King Stubby

Been reviewing my planned steering mods so I decided to check with the few shops carrying Woodward steering parts on the availability of my wishlist. The weld-in stubs (ST201A), U-joint UA20201 and shaft SCA500 were readily available, but the 240Z specific U-joint UA20113 wasn't. From both shops I heard it wasn't in stock and that was it. No sign of attempt to actually order it from Woodward steering.
Which is why I then turned my attention to the Dutch distributor. They too had all but the Z-joint in stock but at least they mentioned they were planning to order it from Woodward steering regardless (if I would order or not).

Prices minus 19% tax:
ST201A € 9,- ea.
UA20201 € 73,-
SCA500 € 154,-
UA20113 € 73

Quite a lot more more expensive. But after giving it a short thought i bit the bullet and placed the order anyway. That'd be €394 incl. tax and shipping, thank you.
And guess what, today I received the first available parts of the order :)

both ST201A stubs fitted into the UA20201 joint

I hadn't done my homework properly though cuz I found out that the ST201A stub doesn't fit into the SCA500 shaft. Bugger. I should have studied the catalogue properly. I should have ordered one from the ST2011 thru ST2015 range (1" thru 5" length).
So I checked again on availabilty and Hydroline had the ST2011 in stock, which I ordered for €13.

scrap & scoop

My baby has finally arrived at her new place!


Loading her onto the truck was far from straightforward because of the castor wheel construction at the rear (track at the rear not as wide as at the front) but we luckily managed thanks to the long wheelbase of the Z.
Because we were all very busy getting the job done, unfortunately nobody had time to take some pix. But it's all in my mind so it won't be forgotten :)

If you look at the RH 'sugar scoop' you can see it's dislodged. That's because one of the guys at the shed accidentally hit it when backing up his car :/ As a result, the LH front fender also got dented cuz it hit the post next to it. But worse, the front part (encircled) got bent as well. Nothing that can't be straightened but there's enough work as it is.


I'm glad the dollies underneath the front wheels worked perfectly. Because all steering components were disconnected, the front wheels wouldn't remain straight when pushing the body around. But thanks to the dollies, covering the 50 meters from the entrance to our space was a breeze.

smooth criminal

Two months later...all stuff and parts have been moved to the new place except for the chassis, the gearboxes and the engine+hoist. The idea was to place racks and tidy up the greenhouse first but the racks are gonna take a while so I'll leave everything in boxes for now and move the chassis and remaining stuff coming weekend first. 
In the meantime I bought me a 'new' used 2006 BMW 325i Touring to already get used to the power and pleasures a 6 cylinder can give :) It's only got 218HP to carry the almost 1500kg but it sounds and feels incredibly smooth. Above 4000 rpm it really comes alive :) What an awesome piece of machinery! I wouldn't mind swapping that into the Z. But imagine an M5 V10 swap :)
For the money i could have finished the Z but I needed a reliable car, so that's why.
I got a quote from Japandyno.com for an RB20DET + gearbox shipped to NL for 1500EUR. So I know what I'm gonna do with my year-end bonus!

ordained fate

Made some improvements to the trolley today. My original plan was to tape some foam to the horizontal bar to dampen the vibrations and bumps during transportation. But I noticed that the "moustache bar" (differential case mount rear member as it's called officially) mounting bolts lined up perfectly with the horizontal bar and (more importantly) didn't interfere with the mounting flanges of the scissor jacks. I only needed to drill two 13 mm holes. Call it luck, fate or destiny but after drilling the small pilot holes, I noticed that the centres even lined up with the holes in the mounting flanges of the jacks :) Since I didn't have a metal drill that was large enough, I had to file my way thru. Fortunately it was only two holes. But still it was quite some work measuring, lining up, filing, re-assembling the jacks.

moustache bar mounting bolt fits perfectly	bolted down

So, chassy's bolted down to the trolley now. No need to worry about the trolley getting lost during transportation. As far as the transportation's concerned, that's planned for coming Tuesday, if I can get hold of this guy Dennis.

trolley snatcha

Been working real hard today on a new and improved castor wheel construction. That thing I built last week didn't work. While testing it, I thought it'd be better to incorporate the two scissor jacks and all four castor wheels into the design pictured below. I thought it'd be cheap but in the end I spent €60 on multiplex board, €40 on hardware. If you'd add up the cost of the wheels, jacks you'd end up paying around €200! Darn thing is pretty heavy but it works and the most important thing is that it feels real solid too; no flex whatsoever.

jacks of all trades	best place to jack and support

Initially it was designed to support the chassis aft of the floor panels but I couldn't get there because the support stands were in the way. I'm glad they were cuz the rear frame turned out to be a better jacking/support point, and if I want, I can even use the "moustache bar" mounting bolts to tie the trolley down. Had to mount the jacks more inwards and now they line up with the castor wheels.
At the front it's resting on the wheels so now I can move it around quite easily. I hope it'll load onto the truck just as easily next weekend!
To mount the jacks and wheels to the 30mm thick multiplex boards (12+18mm), I used M10 bolts and close fit 12mm (OD) sleeves. Simply because I couldn't find M12 bolts. But the sleeved M10 bolts work better in the wooden board since the bolts have no chance of enlarging the holes. Cutting and deburring the 20 sleeves took an hour but it was well worth the effort.

don't wait till tomorrow

Couldn't wait till tomorrow, so in the evening I went out to try and fit the castor wheel assies. They fit real snug and nice.
The front wheels and mounting flanges have also been installed. Need to pump in some air tomorrow and then lower the chassis to see what'll happen. It was good that I went to the shed cuz I found out that a lot of rain had been seeping thru some new hole in the roof right above the engine bay. The front was completely wet :/ Luckily I found a car cover lying around so that'll keep it dry(ish) until we move out. It's about time! Can't believe that I've been paying that much money every month for almost 4yrs for this shit hole!

castor city

Took the day off yesterday to prep the Z for moving. Reinstalled the front suspension but won't be able to reinstall the rear sus cuz I'd already removed the spindle pins and the rubbers. Really don't feel like installing my new pins and bushings into the rusty transfer link assies.
But using some wood and two 160mm castor wheels, I've devised a way to roll the chassis onto the trailer. The castor wheel assy attaches just aft of the L/R floorpans. Will test coming weekend if it'll hold or break :)
Oh, two weeks ago I gave the floors at the green house a last coat. It'd be a waste to let the remaining 3 cans expire. Glad I did it cuz now it looks really good. The part where Mike's cars will be driven in and out now has 3 coats so that'll last a while I guess.

We have to move out of the shed by the end of July and since I'll be abroad during the last weekend, I have only two weekends left to get my stuff moved. Other than the chassis and engine it's not that much actually. I really wouldn't wanna call it a logistical nightmare.

new coat of paint

Last week my brother and I had started prepping and painting the floor but yesterday we finished the job. It does look really nice now.

nice	los coches

It gets really warm (almost hot if you're working hard) inside so we shouldn't worry about the drying process. Next week the paint should be hardened so I can start moving stuff.
The floorplan shows Mike's cars on the left and my space on the right.

green house effect

It's been a while since the last update but there are a few things worth mentioning.
The last shipment (door panels, baddog rails etc.) arrived in good order, and again it didn't cost too much on taxes (110EUR or so). The door panels are in perfect nick so really can't complain. I've also picked up my TIG welding kit in the meantime. Haven't been able to unpack/use the stuff yet cuz I had to build some credits at home by finishing some tasks that I'd been postponing for some years :)
Looks like I won't [be able to use any of the new stuff] for the next couple of weeks cuz it looks like my brother and I are gonna relocate to a cheaper, dryer (everything is compared to the shed :), better equipped (like toilet, water :) place. It's in a former green house close to work but still only 30 min. from home.
The plans haven't been finalised yet but it does look exciting.

100 m2

while the cat's away

this mouse goes out to wrestle in the freezer. Well, that's what the garage feels like. But from tomorrow on it'll be done with the frosty days and nights.
So wife and kid are away for 10 days so I actually have some time to spare :) And that's why I spent around 4hrs in the icehouse today. I finally managed to remove and disassemble the forward left suspension assy (see illustration). Needless to say it was again hard work requiring improvisation to get the job done. Removing and disassembling something that has been in its place for almost 40yrs never goes by the book. But I guess that's half the fun :)

the front suspension

On Saturday I tackled the left hand part and on Sunday the right hand part. Since the cross member (#1) was the only jacking point that could be trusted/used (the sides are completely shot), it is still in place. When doing a rebuild of this magnitude, it is common practice to disconnect the x-member and lower the complete suspension, which does make life lots easier. But fortunately it isn't absolutely necessary.
Despite all the dirt and rust, most parts are still in good nick. Blasting and a fresh powder coat will do wonders. The rubbers, ball joints, bearings, struts/springs, and badly rusted bolts/nuts will be replaced though. During its final days on the road, this baby must have handled really badly.
And this is how she sits at the moment...

See my album for the latest pix

transaction de novo

Just finalised the transaction with John from Baddog parts. Goods + shipping (to FLa) will set me back $549.
Another deviation from the planning but I couldn't risk missing out on the door panels and steering rack. OEM door panels (if at all available) go for $700 and a good (rebuilt) steering rack also runs in the hundred$ so $130 for the set isn't bad.

Been searching (locally) for an hour or so for anything that could remove a 56mm (gland) nut. Local (Dutch) sites never seem to come up with useful stuff. So again, I ended buying from the US. I ebayed this 45mm / 56mm wrench set for $28 + free shipping :) It's meant for Honda ATV axle nuts so it can only be a good thing. There's ratchet holes so it can be used with a torque wrench as well.

gland nut	ATV axle wrench

a cold suspension

Didn't have the opportunity to work on Sunday so I took a day off from work. Gotta keep the momentum.
Damn it was cold in the shed today! Was wearing 5 layers of clothing to keep me warm. I had to keep moving and working tho' cuz otherwise I would not have survived :)
So the guy we're renting the shed from hadn't installed the lighting fixture yet. Damn, how much work can mounting two screws and a cable + plug be. So I decided to do it myself. Fortunately I had an old vacuum cleaner lying around of which I could use the cable. Et voilá, 35W of cool translucent light!

After some more tidying up, it was time to put my Midlock 1300 spring compressors to the test. Some advise to use vice grips to prevent the compressors from 'walking', or even 3 spring compressors. Since it was my first time using these Midlocks, I tried the vice grips, only to find out that it isn't necessary, with Midlocks at least. Can't speak of the cheap spring compressors, but my Midlocks are rock solid. It did take quite a few alternating turns but in the end it worked out really well. When you remove the centre lock nut, jam a screwdriver between two bolts to keep 'em from turning.

I tried to remove the gland nut by clamping it in the bench vice but I didn't have a long enough bar to make it budge. So I moved on to the front sus instead. Had to stay warm!
The nuts and bolts looked absolutely awful and promised lots of hard work. And again I wasn't disappointed. Fortunately nothing broke off, nor did the front fall from the jacks :) I only got to removing the front anti-sway/stabiliser bar and both tension compression rods cuz I had to be back home on time to do the cooking and pick up my little girl.

A pity but on the other hand, after 5hrs in the cold I was longing for some warmth!

The last couple of days I've been talking to John from Baddog parts about the availability of some parts listed on his site. Looks like I'll be the owner of some good,straight door panels ($35 ea.) and a good steering rack ($60) soon. I was planning to make the frame rails myself, but in the end it'll be less hassle if I'd buy John's frame rails. Waiting for the final quote and then I'll place the order.

With the engine out of the way, the chassis sits a lot higher and there's more light, making inspection a lot easier. The front frame rails are completely gone :/ Gotta do some serious reconstruction and welding work. Darn, if I would have to do this again, I'd buy an empty chassis from Az or Ca!

squeaky work bench blues

So I liked the rack / bench so much that I bought a second one :) This time this one is used as a rack though cuz there's no place, nor the need for more bench. I do need more storage space tho'.
This morning I decided to go to the office a bit later and assemble the rack first. Coming weekend I won't be able to work on the Z because of certain obligations :/ So I first rearranged the previously assembled benches and bolted them together. It's become a real sturdy mofo now. But better still, the two gearboxes fit perfectly underneath! So I wouldn't wanna call it work bench blues :)

Oh, and some more light would be great too. But that'll be arranged coming week. Now, if only I had more time to work on the Zetto...

year of the dragon

Happy Chinese new year! :) 2012 is gonna be my year. It's the 4th year of the dragon since my birth so I should make maximum use of it :)

So to start off the year "properly" i bought myself a new fuel tank sending unit :) $55 + $6 shipping.

lift out

Sooo, today I finally got to lifting out the engine. I was glad the gearbox had been removed previously cuz with these slings it'd have been pretty hard to tilt the engine-tranny combo. With only the engine it was easy. I was a bit scared tho' that the hoist wouldn't be able to hold the weight.

Next thing to do was tidying up the work space. Lots of empty boxes and parts lying around.
I then started assembling the storage rack. When I found out that the rack consisted of two parts (upper and lower) which were standing at perfect working height, I decided to use them as work benches instead cuz they're pretty sturdy. According to the specs, each shelf can hold 265kg. The only thing I need to do is replace the thin MDF panels with some 20 mm ply wood or something similar, and bolt the racks together. Man, a work bench of this size costs at least 5x what I've paid for the rack (€30 :)
One of the racks can serve as my sheet metal bending brake bench. Assembling the racks/benches took a bit longer than expected. But I was happy with the result (the find actually).

I briefly thought about moving on to cutting out the floors. But after a short assessment, I figured it'd be better to have the floor panels with me before starting cutting. So this activity's postponed till next week.
So I decided to remove the fuel tank instead. Just a matter of unbolting the two j-bolts that secure the tank straps, and disconnecting the fuel lines (3 vent lines, 1 filler line, 1 feed and 1 return line). However, almost 40yrs worth of rust didn't make it a simple matter. But lots of rust eater did help somewhat, and of course a sharp knife to cut the flex lines (except for the filler tube) cuz it was no use trying to loosen the clamps properly. I was glad with my 2nd 60cm scissor jack to support the tank cuz otherwise it would have been a bit tougher.
The tank looks absolutely awful on the outside. Lots of dirt and rust flakes but fortunately no holes - I think. The underside has a few dents which will be addressed when I'll cut the hole for the fuel pump unit.
After removing the fuel sending unit (fuel level sensor) I could shine a light and peep into the tank.

I've removed most of the dirt and rust from the tank but I'm planning to give it a good and proper sanding job to even out the surface before I'll have it chemically treated. And then I can start the fuel pump mod.

nuts 'n bolts

Was busy browsing 2000+ 240Z-tagged items on ebay and ended up buying a set of new halfshaft bolts for about $55 (incl. $7 shipping :) At Nissan Courtesy Parts the bolts alone are listed for a bit more than $5 ea. and they're not even in stock, so this ain't too bad. I'd need a set of fresh bolts sooner or later anyway cuz mine don't look too trustworthy nor pretty.

bloody Sunday

This should have been the best day of the week. However, this morning I got into a quarrel with my wife, et voilá, I ended up babysitting my little girl instead. Now, every day with my little girl is a good day, but I've been longing for this day in the shed more. Ah well, such is life.
To whom it may concern: never start a project like this when you're married with child(ren)!

warehouse

It's been a busy week collecting, moving, unpacking the boxes and assembling some of the stuff. It started to look like a warehouse so in order to keep the peace at home, I had to move the stuff to the shed.
My little girl loves the tool cart. It's the perfect height for her to play air hostess :)
I finally found foam blanks that I could use to make my own tool organisers. Man, I had to search real hard and be very creative in my search strings to find something useful in Holland. Damn, online shopping out here is still in its infancy :/ If you type 'tool foam' you'll find a dozen useful hits in the US. Eventually I ended up buying two sheets of 2m x 1m of 5mm and 10mm thickness from a local soundshop. Stuff is meant for other purposes but I must say that it does make a good tool organiser :) Have been cutting for 2 nights and there's still a lot to be done. Damn, maybe I should submit a drawing to foamfittools and have it laser cut :)
Looking forward to Sunday when I'll be removing the engine!

el cheapo

Didn't receive the slings and stuff I'd ordered a few days ago so the engine is still in. But I had a great day anyway. It was good exercise struggling with rusted parts again :) That's when you find out about cheap tools, what you already knew when you bought them, that they're just that: cheap. Trying to remove clevis pins and lock plates, some of these "tools" got bent just looking at them.
Ah well, the handbrake (emergency brake) assy finally came out after a few hours of struggling. Damn, if I'd have to do this project all over again, I'd buy a car lift first. Struggling with stuck parts lying on your back is no fun. Eye protection definitely is a must!
Unfortunately I'll have to replace the handbrake cable. But there's no way that I'm gonna shell out $280 on the reproduction from the Z-store.

Handbrake options
There is an aftermarket cable for the 280Z (RAYBESTOS Part # BC92952, WAGNER Part # BC122537) which requires minor modding (changing the cable ends). Raybestos cable $57.79 + 6.11 shipping to FL from Rockauto.com.
Overall length supposedly is 74.25", which is about the same as that of my Z's cable.

Then there's the universal Lokar emergency brake cables. Nice, but expensive (~$115) and it would require more modding than other Nissan cable options.

Another option worth considering is converting to the 240SX/Z32 style handbrake cables.

$5 from ebay :)	Z32 vs 240Z equaliser (balance bar)

What you need to do is replace the Z-style equaliser with one from a 240SX or 300ZX. Then you can use the two separate brake cables which are more widely available. The 240SX and Z32 cables are a bit different from each other though (see below).
The ZX cables are also a bit longer than the S30 cable, which is why people doing this mod, cross the cables, ie. mount LH cable to RH mounting bracket and RH cable to LH bracket.
The mod is quite simple:
- cut off the cable from the ZX equaliser
- drill out the hole to 6mm
- insert a new bolt long enough (~80mm) to replace bolt #20 (77mm) in illustration below
- in the case of 240SX cables, devise a way to fit the cable to the brackets immediately after the equaliser.
240SX cables are bolted up vertically (see illustration below) rather than horizontally (in longitudinal direction) as is the case with Z32 cables. S30 cables are clamped to the bracket through a U-shaped lock plate. Because of the way Z32 cables are mounted, they can be mounted to the S30 bracket as well.

S30 style handbrake	Z32 style handbrake	'91-'94 240SX (US) style handbrake

I was lucky enough to find a 300ZX front cable incl. the equaliser on ebay for $5 + $10 shipping (to Florida :) But considering the cost of two 300ZX cables (~$115 ea.) versus the cost of the 280Z cable, I've decided to try the 280Z cable first.

With that and the tools I've bought, the remainder of my year-end bonus has been spent. Looking forward to all the boxes I'll be receiving this week :)

hoist away

Left work early today to fix the roof of the shed (barn). Managed to seal the major cracks and holes easily. Despite the cracks, rain had hardly entered.
Having finished that, I had some time left to assemble the engine hoist. The instructions were next to useless but fortunately it wasn't too difficult to figure out. For some reason there were two sets of nuts and bolts so they might come in handy at some point.
I was afraid that there wouldn't be enough space in front of the car to place the hoist but fortunately that was a groundless fear. So while i was at it, I removed the hood (bonnet if you will) as well. It's mounted with just 4 bolts (2 on each side). Of course I made sure that the hood lock was supported (hanging) by the hoist, thus making it a one man job. The manual says to mark the positions of the bonnet hinge plates but since the whole body will be stripped and repainted I didn't bother.
After the hood was out of the way, I positioned the hoist such that I finally could determine the length of the slings, which I still had to order; 2 pieces of 2m should do.
Just ordered those and some other stuff so with a little luck I'll be able to remove the engine this weekend. Then I can finally start the body work. Looking forward to that!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that my rear disc brake conversion package from Modern motorsports finally has arrived!