S30 Project Advice!

[Zufelt]

Hey how's it going guys, I'm looking to the for some advice on my project. I picked up my project about a year ago, labeled all the parts that came with the car (280z, 1975) and immediately started the teardown. The car came as a rolling shell, with the goal of making this a clean weekend warrior. I started with removing the front and rear subframes to start chipping away at the undercoating. Most of the undercoating is now gone, so I moved onto the interior of the car. Removing sound deadning and cleaning as I went. I'm unfortunately feeling like I bit off more than i can chew with this project. I still need to remove more sound deadning, but where do I go from here? I didn't want to remove EVERYTHING from the interior, but there is sound deadning underneath the dash (over the trans tunnel). I'm worried about removing more than what is already removed, but at the same time I feel like I would be doing a half-ass job if I didn't. Im also wanting to blast the undercarriage and POR-15 it all.. should I just do the same to the interior? I'm pretty conflicted on what the do next on the project as a whole. There is so much to do that I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. Any advice from someone that's gone through this process would be wonderful. I've attached some photos to give you guys an idea of where I'm at with the car.

[Miles]

Welcome

You may find this information useful:

• ·       Download a Factory Service Manual (FSM).  http://www.xenonzcar.com/s30/reference.html
• ·       Download electrical schematics for your car.  PDFs are easier to read than those found in books. Some are in color.
• ·       Buy the book How to Restore Your Datsun Z Car by Wick Humble. It will save you hours of searching for "how to" info.
• ·       Focus on searching Hybridz as 99% of questions have already been addressed.
• ·       Start bookmarking Z car parts suppliers - there are many!
• ·       For SU carbs, parts and instructions go to Ztherapy.  Buy the "Just SUs" video.
• ·       Remember these are 40 year old cars and will need restoration to be safe and drivable.
• ·       Join ClassicZCars.com website and search there as well.
• ·       Become well informed about modifications before asking questions. People will be more inclined to   answer informed questions.
• ·       Search the Hybridz forums.
• ·       Read all of the new member guidelines and FAQs

Links:

https://www.datsun-240z-upgrades.net/      Recommend the headlight relay harness

http://zhome.com/

https://www.zcar.com/

https://www.classiczcars.com/

http://www.zcarparts.com/

http://www.arizonazcar.com/

http://www.jagsthatrun.com/index.html

http://www.ztherapy.com/   

http://www.xenonzcar.com/reference.html

[jhm]

Great advice from Miles. 

 

I would add "Read as many Build Threads as possible" to the list.  These can be found in the "Members Projects" sub-forum.

[NewZed]

I would put it all back together and drive it.

[Neverdone]

Start a monthly transfer of some money that goes directly into a savings account. Eventually that money will add up to something meaningful and you can then throw that money on your Z. 

 

Realize that above all else, a project car is going to take two things: time and money.

 

Knowledge is also going to be needed, but that comes with time, so don't fret if you're not sure what to do now.

 

The best thing you can do is limit the scope of your project as much as you possibly can. If you're looking for a fun, weekend car, then just clean up any rust holes you can spot, replace the sound deadening with some dynamat like material or lizard skin, and figure out what you're going to replace your gas tank with, and put it back together. 

 

Realize you don't NEED 300hp, you don't NEED coilovers, you don't NEED 17" wheels, you don't NEED massive brakes, and you don't NEED to have a world class paint job to really enjoy the car. Those are wants. If you can afford those wants (in both time and/or money) then do whatever you want to do.

 

Start by creating a spreadsheet of how much certain things are going to cost, and realize that things start to add up quickly, and try and be as through as you can. Fittings and other small things may not seem like much until you have to order a ton of them. Then make a no bullshit assessment on what you're comfortable with spending on something that you'll probably never see a return on investment.

[grannyknot]

Zufelt, welcome to the forum.  Looks like you have a pretty solid car but rust is everything on these cars,  no matter what else you do get rid of the rust, cut it out, blast it out, whatever it takes. Just about everything is available for these cars one way or the other so it's all do-able.  Yes, very easy to get that feeling "What have I got myself into" That is a dangerous place to be, many excellent projects have been abandoned at that point.  So focus on one section or system at a time, sort of bite size jobs that you can complete and see your progress.  When I'm tackling a big job like sanding the shell down to bare metal, I like to have 3-4 smaller jobs going as well so if I get fed up with striping paint I have a nice fun little project on the bench that I can complete in a short time.

I have used POR15 a lot and unless you follow the instructions to the letter it will fail in a short time and even when your application of it is perfect it's really not better than 2k epoxy primer on bare metal.  It's a different chemistry but necessarily a better and it's very easy to screw it up.

So as the other guys have said make a list of the important things you want to do and let the rest slide.  You can post a question on the forum for anything, you will get lots of good advice here.

[Zufelt]

The amount of help on here is extraordinary. I appreciate all the advice, I'm doing as suggested and picking up some books, but mainly diving into other builds more. I'm also trying to take smaller bites, or at least take a section on at a time so I don't end up with the "Paralysis by analysis" bug. I decided to just take my time/and tear it down to frame.. get it blasted then primed in 2k, which will allow me to make any adjustments during the 2jz/(154 or CD009) . Thanks again for the advice guys.. 

[seattlejester]

With the amount of tweaking involved in fitting a CD009 I would suggest having it all fitted how you want it before going too far assuming the chassis is workable. I had to widen my trans tunnel, hammer a few portions, cut out the trans mounts, and weld in new points. Taking off cheap paint/undercoating was annoying enough, can't imagine having to attack 2k primer not to mention cracking it in areas where the tunnel was hammered or the trans tunnel was stretched.

 

As others have said, plan it all out. Doing things twice on paper is far cheaper than doing things twice in real life.