Sky blue 78 280z (name TBD)

[Patcon]

That's a god looking car. Aught to make a good foundation

[calvinhg]

Ah I see, so all you did was cut the accordion part out. I like the idea, but that still leaves the big protruding rubber on the bumper... Not an issue on the front though. 

[Captain Obvious]

I cut out the accordion section for the pic, but I eventually fashioned a different piece to take it's place. It's not pretty, but it works.

Here's a pic pulled over from that other thread of another guys solution:

[calvinhg]

I said I want to keep the original radio, but is this even the original? I thought the originals were Hitachi... 

 

Edit: OK I did a little looking around and it seems the Clarion might be original. Also found a bunch of people saying the original radios sucked 😅

Guess I'll get a retrosound then

Edited August 4, 2023 by calvinhg

[bluez]

Pretty sure my 78 was a Hitachi am/fm with antenna switch above tuning knob.. Don’t remember ever seeing a cassette as an dealer option

[calvinhg]

Alright, I replaced the thermostat with a Mishimoto 170°F one, but to no avail. I'm thinking the radiator is just old. As much as I want to keep it original, I do not want to overheat it. Right now it's running around 220, so it's not the end of the world but I'm sure it's gonna get worse and worse. Anything else it could be? 

[Yarb]

Take it to a radiator shop and have them flow test it for you. If it’s an old school shop they might be able to re-core it or rod it out. Problem might be elsewhere.

[calvinhg]

Ah that reminds me, I went through the old receipts and found a rad shop's receipt...

Well I looked at it again and it's for the fuel tank. I'll try to find a shop somewhere, good idea. 

[calvinhg]

Well it's been a while, I got a cross flow radiator from thezstore.com. It helped a lot for going down the road, but when I stopped at a red light it would still go up. So I cut up the original fan shroud 😥 to make it fit but it worked. 

It's actually running a little cold now (168°F) which I guess is too be expected with the 170 tstat I put in. I think I'm gonna put the old one back in and see how it goes. Also, it's not 105 outside anymore so that helps. 

[calvinhg]

Other news: got some konig rewind 16x8 wheels, looks much better. 

 

Also, I went on a group cruise with the Austin Z Club, and found out I need front struts big time. It was very bouncy on the windy roads. And my RF brakes sound and feel like they're grabbing, although when I hit the rotors and drums with a temp gun, they were equal side to side. In any case I think I'll upgrade the brakes while I do the struts. Not sure what I'll go with though. 

[calvinhg]

Installed some LED headlights last weekend. I did not cut any of the existing wire so everything can be returned to sealed beams if I want to, although I'd keep the relays. 

That's the driver side, I didn't use the plug on that side so I taped it up. 

Passenger side, the plug goes to the relays. 

Resulting output in the buckets. I added a grommet in the hole, and used deutsch connectors for the blinker and parking light wires. 

The relays take the place of the evap canister. I removed it. The power wire goes to the alternator. 

It's hard to see in the pics but the driver side harness got routed in the top support in the off the radiator. 

I used adapters to get blinkers and parking lights. Now the orange lenses in the grille are useless, I'll get a 240 style grille to remove them. Later date though, since I still need to figure out deleting the front bumper and getting a new lower valance? spoiler? idk what it's called. 

The finished work! Took me well over a day to do. I also have a video of them blinking.

Edited November 5, 2023 by calvinhg

[calvinhg]

171k: Changed oil and put the 195 thermostat back in. Got the filters from Nissan, they're smaller than the one I had currently but probably the same...?