Jeff Berk

I don't know how safe a site they are, but I found everything I needed (except the pads) at Amayama.com. I'm still tearing down the brakes and so far I only need one piston and possibly one bleeder valve replaced. Unfortunately, my 260 will be down for a few weeks waiting on the parts.

RIPZ Thanks for the heads up on the auction. I've purchased parts from Japan before but never at auction. Now I'm torn between completing the Toyota upgrade or staying with the mk63 upgrade by a previous owner. If I go the Toyota route, I can keep or sell the mk63. If I go with the mk63 route, then I can return one of the calipers and the two rotors to Rock Auto. The pads and one caliper are not returnable because they have been installed. I'm thinking maybe the mk63s are the better choice if the pistons are not pitted. Jeff

Zed Head, That's not a bad idea. I think I'll give it a try. Once I know the thickness, I can machine something at the makerspace. Jeff

I'm going to check with T3 on which of their spacer will work to be on the safe side.

HS30-H Thank you for the diagram. The thickness (15mm) was something I was missing if I wanted to go ahead with using the mk63's. I still hope to figure out what I'm missing on the Toyota conversion. I also need to verify the mk63's are in usable condition.

BTW, I just got a quote from Brake Materials & Parts in Fort Wayne, IN to re-line my mk63s (assuming the bleeder valve is working). It would cost $50/pad plus $30 shop fees (i.e. $230 plus tax and shipping).

The brake caliper flange is not threaded so the caliper needs to move inward then the bolt will go through the caliper flange and into the threaded attachment point. If I install the spacer, I think that will move the rotor outward and move the caliper in the wrong direction.

The bleeder seems to thread in better since I cleaned up the threads. Here's a few more pictures of my Toyota installation problem. I tried reseating the hub but that didn't help. It looks like the hub is fulling seated.

It looks like my caliper needs to move inward about 5mm. I wonder if I did something wrong when I repacked the bearings.

When installing the Toyota 4x4 brake components shown on the list below, are any spacers needed? The holes are in the right place to mount the caliper but it doesn't seem to be lined up correctly. Is the mounting bracket for the Mk63 different?

Yes, I'm going to autocross the car and I suspect some people need the MK63s to meet requirements for historic racing. I'm switching to Toyota 4x4 with vented Z rotors. It looks like I'm going to have to upgrade my master cylinder as well.

Anyone know what a set of MK63s in need of new pads and possibly a bleed screw ball bearing worth? I'm assuming the pistons are in good shape because the brakes were wearing evenly. I was going to send them back for the core charge until you experts out there pointed out they were not Toyota units. That would of been a waste.

The owner back in around '83 did a major set of mods on the car including front brakes that were recorded as being from a Nissan racing catalog or something. They were last rebuilt in 2008 unless I'm missing some documentation. Now a new question to all you experts... I have a pair of new Toyota 4x4 calipers, rotors, and brake pads on order. Do I want to rebuild and reinstall what I have or replace?

I'm planning on going with new calipers so that should be the end of the hack job. I now know what happens if you over torque a bleeder screw. I usually look for an upgrade when I replace items so this seems like a good time to install better brakes. I'm not going to go the S12W route since that would be two steps up and complete overkill. The wide opening S12 + 8 with vented disks will help dissipate heat better than the solid rotors I have now. I'm assuming I can get away with my existing master since it was used with the original upgraded brakes. I'm hoping I can avoid having to use a spacer since I'm using NOT going with the S12W. I just found the answer to my "what's an SF model".

Looking at S12+8 vented, the listing on Rock Auto for 300zx identifies rotors for SF and non-SF non-turbo models? What's the difference?

Thanks Zed Head, OK, change in plans... I looked up this caliper and rotor set on Rock Auto and I'll just replace both sides. Any comments on my selection? The master cylinder seems to be working with the 4-piston unit I have so I'm assuming there won't be a problem. My current rotors are non-vented so this will be an upgrade. https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=14177489&cc=1277502&pt=13824&jsn=1318 https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=9744168&cc=1277502&pt=1704&jsn=1250

I was bleeding my brakes when I ran into an issue with the front right. The bleeder was loose but held fluid. When I removed it I found that the threading was damaged and the seat on the valve was chewed up. I tried a new M10 1.0 valve and it would not seal. I'm going to have to get a new caliper but I don't know if I can identify what was used on this upgraded brake. It's a 4-piston but I'm not sure what to order. I also need pads so I want to make sure I get pads that match my other caliper along with the replacement caliper.

I can give you two options, the one I generated and another one posted here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6152862 They are similar but the thingverse has the tabs to hold it in place located differently. You'll likely need to sand the final product to smooth it out. The chrome vinyl is available on Amazon or any vinyl wrap shop. Let me know if you need another file format. It was originally created in Autocad Fusion 360. Finisher Final.obj

Well done!

I installed a temporary set of gauges to monitor the temperature of the radiator at upper hose inlet, engine compartment at fuel rail, oil at oil cooler connection and of course, the differential at the fill plug. Unfortunately, the two digital gauges have an upper limit of 120C (248F) and I think I've already exceeded that temperature in the engine compartment. The two dial gauges have a range of 40-140 C (104-284F). I currently still have the stock diff cover installed and I want to conduct a few autocross events to get an idea of what heat level I'm looking at. I'm taking the new diff cover to the machine shop to drill and tap the fill and drain holes on Monday. I drilled one of the mounting holes too deep and it broke through but I'm assuming Teflon(tm) tape will withstand the temperature. After this step, its ready to go except I need to create a modified rear transverse to clear the fins on the new diff cover.

So you don't own anything newer than around 2005?

Although I'm constantly tinkering with my '74 260z, I find it very rewarding when I make a discovery, learn to do something new, or fix a system that I never knew how to fix. I definitely spend more time under the hood than in the driver seat. I was reminded of how enjoyable it is working on this Z today when my 10-yr-old Chevy Volt stopped recharging and I had to take it to a dealer. My OBD II scanner could not read hybrid codes because I needed the $5K unit to read the recharger module codes. The dealer charged me $180 to start diagnosing the problem then told me to continue trouble shooting the problem I needed to give them $700 more. The cause of the problem was one of three issues. The cost for the most likely problem, a recharge control module, would end up costing me $3K+ to replace. This on a car worth $4K. I got lucky and after the 1st $180, I called a small repair shop within walking distance of my home and found out that he has personnel trained in working on rechargeable hybrid cars. I'll still have to pay $1.2K for the part, but I can avoid the near $200/hour labor.

The voltage regulator (engine side) to ground is 0.2 ohms so that seems fine. A few months back, I had a battery cable connector crack giving me a intermittent connection. That may of resulted in high enough resistance to melt the wire. Hopefully, nothing else was impacted.

For right now, I soldered a new ground wire. What confuses me is that the box is attached to the fender by two screws. Shouldn't this ground the box? I also smeared some dielectric grease (a.k.a. turn signal fluid) on the exposed components on the open side of the regulator. Good point about checking resistance.

I noticed a burnt wire on my voltage regulator. Can I just clean it up and tape it or would it be best to track down a replacement or investigate a cause of the melted insulation? They are $84 at Rock Auto. The braided hoses in the background are to my oil cooler in case you are wondering.