Well hello and welcome back. As foretold in the previous updates I plan on starting up the second year of the Datsun rebuild. Looking at where I left off I’m starting to think I bit off more than I can chew with the build expecting to take three years with just the winters being the active time on the project. I know I said I would poke here and there on the Datsun in the summer, fortunately and unfortunately I did not do anything with the Z except for take parts from on location and place them in another location no cleaning of parts nor wrenches on the vehicle were accomplished during the spring summer months of 2015. Where I left off with the Datsun was the dash removal. That went relatively well all one piece and no did not take instruments out like I thought I would this summer. With the dash out the next step of my plan is to continue removing all interior pieces . What’s remaining? The duct work , heater box/AC, interior vinyl coverings, pedals, steering column, gas tank odds and ends, wiring/conduit, and glass. Sounds like a lot looks like a lot less than that. After that then the next phase is body work. What this should initial, should be the purchasing of all replacement panels and materials for the cars welding and patching needs. The end goal for this stage is to have the car cleaned up inside and out , rust removed and stopped, patchwork welded and muddled, primer sprayed and ready for paint come spring 2016. Wow right, I am bugging out a little because I don’t want to include the drive-train and suspension in this phase but I have to remove it to be able to clean and clear the under-body of the Z. Comments would be helpful with this but either I am too cheap to get a paid blog or you folks who have subscribed don’t care to give advice, In either case comments and advise are welcomed good or bad.

My thought is to go ahead with the suspension and drive-train removal but, when it comes to replacing parts keep that at minimum. The only reason this is any concern is due to the need to have a way to get the body to the paint shop, I don’t have a frame dolly with wheels to bring it on a flat bed. Although I could make one, but then I would be forcing work during the summer which may not agree with my family? I could maybe bust arse a little and try and get both drive-train and suspension done after getting the car ready for paint then putting the car for paint as soon as I am done, maybe get what is necessary completed on the drive-train with the knowledge that I will have to take off some of the parts again to add exchange or repair. For example I don’t need to mess with the brakes, but I plan on doing the Toyota forerunner conversion to the rear wheels to upgrade to disc brakes so everything on the spindle would have to go, also I am going to swap for a 200LSD vs. the current 180LSD but that doesn’t have to come off too roll the car into a paint booth. In any case this will give me something to rant about next update on the blog. The body in paint will free up room for prep for the last phase, the rebuild with new engine. If the body is in paint then I will have a open stall for a donor car with the engine or a engine and transmission separate. Then when the painted car is complete I can store it outside covered over a make shift outdoor covering or at another location for a short time to get the donor car emptied or move it back if I just have the engine and transmission to deal with I will be working on building a Car rotisserie for the Z in hopes to have it on the stand in November. I will need to modify the two stands with a piece of square stock steel and weld into place. I intend on continue to strip the interior and catalog the parts and remove the suspensions both front and rear in preparation for the rotisserie. A lot has to be done so wish me luck.

After countless hours of looking at multiples setups and years of dreaming , watching and reading manga cartoons about racing and JDM cars, I have decided on a plan or direction for the Z. I am looking to slowly build the car in stages with the ultimate stage having very similar things as the devil Z with a 3.1 liter displacement and twin turbo, should be able to claim at least 600hp in a car that ways less than 2300lbs is pretty sick. That's the idea for the performance aspect. Since I don't foresee a Ferrari in my future, I plan on capitalizing on the Italian design cues the 240Z has already captured. I ma not going to go overboard with it, I feel that would make the car tacky. I do however am going to attempt to do this tastefully and efficiently as possible. My next update will be in a months time with pictures of the remaining deconstruction and current status, till then thanks for reading.