Pezhead's Svg30 Time Capsule Saga

[Pezhead]

Yes, going to restore it but not to original specs. I like doing things my own way and as much as possible my own work rather than dropping it off to a shop and just paying a big bill.

And for power, the general goal is about 300hp at the wheels. These old chassis are really made of tinfoil so unless you do some serious reinforcement it's more than the frame can handle. Not like our skylines that can take 1000hp and still come back for more.

Back to the story....

One day to go and I fly out the day after. I was so excited I woke up at 5 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep. How much can I really get done in one day? Coffee shop wasn't even open at that hour so out the the shed to tinker until things open. I spent a couple of hours tracing wires with the voltmeter, labeling them and marking them in my notes.

Today I had to get the alternator/water pump belt sized and fitted and finish a bit of wiring for the fuel pumps and see where the wiring was left all those years ago. I used some string to measure the size of the belt I needed. I must really suck at it cause it took three trips to get the right size but the new belt fits perfectly and has plenty of travel for wear.

When my brother and I owned it I did the mechanical work and he did the electrics to get things working. Well, we'll just say that he definitely wasn't an electrician. And remember, this car was originally gutted as a full race car. The wiring looms were taken out and only the bare essentials were left in. It's a bit of a nightmare of wiring. Cut off leads to nowhere, spices that are just wound together and taped. I'm going to have to go through it eventually and do a lot of re-wiring.

I made sure the ground straps were put on the motor then decided to "go for broke" and connect up the battery. First up doing a quick touch of the positive to see if it was going to arc showing that I had a short somewhere. It only made the smallest spark so things seem ok. Gave it a quick second to see if I could smell anything burning..... ok. Now, no power to anything. Everything is dead. Being a race car it had a master cut off on the cowl but we bypassed that. I found one master 75A breaker switch installed near the fuse box. That did it and the electrics came to life... well sort of. Headlights didn't work but tail lights did, no dash lights either. Now to try the starter (crossed fingers). Yup kicked up. Yay! Also power going into the fuse box so at least we're in business.

Brother and I then decided before we get into that we should get the clutch and brake fluids sorted. They've sat for 20 years and I don't want to let them sit clogged/dry for another year. This ended up being a real ordeal! We first tried a vacuum pump and it just sat there at about 15-20 psi of vacuum not drawing anything. The old fashioned pump the pedal method was only a little better. Since the whole system was full of air and clogged, we could only generate very minute amounts of fluid movement initially. When we did get the fluid out it was horrible brown sludge! We were able to get the entire system done by doing every line twice until new clean fluid was flowing.

I started at 5 am. Guess what time it is now? 10 pm! I fly out tomorrow and we haven't tried to wire up and start it yet! I figure I'll give it one good attempt for an hour. I'm exhausted at this point but determined to at least try to start it.

The next hour I'm wiring and patching into the loom based on some wiring diagrams I've found from the service manual and Hybridz forum. Last step is to wire in the new fuel system and the power to the ECU. That done we give it our first attempt... or try to. As soon as the key hits "on" the fuel pumps kick to life and a spray of fuel comes bursting from the old SS braided lines. At least being in the spare tyre well, the fuel didn't get in the rest of the car. But we aren't going to replace those lines tonight.

So I figure unplug the fuel pump relay and at least see if we're getting any spark. Then I know I'm close. We then lose another 1/2 hour fiddling trying to get the ECU to kick to life and spark. No go....

It's now 11:30 pm and I have to drive back to my sister's place (where I'm staying) and then fly out in the morning. Sadly I concede victory. But while disappointed, I look at how far the car has come in the last two weeks. All of the necessary systems are fitted and plumbed and I can actually visualize myself driving it now. It doesn't look like an abandoned project anymore (at least to me it doesn't).

So we put the bonnet back on and put away the tools. This is where I've left it for now.

So, you're wondering where this story goes now? Well, I plan to be back in Seattle July 2014. I plan to ship the car back then. I would prefer if it were running. I also have a small side story. The interviewing I did in Seattle was with a company based there but for a Sydney based position. They are working on securing a Sydney client. If that goes forward and they hire me then one of the first things would be to come back to Seattle for training.

Let's hope! A year is a long time. So there I warned you about the cliff hanger.

I miss the Z already!

[34GeeTeeTee]

Eric, what is that bracket on the roll cage? Please tell me its not to hold a full size video camera or something?

I cant wait to see you back working on this and getting it fired up! It will be good to see!

[Pezhead]

Yup! You guessed it spot on. My dad made that when I did my first motokhana in the car.. oh... around 1993/4. Was with NWDE - Northwest Datsun Enthusiast Club in the Auburn Boeing Parking lot!

That was with the original L26 Motor.

[34GeeTeeTee]

Wow! Leave it on there and get one of the original cameras and hard mount it? You know for the Nostalgia (As Benji would put it haha)

[MBS206]

Eric do you happen to have any pics of the throttle cable mount before you bolted it all together (Individual pieces)?

[Pezhead]

Naw, only really the ones I posted. Why?

Pretty simple V-Clamp style piece. I used the mill to cut a "V" down the thick metal block. That bolts against the "L" bracket sandwiching the cable without causing it to collapse.

[MBS206]

Naw, only really the ones I posted. Why?

Pretty simple V-Clamp style piece. I used the mill to cut a "V" down the thick metal block. That bolts against the "L" bracket sandwiching the cable without causing it to collapse.

your ingenuity helps me solve the same issue I have with two cars, and I feel it looks quite neat.

I just wasn't sure how deep the V was etc and I there was any secret squirrel hidden machining going on.

[Pezhead]

Measure the cable diameter. Then use Pythagorean equation to figure it out. V is a 90 degree right angle cut with an end mill and the bar stock at 45 degrees. Give yourself about 0.5 -1mm of "squish".

K.I.S.S. at its best.

[Pezhead]

oh yeah, one other secret. On the other end of the cable - the straight end. So the bike cable will have a ball or lead cylinder at one end. I went to a fishing shop and got a lead leader join. Kind of like a piece of lead with two Siamese 1mm holes. This allows you to join ends to make a loop. Then squish the lead.

You can make the lead go around anything you like - even a large fishing ball swivel that has a nice snap ring on it.

Pretty smick solution for a D.I.Y. I think.

[Aggroman]

nice poopra seat homo

[Pezhead]

Was full on shiz back in the day.. oh that's right you're too young to remember the 80's.

[Yo-Yo]

hey Eric are you still planning on bringing this to Sydney? My s30Z will have a brother to play with

[Pezhead]

New chapter about to be written in this long distance love affair. I have a trip booked back to America and plan a week with my S30.

Yes, will import it into Oz sometime but unsure of timing since wifey is out of work right now so funds are limited.

[PN-Mad]

Updates!

[Pezhead]

Patience! Hehe. Have been catching up with family and friends. About to leave for Alaska for 2 weeks.

I have blocked out 15-22nd July as the Resurrection Week part II!

Have just ordered a set of ZG Flares and Urethane front air dam to install when I get back

Updates in a couple of weeks.

[Pezhead]

Oh, and here she is. Just as I left it a year ago

[Yo-Yo]

hooray! looking forward to seeing the updates.

Are you going to fabricate a bracket for the middle of the urethane air dam? I was checking them out on the net & they tend to sag in the middle so people just make some brackets to hold up the middle of the air dam.

I've been trying to search everywhere in aus for a urethane air dam supplier but no luck, might have to go fibreglass but the car sits so low already I'm scared of cracking it on high driveway

[Pezhead]

Yes, they do sag. Might do a couple of alum straps to support the middle of it.

I figured I better do it now because it will be too exxy to ship later. Will be posting pics in a couple of weeks when I return and get on to this.

[Pezhead]

Guess what time it is?...

Arrived back in Seattle at 2:36 AM this morning. Had a small sleep at my Sister's house and then up to my Mom's where I store the Z. The parts I've ordered have arrived. So have just done a bit of unpacking and inventory the new arrivals.

The flares aren't the best fit, but I can adjust them and will give them final finish touch up when I get it to Sydney. Am pretty impress with how the Urethane air dam looks. Very nice finish and thick urethane.

And some Thermal Heat Wrap for when I get the Zorst done.

[Pezhead]

So after having a play with the new parts and familiarizing with where I left off I came up with the punch list.

Project Z Part Two:

[_]Change Rear End Oil

[_]Mount Battery

[_]Vent Battery

[_]Mount Coil

[_]Wire Alternator (opposite side of engine bay)

[_]Re-wire master kill switch in cabin

[_]Troubleshoot Headlights and Dash Light Problem

[_]General wiring clean up

[_]Re-route wiring from engine bay into cabin

[_]Mount ECU

[_]Wire Fuel Pump Relay and Fuse Block

[_]Fix Fuel Leak (near rear fuel tank)

[_]Find and fix brake fluid leak (front reservoir was empty)

[_]Have custom exhaust done (have to tow to zorst shop)

[_]Wrap exhaust with heat wrap in engine bay

[_]Mount Radiator overflow can

[_]Mount Air Dam

[_]Make diffuser/reinforcement for air dam

[_]Mount Fender Flairs

and of course...

[_]Figure out why the ECU isn't getting powered up and get engine fired up and running

Set the clock for EXACTLY one week!