Zeddophile Posted February 20, 2009 Posted February 20, 2009 Hey, the rack end was the HICAS rear steering thing the car had. Best ditched I reckon. Took the whole thing out, weighed maybe 10+kgs, and put a straight bar that accepted the same rear steering arms. Hey presto, toe adjustments. Ah, okay - I thought the toe adjustments was the reason why the rack end had been fitted there, didn't even think of HICAS at the time. Still a bloody smart idea though! Quote
nuclear_z Posted February 23, 2009 Posted February 23, 2009 Awesome that you got rid of the HICAS. It was a pain in my r33, couldnt imagine how painful it would be in a car that the HICAS computer wasnt designed for... Was fitting the r34 rear subframe a truly painful experience or relatively straight forward? Quote
ZD44TT Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 holly fark nice build...........I love modern builds of the zed.........so when you track it you can tell all the evo's and GTR's to stick up their a5re Quote
Gaijin Posted March 18, 2009 Author Posted March 18, 2009 Awesome that you got rid of the HICAS. It was a pain in my r33, couldnt imagine how painful it would be in a car that the HICAS computer wasnt designed for... Was fitting the r34 rear subframe a truly painful experience or relatively straight forward? Yeah, keeping HICAS probably a little silly. Best to remove something variable like that. The beast needs to be tightened up, without any wobbly back wheels. Would be interesting to run the HICAS thru the ECU, and to do your own map. Id call you a geek if you did! Re. the subframe. Its reasonably straightforward. You will chop S30 chassis! If your into no chassis mods, you'd need to shorten the track of the subframe (more custom parts, driveshafts etc), all of which increase costs further. I may have done it in a somewhat cost efficient way. ie. Cut some chassis, shove it in, weld her up. The subframe could have been moved higher up in the chassis, but would require further chassis mods, new rear floor, new fuel cell etc etc, ie. more costs. Thanks for the support, REALLY enjoying the build myself, as you would. REALLY impatient to get the ECU in and car wired up.... Looking to do some work that even Julian Edgar would be proud of. (Early Zoom editor/ECU tech man) My day job has stepped up so the car has been lonely. better post something - keep the thread alive eh... Mike again comes to the rescue for the new light covers. Dont see these floating around too often They are mint. Perfect. Let the panelbeater make them fit nice. Blame the truck body for taking time - worked on by the customer, then brougt back to the shop, jumping the queue. RUDE ! Never mind. Once the truck cab is out, Im up. Quote
NZeder Posted March 18, 2009 Posted March 18, 2009 cool - so maybe both are cars will be finished some time this year. ZG light cover good ness I have a few of those too Quote
Gaijin Posted March 18, 2009 Author Posted March 18, 2009 If things got real bad, these light covers could cover the mortgage... maybe not Quote
Administrators gav240z Posted March 18, 2009 Administrators Posted March 18, 2009 Where did you get the Gnose, what kind of mould is it 3 / 5 piece? Quote
Gaijin Posted March 18, 2009 Author Posted March 18, 2009 Gavin, two g-nose kits were offered a while back from Mike, ruler of a clandestine Z hoarding and storage operation here in NZ. He had a 5 peice - but incomplete in steel, and a one peice in glass. Took glass for quick and easy install, light too. Since mods were likely to be made with/to the gnose, glass was going to be cheaper/easier to hack up. Swapped a new front bumper for it. He also provided the light covers. Good man! Quote
Administrators gav240z Posted March 18, 2009 Administrators Posted March 18, 2009 Gavin, two g-nose kits were offered a while back from Mike, ruler of a clandestine Z hoarding and storage operation here in NZ. He had a 5 peice - but incomplete in steel, and a one peice in glass. Took glass for quick and easy install, light too. Since mods were likely to be made with/to the gnose, glass was going to be cheaper/easier to hack up. Swapped a new front bumper for it. He also provided the light covers. Good man! Yeah I know all about Mike . He hooked me up with L14 rods and as you say has a collection of goodies don't you Mike . Quote
Gaijin Posted March 19, 2009 Author Posted March 19, 2009 Lets check my 'off the cuff' front spring rate choice last year..... Arm chair engineering Motion ratio at the front is not far off standard, even with lengthened arms +50mm roughly. Spring rate, as a function of motion ratio, corner weight and desired suspension frequency. Could back up this pile of gobbledegook by pulling out the strut inserts and measuring the natural frequency doing the bounce test. This would include additions of bush and movement frictions. Google has the answers as usual. Corner weights are guessing within a range, as is suspension frequency. Looks like the current 250lb springs will be too SOFT, giving lower frequencies than desired. Quote
NZeder Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 Yeah I know all about Mike . He hooked me up with L14 rods and as you say has a collection of goodies don't you Mike . Not the same Mike but another one here in NZ - I sell him parts, he sells me parts - and we both move parts to other zed owners members - go the Mike's Quote
NZeder Posted April 28, 2009 Posted April 28, 2009 more pics please Gaijin will post when he is able to he has been tied up for a while and I am sure he is just as keen to get back to the project. Quote
Gaijin Posted May 2, 2009 Author Posted May 2, 2009 Pardon the delay, the panelman has begun some work. Its been about 1.5 weeks work for 1.5 men roughly so far. In no specific order. Butt welded everywhere, minimal filler rod used - (oxy acetylene) 60% metal work complete. Few holes to recover in places, otherwise Im happy. Car was treated with Tectyl?, spray on goo stuff to help minimise rust , from new. It looks like rust , on the inside of panels, but its just this tectyl stuff. OK? Welder could tell, weld bead wouldnt look like that, welding to rust alright...already Enough of the boring rusty 'looking' stuff, Arches at the rear. Folded lip flat, and butt welded again, so that the inner arch comes flat. gives the tire more clearance. if the chassis hits (not gonna due to bumpstops etc) the tire wont be hit with a sharp edge of the gaurd. ie. no crazy high speed blowouts from this scenario. One side of the (metal) car almost complete, The rear end is looking 50% done. Ill get the sparky to wire up a solenoid for the hatch release/lock. Left side has started, but requires the fundamentals. Nice section constructions around the pillar. Nice butt welding on the door. My excuse for lateness, forgive me Cancers, chemos, transplant and heart issues. Dedicated to the Datsun cause. YEAH Quote
Cdr Zero Posted May 2, 2009 Posted May 2, 2009 Fantastic post, the car is really looking good! Great workmanship throughout! Sucks about your heart and transplant and cancer issues. My granddad had cancer and my aunt has it too, chemo is no fun. Quote
NZeder Posted May 2, 2009 Posted May 2, 2009 Martin you are looking better in that pic vs the last time I saw you - looks like you have grown some hair back well as least you can do that - I am screwed in that department. Quote
Zeddophile Posted May 2, 2009 Posted May 2, 2009 Ill get the sparky to wire up a solenoid for the hatch release/lock. Might be better off using a pull cable (like perhaps the type used on battery isolation switches) to pop the boot? In my experience, race car batteries are always flat... This thing is going to be an awesome machine..... Quote
Gaijin Posted May 4, 2009 Author Posted May 4, 2009 Yeah, Mike,back to Kojak look, but minus another 10kg. Re. the cable opening boot, petrol flap, bonnet, agree completely to all of them. Quote
xa1973 Posted May 4, 2009 Posted May 4, 2009 Hello Mate Sorry to hear about your illness, bad shit, Ive lost a couple of dear ones with it, hang in there all will be good Top looking car, youve cerainly got some patience its a long build, but worth it A 280zx rear hatch opener should fit your needs Cheers Quote
Gaijin Posted May 9, 2009 Author Posted May 9, 2009 The panel beater fellow is a pushy bugger, so its off for another epic drive to hand over parts that are requried to help work on the next areas. Thanks to Glenn for the gaurds, these will help take moulds for the front end work which will start next week. After a quick review today, it looks like as much time as the tin work has taken. ie. Quite a bit.... Ill ecplain over the next few weeks. Here's a better pic of something I mentioned a while back talking suspension, If the rear end still feels too mushy with softer tires at the track, the hard bushes you see may get replaced - rose jointed, etc. Indicator hole filled up. No warts here. Hatch likewise with opening device. Dove tail hatch area all done & sealed Left hand side continues, almost there. Rear quarter replacement panel originally from Tabco, some USA outit. Not much went back on the car. The front pillar needed a bit of love, so love applied. Few other parts/areas furthered Quote
Aaron Neubauer Posted May 9, 2009 Posted May 9, 2009 The front pillar needed a bit of love, so love applied. That there is pure gold! haha! Love the work! Quote
xa1973 Posted May 9, 2009 Posted May 9, 2009 Very nice Mate... end product will be sensational..... Quote
NZeder Posted May 9, 2009 Posted May 9, 2009 That is about the 3rd zed I have seen in 09 that needs/is getting rust work on the front A pillar. Must be a water trape or just that cutter thing cracks and water gets in = rust Quote
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