brittbogle Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 So I've spent most of the day reading this from start to now. I don't even begin to understand the level of craft that's going into this build. There are some really smart guys out there and you are one of them. Can't wait to see how this end up. My only suggestion is that you should publish this forum once completed. I'd have to have it as a coffee table book. Hell the hours writing up the forum has to be astronomical. Incredible job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironhead Posted August 16, 2019 Author Share Posted August 16, 2019 Very nice of you Britt, but you are giving me WAY too much credit. I appreciate it nonetheless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironhead Posted September 6, 2019 Author Share Posted September 6, 2019 I haven't been updating much, just because I have been working on wiring and it seems difficult to take meaningful photographs of that process. Having said that, I did manage to get the engine harness finished: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironhead Posted September 12, 2019 Author Share Posted September 12, 2019 (edited) The bulkhead connectors for the wiring and battery cable required weird holes with flat sides, so that the jam nut could be tightened without the connector spinning. I couldn't for the life of me conjure up how to drill/cut/grind one of these holes on my own (I did try...it was a fiasco). So I just cut a large section out of the firewall and had a machine shop make the holes in a piece of 18 gauge....to be welded in. Just another small hurdle overcome. Edited September 12, 2019 by Ironhead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grannyknot Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 Very nice that last photo, if it is good enough for the aircraft industry, it's good enough for our Z's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironhead Posted October 13, 2019 Author Share Posted October 13, 2019 (edited) Still dicking around with finishing the wiring. As will most things on this build, it is more time consuming than I anticipated. All the wiring is complete except for terminating the front harness that serves the headlights and front turn signals. Basically I am just testing things to make sure the wiring is correct before I heat shrink/boot the harnesses, which will make repairs complex and difficult. The only problem I have been unable to sort thus far is getting the ECU and PDM to talk via the CAN bus with the digital dash. But I have checked the CAN wiring about 10 times, and know it is correct, so I think I will just move on and sort out the CAN nonsense later on. For the wiper motor I figured I would do the Honda swap, since it is well documented and apparently simple to do. I actually could not find a suitable Honda motor in any of the junkyards in my vicinity. The '91 Civic motor is NLA from Honda, so I wound up buying a brand new '94 Accord motor. Apparently the wiring is the same with the Accord motor, but it has the splined drive shaft that has to be ground flat on two sides to fit the Datsun actuator arm. I quickly ran into a problem, however. The Honda motor is powered on by grounding either the high speed side of the motor, or the slow speed. I am using a PDM for the electrics on the car, and it can only output +12V, not grounds. Yes, I could have used relays and all that to overcome that problem, but I didn't want to add that complexity unless I had no other choice. So I found this wiper motor: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cwa-56005181 It is meant for a Jeep, but uses a similar three-bolt mounting as the Datsun/Honda motors, and has a "flat sided" driveshaft that interfaces (with a bit of filing) with the Datsun actuator. It is also powered on with +12V inputs which made it compatible with my PDM. It was easy to make it "park", just by wiring the park signal from the motor as an input to the PDM, and programmed the PDM not to turn off "slow wipers" until it receives the park signal. Best of all, it was cheap. I know it is probably a Chinese/Taiwanese part, but I don't anticipate using the wipers much anyway. I debated deleting them entirely, in fact, except that I wanted the car to remain street legal and that requires wipers. If anyone wants a genuine Honda/brand new '94 Accord wiper motor, I will be selling one. Thanks for looking. Edited October 13, 2019 by Ironhead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grannyknot Posted October 13, 2019 Share Posted October 13, 2019 The Datsun wiper motor takes a bad rap for a problem that is almost always in the wiper linkage, specifically the spindles that the wiper arms attach to, they are usually rusted up and sometimes ceased. By removing the locking spring clip they can be disassembled, cleaned and greased up again. Once every 40 yrs or so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLave Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 Its alive! Well... you have tail lights at least. I have considered doing the Honda motor upgrade. I will take that accord motor off your hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironhead Posted October 31, 2019 Author Share Posted October 31, 2019 (edited) I just finished making footrests/false floors for both the driver and passenger sides. This wasn't absolutely necessary, and I debated whether I wanted to do it or not. I finally decided to for a couple of reasons... Firstly, the drivers side floor can now be adjusted up or down with spacers to fine tune the height of the pedals relative to it. There is absolutely no practical way to move the pedals up or down, and I wanted some adjustment capability in case I decide I am not happy down the road with where I mounted them. I did the passenger side primarily because I have a lot of wiring running along the firewall where a passenger's feet might go, and I made the footrest/kickplate to keep feet out of the wiring. Also, just to have continuity with the driver's side. The are just bolted to weld nuts on the bottom of the OEM floorpans, so they can easily be removed and replaced. The portion directly below the pedals I am planning to cover with grip tape. Thanks for looking. Edited October 31, 2019 by Ironhead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossman Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 +1 for bling factor too! Looks great! Awesome build - please keep the updates coming! 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube80z Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 On the false floors make sure they aren't shiny. I had a similar one on my race car and when the sun hit it just right it lit up the windshield to where you could hardly see the road. It doesn't happen all the time but when it does it's not fun. A brushed/matte finish is a nice compromise. Cary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironhead Posted November 1, 2019 Author Share Posted November 1, 2019 Thanks gents. As far as the floor pieces...I won't be leaving them bare metal...getting a coat of either powder coat or bed-liner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grannyknot Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 I like that you have put the ridge of the punch out on the upper side for some grip, usually you see it the other way around and your feet slide on the smooth steel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironhead Posted November 1, 2019 Author Share Posted November 1, 2019 34 minutes ago, grannyknot said: I like that you have put the ridge of the punch out on the upper side for some grip, usually you see it the other way around and your feet slide on the smooth steel. I always wondered about that too. I figured I wanted some grip to work my fat ass out of this little car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironhead Posted November 15, 2019 Author Share Posted November 15, 2019 I have mainly been dismantling and storing all the mechanical/electrical bits on the car, to fit the body panels and get everything ready for rustproofing/epoxy/seam sealer/primer/paint. This is going to be a dusty/messy process and I figured no reason to expose everything to that. I also have to conjure some sort of half-assed spray booth in my shop. Not sure what form that will take yet.... I did manage to adapt a shifter boot to work on the car. The inner rubber portion is just a generic "Hurst" part, to lessen noise, fumes etc. The outer boot is Nomex to be fire resistant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironhead Posted November 27, 2019 Author Share Posted November 27, 2019 (edited) Got the shell totally stripped down (again) and bolted back on the chassis cart. I started working on fitting the Ztrix rear over-fenders. I have to say, I could not be happier with the fit/quality/sturdiness of these parts. Just perhaps 1/2" trimmed off just behind the door, and the fit was basically perfect. Definitely not what I expected for fiberglass body parts. Only have the driver's side done though. Hats off to Ztrix! Thanks for looking. Edited November 27, 2019 by Ironhead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironhead Posted December 10, 2019 Author Share Posted December 10, 2019 Working on getting the driver's side fender fitted. It's definitely fighting me. Get the hood gap correct, door gap is awry, and vice versa. I knew it would not be a slam dunk bolt on though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironhead Posted December 10, 2019 Author Share Posted December 10, 2019 Just more fitting of the fenders. I just have it taped in place, but it appears that the front passenger side fits vastly better than the driver's side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironhead Posted December 18, 2019 Author Share Posted December 18, 2019 (edited) Try though I might, I have been unable to get the driver's side front fender to fit acceptably. It just angled inward too far in the rear portion, the result being it greatly overlapped the cowl panel and was totally out of alignment with the front door. I do not blame the parts, as I know that making fiberglass parts to perfectly fit on a 45 year old car that has been through god knows what is impossible. But it gradually settled in that the fender was just not going to fit without modification. It I tried to force it outward to align with the front door, it took so much force that it would tweak the OEM fender mounting flanges out of alignment and open a huge gap between the fender and the hood. I have never done fiberglass work, but there is YouTube after all, how hard could it be? So I made long perpendicular cuts in the area I needed to re-align the part, and held them in the proper position with sheet metal welding clamps. Then I filled in the gaps with 5 minute epoxy, just to hold things in the correct alignment while I worked with the fiberglass. This didn't work incidentally, just moving the part was enough to crack the epoxy in one place, and I had to return to the welding clamp as I started applying the fiberglass. I built up 5 or 6 layers of glass on the underside of the part, perhaps 3/32" thick, to strengthen the area and hold the "pie slices" in the correct place. Then sanded down the cracks with large bevels, to remove the epoxy and give the fiberglass a decent amount of area to grip and spread the load. Then it was just a matter of building up 7 or 8 layers of fiberglass in the area until it stood slightly proud of the original surface. Initial assessment is that fiberglass is pretty easy to work with, almost idiot proof. Of course if the area immediately cracks I will be singing a different tune, but it seems to me it should be just as strong, or nearly so, as the unmolested fiberglass. Now once it cures, I just have to hand sand it flush. I plan to put a skim coat of filler on the fiberglass parts anyway, just because they are a bit ripply as they come... Thanks for looking. Edited December 18, 2019 by Ironhead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuD 91gt Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 Nice job. You only say it’s idiot proof until you have a resin filled hand, and fibreglass Matt strings everywhere! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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