280Z Restomod Progress

[dmoralesbello]

Here's a teaser on one of my next mods: switchback led panels for the front turn signals. They will work as ultra bright white DRLs when I have my running lights on and switch to amber sequential turn signals when activated. They will have clear lenses, of course. Here's the link:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BU-_XzCB0fV/?hl=en

[Spooky_Intentions]

Thanks man!

[SoFlaZ06]

nice work, i'm curious what it weighs. 

I'm torn between a Z on a diet vs a clean resto. both opposite sides of the spectrum

[dmoralesbello]

On 7/3/2017 at 10:08 PM, SoFlaZ06 said:

nice work, i'm curious what it weighs. 

I'm torn between a Z on a diet vs a clean resto. both opposite sides of the spectrum

Good question but although I haven't had the chance to put it on the scales I'm pretty close to stock OEM weight for a '78 280Z. The only important additional weight I could think of is the soundproofing material which might be 30 extra lbs. and the Zpowersteering unit which is about 20lbs. So total I would guess 50 to 60 lbs over stock.

Edited October 31, 2017 by dmoralesbello

[dmoralesbello]

I installed a set of switchback LED boards from Zleds. With clear lenses on the front turn signal housings, the lights are white driving lights which switch to amber sequential turn signal lenses when needed. In conclusion: added safety and added cool.

[dmoralesbello]

Update on my stereo setup: I wasn't totally satisfied with the underdash location and the quality of those speakers (front) so I trashed those and decided to buy the kick panel speaker pods (from Derek on the sister Classic Z Forum and Ebay) and install a pair of 5.25" Polk Audio coaxials in those pods. I also changed my generic amplifier to an excellent Kenwood unit but placed it similarly under the carpet over the transmission hump. I left the 4" Infinity Kappa coaxials in the stock 280Z position under the quarter windows and the 6x9 Infinity Kappas in the MSA rear deck enclosure acting only as woofers (crossovers and tweeters disconnected). I used soft enclosures around every single speaker. I kept the same Retrosound head unit that I had before but tweaked the faceplate a bit with a textured ABS overlay to look more like the original Datsun faceplate. The remote USB connections are in the glovebox and in the armrest compartment. In conclusion: stereo sounds amazing and it all might pass for OEM (maybe). Pics attached.

 

[bradz240]

Beautiful car, great job and attention to details.  

What power window kit did you use?

Brad

[dmoralesbello]

Thanks for the compliments Brad. 

The power windows kit that I used is from Italian manufacturer Colibri. I did a search and found it on Ebay. The other brand I've seen used extensively is SPAL. There are a couple of write ups on this topic in the Classic Z Forum as well.

Good luck with your project.

Edited August 24, 2017 by dmoralesbello

[dmoralesbello]

I haven't posted anything since last August but I was busy with many other life projects (like getting ready to retire!! ). I finally did a little playing with the Z and installed a Datsun Compe JDM steering wheel. It looks so much more fitting than the Momo Nero steering wheel I had on there before! It just looks proper.

I also installed a "custom" fire extinguisher behind the passenger seat with an ABS plastic fabricated base hidden under the carpeting. Looks very clean and slick.

Finally, I finished work on my Retrosound radio faceplate to make it look like the OEM unit by adding lettering above the knobs,

[dmoralesbello]

Advanced work on engine bay details: blanched the vacuum bottle, powder coated satin black a bunch of brackets and holders that were looking gnarly, refinished the HVAC dryer bottle with gloss black paint, changed most of my hose clamps to freshly zinc plated ones, painted some scratched areas on the engine bay walls and added some plastic and rubber preserver to all the harnesses and hoses.

 

[dmoralesbello]

I had an electrical mishap after "finishing" my engine bay. I inadvertently pinched a cable (in front and below the windshield cowl) while tightening one of the brackets that I powder coated on the firewall. I caused a short circuit which toasted a dozen or so wires in the harness. It took me a couple of months to figure out the cause of the damage and then replace all the scorched cables with ones form a donor harness I was lucky enough to find on Ebay. Definitely not a fun job.

The thing is that although the fusible links heated up and melted the insulation during the short circuit, they never broke! Electricity continued to flow and burn stuff until I was able to yank the positive terminal from the battery. It was about 30 seconds of pure panic and smoke. Thankfully no fire!

After repairing the wire loom and testing everything I decided to get rid of the fusible links and replace them with a modern fuse block and Maxi fuses (as discussed in other posts). Hopefully this setup will grant me better protection in the future. Here's a pic.

PS: The fuse holder above the fuse block is for my stereo equipment.

 

 

[NewZed]

38 minutes ago, dmoralesbello said:

The thing is that although the fusible links heated up and melted the insulation during the short circuit, they never broke! Electricity continued to flow and burn stuff until I was able to yank the positive terminal from the battery.

 

Sounds like they weren't really fusible links.  Do you know that they were the factory originals or were they aftermarket?

 

Could also be that somebody used the wrong links.  There's been a discussion over the years about the use of the red links in place of the brown ones.  Many years ago somebody decided that the brown ones were actually red and that they were 50 amp capacity instead of, probably, 30 amp.  This red link information has been propagated since then even though the FSM clearly shows different, with a smaller gauge wire for the Brown (Br) links.  Maybe somebody finally got "burned" by it.

 

Bummer.

[NewZed]

Forgot to say that if you had the incorrect fusible link because of that bad information and replaced the link with a fuse of the same amp rating, then you'll be in the same situation.  You haven't really improved anything.

 

I see three 50A fuses in your picture.  Those are way too high.  Compare the fusible link wire sizes in the FSM and you'll see that the Brown links can't be 50 amp, if the Green links are 40 amp.  Brown is smaller than Green.

 

Here's the info from the 1978 FSM that I'm talking about and the other info about "red" links.  That were never used.  I don't know how it got this way but Nissan's FSM's were the same for many years, showing Brown as the smallest link, and never showing a Red one.  This topic was one of my first big discussions on a Z forum.  Never did get a good answer.  The atlanticz page even shows wire size, that doesn't match the FSM's.

 

http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/fusiblelinks/index.html

 

 

Edited September 13, 2018 by NewZed

[dmoralesbello]

On 9/13/2018 at 3:03 PM, NewZed said:

Forgot to say that if you had the incorrect fusible link because of that bad information and replaced the link with a fuse of the same amp rating, then you'll be in the same situation.  You haven't really improved anything.

 

I see three 50A fuses in your picture.  Those are way too high.  Compare the fusible link wire sizes in the FSM and you'll see that the Brown links can't be 50 amp, if the Green links are 40 amp.  Brown is smaller than Green.

 

Here's the info from the 1978 FSM that I'm talking about and the other info about "red" links.  That were never used.  I don't know how it got this way but Nissan's FSM's were the same for many years, showing Brown as the smallest link, and never showing a Red one.  This topic was one of my first big discussions on a Z forum.  Never did get a good answer.  The atlanticz page even shows wire size, that doesn't match the FSM's.

 

http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/fusiblelinks/index.html

 

 

I think you hit the nail on the head. The fusible links I had before were put there by the previous owner and I assumed them to be correct. I seem to be making a similar mistake now with the Maxifuses as you point out. Should I be using 30 amp fuses to replace the three 50 amp ones and a 50amp instead of the 80 amp fuse? 

 

I'm very thankful for your input and correcting my error. 

Dave

Edited April 1, 2019 by dmoralesbello

[NewZed]

It's hard to say.  Because it's not clear that the conversion from wire size to amps is correct.  If you assume that the conversion is right, then actually a 20 amp might be right. 

 

0.3 mm is 43% of .69.  43% of 50 amps is 22 amps.  Or, 60% of the green link, 0.3/0.5, gives 24 amps.  So, 20 or 25 seems right.

[dmoralesbello]

Within that logic then I will look for 25 amp fuses and install them. I would think the worst that can happen is that they will blow under normal load and if that's the case I would increase to 30 amp fuses. Would you agree? 

[dmoralesbello]

I suppose I could also measure amps load across each fuse terminal but my multimeter only allows a max of 10 amps before blowing it's fuse.

[dmoralesbello]

Following the logic that I'm best protected with the lowest amp rating fuse that will allow the circuit to work under max load, I did a little experimentation.

I started with the recommended 80 amp fuse in the 1 position which worked fine. I then tried a 60 amp fuse which is still holding steady. In the other 3 positions I had started with 50 amp fuses (as I'm sure you remember) and went down to 30 amp fuses which have held steady also. I was hoping to go down to 25 amp fuses and give those a try but I haven't found any at the parts stores around me. I did however come upon a single 20 amp fuse I so I placed it in the 4 position (that powers my interior lights which are all LEDs) and that has held as well. If I come upon 25 amp Maxifuses I will give those a try in positions 2 and 3 and see how that goes but here's a pic of the current setup which seems to be working well.  

 

[Jaymanbikes]

On 4/27/2018 at 9:16 PM, dmoralesbello said:

I haven't posted anything since last August but I was busy with many other life projects (like getting ready to retire!! ). I finally did a little playing with the Z and installed a Datsun Compe JDM steering wheel. It looks so much more fitting than the Momo Nero steering wheel I had on there before! It just looks proper.

I also installed a "custom" fire extinguisher behind the passenger seat with an ABS plastic fabricated base hidden under the carpeting. Looks very clean and slick.

Finally, I finished work on my Retrosound radio faceplate to make it look like the OEM unit by adding lettering above the knobs,

Hey Dave, good to see you are still making cool changes to your Z.  I totally agree on the Steering wheel.  I thought about getting one for my 280 but ended up doing a 240 wheel which I really like.  Can you share more info on your fire extinguisher set-up?  Thanks!

[SleeperZ]

On 10/2/2018 at 5:43 PM, dmoralesbello said:

Following the logic that I'm best protected with the lowest amp rating fuse that will allow the circuit to work under max load, I did a little experimentation.

I started with the recommended 80 amp fuse in the 1 position which worked fine. I then tried a 60 amp fuse which is still holding steady. In the other 3 positions I had started with 50 amp fuses (as I'm sure you remember) and went down to 30 amp fuses which have held steady also. I was hoping to go down to 25 amp fuses and give those a try but I haven't found any at the parts stores around me. I did however come upon a single 20 amp fuse I so I placed it in the 4 position (that powers my interior lights which are all LEDs) and that has held as well. If I come upon 25 amp Maxifuses I will give those a try in positions 2 and 3 and see how that goes but here's a pic of the current setup which seems to be working well.  

 

 

 

Proper fuse selection is based on the current rating of the wire in the circuits, so the wire can be protected in case of a short to ground.  You are certainly picking your fuse correctly by finding the lowest rated part that won't blow in your circuit, but keep in mind fuses wear out with use, either through surges when the power is applied or through temperature rise by using the accessories in the circuits.  Just to make sure you don't oversize your fuse, here is a guide for maximum fuse size by wire gauge:

 

AWG 12 - fuse up to 20A

AWG 10 - fuse up to 30A

AWG 8 - fuse up to 50A

 

http://bdfuses.com/fusesnwires.php