BoldUlysses

Thanks Alex! True about the Z actually being a modern car. It's got an alternator, all-synchromesh trans, rear defroster and normal switchgear, among other things—stuff that wasn't standardized barely 10 years before. Thanks Chris! We do have some nice roads—there's one just around the way lined with beautiful oak trees for a good 2-3 miles. Next time I do a video I'll take it down there.

Thanks Frank. It has a plug in it, thanks to your timely advice last go-around. I want a smooth balance tube BADLY.

Well, I got the Z back on the road Wednesday night, with just enough time to do a little debugging before I drove my son to school the following morning on his last day of 1st grade, something he really enjoyed (both kids love the Z a lot more than I thought they would, incidentally). Took some time to shoot and edit together a short video last night: Complete with my stream-of-consciousness narration. Comments and corrections welcome.

Great photos! Your dad has almost a full spectrum. I see the bumper bars have already been removed from the new arrival. Which is his favorite, and why?

Thanks Chuck. My car actually has the earlier braking system, in spite of being a 7/72 build. So the proportioning valve is above the rear axle. I'll look into rebuilding them. I rebuilt all calipers and wheel cylinders with fresh rubber and clips. Did flush the brakes completely in the process of bleeding them. Good point about the order, too. I'll find TDC on the engine—thanks for that, too. Side note: Of course Nissan would design the engine so that the distributor and the timing pointer were on opposite sides of the engine, making timing that much more awkward... Heh.

Not interested in the wheels themselves--I just cleaned up my own slotted mags and my tires are new, but I do need centercaps... I'd imagine you'd want to sell them as a set, though. Good plans! Thumbs up. Side question: Is that the factory color (medium gray) for the rear light surround?

Absolutely stunning! Love the slotted mags. Plans for it? Keep it as is? I spy Brandon's new V70R in the background!

Well guys, Oliver at Z Specialties came through and got me a brake bridge, so with that last piece of the puzzle it was time to get the Z back on the road for a test drive. Went smoothly with the following snafus: - Braking. Very weak. All brakes have been rebuilt, new MC. Bled all starting with the MC, pass rear, driver rear, pass front, driver front. The red "BRAKE" light comes on in the speedo at the end of pedal travel. Front discs are cleared of rust (mostly), so the pistons aren't frozen from what I can tell. Fluid levels topped up. Is my brake booster dead? - Timing. Tried to set the timing after the first excursion around the block. Warm engine, vacuum advance line plugged, inductive timing light on #1 plug wire. The problem is the adjustment range--at full stop, it seems to just reach the first mark on the front pulley, and never goes beyond into the "mark range" itself. What's up? On the positive side, the new clutch hydraulics are working great, warm up is (mostly smooth) and the car is generally very driveable (with the exception of the brake issue). Also, the Red Line 75W90 in the diff quieted the whine noticeably. Any input would be much appreciated. If the brake issue is something simple, I'd love to resolve it tonight so I can drive my son to school tomorrow on his last day of first grade.

Ridiculous. The recent "stance" fad x1000.

You'd be the first actually looking for something "magical," haha; most DIYers are interested in more concrete reasons why things do what they do. I recently had a fusebox meltdown: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/thread45945.html and after sanding and cleaning the contacts, everything is okay. It's not a permanent solution, though—I do plan to go with the far-superior MSA blade fuse box eventually.

My dad (the car's original owner) wouldn't have added that in a million years on his own. I'll ask him about it. Maybe the diff was dribbling and he took it to a shop and they added it.

Productive evening. Since 8 PM: - Got the diff cover back on and new gear oil in (Redline 75W-90) - Diff bolted back in (thanks floor jack) - Rear trans seal replaced - Driveshaft back in - New gear oil in trans (Redline MT-90) - Both axle shafts on If my brake bridge comes in tomorrow (it should), I'll bleed the brakes, set the timing and she'll be back on the road again (for a few months) after 8 years of sitting. So close.

Interesting. On a related note, which diff do I have, the R180 or R200? I've heard R180, but Mr Wick Humble in his Restoring Your Datsun Z Car book seems to think auto S30s got the R180 and manual ones got the R200.

Doing a search it seems that several people have had issues with their diff breathers leaking gear oil. My gasket and/or breather had been leaking, so I pulled out the diff yesterday, and in removing the rear cover, discovered this: It's a thin metal baffle sandwiched in between two cover gaskets, and it appears to shield the breather outlet from oil slung by the crown gear and carrier, like so: I don't see it on any parts diagrams. Going to get another gasket (I have one already) tomorrow so I can bolt it back up and reinstall. Just curious.

Dropped the diff today. I really don't think the Nissan engineers could have made that much more difficult... Although I hear the Porsche 944 guys complain a lot more. Got the rear cover off and discovered my R180 has a sort of metal baffle for the breather tube sandwiched in between TWO rear cover gaskets. So I guess I gotta see if my FLAPS has another gasket...

Would love to see a picture! Agree with Carl--great idea.

Thanks for the input, but as mentioned, neither NAPA nor Carquest nor the local import parts specialty place could match up the thread size/pitch of the fitting. Otherwise I'd have done exactly as you suggested—bought a length of straight pipe with two fittings and fabbed it up myself.

Thanks for the advice and tips, guys. I just ordered a brake bridge from Z Specialties. Should be here on Tuesday. Nice talking to the gentleman—he gave me a lot of good advice about working on the car, especially concerning replacing the diff gasket, which is the task for tonight. I might try making my own brake bridges for the rear wheel cylinders. My Z has the early cylinders (in spite of being a 7/72 build) and I'd like to switch to the later ones eventually, since their availability seems to be higher.

Does anyone have one of these lying around they can ship to me (central NC, ZIP 27023) so that it'll arrive by next Tuesday? #14 here: One of the fittings is completely rounded on the one I have, and I'm trying to get my Z back on the road for the first time in 8 years so I can drive my son to school in it on his last day of 1st grade (next Thursday). Called my local Nissan parts counter Z expert and he says they're NLA. I also went to Carquest, NAPA and the local import parts specialist and none of them can match up the thread size and pitch. Any help would be awesome. I'm going to call local junkyards tomorrow...

What type wheel are they? Shame you can't run 235s or 245s (I've heard anything over a 225 will rub); more sidewall bulge would be nice. Can't wait to see them on your Z!

He might be wondering if he has the "good" SU carbs, i.e. not the flattops—which he doesn't, thankfully. SUs are very easy to tune and flow more than adequately for excellent street performance. Watch this and you'll learn everything you need to know: http://ztherapy.com/products/videos/just_SU.htm The real downside to DGVs, IMO, is the manifold design, and the way the mixture has to make an abrupt 90° turn right after the venturi. It's bad for flow, makes it harder for the air to keep the fuel in suspension, and even creates a fire hazard if the fuel puddles at the bottom of the manifold.

Why Weber DGVs, just out of curiosity? I'd rock SUs all day long over DGVs. The only Weber that belongs on an L2X is a DCOE, IMO. I'd read this whole page before you attempt anything: http://datsunzgarage.com/engine/

I know I sound like a broken record for POR-15 (there's no affiliation, I swear), but their Marine Clean (the kit's first step) will clean out the tank really well.

I did indeed. Neither that nor the Haynes nor the Clymer manuals (I have both) offered any clues as to what I was doing wrong. I figured it out, though: I didn't have the pistons pushed all the way down in their bores. If they're popped up even a little bit it's impossible to get the dust boots to seat properly.

So I dove into my caliper rebuild this evening. Got the passenger-side bugger off, pads out, and had a time getting both pistons out, but I managed (got one out using compressed air in the hose, and I reinserted it just enough to pass the bore o-ring and held it there with a pair of channel locks while I popped the other out with the compressed air). Cleaned the pistons up, all looked fine, and I renewed the bore o-rings. Pushed the pistons back in, went to install the new dust boots and retaining wires, and... How in the world do you get the lower lip of the dust boot to stay put while you install the retaining wire? I was pulling my hair out, getting frustrated, so I decided to call it a night. I did a quick search on here, and found that someone had actually installed the dust boots before pushing the pistons back in, so I may try that tomorrow, but I was wondering if anyone had any tips in the meantime. Thanks again. You guys are lifesavers.