I've tinted the side windows on 3 of our vehicles using the pre-cut kits off of eBay. I'm assuming none of them would have a template for the Datsun though, as none of them had the template for my FB either.

I've done 2 side windows out of the car and 2 while they were still installed. The ones I did off of the car (FC) would have been perfect if I hadn't of scratched the tint upon re-installation. The 2 I did with the windows still installed on the car (Ford Ranger) turned out okay but there was some dirt specs in the lower corners.

Totally DIY though, the only time I would pay to have something tinted would be if it was in either a somewhat nice car or if it was on a difficult rear window (FC hatch, large windows, or ones with difficult lower accessibility.

My tool of preference is this guy, the end is rubber so I don't have to worry about scratching the tint as much.



Oooh, something else I can comment on. I did the clear sections of the lenses on my E46 last weekend, I have a few small rolls of 20% exterior tint, I ordered it from China land... They went on pretty decent dry, but I believe they can be applied wet like window tint if you were doing a large enough section.

 

Thanks for all the info Brett, it is useful.
We can in fact get precut tint for the Z (a benefit of the 8 year model run) but the only way we could be certain of getting high quality film was to buy rolls of 3M stuff. The kits are Chinese and don't specify film origin.

The film and gaskets for the windshield and hatch are on their way.
Hardware is proving a bit more difficult.

MaMasterCarr sells 8mm flange head bolts only in black oxide finish and WD spec.
I want bright zinc and JIS spec bolts.
(In case you don't know...among other things, the "spec" determines head size. JIS bolts will have a 12mm head on the 8mm bolt, WD would be 13mm. That's why none of my usual tools work on Sigfrid's Audi, Germany uses the WD standard.)
There is a local metric supply house that we have asked for pricing (sneakily using Sigfrid's business info) and we'll see how they compare.

A box of 50 8mm x 25mm black flange bolts is $10 from McMaster...my local Ace (which sells JIS zinc bolts for some odd reason) wants $2.70 apiece. I need 20 just for the door hinges, so you can see how expensive this could get if I hold out for my preference.
We'll figure it out.

Also, fully embracing my job as the bearer of bad news, there are even more "incidental" expenses we'll soon face.
The door/hatch/ignition cylinders need to be rebuilt/rekeyed...probably @$100.
We need new hatch struts.
There are a bunch of special rubber sealing bits not included in any of the seal "kits" and we need 'em- not sure what that will cost.

So, over and above what we've already acquired, I figure we should budget $500 to get the interior weather tight.
Before moving forward I'd like to pressure wash the car and check for leaks...much easier to address now than later.

The weather looks promising for this weekend and we should be able to dip the doors and hatch, which puts us on schedule for April 1 to have the cabin (mostly) enclosed.
Weatherseals will probably take a bit longer, so we won't be water tight but at least dust free, which will be nice.

Sigfrid and I have been collaborating on this part of the project but after the dipping this weekend, we again split our efforts as I refocus on the electrical and he carries on with the remaining bodywork.
Despite the fact that we have absolutely zero wiring in the car presently, my main concerns will be the HVAC and column controls.

The steering column switchgear is mostly figured out, I just have to actually fit them and make it work. The lights and turn signals are easy but the wipers could be tricky. I'm using Toyota switchgear and a Miata wiper motor and have no idea how compatible they may be.
Plus, I'm still fascinated by the single wiper mod and want to explore that as well.

HVAC...I have no idea.
The stock setup is ridiculous and I'd love to just graft in the entire thing (controls and all) from a Honda or something but haven't researched it yet.
The harsh winter weather has seriously curtailed my junkyard rambling but I'm going to need to get out there and look ASAP.

Because I concentrate so much on what is coming up and remains to be done, I tend to lose sight of how far we've actually progressed. We acquired the car last June and will probably have it running (if not necessarily "roadworthy") by this June...a year to completely strip and rebuild a whole car.
Not terribly shabby for two old farts, really.

Of course, this is only Stage One of the planned work and S. is already sending me a steady stream of craigslist ads for different engine/tranny combos that interest him...it's entirely possible he'll decide to jettison the stock stuff before we even get it running.

This actually doesn't bother me at all because over the past few months Sigfrid has come to agree more and more with my assessment of our requirements/restrictions.
Remember, we have stock brakes (rear drums!), (basically) stock suspension and the biggest tire we could fit was 225's...so how much power can we have before it overwhelms our platform?

We've been casually discussing swap options and as an example, I chose Miata.
We can get an NA Miata engine/trans all day long for $500. There are two such deals on CL right now.
The NA Miata puts out essentially the same horsepower as the original Nissan straight six but the combo would weigh about 200 lbs. less...mostly removed from the nose of the car.
We would be faster and handle better just from the weight loss, and there are easily available power upgrades we could explore later.

Just look at the new Caterham 650R...it'll rip your face off with a mere 300hp- because it's so light.
A 240Z (which, having deleted the massive bumpers, is essentially what we have) had a stock curb weight of only 2300 lbs. and can hit 2000lbs. pretty easily (delete AC, aluminum rad, etc.), so we don't need huge power to motivate the chassis.

Oh well, like everything else, we'll see what happens.

 

your swap thinking is timely, this appeared in my inbox this morning

 

Your response is even more timely...I got this from Sigfrid earlier today. Not sure who he thinks he's going to sell that to...there might be five running FDs in the whole state and I'd bet those guys want an LS, too. I told S. to offer a grand for the whole package, just to see what he said but (predictably) no response yet.

Odd as it may seem, the 4-rotor is not the trickest/rarest part in your picture.
The real factory G-nose headlight covers (with the chrome trim bezel) are total unobtanium in the Z world.
There was a guy here in Denver who had a factory G-nose AND a complete 4/3/2 head and even he couldn't find a good set of those covers.

On an unrelated note...
Yesterday was 75° and sunny...today it snows.

Yup, pretty normal.

 

Seems to be par for the course around here.

 

Yeah, it is.
If it's really normal, we'll get a massive snow dump one of these days soon.

 

swedens not that bad actually despite the winters, brutal unavailability of rx7 parts and of course jimmy åkesson.. i find myself having to convince myself of the same thing regarding my project but considering i spent 90% of the time im awake thinking about it, its probably a (healthy/unhealthy?) obsession. all the same i would much rather be obsessed with the seven than they are with david hasselhoff over here

its not terribly shabby, its bloody outstanding thats what it is! but the age thing may explain your willingness to even bother sorting out the hvac

i was really surprised about the achievable () weight of the z i had no idea it was that light. at least from your descriptions of it throughout the thread you have had me comparing it in weight to something like an abrams.. i dont know what you guys are going to go for in the terms of engine swappage (seems like sigfrid has his heart set on it) but it will be interesting. seeing peoples faces as you drive by to the symphony of a 13b rew alone should warrant the effort involved.

 

What an odd amalgam of cultural references.
Obviously I had to google the Jimmy person (sorry, my keyboard can't do contortions) and the Hoff has only ever been a blip on my landscape but I welcome the opportunity to widen my worldview.

Hmmmpph, really...you're actually going there?
Elderly jokes?
I'll assume the lunar cold and perpetual darkness have sapped your strength and the low hanging fruit is your only option.

To address your assumption though, I'll say "No, age is not the reason" for a functional HVAC system. This Z is meant to be a streetcar and that means amenities. At least functioning basic systems.

Besides, I enjoy building the car more than anything else.
A HVAC swap would be an interesting challenge as would the single wiper conversion.
It's just more interesting **** to do.

I was slightly wrong about that.
The 240 did indeed weigh 2300lbs. but some structural changes raised that to 2400lbs for the early 260 model. So our weight would be more comparable to the heavier 260.

Sigfrid and I have often- mostly in jest- talked about a rotary swap.
One can't look at the engine bay and not see what a sympatico marriage that could be. He just sent me a local craigslist ad for a FD drivetrain takeout that might make a good start, in fact.
That would be hilarious.

 

re, the hof. knight rider was great, although the core concept of a guy in a trans am driving around helping people just because, seems rather strange nowadays. why would you help people? wheres the business plan?

re, rotary Z: i friend of a friend showed me pics of one this one time, and the engine fits, but the mounting was a bit weird, i guess the subframe isn't where we'd like?

re re, rotary Z: i'd keep the 6 for the sound, get the right exhaust on it, and it sounds magically fantastic. get an ok exhaust on it and it just sounds great.

 

i consider myself chastised sir. i had to google what a hvac was if it makes you feel any better. tbh its guys like you that younger guys like me (whether they admit it or not) look up to and hope to be like. its a part of the whole learning process to change the fear of delving into the unknown into a new exciting challenge and its guys like you that inspire me!

why not? from what i have seen i have no doubt that you would be able to solve it. at the same time i have to agree with j9fd3s.. i have seen a couple of vids of z's with quite "sharp" engines and the sound is to die for. dunno if i had mentioned it before but have you considered a itb setup? would be a head turner..

 

As seductive as the sound may be, the straight six is just way too heavy and way too long.
I'm not sure I can wedge a proper efan between the radiator and the crank pulley...it's that tight.
Plus, I have every reason to distrust this motor; you may recall we've already found a rocker loose under the valve cover, who knows what little disasters lurk even deeper?

Much like the RX-7, when it comes to Z engine swaps the LSx is the most catered to, anything else and you're on your own, really.
So swapping in a rotary would be no more difficult than anything else and yes, I'm sure we could do it.
I would be more enthusiastic were it not for emissions testing.
The FD drivetrain I mentioned earlier is (supposedly) recently rebuilt and still unable to pass, a problem we would inherit.

Even so, it's tempting.

Today I modded the Z wiper motor mount to accept the Miata motor I'd like to use.
Already soda blasted, the bracket then got paint.
Assuming the assembly still fits in the cavity (I dunno why but I fear there's a support bracket in the way, so 50/50 chance I'd say), I can take the motor and the switchgear home and see if I can get the Miata motor and the Toyota switch to play nice together.
That could be fun.

The quarter window frames have been blasted also, so they can be painted and after window tint, assembled. I'm quite excited to see how that all goes too.
We're kinda/sorta back on schedule.

 

We were forced by circumstance to work on Saturday this weekend, with predicted deteriorating weather by early afternoon.
We planned on spraying in the garage and thought we could pull it off before conditions shut us down.
And we would've too, had the Harbor Freight "air compressor" not given itself a Viking funeral.

We began with the doors and it was fun to guide Sigfrid through his first experience with Plastidip.
It really is counterintuitive and requires a leap of faith to commit to a process that looks awful till the very last step.

We developed a workable dance that shuttled the doors between the paint stage and a drying stand and managed to get seven coats on each door within a few hours. They are done and ready to hang next week.


We next turned to the hatch and were about 50% finished when the air pusher caught fire and died.


It's hardly a "compressor", more of a jumped up computer fan pushing air through a tube and it burned up good.
S. is going to try returning it but I'm skeptical HF will be interested in exchanging , so I'm not sure what we do next. Buy a better spray kit, I assume.

It's only a slight hiccough, the doors will keep us busy for a while but we do need to pick up that slack ASAP to keep the cabin enclosure moving along.

Unable to continue with our primary job but still having usable work time, we turned again to the rear tail panels.
Already repaired and dipped, I figured we only needed a color coat we liked and they were done but Sigfrid- flush from last weeks success with the lens bezels- thought we should strip off the dip and go straight paint instead.

I will happily agree that the panels would look great painted...the surface texture and sheen would contrast nicely with the main body, but already having struggled with the rotting plastic, my opinion was that the panels couldn't be properly finished with paint without a huge expenditure of time and even then, the outcome would be iffy.
Dipping the panels might create color/contrast issues but was the only way to make the flawed panels look acceptable, IMO...Sigfrid thought he might do better.

So he stripped the dip off the driver side piece and here is where I can reiterate that it really is true, this **** peels right off when intentionally attacked...took about 15 minutes in this case.
He then spent the next few hours sanding/priming/filling/sanding/priming...you know the drill.
He finally thought it was ready for a satin black finish coat and after spraying, finally had to admit I'd been right all along (I take only minimal joy from this "told ya so" moment).
It looked awful.
Both panels are now freshly coated in black dip (from cans, the sprayer was already dead by this point) and the nonsense detail work should be over.
This is a classic "lipstick/pig" scenario...no matter the attention lavished on them, these panels are inherently flawed and we will never be happy with them.
They are functional and intact however, better to accept it as temporary and move on so we can reevaluate the area later with the perspective of a more complete car.

This is a tricky stage in the project.
We must make decisions now on trim/accent pieces; decisions that will reverberate through the rest of assembly, but at the same we have to realize that the impact of these choices is magnified out of proportion to the final effect because the body is so stripped.
As the body panels go back on and the overall shape of the car emerges, the little details that now seem so assertive will fade into a unified impression of the car as a whole.
The tail panel has assumed importance beyond its real standing simply because there is nothing else to look at yet, it's the only "finished" area on an otherwise matte black skeleton.
Sigfrid believes this same phenomenon will lead me to eventually accept the wheels, that they'll look better as the body emerges but I doubt it.
The only truly acceptable wheels are Panasports but failing those, I'm strangely attracted to black steelies with mini Moon caps. Meercat probably just splooged...

My home projects this week are to paint the quarter window trim and acquire the hardware necessary to hang the doors next weekend. I'll be getting a 50 count box of 8mm x 20mm flange heads and a 100 count box of 6mm x 15mm flange heads, which should get us most of the way through assembly. It's important to me that the hardware be consistent and clean, I think it makes a big difference in the overall look of a car.
We hope to have the doors on and quarter windows tinted and installed by the end of our next session.

 

Hardware in hand.
50 pieces each of 8mm x 20mm and 6mm x 16mm, zinc plated, flange head bolts and 50 large black dome head, philips drive screws...all for $50.
I still need to get some 4 and 5mm hardware for the windows and a few countersunk flat heads (8, actually) for the striker plates and about 90% of our fastener needs should be covered.
I still have tons of weird/special/cool stuff we can pick from but this buy will cover the big parts (hinges, fenders, etc) that require a lot of matching bolts all at the same time.
Big time saver, that.

 

your damn right i did they will probably suit the Z even more than they'll suit the seven! panasports do look sick though.. decisions decisions. what wheels had sigfrid suggested or had you posted it earlier? (im pretty sure im up to date with this thread)

 

Panasports are easily my #1 choice, except...
The biggest size we can find is 16 x 7 (we'd prefer 17 x 8)

They are semi-pricey (@ $1100, IIRC) and would almost lock us in to the four lug hubs we now have.

Sigfrid already bought the "squashed octopus" XXRs w/ tires, so we're OK for now, it's just looks.

The steelie idea is fairly new but quickly gaining traction (at least with me).

 

Ha, a picture!
The usual crap quality, so don't get your hopes up.


These are 1/4 window frames I've been struggling with for way too long.
Obviously three pieces, only the bottom leg unbolts, the top and front (upright) are spot welded together. My driver side frame (on the right) was broken at that top joint and had to be repaired.
Took me two attempts to get the fix right but won't really know till assembly.

Then came endless experiments with the finish- from flat>satin>gloss black paint and I even wrapped one side in vinyl.
My final choice was satin black paint and that's what you see here.

It's weird I spent so much effort on the finish, when these are installed the only visible part of the whole frame is about a 3/8" strip of the outside edge. I probably could have just colored them with a Sharpie to much the same effect.
All we need now is to tint the glass and cleaning the glass is today's project.

I've already scraped with a razor blade and clay barred them but I still see flaws.
Not sure yet how to proceed but I have all day to experiment.

 

the powder based cleaners work well on glass, i'm spacing on the brand i really want, but this one Bar Keepers Friend | Cleaning Products | Household Cleaning Supplies would work too. any supermarket/drugstore/hardware store will have em, and its cheap.

i've just been told its this one, Bon Ami in the powder.

usually i use this stuff on the glass and rainx, and we're good for a year

steelies with moon caps would look badass.

 

Let's see...where to start.

The Harbor Freight HVLP setup was out of warranty and they were not feeling generous, so Sigfrid has ordered a high zoot Campbell Hausfield rig that we'll have by the 31st.

We tried tinting and it did not go well, although we learned many ways of going badly.
Actually, by the end we were getting the hang of it and we have spare film, so no loss.
Unfortunately, we had but a few hours to work today and will have to carry on with the windows next time.
With a heat gun instead of a hair dryer.

We did make some tangible progress and what a pleasure it was.
Freshly chased threads and new hardware make for a silken assembly process, very evident as we installed the hinges and strikers:




(Yup, terrible lighting...it was grey and snowing)
Those flanged bolts have a proper 12mm head and the recessed flatheads on the striker plates (also on the hatch hinges) were changed from philips to allen head because it's easier to crank down on an allen with a head size this large.

Turns out, it's a shitload easier to mount the hinges to the doors and then offer the assembly up to the chassis, so we changed that after the pic...live and learn, eh?
Anyway, the doors are hung:




Thay seem to fit very well but we were unable to roll her out (because, snow) and get much perspective.
It's a small garage.

Next time we do the quarter windows and begin door assembly.
We need to get all our lock cylinders to a locksmith for rebuilding/keying because I think the locks have to go in first, before the window regulator/carriage.
I think.

My homework this week is to dechrome the doorhandles.
Going to try covering them in vinyl first, see how that looks.

 

thats what i like about this thread, even the smallest details are cleanly executed. the plastidip is looking proper! im starting consider using it on the black details on my seven.

 

Your white S4 would look bitchin if you black dipped it below the trim line.
Like so:


I've been considering that for my car for quite a while.
Plastidip is ideal for the application, gravel, reindeer antlers, whatever you drive on, won't hurt it.

The Z looks awful because of all the dust, I can't wait til it's weather tight and we can wash her off and see how she really looks.

 

Well, assumptions have lead to a small setback.
A big part of my "job" is to scan ahead and foresee materials/parts/knowledge we need at hand to maximize our productivity during our short work sessions.

I remember discussing the door/ignition lock situation on the very first day we had the car, not only did we have different keys for ign and doors but the ign in particular was very worn.
"Not to worry" say I, "I know a guy...".

Turns out my "guy" is gone and like Jon Snow, I "know nothing".
I went to the same company who had handled this identical task on my 240Z and the first RX7 for @$100, but it's now very different.
Now they're telling me how difficult old locks can be and they will only do it if they straight charge by the hour.
And they won't even estimate how many hours it may take...his "best guess" was to figure between $30 and $100 per lock. I told him I understood that he needed to cover his *** but it was absurd to commit to such an open ended contract because his worst case price would exceed the cost of a whole new lock set.

Which was my second flawed assumption.
Turns out, a new lock set is $480...yikes!

I would normally turn to the junkyard for help but we have one issue.
The hatch lock is semi-unique to the Z, I've seen others like it but not on anything new-ish.
I could easily snag and adapt the ignition and door locks from a recent Honda or Toyota or Nissan even, but that won't fix the hatch.

We had briefly discussed changing this before because Sigfrid wanted to shave this lock for looks (it's a stupid push button chrome thing that stands proud about 3/4") but it didn't appear to be easily done and we decided to leave well enough alone.
Looks like we'll need to revisit that decision.

Meanwhile, work continues on the doorhandles.
One handle is obviously a new(er) replacement, the other, much older as evidenced by all the overspray on the back of the handle.
That has been cleaned off and the mounts will be sprayed black today.
Only the face of the handle is normally visible but if you raise the handle and look from below, a bit is visible and I don't want any stray red or chrome peeking out.

I still haven't decided on what to do with the faces.

 

Why not adopt new locks and make the trunk a pop-lock. Install some door lock actuators while you're at it

 

The hatch is difficult because the whole setup is backwards...the lock is in the hatch, the striker on the body.
Were it reversed, I could adapt a cable popped system without too much difficulty but as it sits now that would be a bigger project than I want to tackle at this stage.

I think I need to contact some more locksmiths, my first choice may be an outlier.

 

That's very strange. You could always make it like the 90s GMs..one key for ignition, one for the trunk! haha.

 

Or even elk antlers.. i have seen three in the last two days. im starting to think theyre stalking me.. i considered the panda look but decided against it because it would probably ruin the black white black white ect contrast thing i got goin on..
this whole business with the locks sounds like a pain in the bum. i would have personally beginning to ask myself "how much do i need a boot really?". but thats cos, unlike you. im lazy
i dont know if you have the same thing as us over there in the land of the free and the home of the brave but we have a couple of websites that can access all of the scrapyards in the country, thus narrowing down the search. do you have anything like that?