jpndave Posted August 23, 2020 Share Posted August 23, 2020 Looks even better in person she's a beauty! 👍🏼👍🏼 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpndave Posted August 23, 2020 Share Posted August 23, 2020 (edited) Edited August 23, 2020 by jpndave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpndave Posted August 23, 2020 Share Posted August 23, 2020 14 hours ago, Zetsaz said: This is a pretty cool photo. "Art" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetsaz Posted August 23, 2020 Author Share Posted August 23, 2020 7 hours ago, rossman said: Looks fantastic! I bet you are excited after all this time to finally have it painted. It's nice to see an unmolested body - I never was a fan of fender flares on the S30. I love the stock body lines. If I had the budget I would have gone wide body, but all in metal shaped to the cars original lines like MZR is doing with their 50th anniversary cars. For my goals and power this is fine though. I have it at a very comfortable daily driver height and don't even have rolled fenders right now. They were in such great shape I chose to leave them alone. 4 hours ago, 1969honda said: I'm really diggin' that dark blue with the brown interior. 😎. Car looks amazing, I wish I was in town to run over and take a look. Should be perfect for some beautiful canyon cruises, leaves were already changing up by Heber this past week. Would have loved to say hi! When I first started the project I wasn't a fan of the brown, but it grew on me and now I'm all in on the brown interior. Fully committed to it when I upholster or replace the interior panels and I'll probably even go with a light tan carpet against darker upholstery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetsaz Posted August 24, 2020 Author Share Posted August 24, 2020 Two small but very important fixes today: -The rod between the latch and the door handle handle for the passenger side never turned up... But luckily I still have 4 junky old doors hanging out in/on my old shell that I was able to salvage from. I'm not liking the action right now, but at least it opens. Might just toy with it more later. -My locks on both sides didn't seem to work no matter what I did. Totally stuck. Turned out to be an incredibly easy fix. The countersunk screws that hold the door latch in place are different sizes. Longer one should go on top. Shop just didn't check clearance while assembling. Stuck my phone in the door to get a better view and it became obvious. Trying to find the second window frame upper seal before I put stuff back together so I can call the door seals done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetsaz Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 (edited) Door switch stopped working entirely yesterday on the way to a quick socially distant meetup with @Jboogsthethug Got a chance to tear it apart and you can see the scorched contacts from years of use and abuse. Also slipped while bending the tabs back and stabbed my finger with the screwdriver... oops. If you happen to do this repair for yourself, absolutely DO NOT lose the spring and ball bearing in the small housing underneath the switch/contact board (and definitely don't stab yourself with whatever tool you're using to bend the tabs) Here you can see the 3 tabs you'll need to bend to access the "seesaw" that grounds the left or right signals (again... don't stab yourself) DO. NOT. LOSE. THE SPRING AND BALL BEARING. If you ever refurbish the hazard switch, it functions nearly identically and also has the ball bearing(but just on/off vs 3 position). When I rebuilt mine I made the mistake of working on it on my patio table and though for sure I'd lost the ball bearing. Fingers for scale. I was very lucky to find it. Here you can see the bottoms side of that board from the first pic. The pivot point is ground and the two contacts determine which side is being grounded. The spring and ball bearing are on a sliding assembly that gets moved by the turn signal arm/handle/whatever you want to call it and assure that it's pressed properly against the contact... which does exactly nothing if it's had 45+ years of dust and gunk accumulated. I scrubbed mine with a green scotch pad, then used a q tip with rubbing alcohol to clean them and the brass underneath was still great. A bit of 3 in 1 oil or wd-40 on the rotating parts and the switch feels great! Edited August 25, 2020 by Zetsaz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetsaz Posted August 26, 2020 Author Share Posted August 26, 2020 (edited) Never have I had such a simple job be so time consuming between having to lower the fuel tank, pull the quarter panel, and cut hoses to length. Some one of the thicker hoses are slightly kinked, but I'll live with it for now. Little victories though. Bottom end of the filler neck is finally actually bottomed out and clamped down, and I have the vapor/expansion tank in. Should hopefully fix a little bit of the fuel smells while I get the other taillight gasket and start sealing up the rear better. Edited August 26, 2020 by Zetsaz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 Turn down tip if you haven't done it. Even like a 45* toda style tip will improve that quite a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpndave Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 Those Z vapor canisters are a mess - though it is more all the fuel hoses that get hard/cracked and don't seal rather than the heavy steel tank. I think I am going to make mine more of the modern style vapor catch setup, possibly even integrate the purge solenoid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetsaz Posted August 27, 2020 Author Share Posted August 27, 2020 4 hours ago, seattlejester said: Turn down tip if you haven't done it. Even like a 45* toda style tip will improve that quite a bit. Used to have one but on the old efi, junky seals, and rotting body it made no difference. Right now I don't even have the MSA tip on, but I'll be putting it on when I get to Washington as well as adding a resonator. City driving is annoying due to the cabin drone. Lizard skin can only do so much 4 hours ago, jpndave said: Those Z vapor canisters are a mess - though it is more all the fuel hoses that get hard/cracked and don't seal rather than the heavy steel tank. I think I am going to make mine more of the modern style vapor catch setup, possibly even integrate the purge solenoid. All new hoses on it now. Old ones definitely get super hard. Was pretty hard to even get them to come off. I don't think the tank is particularly heavy in mine. At least not heavy enough to justify dealing with vapor and tank pressure issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetsaz Posted September 2, 2020 Author Share Posted September 2, 2020 Drive back to Washington went without a hitch... mostly. I had a somewhat unfortunate run in with a whole lot of tumbleweed near Twin Falls, and extreme winds on top of 80mph speed limits blew off my driver side windshield wiper. Fortunately no damage to the fresh paint aside from some a few very tiny nicks in the air dam that I'll get some touch up paint on asap. First purchases soon will be protective coating for the front and the vintage air unit. Would love to be able to keep the windows up at higher speeds to avoid the excessive wind noise on longer drives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetsaz Posted September 7, 2020 Author Share Posted September 7, 2020 Ran into my first big hiccup. Car won't start. No fuel pressure. No leaks anywhere. Fuel pump priming. After reconsidering how clean the tank is and the new hoses and the effort I made to get any dust out of the vapor tank, I think it's just a clamp on the hose in the in-tank pump that came loose or the hose burst. Dropping the tank tomorrow. Will be a good opportunity to do a manual calibration on my fuel gauge as well. Also washed my Infiniti after neglecting it for the last maybe 4 months and it's really left me wanting a quieter cabin and more speed. So comfortable and quick and reliable, but to really make any big purchases on the Datsun now I'd have to sell it. Guess I'll spend the next year thinking about it and maybe making a decision haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetsaz Posted September 9, 2020 Author Share Posted September 9, 2020 (edited) So... as much as I prefer the retrofitted in tank pump assembly for longevity down the road, this thing is a huge PITA to service without some sort of access door in the car. Mostly since I'm not using the O ring adapter to mount it, but I need the clearance since I didn't make a cutout in the tank to lower the pump assembly. It took 3 hours but I fixed my pressure loss issue. The hose provided with the kit I used was poor quality and ruptured. I replaced it along with the clamps with one from NAPA of the same inner diameter that felt MUCH stiffer and was noticeable thicker. Hopefully I don't have to drop the fuel tank again any time soon. Currently I'm rethinking what my priorities are next. The evenings are already getting cooler here and I rarely have any reason to drive in the hottest part of the day. The lizard skin is good enough to not roast inside the car unless I'm not moving for a long stretch. I might be prioritizing getting some rear control arms first so I don't have to buy tires too soon from excessive toe in wearing them down. In the meantime, enjoy some pictures of my post-repair cruise through Chuckanut drive. I'll have to get some better pics near the water sometime. Edited September 9, 2020 by Zetsaz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 Ah, your back! When you say you didn't cut for clearance, does that mean your pickup is sitting above the fuel level? I would be very much inclined to fix any fuel related issues now. It will only be more difficult down the road. If a door would help I would go ahead and make the cut now rather than later. A panel is not hard to make and with some riv-nuts would only need a thin layer of foam tape to seal it pretty well. If you plan on adding insulation that would be good to do now as well after you decide if you want an access hatch or not. It both helps keep heat out and in depending the weather, and makes for a quiet ride. Car does look good, we'll have to take some photos sometime! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetsaz Posted September 10, 2020 Author Share Posted September 10, 2020 (edited) On 9/9/2020 at 11:56 AM, seattlejester said: Ah, your back! When you say you didn't cut for clearance, does that mean your pickup is sitting above the fuel level? I would be very much inclined to fix any fuel related issues now. It will only be more difficult down the road. If a door would help I would go ahead and make the cut now rather than later. A panel is not hard to make and with some riv-nuts would only need a thin layer of foam tape to seal it pretty well. If you plan on adding insulation that would be good to do now as well after you decide if you want an access hatch or not. It both helps keep heat out and in depending the weather, and makes for a quiet ride. Car does look good, we'll have to take some photos sometime! The pickup/pump mount has adjustable height, it's about at the floor of the tank. I just mean that even though the assembly is low profile it's still slightly taller than the original pads that were on the fuel tank by about 1/4". O Ring plate would make it more like 1/2" because I didn't cut and reweld to make the top of the pump assembly sit flush with the original top of the tank. However... Right now that means every time I try to set the pump in, if it's not perfectly aligned (and I mean perfectly) the friction from the bolt threads pushes down on the ring inside the tank that it clamps to. With the optional O ring plate you already have two rings sandwiching the tank's metal and there's no issue wiggling the pump into place or even tapping it. See the pics for what I'm referring to. Second pic doesn't have the inner ring installed since it was just for test fit, but picture the mounting bolts attaching to the black plate inside instead of the red O ring plate. Foam seal isn't enough to hold the inner ring in place with any more than a few pounds of pressure pushing down on it if the threads catch the pump even slightly off center Edited September 10, 2020 by Zetsaz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 Ah, I see. I would be awfully tempted to go ahead and make an access hatch to service. Even though my tank was essentially a quick release with 2 bolts, trying to time it so that you are low on fuel and all that is quite a hassle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetsaz Posted September 11, 2020 Author Share Posted September 11, 2020 1 hour ago, seattlejester said: Ah, I see. I would be awfully tempted to go ahead and make an access hatch to service. Even though my tank was essentially a quick release with 2 bolts, trying to time it so that you are low on fuel and all that is quite a hassle. Yeah I'm almost tempted to find a premade door for like $20-$30 with the magnetic push latches to keep everything really flush under the carpet. We'll see what I can find. In the meantime I've ordered a cover plate for the spare tire well, and a single piece outer hatch seal. I was disappointed that some water leaked in last time I went through a touchless car wash. Also lucked out on some of the correct seatbelts on ebay for the year that mount on the pillars instead of the strut towers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpndave Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 What about using a spare storage compartment door from one on the parts cars? I'm sure I have one if you need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 I'd go slightly bigger just so you can comfortably reach everything and get tools etc in there, although a spare storage cover would look like it definitely belonged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetsaz Posted September 11, 2020 Author Share Posted September 11, 2020 51 minutes ago, seattlejester said: I'd go slightly bigger just so you can comfortably reach everything and get tools etc in there, although a spare storage cover would look like it definitely belonged. I'm only worried about it looking like it "belongs" in that it's well positioned and doesn't look like the hole's been hacked out. It's under the carpet, so oem appearance isn't much of a concern. I'd need to make a lip if I went with the OEM tool doors. I do have some extras on the parts car in Utah still and they'd work great, but it'd be raised up if I didn't make some kind of lowered lip on the edges for the door to sit on just like the original tool doors have. I think an 8"x8" door from tanks inc. might work well, but I've only spent about 2 minutes on a google search looking at anything premade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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