madkaw

And now he says - I’m out ! I had a hard time reading this guy but don’t think he was ever a serious Z owner/buyer . Good luck - I said Moving on

Now the gentleman has requested I find him a Z ! He says his budget is 35-45k . I should be able to find something nice enough in that range I believe .

He sold it yesterday for 1500$ He did good !

It didn’t even roll and I didn’t see enough to warrant the hassle . I told another z guy that it had a white interior and he should grab it . I don’t have room

I was contacted by a former client that a guy wanted me to look at his 72 that he’s owned since 73! I was glad to go look at it - especially being owned that long by the same guy . I was told he was ready to restore it . When I pulled up to his house I was like - holy $^!# that’s bad . The guy had it sitting in storage and needed to proceed with fixing it up since he was moving . He said a shop quoted him over the phone that it would take 1 year and 60k . I proceeded to let him down . He seemed indignant at first . I told him that sentimental value would be the only reason to even start on this car - and I didn’t think there could be any plausible reason to spend 60k . I also told him the reality that the car would sit at a body shop for 5 years . At the age of 72- he said he might be dead by then . I told him I couldn’t - in good conscience- tell him to invest any money in that car . I said with 60k budget you could buy two Z cars that were nice drivers . In the end he thanked me . He really had no clue about restoration and the reality of that adventure . It did have a crack free dash as best I could tell .

I plan on making a driving video just for the sound ! I installed these 75mm stacks from TTT. Their ad seemed humorous about scaring the guy in front of you at the track -BUT-these things sound glorious! Never driven a Datsun race car , but the only thing missing is an open header -lol. OMG they sound good. I hope a video will capture the sound correctly. About everyone I've taken a ride have been blown away.

You meant N47 =MN47

A 720 unit would be a 71B series which is not great . I would recommend finding a 71C from a 240sx .

Technics or tactics . They can be a MFers . I use the spot weld cutters you can buy cheaply anywhere . Predrill small hole for center pin and saw away . I did buy a pneumatic drill just for spot weld but it’s limited where it can be used . Finding the center of the spot weld helps to get all of the weld

I couldn’t close the gap but I could fill it . The reason I made the sleeves was to give me adjustment . Ideally it would have been the perfect gap for a bead of weld . Since the sleeves are close to 3” long I was able to weld it strongly and then cosmetically fill the gaps . I had left over A pillar material which I used to fill that .250” gap .

More pics

First project after getting the roof attached was the passenger front fender support . I had cut up two 240z’s years ago and had a whole front clip left. No easy way to do this either .I was tempted to buy the sections from KF so I wouldn’t have to disassemble the front clip . In the end it worked out .

More random pics after running the 911

I like the white face gauges . Where did you get the faces ?

Pretty much rust free pieces from a 70 . Drivers side A pillar section and B pillar section . I won’t need these for my project . 250$ shipped for both

Is it Charles ? My memory is short . I’d refer you to my thread on Hybridz . I managed to document a lot on there . I also have a thread on the Megasquirt install there . Ask away about anything you read HybridZ3.2 Build EFI N42 / MN47

Damn- 5 year update ?!!! I’ve been thru several induction systems including Protunerz . Now running these FAJS . I’d say this package runs better than anything I’ve had on this engine . The Protunerz ran good but I think the runners were too short and fat . I did manage 35 mpg driving to the Woodward cruise last year with that manifold - that’s at 80 mph -windows down! I’ve been blown away that I’ve been able to get these ITBS tuned in so well . First start it idled at 750rpm . I run the cable linkage which like any linkage has to be dialed in correctly . I was always told that when the engine gets hot the idle rpm will climb , but I’ve got these to idle better than my single plenum . These are 45’s . The stacks are 75mm long . I have not dyno’d this package . Looking back at this thread I can say I was running too much ignition timing . Also blew up #6 piston . I run 28 degrees WOT . Finally got smart and made det cans to wear while tuning . I had some pinging at peak torque . I still run a lot of timing at light cruise - thus able to get lean cruise . I think I got high 20’s MPG going to ZCON . I was still tuning on the fly . Though I ran triple Mikunis before - I didn’t think I would do ITBS because I thought they would be to challenging . They are a challenge but glad I did it

I’ll have to recheck my setting for my stroker but I think my fan comes on at 185 and goes off at 180 ? I have an ECU so it turns on my fans at a lower setting at 185 and full speed at 195 .

Won’t find this info on FB- lol. I worked on a 72 thru Covid . The guy texts me yesterday that he has no rear brakes . I put all new SS lines in his car and had to clean/ rebuild his brake switch valve . I’ve had the weirdest stuff with his brakes . The O rings failed on the brake switch and fluid was forced from one side to the other back up into the MC . Now his rear brakes don’t work - so after reading this I assume it’s that proportioning valve . I haven’t laid hands on it yet . Looks like I have good reference material here . Wish me luck

RUST!!! Random pics of rust before I started chopping and treating rust . I’ll put a link to a YouTube video I made regarding Rust911 . The rust seemed bad but my buddy said “ nah- it’s too bad” . He got me started on rust911 . Being a scientist he did controlled testing on various products on the market for treating or getting rid of rust . He’s currently doing a 72 Volvo 1800es. He had treated his car with amazing results . I followed his methods and I’m still using them to this day .

Looks like I forgot the pic of the turnbuckles . Once i tried a door and hatch to match sure my gaps were decent I finished welding things up . Getting the roof on was the big hurdle . It killed me to just walk past this car all these years and not do anything to it , but without a roof it would have been a waste of time . Now I could finally take to ordering panels . In case anyone cares this car is being built for me . I know there will be skeptics of someone welding a roof on but I feel confident enough to drive this until I can’t drive anymore :) Some videos I watched of chopped roofs made my install look better - ha .

Well here is a look of the innards of a A pillar on a Z. The way it was designed made plugging it a challenge to say the least . I had plenty of A pillar material laying around so I made some plugs to slide down inside the A pillar . I think they were less than 3” . I wanted to be able to plug weld and butt weld from all sides . I peeled back the skin on the inside of the pillar . That allowed access to weld all the way around the plug . On the back side of the roof I made a plate to help join/bridge the new roof to the rear quarter . Of course the ideal scenario was to have as small of a gap as possible . I thought I nailed it the first time - but I made the error of relying on measurements . I welded it partially and got the fit too tight and couldn’t fit a windshield . I had to undo welds and clean things up . I should have attempted to install the windshield and then welded . In the end I ended with a .250” gap which was acceptable to me . It sucked having to grind out mistakes - but I was determined . At the rear I had the quarter windows to help me line things up . Since they have 4 screws and they share with the roof and quarter - I just had to make them line up . The problem was the roof was a bit sprung and I couldn’t pull it in place without some heavy equipment. My friend of the bodyshop told me he had these big turnbuckles I could try . They were the ticket .

Whether it was the best approach or not , I decided to slug/sleeve the A pillars . I felt a sizable sleeve -3” would give plenty of weld points and help keep things aligned . I had kept lots of A pillars material from where I cut these roofs up . The complex part is that the pillars taper ever so slightly . Also tough is making square cuts to match one roof to the other roof pillars . Another obstacle was I realized the drivers A pillar on my replacement roof was bent back -likely from the accident the car was in . It was a hard hit- shoving the LS2 back into the firewall . Windshield was still in the car he said . Getting the height right on the A pillars was going to be the big challenge . In the first pic of this thread you’ll see I built a support out of angle iron for the roof to sit on . I used my Z to measure from the seat bolt hole to roof line . This support also helped to have something to set the roof on while I made adjustments. Thank god these roofs are light.

Fortunately the frame rails -front and back- and inner and outer rockers are completely solid . When I built the rotisserie I added extra support up front by attaching to the sway bar points . Cutting the roof has advantages as far as storage . Makes for a thin profile on its side . It was hard to find a roof that someone was willing to part with or wasn’t already rusted . Being in the Midwest didn’t help . Finally made a connection with a guy in CA and his 70 had gotten totaled in a front end wreck . It was a PITA but we managed the logistics and he was willing to help ship it out . And it was the right color - lol .

It seems I’m having trouble finding more pictures of the car before I dismantled it . All the exterior panels were in decent shape . Someone went crazy with the red primer and painted everything including inside the engine compartment. The roof had some rust holes that turned out to be worst case scenario . In fact the worst rust found on the car was the roof including its substructure. I thought I could do a skin job , but there wasn’t much to weld too. My only option was to put on a whole different roof . The job was daunting and I tried to get a friend who ran a body shop to help me . Meanwhile the car pushed to side while I looked for another roof and I took on other projects. I did brace the car and cut the roof off . I separated it from the factory location at the rear quarter but decided my approach for the from would be to go for the middle of the A pillars . I realized after searching for a long time that I was on my own to come up with a method . Couldn’t find any documentation for anyone else doing something this evasive . Lots of stuff regarding chopping roofs - which is basically what I’m doing .