Matthew Abate

Rear left disc progress:

Okay. I maybe didn’t put it exactly where it goes, but the bigger one with 4 holes is now near the emergency brake mechanism. Once I put it on, everything sort of settled into place better, and it’s keeping one of the lines away from a spot it was rubbing, so I think it’s doing it’s job. the one with 3 holes is still a mystery. I chased all the lines and couldn’t find a place where there was an empty bracket, particularly where I have 3 lines. Wondering if this is a 280 part.

Thanks, but I’ve got all of those in place. I know the one on the right goes somewhere because I have one that came on the car, but I’m not sure about the one on the left. I cannot find the spot the left one clips to at all. I think the one on the right just clamps to the tubes and not the car itself, but could be wrong.

Need a little help. I cannot for the life of me figure out where these two insulation clamps go on the fuel and brake lines.

Yeah, I’m going that direction as well. The wife won’t ride in a “sports car”, hence the air con and insulation. Im also starting to think maybe I don’t need the precut kits. $600+ seems like a lot.

Right. I had planned to do other forms of insulation and soundproofing beyond the Dynamat. Haven’t quite figure out what yet. so you’re saying that more Dynamat might not be a bad thing?

Okay, next thing on my plan is to put down some Dynamat sound dampener. I’m planning to place it strategically and NOT cover the entire interior of the car. Someone stop me now if you have a compelling reason this is a mistake. Everything I’ve seen says not to cover the entire surface because it doesn’t add anything but weight. Here is an example: https://www.quietride.com/web/viewer.html?file=https://www.quietride.com/catalogpdfs/datsun_z_catalog.pdf

Here’s what I took before I put it in: On the left is my creation, on the right is OEM after 47 years. by the way, you don’t have to pull it. You can remove the bolts holding it down and get to it. The drive shaft will be in the way, but you could theoretically get it on without pulling the handle.

The white nylon brushing I used was the factory one that came on the car. You can see it peaking through the hole. The bushing cover I made was the pipe cap, but yes, it’s the protective black plastic on the threaded end, not an actual fitting. The ID of that fits perfectly on the bushing housing inside the tunnel. If I were to do it over again I might make the hole smaller and the overall length longer by maybe an eighth of an inch. The one I made is the same dimensions as the factory one, but the hole is bigger than it needs to be.

Okay. It’s in and all the linkage is together. I had forgot to mention how I solved not being able to get the rubber bushing cover. it’s one of those caps from the end of a piece of black pipe from Home Depot. I just over there and grabbed one of the floor that was close to the same size, then cut it down until it was about the same length and drilled a hole in it. Problem solved.

Thanks, dad. I thinks it’s good enough. Any more and it would look... wrong.

Well, everything I spent money on to get this fixed ended up being a waste. The roadster handle is totally different (if anyone needs one I have one to sell). The ABS cement didn’t really adhere well and came off during cleanup because it was much softer than the actual handle. The plastic restorer didn’t do the job because it wasn’t faded so much as much as it was cracked. What I thought was texture was the top layer of the plastic splitting (imagine a shattered windshield). In the end, sandpaper ended up doing the trick. I started with 800 dry and stopped with 5000 wet.

Using this stuff to get it black again. Looks pretty good so far. Going to give it another application and let it sit for another 24 hours. Then I’ll try ABS cement for the gouges. It’s probably going to need a pretty thorough sanding after that.

Any thoughts on how to fix this: I bought some of that stuff that is supposed to rejuvenate faded black plastic, but I’m concerned about the gouges. I think if I try to fill them I’ll just end up with a mess, and trying to file it down to smooth them out could lead to a major modification if I mess it up.

Done. No rush.

Yes!

Does anyone know of it is possible to get the handles for the interior tool & storage box lids? My painter has misplaced them.

I found a replica grip for the Datsun roadster parking brake handle. Does anyone know how similar this might be to the one for the 240z? I can’t find any good photos to do a comparison. I was told the inside diameter of the replica grip is 17.5 mm, which is close to the OD of the lever tube. Could work.

This little guy goes over the nylon bushing that goes on the ball joint on the e-brake handle. Anyone know where to source these or have suggestions for crafting a replacement? He’s toast. Edit: pretty sure the PN is 36436-N3400

I kind of beat up my lines a little making this fit, but looks alright. I need to figure out something that will hold the line to the right front beak away from the valve now.

Ah, gotcha. Just wanted to make sure I’m not making a huge mistake deleting the original prop valve and only having the Willwood.

Why did you keep the original valve, too? What am I missing?

Okay, it’s been a while because I was stuck on how to mount the proportioning valve, but I think I have figured it out. Home Depot has chrome spacers that are close to the same outside diameter as the Nissan spacers, but in a variety of lengths from 1/4” to 1”. The problem is the inside diameter is 3/8ths and the bolt that needs to go through them is m6. To solve that problem I found some nylon tubing in the plumbing section that is just over 6mm ID and 3/8ths OD that I cut to the length of the spacers to act as a bushing. Sorry that some of those are blurry, but I think you get the idea. That last one shows the m6 stainless bolts I bought to replace the original 50mm hex bolts. Unfortunately, they are threaded the entire length and don’t have a grip, but they match what I am using on the engine and I think the nylon mitigates the need for the grip enough to use them. It’s not like they are holding the engine together. I selected lengths that give me as close to the same number of threads to the original configuration as possible. Trial fitting happens this weekend.

Anyone have any idea what the torque for the two m21 plugs on the sides of the distribution block might be? I want to make sure those new copper washers seal completely, but not ruin them.

Okay, so even though I greatly prefer the look of that little brass one, I’ve decided to go with the Willwood valve I have for two reasons: 1) I have it on hand, and 2) I suck at fabricating brackets and the Willwood looks like I can use the factory mounting hardware after some persuading. I also would rather not have to use the adapters. If it came in m10 I might have changed my mind. Plus, the Willwood won’t ever go to complete shut off, so I can’t accidentally turn off my rear brakes under any circumstance, as you could theoretically with the brass one.