Fuzzydicerule
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Posts posted by Fuzzydicerule
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Two Things i can think of
-Choke stuck open, make sure the linkage is not pulled tight
-Throttle linkage is not installed properly, unhook it and make sure the butterfly valves are fully shut, also make sure they have their return springs.
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Dailying these cars can be fun, and if you have a good, well running example on one, then it most likely will be, But if you have one like my first Z (bought that pile for 900 bucks) or SDgoods' first Z, That doesnt like to stay running reliably for more than a week, or likes to laugh at you while the electrical system shits its pants and drains the battery after 2 days of sitting, youre gonna have a bad time, and one of two things will happen, A; You will get frustrated, sell the car, and never want to see a Z again, or B: you will get frustrated, and out the car down into a long term project that it may never see the end of.
Just some food for thought, we arent by any means trying to dissuade you, rather just letting you know what youre in for, especially if you pick a sub-par candidate for a car.
A good prerequisite, invest in a GOOD set of tools, a jack and jack stands, if you dont already have some, you will more than likely use them in short order.
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Hey guys! This is my first post on the fourm, but i have been looking through posts for about 2 months now. I am a 16 year old high school student who LOVES the datsun Z cars. It has been an intrest, basically an obsession, to build one of my own. So i guess i just have a bunch of questions that i would love to have answered. Thanks!
Alighty guys, so i have very little knowledge in mechanics but i have tons of family friends who just so happen to own their own shops so i dont think actually doing mechanical things would be a huge problem. So basically what i want to do is build a 240, 260, or 280Z. I currently drive a 2007 nissan maxima and i love it but i really want a manual transmission and i love the way the Zs look.
so here are my questions and inquiries.
should i go with an already partially restored or restored z and just fork out the extra cash? or go with one i can restore myself. Depends on your skill set, if you cant do something and arent willing to learn, factor that into the cost vs buying something without that issue. (Rust is a big one on that list, if you cant weld, and dont have the means, make damn sure that you buy a rust free car, or one thats had the rust fixed already, preferrably by a reputable shop, same goes with running issues. while these cars arent hard to work on, if you are not WILLING to work on it, youre gonna have a bad time.
should i stay with the stock engine or swap to a 350z, i forget the numbers and letters, motor or even a L28et? of corse i want to go fast hahaha VQ35's arent a terribly common swap, and will require a lot of custom fabrication. L28ET's are a direct swap, as far as mounts and transmissions are concerned, and then you only have to worry about the electronics... Being 16, i would recommend running a mild build L28, the nice thing about the L series is, Nearly every intake and exhaust combo will work on nearly every motor (with a few minor exceptions) So if you have a 240z running Su carburetors on the stock L24, you can bolt up those carbs to a L28 that originally came EFI, Toss the distributor on in much the same fashion, Bolt up the Exhaust (or replace the header, depending on the head) tune her up and drive away. Possibly only needing a rebuild and new needles on the carbs.
i dont want a track moster or a show car. i want something nice looking and fast(16 year old fast) that wont berak the bank in upgrading parts
what will i need? Money and time. Its an old car, things will break, just be ready for it. Some minor lowering springs and good strut inserts are never a bad plan, as well as tie rods and a good bushing kit to freshen up the suspension. A basic tune up is always a good idea
i guess my thing is i want to know what is the best platform for building a Z and i want to know virtually everything to build my Z 240's are the lightest, The second quickest, and the least rigid. Usually the best option due to SMOG EXEMPTION. That is more than likely the most important part depending on your state. 280's are the heaviest, the slowest (dispite the big motor) and the most rigid (not a huge difference), They are also the ugliest, due to DOT Diving board bumpers, and a more "80s" interior styling, All 280s will require a smog check in CA (i see you are in florida, you have nothing to worry about) They are fuel injected, but from my (limited) knowledge, is a poor system, prone to overheating and vapor locking, 260's came in two varieties... Early, which is basically a 240 with more power, these are the fastest of the S30's, they also only made them in 74. And late, Basically a 280, only slower, shit carbs, everything else bad about the 280, with a smaller motor. That being said, they all have nearly identical drivelines, and suspension, as well as potential
thanks guys, i know my questions are very vague but it's hard to describe exactly what i want on here
thanks again guys!
Just remember, the only opinion that matters is your own, get and do what makes you happy, but people here will always be willing to help.
Like the Good man (see what i did there daniel?) above me said, Dailying one of these cars is not for the faint hearted, but it is doable, but be ready to work on the damn thing...
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AS the title states. i have a Long Nose R200 with a viscous LSD unit (supposedly rare, 88 300zx SS only or something like that) laying around that i need to get rid of. only issue is i have no idea what this kind of diff is worth. anyone have any input on that?
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Junkyard, ebay, and craigslist are your best options, ive never seen any new or NOS available, at least not for the motor and linkage... While your at it, upgrade the motor (honda motors are the most common) for faster, and more reliable wipers.
AVOID the parts store crap wiper blade, they use a plastic adapter to the stock style mount and it is not strong by any stretch of the imagination. my buddy (PO of my current car) lost one in the middle of a storm, unfortunately the only other option i know of is a ~70 dollar per pair NOS. They sure do look pretty though
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im not a terrible fan of the way the 818 looks otherwise it would be a contender,
that and i have an LS1 that needs a home and a fox body for donor parts
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You planning on coming to the del mar/56 freeway area? If not I can swing by whenever you've got time, I would come by today but I am currently on the tail end of a drive from SLO and I don't think I'm gonna feel like going to el cajon when I get home, let alone much of anywhere. I'm off Tuesday and Wednesday if you're gonna be around either of those days as well
As far as kits, I'd love a Type 65 But I have a suspicion ill end up with a roadster due to my size, but that's why I want to stare at your car again, I want to see if there's any room for frame/ aluminum mods to get my fat ass to fit any better,
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Nice work Dave, good to see how she's improved in a year, You going to be doing any Work on it in the near future? I'm looking into ffr kits and I kind of want to take a look at yours again to see what kind of modifications can be made for more Driver room
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I can contend to te "don't worry about it" mindset, I'm in Cali, I've never had a front plate on any of my performance cars and only once have I ha it even mentioned by a cop
That being said I have a friend whose only been pulled over twice and both were for no front plate
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Make sure the linkage nuts(on either end of the throttle blade rod) aren't too tight or it may cause an internal bond, and as said before, remove that middle support, it not needed and only creates problems
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I don't believe much, if anything is the same, only drivetrain components
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Do you have a strut tower brace? it would be fairly easy (as far as my overstimulated, under rested, insomniac brain is concerned at 1:45 AM) to tie in a bar from the STB straight back to the clutch and brake MC mounts (ive watched how much the firewall flexes under brake pressure, it needs it too...
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car looks awesome, but one note
you dont want the fuel cell supported the way you do, those tabs are not for mounting, they just make for a convenient place to bolt straps on straps, and help with mock up i suppose, you MUST have a set of straps supporting the cell, or a box of some sort, or those tabs will crack the welds (or the tank, or themselves) and your shiny fuel cell will be on the ground.
Most cell companies stopped adding those tabs because they are too commonly used to mount the cells.
I used 2" wide, 1/8" thick aluminum flat stock, heated with a propane torch and bent in a vice to make my straps, fairly easy to do and doesnt really detract from the look, and can be cleaned up and polished the same as the cell.
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IM impressed that you were able to find a pair of stock brake switches, i had to find something else to work then the one died in my maroon car...
Why did this get moved to the projects section btw?
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As far as the original question. The TTT Complete Coilovers are indeed bolt in, but they are just sectioned struts with Ground control style sleeves and springs. The fronts are very easy to install, if youve ever done a wheel bearing R&R, its little more work than that. , the rears are not as straightforward.The biggest issue is that the rears do not come loaded (i.e Bearings, stub axles, seals, etc) so i recommend trying to source some new bearings, inner seals, and some 280z Stub axles while youre at it. you will need a press too. One of the harbor freight bottle jack operated presses did the trick when we did that setup on my friends car.
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The alternator swap has been done, and although i dont notice a huge difference, its definitely better now.
I also lost brakes driving the other day, the wheel cylinder i -thought- i fixed ended up blowing out again, luckily, i got a box full of drum brake parts from a friend, so yesterday i was able to swap the shoes and wheel cylinders, and i installed new hardware and hoses, and the brakes FINALLY work properly, i may have a few small bubbles but they actually do something...
Today, i replaced my wheel bearings because i noticed a scratching sound when i would drive next to things, so i did it preemptively.
More importantly, i figured out why my car has been undriveable with these damn webers. after i did the distributor swap, (im sure it was an issue before that, i just didnt notice) i was having a HUGE rev hang issue. As in i would accelerate to 3k or so with as little gas as possible, and it would either hang at 3k for a few seconds, or rev as high as 5 k, and i would have to pull on the gas pedal with my foot to get it to come down. This made driving absolutely NO fun. after loostening and tightening all the linkages, adding ANOTHER return spring, i finally did what i should have done from the start, i took out the center support tower. I believe the difference in height was just large enough to cause a bind with the shaft, now that there is only two it is damn near impossible to have the same kind of bind in the system. my only concern doing so was that i may introduce play into the center carb, luckily however, the shaft appears to be plenty strong and has very little play, and the best thing is, NO MORE REV HANG!, i can finally drive my car and enjoy it...
except my clutch is slipping immensely, ugh, its always something. new(ish) clutch is going in next week, and from then on i should be good to go....
Also, a few misconceptions id like to clear up
I was informed (through the write up) that my stock 240z tach WOULD NOT work with the E12-80 ignition module. That was a lie, and it saved me from having to mangle my dash cover to get the tach out of there... It works great and is smooth as can be now.
I was also told the ammeter wouldnt work with the 280zx alt, it appears to work (although doesnt fluctuate so it may just be broken), either way it looks like its working...
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The meet is called Tacos & Tuners, we meet near the Wahoos Tacos In Encinitas (target shopping center off Leucadia and El Camino Real[i5 north->Leucadia BLVD East-> Its on the right/south side of leucadia) Every Thursday at 7PM-Whenever
Its not a Datsun meet, its all makes all models (albeit with a large bias towards Jap crap and Euro Trash, But when my Z's arent running i bring the Amerishit to the table)
The main Goal is to have fun, but that means fun for everybody. Hooning about isnt welcome, as we have already had issues with the police for various reasons (stupid high school girls riding on the hoods of their cars, and a locked diff are the two major ones.
Typical turnout is 30-60 cars, but there has been more and there has been less, depending on alot of variables.
Here is a terrible paint map, its in the middle of a large parking lot, so it can be slightly difficult to find, just look for the Party city and the panda express
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Yeah, up until that big group of S30's showed up there was only 3 or 4 that showed up, it was a nice change
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Ive got an 03 cobra, not a perfect example, but not a terrible one either.
Mine has basic mods, lowering springs, and CC plates, and subframe connectors (a MUST with any fox chassis) and handles pretty damn well. Granted, that is probably due to the IRS over the stick axle.
AS far as the 4.6, My Supercharged DOHC 4.6 is a blast, but gets obnoxious in hot weather (heat soak makes the power go bye bye and taking off can be tedious) from what ive heard, and had limited experience with, the SOHC is a decent, albeit largely underpowered motor, but they respond well to mods. i would say a PI swap would be a wise investment.
It might not be a bad idea to look into the 99-01 cobra Vert, for the sole purpose of having the DOHC and the IRS
Suspension wise, at least stock, the front suspension is passable with lowering springs and CC plates, In the rear, you would want at the bare minimum a set of control arms, If you can afford it, a Torque Arm/Panhard bar setup (or some other 3 link/Panhard bar setup) or if youre crazy and want to spend lots o money, a Watts link. Or go pick up a cobra IRS for 7-900 bucks, and have a different set of problems. The IRS is poorly designed, and has a tendency to wheel hop, a delrin bushing kit is a must (i have yet to do the upgrade, although ive had the bushings in my garage for almost 2 years) It is also heavy, which isnt really a bad thing in these mustangs because they are nose heavy to begin with so it kind of helps with weight distribution.
The brilliant thing about the IRS is its damn near bolt in to any fox chassis mustang that had a quad shock setup. The front mounts are the stock LCA mounts from the solid axle, and the rears are the quad shock mounts (i would reinforce both heavily if installing into a stick axle car) However, this is the main reason that the IRS is considered poor, it does not have alot of rigidity with the unibody, and can wiggle around a bit
One other downside to the IRS is it tends to be a bit unpredictable in a slide. It has a tendency to tank slap quite easily and can be a bit of a handful. Alot of cobra owners do SRA swaps because of this.
Benifits are: A Much better ride over stock, and a substantial increase in longitudinal and lateral grip
For Example: I had a 1992 GT with a modded 5.0 before my cobra, and at the local track(1/8 mile) i spun first and second, and i had to let off in second to get anything done, ran a best of 9.4 (most of my runs were mid-low 10's), same track in the cobra i had a small amount of spin in first (not the tire rape i had with the fox) and no spin in second, and ran a best of 8.9(most runs were 9.4 and below), all with almost 150 extra HP and TQ (keep in mind i only took each car once, the fox was in december, and the cobra in July, however, being in San Diego, the temperature difference between nights was 10-15 degrees at most)s
as far as driving, ive had much more seat time in the cobra, and compared to a Z with similar mods (SFC's, lowering springs, etc) it handles about 30 years better, and is honestly way more confidence inspiring in the corners, however, i have yet to go balls to the wall in either car. im sure in a well setup Z (Coilovers, sways, etc etc etc) it would be way more fun than in my stock ass suspension car with sticky tires and tokico springs...
Sorry for the poorly edited novel, just trying to throw in my .o2 cents after a long day of work
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Sunny, thats a given, why were you diving the car on a dead clutch anyway?
I murdered the L series started in mine trying to get the L28ET running, another killer of starters, surprisingly, is starting too much
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Kris, saw your car there last week. It looks awesome man
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Small update.
I was able to get the wheel cylinder to stop leaking, the brakes still suck, but they work, so im okay with it I also got a box of rear drum components for free, so i can replace whatever i need to to get this **** working.
Other update, is the car is registered.. Blue plate FTW
I also took the stupid spacers off the seat bolts to get it lower so i can actually fit in the car (im 6'6", so that 1-1.5 inches was murder)
Annoyingly, the car developed an incredibly strange, and hugely annoying misfire while getting it registered.
It reminded me greatly of when my other car would run out of fuel while driving, and after a few quick seated incarnations, it settled as a HUGE miss under 2k rpm. Over 2k, it worked just fine, but as soon as i got under that, it would damn near stall, then rev up, stall rev up, etc etc etc. unfortunately it kept doing this in traffic.
I assumed it had something to do with the HEI setup and the mag pickup dizzy. I replaced those with an E12-80 81Zx dizzy, as well as got replaced the alternator belt (was having belt slip issues, and i thought that may have been part of the issue.
This all took place in the dark, and luckily, it seems to be running GREAT now. Not bad for under 150 bucks for the dizzy,
Tomorrow im planning on doing a 280zx alternator conversion on my lunch break (i love working at an auto parts store) so that should about do it for any electrical issues ive had or will have
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The seats and the door panels I'm gonna replace. The rest of the plastics I'm gonna dye. Pm me of you're seriously interested
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Fuzzy: Loving the plush interior.
Glad someone does, I'm in process of dying it or replacing it. I think it hideous
Wiper Arm replacement
in S30 Series - 240z, 260z, 280z
Posted
On the topic of miata parts, i stole a wiper motor off of an NA parts car i have, and the mounting flange looks nearly identical, im going to try to retrofit it on my car, good to know about the wiper arms too
OP, Ecology usually has one or two whenever im down there...