max head room

It was another great day at "the office" :) Finally had the opportunity to put my new 60 cm scissors jack and taller jack stands into use. The Z stood twice as high as last week! Last week i felt like I was working in a coffin. This time it felt like camping in the great outdoors :) I can sit straight up underneath the fuel tank.

Time to remove the tranny. Drained the oil first. Looked like there was a lot of metal particles (like filing) around the plug. Good that I bought the 5spd. Supported the oil pan with a jack stand and manoeuvred my other jack underneath the tranny. After I lowered the jack, it was a matter of tugging and twisting and making sure that the tranny didn't fall off the jack. It worked, but next time I'll make sure I have a proper cart to move and jack up the tranny. The clutch and clutch plate indeed look pretty new (as the ebay ad said). Here's a comparison between the bell housings of the original 4-spd and FS5W71C's from the 240SX:

F4W71B	FS5W71C

After that was done, it was time to drop the rear suspension. Removed the bolts from the underside, making sure to support the assy. Then I removed the 3 nuts at the top of the struts on each side, only to notice that I'd forgotten to remove the flexible brake lines on each side :/ But that was fixed quickly.
Up next was removal of a spindle pin. I chose to try the LH side. Removing the locking pin in the centre wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be. Driving the pin out was a different story. Using lots of penetrating oil, I just started pounding away. The first part was reasonably do-able, but after the exposed part of the pin was inside, use of a punch was necessary. Unfortunately I didn't have one thick enough; one a bit smaller than the pin itself would've been ideal. About half way the threaded end of the pin went crooked, scoring the inside :/ Damn. Ah well, I'd ordered two new control arms anyway. But still. Eventually, after hitting my thumb a few times :) the pin came out. It wasn't rusted as I thought it'd be. I decided to leave the other one in place till I have a proper sized punch to use.
With the lower control arm outta the way, it was time to work on that bitching brake drum. I'd tried all tips I could find on the web but none worked for me. With the four bolts on the floor I thought it'd be easier to deal out real hard blows. While it was on the car, the energy was used to rock the car instead of moving the drums. So using a nice sturdy block of wood, I started pounding away. Yay! after a while the bitch finally started to bodge! :)
Next week I'll work on the other leg.
Fortunately I didn't destroy the fins around the circumference of the drum, and the inner brake liner looks thick enough so after I've blasted them and given 'em a fresh coating, I might put 'em up for sale. Not going back to drum brakes anyway.
Didn't have time to remove the remaining brackets from the chassis but at least most of the nuts and bolts are loose. When forcing them loose, things got so hot that you could see vapour coming off :) Yeah, it was kind of humid inside too (water still leaking thru the roof :/ )

these mothers were also a PITA to remove

Rear end

On Sunday I finally managed to put in a full day (from 11am - 6.30 pm) rather than just a few hours. I'd actually planned to remove the tranny but I ended up removing the diff and rear end instead. Removing the bolts/nuts from both ends of each half shaft was the hardest part due to rust. Also, none of my 14 mm ring spanners and sockets seemed to fit around the nuts at the flanges because there just wasn't enough space around (see left nut on pic). With the force that had to be applied, open-end spanners just wouldn't do. Fortunately one ring spanner was thin enough to fit. This really saved my day! Though not Snap-on quality, it was no prob using it as my poor man's impact :) Lots of hammering and rust eating penetrating oil did the job.
So eventually the rear end and diff could be dropped. The rear end actually looks worse than it is. I hammered all around but all parts sounded very solid. I removed the diff only and installed the rear end again. It's easier to remove certain nuts/bolts while it's still on the car. But I've decided to remove the complete rear end coming Sunday. Will try to remove the dreaded brake drums first. When all that's off, I can go ahead blasting and powder coat the whole lot.
I received my new taller jack and stands a day too late cuz the buggers didn't deliver on Saturday. So on Sunday I'm gonna enjoy the max head room the 71cm stands will provide :)
What else...yes, I've placed a few orders with MSA and Z-Barn. That's the Twice pipes exhaust kit (for use with header) + sway bar kit (1" front / 7/8" rear) + carb synchro tester from MSA, all on sale. From the Z-barn I've ordered a set of 280Z stub axle assies and a 70-71 Z drive shaft.
While trying to remove the diff, the manual said to remove the rear sway bar first. However, I didn't see anything even remotely looking like that. My first reaction was to blame (one of) the POs. But while browsing classiczcars.com, I learnt that sway bars were optional. Only from the 260Z onwards they came standard with the car. So when I found the kit on sale at MSA's, I didn't hesitate and while at it, I ordered the other items that were on sale as well. As for the 70-71 drive shaft, that I'll be needing when I've installed the tranny I bought recently. That requires a shorter shaft. So I could either have my current shaft shortened or buy one from a first gen Z which happens to have the correct length. For $100 I didn't have to think twice. Having a shaft shortened in this country will most prolly cost me double that.
Have done a lot of research on Subaru diffs in the meantime. A lot of Subis have the R180 (with and without LSD) installed. It differs in some details from the Z's but the size is the same and it doesn't require a lot of modding. So rather than going the R200 route (that thing is huge compared to the R180 and really will be overkill for my stock powered Z) I've decided to put my money on the newer R180. I had hopes that the side gears would have the same 25 spline count as my half shafts, in which case I'd simply have do this mod. However, after having gone thru numerous posts on various forums, various Subi FSMs I found no confirmation but rather more confusion. Some mention 25, some 27. So i thought I'd be smart and figure out what the spline count was on the CV axles for certain particular model Subis. I contacted Cardone, remanufacturer of CVs. Guess what, they came up with a 22 spline count! Now I'm even more confused. I tried getting numbers and pix from JYs over here, but those buggers only care about making a quick buck selling stuff that's been lying for years on their shelves, not about informing people. It's been almost a week since my requests so I don't expect any answer back. Will try to locate some Subi R180 in/around Amsterdam so that i can go and look for myself rather than relying on the web.
If the spline count is indeed different from 25, I'll have to resort to plan B, which is having a Subi CV axle modded, something like this. I'll take a bit different approach though. Made some concept drawings without actual sizes yet and forwarded them to a few shops for some quotes. I hope to receive at least one response, though I'm not really counting on it.

cousin Vinny

I've located the first owner of the Z: mr Vincent S. Giordano jr, executive vice president of "Giordano Construction Managers & General Contractors" Branford, Connecticut :) I saw his name on the original warranty and service booklet but never thought much of it. But tonight I decided to google him to see if I could find a match, et voila! Click on the pic to read more about him.
It'll be fun to contact him when the project is in a more advanced stage. He might appreciate it. I even think that he might wanna buy it back from me when I'm completely finished :)

Shaft

Yesterday I had to baby sit my (soon to be) 3yr old daughter so I'd only planned to drop off the new tools and try out the new jack stands. But as soon as we got on the way, my little girl fell asleep so I took the opportunity do some more :) By the time she woke up, I had managed to remove the propeller/drive shaft. I was on my way removing the tranny as well but that didn't prove to be as easy as it looked. And since that little rascal was walking, and tumbling around I didn't wanna take any chances of either of us getting hurt.
Unfortunately the new jack stands weren't that much taller than the ones I already have so I still ended up working in cramped quarters. The fact that my creeper cart would hardly move on the very uneven floor (this used to be a stable) also didn't really help. But I managed eventually. Fortunately the 4 bolts weren't as hard to remove as they looked. The last one wasn't even finger tight. I didn't bother marking the flanges on the prop. shaft and diff. (in order to be able to install the shaft in the same position relative to the diff, as the manual suggested) since I'll be installing another diff. anyway.
Speaking of which. I managed to find another JY offering a diff from a 1985 Silvia (S12). The description didn't include any further details so it could either be the K R180 from a non-turbo or the R200 (most probably). Whichever it is, if the price is right (less than 120 euros) , I'll take it. I really hope it's the K R180 though cuz that'd save me a few hundred bucks on additional parts to make the darn thing (if it's a R200) fit. X-ing my fingers.

FS5W71C

This morning I received my "new" FS5W71C tranny sourced from a 1990 (Euro-spec) 200SX. Loaded it into my VW and dropped it off at the shed. Didn't have time to unpack and inspect it properly. Will try to do so this weekend.

Been doing a lot of research on differential and drive shaft swaps. Since I don't think I'll be able to find a K R180, I guess I'll have to settle for the R200 from a Silvia I found earlier. This does require more parts (money) and effort, but in the end I'll have a bullet proof rear end, able to withstand hundreds of lbs.ft of torque, should I decide to do an engine swap of course :)
I learned a thing or two but I also learned that there's a lot of guesswork filling the various forums on the web. While everybody's sticking to the 280ZXT(urbo) and 300ZXT CV drive shafts, I learned that CVs from a 1987 Nissan 200SXT are the same as 280ZXT's. After comparing the drawings from the FSMs I guessed so, but on partstrain.com I found the confirmation that I'd been looking for on forums where I found "yes", "I guess" and "no" answers. So this means that I can most probably source the CVs from the same folks who've been offering me the diff. I also found a number of 300ZXT CVs at 75euros each. Newer and probably sturdier so I just might settle for those instead.

shiftin' gear

wow, a month further and not much work has been done because of responsibilities at home, work and a leg injury due to a crash on the bike :/ Damn, this way it'll take 3yrs easily.
Well, I did manage to put in a few hours cleaning up and preparing the floor pan on the driver's side for removal/replacement. Last week I received my second shipment from MyUs which included LH side floor pan. Now, if only i could buy me this TIG welder and free up some time.
Anyway, I did manage to do some research on parts, swaps and stuff so today I ended up buying a Nissan 200SX (240SX in the US) 5 speed gearbox. This is not a straight bolt-in conversion as one from a 81-83 non-turbo 280ZX, but 280ZX trannies are virtually non-existent at Dutch junk yards. Well, I did manage to locate one but it'd cost me 950euros!
So I settled for the 200SX's since it's newer and easier to get. It does need some modification but nothing that looks really hard or impossible. This morning I posted a request on the web. Within minutes offers came in, ranging from 200 - 350eur. But the last one was the best: 150eur + 6 month guarantee :) It was a 2hr drive away but fortunately shipping was offered for 30eur, so I didn't have to think twice. Yay!
I still have a request out for a K R180 4.11 differential from a Euro-spec S12 (Nissan Silvia, 200SX in the US). Also not a straight bolt-in even though it's an R180, but the mod also didn't look too daunting. Just a matter of opening both diffs up and replacing stubs on the side gears. I thought I'd found one and was planning to pick it up, till I found out this morning that not all Silvias came with the same diff. This one was from a 1.8 turbo - those came with an R200. The 2liter non-turbo (CA20E) S12s came with the R180. The R200 would need a lot more modding and parts than the K R180. If I would've lived in the US, I wouldn't have cared less, but over here, the required parts would be either too expensive or impossible to get. Life's already hard and expensive enough.
So, slowly I'm moving away from a stock set-up. But I wasn't planning to keep it 100% stock anyway. This baby's meant for regular use (though not a daily driver) and if stock components can be replaced with better after market stuff, I'll do so.
Hell, the ultimate swap would be a VQ35DE from a 350Z :) This has been done by some guys but right now it's a mission impossible for me. Not necessarily cost wise (engine can be found for 2500-3500 euros) but the electronics are not an open book yet. But always willing to learn new things, I've started reading about ECUs and engine management as much as I can. Man, there's a wealth of info on the web.
So for now, I'll just focus on the standard L24 and get that baby running. If it'll crank out 130HP, I'll be happy enough.

Arrivee!

On 28 August I had MyUs.com send off my first shipment and 3 days (!) later DHL came knocking at my door. It wasn't only fast, it was also cheap cuz I had to pay only 70euros (around $100) on duties :) Shipping itself cost me $237 which is not too bad taking into account that an odd-sized bumper was part of the shipment.
I can only say that I'm really happy with MyUs.com :) My next shipment is in the making :)

drill n tap

Prior to engine removal I started stripping it from parts that would have to be taken off anyway. In most cases this is done after the engine is out but there really is no need to wait till the engine is on the stand. I only got to removing the carbs and all lines connecting it to the engine. After that the heat shield was removed and then my time was up.
I also tried removing the thermostat but both bolts were rusted tight so once again I ended up twisting heads and shafts off. I didn't even try to fit a socket onto the bolts of the exhaust manifold cuz those looked even worse. There's gonna be a whole lot of drilling and tapping to be done.
Last week i did some more shopping. Got me a Carter P4070 Electric Fuel Pump, Holley 12-803 Fuel Pump Fuel Pressure Regulator and a Lisle 24000 Piston Ring Groove Cleaner. After this batch has arrived at MyUs, I'll finally tell 'em to ship the goods. Can't and don't wanna wait too long.
This fuel pump is one of the recommended performance upgrades. It can produce 72 gallons per hour and 6psi max and is considered very reliable. It reportedly produces about 8 psi at the carbs, while the factory pressure required of SU carbs is 3.5 psi. But despite this overpressure the engine seems to run fine. Nevertheless it won't hurt to dial down the pressure to 5psi thru the pressure reg.
The pic shows the (location of the) current pump.

anniversary

sort of...last Friday (31 July) it was exactly one year ago that I actually started blogging about the Z that I found a few days earlier on e-bay. One year later not much visible progress has been made, but hey such is life for us working daddies. Hope that this coming year will prove to be more productive.

start packing

Been away with the family for a few days. In the meantime all goods have arrived at the MyUS warehouse. Didn't have to worry after all. Need to provide them with some credible retail values and then I can have them ship the stuff any time soon.
I picked up my Autometer tach 3390 from the post office yesterday. Had to pay 41euros worth of duties etc. Which I'd rather not have paid of course but it's not too bad if you look at what some Dutch shops are charging (around 150% more).
Looking at the tach from up close, I must say that the dial looks kind of awful. The digits and lines are pretty darn big and thick :/ I believe I can design a more distinguished looking dial that matches the original one.

No more shopping for the next few months to come cuz I need to pay for my wife's tuition fees and books :/

delivery policies

I had a bit of a fright this morning. Received an E from amazon.com saying "USPS was unable to leave the package at your delivery address as per their delivery policies. The package will be available for pick up at your local post office. blabla".
I believe that by agreeing with the MyUs policies when signing up, I'd given them power of attorney (to sign on my behalf) so why would USPS make such a fuss about it? UPS didn't. I sent out mails to MyUS and amazon immediately trying to find out what's what.
Fortunately MyUs responded quite quickly, saying that's what amazon normally does when they find the business closed. USPS would reattempt the next working day so I shouldn't worry. Well, let's wait till tomorrow to see if that's the case.

brakes

Wife and kid are back again so that means less time to spend on the Z. But today I got a break. Last week I received my first shipments from the US: the 240SX caliper repair set, alternator and starter.
The alternator and starter are stored safely till the time has come to install 'em. So today I spent most of my time disassembling the front and 240SX rear calipers as much as possible. The 240SX rear calipers are simply rotated out using a pair of pliers. Front calipers required air pressure to be driven out. Fortunately one of the guys had a small air compressor that I could use. No problem doing so for the RH caliper. The force that the pistons were pushed out with was just amazing - you wouldn't wanna have one or more of your digits sandwiched! But still there's quite a few guys having gone thru that experience :) Common sense and RTFM does help you know.
But on the LH caliper, one of the pistons was seized up. Not much of a surprise looking at the state it was in. Assuming it was due to rust, I'd already reconciled myself to the idea of having to buy a new caliper.
But then I noticed that it was the piston at the side of the brake line connection (in the upper pic on the top side). Rather than applying air pressure, I simply inserted a small punch and drove the piston out :) It came out without too much effort and fortunately it wasn't as badly rusted as I thought it'd be. Polishing with 1200 grit paper cleaned up most of the grease/rust. This Z must have had some really bad (as in 'none') braking performance. No wonder the pads look like new :) Glad that's sorted out.
Up next is sandblasting the calipers, have 'em powder coated followed by re-assembly.

Last week I got a great deal from my fav supplier smokin-geez on this set of (LH) door parts :) Great as in $25 for the whole set! Buying a set of NOS would cost at least triple that.

Next couple of weekends will be spent cleaning and fixing the roof of the shed, and fixing my daily driver which needs a new wind shield.

workout

Working on the Z proves to be a good workout. Since I haven't got a lifting ramp, I'm constantly bending thru the knees to crawl under the car. And then there's the rusted bolts and nuts that you try to loosen from impossible angles.
But we're getting somewhere. Yesterday I took a day off to work some more on the Z. Since wife and kid will be back next week, I try to make the most of now.
The four gearbox bolts are loose. The top two of them were already very loose which makes me wonder if they did a gearbox swap at some stage. You see, I noticed the other day that this Z has a 260Z type of gear lever (see pic). None of my manuals mentions anything about this type of lever in a '73 Z.




The exhaust (or what's left of it) has also been removed. This was a major PITA. All three bolts were completely rusted tight to the exhaust manifold. I needed to exert a lot of force to convince 'em to turn. Well, eventually they came off alright. Heads first and only, the remainders still stuck in the manifold flange. Made me feel like a little Hulk :) Well, I'll address that when the engine is out and on the stand.


Though not necessary for engine removal, I also unbolted the steering coupler. Rust everywhere and difficult access so I busted up a knuckle or two in the process. The rubber coupler will be replaced with an aftermarket urethane version for a more direct steering experience.

I also took off the front brake calipers. Funny to see that when you expect a real struggle just by looking at the state of things, work is not that hard. The brake pads are in very good hardly used shape. The pins, clips and rubbers however need replacing. At the LH-side, retaining clips were even missing, brake line not connected to the bracket. Will order a rebuild kit soon. Shown are the LH (at left) and RH calipers.
It's clear that the PO(s) didn't really bother doing things right. This is how you treat a wreck that you're planning to use as dodgem or something.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the front bumper is mine :) I had a max. of $100 in mind and that's what this "G" came up with. Shipping it to my virtual myus.com address in Fla would cost $40. I need to make a list of small goodies that I need and check with G before I have him ship things.

I signed up for a MyUs-account. $80 for the first year incl. sign up fee isn't too bad. It'll save me lots on shipping costs. Furthermore, I have no problems ordering my Beck Arnley parts from Amazon.com - buggers don't ship overseas.

sauna

I promised myself that I'd prepare the engine for removal, which is scheduled for next weekend. Disconnecting wires, tubing, and some other parts that connect the engine to other systems is not the most difficult job. What makes it difficult is fighting rusted nuts, bolts and connectors in a 30+C heat. Darn, that shed felt like a sauna. Tagging and photographing all disconnected items also takes a lot of time. But I managed in the end.
The radiator and fan are off. The screws of the plate that protects the radiator section and some connectors broke off so that means some extra work later down the line. Didn't get to unbolting the gearbox from the engine. You can leave it on and remove both as a single unit, but I decided to remove the engine only so that I didn't have to worry 'bout a safe space to store the gearbox while working on the engine.
After a closer inspection of the underside of the car I noticed that i had to replace more than just the floors :/ Fortunately the doors and fenders are ok, but the lower fenders, rocker panels and the outer rear wheel house sections all need to be replaced as well. That's around $640 on panels on top of the $350 for the floor panels :/ There was a hole in one of the front rails. If I'd need to replace those, that's another $400.
But I shan't be bothered. This Z is worth rescueing. What I was really happy about was that the suspension parts were still solid, despite the surface rust. If I'd have to replace those as well, I might as well buy a new car. They will look as new after sand blasting and a fresh coat of rust protection.
Despite the heat, humidity, flies and mosquitos (it's farm land after all) it was a great day.

BongoMan

My buddy IronMan is a good guy. I hate bothering other people but in this particular case I just refused paying the outrageous shipping fee. You see, I bought this set of Nissan 240SX brake calipers some time ago. After a close inspection I noticed that the small rubber boots were shot. I figured doing a rebuild wouldn't be a bad idea cuz the internal rubbers wouldn't be in the best state either. So I went searching for a rebuild kit for this particular type of caliper. I found 'em alright, ranging from $16 to $30+. Amazon was the cheapest, but they didn't ship overseas :/ A few others did ship overseas, but indirectly thru something called bongous.com. This is one of the many companies that offer non-US customers a virtual address where the vendors can ship the goods to and bongo (in this case) takes care of forwarding it. Of course this service is at a hefty price. Now, the rebuild kit consists of rubber rings only, nothing that wouldn't fit into a normal envelope. But it'd cost me almost $40 to have it shipped.
And that's where IronMan comes in. IronMan is actually Keisuke Nishimoto, a friend of mine doing triathlons (hence the nick name). Anyway, he resides in the US now but we still keep in touch. I explained the situation to him and he willingly agreed to help me out. So I ordered the kit from amazon and it's on its way to Boulder. The "BongoMan" will then forward 'em.

Well, still no deal on the bumpers. Dude came back to me saying that shipping costs would be "insane and outrageous" without mentioning actual figures. But I think that I'm the one to decide what's insane or outrageous. $40 for shipping rubber cock rings is what I call outrageous. $150 for a bumper assy is not. I'm willing to go a long way but not all the way to get the bumpers. Well, let's see what he has to say next.

Else little physical restoration action. Spent most of the time on planning, reading about differential conversions and making shopping lists. Swapping the R-180 diff with a R-200 would be nice but that's not my main prio for this restoration.
Later in the afternoon I had an appointment to go sailing with some colleagues. This retired colleague of mine owns this very pretty 78 yr old yacht that he's restored himself. But despite its age, it's still pretty fast. We had no problems reeling in others :) But I'm not much of a boat man. Too expensive and not fast enough, besides the fact that I can get very sea sick :) so I'll never think about buying or restoring one myself. Just got home and it's already time to crash in :/

shop till you drop

Well, that's basically what I've been doing last week. My brother came up with what seemed to be a good ebay-shop for starter motors. I got me a reman one for $65. After that I've been scavenging ebay for some other need to have stuff. So eventually I ended up buying an Autometer #3390 tach ($138), (reman) 280ZX alternator ($68) and a set of round top SU carbs that came off a 71 Z, complete with E46 intake and lots of other stuff for $140 only! All from different vendors so I ended up paying lots of extra $$$ for shipping.
The carbs will need some rework but they come with a few rebuild kits. Most of the other stuff i won't need but it's always good to have some spare parts lying around. After some elbow grease and TLC they'll look like new again. This was a real steal. Remember that a completely restored set (carbs only, no intake or other tubing) would cost me at least $900. I'm glad I didn't hesitate clicking the buy now button and not sleep over it first. I've made that mistake before. The next morning I found out from the guy that other guys been asking why the link was suddenly gone :)
Dude's also got a complete Z that he's parting out so I asked how much for the front bumper assy. Since he'll be shipping via intl surface mail, I might as well add a bumper to it. Still waiting for the price. Hope it'll be less than $100.

And I finally started some real restoration work. I thought the air cleaner assy would be a good start. The PO wasn't quite clear in the head cuz he ended up spraying some ugly matte black over the factory orange. Not that he actually cared about doing it properly.
Anyway, after comparing it to the decriptions in the various manuals I found out that the temp control valve was rusted in the cold position. Dude must have wondered why the Z would run poorly (if at all) during cold and humid days. Since none of the manuals nor any Z-forum mentioned anything about servicing the vacuum capsule (which actuates the valve) I feared of having to buy a new assy. Either that, or sticking with this one and drive my baby on warm and sunny days only. I once had a car that suffered from carb icing on mentioned cold days and it's not fun having to pull over every hour or so. But after having studied the thing closely, I carefully started rotating and pulling on the vac capsule et voila, it came off :) It looked shitty but membrane and valve actuator were moving normally. After spraying lots of WD40 on the valve axis itself, that one slowly started moving again too (see pic).
Up next is degreasing the whole lot, media blast it and restore the orange colour again. According to some sources Chevy orange comes close enough, though any bright orange colour would do i guess.

Two more weeks before wife and kid come back again so I need to go and do lots more :)

Almost ready

...to finally get started that is. Since my last attempt to remove the brake drum back in November, I didn't have the time, energy or money to continue the work on the Z. But it looks like I can finally get started properly pretty soon.