Zedyone_kenobi

Roger that, a 205/50 is a lot smaller than a 195/60. I may end up going to a 205/50 one day if I want more tire, but I am only running a 7" wide rim, so I am stuck with what I got for now. I like how it sits and rides.

Be careful, some people on dropped Zs with the stock valance in front rub with 205's. I had to go to 195/60/15's on 15x7's for it not to rub on my car. I have tokiko springs and struts. Each car is a little different. But NO way I could run 225's or 215's at all.

you get what you pay for.. end thread.

look at me, I had no idea about that, wish I would have known.

Oh oh... did not know about marking the wheel's location... Guess I am in for some trial and error. I can see how the things goes together, so I figure I can get it within a couple of splines of where it was at...guess if I turn the wheel and it does not turn off, I installed it wrong.

I am starting this process now. I have read all the restoring the steering wheel threads and it really is easier than it looks. Not that it looks hard, but the bottom line is remove old topcoat until the rim is smooth to the touch. Apply stain of your choice. Let dry, use rattle can to get nice glossy finish. I am done with my rim and I am going to do my spokes when I get home today.

I will give you the same advice anybody else would give first. Make sure all the rubber in the system is good. Check the brakes and ensure they are good. Give the engine a good tune up and fix anything that comes up. After you do all that, then we can talk performance mods. You cannot hope to make any gains on a car that needs routine maintenance.

likemerkury...I am more than flattered. So many Z's on this site are my inspiration. I am humbled and honored to have been anybodies inspiration. Thank you very much. Darrel... touche! Frank... thanks very much. Kemah is a pretty fun place to hang out with the family. Makes for an interesting back drop. If I had more time, I would have staged things far better. Steve91tt... thanks very much. oiluj... I have a feeling when we get your finished product, it will inspire me to do even more. Cannot wait for more pictures of your beauty. dustin haru... you have to dill a few holes in the lower valance. There are already some, but you have to drill more. I think I drilled 6 to 8 holes.. I will have to check out my build notes in my Z notebook. I documented every bolt I ever touched on my car. The carbs felt great, the new recurved dizzy really makes it pull hard up top. Truthfully, I run out of cam at 6500, as it is stock. So no real point in revving it any harder. But I was curious as to how she would react. Since it went 'into the yellow'. I figured that was enough. I think it would have spun higher, but I think there is not much point to spinning the engine to 7000 for a joy ride. The car pulls like a monster up to 6000 rpm and seems very eager and willing to do it. So I usually shift out at 5500 or 6000 tops. Carbs have NO issues with this range. With my recurved/rebuilt dizzy and new carbs I really think my engine is as happy as it has ever been.

After a little hiatus from the road, I decided to take out my ZED for some fun now that the weather is beautiful. Also wanted to stretch her legs with the new Dizzy I just put in her. Pulls hard now all the way to 6700 rpm.. what sweet music. As you can tell, I have issues with taking pictures with shadows on them.. but oh well.. it was a great drive..

UPDATE: I installed my new european dizzy with the custom timing curves. Advanced distributors did a remarkable job as far as I can tell. They instructions were as follows. Set static timing at idle at 14 degrees BTDC The dizzy now has 22 degrees of centrifugal advance He told me to try to run without a Vacuum Advance at first. So I Plugged it up. Funny thing. While I had both dizzys out, I hooked up my MityVac to my stock vacuum advance, and again to the european vacuum advance. They both held vacuum solidly, and they both moved, but the American VA moved about twice as much until it hit a hard stop. So I thought that both would be the same. If I decide to run a VA I am going to put the european one in as it moves far less. I got the car timed to 14 BTDC, and tightened the fast idle screw until I reached maximum advance. I reach 37 degrees at around 3100 rpm roughly, give or take 100 rpm. Car idles very smoothly and has no issues stating up with so much advance. Car seems to respond to throttle a bit better, but it is too soon to tell. It definitely pulls better above 5000 rpm. I am going to leave the VA disconnected for now, but may hook up the european one to see if things get even better.

That is amazing. What a great piece of history.

I have wondered this for a while, and a recent message I received got me thinking about it. Did bob sharp produce oil filler caps. This is a picture of mine and I am not sure if it is directly from Bob Sharp, or something that was made with a hot glue gun in somebodies garage. It sure does look like somebody stuck a decal on a oil filler cap. Is this an original piece or something somebody made up. I need the help of Datsun Jedi Counsel.

after I get your rear diff mount, I may move it to 91.....maybe. Still so much to do.

hows that Frank?

Well for better or for worse, this is my first attempt at a refinish job. I am very happy with the results.. Before: After:

Sounds like we are in the exact same ball park. W/O the vacuum advance I should be looking at 36 degrees. Which is about right I would think for a stock L24 with headers... BEFORE AFTER

Just got back my Dizzy from Advanced Distributors. It looks brand new. I am very happy with the appearance. I just need to put my old pertronix into this new distributor. The gentlemen at Advanced set me up to run 14 degrees static advance, and it should advance 22 degrees centrifugal. He wanted me to try to run it without a V/A. I will post pictures in a few.

UPDATE: I hit my wheel well with two liberal coats of clear last night. This morning I was pleasantly surprised that the color appears a shade or two darker and looks much deeper. The silver dried darker than pictured above overnight. The color is DARN close to my exterior color. So much in fact, I would challenge anybody to tell me it was not sprayed 15 years ago with the rest of the car. The directions on the can say I can wet sand with 1500 or 2000 grit, but it looks so good now, I may skip that step. I will take more pictures when I get everything bolted back on the car.

yup, the whole thing. It started to blow warmer air. So I was just looking for a reason to yank it and clean it all up. The flash makes the paint look brighter than it actually is. The match I think is pretty good. Well, good enough for an engine bay. I sprayed an extra valance panel and compared it to the body. I think it is very close, but not perfect. Lets call it 95% there. No surprise really. My exterior paint is 15 years old, and the engine bay is probably original. I am going to take off the strut bar and clean up that post. I will also look into getting some of those nuts plated. Good advice.

Right, I took a stab at filling the holes, and shooting it with a coat of 901 silver. Well as you can see the results are not exactly Pebble Beach..:stupid: So what am I to do, but sand it down and try again. This time I got more aggressive with my sandpaper. I started at 200, then 600, then 1500. I am getting happier as this goes on. What a long learning curve.. The surfaces are much smoother, and now I think I am ready for clear. I could sand and re-prime/re-paint forever, but what I learned is that this job is best done with the engine out. Next shots will be with a coat of clear, and then with the hardware installed!

Okay, I downloaded some pics as I have been working on them. As you know I tried my hand at some primitive body work. And I am both pleased and displeased with the results. First, my before pictures... This is the completely before picture before my optima died and I decided to replace my battery hold down to OEM and get new battery ignition wiring, which started this whole thing! First step is of course to remove all the extra nonsense that was in the way. I never did remove that strut bar, it just never seemed to be in the way to be honest. You can see the mismatched colors and spots and half a dozen extra holes where the AC stuff use to be. Now you can see my second coat of primer. I still had not filled in the holes at this point. All I keep doing is sanding, sanding, sanding. More and more, I think that this whole job should be done with the engine out of the car. I am trying my hand at this on the passenger fender, first, but I think I would like to do it all again, with the engine out. Add that to my do-to list right. Next steps are to fill in the holes. I decided to go with a tube application. Granted it is not the best, but it is sandable and comes recommended from a buddy of mine. It is called plastic metal. Made by Bondo. I have mixed feelings about using it, but I will give it a try and see where it goes.

THat was a bit coarse Gary, I would have said 650 and 19999, I mean, COME ON!

Okay progress has been slow,but today I took off the VIN plate and started polishing up the screws to put back in. I also did more sanding followed by my first coat of sandable primer. I will put this on in layers and work out all the scratches, nicks, I can. After I get it just right, I am going to hit it with several layers of base coat, and then some clear. Pics to follow.

I really like those wheels! You should polish them up

Just so you know, most wraps hold moisture close to the metal for extended periods of time. Add heat into the mix, and even stainless will break down after a while. Cannot say how fast it will be, but it does happen. Some subaru friends of mine had that happen to their stainless downpipes.