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.