A to Z

08-25-2026 ATLAS Z UPDATE: I had a few minutes this morning, so I went ahead and prepped my new front brake calipers, by mounting the brake pads in and getting them ready for install. I got the calipers and pads from Z Car Depot.

08-23-2026 ATLAS Z UPDATE. Today was another tough one. 4+ hours in getting the clutch master cylinder rod screwed in to the custom clevis on the pedal arm and then everything bolted back up, adjusted and set up. VERY hard for me to get in there, and I am old, so it is a ball breaker. I knew it would be and put it off for months, today I did it. I managed to get the trim piece I mentioned yesterday painted silver and then after the clutch, I tackled the next issue. I don't know how, but there is no bar from the brake pedal arm to the switch so the brake lights will come on and go off. So, I simply took some sheet metal, bent and hammered a 90 and then with a sharpie and my angle grinder cut and formed a piece that I am bolting to he brake arm, that will stick out and push the brake light switch closed when the pedal is released. I drilled 2 holes through the arm and this sheet metal bracket It's hanging up painted and will be install with 2 1/4X20 bolts and nuts. After it was done it was time to relax a bit with a couple Coors and look around, I taped one of my atlas emblems to the front corner of the hood. I don't know If I will use it there or not, I can either paint it flat black to contrast on the gloss powder coat, paint it datsun metallic blue like the engine compartment, or I don't know, any ideas?

08-22-2026 ATLAS Z UPDATE: Work The Punchlist. Decided to switch it up a bit today and work a punch list of little things I just let pile up working on the bigger ticket items. Started with getting the horn installed, wiring my dual fans in, finished the clutch master cylinder in the engine compartment, topped off the transmission with some redline MT90, then finished the intake pipe, getting the air filter on the end and getting it in there good....ended up having to trim a tad more on the hood, but went pretty easy. Installed the new modified gas pedal finally, and yep....had to mod the corner of the pedal surface a tad but this time it works...Installed my combo turn signal stalk/headlights/horn and got the wires ran over to the other side to terminate later....and started on a small sheet metal cover to cover an ugly spot on the side of the head. PICS:

08-19-2026 ATLAS Z UPDATE: I got my intake tubing back from the polisher today. I like it. PICS:

well, you could look it all up on their website plstics4performance. The hatch glass actually isn't flat, it has a crown to it. It isn't just plexiglass. it is Polycarbonate, with a special hardened coating, and the vents and everything are a custom deal. I wanted it professionally done. I waited for you to volunteer to do it for me, but you never did, so.... Yes it is made in England. Cheers.

08-15-2026 ATLAS Z UPDATE. I went ahead and "restored" or rather just rebuilt the rear brakes with parts from Z Car Depot, and then installed my Techno Toy Tuning (TT3) axle shafts. As all these cars settle and move in the 50 odd years they have been around, I had to do some grinding / clearancing. I also grabbed the new rubber sway bar end link bushings I had and mounted them on the sway bar, and did so, so there is clearance from these BIG axle shafts. Inside these beautiful alloy pieces are Porsche 930 Turbo CV joints which will take more horsepower than I will ever throw at them. Dirty work, but surprisingly fun day. Progress is happening. PICS.

08-14-2026 ATLAS Z UPDATE/. Plastics 4 Performance has sent the final draft for my polycarbonate rear hatch "glass" for my approval. It is ready for production! The vents are to give the car an even more open air feel, which is what I want with this build. should look pretty cool. 8/32 bolts will be around the edge with a thin rubber layer between it and the lip on the hatch. Ferrari uses the vents for engine heat.....I used them because I like the look and as I said the open air feel.......no glass at all looks too unfinished to my eye. PICS:

I didn't like where the intake was sitting so I did what I wanted with it. It's not for cold air, my intercooler and water/methanol injection provide plenty of cool. The entire build is done the way I want it......no thought has gone into doing what other guys would do honestly. If someone wants me to do something a certain way, that can be done, via monetary donation.

Someone mentioned steering shaft clearance? I can't see how....tiny engine in a big bay.......

08-09-2026 ATLAS Z UPDATE: Ok, so I was able to get the wheel bearings in the hubs, and decided to just finish up the front wheel bearings today. I didn't have enough grease, so a quick trip to O'Reilley's and I got a tube of Valvoline Hi-Temp "Red" grease. It worked very well! The Lisle wheel bearing packer I grabbed off of Amazon for about 15 bucks did its job as well, and the back seals, I found went pretty well with a coat of grease on them. I lightly used a screwdriver to get it past the inner lip, then used a socket and tapped it with my hammer to make sure it was down and flush. Then in tightening them down I simply found the sweet spot where the play was gone and the nut keeper was aligned for the cotter pin then dropped them in and bent them up. I then quickly threw the front wheel spacers on and held the wheel on to get an idea. I think I am going to have to take a few measurements and have the spacers milled to get them exactly right for my application.:) Cheers! PICS:

08-08-2026 ATLAS Z UPDATE. Brakes! I spent a couple hours setting my ride height. It is very tiring.... putting the car up and down..... over and over, and taking it apart, adjust, drop it, raise it back up ....over and over. I think it's pretty good. After that I jumped on the brakes. I ordered the parts I needed from Z Car Depot. New front calipers and pads, TC rod bushings, end link bushings. Rear drum pads, complete drum rebuild assy, new drum wheel cylinders, new front wheel bearings and races/seals.....So I pulled the rear drums, cleaned them all up with the wire wheel in the drill and then smoothed out the pad contact surface with some 40 grit sandpaper. they were smooth and no grooves, so just this roughing is sufficient. Afterwards I cleaned up the face on them and gave them a nice coat of Duplicolor Silver engine block paint.... and they are drying. Then the front rotors. The bolts for the calipers I wire wheeled them back to nice condition, then I used a long screwdriver and a hammer and knocked the old races out, and cleaned up the hubs and got all the old grease out. Messy! Because the front rotors have no grooves at all and just surface rust, I went over the contact surface with my DA sander and 40 grit sandpaper and got them to a nice surface that the new pads can break in on well. I dropped the new races in the freezer and cleaned up some of the rest of the rotors with the wire wheel attachment in the drill. While the rotors were off, I cleaned up the splash shield behind the rotos and gave them a layer of clear also. entire braking system is now new.....DOT 5 fluid maybe? Real progress. PICS.

Plastics 4 Performance | Lexan, Makrolon, Polycarbonate Motorsport Windows

passenger floor. 1/4 X 20 nuts and bolts through the floor. Have to get a fire extinguisher over there as well. This car is more race car than street car. Strictly a street car, but it's pretty gutted. Yeah, I have door panels and panels in the rear, but no door windows, plexi rear glass ordered, no wipers, no heater, no vent air, racing style turn signal and lights stalk I have to bolt on but have it.....Just the rollbar and rear strut bar added any weight, most has been getting weight off of it. I had to reinforce the subframe to handle the power. Id like to get it under 2500.....might be hard as they have thicker sheet metal than the 240's do.

08-02-2026 ATLAS Z UPDATE. I went ahead and worked on the front end today. I dropped the struts and turned them all the way in, tightened up the cross member to shell bolts with the spacers, and did a bit of wire wheel cleaning. Then I dropped the car to get a preliminary look at where I am. It is LOW. LOW, LOW, LOW! The rear quarters are on the tires, so I will have to bring that up at least an inch and then fine tune from there. I will probably do that and then drop the axle shafts in at the same time. In the front, I have about 2 inches of clearance ground to K member, and my exhaust is less than an inch. So, now I know where I am at, and can make adjustments. I might space the front wheels out an inch. I also remade the electric panel....the old one I didn't like, so I did a layout and mounted it all up. Much better. Intake pipes go in for welding and sanding, then the polisher. Click on "MOV" for short video. PICS: IMG_4592.MOV

08-01-2026 ATLAS Z UPDATE: Today I dropped the rear struts, adjusted them and set the ride height. While there I wire wheeled the area to do more cleanup for the eventual clear coating of stuff. After that I finished the intake tubing project and got everything marked for welding, sanding smooth and polishing again. I laid out the PTFE braided brake hose and installed it, with jsut the rear remaining to be done. At the rear splitter the factory fittings just wouldn't budge, so I cut the old lines, took the splitter out and fixed it and reinstalled. It's made of brass....old school facotry stuff, very cool. I will have to order more from "Finishing Lines". I also got the right size serpentine belt from DAYCO and it is installed for my custom setup. And then I finished the day cleaning up the cutout on the hood. A bit of paint touchup and buffing and it will be great. PICS: