Cozza

Hey Gav, just wondering if you got the original colour confirmed? I think I will need to get my grille and tail light panel done also. Mick

Hey Gareth I think L20b are the same as L28, can anyone confirm? If they are I have a couple spare that look to be in ok condition. If you don't have any luck closer to home, drop me a pm. Cheers Mick

Hi Guys Thanks for your interest. George, I had the booster rebuilt by Weldon Brake and Clutch in Miranda http://www.weldonbrakes.com.au They are good guys and reasonably cheap. They have been able to supply all replacement brake and clutch items for my Z without any dramas. Gareth, I don't know why the crank had snapped where it did, I assume it is the natural harmonics and maybe due to not being a full counterweight crank. I think some others on here will probably know more than me. I'm quite happy with the shield too, it was pretty simple to fold up and only cost about $40 for the sheet from Repco. James from MIA gave me a template which I used as a guide but ended up a bit different. It's just sandwiched between the manifolds and bolted off to the engine mount bracket. I plan on concentrating on the 1600 now. It needs a bit of rust repair which is new to me, give me spanners any day. Pretty much all the mechanicals are done bar the rear suspension and rear brakes, the diff sounds pretty nasty too but still to work out what needs to be done there. Also needs carpet and seats, I picked up a set of Mazda 3 seats off eBay for $20 but still to see how they fit and look. My plan is to make it my daily and I like the idea of having it ready for the start of next year but you know what happens when you make plans. Cheers all Mick

Just to confirm my earlier post. When I suggested the front brakes may be seized, I was meaning the caliper pistons may be seized, preventing the pads pressing against the rotors. I was not suggesting the front brakes may be locking up. I know I'm digressing but, when I rebuilt my front calipers a year or so ago, I found the brake fluid galleries between the inside and outside caliper halves were blocked with gunk and took a fair bit of effort to clear. This would likely cause an imbalance between inner and outer pad pressure. What I'm suggesting is, if you don't know the condition of your brakes, it is probably wise to pull them down to be confident about their condition. Mick

Hi Yo Yo If I were you, I would have a good read of the brakes section in the factory service manual or Haynes manual until you understand how they work. That way, when you get them back together you can be confident you have got it right. (Not that they are difficult, just a bit different to most as they are a single piston, sliding wheel cylinder) Then, pull the shoes off, remove the wheel cylinder from the backing plate so that you can push the wheel cylinder piston back in (if it has popped out) but only after confirming the seal is soft and looks ok. Otherwise,replace the wheel cylinder, it's only going to leak in a couple of weeks otherwise and then you'll be replacing your shoes too. When you reinstall the wheel cylinder, clean and lubricate at the backing plate where the wheel cylinder slides and where the hand brake lever sits, as well as the self adjuster thread. This is just general maintenance stuff but may as well be done while you are working in that area, and will allow you to confirm it is all working as it should. BTW, do you think it possible that your front brakes are seized (not working) which is causing the rears to lock up? Also, the FSM is available at www.xenons30.com if you didn't already know Hope that makes a bit of sense. Good luck Mick

G'day all Well here goes my 6 monthly update. First I rebuilt my front end much the same as the rear end, sprayed everything pretty, had the rack rebuilt, new bushes, lowered king springs and Tokico Iluminas. As others have found, the front still sits to high and would look better 15-20mm lower. I would also like some more camber but haven't decided on which way to go, adjustable strut tops or control arms. At the same time I had my brake booster rebuilt, put in a new master cylinder and rebuilt the original calipers. The car now handles and brakes well. Now that I had the steering and stopping sorted, it was time to look at some more power. I canned the idea of building the motor myself and got James and Brett at MIA on the case. I went with a relatively conservative build and couldn't be happier with the results. L28, triple 40 webers, 2.5" mandrel exhaust and it's knocking out 210hp and 300ftlb at the tyres. The boys were always mindful of my tight budget and full of helpful advice. If you're thinking of having a motor built, I recommend you give them a call. I also made up an exhaust heat shield and radiator shroud to keep the intake cool The Z now feels really good so I'm going to try my hand at regularity for the first time next month On the other side of the stable, the 1600 has been getting some love, but that's for my next post, probably about Christmas. Cheers Mick

I got this housing and all the heater hoses, heater tap and firewall grommets from SWM it was about 3 days to be delivered. He seems to be able to get almost anything. Mick

You're right Mike, not normally my style. I think that post was after a couple bottles of truth serum, to drown my sorrows for a loss in state of origin. It seems they got the better of me. Wasn't meant to offend anyone, just accidentally unleashed my opinion. Mick

Not that I am across the T3 items but others that I have seen are (about 10mm) narrower at the hub than the standard control arms and therefore require 10mm of spacers/washers to space out to meet the width of the hub. Now I am no expert but from what I understand if you use 5mm washers front and 5mm back you will have 0 caster theoretically, if you were to put 10mm washers in front and none back, it would push the strut forward in relation to the control arm, resulting in a small amount of + castor theoretically. The ones I have seen were being installed at SWM. They were supplied by the customer, the boys at SWM didn't think much of them and had to do their own modifications to meet their requirements. Mick

Geez a lot hate toward it and it still looks better than any 280zx.

Yep $9k is a big single outlay for a roadworthy in my opinion, unless it was rusty. It might be worth talking with another mechanic for a second opinion on what needs replacing for roadworthy. I also agree with what others have suggested, and try and tackle some of the issues on your own. With a workshop manual, a bit of common sense and good advice from your fellow Z team here, I think you will find the Z to be a simple enough car to repair much of your list on your own. But, the one comment above that I agree with more than anything is this. Project cars of this nature can be unpredictably expensive. Get the house first and tinker with your car in the background. Good luck with what ever you decide Mick

Hey Yo Yo Nice car, I would have been very nervous buying an old import but this looks to be a cracker. Out of interest, do you get some sort of guarantee / warranty that the car is as described and that if you find any nasties you can make some sort of claim through the company who helped you find it? With regards to your headlights, give the switch a good wiggle to see if they come good. I have had to reco my 240z headlight switch due to bad contacts. A good upgrade is a headlight relay if you don't already have one. Great to see another Sydney Z and look forward to seeing you and your car around. Cheers Mick

Wow, that's gotta be half way to covering the cost of the triples you put on. I didn't realise the Hitachis were worth quite so much. Mick

Haha, is Ginger his nickname in the pits Jason? The above might entice him to make his 4th post. Mick

Hey Gav I recently had a motor built by James. As you know he is a great bloke who will be up front and honest with you right the way through your build. In my experience he will build to your budget and not pressure you into further upgrades. As always, it goes without saying that you get what you pay for, the more you spend, the fatter and longer texta marks you can leave behind you. I'm more than happy with the results I got from James and will go back to see him for any future builds. I recommend you chat with him to work out if you can reach you 200hp goal within budget. Won't be far off from my experience, especially considering you have some good parts as a base. Even if you choose not to engage him, I am sure he would be willing to give you some solid advice. If you want to chat about my motor build, pm me your number. Cheers Mick

Great news Mate. Good luck with the project, looks pretty solid. Mick

Not a bad turn out today guys, even got a Victorian up for the event. It was nice to meet you Lachy, but did you really have to bring the weather with you. Thanks for organising it George Look forward to seeing you all on the next one. Mick

That's a great video Jason, thanks for posting the link. Why did you start from so far back in the grid? Made for some very entertaining laps though. What sort of torque / power figures are you getting from it? Mick

I'm running 16x7 + 20 with 205/50/16 semis on my 240z. I have about 6mm clearance between tyre and lower spring perch with original struts. My combo needs to sit out about 15-20mm further to really fill the standard guards properly. Depending on your coil over diameter, they may fit but, I'm thinking you might want some spacers to get them right Mick

Yep I should be right for the cruise, prolly not lunch though. May I recommend that we might leave earlier, the Natio Road can get busy on Sundays. Also, maybe meet at Loftus Oval so we can drop in at Audley. Just a thought. Mick

Looks great and 500rwhp sounds like a ton of fun. What motor are you running? Welcome Mick

Sorry I missed the drive today. I got my car back today though so I hope to make the next one. Mick

Yeah I'm not confident I will be there either. I don't think my car will be ready and work are taking their pound of flesh ATM. Enjoy the drive fellas, the Natio is one of my faves. I hope to come but not counting on it. Mick

Hey great news, good luck with getting the rest of it back together. Mick

So what would happen when the ignition was in the off position? Me too, I got a feeling you have a short between the lights and wiper circuits within the switch. Yes there are plenty of wires that are unused on some models but would be used in a differing spec model. You should be able to determine their intended purpose. Mind you this is often easier when you have it all connected and can test the wires individually. The wires could be for the map light or illumination behind the cigarette lighter maybe the lights behind the fan controls (not sure these exist, just thinking out loud) Another test would be to pull the fuses of the accesories circuit and see what happens. To test your brake light switch, set your multi meter to a resistance or continuity test function and connect the 2 wires of the switch to the leads of your multi meter. Not sure which way round it is but when the brake switch is either in or out you should have a continuous circuit with very low resistance, less than 0.1 of an ohm. When the switch the other way, you should have an open circuit where your multi meter will read nothing. On another note, does your dash need any repairs, might be worth doing while its out. Mick