geezer

Do you have a picture or a part number for the "Trust" header? I have one that I thought was Part #14004=E4620 until I compared it with the illustration in the Sports Options Catalog for the homemarket. Now I don't know the identity of this one. It does fit in my LHD without any interference issues, with about 3/8" clearance from the steering shaft. There are pics of it in my user gallery. I have most of the complete "twice pipe" system and have recently acquired NOS stacked rear exhaust tips also. If you want I can dig up the pics I took when I did a test mockup of the header on the car.

I got the bad news from the Nissan Parts Counter today Richard. This part is no longer available. He told me it would automatically show as NA after a period of 3 years, but these have just recently been depleated.

Hmm, is there anything not working on the car? Any aftermarket add ons installed or removed? Try removing all the fuses and then use a test light with a long lead connected to your battery 12V post. Use the probe on the test light on both sides of the contacts in the fuse box where you removed the fuses. If the test light lights up while doing this, you have found the defective circuit and it will be a simple matter to find the short to ground.

Welcome Mike. Sounds like a very nice car, post pics when you can. Yeah the parts price explosion is slow and steady and the shipping can be a royal pain in the a$$. Lots of reading and links to valuable info can be found here. There is no shortage of good advice & tips from some well versed members also. I am constantly astounded by the knowledge base exibited. Good luck with that heater problem. That is a good vacuum hose diagram, but a little hard to see. Any way to clear that up a bit Stephen?

It seems to be be bad ground connections. Some wiring maintainance is probably in order.

Richard, The parts counter man punched in the part number and it showed "no longer in production". He said that does not nessesarily mean it is NA. He said he will try to locate it and if he can't find one in Canada, he can try Japan. He said to give him a few days, but he will call me with his findings.

Anyone who maintains their own boats knows the drill. On a boat the upper plug is removed to allow air to escape and give you notice the outdrive is full. The plugs are smaller on my Mercruisers but I wouldn't be above trying this on my Z which has a similar situation. After using the pump to fill (the pump is sealing the lower opening at this point) you will see the gear oil running out of the upper hole. Replace the upper plug first, then quickly replace the pump with the lower plug. I perform this ritual every time my boat comes out of the water.

You could use the same method used on a marine engine outdrive, if you had to. Do what John said, make sure the top plug can be loosened. You do not have to remove it completely, just enough to leak out when full. Use a pump (available for about $15.00, or borrow one) and fill from the drain hole until it leaks out the top hole. Tighten the top plug then quickly tighten the lower plug.

Thanks for the treat Ron, It almost felt like I was in the car with you, even after watching it for the third time. Always a pleasure to warch!

Steve, if you were to post a short list of what vehicles you would have an interest in and what price range/acceptable condition of each, there are quite a few of us that can serve as your eyes & ears. I regularly watch several local venues as I'm sure most of us do. I would be glad to point out what I come across, but don't want to waste our time with cars you don't have an interest in.

I will check in the morning for you. I think it is a myth that parts have a greater availability here, but it can't hurt to try.

The attention to detail and caliber of work is most impressive and inspiring to say the least. Great work Guy! 3 letters sum it up...WOW!

I can't speak for the L28 tube but that wouldn't work on the L24 example in my pic Stephen. The first 1/4" of the leading end is actually a much smaller diameter than the rest of the tube, including the mating surface, so using a tapered cylindrical wedge would only serve to straighten a damaged end. As far as using sealant, an ounce of prevention...is worth not having a unsightly streak of oil that has run down the side of a newly detailed block. Any reputable shop I have ever dealt with would use it.

This L24 tube was removed with nothing more than my hand ( might have been previously removed?). When refitting clean the mating surfaces well and use a high temp sealant such as used on frost plugs, to help prevent leakage or loosening.

Alternate sources are always welcome, and a complete package as you describe should be in demand. I would be interested in a few sets. I don't think you would be saddled with unsold inventory, but Reddat might.

Bart, I have no idea what type of rust preventive coatings are available where you live, but I do know that the shipyards are constantly fighting the rust monster and could probably direct you to some top notch products. I don't believe these coatings are cost effective or easily shipped.

Better off using the money to rent a truck to make the move in my opinion.

Doubtful you will sell one of these by posting here, but who knows. It certainly is at the upper end of the spectrum, when it comes to performance gains per dollar spent. I am just curious if the increased strength and therefore less bellowing/flexing of this piece lends itself to a measureable gain of performance. I am building one myself, but from different materials. I can appreciate this one, but couldn't justify the cost for my use.

Nothing wrong with a Rustoleum paint job. It is a good way for someone to trade off their sweat equity for cheap paint that looks respectable enough for a daily driver. Under the hood or any areas that were rust repaired, can be coated by whatever means you have, spray or brush, to protect from further rust damage. You don't need a lot of skills or equipment to get surprizingly good results. Paint is like most everything else..."you get what you pay for"...but this allows the average guy with limited abilities (skill, equipment, facilities & cash) to better their car, save it from rusting further and put the money available into making the car safe & reliable. Go for it, post pics!

It's really quite simple and logical also Chris. If the length of strap needed to make 1 complete assembly for either the left or right side is rolled off of the spool and cut it would measure aproximately 77 1/4". A 20 1/2" piece for the short forward buckle assembly would be cut from this. This gives you the 2 pieces needed for the complete assembly of one strap. The two pieces would measure aproximately 56 3/4" & 20 1/2". Now...If another 20 1/2" piece was inadvertantly cut from the 56 3/4" piece, that leaves 36 1/4" of strap material. That is exactly what is needed to make one of these longer straps. These are as close as I could measure with a tape measure in inches, including the parts that are folded over and sewn. The mistake would be noticed immediately and the long strap would be put aside until another mistake was made and then you have a pair of long straps. At this point we could enter into a discussion to answer the question of..."why not just cut the strap again to achieve the proper length". This would be more speculation, but I believe the reasons can be explained. In my mind, this mystery is solved.

The dash cap is cracked, the original dash underneath is suspected to be cracked. How much damage could you possible do? Just find a good starting point and pull it up. The RTV, silicon, or whatever adhesive was used cannot be that strong. You don't have to be concerned with causing further damage to the old cap, but I understand the concern with the original dash. Just go slow, pull up on the old cap and watch out for any seperation of the original. Try to support & stabilize the original with one hand or whatever implements you can fit in there while pulling up with your other hand. I don't think you will have much trouble. Good Luck.

Congrats...nice car! I don't think I could have resisted the urge to drive her home, but I don't have a 4 month old at home either.

I know it is preferable to deal in facts when it comes to the S30, but when an anomaly such as this is found I can’t help but try to find the reason for it. This is pure speculation on my part, but I would like to relay my theory. Please feel free to tell me what you think. This theory is based on the premise that it was acceptable to upgrade a vehicle when a mistake had been made but not acceptable to downgrade when a mistake had been made. This is a practice that was in effect during this time period in the assembly plants I was involved with. It was just good economic sense. For example, if a wrong part was installed and the cost to change it was more than the difference of the upgraded part and estimated labor cost it was common practice to allow the upgrade. Everyone knew what upgrades were acceptable and what ones weren’t. I think these longer luggage straps are the result of a mistake made during their assembly, but deemed to be acceptable for use. It could not have been a mistake that simply slipped by because the straps are used in pairs. Nobody has found a car with only 1 long strap. I am visualizing the work station where these luggage straps were assembled. The operator would be seated at a sewing machine, a hot knife cutting fixture would be used and all needed parts would be at arms length. The parts would include: 2 – end brackets 1 – large buckle piece 1 – small buckle piece 1 – plastic sleeve 1 – length of banding (the reason for 1 piece of banding instead of two will become apparent) The bench/work station must have had a method of measuring incorporated in the design to allow for consistency in the length of the straps. I am picturing a jig where after the strap end has been threaded through the end bracket and sewn, it is hooked by the screw holes in the end bracket and stretched out to the hot knife cutting fixture. After being cut this end would be folded over and sewn. After threading on the plastic sleeve this strap section is complete, ready to be threaded onto the buckle of the second piece after it is sewn onto the other end bracket and the two buckle pieces. A seemingly simple operation, but with the boredom of these type of jobs, workers trying to meet a quota, the interruption of work because of scheduled breaks, shift changes, or any number of reasons, mistakes are made. In this case, it would be as easy as picking up the longer strap that has been cut to size and sewing the buckle pieces on by mistake. Whoops…put that one aside until we have a set, because it’s bound to happen again. It would have been a waste of man hours to interupt the work flow, correct the piece and dispose of the remmants. This is why I don’t think you will find the longer straps in any manuals, brochures, or offered as an option. I think they are just simple mistakes that were allowed to be used early on in the S30 build. Edit - One thing I forgot to mention is, if the length needed for a normal short piece is removed from the long one, the piece left over is exactly the length of one of these oddball long straps. Coincidence?

That will work well and add quite a bit of strength. The only thing to watch out for is fitment interference. I have done this on small problem pieces that had started to crack and it worked well. Doing all the panels will be quite a project, but worthwhile. Good Luck!

I filled a 55 gal. plastic drum with boiling hot water using the Rit dye. The carpet was a badly faded navy blue from my Barracuda, but not excessively worn. The dark blue color was restored but the carpet still looked aged. I think what stood out the most was the ends of the fibers, that didn't seem to take the color as well. I ended up buying a new carpet set and the difference between my failed attempt and the new carpet was like night & day. I won't try it again.