What did you do to your Z this week?

SacCyclone said:
Great work Jon, let us know how that works out with road noise or vibration etc. I might like to do this to mine.
What year and model landcover??
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It was this Mike. https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/220938794526
I haven't driven it yet, I'll let you know. I had to add the ally plate to adapt to the engine support which raised the engine a few mm. Seems to have given a bit more clearance between the airbox and inner wing which is a good thing [emoji106]
 
finally found the time and inclination to bleed out my brakes, after fitting the new master cylinder a month or so ago!

They're still a bit spongy, but atleast they work now to a fashion, the much anticipated test drive turned out to be a non starter though,
my steering lock that fits through the wheel, refused to budge, the key wont seem to engage fully!! :banghead:

On the plus side the carb removing, cleaning and tuning i did a few weeks back, has much improved the choke operation and the tick over
 
Sorted through some parts at the workshop while choosing an engine, gearbox, diff and driveshafts for the silver car. Selected an l28, s14 converted gearbox and r180 3.54 diff.
 

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I actually did something to the car ... okay, it was only fitting a new battery but I found it wasn’t that easy to get one that fitted accurately under the original hold-down case. All good to go now though ...
 
uk66fastback said:
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I actually did something to the car ... okay, it was only fitting a new battery but I found it wasn’t that easy to get one that fitted accurately under the original hold-down case. All good to go now though ...
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There are two electrical safety issues as well aren't there. Why did Datsun have the positive terminal so close to the bodywork? Many people reconfigure the orientation or fit a different battery to avoid 'shorts' from spanners. Always disconnect the earth before working on the positive terminal.

Secondly the 'hold-down' cage is very close to the terminals and is metal!

Good to see you have a nice fat rubber cover on the positive terminal.

In the 'heat of the moment' it's so easy to forget the tremendous current that can flow across a 'shorted' battery - I know I shorted out Dad's mobility scooter batteries one day - thank goodness for a maxi-fuse.
 
You're not wrong Rob ... I did fit the positive terminal before moving it all over and bolting it all down as it was just 'too close' for comfort ... the positive lead is slightly tight from the starter as you can see, so I might get another one made slightly longer so there's a bit of slack in it.

The old battery was 30mm shorter which made fitment easier but I wanted one that was a better fit under the frame.

John, this is the one I bought ... decent price too I thought.

https://www.tayna.co.uk/car-batteries/enduroline/069/

If you're not fitting an original frame then you have a lot more scope re size.
 
and fit a battery isolator, for vehicles that are infrequently used it can make a huge difference, my car is unused in the winter for up to 5 months, and the battery always starts the car with ease.
I doubt that would happen if it was connected constantly, even though there would appear to be no draw on it, they just seem to lose charge if unused but connected for extended periods.
I once forgot to isolate it, and the car was unused for 8wks, it barely started!
 
toopy said:
and fit a battery isolator, for vehicles that are infrequently used it can make a huge difference, my car is unused in the winter for up to 5 months, and the battery always starts the car with ease.
I doubt that would happen if it was connected constantly, even though there would appear to be no draw on it, they just seem to lose charge if unused but connected for extended periods.
I once forgot to isolate it, and the car was unused for 8wks, it barely started!
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That's something I need to do. Any advice?

I've got mine on a battery conditioner at the moment which keeps it in good working order, but I'd rather isolate the battery so the clock isn't running all the time.
 
Paul_S said:
That's something I need to do. Any advice?

I've got mine on a battery conditioner at the moment which keeps it in good working order, but I'd rather isolate the battery so the clock isn't running all the time.
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I used a battery conditioner for years, but having experienced with and now without, i would go isolator every time, i think the trickle charge is good for aged batteries, but if you've just bought a new one, just use the isolator :)

My battery is now about 4 years old, never seen a trickle charger, and has never let me down.

I have one similar to this
isolator.jpg
with the wiring running through the back of the glovebox, for in the vehicle convenience, or just use one of these direct on the terminal
iso2.jpg
 
and as an aside, its the earth that is isolated, cant remember why that was the recommendation, but its worked for me ;)
 
toopy said:
I used a battery conditioner for years, but having experienced with and now without, i would go isolator every time, i think the trickle charge is good for aged batteries, but if you've just bought a new one, just use the isolator :)

My battery is now about 4 years old, never seen a trickle charger, and has never let me down.

I have one similar to this
View attachment 30566
with the wiring running through the back of the glovebox, for in the vehicle convenience, or just use one of these direct on the terminal
View attachment 30567
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Excellent, thanks for that :) I feel a little fabrication coming on!

Yes, I agree, for these cars an isolator is perfect. Modern vehicles with central locking and a host of other things that need should be kept alive are more suited to a trickle charge.
 
I use the second type of on battery isolator toopy out up and never had problems with battery drain after weeks of standing.

@toopy
Imagine if you isolate the +ve by cutting the cable. Every naked metal bit of the car that the cable would contact would short the battery. Now imagine doing the same with the -ve. Does it matter if it touches the body? It's simply safer to do the -ve side.
 
Went to visit RIDDLER Sunday to reunited him with the Z and to see his Volvo P1800. As you would expect with his cars, the P1800 was immaculate, very nice indeed Rob.

Took a spin down to a country pub, had a very nice lunch and took a few photos. Then headed off to BOB-ON's to collect the last bits n bobs (pardon the pun) for Addison's car, emblems etc. Cataloguing all atm, some very interesting OEM parts and will post up photos shortly

IMG_1959.jpg IMG_1957.jpg IMG_1953.jpg
 
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