260Z Project - 260Z GT-R

Ian

Club Member
260z gt-r

I'm still planning on sticking an RB26DETT in to this so I thought I would make a project thread to keep track.





Copied from: http://zclub.net/forum/new-website/21316-new-260z-owner-ni.html




Just bought my first Datsun and I'm really happy with it so thought I'd post some photos. I've still got loads to learn about these cars so I'm sure this forum will be a huge help. I've never seen another one of these in NI so I'm not sure if I'm the only one or not? I like having a car that rare a bit different to the norm, to me modern cars are boring.


1979 Datsun 260Z

It drives beautifully, its had new bushes all round and with the low miles on the chassis it still feels really tight so its a joy to drive, I'm very happy with it. It had less than 28500 miles on it when I bought it although I've since done about 1000 miles in it and loved every one of them.

Theres few photos with my Civic in them also, shes a 1991 Civic running a 243hp B20 and with it only weighing about 970kg it fairly shifts.


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I plan to modernise the car a bit but still keep the same classic looks. I intend to uprate the chassis, suspension, brakes and engine, the car will mainly be used on the road in nice weather but I also intend to do the odd trackday and perhaps the odd trip to the dragstrip. I had thought about putting an RB26DETT into it but I''m really happy with how it is at the moment so I'll definitly keep an L series for a year or two. I really like NA engines and I hate big turbo lag so I'm also having thoughts on keeping it NA so had also thought about something like a high comp NA RB30 on ITB's.

This is going to be quite a slow project as I work away from home and only have about 8 - 10 weeks per year at home to work on my cars at the moment but I'm not really in a rush and want to make sure I do everything properly.



Photos
Sorry for the amount but I couldn't decide which to put up.

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Ian

Club Member
Well, as I had one day at home before heading off to England to do further training I thought I would check up on the Datsun.

I had ordered some Cusco strut braces so it also gave me a chance to fit these:

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I tried to fit the rear one first however it didn't fit, I was sort of expecting this because I found out after buying it that the 260Z's struts are closer together than a 240Z. I'm going to have another look when I'm home for a week at Christmas and see about making a braket to enable me to use it as I prefer the style of the cusco bar over the other option available.




Front Brace fitted perfectly and looks great, if perhaps a little out of place in not so tidy bay, but as its due for a bare metal respray next summer it will all look good soon.

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She was in the same condition I had left her which was great, the airchamber is looking after her well. I got her started after changing a slightly worn fuel hose, once started she ran pefectly so I took it for a short drive on the road behind the farm, its so much fun to drive I wish I didn't have to put her away again so soon but at least I know I made the right choice in going for one of these.
 

Ian

Club Member
I'm home for a week after finishing some more training so I got a chance to check out some parts that are gathered.



Airdam


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Indicators for the Airdam
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New PCV hose, bonnet adjusters and some new fittings for the inspection panels.
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Carbon Fibre BRE style rear wing, very lightweight and rather nice looking:
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Coilovers
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Coilovers are from McKinney Motorsports


New fuel filter and thermostat, hood prop rod (will get this chromed) as mine is missing and second hand dome light as my switch is broken, will swap internals to my unit as its cleaner.
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Headlight relay wiring
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Red stiched gear gaiter, thought mine was a bit tatty:
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Oil and Filter:
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Billet alloy lock pulls:
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Got more on the way although mostly now I just need parts for re doing the wiring, paints, ss bolts.
 
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Ian

Club Member
Big Update Time



So I arrived home to find a room full of parts awaiting me, it was like Christmas but better. :shock: :D



Heres most of the parts ready to get sorted:









Got my parts back from getting chromed:







Stainless steel and chrome bolts/nuts/washer for the whole front end:






A selection of paints:






Solid front diff mount to replace the ****** strap, I can use the black bushing fitted as a snub so it only tocuhes when the diff moves up under power, if I find this not good enouth once I run more power I can fit the red bushing and have it solidly mounted.






Ok, so I blew way too mich money on my battery setup, but I just love it :D Guess I must have a bit of carbon whore in me.









http://s218.photobucket.com/user/EE9CVC/media/My Datsun 260Z/Project/P1000742.jpg.html







Battery through bulkhead fitting, as battery will be mounted behind the passenger seat:






Big electric fan to replace the viscous one, should make for quiter running, better cooling and better looks, electric thermostat and fitting kit also:






Most of the car is poly apart from the steering rack and arm bushes and the front anti roll bar mounts so as I'm going to be stripping the front end I'll finish it off, got some anti-roll bar mounts arrivng any day also:






Steering arm boots:






New CV boots for my driveshaft setup:






Custom made shorter and stonger shafts for the Z31T cv setup:






Billet stub axles with longer ARP stud bolts:






To go with the billet cv companion flange convertors:






4.11 Final drive for longnose R200:





No LSD yet but I will be getting an OS Giken 1.5 way CLSD:




New Wheel bearings:






New alternator with internal voltage regulator so I can get rid of the external one and tidy up the bay:






Some wiring covers and heatshrink:




Will make all my wiring look much neater (will use black heatshrink on the rest rather than red)

 

Ian

Club Member
Billet alloy shorter steering arms to quicken the steering with built in bumper steer spacers:






TTT Tension arms:






My gearshift boot was looking to tatty so I changed it to a much nicer one (from an ITR):




http://s218.photobucket.com/user/EE9CVC/media/My Datsun 260Z/Project/P1000784.jpg.html


New Mats:





Fitted:









Brake Setup


Going to be running these bad boys on the front:



AZC 12.2 4 pots

http://s218.photobucket.com/user/EE9CVC/media/My Datsun 260Z/Project/P1000839.jpg.html











Painted the unswept area of the disk so it won't go rusty:





My Rear Setup, Lincoln LS calipers, 2005 Mustang GT rotors and pads, brakets and custom handbrake cable for this setup:







This setup is still in prototype stage, but if it all works on mine I'll put up details of where to get it from once its ready to go for those that are interested.

Painted up:




The pad will leave this with a nice clean edge:







Wilwood 1" Master Cylinder, reservoirs can be remote mounted but I won't be:








Brake Bias valve:





Good quality fluid:






And so they can fit under my wheels, some new wheels, will run these until I fit arch flares and then I'll move to wider Watanabes. They don't fit yet, but they SHOULD once I have my coilvers installed:














My door pulls looked really bad, so I had to sort that:




Much better:






And finally a boring one, changed my thermostat yesterday:






Thats most of the parts that arrived, still a few more to come also, including my new custom built alloy fuel tank.
 
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Wyn

Club Member
Looking very good Ian

btw, don't forget to branch out as a house has many rooms
You'll get a lot more in the kitchen and in the bathroom yet :D
 

Sean287

Well-Known Forum User
Looking good Ian. Going to be a cracker when it's finished. Wish you all the best with it.
 

racer

Club Member
Blimey Ian you have been having a spend up! Is that the extra large AZC front brake set up?
 

Ian

Club Member
I hope you've also upgraded your laptop from XP :)
Afriad not, the car get the money at the moment, new laptop is on the cards soon though as mine doesn't have enouth ram to keep up with things these days.




Looking very good Ian

btw, don't forget to branch out as a house has many rooms
You'll get a lot more in the kitchen and in the bathroom yet :D
Thanks

lol, The attick is usefull also, got a few bigger boxes up there.




Ian

Where did you source the carpet set?
A bargain from e-bay, Car Mats R Us:

NISSAN DATSUN 260Z TAILORED CAR MATS BLACK C633 | eBay




Blimey Ian you have been having a spend up! Is that the extra large AZC front brake set up?
Don't remind me :eek:

This is the smaller AZC setup 12.2" I think.






Some great bits there. I take it you won't be going RB then with the 4.11 ratio.
Thanks. I still plan to go RB, thats what the 4.11 is for, the stock ratio for the gearbox I'll be using is 4.3 so the 4.11 should work well. Talked with a few guys running diffferent ratios from 3.7 to 4.6 and it seems to me 4.11 would be the best. Worked it out on a gear ratio calculator and I like the speeds I can achieve in each gear with a 4.11.
 

johnymd

Club Member
Not sure how the Toyota ratio's compair to the box your going for but when I first converted mine I ran a 3.9. This was horrible on the road felt far too high Erving on the motorway. I soon went for a 3.7 which is more civilised. On the strip I cross the line just before the shift light in 4th. On the long tracks I never run out of revs and it still pulls hard in 5th. On the road it makes for relaxed driving and easy cruising.

What's the car going to be used for or is it just an all rounder like mine?
 

Ian

Club Member
Car will be an all rounder really, has to be good on the road but also capable on the track or dragstip.



Just checked again, GTS-T final drive is 4.363 so my 4.11 should be good.


Ratios are:

  1. 3.214
  2. 1.925
  3. 1.302
  4. 1
  5. 0.752
Put that into this: Honda Transmission Calculator by ZealAutowerks with 4.11 final drive and 225/45/16 tyres and it seems like a good setup. I will be able to do 70mph at 3050rpm which for me is just acceptable for motorway work while still being good for the twisties.
 

johnymd

Club Member
Toyota r154 ratios

1st - 3.251
2nd - 1.955
3rd - 1.310
4th - 1
5th - 0.753

Pretty close to yours. My tyres are exactly the same size too.
 

johnymd

Club Member
Just run the numbers through the ipad app called gearratiopro and it was surprising how little different the final drive made.

I guess a lot comes done to how you drive the car and what the torque curve looks like. Mine has a pretty wide flat curve so pulls through the rev range. If you increase the power and narrow the range lowering the gearing with keep you in the power band through the gears. I guess at the end of the day it all comes done to personnel preference.
 

Ian

Club Member
Changed my ****** old alternator for a more powerfull one with an internal voltage regulator, its a much better job, my interior and exterior lights now work better and brighter and I've got rid of the ugly external regulator:

Old One


New One:


Conversion Plug:


Gets rid of this thing:




Also changed my sump gasket, oil and filter, sump gasket was not fun, thats a lot of bolts.



And some more parts arrived with the sump gasket, bushes for the front anti-roll bar, new ball joints and a SS braided clutch line





I've been loving driving this thing, but unfortunatly a caliper on the front drivers side is sticking on. I'm hoping if I take it out, clean up the piston and put it back in with a new seal kit it will do the job until my big brakes go on.

Looking forward to the real work begining on Monday. :thumbs:
 

Ian

Club Member
I need to wire my electric fan into a live that only live when the ignition is switched on, has anyone got an idea which I can use?







Also, I found these unused wires, any idea what they are for?




 
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