sorry to disappoint Nick and any others, the ETA on the Japan Racing wheels were 6-9 months so I scrapped the order and went with similar wheels off Evil Bay from that seller in Malaysia. These are very similar in price and fitment with a nice gloss gun metal color that should be unique. Hopefully they are OK, they don't seem as nice as the JR wheels but I bought what was available. https://www.ebay.com/itm/JDM-15-GunMetal-Staggered-wheels-240z-watanabe-RS-banana-Z31-s30-ae86-s31-rkr/162985674604?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 More metal work, Outside fish plate/wheel well patch with plug weld holes. I was impressed with myself on how this picasso came out. Getting the groove right for the existing pinch weld up the middle is a challenge. lower fish plate Transmission mount version 2. Much beefier. Used part of original Z mount. Sanded all the metal work with 80 grit d-a before primer Zinc self-etching primer and then SEM seam sealer Satin black chassis & equipment enamel Made a pass at the trans with the wire wheel. Working on relocating shifter rearward and extending linkages before installing this unit.

Hey Nick, Feel free to post all you want in this thread. Otherwise I feel like i'm talking to an empty room. The Japan Racing wheels appear very high quality in the pictures, are moderately priced and carried by some high end dealers so I expect the quality to be pretty good. So far performancealloys.com has been great to deal with. Real car people. They carry all the top brands as well and seem to like the JR line. The JR19 are the 8 spoke ones like a traditional wantanabe, yes. It is pretty common for a lot of aftermarket wheels and even aftermarket brake rotors to have dual bolt patterns. Even high end brands like ssr, bbs and wilwood. So I wouldnt worry about that at all.

I was notified today that the wheels I ordered for the front are on factory backorder I have a long ways to go before that regardless but hopefully they'll be in soon. New sway bar links and strut rod bushings from rock auto showed up. Still need to install mustache bushings too Balanced driveshaft from fastshafts. No more shaking like a mexican spaceship Got the passenger sub-frame connection done last night Passenger support done Inside filler / fish plate List of things left to do: -outside fish plate & wheel well patch -design & fab new trans brace w/ clearence for exhaust & hard lines -sand, wash, self-etch, seam seal, paint new metal work -run fuel, brake lines, fuel pump wires -replace bushings -install np440 trans -install and modify shifter -install driveshaft -reinstall exhaust -drop springs & struts -fix rear quarters -cut fenders, mock up zg flares. -body work, paint -lsd -interior revamp. Seats, carpet, gauges, sound, dash repair. recolor? -roll bar -5.3 or 6.0L NA buildup & swap