4/75 Datsun 280Z; Leaf Green, CA market, 250K miles, Long Term Project 03/2023-

[HusseinHolland]

I have already posted all over the forum, so I will add links to work I've already done as much as possible to avoid double-posting. This will be to consolidate the work. Should have done this from the start back in the Spring, for whatever reason I didn't notice the Build Thread section back then. 

My "toy" car has been a Bertone / Fiat X1/9 (mid engine) since around 2007. That car evolved over the years. The last major revisions were a Dallara replica wide body conversion (2016-2018), and then a Honda K24/AST5M drivetrain conversion (2018-2020). I do all my own work. Now that is essentially 'done' (not in need of major changes or constant fiddling) & really only needs to be driven,  I needed a new long term project to keep me busy. 

In one thread on the X1/9 forum, a member brought up the Datsun 240Z, can't remember what the topic was, but anyway, I have loved the styling of the Z since I was a kid in Malaysia during the mid 70's, where I bought one of the Tamiya FairLady Z model kits.

I decided to focus on looking for a 280Z after seeing just how much the 240Z's were going for, and knowing that this would not be a stock build. I'm not one who cares about keeping or using original parts just because. Settled on this 75 280Z from inland CA based on price & overall condition of the sheet metal & one owner. Bought back in early Spring.

At this point, I've installed or modded, not in order (I'll convert the list below to hyperlinks):

Note- many, many thanks to all the ppl on here whose existing threads/work I have tapped for ideas and ongoing assistance 😊

Front & rear skinny bumpers. Installed a Skillard grille, Xenon front spoiler, fixed the louvre mounting system.

New seat foam & Upholstery, w/heated seat grids.  Honda seat belt shoulder guides

Honda wiper motor conversion, Cowl refresh (actual paint),

Replaced all opening/glass seals.

Repaired the driver's door panel, glass winder mechanism & inner release mechanism.

Replaced exterior rear view mirrors.

Rebuilt the entire front & rear suspension, Rear Strut Brace

updated the Front & Rear brakes,

Modified Steering wheel,

Front & Rear wheel well liners & stone guard & undercoat refresh,

converted the rear axles, replaced trans & diff fluid

replaced the dash,

console & carpeting,

rebuilt the AC system,

Ford Heater Core Install, SS heater pipe, AN bulkhead fitting

Kia Blower Motor Install

Water Pump, Front crank seal

3" SS Exhaust, custom DP

Replaced Fuel pump & bay fuel Ines, ProTunerZ fuel rail + High imp. Bosch Inj.

added a Bosch Idle Control System,

replaced the EFI harness on the engine,

Added 2.2K Pot for ECT circuit enrichment

Replaced the fusible links with 2 fused power supplies in the engine bay,

replaced the fusebox with a ATC fuse & relay panel, added auxiliary relay panel & power/ground expansion panels.

Added a starter relay.

Converted to HEI ignition module.

Added the Headlight Relays. H4/LED headlamps. Converted to LED exterior lighting.

Repaired rear tail panels, replacing light gaskets.

Headlamp covers. 

Volvo horns.

Reverse light relay. 

Lights On Buzzer.

Voltage Regulator Adj.

Clock Repair

 Bunch of odds & ends I can't recall right now that only got posted in my Fiat forum thread, because I didn't make on here 🤪 - I'll try to add some of that as time goes by.

First long term project on this will be the drivetrain conversion. With this chassis, I wanted to keep it Nissan. I already did one major conversion with the X1/9, and am doing a Chevy V8 conversion with my '91 Volvo pickup, so I don't need that kind of extra flavor on this project. I settled on the VQ35DE/CD009 after doing some research on the various older drivetrains commonly used - RB series, etc., most of which if available are $$$$, and not so easy to find parts for moving forward, given that I want this to be reliable for DD fair weather use. The 350Z drivetrain uses readily available service parts & can be modded if I choose to go that route. Stock, it has around 300BHP, so using the stock 350Z EMS the car should be more than enough performance wise. I may change my mind about that DTR, however I've done an excessive horsepower build in the past, so I really don't need to do that again.

I'm going to be driving it 'stock' for the next year or so, until that V8 conversion is done. 

350Z Drivetrain Conversion Thread

Work I still need to address to make it complete (not necessarily in this order):

Deal with heat soak / fuel vaporization issue (installed billet fuel rail & composite injectors)

3-5 sec fuel pump primer circuit

Replace L& R door panels, fix pass outer handle release rod, get door adjustment so they don't need to be slammed so hard 

Drop the gas tank address the vapor system (leaks if filled)

Install Xenon rear spoiler (maybe painted first, haven't decided whether I prefer body-color for F&R spoilers or keep the contrast)

Additional floor / rear tub sound damping

Replace L & R door 'sashes' w/ later channeled versions

Install 350Z leather seats (reference HybridZ thread)

Add/incorproate switch for fan speed 1 (using Volvo 5 speed resistor, Datsun 3 speed fan switch )

New console lid has really annoying squeak if you use it as armrest - need to address

Go over whole body to address surface rust areas (no pitting or perforated concerns at it stands)

 

Then & Now pics

more recent 

 

 

Edited January 2 by HusseinHolland

[HusseinHolland]

Found a helpful thread on 350Z seat fitment.

Since I've been driving the X1/9 again this past week, with the Honda S2000 seats, I really find the Datsun seats uncomfortable for my lower back issues.

My 350Z seats are rough, so while I work on fitting them, I've ordered new leather from Ridies.com. Much more price-friendly than the CanadaSeatSkins that I used for the Volvo seats, and full leather for all panels.

Going for Black w/ dk grey perforated inserts, green stitching.  All the examples on their site have more contrast, like this

Edited December 6, 2023 by HusseinHolland

[HusseinHolland]

Started talking about the back of the garage in this thread  - making room for heavy equipment that I need to have outside, to make room for the 80gal compressor inside

Today I added a header, and an end rafter - looked online for a guide to appropriate pitch for the awning. Basic minimum rule seems to be 1/4" for every foot. I made the awning end rafter 50" deep, with a 6" drop - so well over minimum spec -  "looks' reasonable to me.

 

picked up some lumber & corrugated panels

To get the pitch, I cut 15º on the rafters, then 45º & 30º for the 3' angle section, that put the brace around 1/2 way out the rafter. It's only carrying the weight of the corrugated panels, so I think it will be fine.

The plan is to put the rafters/braces  24" on center, since that aligns with where the studs are in the garage wall. The corrugated panels are 26" W, I'm planning on about a 4" overlap

Had time to make & put up 4 supports before I had to pack up, and caulked the header at the wall, since I don't have time to do the drip rail, etc, before the rain forecast for all day tomorrow & Monday

I realized the one by the garage entry dropped when I mounted it to the stud, the pitch angle is obviously off in this pic

So I corrected that when I got home from the party we were attending, was only a couple hours, so the construction adhesive had not set yet

The problem Is I need to figure out a way to attach rafters over the window, otherwise I will not have rafters to support the central roof panels

Outside the door on the frame, I need to add a support to hold the outermost rafter & brace. Have to cut off some of the existing door overhang

Edited December 19, 2023 by HusseinHolland

[HusseinHolland]

Since it's pouring rain now, I started working on the rear strut brace. Strut weld plates came from ZcarDepot

making the vertical support for the tubing from 2" x 3/16" bar stock

started curling the plate in the vice

tried to use this 4" tube to squeeze the plate around for refining the circle, doesn't work

So I used the strut plate to bring it into shape

have to contour the tube end to mate with the weld plate

1.75" x.095" tubing

Edited December 18, 2023 by HusseinHolland

[HusseinHolland]

Anyone know offhand what the offset angle of the strut housings is?

 

[HusseinHolland]

Figured out a way to deal with the rafter supports in the window space . I'll add studs to provide a support. Still need to figure out the one over the door

Added two more rafter braces before the rain came in this morning, covered up my equipment

 

 

[Patcon]

If it were me, I am a builder, I would run a sub fascia across the end of all the rafters. A 2x6 at a minimum or maybe a 2x8. I would add rafters at the window and door with out the braces. Fastened well on the building side and the sub fascia. I would then strap the top with 1x4's a 16"OC or maybe even 12"OC. Then I would run the panel on top of the 1x4s with flutes aligned with the slope. The sub fascia should help span the gap that's not braced and the 1x4's will also help. Rain is not the issue, snow load might be...

I would use screws like GRK's for assembly versus nails to try to lock it all together

[HusseinHolland]

11 hours ago, Patcon said:

If it were me, I am a builder, I would run a sub fascia across the end of all the rafters. A 2x6 at a minimum or maybe a 2x8. I would add rafters at the window and door with out the braces. Fastened well on the building side and the sub fascia. I would then strap the top with 1x4's a 16"OC or maybe even 12"OC. Then I would run the panel on top of the 1x4s with flutes aligned with the slope. The sub fascia should help span the gap that's not braced and the 1x4's will also help. Rain is not the issue, snow load might be...

I would use screws like GRK's for assembly versus nails to try to lock it all together

Thank you for the input!  I planned on adding 1x4's across the top to support the panels.  I was only going to use a 1x6 facia for securing a gutter. With only the weight of the corrugated  panels (flutes aligned with slope), I hoped  that would suffice. I assumed the weight of a 2x6 or 2x8 sub facia would be too much weight hanging over the braces. The only place I won't have a properly supported rafter will be over the door, after I make the two stud supports in the window recess. I've used construction screws throughout w/construction adhesive on the joins (I don't have a framing nail gun, and I will want to remove this at some point DTR). I bought the panel screws w/EPDM washers for securing the panels to the rafters. 

 

Edited December 18, 2023 by HusseinHolland

[Patcon]

No I dont think the 2x6 or 2x8 weight would be an issue. I would prefer spruce, pine or fur. Not yellow pine or treated. It loghter and straighter and nearly as strong. Just let the panels extend 2-4 inches to keep water off the sub fascia. I wouldn't put the pieces in the window. I think that might cause other problems and obstructs the window. You're not spanning too far and it has very little weight on it. The tributory load is half on the building side and half on the fascia side. Maybe 8 sq ft total on the fascia side. A deadload of 5# a foot which is probably high would be 40#s. The subfascia is very strong in the vertical orientation. Even with snow load it might be a couple of hundred pounds. Still not a problem I don't believe

[HusseinHolland]

9 hours ago, Patcon said:

No I dont think the 2x6 or 2x8 weight would be an issue. I would prefer spruce, pine or fur. Not yellow pine or treated. It is lighter and straighter and nearly as strong. Just let the panels extend 2-4 inches to keep water off the sub fascia. I wouldn't put the pieces in the window. I think that might cause other problems and obstructs the window. You're not spanning too far and it has very little weight on it. The tributory load is half on the building side and half on the fascia side. Maybe 8 sq ft total on the fascia side. A deadload of 5# a foot which is probably high would be 40#s. The subfascia is very strong in the vertical orientation. Even with snow load it might be a couple of hundred pounds. Still not a problem I don't believe

OK. Thank you for your experience with construction. I'll get non-treated pine or fur to run for the sub facia. I used treated pine for the supports as there is not much sun on the backside there with all the tall bamboo & trees along the bank of the easement around that side of my property. It tends to be on the damp side. I'm not concerned about obstructing the window though, so I could always add braces for the rafters, if it turns out to be an issue.  I wasn't sure how much overhang would be appropriate - I do want a gutter along there so around 3-4" overhang would make seem to make sense, thank you.

Edited December 18, 2023 by HusseinHolland

[Patcon]

If you're going to gutter it, you might want to be on the 3" side. You could also counter flash from under the roof panels to down inside the gutter to protect the sub fascia a little better

[HusseinHolland]

Worked on the rear strut brace this afternoon, then the rain stopped long enough for me to get the outer rafter up. During the week I'll try to finish it up