My 1974 260z-rb . The neverending project.

[mtnickel]

Update:

Here's the rad shroud I was talking about. I got the idea online about doing a fibreglass one.

 

First, start with the dimension shape you want to sit against the rad. I did this with MDF...

 

Make sure to factor in the width of the fibreglass.

 

Then I cut the diameter of the Radiator fan I'm using.

 

Then I added some relief cuts so it can be pulled out of the fibreglass later easily.

 

Also beveled the back side for smoother lines...

Then wrapped with tuck tape so the fibreglass wouldn't stick. It stuck somewhat but definitely was not bonded. So use caution...could have even wrapped with tin foil or something like that as well.

Finally wrap with stretchy fabric:

 

Paint with resin. Note in the picture the red stick above and below; Because the shroud was to fit into a recessed space on the rad, i was not allowed to simple stretch to the edge of the wood. It would have caused a bulge and it wouldn't slip in. Instead, these sticks were screwed in to maintain a 1/4" flat profile around the exterior. Hard to explain, but when you stretch fabric (if you ever do) you will see what I mean (should you mount the shroud directly to the core and need to clear protruding end tanks).

Note: Fibreglass off-gases for 48hr or more I believe. I shut my garage door after about 6 hours, and though I didn't notice the smell in my house, the neighbours did! (4 plex townhouse unit tied together). Was over the Christmas break, and they were less than thrilled :S. The units are vented weirdly and I'm guessing their unit has a fair bit of negative pressure and pulled many fumes through all the garage outlets. I digress...

 

Once this step is done, you could do you buildup with fibreglass matt or fabric on the outside. would take 2-5 coats, depending on the stiffness you want and the matt weight. Doing it on the outside however will 1) change your outer dimensions to the rad, and 2) make the surface much more inconsistent and therefor harder to finish. I really liked the smooth texture once this was done and didn't want to mess with it too much. 

 

I therefore removed it from it's mould at this stage. I ground the edges of the back to release the rear piece:

 

With a little finesse, got it out (notice i rounded over the outside corners as well:

 

Then got the round part out. This was a little more challenging, and I would suggest if the only release agent you use is regular tuck tape, to use many more relief cuts. If the pieces weren't 10+ inches long, they would have been easier to wiggle out.

Test fit:

I then added 2 layers of thick matt to the backside of the mold. Sorry no pics.

 

Finally, I mounted up the fan. I need a nicer spacer to cover the bolt in that one area.

 

I used fab'd metal brackets on the other points to secure it. In hindsight, i should have incorporated brackets into the fibreglass mould (would have been as easy as securing metal or even 1/4" wood plates to the wood before stretching. Then incorporate then into the fabric stretch. That would change the contour a bit however. Alternatively then you could hot glue them to the completely mould and cover with fibreglass...use your imagination. I figured i had invested enough time however that I was content with a few bends in 1/8" stock and some gloss black paint.

 

Geometery on this mount is far from ideal, but the other bolt takes the brunt of force:

The lower ones are similar but with much better geometry.

 

If you look close in the last photo, I also mounted mounted the fan relays. The fan is identical to the taurus fan, though I found on other forums by getting it from a volvo, you can often snag the heavy duty relay and harness - which i did. $25 for all. I'm only using on the low speed, but it should be plenty of cooling for our mild Northwest climate. Plus, the rad is sealed so well the the rad support that it all gets great cooling. I was shocked however at how hot aluminum rads get! So used to the somewhat insulated ABS ones on my hondas/toyotas/etc. Seriously very hot to the touch at operating temp (190* is pretty hot after all!).

Shroud will be removed some day and bondo'd and painted. It's fine for now.

 

Update 2:

Made little bracket and got intake all installed:

 

Fenders installed:

 

Strikers fixed:

So, if you do enough reading, you will see the main HARD clunk sound on door shutting is because there is a missing piece of rubber on the door side rotating latch. I didn't want to fiddle with glueing rubber to such a high wear item. I made up the difference in clearance by welding more material onto the striker:

This greatly corrects the geometry so the second lobe rotates into the hold.

 

Teaser!

Seriously, how great is the S30 Design!

 

AND NOW, Pulled it out all on its own power!!! Complete with concerned looking wife and all!

Those are Konig Rewinds btw.

Stance isn't even too bad with the completely unknown springs that were in there to start.

 

Also did a drum refresh. Not turned, but new shoes and scuffed up the liners with emery cloth:

 

 

Car now back in the garage awaiting issues to be resolved:

 

That's all for now!

Hopefully external waste gate mods not too far down the road. Along with interior completion.

 

Ciao!

Edited February 13, 2015 by mtnickel

[mtnickel]

And yes, I do have the most bitchin' Christmas lights in the neighbourhood...must've been the annual tradition of watching Christmas vacation.

[mtnickel]

Diff Pics:

Japanese Xebec Helical. While it's not usually mentioned, shimming is important to both make sure the carrier bearing preload is correct as well as make sure the backlash does not change. Perhaps why it's not mentioned however is that the diffs are usually built to fairly tight tolerances? It measured within .001 on backlash as stock. Preload was perhaps a bit tighter (tough to tell on my inch-pound torque wrench), but I attribute that likely to the new bearings which weren't set in yet. Also, I've read that these diffs could have stood for a touch more carrier preload anyways (stops the diff from rocking while under heavy loads).

 

Wirewheeled the whole lot:

Primed alum cover.

 

Engine enamel for case:

 

Silver paint, and then ultra-grey RTV and she's ready to go:

 

Well my diff blew up. Not catastrophically, but a light whine developed, and a few days later after some more hard launches, the whine got worse. Checked the fluid and metal particles found. More details in driveline thread.

 

Otherwise lots has progressed!

 

Got LS2 coil swap done.

Dynamat and carpet install complete.

Mounted ECU onto firewall nicely

Got Exhuast manifold modded for External waste gate and waste gate installed along with new Downpipe with re-entered waste gate line.

Got Sticky Re-11a tires installed. Love the look and feel of them.

Insured the car for spring/summer! WOOOT

Car squats and hauls some serious booty. Needs suspension upgrade for sure as body roll pretty hard when pushed. Hooked up amazingly well with re-11's and LSD (while it lasted). played anywhere from 6psi up to 12psi. 

 

Up now is to tear out diff, have Centre checked (likely may need to be resurfaced as there was some backlash variance around the ring gear (.004 at tightest, .007 at loosest, i.e.. too much runout?). 

Figure out driveline vibration above 80mph. Start with just diff installed but no halfshafts and run up the RPM to check for vibes. May be driveline angles now that things settled? Moustache bar bushings also could be done.

 

Anyways, will keep you guys posted!

[mtnickel]

New 10cm td05h turbine. V-band. No internal wastegate:

 

Jig for machining external waste gate:

 

Cut and prepped for weld:

 

 

High schedule pipe and v-band flange welded in. Used Cronotron High nickel content cast iron specific tig rod.

 

In pipe was a divider to keep exhaust pulse energy separate

 

Running cut at machine shop:

http://vid1116.photobucket.com/albums/k569/mtnickel/datsun/7770826F-662F-490B-80CE-0DBDD4DCF043.mp4

 

Finished waste gate and replumb done:

 

 

LS2 Coil swap:

Shorten insulator:

 

Mod stock RB springs to fit around electrode:

 

Repurpose stock RB coil boots:

 

Install (still need to fab more solid bracket, but they stay fairly well put as is:

 

Mod Coil cover to allow plugs to fit:

 

Modify wire harness (not shown), but plugs seen here. Don't be tempted to buy these. These chinese made ones made POOR connection and would be intermittent when connected. The pins carry a decent amount of current and need a solid connection and the spades were faulty. The little "feeler" or sprung part of the spade tab was poorly positioned inside the pin and when I inserted them, it crumpled up. Hard to explain, but needless to say, get some quality plugs. I made them work by unpinning the entire thing and squeezing the metal spade to put more pressure on the pins). 

 

Coils are D514A. I have read the D585 are good, but if you put too much dwell they will fire early with over dwell protection. The D514a apparently do not have that problem.

 

Adjusted the dwell time in Nistune up to about 4-5ms and these are running fabulously (albeit just at low boost for now).

 

 

Carpet and Dynamat getting nice and pliable in the sun for install:

 

ECU mounted up on firewall:

[mtnickel]

Some Dynamat and carpet in half way through:

Rear carpet in:

Passenger side done:

All done:

 

Looking better:

 

Off with the Continental DW (narrow, soft sidewall, and way too much loss of rubber contact patch from their massive rain tread), on with the RE-11A

Square sidewalls look amazing. Rim protector, and they run about 10-15mm wider in the same size.

[boosted300]

Lookin good.

[RaisedHaze]

I really like the fan shroud idea. Nice work!

[Nelsonian]

I really like the fan shroud idea. Nice work!

I agree, that looks great and I assume it works great as well. I am thinking of this route as I have a large single Spal fan to use.

[mtnickel]

I really like the fan shroud idea. Nice work!

Thanks guys,

It does work quite well. 

 

I didn't make it super clear in the post, but I put a few layers of cloth over the fleece before I removed the wood. The fleece itself, wouldn't have held up to the amount of wiggling I had to do to get the pieces out.

I'd highly recommend doing more to have the wood release than I did. I was worried at times I would crack the piece.

[mtnickel]

After pulling some weekend favors at my machinist friends shop, and a solid friday-saturday with the help of 2 other friends, I've finally got the Z back on the road!

Some updates coming:

Budget, but fun brake upgrade.

mostly new brake hard lines (will explain)

Sectioned struts, adjustable sleeves, and springs.

Also finally got my LSD setup properly in a new r200 3.90.

 

On vacation this week, so will get the photos up with some explanations.

Happy Summer Cruising!