Fairlady - Mustache bar bushing replacement part 2

Continued from part 1. Prepped the mustache bar for paint and masked off the ends.

   

Primed.

I used Rust-Oleum hammered finish spray paint. I think it worked pretty well.

  

Finsihed with paint.

Coat the bushing in the supplied grease before pressing it into the mustache bar. Installing the new bushing was very easy and did not require any special tools.

 Done:

It will proabably be a few weeks before I have any more updates since the suspension parts I ordered are on backorder from Tokico.

Fairlady - Mustache bar bushing replacement part 1

I started working on replacing the bushings in the mustache bar today. I am replacing all the old worn out bushings with Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings using their master kit for the 240z.

Before:

Only remove the inner rubber bushing. The outer shell is reused.

Drill a series of holes around the outside diameter of the old bushing.

I used a screwdriver and mallet to break the bushing away from the mustache bar.

Use a torch to burn away the excess rubber. I used a small propane torch but an acetylene torch would get the job done faster. The heat makes the rubber soft enough to scrape away.
The propane torch removed most of the leftovers, but there are still some small chunks of rubber stuck to the mustache bar.
I used a small wire wheel on my "dremel" tool to get clean up the rest of the leftovers.
Ready for the new bushing.
To be continued...

240Z - LS1 going in the 240z.

I just got a motor for the Datsun 240Z project.

After much consideration of what motor I wanted to put in the Z I finally decided to go with a gm LS1 V8. I have always been against putting an American v8 in Z cars, but here I am joining the v8 club. I was originally considering either the Nissan VQ35 or VH45 but decided against going that route because of how tight the fit was going to be with a DOHC V motor, not to mention that the VQ35 is so integrated into the 350z body harness that you need an entire donor car to realistically do the swap. I also like that I will be able to retain A/C with no additional fabrication.


So here it is. 2004 LS1 crate motor for a Chevrolet Corvette - 0 miles.

240Z - Tear down started.

I have the car down to the bare chassis. There is some run on the floor pans that was under the sound deadening material, but it's mostly surface rust. There is a golf ball sized hole rusted out of the passenger floor pan under the seat that I will have to cut away. I am probably going to replace the entire floor pan to be sure that all of the rust is gone. Luckily I haven't found anything that I wasn't already expecting.

I will get the chassis soda blasted once I get rid of the undercoating.

 

 

Cool Z cars.

Here are some of the Z cars I am using as inspiration for my project.


Austin Hoke's VQ35DE powered Z: http://www.vq240z.com

Mark Rolstons RB26 powered Z: http://web.me.com/markrolston/NewSite/Z-car.html

  

A few more cool Z cars. (unknown source)

240Z - First post.

I am starting this blog to document my 240z project and anything else that I find interesting.


The car is a 1973 Datsun 240z that I bought back in Sept. 2008. It had the original L24. I have always like the look of the "Devil-Z" from Wangan Midnight so I am going to try to re-create the same style. Since I have already had an 3.1L L28 stroker and a forged L28 I want to try something new. I haven't decided on the motor yet, but I want something more modern so I am considering the VQ35HR.


Here are some pics of the car before I started working on it: