ANOTHER Datsun Z/LS3/T56 Swap Thread

[Ironhead]

1 hour ago, grannyknot said:

That is seriously undersized😬  If you don't mind going back into body work you weld a 1/8th" welding rod to the inner lip of the hatch opening all the way around with tack welds then fill and sand.  Not ideal but only another Z guy would notice it.

 

I thought about doing that, it would definitely be the best way to address the gap.  The problem though, is that from then on the body would be "wedded" to an undersized hatch.  I have no idea what might happen down the road, but a correctly sized hatch would no longer fit if for whatever reason I had to change out the current one.

 

I could also extend the CF hatch all the way around its perimeter with fiberglass...since I am going to paint the hatch anyway...but it would be a crap-load of work and I don't really know how stable a CF/FG hybrid edge would be long term.  Or I can say "racecar" and live with the gap.  It's not a functional problem, just looks like shit.  I know Restored.JP has a fairly good reputation, but I literally could not find any way to get ahold of them.  The "contact" link on their site is non-functional, and there is nothing else. 

 

I'm pretty salty about the whole thing....particularly having to go through flakey spare-time vendors like "Datsmo" who are eager to sell expensive products but won't lift a finger to stand behind what they sell.  As you can probably guess...that hatch was not cheap.  I'm sure he could get ahold of Restored, since he deals their stuff, but he didn't even want to be bothered with discussing it.  He tried to tell me the part can't be undersized, but of course didn't want to see photos/measurements/proof that it indeed was.

 

The other thing...I waited well over six months for that hatch.  Even if Datsmo was a reputable seller and a replacement hatch could be sourced, I'm not willing to delay the build that long.

Edited February 28, 2020 by Ironhead

[EF Ian]

Thankfully my Restored full dry carbon bonnet seems like it will fit perfectly but I do have to say the quality does not match the high price of the item. I'd have gone for a Topstage compostites one instead but it was too hard to get them to send me any decent photos of the fitment.

[Ironhead]

1 hour ago, EF Ian said:

Thankfully my Restored full dry carbon bonnet seems like it will fit perfectly but I do have to say the quality does not match the high price of the item. I'd have gone for a Topstage compostites one instead but it was too hard to get them to send me any decent photos of the fitment.

 

Yeah, my Restored hood fits well.  I'm totally satisfied with that part.

 

The hatch though is really bugging me.  I know I should just live with it, but I also know if I do the poor fit is going to bug the crap out of me.

[LLave]

4 hours ago, Ironhead said:

 

Yeah, my Restored hood fits well.  I'm totally satisfied with that part.

 

The hatch though is really bugging me.  I know I should just live with it, but I also know if I do the poor fit is going to bug the crap out of me.

 

 

I would not modify the chassis to fit the part. It was my first thought, but if that hatch is ever damaged and needs replacement, you have an odd sized opening. 

The manufacture should really repair or replace the part. The fit is way off, it's not just a little wonky, it is flat undersized. 

 

It might be worth asking a professional composite shop, what it would take to fix. I know it is a race car, but you are such a detail oriented guy, it is going to bug you. 

 

[calZ]

Just think of it as shedding weight! Slightly smaller means lighter. 

[Ironhead]

58 minutes ago, LLave said:

 

 

I would not modify the chassis to fit the part. It was my first thought, but if that hatch is ever damaged and needs replacement, you have an odd sized opening. 

The manufacture should really repair or replace the part. The fit is way off, it's not just a little wonky, it is flat undersized. 

 

It might be worth asking a professional composite shop, what it would take to fix. I know it is a race car, but you are such a detail oriented guy, it is going to bug you. 

 

 

This is all pretty much my thoughts as well.  But the seller is flakey, and I cannot find any way to contact Restored.

 

It is hard to believe a composite shop could repair it for much less than the cost of the part.  Any way you slice it, a lot of labor would be involved.  Do you know of a shop in Nor Cal that does that sort of thing?  I suppose I could dabble into CF work...but it requires vacuum bagging and all that...so....you know......F**K.

 

I tell ya, my experiences with aftermarket Datsun body parts have, with the notable exception of Ztrix, totally sucked.

[Ironhead]

55 minutes ago, calZ said:

Just think of it as shedding weight! Slightly smaller means lighter. 

 

 

 LOL...thanks for that.  I wish that was my attitude.

Edited February 29, 2020 by Ironhead

[Max_S]

Instead of adding fiberglass, maybe add a gasket (and metal strip)?
You have added that part underneath the rear spoiler, so you've found a decently trustworthy way of attaching carbon to metal.
Maybe that'd work.

[Ironhead]

Tiny steps forward....

 

I used small magnetic latches to position/hold down the inspection covers, since the fiberglass fenders deleted the stock parts.

 

 

 

Made a simple "grill" to protect the radiator/oil cooler/air filter from rock/other debris damage.  Parts are all stainless steel, because I initially planned to leave it unpainted.  But, I dunno, it kind of looks like I am trying to prevent pigeons from roosting or something.  I will probably have it powder coated black.

 

Grill just bolts into the stock grill mounts.

 

 

Edited March 8, 2020 by Ironhead

[Ironhead]

Made front and rear tow hooks:

 

 

 

And a front splitter.  The splitter is 1/4" ABS, which had the advantage of being affordable and available locally, so that shipping didn't kill me.  I have a feeling this part (if I leave it on) will need frequent replacement.  ABS also seems to have a good combination of adequate rigidity with some flexibility so that impacts "may" not always break it.

 

 

 

 

I am starting to run short of tasks that still need to be done prior to starting painting.  So, I need to construct some sort of makeshift paint booth, which will be a chore.

 

Thanks for looking.

Edited March 13, 2020 by Ironhead

[LLave]

You always use the nicest looking ARP fasteners. I need to step up my bolt game. Do you order bulk packs somewhere? 

[Ironhead]

3 hours ago, LLave said:

You always use the nicest looking ARP fasteners. I need to step up my bolt game. Do you order bulk packs somewhere? 

 

No, I just buy them piecemeal here and there as I need them.  Ordering in bulk wouldn't work because generally you only need a few of specific thread/pitch/length.  In fact they come in five-packs...often that is even too many so I have a box with lots of spares.

 

It seems inexpensive ordering a few here and there...but I imagine if I was dumb enough to tally everything I have spent on hardware it would be stupid money.  Fortunately I am smart enough to never, ever do that....LOL.

[Ironhead]

Had to custom make a couple of offset interior door handles, as the stock ones would not clear the roll cage door bars.  I knew this was going to be an issue, and initially planned to just use a couple of pull-cables to open the doors, but that introduced issues as well.  Namely, the cable handles, unless very small, wanted to hang down and get caught when trying to close the doors.

 

This was a bit more work, but hopefully a better long term solution.  Basically they differ from stock only in moving the lever approximately two inches downward so they open freely below the door bars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nelsonian]

Nicely done!

[EF Ian]

Very nice work on those.

[Ironhead]

Thanks much guys.

 

[Ironhead]

Haven't done much on the car in a while, as I have been focusing on converting a room in my shop to a cheap half-assed redneck paint booth:

 

 

 

Each 4' X 4' plywood box slows down the velocity of the ducted air and filters it through standard paint booth air filters.  One box blows in fresh air, the other sucks air out.

 

 

 

Then the air is ducted in/out of the shop.  Motion is provided by two inexpensive Chineseium "explosion proof fans".

 

 

 

Although they are identical, I knew the blower fan would be slightly more efficient than the suction fan, mainly because the suction fan partially collapses the hose when in operation, as you can see in the final picture.  All this worked surprisingly well.  With both fans "on", there is a slight over-pressure in the room to prevent any dust from being sucked in.  I did some calculations based on the fan specs and the size of the room, and with both of them on they should completely cycle the air in the room in less than one minute.  However, the airflow in the room is still very subtle, not enough to disrupt a spray gun or anything like that.

 

The canvas drop cloth on the floor is there not to protect the floor from spills, but to be wet down prior to painting hopefully to further suppress airborne dust.

 

The car fits in the room with about 3' to spare all around.  I wish I had a bit more room to maneuver my fat ass around while painting, but I don't.  I might have to roll the car a bit side to side as I paint each side.  The rack is in there from which to hang doors, fenders, and other smaller pieces for painting.  It will come out when I roll the car body in.

 

So...if anyone here has any experience painting cars...will this work?  Am I going to blow up the shop?  Any suggestions?

[280Z-LS3]

I have painted only one car so take this advice accordingly, lol.  I assume you are spraying traditional solvent based paint, not water based so please get good 3M paint respirators and you have a good seal to face, clean shaven.  Use a Tyvek suit too.

 

 https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/103197O/automotive-respirators-and-safety-products.pdf

 

Have you tested movement of air with smoke, like with a cigarette?

Great paint jobs have been produced in lesser facilities, i.e. in back yards, literally!  Spray gun technique is key and especially in the tight space you have there.  I would suggest practice on some fenders.  I grabbed some from a body shop dumpster.  Sort out properly thinning paint for atmospheric conditions and spray pattern.  t's all in the Prep too.   Make sure everything is clean by wiping down with quality wax and grease remover., can't be too clean.  Oil and wax will give "fish eyes" in paint.  I purchased a turbine sprayer because did not want to deal with cleaning compressed air.  I can't tell the color of the lighting your have installed.  I picked up some cheap 5000K led lights, sun light color, for my shop.  Below 5000K light looks yellow and above looks blue.  Don't know if color of light will make a difference but I liked the idea of replicating sunlight.

[jpndave]

Looks like it should work. Some serious engineering there! 

 

A few random thoughts -

 

Whar color are you using? Painting the parts separately could end up with a mis match. For example the JK Jeep in my avatar is a House of Kolor "sunrise yellow" and the pearl coat has to be even or things don't match. A simple solid is much less issue. To minimize this spray the parts and body separately then assemble for the final coat. 

 

Practice and getting the feel for a high quality gun is good advice. I have Iwata. They are excellent guns and I'm about due for a new set. I use the LPH400, LPH300, LPH50 and also have their airbrush. I'll spray the Z with the 300 and maybe jamb with the 50.

 

Make sure you have plenty of even light. Color temperature is good to consider but not so much as being able to see everything evenly. It honestly doesn't matter if everything looks yellow as long as it's all the same yellow. The color itself won't change. That said I'd get the highest CRI light you can get.

 

I'm sure it will turn out nice. 

 

Dave

Edited May 1, 2020 by jpndave

[Ironhead]

Thanks much for the input guys, hugely appreciated...

 

There is no doubt the biggest challenge here is space.  Partly for that reason, I made the decision early on to paint the car in pieces.  With the wide fenders and everything in place, the car won't really even fit through the door.  The doorway into the room is 72"....stock Z is 64" wide....with fiberglass fenders installed it is more like 70", so damage would be almost inevitable if I tried to push it in/out fully assembled.  The room itself is 11' X 18', so with the main car body chassis in the room stripped, I will have roughly 2.5' of space front and rear, and about 3' on each side.  Not much...so I figure the car is going to have to be rolled around a bit to increase access as each side and end is painted.

 

Also partly for the reasons above, the color I chose is a non-metallic that I am hoping will still match even if the car is painted in pieces and varying orientations.  Painting the car assembled really isn't an option.

 

Most of the car body will be covered by fenders, over fenders in the rear, hood, hatch etc...all of which will be painted separately.  The only "critical" parts, appearance wise, on the main car body will be the roof, pillars, and the rear areas not covered by taillights.

 

My basic plan is to start with small (and easily stripped if something goes wrong) parts like fenders, doors, etc....just to get my technique somewhat down and ensure compatibility of the various primers, sealers, color, and clear....although this should not really be an issue as I have chosen everything from the Deltron line so everything should be compatible.

 

The lighting in the room is from 5000k LEDs, which should be very close to natural sunlight, so I was more than a bit surprised that it looks kind of yellow in the photographs.  I have no idea why that is.

 

It is going to be a learning curve to be sure.  I have a fair amount of experience spraying paint for smaller projects...and I have some ability to spray a light coat, or a wet (but not runny) coat, but I have never painted anything the size of a car.

 

Thanks again.