Selling the X & Bought an 75 Datsun 280Z

[lookforjoe]

Cut out the Fusebox today & wired the Hella (MTA) 16 position ATC fuse panel in

Noting the grouped inputs



I batched the fuses following the input groupings above (14 total)

3 Red (1 spare) Lighting

2 Black-white ?

3 Blue-red (1 spare) Acc (15+)

4 White-red (30)

3 White-red (30)

1 Black-yellow (50)

No space to batch within the fuse panel, so the splices are outside the box. Small crimp to unify individual wires



Larger crimp to join feed wires





individual circuits added in decending order



separator/ pin retainer in place



added spacers to the mount brackets - the door hinge bolt heads are otherwise too close to the wiring passing behind

annoying thing is that only standard cube relays will fit, not the rectangular ones I have for the AC delay & Interval, so those have to go elsewhere. The only one I need to add here right now is the relay to switch the blower on when the AC is engaged.

 

[lookforjoe]

I made a sketch with the motor & plug, the stalk & relay, so I can figure out which pins to use for the VW delay relay.

2 (yellow-green) isn't even used with the Honda motor, so it clearly has no current bearing on any operation.

 

[lookforjoe]

Figured out how I will address the relay installation issue.

I made a bracket to support a row of relay sockets cut from an '80's Volvo 700 series

backside - have to be able to remove the relay socket inserts as needed



mounts using factory location of the ignition transistor module





factory trim panel works fine

 

[lookforjoe]

Added more stuff, to allow for expansion when I do the V6 conversion.

Ground & power strips. Made a reinforcing plate that bolts using the stock mount points of the relay panel & ign module. Strips are riveted in place





checking fit





Stripped all the CAT / floor temp circuitry out while I had this apart







added wiring for the seat heaters and WBO2 controller



Have to deal with all the wiring at the console

 

[lookforjoe]

I mounted the HEI module/heat sink to a bracket I made, that attaches to the side of the stock relay bracket, where the interval relay previously lived. Made it so the assembly is unscrewed from the face, as the bracket screws are otherwise inaccessible. I'll make a sub-harness so that the module can be removed with that attached

 

[lookforjoe]

Adding switched power to one relay to be used to switch the blower fan on low (1) speed when AC is engaged



Spliced the main battery feeds to run to the ancillary power strip before going to the new fusebox

Going to use a Volvo fan speed resistor in place of the 3 speed non AC setup I have.



I'll modify the blower casing to fit it. Opening only has to be altered slightly. Difference is this mounts from the outside, vs the stock resistor being bolted on the inside.

Top 4 pins are speeds 1-4 next 2 pins are full speed, bottom 2 are output to blower motor



I wired the sub harness for the HEI module today



6.3mm spades for the connection to the factory harness



I made a bridge on the harness side, to connect both Blk-Wh together

 

[dllubin]

Adding switched power to one relay to be used to switch the blower fan on low (1) speed when AC is engaged



Spliced the main battery feeds to run to the ancillary power strip before going to the new fusebox



Going to use a Volvo fan speed resistor in place of the 3 speed non AC setup I have.



I'll modify the blower casing to fit it. Opening only has to be altered slightly. Difference is this mounts from the outside, vs the stock resistor being bolted on the inside.

Top 4 pins are speeds 1-4 next 2 pins are full speed, bottom 2 are output to blower motor



I wired the sub harness for the HEI module today



6.3mm spades for the connection to the factory harness



I made a bridge on the harness side, to connect both Blk-Wh together

Your Volvo resistor reminds me of the '78 244DL I married into back in the 90s. In those cars, you had to take apart quite a few things to get to the fan resistor inside the airbox. It was mounted from the inside similar to the Datsun resistor. In fact, it was the same color green. Your upgrade to the externally installed Volvo resistor will save you or some future owner a bit of work. In the case of my 244, some clown decided they did not want to bother replacing the bad resistor in the airbox so they bypassed it and hooked up a replacement which they stuck somewhere in the center stack, I think below the radio. Since it had no air flow, it too was burned out but not before melting some plastic behind the front panel. Thus, after the repair I came away with two burned out fan resistors. Fortunately, the replacement never failed while we had the car.

 

[lookforjoe]

Looking in the FSM at the AC related ducting and schematics, I see that factory AC came with blower ducts that sit under the dash

Going to have to see if anyone has added universal vents that approximate the factory supplied version. My Aftermarket setup had none, only center & dash end vents connected

items, 3, 12 & 13 are what I'm missing - I do have the "Y" elbow on the driver's side, just was blocked off. I have looked at vintage air, etc., however those vents all seem to be oversize for what I need

 

[lookforjoe]

Another rain-drenched day

On a plus note, I have both factory under dash vents & the r/s elbow on order

I couldn't work outside, so I fitted the Volvo fan speed resistor to the blower casing. M4 rivnuts to retain it, added a little extra butyl to adjust for the folded seam Nissan used here

 

[kmead]

‘I added a few things.’

That sir is your latest understatement.

 

[lookforjoe]

Worked on the power circuits today

Organizing additional wiring, relay grounds



Wired spare relay sockets with power & ground. Only 2nd from bottom is needed right now (AC-on blower fan override)



Wiring secondary relay panel, additional 6 fuse panel, ground, 30 & 15 rails



15 rail is part of relay panel. Volvo inserted 3 rails in the relay/fuse panels. I kept this one.



making sure that everything can be removed, and has enough cable slack to move out of the way as needed



test fit again, re-wrapped harnesses, place CIS module

 

[lookforjoe]

Did the HEI resistor bridge today, and installed the Bosch coil

original



center post snapped off, so I riveted the spade tang to the bridge. Doesn't really matter since the coils gets full battery voltage at any of the connections




pulled the compressor today, drained & flushed the Mineral oil out, added 5floz of Pag46



DS AC under dash vent arrived (EDIT, wrong part, AutoPartOne gave me a full refund)



Bought Dayco 80165 1.25" ID hose (found it suggested on another Z forum) to cut & fit for the ducts

 

[lookforjoe]

Right side vent & elbow duct arrived today - gave them a good clean



Ran the 3 wires for the AC t/stat through the factory harness - there were 3 empty spots Dk Gn/Wh, Gn, Gn/Wh



Cleaned up & applied rust convertor to the air intake flange



extra 7 wires will go into a gang plug for future use

370Z Headers for the VQ35DE install - they come with the crappy perforated gaskets, so I got MLS ones off RockAuto. Flange has to be cut off & angled outlet added, following one install

 

[lookforjoe]

Modded my blower casing today - enlarged hole carefully with die-grinder & half round file to clean it up. Went to 5.7" Kia Sportage Fan cage can be angled in place





5.75" cage OD





Put the dash frame in with harness, to check the systems

 

[lookforjoe]

There is a problem with the idle control - idle rpm is way too high for any modulation. Pretty sure there is a passage from the plenum side of the TB back through to the intake via the passages used for the factory BCCD system - openings in bottom area. I thought they were closed off, but too much air is bypassing the idle valve circuit.

 

[lookforjoe]

OK - so I had a break in the rain this morning, so I was able to remove the TB during one clear patch, address the ports I hadn't closed off, then get it back on during another break in the rain



Larger port I tapped with 1/8" NPT



thread sealant on plug



tapped smaller port with M5x1, used the snapped off stud from the ignition ballast to make a plug





done



Back in. Ran the motor - don't have the tach installed, however the rpm's felt much more in line. A little low perhaps, so I ran it to normal op so I could check the base setting. With CIS, the easy way to do that is close off the low vacuum tube from TB to the IACV. It stalled out, so base was too low. Opened the idle thumbscrew a couple turns (I had completely bottomed it out) & got the idle what felt around 750. Releasing the tube, the idle motor cycles & the idle rises to what feels like 850-900 range. I will set it more accurately once the tach is in, but it feels good. Motor revs freely & returns to idle.



After that, I prepped & painted the blower casing



The blower needs a cushion - I put closed cell foam on the housing first - that didn't work so I transferred it to the lip of the blower motor outer flange



The stock bolts were too long now, so I switched to shorter M5 hardware. Bolts line up with stock holes, no mod to casing required



squirrel cage offset


Flex coupling to heater box, also needed foam

The duct I had bought - Dayco 80165 hose based on a Z forum thread, doesn't fit the pass vent or either of the elbows - those are all approx 1.4" OD. The DS vent is slightly smaller OD for some reason - I was able to stretch the 1.25" Dayco hose over it, but no way it's gonna fit the other positions. I've ordered some 1.5" preheater tubing (aluminum w/cardboard outer layer)

 

[lookforjoe]

Been raining all weekend. Since I can't work outside, I got back on the clock repair.

First, I checked some of the remaining caps rated at 10uf. Most of them were 8-8.3uf (!) , others were 10.5 or higher. The .22uf caps were all under 2.1, most were .2 or below.



I removed the .22uf (read as .20) and one of the 10uf (read at 10.45) from the circuit board. The other 10uf read at 10.3, which was closer than most.



I found one .215uf and one 10.1uf cap, so I installed them.I also added 2 sockets (not in focus, sorry) to allow me to plug in various resistors if needed to adjust the resistance of the 2M resistor



Turns out, I didn't need that - with the replaced caps, the wheel was triggered & the clock runs. It's been keeping time since 2pm, so I'm hopeful that's that.

 

[lookforjoe]

Dorman 96030 works for the lower vents. Had to add a thin layer of foam to make it snug - 1/8" on DS vent, 1/16" on other 3 fittings

 

[lookforjoe]

Test fitted the blower/duct casing to check the blower resistor connectors. Had to relieve the cowl a touch to allow the connectors to be inserted/removed. I have a4 speed switch coming, so that will govern 2-5, and 1 will be the AC-on initial speed.



(re) wiring the blower resistor - Volvo uses switched (+) to the resistor vs. Datsun's switch (-), so I'm going to change it around - primarily because I've already wired the AC-on feed as a positive input

 

[lookforjoe]

The generic grommet off Amazon will do. Sliced it, then super glued the seam back together. Tie wrap to keep it snug around the harness