Z :: spending more time with the Fairlady

So, a few more things that beg to be fixed on the Z. First, I cannot wait to install the Kenwood deck in the car...being able to listen to the radio in a car is such a gift that we always take for granted. Also, the seatbelt locking mechanism is super trigger happy and locks ALL THE DAMN TIME.

Oh, the brakes have been bumped even higher up the list of things I need to do on this car. It's pulling pretty strongly to the right under braking.

Went to the DMV today and got the car reregistered to my name. Gotta get it smogged still.

Overall, still loving the car. As a matter of fact, I love this car more than I could ever love a human child.

Z :: the Fairlady has arrived

I went to go look at her on Sunday, and deciding her a good car, I picked her up last night. I know, I was supposed to get rid of the CBR first, but as you can see, I couldn't help myself. Whoops.

The car is a 1978 280Z, with the 5 speed manual. The body is clean, with a few small dings, slightly faded paint (part of the car has been repainted), and rust in the hatch area. The interior is a mixed bag. Some of it was removed when the rear tweeter speakers were stolen (the deck was stolen too, but the owner gave me a brand new Kenwood deck to sweeten the deal. The passenger seat is clean, but the driver's is ripped up. The dash has some cracks but looks decent. All the gauges work, and some of the carpet looks pretty good. Some damage to the center console, the shift boot is coming loose, and the aftermarket Grant steering wheel blocks the view of the speedo and tach.

The motor runs pretty strong, the only problem with it is a slight hesitation around 1500-2000, then it pulls strongly from there. It's not a fast car, but it has lots of torque and feels sporty with the big hood stretching out in front of you and a seating position that puts you right over the rear wheel. New radiator, new clutch, new MAF, K&N cold air filter. Handling is heavy, which I read is common with these cars. The problem lies in the heavy front and rear bumpers, the (relatively) big 205/60/15 front tires, and the tiny ass steering wheel. I may switch to a bigger wheel.


Here is a list of things I want to do with the car, sorted by tier:

Tier 1 (fix immediately)

- There seems to be a vacuum leak in the brake master cylinder, which is causing the brake assist to be half-assed and a "BRAKE" warning light to pop up on my dash. No, thanks I think I'll keep going forward. Might be related to the motor hesitation.
- I discovered that the HEATER CONTROLS don't work on my way home from Santa Rosa in the middle of the night. Froze my ass off.
- There is a weird machine gun noise coming from the right rear brake drum, which may be related to the brake related howl elsewhere

Tier 2 (fix soon)
- Dash cap to cover the cracks. 47 bucks + shipping from MSA
- seats. I'm trying to find some cool leather buckets...maybe from a miata?
- new tires. the current ones are dry rotted and bald
- wash and wax
- patch the damage on the passenger door

Tier 3 (future plans)
- turbo L28et engine
- transmission has a crappy 2nd gear synchro...but this will probably be swapped out in the turbo swap
- hatch rust
- maybe 240Z bumper conversion??

What do I have in mind for this car? Exterior has to be good. Not necessarily perfect, but enough that you can't tell there's imperfections without looking. The biggest concern is paint at this point, and the damage on the passenger door. Interior has to be really good. I want it to be comfortable and quiet enough that my dad would think it a good, clean, "complete" interior. No more stripping the shit out of the interior. Suspension should be noiseless and comfortable, but doesn't have to be that quick in the corners...more of a cruiser, this one. A cruiser that goes like stink.

Z :: teaser 3

Z :: teaser 2

B22 :: big day - turn signal stalk, etc

The combination switch (turn signal/wipers, etc) module AR and I bought off ebay came in today. I was excited to install them, as the lack of a "click" temporary stop on the turn signal was super ridiculously annoying. It kept falling into the "down" position while we were driving. 30 bucks off ebay.


The first step was to take off the cover on the steering wheel. This required removing screws that I could not see, and because I didn't have a mirror I took a picture of it with my cell phone. Turned out to be Phillips.


Since I didn't have a 1/2" socket extender, I was at a loss for how to remove the nut holding the wheel on. However, my luck turned out to be spectacular, as one of the sockets on the "X" lug wrench worked perfectly. Jeff, you'd be proud.


Then, I had to remove the steering wheel, which is pressed onto the splines. I was lucky to have bought a puller in my 260Z misadventures and I quickly mounted it up. The steering wheel diameter was a bit large, so I didn't know if it would pull it.


Luckily, after a torquing the puller down AND few good tugs, the wheel came off, launching me backwards into the door frame. Nice.


Then, DISASTER! The plugs on the replacement combo switch turned out not to be the same as the ones on the car. If you look carefully, that 6 lead female plug is supposed to plug into that 4 lead male. Whoops.

I did, however, manage to save it. Because the two switches were mechanically similar, I took them apart and was able to build a complete working one with the parts. Was a bitch, but it worked!


This is for AR. Her dad was using this trash to hold the turn signal stalk in the neutral position, and they didn't do that job very well.

While I was putting it all back on, I decided to figure out why the dash lights weren't working. I already checked all the fuses, and they were fine, so I thought it might be a bad switch. I whipped out the wiring diagram, and noticed that the leads from the switch go to "DASHBOARD DIMMER SWITCH." I promptly located it, and turned it back from pitch black. LOL.

Also zip tied the fan shroud down to reduce some rattling in the engine bay.

Whew! I'm tired now. G'nite.

EST: ~3 hours

Z :: teaser

CBRh :: painting the front fender and fairing stay

Cleaned up the fairing stay and fender today and sprayed them with two coats of flat black primer, letting them dry in between. No drama, but also no "finished" pictures, because I was too tired to take them after all the work on the CBR and Mazda were said and done.

EST: 15 min actual work, ~1 hour wait time

Z :: aww

Z :: the fastest car you've ever ridden in

(photo found on cardomain)

The other day, I asked AR if the Rex was the fastest car she's ever ridden in.

Big mistake.

It's not. Or at least she says it's not. I think there might've been a little prejudice which I'll explain soon. She said the fastest car she'd ever ridden in was one of her high school friends' dad's cars in 8th grade (98-99). She said it was small, two door and low car that "pressed her up against the seat." I believe the sporty layout may have biased her against the WRX's sleeper saloon styling (especially since I've taken off the orgasm inspiring exhaust).

Anyway, I was a bit miffed. I mean, I had the Honda CBR F4i motorcycle and introduced her to the most exhilarating thing she's ever going to ride. Also, I gave her a ride on the F4i, and it's a very fast vehicle, probably faster than any car I'll ever own. Still, my complex reflex hit hard and I was not to be outdone. I've decided that the Datsun will be built to be the new fastest car she's ever ridden in.

Originally, I thought the car was probably a corvette...but I can't find any indication that there are 2+2 corvettes, and she says that the car was "small." Anyway, I still need to find a target drag time. When I first got into cars (not long after 1999), one of my favorite movies was The Fast and the Furious, a terrible movie that idolized the idea of a "13 second car." After actually going to the track, I learned that my poor WRX is only good for mid 14's under my foot. Thus, I would like to break into the 13's in my Datsun. Well into the 13's.

I'll be doing some research on how to do that with the L28et.

CBRh :: forward progress

Yesterday, Phong and AR stopped by the Future. Phong worked on the paddle rack a little bit, and Aileen worked on her english paper. I did some work on the CBR Hurricane.

One of the main problems I've encountered with this bike is making it look good while still turning a profit when I sell it. It has to be both marketable and inexpensive. Things that I wouldn't care about much on my own bike (ie working gauges and warning lights) are pretty much essential for a good sale. Thus, I had to scrap the idea of the 7" headlight, because the giant gauge cluster looked terrible mounted behind the little headlamp. I decided that I would go with a trimmed fairing stay and keep the square headlight.





I began by mounting up the bar-end mirror so I could cut off the mirror mount portion on the stay. This was a total bitch because I couldn't back the screw out without the bar-end weight rotating in the bar. Thus, I had to drill a hole in it and install a temporary pin:





Then I marked and trimmed the fairing stay with an angle grinder:





GTG, more later.

Z :: imola red

I've decided I want a blue, red, or orange Datsun.

White is out - paint not deep enough. Too many black cars. Never loved yellow. Gold, root beer, etc - the 70's are over.

I'm thinking about Imola Red, the BMW M3 paint color.

Z :: beautiful chrome engine bay

Wow. Standalone fuel management allows you to do a lot to get rid of the extra hoses and shit that comes on the L28et.

(EDIT: looks like an L28 actually. Check out that long tube manifold.)

Z :: SR20det ditched, L28et dreams

(from www.streetsolutions.com via Google Images)

The SR20, although a hearty and exciting engine, costs a whopping 2500 dollars. The mount kit into the Z costs another 600 bucks, so I'd be about 3100 in the hole before I even got started with the actual building. Thus, I have decided to ditch the idea of the SR20 and try to locate a 280ZX turbo donor car for a L28et swap. This would leave me more money for trick bits like a big intercooler and decent wheels. I might even be able to swap the L28 into the ZX and recover it for most of the cost.


(image from http://atlantaracing.tripod.com via Google Images)

The swap is also reportedly easier than the SR20 swap, which is great, considering the last swap attempt was basically a massive failure. The odds of success is much better for the L28, especially because I can have a complete donor car.


Gorgeous Z, from the avatar of a hybridZ member. Very modern looking, with modern colors and finishing touches. I prefer the more classic look myself, but it's still sexy.

B22 :: slave cylinder pt 2

Had a hell of a time bleeding the slave cylinder...eventually left it with a few bubbles because it was working just fine like that. Might be an indication of a another leak someplace.

Gotta go to Jen's house and pick up those motorcycle ramps.

B22 :: fuckin slaves

pulled the slave clutch cylinder out of the Future Truck today. Looked like this:



Dirty hydraulic fluid was gushing out of that rubber boot, indication that the piston seals were leaking like crazy. Replaced it with a 15 dollar one I got from Orinda Shell. Just gotta bleed it now.

Z :: the chills

This picture gives them to me.

It was found on user "two40"s album on hybridz.org.

paddle rack progress, other

Went to Home Depot with Phong today to pick up materials for the paddle rack. Things went well, but we ended up making some changes to the design of the rack which will affect its structural integrity (which have not, thus far, been solved).

Also, took a look at the VFR manual regarding clutch replacement. Looks like there's a special tool used to turn one of the nuts, so I'll track one down and buy the rest of the wear parts from Honda. Movin forward.

movers and shakers

today, Phong and Sandy join AR and I in the Future.

We will be working on two+ things: a paddle rack for UCMAP, Aileen's slightly broken truck (which is making an increasingly disturbing click from the top end), and maybe I'll put a little bit of time into the Hurricane if I get the chance.

hanging by a moment

An idea JK gave me for mounting my entertainment electronics at my new apartment.

to do

fix the AR's truck - blown clutch slave cylinder
put CBRh back together and sell
clean up harness on SV, sell

buy Z

-concurrently-
work on JK's VFR

it's the return of the

oh wait, no way, you're kidding. He didn't just say what I think he did, did he?

Z project!

My dreams demand to be fulfilled.