Motorman's Build

[motorman7]

They came that way...kind of a flat Titanium color.  I got them from Les at Classic Datsun Motorsport (http://classicdatsun.com) .    I was in his shop and they were on the shop floor and I loved the style and color.  He was planning on using them for his Z.  I told him if he ever wanted to sell them to give me a call.  Several months later he gave me a call and said that he would sell them as his car has been long delayed.  He said there were only a few made in that color.

[Pop's Z]

Thanks for the quick reply, Rich. I really like the way they look. I think I will try to replicate the old-school mag look on mine utilizing rattle cans.

 

Cheers, Mike

[motorman7]

Made a lot of progress this weekend.  I got all the lights; high beams, running lights and blinkers working.  Got the brakes bled so no need to pump the brake pedal to get the car to stop.  I put the left rear speaker in and hope to get a right rear speaker in sometime this week.  I will need to run an extra pair of wires for this since it is not in the original harness.  Still not sure what I will be doing for a radio, but it will be nice to have two speakers if needed.  The speakers I got are the Kenwood KFC-1352S  speakers.  They are similar in size to the original speakers, Coax, 4 Ohms and use the same attach points as the original speakers. The the install was pretty easy.  Just added a  couple bullet connectors to the speaker so they attach nicely to the original harness.  Got the air cleaner housing installed with air filter and hot air hose attached. Also got Dan's battery cover installed, so the engine compartment is near complete.  Will post some pics tonight.

 

Now I just have the interior to continue work on.    Will probably do seat belts next weekend and start the re-furb of the steering wheel.  Also need to get the heater panel in.  It's getting close.  Will probably hit the DMV next week to get it fully registered.  Right now it is still non-op.  The plate tags say 2005 on them so it's been a while since the car has been registered for the road.

Edited August 1, 2016 by motorman7

[Dave WM]

I hope your speakers sound better than my non coax radio shack vintage era ones do. All the highs are attenuated. I got some vintage sony coax on the way, hope they sound better if not I am going to try the orig style (I have one good one and will look in my stash some more to find a match). I did you are planning, run the new speaker along side the orig body harness, worked out well.

Edited August 1, 2016 by Dave WM

[motorman7]

Here are the latest pics.  The interior is coming along.  Still some electrical to finish.

[motorman7]

Got just a few things done this weekend.  I put the seat belts in.  Also removed the seats and cleaned and lubed the rails so it would move back and forth nicely.  I did a touch-up on the wood part of the steering wheel.  Will probably do the black parts a little later this week.  I installed the horn assembly with the horn guts just because I had parts.  Will have to remove it all to finish the black on the steering wheel, but that is fine.  Also riveted in the door ID plate.  I added some of the parts to the vent assembly panel, but not ready to tackle that yet.  Maybe next weekend.  Here are the pics.

[sweatybetty]

looks nice. how did you get the steering wheel looking so good? i am trying to refinish mine right now.

[dmorales-bello]

You're getting closer to perfection every day!

[motorman7]

1 hour ago, sweatybetty said:

looks nice. how did you get the steering wheel looking so good? i am trying to refinish mine right now.

It was in pretty good shape in the first place, so I just lightly sanded the front smooth surface of the steering wheel with 600 grit and then sprayed with clear enamel.  You need to be careful with the bumpy part of the steering wheel (finger grips on the far side) when you refinish because you can wear through the wood grain.  You will notice that these bumps are whitish and don't have any grain on some of the poorly restored 240Z steering wheels on  e-bay. So be gentle with the bumps. 

[motorman7]

Still working on the interior.  I put an aftermarket antenna in for temporary until I can find a nice original antenna at a reasonable price.  I am setting it up to work off of the series 1 antenna switch that I got with the car.  I will need a diode to get it to function correctly, but should work nice when done.

Finally got the shift knob in and finished the black portion of the steering wheel.  Very happy with how that came out.  I currently  have a blank faceplate in where the radio goes.   I have a 3-D printed faceplate and old radio that I will install this week just so I have an operational system.  Will keep a lookout for an original radio at a cheap price in addition to the antenna.

[sweatybetty]

not to be picky, but your hood pull handle is crooked

im debating mounting mine vertical. it looks like it may hit the door panel with it horizontal 

Edited August 18, 2016 by sweatybetty

[motorman7]

13 minutes ago, sweatybetty said:

not to be picky, but your hood pull handle is crooked

 

I know, bummer.  I got the cheap pull handle and cable from Thailand and it is kind of lame.  I think I will swap this cable for the original one out of the my yellow Z eventually.  The yellow Z is my operational donor.