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HybridZ

seattlejester's 1971 240Z


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@webezeeed: Did not know such a thing existed, will have to look into it.

 

@omak: Blah, I'll have to do more reading regarding an inline hydro brake, for now, I just need the assurance I can walk away from my car and not find it in my neighbors yard.

 

I still think I whole heartedly suck in the bodywork department, so I decided I'd try some things I had read when I found a few more dings in my hood as well as changing my paint. I usually fill lightly then sand until I can't feel a transition anymore. Which ended up not working, since I usually don't have the patience to use the finer grits, then use the heavier grits end up taking too much off or leaving deep scratches, have to re-filler, then eventually just give up, coat it, and call it a day.

 

This time around, I used my orbital polisher with a 120 grit to take off most of the excess fillers (save myself the initial sanding session), then used a nice rubber sanding block with 220 grit to take off the transitions. Followed by a coat of pretty decent primer to fill in the low spots, than sanding again to take out the high spots. This also really helps to show really bad transitions that you may have missed as the primer tends to sand away from the higher spots. Worked out pretty darn well, and I'm actually excited to paint my hood, first time I've been excited to paint something white since I painted my car :).

 

Unfortunately rain is predicted for the next week, along with finals, so no major work for a while.

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So funny stories:

 

I was so focused on getting the dings out of the hood that I really didn't give much attention to the other parts of the hood that had little scratches. The part that I worked on turned out great! Unfortunately the parts I hadn't given attention to showed up under the white paint. *Sigh* at least it looks infinitely better than my fenders and doors.

 

And as mentioned a few posts ago, I was dealing with some brake fluid leaking near the master. I thought I had tightened it pretty well only to find it had once again leaked. I tried tightening some fittings some more, but they really didn't have much to give. One thing that's been nagging me is that the company I ordered from sent two different types of fittings, one long and one short. I was worrying that this may have been a problem, when I noticed the side of the master was wet as well! Followed up the side to find my tilton reservoirs were leaking from the side! So I drained the fluid, took the reservoirs out, cleaned the o-ring and tightened them down, hopefully that will be the end of that problem. Now I have to go chase down where the fluid leaked and scrub off the bad paint and re-paint for the third time.

 

A friend came over last week, and helped me line up and install my fuel cell.

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Loved how well everything fit from the top!

Unfortunately...

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from the rear it's a different story.

We also found that the vent setup I wanted is a little to tall, so I'll have to order a 90* to flatten it out so I can run a closed system.

 

*Sigh*, I could shave a few inches off of the little box with some different fittings and such, but alas this will have to go in the "fix it later" file. Function over form right :).

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Oh crap, I didn't see this, I just graduated on friday so it was a little hectic.

 

For future reference, there is absolutely nothing to do in bellevue. The eats aren't that great, there's no tourist attraction, it just has a few nice houses, some upscale chain stores, some big companies, and that's pretty much it.

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Hatch was painted over the weekend. Found a ridiculous amount of rust on the bottom edge, really didn't want to start working on the hatch as I'm pretty sure it is rusting under the glass as well as the bottom edge, the hatch will just have to be replaced when I have the funds. Currently just treated and seam sealed the holes.

 

Friend came over and we pounded out some work on the car.

 

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Mounted fuel lines and fuel pump.

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Brought it out to the front. It runs fairly close to the drive shaft, so I hope it clears without any incident. The diff shouldn't move so I don't expect any problem on that front. What we did find was that the material the metal fuel line is made out of really likes to kink even with tube bending pliers and benders, so we'll have to wait a little bit to finish it up for sure.

 

Hopefully I'm now done spending large amounts of time under the car.

 

Future ponderings: the pump is rated for 15 gph at 4 psi. The su's want somewhere between 2.5 and 3psi? I was told approximately 1 gph per 10hp would be a rough estimate, I'm really hoping that this will be adequate to fuel my engine build:

 

E31 head

N42 block

Su Carbs

MSA headers

L28 or L28 flat based on condition of stock pistons, viability with carbs.

 

These motors aren't suppose to make too much power in this stock of a trim from what I gather, so I hope it doesn't make more than 150 for at least a large rpm range (how many times have you heard that before? lol). I have some projects on the side for stage two for the motor so the fuel pump will be upgraded when that happens.

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Will probably need to take it out again to put in the dash, but felt like it was time.

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Still missing one bolt, but it is really snug, can't wait to get some pads.

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Both quarter windows are in. Still hesitant to put the hatch until the doors are in to balance everything out.

 

Next on the list is the dash, followed by some wiring, then drive line :D.

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What seats are those? I have those exact seats, brought them from a z32 owner for $100 for the pair. I just want to know the brand because they look really awesome in our z's. I love mine and they are comfy as hell. Had to convert the z32 rails to 280z rails, wasnt that tough but wasnt the a cake walk either. Got them to fit in way better than I thought. Only thing is my cage is so dam tight, the seat would possiblly cause my passanger to bang their head on it lol no biggie. Hope you wont have that issue. Looking good by the way :)

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Oh yea they are very very comfortable, not quite the rsx seats i was planning but the fit was a lot better. A lot of the other seats with bolsterings have little wings that get bent in by the door. They were eBay brand, just no name seats. I welded in some flat mounts, tied them to the frame rail, and bolted through the floor, lowered the seat a good 2 inches or so, I think almost 3 inches in the front. Plus I got to move the seat a little bit so it can clear my roll bar mount. My roll bar is super tight, hugs the roof with a few mm to spare so head clearance is great, even with a helmet. Plan is to have the seats reupholstered and re foamed once the cheap foam collapses or the cloth tears.

 

A friend offered to fix my dash so that will be next week, followed by wiring and fitting. Tax refund is dribbling in so hopefully I can start on engine work pretty soon.

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Hah, when my car is running!

 

The seats were dirt cheap, <100 if I remember.

 

Ran into a little problem today, the seat belts are a bit too tight. I'm almost out of adjustment and I barely fit. It's a 50 inch belt, but including the seats and distance to the mounting points it's a bit tight. Guess even my car is telling me to loose weight!

 

On a separate note, are their any gurus nearby that I can convince/bribe/beg for help with wiring? The PO had attacked the harness to add an aftermarket stereo and I've been staring at wiring diagrams for a few hours now. Really don't want to start over and rewire the whole car, but tracing wiring is proving to be a bit of a headache. I know I'll understand it eventually, but if someone has experience and the know how, I wouldn't mind stepping aside :D.

 

From what I gather, upgrades worthwhile/needed are:

Modern fuse box

Honda wiper motor

ZX alternator (which means getting rid of voltage regulator, and purchasing a bypass)

Headlight and Taillight relays

Replacing fusible links for starter and ignition with blade type fuses

Wiring up fuel cell and electric fuel pump

Leaving a wiring setup for a blower, possible stereo, and eventually the electric radiator fan.

 

Getting rid of door ajar buzzer circuit

Getting rid of blower motor and heater adjustment and stock stereo control

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Fuel lines were bent up and clamped, the last bend seems a bit flattened, so that may be looked at if I get fuel starving issues.

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Plugged in most of my wiring harness, friend came over and we worked through it. It's pretty entertaining with all the stuff I don't have anymore.

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Couldn't find my fuse box...so wasn't able to finish.

But got all the way around to the tail light, and connected and identified most of the front harness.

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And as earlier picture may have hinted, the dash is in!

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Still need to address cracks, but figured I'd put it in while I have help.

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Plugging everything in and stuff wasn't that bad. The wiring harness is a bit stiff, but still intact, all I have is the PO's word that it was running before it came into my hands so theoretically it should all be working.

 

I'm not using/missing a few things so I'll have to clean my garage today in search of all the things that have rolled away. Can't believe I can't find my fuse box right now :(.

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Glad you were able to tackle that wiring harness. Its the one thing that been preventing me from installing my new dash. The guy i bought the car from snapped the dash that was in there into 3 parts. I was able to get my hands on another dash in good condition with the full wiring harness intact so im wondering if i should pull out the old wiring (the previous owner made it a complete mess) and put in the one from the new dash. The only thing is that i dont know if it is a good working harness (unsure how to test it, electronics seem so daunting). Congrats on getting it in there.

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