What did you do to your Z this week?

AliK

Vehicle Dating Officer
Staff member
Club Member
So on that note, I got very bored in a zoom call this afternoon and designed my own! It has a variable prime duration, inertia switch, a warning light connected to both inertia switch and alternator, , uses the alternator to detect if the engine is turning (I know the fan belt can snap but it would be good to know that too) and uses switched 12v so that it has no way to trickle drain the battery. I can throw it together with components I already have so let’s see how well it works!78B464C5-34A6-41D4-BAE2-FFA6BB1FBC4B.jpeg
 

arcdef

Club Member
Ordered some carpets for just under £19!! They seem great and have anti-slip on the back but not the wool I have in the car - though the wool ones are getting tatty now - let’s see how long these last …

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I got a similar set to these but find that they 'ride' up the footwell and end up twisted. Any ideas on how to fix them beyond the antislip backing?
 

richiep

Club Member
My project updates have, as I’ve said recently, been a bit light on pics due to my old iPhone rapidly reaching the end of its natural life; however, today my brand new iPhone arrived, and thus the photos will be flowing again soon!

Last couple of weeks’ project has involved recovering the Celica’s front seats with some rather excellent covers made by a guy in NZ. Even have the Celica dragon embossing on the headrests:
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Unfortunately, I hit a snag with the rear seat- the kit (which came with the car) had the wrong version in it - it’s for a TA22 coupe and not the Liftbacks. So unfortunately I had to order one from Aldridge here in the UK as the ones from NZ have immense waiting lists - like 12-18 months! Still should be able to recoup most of the cost selling the coupe seat cover. The kits made by Grant Donaldson are pretty coveted.

On the Z front, I rebuilt the bottom hinges for the doors, using kits from Z Car Depot. Turns out half the parts were surplus as Dixie has early (72) hinges that are less complex. Pics tomorrow…
 

jonbills

Membership Secretary
Site Administrator
I haven't made a lot of progress with my 240 recently, but today I managed to get a bit done.

Ive done the rear underbody with some stuff called WAR (wheel arch restorer or something like that) its dry to the touch but apparently wax based and flexible.
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And today I've clipped the hard lines back in, got the hand brake mechanism back in, the RT diff mount, the moustache bar and rear control arm mounts.
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MCBladeRun

Club Member
I couldn't get my technoversions diff mount into my car, think either I'm not putting it in right, or it's twisted? Going to do mine another time.
 

candy red

Club Member
I haven't made a lot of progress with my 240 recently, but today I managed to get a bit done.

Ive done the rear underbody with some stuff called WAR (wheel arch restorer or something like that) its dry to the touch but apparently wax based and flexible.
View attachment 55946

And today I've clipped the hard lines back in, got the hand brake mechanism back in, the RT diff mount, the moustache bar and rear control arm mounts.
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Well done Jon you did manage to get some more done 👍🤓
 

Preecey240Z

Club Member
So I finally got the floors finished, minus dressing some welds. Here are some before and after pics. how did I do? I have fabrication experience but no experience will car bodywork so have tips and advice would be great. I like to think it's an improvement 😅 no idea how the previous owner thought riveting and bolting plates over rusty floors was i good idea it blows mt mind.
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candy red

Club Member
So I finally got the floors finished, minus dressing some welds. Here are some before and after pics. how did I do? I have fabrication experience but no experience will car bodywork so have tips and advice would be great. I like to think it's an improvement 😅 no idea how the previous owner thought riveting and bolting plates over rusty floors was i good idea it blows mt mind.
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Looks great massive improvement well done 👍
 

PeteRichards

Club Member
We had a decent bit of weather so I pulled out the diff... went much smoother than expected for a solo job. Then had a go at powder coating, which I was pretty chuffed with for a first attempt.

But as I'm stripping more off I'm getting a touch of 'while I'm there'. I've taken out the rear suspension, control arms etc to replace the bushings... but should I switch out my wheel bearings and diff bearings while I'm at it. Hmmm :), I can feel more work coming on.

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Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
We had a decent bit of weather so I pulled out the diff... went much smoother than expected for a solo job. Then had a go at powder coating, which I was pretty chuffed with for a first attempt.

But as I'm stripping more off I'm getting a touch of 'while I'm there'. I've taken out the rear suspension, control arms etc to replace the bushings... but should I switch out my wheel bearings and diff bearings while I'm at it. Hmmm :), I can feel more work coming on.

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Re - 'while I'm there' be careful. Try to just replace what needs replacing, after all how many miles are you going to do in this?
 

PeteRichards

Club Member
Re - 'while I'm there' be careful. Try to just replace what needs replacing, after all how many miles are you going to do in this?
Really good point @Rob Gaskin. She's a Californian import, so in all honesty replacing the baked / perished bushings and a bit of a respray / powder coat is probably all that needs sorting in that area. I imagine the bearings will be fine for now. If they do play up I can always replace them when needed. It's too easy to get carried away.

By the way, if anyone wants any photos of a 2+2 in various states of strip down (including the interior) just let me know, I've taken loads of snaps as I've gone :)
 

richiep

Club Member
Had a productive day yesterday in and around all the usual family weekend stuff. Tore my fingers to shreds rebuilding and covering the Celica’s back seat. I had to weld a replacement rod into the frame that the foam sits on as part had rusted away on the original. It looked like someone had spilt a drink in the back a long time ago, and it had soaked through the foam and got at the frame. Rusted one bar to dust but caused no damage to the car’s shell underneath, as thankfully that section was covered with factory sound deadening that kept it protected!

So, speared by springs and hog rings, I finally got it all together, having received a new, correct, rear cover from Aldridge Trimming:
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Also built a connecting rod balancing jig during last week, but that is still a work in progress as it has some improvements to be made to get consistent readings.
 

Huw

Club Member
Had a productive day yesterday in and around all the usual family weekend stuff. Tore my fingers to shreds rebuilding and covering the Celica’s back seat. I had to weld a replacement rod into the frame that the foam sits on as part had rusted away on the original. It looked like someone had spilt a drink in the back a long time ago, and it had soaked through the foam and got at the frame. Rusted one bar to dust but caused no damage to the car’s shell underneath, as thankfully that section was covered with factory sound deadening that kept it protected!

So, speared by springs and hog rings, I finally got it all together, having received a new, correct, rear cover from Aldridge Trimming:
View attachment 56084
Also built a connecting rod balancing jig during last week, but that is still a work in progress as it has some improvements to be made to get consistent readings.
Awesome Mr Richie. Nothing more satisfying than a nice reupholstered seat after all the cover wrangling. 👍
 
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