I got in to 510's when I was 17 - coming off of BIG American V-8 cars, I loved the way my 510 handled (and it was all stock). Of course, this was a time I had more ambition than money, so the dream of a FAST 510 was put on hold. 1996 (12 yrs and five 510's later) I finally reach a point where I can build my 510. Initially I was thinking of a D.L. Potter built motor. After talking to him on the phone, it sounded like I could get a high performance motor, but for a steep price. So then I figured I could buy a 16valve KA24DE from the 240SX for about the same price as a Potter built L20B, and probably have comparable power (160+hp installed) AND better mileage and reliability (my opinion). Enter my rejoining the 510 club and I read about Mike Spreadbury dropping in a V-6 from a 300ZX.OOOHHHUUUHHHH??? MORE POWER??? His is an SOHC motor putting out probably 170+HP (as installed - before his turbo, so now it's perhaps 260hp), and the latest 300ZX motor is a DOHC version (non-turbo) making 222HP STOCK!! YEOW!!! The initial planning was DONE at that point, although 302 Ford, SB Chev, Buick V-6, etc. were suggested at about this time, but THEY WEREN'T NISSAN!! (See http://www.datsuns.com/design.htm ).
The next stage involved finding a motor. The Infiniti J30 has the same motor, albeit rated at 212HP due to plumbing differences, but they were only available w/ the automatic transmission, and I needed to find out if there were any issues w/ the ECU. A call down to Jim Wolf Technology (VERY friendly and helpful) confirmed that there were no major issues (a reprogramming would cure it) w/ running this motor w/ a 300ZX 5-speed. The reason this was so important was that local yards wanted $3000 for 300ZX motors w/ between 25K-60K+ miles!!! I ended up picking up a J30 motor, 5000mi, for $1500 (Thanks Mike S.) - complete w/ all accessories, incl. starter, alternator, etc. I didn't get an airbox (won't work in the 510, anyway), and I had to buy a flywheel and clutch later, but the 300ZX stuff bolts right up!
At this point I must let you all know I spent literally HOURS thinking of various configurations that I might come up with (single or dual exhaust? What kind of bigger brakes do I want?? to name a few). And I asked Mike a lot of questions on what he had to do for his setup. All this before I ever SAW my motor. I picked up my motor in mid-February, and flywheel, clutch, and 5-speed shortly thereafter, which leads us to :March 1-2
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Here’s what we have so far:We got the motor
dropped in
- LOOKS SO COOL!! We found clearance problems galore, as expected. Height
wise, there aren’t any problems, but the X-member, anti-sway bar are in the way, and
the steering box looks like it’s a clearance problem w/ the exhaust. Also, the master
brake cylinder is a CLOOSE fit (also probably will relocate 1" to the outside). Also
: trans tunnel is AT LEAST 3" too short (height), and about 1" more clearance
needs to be added on the passenger side for the sending units. The shifter will be WAAAY
back, too, AND the E-brake MUST be relocated Additionally, I think re-routing the brake
lines in the trans tunnel will be HIGHLY beneficial, and we also need to re-route the
brake and clutch lines that are currently on the firewall. The surprising fit is the oil
filter - in fact, the entire passenger side looks pretty good!! We need to remove the
X-member to get the motor to it’s final height, then see where the firewall mods will
need to be made.
Here’s our next planned steps:
Get motor to final height
Mod firewall where necessary, then get motor to final physical position
Modify trans tunnel where necessary, then install trans (pre-assy)
build/fit everything around this
Step 4 is obviously about 6 million steps, but hey WE’RE MAKING PROGRESS! THE MOTOR LOOKS SOOOOOO COOL!!!
Here’s a quick summary of clearance "problems" (not problems, just challenges!!)
Oil pan vs anti-sway bar/front x-member
brake/clutch lines on firewall
steering box
e-brake assy
"where the hell is the airbox going to go?"
brake lines in the trans tunnel
trans tunnel
firewall (well, we COULD leave the motor way up there, but why???)
depending what we do for the oil pan, the steering center link.
Getting the engine to final height wasn't as straightforward as we thought. It looks like going to a front steer R & P rack will solve more problems than it creates (along with improving steering feel over the recirculating ball setup in the 510). We decided to forget the stock steering in favor of rack & pinion (see day to day log, below). Now that we've actually bought the rack, I'm feel great about not keeping the stock setup. The parts we got off the Z cars were pretty grubby, and we had to clean them (no surprise there).
Dropped the old 510 front suspension, test fit the 240Z x-member. Turns out it's iffy to keep the 510 steering column, as the angle from the firewall to the 240Z rack looks to be too severe for the std. u-joint at the end of the 510's column. Our solution is to try a column from a 240Z, and then shorten it to fit the 510. It's a possibility to change the 510 column u-joint to work, but with the adaptation to a different column, it adds freedom to place the u-joint where the angle is less severe. Also, the 510 column has no support on the engine side for the steering column (internally). Overall I think this is a positive development as we can decrease the angle from column to rack.
Not an exciting day. Found minor strut tower damage, discovered the 240Z column would take too many mods to work correctly, as it doesn't come apart as easily as the 510 column. Modifying the 510 column looks like a LOT better way to go. Removing the T/C mounts wasn't quite as easy as expected - it's attached with spot welds AND weld runs.
Got the steering 100% figured out!! Shortening the 510 column (tube), changing to the Z steering u-joint assy (allows 10deg more angularity before binding), and changing the column angle slightly, it's going to work even better than expected. Bought a second steering link (a ZX this time), and it is ALMOST the perfect length to just stick between the column and rack without mods, but not quite. I bought a nice SHO this week, so we were a little distracted today . . .
Did some cosmetic work (smoothing out the former T/C mounts). The steering is going to work out great, too. Nice small(er) angles between the arms. It turns out the ZX steering linkage rod is 1mm smaller in diameter than the 240Z stuff, inconsequential, though. The adjusted angle of the steering column (and thus the wheel) is imperceptible, but it REALLY helps on the other end! The next trick is finding a bushing that will wok in the end of the 510 tube to support the engine end of the steering rod. Changing the angle of the steering column necessitated modifying the firewall about 1/2" around the steering column tube.
Yes, it's been a while sine we did any significant work on the car. I purchased a 300ZX pan, pickup tube, etc. Also bought some 5-way adjustable Tokico Illumina struts. The steering column is almost done - I got the welding done to mate the top of the 510 steering rod w/ the lower end of the 240Z rod for more angularity "headroom". Mr Spreadbury also supplied us with some parts to fabricate a trick adjustable tension rod w/ ball joint end (pic to follow soon) - the part supplied? a Volvo (aka vulva around here) rack & pinion!! This guy's a genius! Spent some time trying to figure out exactly how long we want to make the tension rods. At this point, it looks like it will be 3-4" shorter than the 510 T/C rod. This mounting point will determine how much (if any) we will need to modify and reinforce the frame rails. Plans are to make this mounting point, build/install the T/C rods, build/install strut top plate, and then drop in the motor and see what how the 300ZX pan clears (measurements today looked VERY promising).
The steering column is finished! The angle between the column and the rod going to the rack looks REAL good. We put an aluminum bushing in the end of the column to support that end. The column tube is about 1 1/2" shorter than stock. I had to grind on the firewall a little more to clear the u-joint from the column, but all I have to do is build another firewall blocking plate (where the column goes through the firewall), and the column will be in it's FINAL location! Next we're going to modify the strut tops to mount the 240Z struts, and build new T/C mounting locations.
We finished the final steering piece today - the angle is just about perfect! The entire setup - bearing, linkage, angles, etc, came out great! The guy we had weld the steering rods sure can weld! Got started on the strut tower tops, but ran out of time - tomorrow should be VERY productive. I thought I'd get farther today, but fabricating the top plates takes a but longer than I thought, but it's not too bad. Tomorrow I should be able to finish the firewall blockoff plate and the strut top adapter plates.
Wow. I'll never underestimate fabrication time. I fabricated one (1) strut top plate, and the firewall block-off plate - and didn't finish either! Between measuring, cutting, grinding, filing, test fitting, the night went by quick! The good thing is I'm almost done with the strut top, and the second will go MUCH faster (thanks to the template). I SHOULD be able to hang the struts in the car this weekend. VERY monumental, since they haven't been on since the 2.2L came out! A funny side note : The headlight bezels make PERFECT templates for strut top plates.
Fabrication day #2 - messed up on the final portion of the firewall blocking plate and had to build another! At least I could use the first one as a template - almost finished it in one hour. Got the strut tops finished, except for slotting, and we're going to weld in bolts to create "studs" in the plates, which should make install a little easier. So the fabrication score is two strut tops and a firewall plate, and still ten fingers!
FINISHED THE RACK & PINION!!! Looks VERY nice!! The angles and all the fabricated pieces come together very nicely. The strut top plates got slotted a couple of days ago by Paul at his shop (work), along with the studs welded on the plates, and if I didn't get a late start / early finish tonight, I would have the struts in the car now. We'll take LOTS of pictures this weekend of all the fabricated stuff we've made so far.
Driver side strut installed! Sure is nice to see a wheel on the front half of the car again, even if it's only temporary (didn't put the caliper on, but I HAD to see how it looked again!) The drivers side is almost done except for the T/C rod. The strut plates we built are going to work excellent, and there's plenty of room in the center slot to get to the Tokico adjustment. For the first time, I got to see my 510 rack & pinion turn the wheel when the steering wheel was turned! WOOOO HOOOO!!! At this point, from the firewall forward there isn't a single piece of 510 suspension on the car!!
The car is about ready to have the wheels slapped on! Both struts are on, the steering is completely assembled, and both wheels turn (the correct direction, even!) with the steering wheel. We do have a problem, though - the steering is more difficult to turn than it should be while unloaded. Watching the strut tops, we can see it move slightly when the steering is turned, and our speculation is maybe the Z tops are at a different angle (fore / aft) than the 510. We'll look into this problem after completing the T/C rod mounts - out next major hurdle.
For those of you who actually check this out from time to time (four that I know of . . .and two of us work on this site) you may be happy to know that I went to the Blue Lake Datsun meet today and accomplished the one thing I was really hoping I would. MOTIVATION. I saw some neat 510's, and I saw some real ROACHES (not an endearing term). And yes, my 510 would fall into the roach category. I now plan on picking up the pace substantially. Like building motor mounts AND T/C rods AND modifying the trans tunnel. No no work happened today, unless you count motivation, which I certainly do. You can't just pick up motivation at your local Safeway, and I hadn't realized how much motivation I had really lost until today.
Not much to write home about - fabricated one T/C mount (just the bracket) and found where the T/C rod pivot point is. It's amazing how much time it takes to mock something up, build something to fit, just to mock it up and see your off 1/8" which is just enough to force you to disassemble it again!
Been a long time - business trips and misc. SNAFU's prevented progress. At this point there's no real specific days that can be nailed down for progress - suffice it to say that about 12 hours of time has been spent on the custom T/C rods, and an hour or so for picture taking (and LOTS more for this site LATE at night). We have the "cherry picker" this weekend, so Sunday the motor goes in again so we can get the motor and trans mounts made. Shasta is all but impossible, but work still continues. Personal issued will prevent work on every day but Tuesday next week, but I think we can get the motor set in and motor mounts built - which will be a MAJOR accomplishment, and VERY GOOD NEWS. Last week the car actually rolled on it's own wheels for the first time since what, March 1?? We're moving slow, but STILL MOVING!! One thing not mentioned in the WORK DOME time : the times spent disassembling for misc reasons - like clearance or whatever!
Got the V-6 dropped in for the first test fit since the first days. It looks like it BELONGS there! The oil pan will probably need ZERO modification. It clears the steering rods, X-member, everything, as if it belongs! We need to do a little modification on the firewall and heating tubes for another 1" or so rearward set.
Got a few hour’s of work done tonight, but only managed to build one T/C rod mount. A lot of what we thought would work didn’t, so we had to re-engineer "on the fly". The T/C mount is "roughed in", but the second one should go much quicker. The adjustability, however is going to work as well as expected, so at least the end result will be the same.
Did the grinding required to make mount the second T/C rod. No other work performed, but the second one sure was easier to grind for than the first . . .
GOD the shop was hot inside! Due to neighbor complaints at the shop we have to keep the shop door closed - no ventilation! Anyhow, I got the engine sealed up (oil pan, etc). This closed door thing is a pain in the butt - what I'd give to have my own shop to do this in . . .
FINALLY got the last T/C bracket welded in - still have to drill a hole in the mount for the ball socket to fit in, but at least that's something I can do myself. Many thanks go to RON TYLER for finishing that up for me (HE did all the welding for both T/C rods, and some of the grinding work). Ron is also building a V-8 Z car, so I have ANOTHER friend who'll have a faster car than me . . . OH WELL. Later this week I'll get to drilling the hole and mounting the second adjustable T/C rod, THEN comes dropping in the motor to see what we need to do motor mount wise.
This will shock all of you, but I have decided to postpone work on this project until I buy a house and can use my own shop (if you looked at the picture of the shop we're using it'll help you understand)- I'd guesstimate 6-12 months. In addition, I'm selling the entire powertrain. I AM NOT, however, selling the car, as I WILL continue this project, and the 510 is where 90% of the work has been, so it will sit for awhile. I'm dissapointed that I have to sell the powertrain, but having my own house and garage is more important at this point, as well as trying to start my own side business (see www.datsuns.com/dlce) If the side business takes off, obviously I can buy the house/shop sooner. This site's TECHNICAL DEPT, however, should improve steadily, so keep an eye on it!! Thanks for following along with this - and I guarantee it'll be restarted as soon as the shop is acquired!!!
Well well The drivetrain didn't sell. My side business has actually taken off a bit, so we're back on track (kinda). Plans are to now buy an engine hoist and get the motor bolted in to the car - est. time for hoist purchase is around x-mas time - so stay tuned!!
More news : My "second" job has taken off, which means less time for the project - but more money. That and other personal circumstances has allowed me to continue this project before buying the house (No, I still have my fiancee) Now I will have the remainder of the project sent off to RON TYLER's place for completion - hoped for date is the end of this year. Today I ordered a LSD R200 diff (3.7:1) - should arrive next week. Just goes to show - you just never know what life might hand you!
T/C rod mounts are now finished, the car is on it's own suspension - not jackstands!!! The steering is MUCH quicker - 2 3/4 turns lock to lock, compared to 4+ for the stock stuff. No clearance problems - goes lock to lock without hitting anything. Thursday it goes down to the shop for completion. Also turns out the LSD diff ISN'T!! It IS an R200, and it IS 3.7:1, but IS NOT LSD . . .
Ron has been working on the car, and today I went to see the progress (It's 100mi from my home). A summary : Motor mounts are done, the motor is bolted in. The factory mounts on the x-member were retained and modified (added about 3" to the pad - forward), and mounted the factory fluid V-6 mounts to that. The engine sits farther forward than hoped, and the drivetrain will NOT go in as one unit, so there had to be room left to get at the top two engine/trans bolts. Number #3 cyl is about even with te axle line. Stock exhaust manifolds were retained - modified in the rear to clear the firewall. The exhaust clears all the steering (VERY close by the firewall, though). Oil pan bottom is flush w/ the bottom of the x-member. Steering clearance is TIGHT, but fully functional. Tranny & mounts are next! ETA this weekend, depending on what problems arise. I have also decided to go with an R180 diff, 3.54:1. Lighter than an R200, and should be plently durable for the torque I'll be passing through it. I will run an open diff until the project is done, then I'll ante up for a limited slip. PICTURES TO BE POSTED SUNDAY, MARCH 22.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!! No, the car's not done, but the new trans mount is built, and transmission is bolted in! And it's not even the weekend yet!
Exhaust system now runs back to the x-member. I'll be running dual 2" all the way back. The radiator (VR-6 Volkswagen) gets ordered tomorrow, flywheel lightening this week. Also picked up a complete (1990) 240sx multilink rear suspension (to go in this car late in '99), the price was right. I know I was supposed to post the pictures tonight, I'll try and get them up tomorrow night. Ron is progressing suprisingly quickly on this project, and the results look excellent thus far.
Excellent pictures taken and posted today (see photo
album). Ended up buying a friends old VR-6 radiator. Flywheel is now 18lbs (down from 23),
also picked up copies of Infiniti wiring (my 300ZX manual doesn't cover the minor
differences between the two) - thanks to fellow "dimer" Cary McAllister. Also
delivered a second rear x-member so Ron can modify it for dual exhaust running through
without having to pull the old one first. Everything looks gorgeous to me. The shifter
location isn't as bad as I had feared, and will certainly work where it currently sits.
The dual exhaust is tucked up VERY nicely - lots of clearance. It looks like the wiper
motor will clear fine, although a portion of the exhaust must be removed to remove the
starter.
Plenty of room was left up top to get to the transmission bolts, and heater hose access
looks good, too (although not in the stock location). Overall I am more than very happy
with the progress made thus far. Next is installation of an R180 and driveline
modification.
Went to actually SEE the car for the first time in awhile. The engine, trans and exhaust are out (for the LAST time before firing the car up). The brake lines have been re-routed on the firewall and in the trans tunnel - it looks very nice. I pulled out the R160 to make room for the R180 (ok, not really, I have just sold the R160), although the crossmember has to come out anyway to be modified for the dual exhaust. The transmission tunnal turned out very nicely, although it still needs to be finished for final shifter location - we have an issue with driveline angularity (that Ron found with his V-8 240Z, so he didn't want problems with my 510, too), so we'll see how that goes. Nothing major, but an unexpected twist. Also one of the steering linkage rod we had custom built had to be shortened 1/4" for better operation at the u-joint near the firewall.
Some "excitement" over my used parts. Ron went to bolt the clutch on the flywheel to drop in the drivetrain for the LAST time - but the clutch didn't quite fit the flywheel. After some checking, it turns out Nissan changed the 90+ flywheel mid year of 90. What to do? Ron had already installed the pilot bushing, and the flywheel was already lightened and balanced. Turns out the flywheel is a TT unit, so we bought a TT clutch and will try to sell the N/A clutch and recoup some of the losses. Picked up a digital camera today, and will probably head down to take more pictures of the custom work.
LOTS of new stuff to report! New pictures, too! Starting at the front, the radiator is mounted, as well as the two 10' fans. The front pulleys are on, as well as the belt. New thermostat is in, as well as the filler assembly for the coolant. Fuel lines are fully routed and installed from tank to engine, as well as the fuel pump! The ECU harness runs through a nicely done firewall interface. The engine and trans are bolted in for the final time (YEA!), the transmission tunnel is done, as well as the shifter mount and shifter. The starter is installed, exhaust is installed to the rear crossmember. The rear crossmember has been modified and now has a 3.5" hole to accept the 3" exhaust pipe. The R180 (3.54 open) differential is mounted. The custom driveshaft is also installed. Ron has done an excellent job thus far (and is also ready to get DONE with this thing) and is very close to having everything but the wiring done!
A couple of new items completed. The cooling system is now complete (upper and lower radiator hoses installed - note no heating system until after the car is running), and the throttle cable is installed (from a Geo of all things). The ECU is currently at Jim Wolf Technology getting reprogrammed - ETA is about five days. The following is a list of what I think is all that's left :
1) Install intake plumbing and mount ECU
2) Clutch hydraulics : Slave cylinder
3) I need to pick up a rear differential spacer (a $0.95 part) so the diff can be
completely mounted
4) Front brakes : Pads and brake hoses
5) Exhaust system completion - crossmember pass-through & muffler
6) Engine wiring
I'm probably forgettng something, but the list of things done is definately tons longer than the list of what's left! I'm getting pretty excited to finally see the end of this portion of the project and drive the car. The ETA for driving the car is probably less than two months, which may give me enough summer left to take the car to the 'strip and see how close my performace projections are.
Items 1-3, and 6 above, are done. The wiring job looks great - the F.I. stuff has its own fusebox. The coolant overflow and the charcoal canister fill the portion where the battery was. Not much room in there now. Ron's portion is all but done (I'd say less than 20 hours work - again, barring anything unforeseen). Wow - seventeen months, and the light at the end of the shop is getting pretty bright. My part begins again once it's home.
I'm confident we'll be ready to fire the car by Sunday. Yes, the 16th! The motor has been turned over, so that's something. There's fuel, coolant, lubricant, etc in the car (the parts that are SUPPOSED to have that stuff). Charged battery (Charged owner/driver. too). With any luck, I'll be driving it and doing my portion of the "debugging" by the end of this month. We'll call it cautiously optimistic.
August 13. 1998 (Final Entry in this format - this will become an archive in one month)
Went to deliver the final pieces (wheels) to my car last night. What did I get to see? THE CAR RUNS!!! Had about five "Dimers" (510 guys) around when Ron fired the car up last night. MOST EXCELLENT. Fired right up, idles very smoothly. Only ran it for a 30secs or so, as it doesn't have the exhaust completed and is pretty loud. Ron ran it for several minutes earlier in the day, but not long enough yet to get it to full temp. Today it DRIVES to the muffler shop to complete the exhaust (unless there's some as yet undiscovered problem). The car needs a new starter, but the one on the car will fire the engine. I should be delivering a starter on SUNDAY, and hopefully I can drive the car for a short while then. Depending on what driveability bugs show up, it's conceivable that I can have the car home as early as a week!!
* * * * Final Thoughts * * * *
Once I have the car, I will make a list of the modifications that Ron had to make, and add those to what was done before Ron took over. Should make an interesting list. There's still TONS of stuff to do (heater, gauges, dash re-assembly, etc, etc etc.), but the hardest part is FINALLY behind us. SEVENTEEN months, lots of money, and close to 300 hours (Ron has about 200hours, Paul and I close to 100) later. Had the motor for sale - looked like it would be delayed for a LONG time. But it RUNS. The first running EFI VG30DE 510 that I know about. While there are lots of unanswered questions (How does it drive? Is it as fast as expected? Does it corner like a bus?), the installation portion is done. Period. From here on it's conceptually the same as any formerly running car. If there's a vibration, or it runs for ten minutes then dies - all troubleshooting stuff, not installation stuff. I will have a complete "debug" and driving report. I also have a G-Tech performance meter available, so I can also get performance numbers - perhaps even on the 16th. I'm pretty excited about having the car back, very curious as to what it will take to make the car handle well again, and anxious to get my foot on the go pedal and put it on the floor.
And now - the car as it sits today...
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Saturday, March 1 (approx. 5 hrs).
WORK DONE : Disassemble COMPLETE dash, incl. heater, remove all carpeting/insulation forward of front seats.
Sunday, March 2 (Approx. 5 hrs) .
WORK DONE: Test-drop#1 of 5-speed, Test drop #1 of VG30DE into bay, remove battery tray, disconnect wiring in engine compartment, remove forward part of exhaust system.
FOUND :MUST drop idler arm to get trans into tunnel via engine bay, add 3-4" height to trans tunnel, relocate e-brake assy, brake/clutch lines on firewall. ISSUES : oil pan, f. anti sway bar, motor mounts, brake master cylinder, airbox location, exhaust manifolds, battery location, engine final location.
Friday, March 29 (approx. 2 hours).
WORK DONE : Remove e-brake assy, move brake/clutch lines off firewall, remove hood prop assy, remove wiper motor assy (to get better view of possible firewall mods), make blocking plates for removed EGR tubes.
FOUND: Not much new
Saturday, March 30 (approx. 6 hours).
WORK DONE : (tf)Drop in V-6 (tf=test fit), decided on final steering hardware, purchased following 240Z items (note): struts, rack & pinion assy, lower control arms, steering knuckles, calipers/rotors, front crossmember, and top hats. We got these parts dunk tanked and the lower arms and knuckles sandblasted. NOTE : We went through 3 different racks before we found a suitable one - in fact, we ended up using 3 Z's to get everything we needed.
FOUND :Going to a front steer rack will (should?) eliminate the oil pan/tie - rod issues, and allow for the motor to be moved back the maximum amount, and allow for increased exhaust manifold clearance. ISSUES : mounting location of Z crossmember as the lower control arm is mounted INSIDE the crossmember as opposed to the back as the 510 is. Also, the 510 T/C rods will be eliminated to allow for the front rack, and the rods will be designed to run to the rear ala Z car. NEW ISSUES : Total custom design of rearward running T/C rods. Build top plate in strut tower to fit small diameter Z struts. NEW ADVANTAGE : Smaller Z spring allows for greater selection of spring rates AND greater adjustment of caster.
Thursday, April 3 (Approx. 3 hours)
WORK DONE : Removed all 510 front suspension components, removed 510 steering column, fabricated EGR block-off plates, modified rear heater outlet tube, (tf) set 240Z x-member under car, (tf) install rack & pinion . Started to remove T/C mounts. NEW ISSUES Angle from steering column to steering rack necessitates different column. NEW UNKNOWN :Rod from steering column to steering rack appears to travel through proposed motor mount location.
Monday, April 7 (approx 3 hours)
WORK DONE : Painted the 240Z front suspension parts, removed the T/C mounts from up front, (tf) installed 240Z column (see summary, above).
Sunday, April 13 (approx. 3 hours)
WORK DONE : Got front X-member mounted in final location, worked out steering geometry (from steering wheel to rack and pinion mount). (tf) mount 240Z top strut hat. Re(pre)-installed 510 steering column. FIXED:Angle from steering column to steering rack!!!
Tuesday, April 15 (Approx 2 hours)
WORK DONE : Smoothed out the former T/C mounts, cut the short 280ZX steering rod and 510 rod to be welded together for correct length (NOTE : using a grinder to cut the rods makes the HOT to the touch - DUH), (tf)mounted the steering column at its final angle, modified firewall opening for the steering column to accommodate the increased steering column angle.
Thursday, May 8 (Approx. 2 hours)
WORK DONE : Cut Volvo rack to create T/C end pieces, (tf) mounted 300ZX pan & pickup tube, measured for T/C rod mounting points, installed Tokico struts. Started making top plate to fit 240Z strut in 510 tower. WORK FARMED OUT : welding of steering column rods ($15).
Tuesday, May 13. (Approx 4 hours - includes offsite bushing install)
WORK DONE : Install bushing on end of steering column (by Paul), (tf) mount steering column and re-work firewall to clear u-joint.
Monday, May 19. (Approx 4 hours)
WORK DONE : Construction of second steering rod, construction start on 1 strut top plate adapter.
Wednesday, May 21(3 hours)
WORK DONE : Fabricated 90% of one strut top, 80% of firewall plate for steering column, final further modification of firewall to clear steering U-joint.
Thursday, May 22 (4.5hours)
WORK DONE : Progress on strut tops, firewall plates.
Tuesday, May 27 (1 hour)
WORK DONE : Strut tops completed - slotted the mounting holes and welded in studs.
Wednesday, May 28 (1 hour)
WORK DONE :Completed firewall/steering column plate.
Monday, June 2 (3.5 hours)
WORK DONE : Installed one strut insert and spring, one ball joint, lower control arm, both rack & pinion steering links, one steering knuckle. Packed/installed wheel bearings on driver's side, installed strut top plate and mounted strut (driver's side).
Tuesday, June 3 (3.5 hours)
WORK DONE : Assembled passenger side strut assy, lower control arm, steering knuckle, wheel bearings. Installed strut top plate, strut assy, and hub.
NEW ISSUE : Resistance in steering when unloaded. Top of strut insert can be seen moving in an arc when steering wheel is turned.
Wednesday, June 11 (4 hours)
WORK DONE : Top strut plates modified to clear strut top when suspension is loaded, one T/C bracket made, reinstalled strut top plates
Thursday, June 12 (2.5 hours)
WORK DONE : Cut trans tunnel to fit ZX 5-speed, modified one side of frame rail to accommodate T/C mounting
June 13-29 (Approx. 14 hours)
WORK DONE : Fabricate 3pc adjustable T/C rods (to be welded into 2pc units), mounted wheels, adjusted toe, greased suspension.
Sunday June 30 (Approx. 30 mins)
WORK DONE : T/C rods welded into final condition (2pc)
Tuesday July 1 (Approx. 3 hours)
WORK DONE : (tf) Dropped in V-6 for clearance testing, decided on routing of heating tubes at rear of engine, modified front x-member for oil pan clearance (grinding off of small tab on X-member)
Monday, July 14 (4 hours)
WORK DONE : Ground away part of the lower subframe and welded in the drivers side T/C rod.
Thursday, July 17 (2 hours)
WORK DONE :Clearanced passenger side frame rail to allow mounting second T/C rod
Thursday, July 31 (1.5 hours)
WORK DONE :Mounted oil pickup tube, sealed and installed oil pan, sealed EGR holes on intake manifold
Sunday, August 24 (2.5 hours)
WORK DONE :
Final grinding to place final T/C mount. T/C mount welded in place
There are a couple of different early Z racks : the early 240Z's have a quicker ratio and aluminum carrier as opposed to the 260-280Z having a slightly slower ratio and cast iron carrier