Selling the X & Bought an 75 Datsun 280Z

[JKIDD]

Do you have any play in your shifter? The 81 280zx I bought for the 5 speed conversion was horrible. I removed the lever & there were no bushings left. Did some research & people are using brass door pin bushings instead of the OEM nylon. I still had some from a 2000 Mustang kit & they fit in the lever & saddle perfectly. Some minor filing for the pin & now the shifter is like new! I have extras you can have if you're going to the FFO.

 

[lookforjoe]

Made a template for the wiper motor mount & drilled & cut the Datsun mount bracket to fit. I offset it so the park position is a close match to the original





testing placement again - clears the cowl OK - no contact here



bracket etched & primed



hardware all prepped as well



I put the linkages back in with the base seals and new caps, but I'm assuming I'll have to remove it & attach to the bracket & motor first - I was not able to separate the original in -situ.

 

[lookforjoe]

Do you have any play in your shifter? The 81 280zx I bought for the 5 speed conversion was horrible. I removed the lever & there were no bushings left. Did some research & people are using brass door pin bushings instead of the OEM nylon. I still had some from a 2000 Mustang kit & they fit in the lever & saddle perfectly. Some minor filing for the pin & now the shifter is like new! I have extras you can have if you're going to the FFO.

I assumed they were shot (they were gone) & bought new ones from ZcarDepot.

 

[lookforjoe]

Got the bracket & motor back in the cowl, and rewired for the Honda Motor. I found that one hand can be fit behind the bracket from the right side to get the linkage arm nut back on the wiper motor. I decided to cut off the Datsun connector as those small pins just seem iffy for the load of the wiper motor, given their antiquity. I added lengths of same color wire to extend the stock harness through the cowl, used a Volvo firewall grommet, and then added the Honda (Yazaki 58XS) connector and female pins.







BLK, BLU-R, Y,Y-BLK, BLU-Y. Y-G is unused.



Solder joints are a bad idea - so I bought a large number of crimp splices some time back. Wiring is all from the X1/9 parts car @aarpcard



double shrink wrapped





I noticed that there is extra weather-strip glue under the seal - I'll have to get that off



I attached the wires without the harness first, to just check the mapping from Datsun to Honda indicated in the earlier post
Datsun to Honda : Blk = Blk, Blu-R = Gn-Blk, Blu-Y = Blu-Y, Y-Blk - Bl, Y-Blu-Wh



The wipers worked as they should - interval, low and high, parks as it should, so I put the wires into the connector



Moved harness routing over to the left & clipped it to the cowl lip



Put some butyl over the harness feed throughs, since I don't have the plastic sheath for the whole affair



arms & new 18" blades installed



checked the washer nozzle adjustment

 

[lookforjoe]

Fixed the damaged belly pan - welded thick washers to each ear, to repair one torn one and reinforce the other 8 locations

got sidetracked when I knocked my tray of riv-nuts on to the floor - behind the V8 drivetrain - I'll have to reorganize them at some point

added the lower sections of the outer hatch seals in the drip rails. These are an upper section cut in two. The factory lower sections are not bulb seals, and it didn't look right.

 

[lookforjoe]

So, I finally got around to stripping the front end. Balljoints fkd, tie rod ends, fkd. Every bushing, fkd.



Left side pivot bolt came out clean , no damage to subframe







Left side hardware all cleaned up



left side spindle. Hub was loose - I was able to turn the nut almost a full flat. The bearings look OK though. So this time around I think I'll just clean & repack them







Right side was a bitch. I had to cut the control arm pivot bolt off, it was seized inside the bushing sleeve, and has elongated the holes in the subframe







I have a longer M14 bolt (probably off the X1/9, which will work if I have to weld reinforcement washers to the subframe



So, the wheels - they will not fit the stock short studs, since they use cone seat nuts that do not recess as deeply as the shoulder lug nuts I removed. Technically, that may be just within safe thread depth for an M12 nut, but I'm not risking that. I didn't see any mention of a stud or lug nut concern when I was searching wheel options.



I found the rear studs are longer - so I'll use the 25mm thread depth rears on the front hubs, and get 2" length for the rears



Brake hoses are also shot



Caster rod seats are good



made a start degreasing the back plates, control arms & link arms. Everything was covered in copious amounts of grease from the (lack of) boots of the tie rod & balljoints



I'll have to dismantle the struts next. Ho[pefully no nasty surprises with the tubes

 

[lookforjoe]

Also tested out the Bead roller tool - very nice & so easy to use

 

[kmead]

Great progress!

I cleaned up my yard and changed the oil and tires on my daughters Element. Sigh.

 

[Lowtechprime]

Just a question.. Do you have an issue with Nissan/Datsun parts in particular? I'd always found them to be well engineered and fairly easy to source, but you are replacing a lot of components and hardware with non Nissan parts. Is it just that you have them on hand, or is it some other issue? I know I joked about it before, but now I'm curious...

 

[lookforjoe]

Just a question.. Do you have an issue with Nissan/Datsun parts in particular? I'd always found them to be well engineered and fairly easy to source, but you are replacing a lot of components and hardware with non Nissan parts. Is it just that you have them on hand, or is it some other issue? I know I joked about it before, but now I'm curious...

It depends what you are referring to - the wiper motor & related parts are NLA. Any of the EFI parts are Bosch license, so if I have a Bosch part that will fit, I'll use it. Things like the AC & heater circuit I want to make adaptable for whatever drivetrain I use next, and I prefer to get away from hose clamp connections wherever it is possible, as with fuel line and some coolant circuits.

I'm very impressed with the quality & fit of the factory parts and the overall attention to details given even to things like harness hold downs.

Some things don't make sense, like steel on steel wiper pivots

 

[KBabcock]

Joe, you are an animal. I bet you finish your stake dinner with roll, backed potato and salad in under a minute.

 

[lookforjoe]

Do you have any play in your shifter? The 81 280zx I bought for the 5 speed conversion was horrible. I removed the lever & there were no bushings left. Did some research & people are using brass door pin bushings instead of the OEM nylon. I still had some from a 2000 Mustang kit & they fit in the lever & saddle perfectly. Some minor filing for the pin & now the shifter is like new! I have extras you can have if you're going to the FFO.

Question for you - is the earlier 280Z 5 speed not worth bothering with? I'm assuming there is a significant difference between that & the later one, since you described it as highly desirable, and searching it seems not easy to find....

 

[tvmaster]

Geez man, where do you get the TIME!!!! So jealous...

 

[lookforjoe]

Geez man, where do you get the TIME!!!! So jealous...

Have to pace myself, last couple days I've been in the hospital with my Mum, so I'm quite behind on the suspension work. We moved her just up the street so we can monitor her. I spend some time with her every day after work before I start on the car stuff. I'm a high school teacher, so after my 6:30-2:15 day, I have at least 4 hours to work family obligations & weather permitting

 

[KBabcock]

Have to pace myself, last couple days I've been in the hospital with my Mum, so I'm quite behind on the suspension work. We moved her just up the street so we can monitor her. I spend some time with her every day after work before I start on the car stuff. I'm a high school teacher, so after my 6:30-2:15 day, I have at least 4 hours to work family obligations & weather permitting

Hope you Mom is OK. None the less you are the most productive restorer I have ever seen. You provide good motivation when I hit the weekend. Stay strong.

 

[tvmaster]

Have to pace myself, last couple days I've been in the hospital with my Mum, so I'm quite behind on the suspension work. We moved her just up the street so we can monitor her. I spend some time with her every day after work before I start on the car stuff. I'm a high school teacher, so after my 6:30-2:15 day, I have at least 4 hours to work family obligations & weather permitting

Ditto on best wishes to your mum. And you have a job. Bravo sir, bravo. You are the barometer for time-management….

 

[kmead]

Hope things even out for her. Definitely the good son.

 

[lookforjoe]

Hope you Mom is OK. None the less you are the most productive restorer I have ever seen. You provide good motivation when I hit the weekend. Stay strong.

Ditto on best wishes to your mum. And you have a job. Bravo sir, bravo. You are the barometer for time-management….

Hope things even out for her. Definitely the good son.

Thank you for the sentiment. Bottom line, the diagnosis falls under congestive heart failure. Shortness of breath & water retention are the glaring symptoms. She needs to cut her sodium to 2g max a day, reduce cholesterol intake, and has had her blood pressure meds adjusted. More to come after we go to the cardiologist for follow up next week. Just have to keep her from doing anything silly like mowing the lawn or chasing her chickens around the yard....

 

[JKIDD]

Question for you - is the earlier 280Z 5 speed not worth bothering with? I'm assuming there is a significant difference between that & the later one, since you described it as highly desirable, and searching it seems not easy to find....

It has to do with the gear ratios & final drive. From my research, either would be an improvement over the 4 speed. See the following:

XenonZcar.com 280ZX S130 Transmission Differences

280ZX S130 Transmission Differences

xenonzcar.com

Transmission Reference Materials for Datsun 240z 260z 280z 280ZX -

There are alot of Datsun / Nissan Transmissions out there. I will focus on the transmissions in the US. Different transmissions were available in different countries. There were also competition transmissions available, with varying gear ratios. The models evolved becoming bigger and stronger...

240z.life

Which is Better 280Z or ZX 5 speed?

I did a search and read about 30 different transmission posts and have a question.It sounds like to 280Z (thru 78) is almost plug-n-play into my late 72 240Z, (just switch-out the speedo gear). The 80-83 280ZX 5 speed requires more modification.Is the ZX tranny better? I like the idea of a simple...

www.classiczcars.com

 

[lookforjoe]

It has to do with the gear ratios & final drive. From my research, either would be an improvement over the 4 speed. See the following:

XenonZcar.com 280ZX S130 Transmission Differences

280ZX S130 Transmission Differences

xenonzcar.com

Transmission Reference Materials for Datsun 240z 260z 280z 280ZX -

There are alot of Datsun / Nissan Transmissions out there. I will focus on the transmissions in the US. Different transmissions were available in different countries. There were also competition transmissions available, with varying gear ratios. The models evolved becoming bigger and stronger...

240z.life

Which is Better 280Z or ZX 5 speed?

I did a search and read about 30 different transmission posts and have a question.It sounds like to 280Z (thru 78) is almost plug-n-play into my late 72 240Z, (just switch-out the speedo gear). The 80-83 280ZX 5 speed requires more modification.Is the ZX tranny better? I like the idea of a simple...

www.classiczcars.com

Thank you for the links - I think Iwas using the wrong search terms, I didn't come up with such detailed info, just inarticulate posts from ppl w/no clue about anything for the most part