My RB26 260Z Project

[AMG]

No holding back there, unreal work!

Be no air chamber for me after that, be in a glass case in the living room!!

 

[pobmk4]

The level of detail in the work is something else..... fair play to you Ian for leaving it the way it should be

 

[Woodcutter]

Amazing work and attention to detail.

Is the car staying the same colour? Are you arching it or staying standard?

 

[EF Ian]

Be no air chamber for me after that, be in a glass case in the living room!!

If I could afford it, and was building a house, I would put a glass wall to the garage from the lounge.

No holding back there, unreal work!

The level of detail in the work is something else..... fair play to you Ian for leaving it the way it should be

Amazing work and attention to detail.

Yeah, Dave is doing a great job. Over 240 hours put into it already since it arrived with him.

Is the car staying the same colour? Are you arching it or staying standard?

I have about six colours I have yet to decide on. However they are all very close to what it was. One is meant to be exactly the same (Datsun 307) but is in fact slightly different as it seems it wasn't mixed 100% as the colour was slightly off from what it should have been. While I could get it scanned to have it exactly the same I want it to be an exact colour code and not custom so its easier to work on in the future.

Been having trouble deciding on the exact colour of blue to go with since I dropped it off at Resto Shack. But at least I have it narrowed down to six now. And they are all pretty special. I really need to see them all sprayed out in person as every photo you see looks different, sometimes very different depending on the light.


Can you supply small pots of premixed colours? Would let me spray some panels at home.

 

[Eager]

If I could afford it, and was building a house, I would put a glass wall to the garage from the lounge.








Yeah, Dave is doing a great job. Over 240 hours put into it already since it arrived with him.






I have about six colours I have yet to decide on. However they are all very close to what it was. One is meant to be exactly the same (Datsun 307) but is in fact slightly different as it seems it wasn't mixed 100% as the colour was slightly off from what it should have been. While I could get it scanned to have it exactly the same I want it to be an exact colour code and not custom so its easier to work on in the future.

Been having trouble deciding on the exact colour of blue to go with since I dropped it off at Resto Shack. But at least I have it narrowed down to six now. And they are all pretty special. I really need to see them all sprayed out in person as every photo you see looks different, sometimes very different depending on the light.


Can you supply small pots of premixed colours? Would let me spray some panels at home.

Maybe worth getting the sprayer to post you some actual colour samples from there paint supplier/scheme ? I’m sure they could spray a few 6 inch samples onto a sheet of metal and post them over ? Just to make sure it’s what you want.

 

[EF Ian]

Will get some of these from him. Will be finalising colour next time I go over there.

Would like to narrow it down to 3 choices first.

Colour is probably the biggest very important decision to be made. Have to get it right.

Still haven’t ruled out a half cage yet so that’s another choice to be made.

 

[EF Ian]

Also forgot to answer woodcutter about the arches. At the moment it’s staying standard with as much room added as possible to the stock setup. Will let me run A 8.5” 16 and if I wished for track a 9-9.5” 17. Can’t get anything good bigger than a 245 in 16” anyway and I think 17’s look to big so want to stay 16. At least for the road setup.

 

[svensktoppen]

Definitely don't go too big on wheels, would just look wrong. Wide tyres would be brilliant though, but as you say, only so many choices. At least for road use.

You won't actually need a half cage, but it would look cool if you're not planning to use the rear seats. And since they're in there anyway it shouldn't be a big job in the grand scheme of this project.

 

[KeithRobinson]

Incredible work. You made the right choice to take the shell work this far. I believable what can hide in the box sections.

Colour choice is a tough one. When you have the freedom to go whatever colour you want it can drive you insane. My advice is that if you’re changing the colour then go completely different. I’d also go for a flat colour, I just think the older cars suit it massively.

 

[EF Ian]

You won't actually need a half cage, but it would look cool if you're not planning to use the rear seats. And since they're in there anyway it shouldn't be a big job in the grand scheme of this project.

Well, define need. It would increase the chassis stiffness and if the worst were to happen it would support the roof. Will it function perfectly fine without it, yeah. She has no rear seats so I'm not loosing anything by having one.

With my ideas for chassis strengthening in place its more likely going to not have a cage, but its not entirely ruled out yet.

Incredible work. You made the right choice to take the shell work this far. I believable what can hide in the box sections.

Better to find it now and sort it in one go than do a mostly complete job now and find problems in 5 years. Cheaper in the long run.

Colour choice is a tough one. When you have the freedom to go whatever colour you want it can drive you insane. My advice is that if you’re changing the colour then go completely different. I’d also go for a flat colour, I just think the older cars suit it massively.

Well, its going to be staying blue of a very similar shade. I want to keep with my dream for the car, a dream that I had quite a few years before I even had the car, which pretty much started when I saw my first S30. Back then I said I'd have a 500hp Datsun S30 with an RB26, people told me it would never happen, but I went after my dream, since then my ideal Z was in a sort of light blue with a hint of teal.

But even with the choice limited to colours like that and with it down to 6 options its still a hard choice.


The colour it was in was an original Datsun colour, it was metallic and I think it looked great so metallics are still in for me, but flats can be considered.

 

[S2K-Aaron]

The picture of the last colour spray out

 

[EF Ian]

Update


Finishing the drivers side.

Outer Sill on

Checking door clearance

Checking the fitment and gaps

The rest of the scuttle panel will be finished with the engine bay work.

Looking Great, rust free, strong and no evidence of repairs.

Thats it for now, Dave is taking a break from this for 7-8 weeks to finish metalwork on some other cars. This is ok with me as it gives me more time to add to the kitty. And I just sent him a 40 page document containing plans and ideas for the work. He'll have fun looking through that, I have a feeling there is still a lot of expense left on this project. Meanwhile he will also spray up and send me some colour samples.

 

[IL]

I just sent him a 40 page document containing plans and ideas for the work

Mostly pictures i hope!!

Looks Great, you are certainly working back to a factory finish!

 

[EF Ian]

Mostly pictures i hope!!

Yes, it was mostly photos and some diagrams. Only way to do it when I can't always be there in person.

Looks Great, you are certainly working back to a factory finish!

Probably better than factory in some areas. Although I think for a 42 year old car which was designed in the early seventies its actually pretty well done, its just that they lacked the proper rust protection.

 

[salster]

i would,t bother going near an MOT center, id just send them the pictures and tell them to post the cert out. superb job.

 

[EF Ian]

i would,t bother going near an MOT center, id just send them the pictures and tell them to post the cert out. superb job.

Thanks. If only it were that easy.




Trying to figure some things out in the down time :


Will have several colour samples arriving soon. Hopefully I can make a final decision, at least down to two and then get them sprayed up on my wing to compare against the original paint.

Still not fully decided to go with no half cage or to go for it, with my mods to the chassis stiffness wont a much of an issue although without doubt a half cage would increase this further and make the car a good bit safer, although ideally it would also need some low side bars to give proper side protection.

Do I change to thicker anti-roll bars, hard to say as I am not always a fan of too much ARB stiffness. This is a permanent choice as they mount in different places.

I was thinking of fitting remote central locking, but I am not convinced yet, thinking I almost prefer the old fashioned way and I am having trouble finding a setup with a quality looking remote.



I'm planning some exhaust upgrades, when I put the engine package together Tomei still did welded manifolds, I went with stock because they were prone to cracking at the welds. They now do lost wax cast stainless one which are an improvement over stock and don't crack, not sure how much compared with ported stockers but certainly some gains from internal smoothing. Ideally I want to optimise the setup I have to get the most I can while keeping the response of the smaller turbos. Problem is I paid £400 for ceramic coating on my stock manifolds, not sure how much I can recoup by selling. So this is effectively on top of the cost of the Tomei which would also need to go for ceramic coating (heat control is hard with my setup so can't do without it)

With this I will also be getting an equal length downpipe made (if I can make it fit) and trying to work out a way to add a smooth bellmouth to the intakes while still keeping a filter, I still need to work out how to do this while keeping the stainless piping (instead of alloy) 2.5" sizing and filters that are small enough to fit the space but large enough for a bellmouth. I am thinking a bellmouth with a flange so it can be alloy and easier to make as it will have to be custom most likely. The bellmouth would fit into the filter and could be glued in and bolted and then a flange added to the piping to then bolt the setup to the stainless pipe.

Any suggestions welcome.



I am hoping that by improving airflow into and out of the engine I can gain power up high and some extra response, not that its lacking, but I have a desire to perfect whatever I work on or it bugs me. People have a habit with turbo engines of just adding boost of a bigger turbo rather than finessing their current setup the same way you have to with an NA setup.

 

[JT079]

That’s a work of art! Beautiful and applaud you for take it for a dive and got the right people for this job. The thing is you gonna spend money anyway, why not on something you passionate about, and a vintage car is not a modern depreciation craps, it is an investment proposition as well as life long enjoyment!

Btw, I love the twin Exit pipe on the single sided exhaust style, unique 240z style.

 

[Eager]

Thanks. If only it were that easy.




Trying to figure some things out in the down time :


Will have several colour samples arriving soon. Hopefully I can make a final decision, at least down to two and then get them sprayed up on my wing to compare against the original paint.

Still not fully decided to go with no half cage or to go for it, with my mods to the chassis stiffness wont a much of an issue although without doubt a half cage would increase this further and make the car a good bit safer, although ideally it would also need some low side bars to give proper side protection.

Do I change to thicker anti-roll bars, hard to say as I am not always a fan of too much ARB stiffness. This is a permanent choice as they mount in different places.

I was thinking of fitting remote central locking, but I am not convinced yet, thinking I almost prefer the old fashioned way and I am having trouble finding a setup with a quality looking remote.



I'm planning some exhaust upgrades, when I put the engine package together Tomei still did welded manifolds, I went with stock because they were prone to cracking at the welds. They now do lost wax cast stainless one which are an improvement over stock and don't crack, not sure how much compared with ported stockers but certainly some gains from internal smoothing. Ideally I want to optimise the setup I have to get the most I can while keeping the response of the smaller turbos. Problem is I paid £400 for ceramic coating on my stock manifolds, not sure how much I can recoup by selling. So this is effectively on top of the cost of the Tomei which would also need to go for ceramic coating (heat control is hard with my setup so can't do without it)

With this I will also be getting an equal length downpipe made (if I can make it fit) and trying to work out a way to add a smooth bellmouth to the intakes while still keeping a filter, I still need to work out how to do this while keeping the stainless piping (instead of alloy) 2.5" sizing and filters that are small enough to fit the space but large enough for a bellmouth. I am thinking a bellmouth with a flange so it can be alloy and easier to make as it will have to be custom most likely. The bellmouth would fit into the filter and could be glued in and bolted and then a flange added to the piping to then bolt the setup to the stainless pipe.

Any suggestions welcome.



I am hoping that by improving airflow into and out of the engine I can gain power up high and some extra response, not that its lacking, but I have a desire to perfect whatever I work on or it bugs me. People have a habit with turbo engines of just adding boost of a bigger turbo rather than finessing their current setup the same way you have to with an NA setup.

speak to a proper skyline tuner about your engine exhaust ideas. Your right though, most just add boost as it’s the easiest. But a good tuner should be able to advise.

 

[stevieturbo]

A basic Toad is fairly simple with a no frills sensible looking remote.

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[stevieturbo]

Been quiet here...and this popped up on FB, seems to be a local car ? says in Aghadowey.

 

[EF Ian]

Been quiet here...

Yes, unfortunately is has been quiet. I've not neglected to post updates, just that there hasn't been any. I've been waiting on Dave to start work on the car again, safe to say the break has been a lot longer than the 8 weeks I was originally told. I was told it would be starting again in around 3 weeks, that was over 4 weeks ago, so hopefully any day now. Its meant to be ready to collect before the start of April as I will be on leave around that time.

Hopefully it will be as I'm anxious to start rebuilding so I can enjoy the thing which takes all my money. And then once I've recovered from that I can finish setting up my garage so I can start a new project, like a cafe racer build to tie me over as a creative outlet while I slowly save for my RX-7, which may take many many years.

Hoping to be home around mid December and I'll keep myself busy working on the garage, get the Civic running again and all going well hopefully making a few tweaks to a new arrival, oh, and playing with my new TIG welder, that will be a learning curve.

...and this popped up on FB, seems to be a local car ? says in Aghadowey.

As far as I know there were around 3 cars in Northern Ireland, I think one guy owned two of them.

That’s a work of art! Beautiful and applaud you for take it for a dive and got the right people for this job. The thing is you gonna spend money anyway, why not on something you passionate about, and a vintage car is not a modern depreciation craps, it is an investment proposition as well as life long enjoyment!

Thanks very much. I view it as a work of art and that is how I treat it, especially the engine bay, everything needs to perfect in there.

Problem is its hard to control the spending on your passions and without being rich it means lots of sacrifices elsewhere. But I am happiest driving a nice car or when in my garage building something, be it carpentry, metal polishing, restoring old tools and vintage items or working on a car or bike.

A basic Toad is fairly simple with a no frills sensible looking remote.

Thanks, Might fit one regardless of whether I use the central locking or not.

 

[Enda]

Must be local enough that one. Looks like it might be for sale too.

 

[jimc]

 

[EF Ian]

 

[svensktoppen]

That's a LOT of work! Like making a new car.