ok, well, here it is.
dont expect updates often, im pretty slow when it actually comes to doing anything to my cars.
I bought my zed in july 07, heard about it through a friend, so i went and looked at it before the old owner was going to put it on the classifieds.
he was asking $1000 for it, and to be honest i was expecting a rust eaten s*&^#er.
Once i got there, i found out it was a coupe, not a 2+2 like i was expecting.
he explained that it was very hard to start, and the starter was stuffed, so it took lots of push starting, and that he thought it had a blown head gasket.
It also had some acco damage in one rear quarter, and lots of carpark dents over the doors.
I haggled and dropped him to $800.
had he have known what he actually had, he could have made $3000 easy within a week.
I caught a bus all the way across town to pick up my new toy, and met up with my bro once i took delivery of it.
We drove back to my place, and he was quite amazed that a 30yr old car would pull away from his VZ commo.
So was i to be honest.
I took pics of it that night.
once i got a chance in the daylight i went over it and had a real good look.
the biggest patch of rust i found was on the side of the RH headlight, in the front nose section, just behind where the bonnet hinge bolts on, Its about the size of my hand, so that'll need fixing asap, but everywhere else is just little bits, prolly no bigger than 4-5cm, im cheerin.
I also found a CD walkman under the passenger seat, SCORE!!!!!
the diff was redone not so long ago, still got a workshop sticker on it, no leaks from the engine or driveline, just a minor seepage from the sump gasket.
the exhaust looked alright, but needed modding, its a one piece system from the extractors right back to the tip, with only one resonator in it. It failed rego, but jeez it sounds hot.
as for my starter motor dilemma, i discovered that a starter form a RB30 will bolt in, good thing i had a couple of spares. the battery was shot, so a spare went in.
my to do before rego list is:
New windscreen
LH door window reg (mine sorta works)
LH door handle busted
rust in the RH headlight frame
couple of light globes
Cover the rust in the hatch (its on the inside)
mod the exhaust, too loud and hits on the diff cradle
So, after that, i went and got an inspection done.
It failed.
the exhaust is too loud. 115dB (5dB quieter than a helicopter
)
Play in the front tailshaft uni joint, easy job to fix, and a busted door handle, which i expected.
So, i swapped the door handles over either side, put a muffler in the system, and greased the uni's
then went and regoed it.
I used it as a daily for about 6 months, until i blew up the motor.
I had heard about the oil pressure gauges being temperamental after 30+ years, and didnt really think aything of the fact that mine barely even registered, until after about 3 monts of nil pressure, one of the crank bearings finally went.
tough motors
Now, i have a 2.8L for it, a big turbo, and Injection, so im doing a rebuild.
first up came stripping off the front end, and repairing the rusty patch in the headlight frame.
I was very pleased to find minimal surface rust under the guards.
I sold off the metal panels, as i have aquired some fibreglass ones from Alfa Motorsports.
i have allready made a nice weight saving on that one.
i have a FG rear hatch and spolier on the way as i type, been looking for FG doors and headlight buckets, but no luck yet, unless i want to spend a small fortune.
I have painted under the guards with sound deadener, which will also help prevent any rust buildup.
last night i got into it after work, and started cutting things out of the bay, and smooting of the wire tabs.
damn, now im going to have to hide the wiring, shame huh
the engine being built.
the head is at the shop getting done, should be back soon.
once its back, i have a genuine Nismo 0.6mm MLS head gasket and an ARP head stud kit to hold it all down.
My BIG turbo, just fits under the manifold in the stock spot.
My as of yet, un touched interior.
White vinyl and blue velour from factory.
more to come later......
