Throw some Ds on that Z

Well I didn't get D's (20 inch rims) on the Z, cause they won't fit, and two I am not that bling (18s on the Altima are as big as I go). I did finally get tires and mounted the new rims on the Z. It is pretty exciting because the tires on the car were nearly 12 years old and had horrible flat spots so they road super bumpy.

So this is the biggest mod done on the car so far and man does she look mean now. Here are the specs of what I got:

XXR 513 Wheels in 16x8 with a Zero Offset (XXR Wheels)
Kumho Ecsta AST Tires in 225/50R16 (Kumho)

I have always had good luck with my Kumho tires in the past and the deal from Discount Tire was way to good to pass up. Good timing as always!

So it was a good Z weekend. I got the transmission leak fixed, got the new rubber and rims on her and she is looking mean. Now I can start putting the center console back in the car since the trans work is done.

The rest of the weekend will be yardwork... but the plan will be to get the interior back together as best I can because next week I want to take her to her first race. Hopefully we will be racing at Grissom (SBR Series #3 and #4 races).

Parts, Parts and more Parts

Today I drove 30 minutes up to Michigan to buy more... more Datsun parts. I think it is a scary addition. However this was a good deal that I could not turn down. For $50 I got two boxes full of black interior pieces, a wood style steering wheel, some turn signal lenses, window trim, a full set of gauges and some emblems.

You might not be as excited as I am... but I want to convert my interior to black and this is nearly all the parts I need. Plus the spare gauges will help me when I swap out to new modern gauges.


The cool pick up are the emblems. I have a few different types already, I like these bigger disks, they won't actually fit my model but they will make good wall art in my Datsun garage area.


Unfortunately there wasn't a new frame rail in the box... I still need to find a shop to weld up my floors for me.

Sans Bumpers

Well while I am waiting to get the head rebuilt (I am slowly stock piling all the parts I will need) I decided to work on some other projects. One was to take the super heavy bumpers off the car. In 1975 they added bigger bumpers to the car to meet crash ratings. Well weight isn't good on a sports car, so I took them off and will be shopping around for some used older style bumpers to put on the car.

So here is a before and after picture... I actually really like it with no bumper!
BEFORE:

AFTER:


The rear is also a big difference I will post more pictures later. For now I wanted to share a picture of my garage space. Our house has a small two car garage... and I mean two cars and not much else! So I have to be creative in how to fit everything in there that I need.

I bought a small shelf that converts into a low profile workbench. I organized it and bought a small parts bin rack for all the little odds and ends I will be collecting (and that I already have). I made a space for race equipment and hung up my Nissan and Datsun banners. Until I get to overhaul the garage and really make it car friendly this will do, I like it!

So tomorrow is the second autocross of the season... still not ready to race the Z... gun shy and my friend Fred offered to let me co-drive his 300zx Twin Turbo so I can't turn that offer down! Wish me luck... first autocross in a Z!

Mothers Day Cruise

My friend Fred came over today. He owns a 300ZX Twin Turbo... which is awesome and he offered to come over and help out with my Z for a little bit. He is going to be helping me pull the head and replace it. Today we ended up just doing some odds and ends.

So while I had helped we jacked up the rear end of the car and worked on getting the rear bumper off. I want to swap out the heavier 280z bumpers for either a clean no bumper look or get some 240z bumpers. They came off really easy, but I need to figure out how to get the bumper shock absorbers off. I like the look with no rear bumper.

Luckily it was painted under the bumper, once I had it half off I got worried it wouldn't be painted under there... but the last guy did a good job painting it. So now later this week I want to try and take the front bumper off. Man those things are heavy!

Then we took the Z on some country roads... I finally really burned some rubber on her and pushed her hard. We went and checked out Fred's Z and the work he is doing on it. He is doing some stereo work so I will be able to help him with that since he can help me with more mechanical work.

Autocross on May 16th... I think I might give the Z a shot! If not, Fred said I can co-drive his Z. So either way this Sunday I will be autocrossing a Z!

May Flowers

Well April showers, a busy work and travel schedule means the Z has been a little lonely in the garage. Today kicks off May, and I am in Indianapolis this weekend... however now work slows down and I hope to get some evenings back in the garage with the Z soon.

So some updates on the Z. I got a set of wheels, no tires yet though. So I have a set of 16x8 XXR wheels in the garage waiting to get tires and get mounted on the Z.

I am shopping around right now for a machine shop to work on the head for me. I want to get it done right, but don't want to spend a ton. So talking to car club folks to see on some good recommendations.

Here is a pic of the rims sitting in my garage... I hope they don't collect dust for too long...


I am still selling a few of my SpecV parts as well... have my 17x7 Flik wheels and Falken Azenis tires to unload. Posting them on Craigslist this week now that I have some time to get things cleared out of the garage.

Summer Time

Well today the weather hit 80 degrees... in mid-April... Crazy! I finally got the right brake parts in and my shop slapped her back together. So I picked her up after work and we went for a cruise. Ran some errands, stopped at the post office to get a package, and drove around the neighborhood.

It is spring time and the flowers are blooming, the dandelions are poppin' up and I got the lawn mower out. That means soon it will be time to wash the Z in the drive way. Well I am deciding on what wheels to get for her (I am selling two other sets of rims from the Spec so I can afford these). What do you think of these babies?

It will be the first major purchase for the Z... but the tires on her have bad flat spots from sitting in storage for so long and I want something bigger for the street. I will end up making the wheels on her now the autocross wheels.

Still trying to get her to stop burning oil... looks like the head needs to be rebuilt. I have never even pulled a head off so I doubt I want to tackle the project. I can get a rebuilt head for only a couple hundred bucks so maybe I go that route and just worry about doing the installation myself. Hum...

Taking a Brake

So right now she is waiting on brake parts... so she is taking a "brake". So please no emails about my grammar getting worse. Ha.

Both rear wheel cylinders on the car leak, I tracked down some cheap parts. Not doing anything performance, because down the road I would like to do a disc brake conversion. So no need in spending extra money right now. In the future... disc brakes, SS brake lines, etc. For now, lets just get her back on the road.

I am shopping around for someone that can rebuild the head, or at least replace the valve guides and seals. I think that is the problem based on all the different things I have read and the shops that have looked at it. The scary thing is, you can't know the extent of the issues until you get it apart... I do know that the cylinders compression tested fine so it should just be a little head work and she will be rolling.

It was fun on Friday I took Novali for a spin in the Z. She found it funny that half of the interior was out of it and lying on the garage floor. She also liked that the car wasn't a lot taller than she is... ha.

Well hopefully soon she is road ready... and more importantly ready for to Autocross. Season kicks off on April 25th.