85 Turbo Z Daytona

Project resumed

2008-05-09T13:10:00.003-04:00

Ok I'm back at it. Keep an eye out for updates. First step, new welding gas.

On hold...

2008-02-12T12:09:00.000-05:00

Well this project is once again on hold. Hopefully work will resume February 22nd, but we'll see. Financial reasons, of course.

More bodywork

2008-01-31T10:12:00.000-05:00

Decided not to wait for myself to buy sandblasting equipment and went at it with the rear underside and my wire brush. Not a fun task. After that, sprayed it metal ready and let it soak. This stuff neutralizes rust and works great as long as the rust isn't multi-layered. It preps the surface for POR-15 which is my next step. Then I'll start repairing the rear cross memeber. You can see the cross member here, it is quite rusty.

On the right of that photo you can see I've already started welding in a patch to connect the side frame rail to the rear cross member. I don't know what it's supposed to look like stock since it had rusted away. I suspect this is a major weak point in these cars. Another common weak/rusty spot is on the left and right of the car where it rises for the rear seats. I suspect these are commonly used jack points, but aren't meant to be. As such, they rust. I think it's a fairly "structural" point in the car as well. Since my metal forming skills are so piss poor I have to make these patches from two pieces on each side. Here is the first welded in place.

Metal prep, welding

2008-01-24T15:13:00.000-05:00

Last night I prepared the remaining metal patches. Formed, sanded, cleaned twice, dried, and then coated with POR-15. I forgot to spray with metal ready, which sucks cause I just blew $100 on an order of it only to forget to use it. However, checking today the POR-15 did seem to stick so I guess it's ok. I only did one side, as the other side will be coated once the pieces are welded in place.

Went home on lunch today and welded in 4 pieces. Definitely getting better at this. I wish my metal fabrication skills were better, but at least no one will see the final work as it's all floors. Welds are starting to look better.

Metal work Metal work Metal work

2008-01-24T09:31:00.000-05:00

Got my camera back. I've been prepping and welding in patches. By prepping I mean cleaning, applying Metal Ready, and then painting with POR-15 on one side. The reason being is that I am doing overlap welds so this way I can minimize the exposed metal between the layers of metal. I hope it's worth it.

Welding Success!

2008-01-22T10:24:00.000-05:00

On Friday I cut and formed a lot of metal pieces for the floors. On Saturday I painted up some pieces, one side only, because I'm doing overlap welds. I didn't want any exposed metal in the floors. To some degree this is unavoidable. I suspect even factory cars have some exposed metal. Monday night I finally had some success with my welder. It turned out to be a voltage drop problem. I'm now feeding the welder from a basically unloaded circuit in my house with a 50' heavy AWG extension cord. I've had to use the maximum setting for a 15A receptacle any place that thicker metal is involved but it's working. Sorry no photos, my camera is missing right now.

Metal fabrication, engine bay work

2008-01-18T13:14:00.000-05:00

Took an hour lunch and painted the engine bay. Not completely, just where it was rusting. I'd previously wire brushed and coated it with Metal Ready. It's all patchy and looks terrible, but it shouldn't rust anymore.

After lunch I checked out the local speed shop on route home. The guy behind the counter didn't know what vacuum lines were. So on I went.

Took off the timing belt pulleys. I'm going to spray them in Metal Ready, but not POR-15.

My timing belt tensioner shows wear so I'm going to replace it, or at least compare it to a new one. The belt itself shows very little wear, indicating the motor may not have that many miles on it.

I saved the grommets from the door wiring. Should keep the drafts down a bit. I then went on to fabricate a lot of metal patches for the passenger side of the car.

2008-01-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

I put my vacuum on the exhaust outlet, and blew air into the hole for the EGT probe I did the day before. I also spun the turbo by hand to try and pass through any metal savings.

I removed the brake booster so I could repair any rusting area behind/below it. I was right, it was quite rusty due to the brake fluid I'm sure. The question is, do I replace the power brake booster. Checking prices on NAPAOnline tells me no, too expensive but maybe I can source a decent shape on from a board member.

I then wire brushed the rusty area on the firewall, and applied Metal Ready. After about 20 minutes or so I rinsed it off, and then cleaned the engine bay a final time.

I'm toying with the idea of replacing my throttle plate (throttle body) with a larger one I have lying around, but there isn't much point unless I port the intake which would of course require removal of the intake and add further delays. I think I'll wait until I need to replace the head gasket or something at a later date.

EGT Probe install, Engine bay prep

2008-01-16T14:04:00.000-05:00

Finally got around to installing my EGT probe. I tilted back the power steering pump and mounted it on cylinder #1.

Tapping the hole was a pain cause of the space confinements but eventually I got it. Hopefully not too many metal shavings got into the exhaust manifold.

The only other thing I had time for was to wire brush and coat the engine bay with Metal Ready. Tonight hopefully I can put POR-15 on top of that. It won't look pretty, but it shouldn't rust further.

More cleaning

2008-01-15T13:43:00.000-05:00

Finally sourced a new light for above the engine bay, and now I have good lighting levels. I went on to remove the wiring harnesses from both the engine bay and the interior. I also removed the vacuum lines, which I will be replacing. I thought this would be more difficult than it was. Now I can clean them up and remove any unneeded wiring before I reinstall. Finally, with wiring and vacuum lines removed I gave the engine a good cleaning with Marine Clean. It's still filthy though, but I can start wire brushing any rust underhood, give it a final clean, and then prep with Metal Ready and finally coat with POR-15. About the only thing left underhood at this point is the engine itself, and the power brake booster.

Cleaning

2008-01-14T17:19:00.000-05:00

Nothing too exciting, just thoroughly cleaned the engine bay. Something I should have done long ago. Also I spent a lot of time on the light fixture above the engine bay which never worked. The e-brake foot pedal assembly and oil coolant line which I restored look good.

E-brake, Heater hoses, Firewall, and Door Wiring

2008-01-11T11:26:00.000-05:00

I removed a bunch of wiring from the doors. It won't be needed and a lb is a lb right? I then removed the e-brake pedal assembly to access the firewall. Turns out there's a large hole in the firewall to engine compartment which makes sense cause all these cars have them. This is one major spot where water gets in and ruins your floors.

With the e-brake pedal assembly removed, I cleaned, prepped (POR metal ready), and then applied POR-15. The finished product looks quite good.

I had a spare good shape turbo oil feed line I intend to install, so I did the same with that.

I then set up my new air compressor and performed the break in for it.

Then it was on to the firewall hole. This is located just above the wheel well behind the strut tower. Not a place for easy access. I'll likely have to patch it with fibreglass. If I'm lucky maybe I can rivet or weld it. In the mean time, I cleaned, prepped, and coated it in POR-15.

Finally, I re-routed my heater core hoses as this car will have no heater core.

No update on the welding situation, didn't have time.

More Welding Woes

2008-01-08T11:09:00.000-05:00

Started the night with a trip to Home Depot to pick up a beefy 50 ft. extension cord and some 0.030" welding tips. My thoughts are that my welder isn't seeing enough voltage due to using the same circuit as my garage lighting and a huge wire run from the house to the back of the garage, and then along a thin extension cord. So I tried to weld using the exterior receptacle of my house. No luck, it's on the same circuit as the garage. Next I'll try a circuit in my back laundry room, almost certainly unloaded. I did get a bit of a weld done before blowing the fuse, but it didn't penetrate.

However, I did get a chance to remove the remaining exhaust and did a bit of grinding on the driver side rocker panel.

I also built a new work light.

Welding Sucks

2007-12-28T13:53:00.000-05:00

I ran out of flux core wire for my wire feed mig welder. So I opted to finally drop cash and pick up proper gas for it seeing as I had the regulator, wire, and everything else. $240 later I'm home with a big bottle of gas. I carefully read my manual and set everything up. About 13 weld attempts later and not a single weld that has penetrated anything. I have either a serious voltage drop problem in my garage, or I'm just doing something wrong. The previous night I'd been doing flux core welding with very little success. Two non-productive nights.

So I decided I had to get something done and started on the spare tire well.

You know what they say: If you can't weld, rivet. Well that's what I say anyway. I did a patch above the muffler as well.

Bodywork, fuel lines, brake lines

2007-12-13T23:45:00.000-05:00

Tonight I decided that all the brake lines, brake hoses, fuel lines, and fuel hoses should be replaced. If you're going to do something, you might as well do it right. It turns out the front brake hoses are salvageable. The rears are shot. I removed all the brake hard lines, and all the remaining fuel lines.

I ground, prepped, and coated in POR-15 the front passenger floor. It needs a bunch of metal patches and some fibreglass work (on the smaller holes). I also did most of the passenger side of the firewall. There are holes to fill there as well as I'm not putting the HVAC stuff back in. I'll probably regret not having a heater core (long warm ups?).

I removed the remaining transmission shifter cable so I can treat that area. Sorry no photos, my camera is in a different town.

What? No updates?

2007-12-13T10:36:00.000-05:00

No I haven't worked on this car in a long time, all summer in fact. But winter is here again, and she's up on jack stands in the garage. My garage was out of control and I tamed it down a bit. Time to start working on the car again. I need to make a list of everything that needs doing. Off the top of my head:

Finish body work above gas tank.
Reinstall tank, and new lines.
Reinstall radiator/intercooler assembly.
Start car
Remaining bodywork.

That's a very condensed list. I'll have to remount the interior, including the dash once the bodywork is done. My intent is to patch the car up proper, re-weld anything, and POR-15 to protect it. That's why I pulled the dash.

This car is to be semi-street legal. It should be mostly legal but I am not reinstalling the heater, and fan assembly isn't going back in. It'll never be winter driven, that's for sure.

My Previous 85 Turbo Z Log

2007-12-13T10:26:00.000-05:00

April 20th, 2007

I got most of the 86's dash out last night. Looks like I can convert the centre console from auto to manual so it should work.

April 9th, 2007

I finally got the struts and driveaxles installed last night and filled the tranny. I started restoring the cowl and windshield bottom areas. I'll get POR-15 on them tonight hopefully.

March 15, 2007

I went to assemble and install the rad but I realized I needed to clean and por-15 the front radiator support area of the engine bay. So I started cleaning and ran out of time. Coil springs will arrive today, upper spring mounts arrived yesterday. I painted them up. Everything for the struts should be ready to assemble. Hopefully I can do that tonight and return the spring compressor. My friend is going to pickup my fuel pump bracket this weekend. Coil springs arrived. I'm going to assemble the struts without POR-15ing them as I'm pressed for time. I can patch them later.

March 12, 2007

Got some good work done. Having a hell of a time with the struts. The passenger side went together after some fighting but the drivers side won't fit together at all. Dealer lists same PN for left/right upper spring seats so I've ordered them. This means my springs won't fit so I need new springs. Drive axles will have to wait until next paycheque for sure. Dealer order total is $170. Balls. Oh well body work is coming along nicely. Radiator arrived today. Fuel pump bracket is waiting for me at my brothers shop. Timing belt coming with dealer order, plus fuel tank stuff (gasket, grommet).

March 7, 2007

Last night I only had time to start taking apart my strut upper spring seats. I need to take the rubber off so I can grind and POR-15 them to protect them for the future. This is instead of buying dealer ones at $45 each. Balls to that. I meant to work further when I got back from my band photoshoot but I was in no shape... Today I found a guy in barrie who is going to sell me the fuel pump hanger assuembly which he has a walbro mounted to out of his tank.

March 6, 2007

City Auto has nothing right now (no fuel pump bracket). Kings Auto has nothing. Nurse Jerry has nothing. Trying to locate fuel pump bracket. Might have to buy new pump. Last night I POR-15'd and painted the springs. I found that I need new upper spring seats or to restore mine before I can assemble the struts. Tonight I plan to restore mine since I can't find anything. I really don't know what to do about the fuel pump.

March 5, 2007

I took apart the struts last night. I thought the springs were mismatched, but I guess they are correct. I'll post a thread to make sure. I had very little luck in getting parts, including the timing belt. I'll call around today. Called the dealer. He is going to deliver to me the fuel tank filler tube gromet, timing belt, and fuel pump gasket. I need to check my fuel hose to match 30R10 spec.

March 2, 2007

Struts arrived yesterday, perfect timing. I won't be able to work on the car until Monday but at that time I should start assembling the new struts. Perhaps I can even order the driveshafts.

March 1, 2007

Last night I got a lot done. Struts are out. Drive axles came out. The passenger side even came out of the intermediate shaft. I'm going to replace both drive axles. I did some bodywork above the tank. More needs to be done before the tank can be installed (rockerguard must be sprayed).

February 27, 2007

Worked on the rear wheel bearings last night. Those races are tough cookies to remove and install. I ended up grinding, sanding, and painting the rear drums. Perhaps I should have just bought new. I also sanded down the front rotors which I plan to reuse. I also cleaned, and removed the intermediate e-brake cable. All the rear brake parts are sitting in solvent right now. I will assemble the rear brakes and rear wheel bearings tonight.

February 13, 2007

I'm picking parts up from my bro tomorrow. The radiator will ship to me soon. I need to mount a fan and intercooler to it. Struts I'm waiting for prices on, hopefully tomorrow I'll get them. I still can't weld, so I may try to rivet but I can still cut out the rust and do grinding in the meantime. I need to get a gas bottle.

February 8, 2007

Did a lot of cutting and grinding on the passenger side of the car. Also coated it with POR-15. It is almost ready for the rocker panel to be attached. I tried welding again, and failed. Note I haven't started the underside yet. I'll need a lot of brake cleaner.

February 7, 2007

Lots of work done last night. Pulled the remaining interior, cut away above the exhaust and POR-15'd it. Cut away rear passenger rust and POR-15'd it. Cut away some passenger rocker panel, more to cut still. Cleaned a bit.

February 6, 2007

Tried to install the pump last night. Turns out I got the wrong install kit. A new filter sock is on the way from JDS Performance. There shouldn't be any duty.

February 3, 2007

Finally got the gas tank down. I found sections of the frame which have rotted out. I'll be welding new sections in. It looks like I should take the exhaust off and plan on putting the one from the 86 on it. I'll remove the heat shields and use thermal wrap instead.

February 2, 2007

I haven't done much since my girlfriend is around. I did work one night (Jan 30th) and got the tank almost out, as well as a few other misc things. Fuel pump is coming Monday.

January 25, 2007

I got a lot of work done last night. I pulled the gfx and rockers. I pulled the radiator, and all the brakes.

January 24, 2007

I didn't do anything on the car last night. My brother can get me parts cheap. $150 for the fuel pump, ? for the axle. I'm to order on a weekday so I can pick it up on the weekend. The only question is when am I heading to Newmarket next.

January 23, 2007

I put it into the garage last night, with a lot of effort. I pulled the wheels off, with a lot of effort. I examined it and it looks good! My buddy Earl has an 85 drive axle. He also gave me a contact to fix the window, $125 cash. Maybe I can get him to come remove the window, and do the bodywork and then come back later and install it. I've got to count the splines on my axle to see if Earl's will fit.

January 21, 2007

Picked up the car with my boss' help. It's in better shape than I thought.