Sunday, August 15, 2010

Sunday with the Z and Novali

So today I finally got the new AFM boot set up into the car. I must say that it looks good... but I am iffy on whether or not it is going to work correctly. When I first put it in she ran ROUGH... sputtered and stalled out. So I tweaked it, made sure the connections were all tight and then tried it again. She sputtered just a little... I reved her high and then she smoothed out! I like the look of the new boot (the old one was crusty, taped together and even new didn't look as cool as this polished aluminum pipe, black couplers and chrome clamps.

So I figured lets go for a quick drive around the block which is one of my favorite Sunday activities.  Well en route out of the driveway she died and would not start again. Hum... I then realized that my gas gauge was on E. I normally keep her fairly low for autocross but never thought I left her get that low. I got more gas later and get her started and ran her around the block and she ran strong. Problem is... with a 35 year old gas tank, letting her run out of gas is not good... So I better snag a new fuel filter now as well.
Anyhow I had planned on Sunday to hit the junkyard. I wanted to get one more thing for me, and a couple guys on my forum asked for a few more parts. I decided to skip the trip because it was really hot and lost time in the morning when the Z died on me. Well Heather had told Novali that maybe she could go with me and she really wanted to go. So I could not turn that down and off we went. She helped pull the AFM, the steering wheel and combo switch from the car as well as some other misc plastic interior items I might need.

I snagged a quick little video of her hard at work! It is a proud day having my daughter wrench with me. She knows of screw drivers from Handy Manny, but now she knows about a ratchet and sockets. I wonder if she will remember for next time.

Well anyhow... the fusible link upgrade will have to wait until later. I did paint the relay bracket and cover to the shunt. So it at least looks a lot nicer, I need to get a multimeter so I can test wires before I start digging in. Here is a pic of the parts cleaned up and painted.

At least the engine bay is looking better... I still have to start getting more performance out of her. Performance cost money and right now I am just enjoying the Datsun the way she is... but soon... hopefully soon we will get her running faster!

Friday, August 13, 2010

Heat Wave of 2010

Well I am in the middle of two projects on the Z... but in this heat I can't work outside long enough to get knee deep into my projects. But here are some updates on where I am with my work.

AFM Boot - my Air Fuel Meter boot has some tears in it. It was taped up and I think this is causing some of my lack of power. I think air is leaking around it. Well an OEM replacement is about 60 bucks and I can't find a good used one. My 1975 was the only year of my type of boot before they switched in 76 to a more eco friendly model with an EGR. So I decided to upgrade the part and get a smoother flowing pipe instead of a flexible crush bent rubber tube. I order some silcone couplers, claps and a universal mandrel bent pipe. I just need to get the pipe cut to length now and I should be done. I am wondering if I should do a CAI (Cold Air Intake) upgrade while I am at it... but thats is another $45... so I will wait.

Fusible Links - I had to re-wrire one of my fusible links when I get the car. Most people upgrade their fusible links to a Maxi fuse set up. Well my links are working fine now but I figured this would be an easy upgrade to do to the car, clean up the engine bay a little and get one more item off the list of things to do to the Z. Well not that easy i guess... the write ups for the job are either on 240Zs (70-74) or on the later 280Z models (77-78) which all have different wiring. I thought it would be similar enough that I could figure it out... well not so much. Most of the people who do the upgrade do it when either their links fail and they have to re-wire the whole thing anyways, or when they upgrade to a new alternator and can remove the external voltage regulator. So since all of mine is fine right now... I might have to wait on this project.

SOOOO... what is next for the Z? I think this weekend I can finish the AFM boot install. I painted the Fusible link bracket so I will spruce that up a little and put it back together. I can take my baby for a cruise and then she has to go back to the trans shop since it is leaking a little again.

Anyhow... new pics coming soon of the upgrades once I finish them.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Anniversary AutoCross

August 1st was my first wedding anniversary. Luckily I am married to a great woman who loves me and understand my love of cars and racing and of course my love of the Z.














It was the 6th event in the South Bend Region, SCCA Solo Series. I am currently in the lead of the STR Class and this would be my first season win. Luckily for this event no other STR cars showed so I easily won my class. So I inched a little closer to an end of the year trophy.

The event was a lot of fun and on top of my class win I ranked 27th out of the 40 cars total at the event. Not bad for a car that I have yet to do any performance modifications on. Heather and Novali came and watched this event and I am glad that Novali takes a little interest in cars. She does love going for rides in the Z and last time I took her for a spin she told me, "I love going fast!"