datsunfreak Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 We bought this last week, because apparently we have a 280Z buying sickness that won't go away... :rofl: Not running and no brakes, so... ^_^ 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Decided to find out why it has no brakes, and why the stock wheels stick out so dang far... Well, why the wheels stuck out was an easy mystery to solve... And the mystery of no brakes? Also a bit of a no-brainer... With the wheels as they should be... Got lucky and found a '78 280Z in the junkyard today with a fairly nice front bumper (our was MIA)... Decided to take the air dam off and put the stock valence back on (it was in the trunk), and went ahead and put the new bumper on (oics tomorrow). Drained the gas tank and what came out really reeked. You can tell it's reeeeally old and nasty. :sick: Put a hot battery in it, shot a bit of starting fluid into the MAF, and it fired right up and ran great! :thumbup: More updates as they happen... 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted January 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Bumper cleaned up and installed... Re-installed the air box, but need to find the rubber hose that attaches it to the AFM... PO removed the top half of the thermostat housing to presumably replace the thermostat, but broke a bolt off in the process... I figured "no problem, I have a spare thermostat housing!" But then while taking the bottom half off, another bolt broke off. In the head. :crying: Soaked that for about an hour in a lot of PB Blaster and it spun right out by hand... :thumbup: Got the water jacket cleaned out, all that loose gunk cleaned off, installed the "new" thermostat housing, new thermostat bypass hoses (the old ones crumbled when I touched them), and got everything buttoned back up... Ordered an upper and lower radiator hose and a new thermostat and gasket. Should have that on next week. :thumbup: While waiting for those parts to arrive, I checked out a few other things. The carpet is toast so I went ahead and ripped it out. Floors look very good... Dash is a bit cracked up, but I'll get a replacement cover for it... Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted January 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Also ordered some new seat upholstery, so those and some new carpet go in next week. :thumbup: Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Aluminum tends to gall when tightened against steel. It's a form of friction that can exceed the strength of the aluminum threads and it tears them out or exceeds the strength of the steel fastener and they snap. Heat the aluminum around the broken bolt with a torch. Aluminum expands twice as much as steel and the hole actually becomes larger. Gently tighten and loosen to get the fastener moving back and forth. This creates some 'wiggle room' and can usually be expanded on, loosening farther and farther with each turn. Trying to turn all the way out at once can snap the fastener again. Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted January 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Aluminum tends to gall when tightened against steel. It's a form of friction that can exceed the strength of the aluminum threads and it tears them out or exceeds the strength of the steel fastener and they snap. Heat the aluminum around the broken bolt with a torch. Aluminum expands twice as much as steel and the hole actually becomes larger. Gently tighten and loosen to get the fastener moving back and forth. This creates some 'wiggle room' and can usually be expanded on, loosening farther and farther with each turn. Trying to turn all the way out at once can snap the fastener again. Thanks! The car doesn't need it now, but that tip will probably save that thermostat housing for another day. :thumbup: Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted February 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 Got the stock hubs, rotors, and calipers from the V8 car since it's getting massive brake upgrades... Outer door handle on the driver's side wouldn't work, took it out to see what up. Yeah, it's broken... Didn't have the key to the door either, so I took out both locks and rekeyed them to match the ignition key... Door panels are in good shape, but I noticed when I took off the passenger side that the vinyl was loose on the bottom. Got some gorilla glue and clamped it in place so it should be good to go by tomorrow... Need to go by the locksmith and get the covers for the locks tomorrow. Picked up a good door handle from the JY on my way home, so the doors should be all back together tomorrow... :thumbup: Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted February 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 Local locksmith had some of the lock covers in stock! :thumbup: So I bought all of them. :rofl: Got the locks done, covers on, and back in the door. So right side is all done now, aside from a good scrubbing... Left side lock is done, just need to put it all back together... Noticed the window crank on the left side is cracked and won't stay on, so went through my stash to find another. Guess what I found while looking for that? B) Crossing my fingers and hoping they are the right ones... :rofl: Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted February 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 Injectors turned out to be the wrong ones... :sleep: These are 335cc injectors for a Mercedes, not the stock 188cc injectors. Would be good for a modified turbo engine (those used 265cc), though... B) Left side buttoned up. Found some vintage metal lock knobs that seem to fit the car well... Jaguar walnut shift knob, because that's sort of becoming our signature... :rofl: Tried to bleed the brakes today. Left front came out okay, but the right front would not bleed out at all. Traced it back to a blockage in the rubber line, so went ahead and replaced both front rubber hoses... After that, the front bled out just fine. Tried to bleed the rear and of course, only one side would produce any fluid. May have to replace those hoses as well. Or at least I hope it's just a hose... ^_^ Pedal is a LOT better, just not perfect yet... Quote Link to comment
EricJB Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 I'm putting a roll bar in my 280Z right now. One thing I have learned about these cars is, they painted the floors after they put down the floor sound barrier. So as good as the floors look to the eye, They are rusting beneath the barrier. Especially under the pedals. On my 240, the floors looked OK until I peeled that stuff up. The sound barrier was the floor, as piece's of rust came out with the barrier and left some holes. You might want to peel the stuff up and POR 15 or Hammerite them. Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted February 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2015 One thing I have learned about these cars is, they painted the floors after they put down the floor sound barrier. So as good as the floors look to the eye, They are rusting beneath the barrier. Especially under the pedals. Thanks for the tip! This actually happened on the passenger side, so I've already peeled it all up. :rofl: Fixed the holes on the passenger side and repainted it, along with painting this side. :thumbup: Got some mirrors I thought would look cool on the car, and at least to me they do... Spent most of the day fighting the fuel injection system. The throttle body wouldn't open, so I had to remove that and clean it out (major pain), then I removed and cleaned every single plug even remotely connected to the EFI. Still doesn't seem to want to fire up... I tested the injectors themselves one at a time and they all seem to be functioning, but when I tested the injector plugs for voltage, I got nothing. So now I need to dig into it a little deeper and find out why the ECU isn't firing the injectors... :sneaky: Quote Link to comment
afbrian13 Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 Nice looking car and glad to hear it started up! Couple questions, Did you rekey the locks or have the locksmith do it? What mirrors are those, they look good. I have power Zx mirrors, but I wired them up and put the switches in the console. Nobody but a Z guy has ever noticed! Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted February 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 Did you rekey the locks or have the locksmith do it? I rekeyed them myself. :thumbup: I took one to a locksmith forever ago to be rekeyed and he did it while I waited. When I saw how easy it is to do, I just got a couple of spare locks and learned how to do it myself. What mirrors are those, they look good. CIPA 18000 Universal Chrome Mirror. I have power Zx mirrors, but I wired them up and put the switches in the console. Nobody but a Z guy has ever noticed! I seriously thought about that for a minute since we had some here, but just felt they looked a little too modern? Got a pic? Plus all the extra wiring I'd have to do... :rofl: Quote Link to comment
afbrian13 Posted February 9, 2015 Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 I need to take apart a lock and check that out! Didnt realize they came apart like that. Ill look for a pic. I was worried about it looking too modern also but it doesnt pop out at me. I want to run a msa type 2 kit and think they may match pretty well. The wiring was easy! Thanks for the response, Brian Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted February 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 I need to take apart a lock and check that out! Didnt realize they came apart like that. Some good info here: http://community.ratsun.net/topic/6340-rekeying-a-521-glove-box-lock/ And here: http://community.ratsun.net/topic/47412-how-to-dissasemble-datsun-510-ignition-switch-and-rekey/ Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted February 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2015 Got some new injectors today... Hoses come too long and are cut to fit. But at least they come with new o-rings. Got them installed and it did absolutely no good. :sneaky: I hate this car. Every time I fix something, I find something else broken. :frantics: So at this point we've replaced/repaired just about everything but the ECU. Gonna try to find a known good ECU and swap it out and see what that does... But don't be surprised if I push it outside and light it on fire... :angry: Quote Link to comment
Phantom Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 Aww heck - just rip it all out and drop a V8 in. :crying: Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted February 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 Aww heck - just rip it all out and drop a V8 in. :crying: Don't think we didn't discuss it... :rofl: Although popping some SUs on it would be quicker and easier... Quote Link to comment
Slowpoke Posted February 28, 2015 Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 Nice Z. Can't say I've seeen someone put the stock bumper back on, haha. Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted February 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 Can't say I've seeen someone put the stock bumper back on Not gonna lie. It hurt me a little inside... :rofl: Quote Link to comment
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