I can use your help welding my battery area.

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Mike Tubiak
1978 Datsun 280Z - HLS30-438694

It looks pretty good from here! What are those big holes in back?

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280zx NA to T... http://z.modeltrainguide.com

Speed holes.

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-Chris

You sure don't need MY help welding! I set whole neighborhoods on fire!

I can't speak for his schedule, but since Phrog is so far away out there in the Outback, I would recommend you contact AirJockey and ask him if he's available. He has learned to do some pretty neat looking work ~ all self-taught.

Pat Burns also does bodywork, and he's near you. But I don't know if he has any welding gear or what his shop might charge for that if he had to do it professionally.

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1970 240Z

I second this. He's the one who taught me how to weld. Just bring payment.

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-Chris

A lot has been happening with the car recently, but mostly boring stuff. Frankly, this is probably the worst time I've ever had working on the Z. So much prep work, rust killing, and finding I need additional parts to "do it right". It's maddening. Add to the fact that my income has been cut short until later this summer, so my budget is wearing thin (as well as my patience). Luckily, I have "most" of what I need to get things done to a point. weather has been a limiting factor to what I can paint and reinstall.

Adjustable coilovers have been pushed back to the beginning of next summer, at the soonest. I just want to get this on the road before the snows come again, if only just to break the engine in.


The "hybrid" transmission is essentially finished and ready for installation. The machine shop charged and arm and a leg for the small amount of shaving the L6 bellhousing needed to fit the gearset. I was not amused. I decided to get a new front cover assembly, since the stock aluminium version had a nasty groove worn into it from the throwout bearing sleeve. Apparently Nissan upgraded the part, and the new one I received is now made from steel. Much better.


Next on the agenda is running the new fuel and brake lines. That's been put on hold until I get my new 1/2" tubing bender, since apparently the cheap $8 I got with the tubing is a piece of crap (go figure). I had to remove the diff to run the lines the way I want, and since it's been leaking like a sieve out of the pinion seal since the day I bought the car, I figured it was a good time for a rebuild.


... clearances dictated that I remove the diff from the front of the car, and removing it gave me a lot less trouble than the first time, when I had nothing but a small hydraulic jack mounted on a skateboard instead of the trolley jack I have now. Still, I think I might make a bracket for the jack when I put it back in, since it will make things much easier.


Cracking the diff open I was pleasantly surprised. The oil is incredibly dirty, but there's a respectable amount left. I expected it to be nearly bone-dry. Gears look in excellent shape, though there was a very large sliver of metal tacked on to the magnetic drain plug. You can still see the writing that Nissan made in paint marker on the ring gear. Before it goes back together, I need to source an LSD carrier assembly to replace the open gears.


And this is some of the awful rust I'm dealing with. This spot just around the steering column mounts is the absolute worst. I tried to fix it years ago with some phosphoric acid solution, but it's gotten worse. This time I got a small POR-15 kit to completely seal it in. I wish I could access the panel on the other side and drill out the spot welds, but it's inside the cowl in a very tight place. We'll see.

Until I get the last of my supplies, I'll continue to refinish the interior and get is squared away. I hate painting.

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-Chris

looks great! i need a garage so i can start to do what you are doing. maybe not as good as yours though. i'm itching to work on my 280.

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Mike Tubiak
1978 Datsun 280Z - HLS30-438694

Phrog, is this the Carrot Car in these pictures?
There are so many colors now it's hard to tell...........

P.S. thanks once again for your consideration on 8/10/09.....
A date which will live in (what's the opposite of infamy?).......

All Z Best,...................Kathy & Rick

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All Z Best,.......Kathy & Rick

1969 Z.CAR (#00013 10/69) 8/30/76
1969 ITSA.Z (#00171 11/69) 8/24/73
1970 OLD.Z (#06289 6/70) original owner
1971 510 2dr since 12/31/75
1969 1600 rdstr (our 160-Z)
1971 (#19851 1/71) sold
1975 75.Z (#01343 1/75)

It might be...

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-Chris

Or I might have set my sights on mangling a series 1 car...

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-Chris

yeah with like an LS-7 or something

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Mike Tubiak
1978 Datsun 280Z - HLS30-438694

Nah, I wouldn't put an American engine in a Z.

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-Chris

ok then RB swap.

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Mike Tubiak
1978 Datsun 280Z - HLS30-438694

So you know....if you paint a transmission you lose a little heat disapation. DO not paint an automatic for sure. Also don't paint the diffy rear cover, but can paint the cast iron portion. Just a suggestion. She looks good, can't wait to Z it.

I did consider that before I painted it, but its nastiness and an overabundance of orange spray paint compelled me to do it. The guy who constructed the writeup on how to assemble this transmission also painted his with the same type of paint I used, so I figured it was safe enough. He's had no problems so far, and has been running it for a few years at least.

The differential I painted years ago, however, before the thought of heat problems crossed my mind. I was afraid to disassemble it at that point since I was still new to working on cars, and didn't know what type of fluid I had to replace or what other things could possibly happen. I'm trying to source a finned R200 cover for it since the LSD carrier I'm looking to get does tend to run hotter.

The car looks like absolute crap right now, but I appreciate the complements. It's slowly coming back together. The interior is nearing completion and all I have to do is finish insulating the firewall and get all the under dash components installed. The dash is also going under some restoration. Other than that, I finally got a proper tubing bender for my fuel lines that doesn't kink them. Now I just have to solve the issue with the new bender gouging up the sides of the line as it shapes them.

By the way, I was able to install that 280zx brake booster on the car, which I was excited about. All I had to do was remove the large aluminium spacer on the back. Its absolutely massive compared to the stock 280z brake booster, and just barely fits without obstructing anything else. It should help give a better feel to the brake pedal after installing the 15/16 master cylinder and (later) bigger front brakes.

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-Chris