jlenownnab

Siteunseen, thanks for pics of heat sheild. I am doing a once over with my friend on Sunday morning. Still need to install pcv pipe and bleed brakes and clutch. Then we will see how well we put it back together. I want to go back and redo a few things once its running again... I may look into the silicone hose Chickenman spoke of. I have a few parts I may take off and replace just to freshen up or shoot with some paint. I am tracking down a few factory engine bay stickers right now for a little extra detail. I think in the end I saw the project through as much as I had hoped to. My one weakness I would say is the intake manifold, I cleaned it best I could for having fuel rail and everything still attatched to it. It was super tough to clean. I also want to say for anyone doing exhaust in the future, the MSA premium exhaust system is top notch! I installed it by myself in a little over an hour and it fits perfect on a 75. I bolted up the 2 pipes together on the floor, zip tied the back pipe up to the control arm while attatched to my MSA 6 to 1 header. I knew ahead of time the muffler would be on an angle thanks to threads I found on this site. So I fitted the muffler to where I wanted it and started clamping, easy peasy! Here are the last of the pics, hopefully my pooches won't tell anyone how many times the diff was in and out of the car fighting that r180 mustache bar. I'm also hoping the left over bolts in the drawer aren't needed. THANKYOU EVERYONE FOR ALL YOUR RESPONSES TO MY PROJECT THREAD, WHAT A GREAT HELP YOU ALL ARE!! I HOPE THIS WILL HELP SOMEONE ELSE IN THE FUTURE LIKE ME (NON MECHANIC) COMPLETE A SUSPENSION PROJECT.

Everything is all back in the car except the piece I showed you. if I recall though the one little heat shield did not fit any longer because of the header I may be mistaken I need to check that when I get there I know we got the one heat shield in correctly the big one.

Thank you, my help said it was needed. I was thinking it was the egr people talk about deleting. thanks again.

I had a lapse in progress but am back at it now. Everything is pretty much together and full of fluids. This is my one remaining part?? Can this be eliminated? I thought I read where it can be. I'm not even sure what it is.

Check this out. If only I had a 10 year old boy!! https://harrisburg.craigslist.org/cto/6002539023.html

We tried flipping the front mount, still didn't work. When I say hitting I'm saying we were prying the m bar backwards so it would move everything back a quarter of an inch including the diff but we could only pry the m bar back until it hit the u shaped bracket that hangs down behind the diff and kept us from prying it more. I don't believe the bars are interchangeable with out fabrication

It wasn't hitting the control arm when we were actually trying to assemble it. We tried prying the mustache bar back but the m bar was hitting the "u" shaped bracket.

Here's the pics, r200 is a heavier and the bends are different. Obviously, the rear diff isn't in and the m bar is not in place (I am with my wife for just a few minutes at my shop). I am holding the cross member where it was hitting and that was as close as I could get it to the predrilled holes.

Thanks, I am going to get some pics and post in a few hours. We hung the old r200 bar and everything lined up perfect. Nothing has changed on the car except the bar. I call the control arms the "A" arms that connect the rear wheel assembly to the body. They get the spindle pin on one side and the other side they pivot down from the bottom of the car. The problem is when the diff is in place and you hang the "U" shaped bracket behind the diff then go to mount the cross member bar to the diff mounting bracket the cross member will not line up with where the bushings are on the control arms (where the control arms swing down from the body). When we pry the m bar back it hits the "U" shaped bracket and will not allow the cross member bar holes to align with the holes where the "A" arm pivots. They did send me the bent r180 bar. We exhausted every scenario. Hopefully this explains things better. My friend is a 25 yr ASE mechanic at a dealer and does the race/ autocross thing, I think he's pretty good. Plus we have a 70 and 72 sitting there to reference. I am going with the r200 bar when it shows but I sure would like to know how this bar fits?? Pics coming in a few

zKars, so your telling me they sent me the wrong r180 bar?

That is absolutely classic!! I asked my friend today if I should take it up to the welder and he said "just find an r200 bar", we are so done with it. The thing that kept us trying was that we actually were so close to making it work, live and learn. I don't think I am making it clear why I am in this jam. I went through and cleaned, painted and prepped all suspension parts while I was waiting on new parts to arrive. From memory I thought I remembered cutting the sleeves out of the mustache bar last time I did bushings, so when I fitted new urethane bushings they had play in them. Mustache bar ruined. Fiasco begins! I found a new listing on Ebay today for an r200 bar and I snagged it for $85, so as soon as it arrives in approx 10 days I am back in business. Thanks for responses, hopefully this little thread will save someone in the future from headache and frustration.

Thanks pops, I figured so much by the end of the day. I guess I need to thank kyle at z car source for totally wasting my time and money!

I'm posting a new thread hoping to get some feed back (Thinking about freshening up my suspension). If you have been there done this or know without a doubt the facts, please respond. My ASE mechanic friend and I just spent 6 hours trying to put the rear end/suspension back in to my car, a 1975. I am no further now then I was when I started, just frustrated and pissed. It should not have taken 2 hours tops. Long story, short... I removed the sleeves out of the mustache bar in preperation for my Prothane kit and now realize I should'nt have. I waited 2 weeks for new Oem bushings that are probably on indefinate back order and decided to purchase a used mustache bar instead. Here is the catch, I have a r200 rear differential that requires the r200 mustache bar, but I was told by Z Car Source where I bought it from that the cheaper r180 bar will work fine if you oval out the diff mounting holes and use a lock washer, cool. I am not cheap nor am I trying to cut corners but I knew I could oval out the holes in 5 minutes which I did and be good to go. First of all, the bars look nothing alike. Second, the r200 is much heavier. So, here's the problem.... there is no way that I can find to get the rear control arms to line up with where the bushings fit in. On a 75 the mustache bar mounts backwards from earlier years, I tried both ways. I tried swithing the U shaped bracket around that hangs down behind the diff, I tried it every which way. In the end we feel that we tried every different scenario. Tell me I'm not crazy, has anybody swapped out mustache bars from a r200 to a r180?????

I had a 77 with the clunk that everyone talks about, no clunk in this one as of tear down. Things are starting to come together and are looking farely nice so far. The O'Rieleys master cylinder for the clutch was a touch shorter than the one that was on the car, hopefully that does not matter. Here is a finished pic of the trans.

Is the 280 worse for noise and vibration then a 240? I have had the Energy suspension bushings in my 70 for 4 years now with lowering springs and have not found anything more than just a stiffer ride and more bumpy, no diff or tranny noise or vibration though. Would anyone recommend a worn out set of Mustache bar bushings over new urethane? Just wondering. Had a good day or so working on my labor of love. Had to get project off rack and p.o.s 79 on rack for transmission removal, pain. The 79 looks really bad, I hate to think I'm taking a part off this thing and putting it on my build. My buddy assures me the internals are better then the externals. I forgot to take a before picture but the process was as follows. Spray down with Gunk engine cleaner, 10 min later, spray down again, pressure wash trans, dry with torpedo heater, hand clean with degreaser a brush and rag. Next, I used my drill with a wire wheel and went over entire case, blew clean, wiped down with Prep All and put 2 coats of primer on. Turned out really nice and is ready for paint. I am thinking the burnt black coffee crap I drained from the transmission must have been in there 30 plus years. I'm leery but it shifts nicely into all gears including reverse. Oh' I noticed the drain plug had a little bit of shavings stuck to the magnet, I'm sure that's not optimal. I'm going to look around and see about flushing a detergent/cleaner through it, not sure if that's a thing or not?? Threw in the second picture just for kicks, I like pulling in to the shop and seeing Z nostalgia!!

I would put a standing order in with MSA for them and play the waiting game.

Don't get excited about the oem mustache bar bushings! I have stalled my project 2 wks waiting on them and now I have been informed they are on national back order. I saved a few bucks on the prothane kit on Ebay, but by the time you have to order the rack and pinion bushings from Energy and deal with time lapse and frustration.... not worth it. The Energy suspension rack and pinion bushings fit perfect. Heres the last few times at the shop progress. More cleaning and painting... belly pan, engine, oil pan, headers (baked also). Got intake and headers on before dropping motor in, also hung a new 15" Konig Rewind mounted on Yokos.

I was surprised. I was already looking for an r200 mustache bar.

James from MSA told me he is getting them from Nissan, oem. I figured for sure they were after market.

They are on back order but should be arriving any day now.

Had a good couple of days at the shop, starting to put a few things together. The non oem motor mounts on Ebay needed the rubber trimmed on each side to fit together properly. Still need the right steering rack bushings, everything else seems to be good, for now.

Captain, Like my first post says, I am definatley not a mechanic.Sounds like you went deep into brake booster surgery. I cleaned it good and sanded and painted it. It was working good when I last drove the car and I never noticed any spots on concrete. I;m thinking worst case I will have to replace/rebuild if it leaks after back on the road. I could see the headache of jacking with it and got lazy. Rama, I like to buy the whole kit and do it all at once while I have the mess going and am set up for the project... Media blast, paint crap, etc... I have the kit in my 70 and know what to expect ride wise. It stiffens the ride but I don;t think it makes it untollerable. With the new struts, Springs, and NEW TIRES the car feels good.

I got the Prothane kit, OEMS at MSA, $30 each. Trans cross member na

No hurry here, waiting on Fed Ex. I really screwed up.... I swear when I did my 70's bushings I cut the sleeves out of Trans cross member and mustache. Now I'm waiting on oem bushings for mustache and I have to get cross member out of my parts car.

I will check it out in the morning, thankyou. I'm sure if the reaction disk can fall in it will.