Woody928

Simply wow, very big fan of what you're doing here! Always been a big fan of any resto mod style modiciations or builds, I've subscribed and will be following with great interest ?

Well I'm pleased to say that the car is back and tucked away in the garage for now. Picked the car up on Saturday morning and was straight over to Wheels in Motion to correct the alignment on the car which needed to be redone on all four corners due to the complete overhaul done on the car this year. Safe to say there were some hairy and slightly sideways moments on the way over there with every corner having its own idea of where it should be going. The good news was despite the monsoon weather and all of the standing water I was driving though on the way home the car felt completely planted and much more sure of itself and its even fair to say that the windscreen wipers performed valiantly getting me back in one piece. The car has been away for a variety of reasons however the vibration we were suffering from was ultimately prop related and the installation of a new single piece custom prop which was uprated with larger greaseable joints which has completely removed the issues. With the suspension setup and solid diff mount there's still more feedback going through the chassis that originally however that seems to be expected. The upside is now with those issues resolved and drivetrain overhaul the car seems to be happy to shift up to around 6k rpm which is higher than I previously thought however it really needs a dry day to properly explore the current levels of performance both engine and suspension wise now. I'm even thinking that the very hard all season michelins may get scrapped in favour of some much stickier Yokohama AD08R's given they're availability in the perfect size which will hopefully step the handling up another notch again. Underneath the front of the car the new front anti roll bar mounts have been bolted in place and I must praise Iain as he really has outdone himself with the work on these, they are very subtle but have really beefed things up so that we don't have any concerns. At the same time the entire headlight wiring loom has been removed and used as a template to build a completely new and more weather proof wiring loom with the addition of the relay kit from the US to massively improve the reliability. While I was there we've dropped some Osram Night Breaker Lazer bulbs in which have massively improved the lighting and was very noticeable from my limited use coming home in the rain, there seems to be plenty more light upfront now. While in there sorting the wiring, Iain also noticed that our sidelights had previously had their wires cut to be removed from the system with the bulbs hijacked for our indicators in the past. That's since been rectified and the wiring reimplemented so we now have independently working side lights and wing lights working as well. Some areas of the chassis have been treated from very minor surface rust that had developed and been covered in wax oil for protection however I seriously need to get the car professionally undersealed to protect the chassis for the UK climate. If anyone has any recommendations in the South of the UK I'm all ears for suggestions? Minor tweaks have also been done to tidy up the engine bay wiring including the movement of the electronic ignition module to move things along, there's still plenty to be done though. The exhaust has been repainted in VHT paint to tidy it up but its really highlighted how restrictive the exhaust becomes by the silencer, I have no idea what the diameter is however I have high hopes for the full Z story system that's arriving for the car in the new year. I'm sure there's more however those seem to be the highlights, we're getting closer and closer to getting the car where I want it to be. Lots of little details and mods here and there to get her where she should be and I'm desperate for a dry day to have some fun but that's enough for now. On to the exciting bit now, the shiny bits. IMG_8147 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG_8148 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG_8203 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG_8150 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG_8180 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG_3526 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG_3529 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr My exhaust restrictions, no idea how much difference to expect with the shiny Story one going on... IMG_8168 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr Where we now stand IMG_3531 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

? Contrary to popular believe it doesn't always rain in the UK! We're still making the most of some crisp and dry autumn days, how many more of those we'll get before winter hits hard though is anyone's guess. I'm hoping to get the car back and really enjoy it before the salt starts getting put down on the roads....

Well time for another update as its been a couple of months. Sadly the car has been off the road for a little while owing to some teething problems and a couple of planned and necessary tweaks since the last major overhaul. The biggest gremlin that we had been investigating was a severe vibration through the car which occurred at both 60 and 80mph upwards which was really effecting drive-ability. Iain at passion engineering had tweaked the gearbox and diff angles so that they are now within .6 of a degree and we sent the prop off to a specialist near Heathrow as we were both fairly convinced of the cause. We've since had it confirmed that the prop appears to be the cause of my issues for a variety of reasons and we've decided to have a new custom and uprated one made up to the cars exact specs which its currently awaiting to complete the jigsaw so keeping fingers crossed. Also did hot oil changes on both the gearbox and diff now they've been run in on the car to keep everything in order. The car has had various bits tidied up, we've added an extra mishimoto fan on the rad thinking of hot European trips and Le Mans traffic. Engine bay wiring is also getting some attention however the headlight wiring was looking particularly tried and we had been suffering with one of the high beams failing, given the car is driven regularly and at night there's been some work to do. All of the headlight wiring and connections have been refreshed and we've also acquired a plug and play loom with relays incorporated for both the headlight system (big thanks to Dave Irwin), interior lights and taillights from the USA to take as much strain out of the system as possible and hopefully protect the headlight combination switch and fusebox. Some uprated Osram Nightbreaker H4 bulbs have gone in to the headlights at the same time to freshen things up. There's also been some work up front on the chassis to allow the fitment of the uprated ST front anti roll bar to complete the suspension work, sadly some welding was required before bolting into place some reinforced straps over the chassis legs (I think that's right) to mount the anti roll bar off of to keep things in check. The idea being the extra reinforcement will keep things together and reinforce the key areas so that the anti roll bar can do its job effectively without putting any undue stress on the chassis. I'm getting quite conscious of the chassis age and want to try and uprate it where possible in a non invasive way. Triangulated strut braces front and rear are on the long term list in this regard still however money and priorities are constantly changing! Finally I've placed a deposit on a Zstory Race Sport system with JDM muffler for delivery early 2019 to help the engine breath a lot easier. It will be great to get rid of the home made rear section which I'm sure is choking the engine now. Things will likely slow down for a while though as I have to leave the car behind in my dad's safe hands as I head off to Singapore for at least a couple of months with a new job opportunity in the New Year. Only time will tell how fast things will move from here or not, hopefully the car will be back with me again shortly to make use of some of the last dry Autumn days.... IMG_7960 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG_7962 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG_7961 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG_7964 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG_7965 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG_7966 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

Thought I should pitch in with my latest upload. Panasport 16x7 wheels with 205/55 tyres ? DSC_0222 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

☺️ Thank you, she cleans up pretty well. Lots still to be done as ever though, I just shamed myself to finding and uploading the high res version of that photo, looks much better! I do love my Z, certainly my most prized procession. Great taste in colour as well I see, I'm getting the impression you have quite the collection including my other favourite, Safari Gold! They certainly are great wheels, I'm also quite impartial to Watanabes wheels but can't justify the cost. I also wish the 16x8 fitted with no work as that extra inch really fills out the arch.

I've also got Panasport 16x7 rims fitted to mine with 205/55/16 tyres fitted ? DSC_0222 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

Interesting to read this, I'll caveat any of my comments before I start as I am no expert on suspension. This is just my personal experience... I have a very similar setup to you, I am running TTT control arms, tension rods etc and BC racing coilovers with 4/4kg springs all around. I am also running ST sway bars with 205/55/16 tyres on 16x7 wheels. There's a link below to my thread where we did the install. Spring rates seem to be a funny one as there are so many different idea out there, most places as you observed seem to suggest 4/5kg setups with some people going with much higher. I have no idea where these figures have been taken from as they are wildly different from any factory rates. I have been told that a lot of the aftermarket coilovers setups were adapted off the back of later S bodied cars (S13,14,15). On the basis on the factory rates I decided that I didn't want to go over 225lbs (4kg) for a road car personally. What size wheels and tyres are you using? (as that will also ave a big effect on your ride). Now for me the car rides really nicely, it is firm I would say however the car absorbs bumps very well, doesn't skip and gives a sporty ride without being unpleasant. I would say the car is comfortable and would happily tour long distances in it. BC's seem to be given a hard time but they have a solid reputation and are built to an extremely competitive price tag. Yes there will be better coilovers out there with higher quality dampers to match exact springs rates and corner weights etc however they are in a different league budget wise as well. If your expectation was for a ride anywhere near stock using solid mount TTT control arms then you would be disappointed, think how much rubber has been removed from the suspension. It's probably more down to the control arms than the coilovers if I hazard a guess, the whole combination will all add up to the final result though. I cannot confirm how your coilovers spring rates may be influencing but it could be down to the dampers as well. Just thought I'd share my 2p for what its worth...

Honestly that wouldn't bother me in the slightest, looks very presentable and also get used! I much prefer cars with character rather than factory fresh paint.... ? Thanks, I've looked at a couple local to me. Just need to decide if its necessary or not...

This car really is immaculate, I love what has been done having read back through quite a number of pages. The colour combo is also fantastic, and those mikunis looks the business! ? Out of curiosity how big a difference did ceramic coating your header make? I'm getting a Zstory system in January next year and not sure whether to consider ceramic coating of not after quite a few comments made.

For what its worth if you haven't made a decision I'd highly recommend the ST kit, I looked at all three options when I did mine and I thought it was the best choice in terms of fitment and value for money. I don't like the design off the MSA kit with drilling of the chassis involved and the Futofab kit doesn't seem to justify the extra price from anything I've read. The rear ST kit bar made a massive difference to the handling of my car, currently having reinforcement plates added to the front frame rails before the front bar goes in so as to not cause any damage to the chassis and prevent any potential for twisting or extra stress. Great addition ?

Thank you ? No worries thanks for getting in touch. Just dropped you an email ?

Quick question, are his response times usually pretty good? Still not heard anything back yet...

Thank you both, I had seen his website but its great to have the recommendation ? I'll drop him a message.

Well update time again, not too much to report in a way. Since we've had the car back on the road in the middle of July the car has done just over 1000 miles as a shake down to really dial things in and see where we stand. It's made it on various runs out, breakfast meets and car shows in the interim where it's performed very well. It's just been dropped back to passion engineering with a snagging list to be tweaked to make perfect for now hopefully to collect in time for Goodwood's JDM Sunday all being well. Most notably I took the Z up to JAE with the MR2OC who are great friends and like my second family and had an awesome weekend with them, the car was somewhat stealing the show for a lot of people with people in awe of its condition. Rather unusually for me I entered JAE's show and shine competition as for once I actually felt I had a car nice enough and set about doing some detailing before chucking it in to see what happened. Not knowing very much about cleaning other than clay baring the paint, waxing it and generally giving it a clean up I thought it would be nice to show the car off if nothing else. Despite some amazing competition in the form of a fully restored Fairlady roadster and another 240Z I managed to win the Retro category by 1 point which completely blew me away. Having spoken to the judge afterwards I nearly threw the competition away and lost a lot of points because I hadn't cleaned the inside barrels of my wheels which just goes to show why I never enter cleaning competitions and much prefer driving and picking up dirt instead! Either way I now can claim to own a show wining car and was quite smug having seen other entrants trailer their cars there or only turn up to enter the competition which just seemed wrong to me! After a lot of stress and hassle earlier this year its been amazing to just get out and use it, I never lose that smile whenever I get in and just turn the key and just enjoy it. I still find plenty of excuses just to go out for a drive even if I have nowhere to go. The ridiculous attention continues to flow in, on the way back from JAE a guy in a McLaren 720s and his partner were going crazy next to me, taking loads of photos and shouting loads of compliments and loving it despite being in a supercar nearly 50 years younger. Still making great progress, hopefully more positive news to follow shortly. IMG_7835 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG_7827 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG_7818 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG_7805 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG_7842 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr Photo CO Chris Presley IMG_7853 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr Photo CO Chris Presley IMG_7859 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr Possibly one of my favourite photos that I've taken of the Z to date IMG_7675 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

Hi all, I'm hoping that you can help me out, I've noted that the wiring around my 240z headlights isn't the best and I've recently had a couple of issues with my headlights. Notwithstanding this I'm also conscious of the age of the wiring and from what I've read the load that is being exerted on the cars combination switch. The car does get driven at night so I'm looking to upgrade the wiring and take the load out of the system with some plug and play wiring with relays if possible. I've seen a couple of different options online from different vendors however I wasn't sure if someone could point me in the right direction as what may be the best setup/value for money given my complete lack of electrical knowledge? I'm hoping for a plug and play solution if possible... Many thanks in advance, Mark

More than likely, as an example of what a bodykit can do here's what mine has looked like, now back to stock bodywork. I still think they're the biggest performance bargain to be had out there! As a JDM Turbo model mine will do 60 in just under 5 seconds with bolt on mods, handles superbly and can embarrass much more expensive cars quite easily. They may get properly appreciated one day... IMG-4507 (1) by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG-5647 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

As above it's a Toyota MR2 Mk2, that one has got a slight bodykit fitted to it and also has had a turbo engine conversion. Running about 300bhp, coilovers,, underbracing etc very quick and fun car, I've got a white JDM one as my daily car. T-bars are also great for the summer ? I believe you only got them up until 1995 in the US rather than 2000 like the UK and Japan. The gen3 cars in the US seem to be a lot more sought after due to the improvements and lack of them available.

Well I thought I'd put together a little update, the car is getting lots of use at the moment getting to various meets and going out on runs and drives just for the fun of it. I'm not sure exactly, but the car has definitely done well over 600 miles since the recent overhaul. There are still points to address however I'm too busy enjoying the beautiful weather to worry for now. I'm still finding the attention the car gets comical, I feel like some sort of celebrity driving it around half the time, the engine bay is now also getting lots of ooohhh's and aaahhhh's and wowing people. Lots of comments that its got a proper engine fitted, it was pretty swamped at most times during its recent visit to the Goodwood Breakfast meet. Even when I've just dropped into Waitrose several people have stopped to take photos, compliment the car and chat before I've got near the store. I even met an Audi Motorsport heritage engineer in a traffic queue at Goodwood who has a German market 260Z +2 and has worked on several of the winning LMP1 Le Mans cars over the years that I've watched. It really is incredible who you meet... I'm pleased to report that it's running very well, the engine in particular. The fuel economy is now where we'd expect it to be now with it being about 23-24 mpg with my enthusiastic driving and over 30mpg possible on motorway cruises now which has really impressed me. The engine is super rev happy, albeit stops really performing around 5.5k rpm and in reality is getting used to between 4-5k for spirited use. Handling wise now the car is very impressive, it needs the uprated front roll bar to dial out some under steer however on a recent drive out with the MR2OC it had no problems keeping up with cars with over double the power in several cases. It certainly surprised a friend in a Noble M12 at its ability to corner and get around roundabouts. It handles incredibly well for a car that is almost 48 years old now. As you can imagine it's no straight line monster and was left slightly lacking in that regard, however I've been too busy smiling and listening to the soundtrack to care! The car has just been accepted into the show and shine competition at JAE this year so I'll actually have to give it a proper clean and see how I get on, not something I've ever contemplated before however she looks so nice at the moment I thought what the hell. I've got a few show weekends coming up so more time to show her off to people and enjoy. DSC_0071 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr DSC_0081 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

It sounds like I may be on the money with both bits of speculation from that! The prop was recently shortened and re-balanced for the conversion but I've been told these cars are really prone to balancing issues so still think it's the most probable cause. I'll investigate! There's a lot to take in ? I had no idea what big a difference it would make, originally I'd never even considered one. It only weighs 4.7kg so has really made the engine come alive! I think the rear anti roll bar really has to be up there for value for money personally. Ahhh now that's disappointing to hear the only rebuild kits I've really seen are the Kenjutsu ones... It sounds like I need to speak to Nissan and try and work out some part numbers. Awesome, congratulations on the purchase! I'll try and keep an eye out for a project thread, don't worry I knew almost nothing a couple of years ago and its turned out ok so far! Thank you, she's getting there slowly.

Thanks for the insight chaps. Hopefully it's mentioned above but there's a lot to take in, I'm suspecting a worn syncro and potential bad bearing. Due to the speed it comes on at and the way it transfers into the car I still think the prop is the likely cause of the vibration as it is very noticeable rather than more minor. I wouldn't have thought the gearbox would create that level of vibration at those specific speeds only.... Sadly I think the box will need to be ripped out and rebuilt assuming i can find spares!

Haha I will be even more envious if you pick up a set of those as well! I would love triple OER's however they are way down the list sadly.... Cool CAD skills.

I do love following this thread, it's so familiar in many respects! You obviously have great taste ? Keep up the good work. I am super envious of that exhaust setup, it really does look pukka!

Thanks for the suggestion, not heard that one before but will certainly try and give it a go! Sadly due to the slight wine it may be well worth removing and stripping the gearbox anyway....

Another dramatic change has been the installation of the rear ST anti roll bar. This single item really has transformed the cars handling dramatically, it’s quite silly how well the car now handles considering the platform is nearly 48 years old. B roads really have been made so much more fun and the overall package has transformed just with this item. The front bar is still waiting to be fitted as we have decided it will be prudent to reinforce the chassis legs before installation given how chunky the new bar is. The overall suspension package now is however fantastic, its amazed a few people how well it negotiates corners. Thankfully the replacement of the lower steering column UJ has removed a huge amount of slack out of the steering and made it far more responsive much to my delight, the car really engages you and provides lots of positive feedback when you want to press on! Long term the only addition I can see will be strut bars to help out further when funds allow. We are very much shaking down the car given the huge amount of custom work that has been completed and various unknown parts installed. So far on the to do list is a vibration that comes in at around 60 & 80 while cruising, I’m not sure if this could be a propshaft balance issue having been told how precise this needs to be but will be investigated. Fourth gear syncro is also fairly high up the list as you cannot rush it and some attention to the gearbox however otherwise she’s running better than ever. The car is a far cry from the one that we purchased 2 years ago, with the exception of the half shafts I think everything drivetrain related has now been replaced. I think it’s only the brake master cylinder left in the engine bay before all major items have been replaced as well. Depending on my schedule the car is going to have a thorough check over in the next month or two and be looked at more seriously to get it running spot on and check that we’ve caught everything. At this point I cannot say a big enough thank you to Iain at Passion Engineering (and his dad who pitched in as well), while it’s taken me 5-6 months for me to plan everything out and source all of the parts his engineering skills have made this part of the project a reality. Due to time and space I didn’t get to attempt a few of the jobs which I would have very much liked to have tackled myself, however when it comes to some of the bigger jobs such as the fabrication and repair of items his skills are second to none. He also bent over backwards in his efforts to try and get the car Le Mans ready, working full weekends and putting in lots of extra hours to get it just right. Sadly some unforeseen issues stopped us but that’s meant to finished product was not compromised in any way. I’ve mentioned all of the key items above however its all of the little details where he excels such as my hidden fan override switch under the dash (without altering the car in any way) and rerouting on the rocker cover breather to be more discrete that makes all the difference. As you can well imagine I’m completely broke on the Datsun fund this year. That doesn’t stop future plans though and in the pipeline I’m still hoping to get a 4 pot vented brake setup up front to compliment the rear drums with new performance shoes. I’ve also been aware for some time that the exhaust system midpipe and tailpipe is very much homemade and horrible. Having properly investigated we’ve identified that near the tailpipe the diameter shrinks from about 2.5 to 1.5 which is really choking the engine I would imagine and needs to go. Currently toying with speaking to Z story about a new JDM muffler and midpipe to go with the current headers or even go the whole hog and replace the whole system which I’d love to if it can be justified. All being well we also have plans to sneak an AFR gauge into the factory gauge setup in place of the clock to keep things looking factory but being more functional. Aesthetics wise the project has taken somewhat of a turn with reality dawning that this is too nice a car to make it look like a race car despite my aspirations, I quite enjoy the fact that everyone thinks it’s just a standard 240Z with the exception of my crazy bosozuku style gear shifter. It’s only when you start talking to people that they realize all of the work that’s gone on under the skin. I may therefore continue to show restraint against spoilers and the like…. There’s been several stories and experiences as ever in the meantime and lots of little extra details however I’ve already written lots so I’ll leave it for now, enjoy the photos instead if you’ve made it this far. IMG-7113 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG-7112 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG-7115 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG-7116 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr A quick view of all of the area's you don't get to see. It would be good to clean up the fuel tank straps! (Follow link to video on Flickr) IMG-7111 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG-7467 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG-7316 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG-7470 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG-7325 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr IMG-7475 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr