Finally getting around to making a thread for my Z. Wanted to get one going for my own sake just to track the history and changes on the car.

Currently the car is off the road and has been for the last year as I started a business in January 2021 and needed a sensible vehicle for that, not to mention not being able to afford running a weekend car while trying to get a business off the ground but at least I managed to save myself from selling it! It was my daily driver for a period prior to going back into hibernation thought. It has undergone some changes while it has sat in my garage, I think not being able to drive it tends to drive you to fettle! It is probably going to take a while to get this caught up to the current day but will update as and when I have some time.

The owner prior to me had a thread going which can be found below - but any core info and pics are in this post.

 

I actually managed to get in contact with the previous owner via email and they shared some old photos and confirmed some details about the car. Prior to him taking it on from a friend of his in 2011, the car had been stood after said friend damaged the turbo housings after a failed downpipe swap - I assume it then became a project that was never returned to. I believe prior to that it was owned by someone who was also personally known to the owner before me and was bought as a work vehicle from new. Pictures from its initial rescue from "barn find" state are below. 

The previous owners intent was to restore the car to OEM state only and when I bought the car it was indeed standard all the way through - including the original radio, etc. They mechanically restored the car and had a body shop perform a full respray in 2011 too. 

The car then spent event more time unused between the project completion by the previous owner before it was sold on and listed for sale by a dealer sometime in 2017. Once again it sat around, this time for sale at that dealership for a couple of years and I believe they originally had a very high asking price (at the time) for it - at least based on the comments on the Pistonheads article about it here: Nissan 300ZX: Spotted | PistonHeads UK  The comments in the link also feature some input from the previous owner and someone else who knew the car.

I ended it's time sitting at the dealership and bought the car in 2019. Pictures from the day of pickup are below.

Edited February 4, 20223 yr by Peage

3 hours ago, Peage said:

Is red for the non-abs cars by any chance?

Yes! That caught me out when trying to work out why another RLTC install didn't work. My curiosity was piqued because you had

used 4 core red from the ABS sensor wires to your filter box. That got me thinking...

Anyway, there are 2 variants of Racelogic Traction Control - The ABS version and the self installed sensor version.

"The ABS system is looking for a sine wave from the vehicle's OEM ABS sensors.
The ABS loom has 4 wires which have to be 'spliced' in to the corresponding ABS sensor signal wires.

The wheel speed system is looking for square wave from self installed wheel speed sensors.
The wheel speed loom has 2 wires for each wheel speed sensor, and are clearly labelled FR, FL, RR, RL."

https://fdoc.co.uk/forum/threads/racelogic-traction-control-wiring-issues.4896/#post-48039

And the thread/post where I first came across the difference.

https://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/topic/155852-installing-race-logic-traction-control/?do=findComment&comment=1699770

 

Edited July 8, 20223 yr by AndrewG

Sadly, looks as though my unit is beyond repair even with the new processor. If anyone has one of these that is surplus to requirements, please let me know. The Racelogic response is below..

 

I managed to start looking at this again last night.  I successfully removed the old processor and soldered on the new one, and then progressed and managed to install the base code using our DOS prompted laptop (picture below to give an idea of what I'm working with).  It is the only laptop in existence which runs DOS and has the code written into it.  The screen is barely visible nowadays.  

 

Anyway, the item to the left of the laptop is our in-house test jig which we use in conjunction with the Traction Control PC software.  This is also as old as the hills and on its last legs!

 

So the base code is now installed, however I am no longer able to connect to the module via the test jig to the PC software in order to install the main code.  It is a little gutting for me as I know how keen you are to have this module working again, but I think it is now time to cut losses with this one.  They do occasionally pop up on eBay etc, so it might be worth a browse, or there are some other options out there (I think Deborah mentioned some in earlier correspondence).

 

My current theory is that either there is underlying PCB track issues (deterioration / corrosion), or it could be the DOS code.  Of which the latter will likely never be investigated further due to the resource required.

 

 

 

I am sorry that it is not a positive outcome after you managed to source the processor, but I think we have done all that we can with this one.

 

I did stay a bit later last night (my own time), out of curiosity trying to get it going, but I think that as a gesture of good will, and to help minimise your loss, I will only charge for the initial inspection/ repair attempt, and a single hour of labour for the installation/programming/ testing of the processor that you sourced.  

 

Edited February 27, 20232 yr by Peage

Moving on from Racelogic woes for now, something else I have been working on is adding some buttons into the centre arm rest. My Tein EDFC active suspension system accepts 2 external inputs to make instant custom adjustments to the damping settings of the car which I wanted to take advantage of. I figured, while I am adding buttons I may as well make a box for any future needs (I have some late UK spec seat heaters which someday will end up in the car that I will likely control from here) but also to move my power antenna control into this unit too. Previously I had bought a folding mirror type mirror controller and wired the power antenna to what should have been the mirror fold switch. I have now reverted that back to my standard unit. 

Just decided to make the box from some black perspex. A quick mock up highlighted that I needed to make account for the sloping bottom of the console:

Once I was happy with the fitment, time to piece it together: 

 

Decided to wrap it in black suede like material and would be swapping out the factory console carpet for the same material too. It was only at this point that I realised it would have been ideal to match the width of the box to the cutout in the lip of the centre console, it was somewhat close by accident. Ultimately, I did not want to start again and this did not bother me too much. 

 

Made up the wiring for the buttons, with some connectors so removing the centre console in the future is straightforward. The buttons for the Tein system are over-complex because I wanted light up switches but the Tein external inputs are asking for a switched ground, so what you see there is the solution. I also labelled the buttons as I saw fit. 

 

 

And the final result below. Note the centre console carpet was just placed in there for now to give an idea of the final look, hence it being curled up a bit. I have also since re-cut this anyway as I was not happy with the shape. 

 

And here is a little GIF of a quick test I did in the car. You can also see the reaction of the Tein controller to movement, albeit only the rear struts were setup with the system at the time. It works based on GPS speed of the car and G forces. 

 

 

 

Edited July 14, 20223 yr by Peage

This is what goes there, cd changer is not wired in, there just for fancy.

Don't think I've seen that before!

13 hours ago, Peage said:

Moving on from Racelogic woes for now, something else I have been working on is adding some buttons into the centre arm rest. My Tein EDFC active suspension system accepts 2 external inputs to make instant custom adjustments to the damping settings of the car which I wanted to take advantage of. I figured, while I am adding buttons I may as well make a box for any future needs (I have some late UK spec seat heaters which someday will end up in the car that I will likely control from here) but also to move my power antenna control into this unit too. Previously I had bought a folding mirror type mirror controller and wired the power antenna to what should have been the mirror fold switch. I have now reverted that back to my standard unit. 

Just decided to make the box from some black perspex. A quick mock up highlighted that I needed to make account for the sloping bottom of the console:

Once I was happy with the fitment, time to piece it together: 

 

Decided to wrap it in black suede like material and would be swapping out the factory console carpet for the same material too. It was only at this point that I realised it would have been ideal to match the width of the box to the cutout in the lip of the centre console, it was somewhat close by accident. Ultimately, I did not want to start again and this did not bother me too much. 

 

Made up the wiring for the buttons, with some connectors so removing the centre console in the future is straightforward. The buttons for the Tein system are over-complex because I wanted light up switches but the Tein external inputs are asking for a switched ground, so what you see there is the solution. I also labelled the buttons as I saw fit. 

 

 

And the final result below. Note the centre console carpet was just placed in there for now to give an idea of the final look, hence it being curled up a bit. I have also since re-cut this anyway as I was not happy with the shape. 

 

And here is a little GIF of a quick test I did in the car. You can also see the reaction of the Tein controller to movement, albeit only the rear struts were setup with the system at the time. It works based on GPS speed of the car and G forces. 

 

 

 

Loving the innovation here ?

Bit of a suspension update here. 

When the car was last on the road, the camber up front was always mismatched between left and right. I purchased the Whiteline camber bushing kit for the FUCAs but when it came to fit I realised a set was already installed! I had previously had these swapped out for what I was told were just regular polybushes at a certain garage in Doncaster. I was thinking they were expensive for bushings at the time but also had total trust in that garage at the time. I was never advised they were camber adjustable and certainly was never advised they would need adjusting after fitment. I did have an alignment done after this change but the person doing it also had no idea about the adjustable bushings and did not touch them... he was just stumped as to how the camber was off between the two sides. Now I know. 

One problem I had since the previous install of these bushings was horrendous noise. I complained and took the car back to the garage once but he simply packed the brackets with copper grease and sent me on my way. Suffice to say this only killed the squeaking for a few days. I found the garage did not bother to install the included grease nipples in the arms to provide proper lubrication.... Annoying. I have since redone the install properly and took the opportunity to have the arms powder coated at the same time. Most importantly, we can achieve matching camber up front now - rather than bushings installed at who knows what angles unbeknownst to me like before. 

Original Install:

New Install with grease nipples fitted:

 

 

I have also deleted the HICAS at the rear and installed Driftworks arms with polybushes and installed subframe collars at the rear... Not a fun job with the car at minimal height on jackstands. At the time of deleting the HICAS I ran into power steering problems which I will cover in this thread at some point... still waiting to confirm the fix on that.

 

I have also installed the Tein EDFC motors on the strut tops and added a rear strut brace too.

I did not thread the wire along the path shown in the pic below! 

Cut into the boot plastics to allow for the strut bar and cut some rubber edging to suit. Not shown here but I also drilled small 2 holes either side of the gap on the bottom lip of the plastic and zip tied the piece together tightly. These zip ties are hidden under the carpet and gives tight fitment. 

Still playing catchup with this thread to present day. Next update is a miscellaneous one, plenty of jobs are not covered here as I did not take pics and have probably forgotten a lot (this work was done prior to last summer). 

Decided to dark tint out the rear fogs as I was never keen on the UK spec rear bumper because of it.

Found a very leaky brake master cylinder, this was replaced with a HFM unit (which is great)

 

Also did some general refreshing of the engine bay and the car in general, replacing or refinishing crusty parts, aesthetic and functional. Some examples below.

Before:

After:

Before:

 

After (not perfect but much better): 

 

Before:

 

After:

This is completely pointless, but it looks nice.

 

 

I also had quite rusted headlight brackets, the ones actually part of the headlights. I acquired another set of headlights and has the brackets powdercoated and took the best parts from each set and made the best set I could from them.

 

 

Also replaced the washer bottle with a smaller model from other markets to give more flow to my intercooler but retained the UK spec headlight washer functionality. 

Before (those rusty brackets were all later replaced, as above!)

After:

 

I also came across some horrible wiring in the car from a previous alarm install at some point. I took the opportunity to clean that up as best I could and make the electrical connections sound and recovered with electrical tape (all joints under the tape are now soldered and heatshrinked). 

Before:

 

After: 

 

I also got a new OEM fuel pump as there was available for a great price from Z1 on clearance as the plastic sock had broken in transit so it was on their clearance section. This was not a problem as I was needing to swap over the sock anyway as it differs for a 2+2. I figured it would be a good idea given the mods on the car and how old these pumps are now. Did not bother with an after market one as I understand the OEM ones outflow most after market ones and are good for HP numbers much higher than mine.

Annoyingly in the process, one of the little bolts holding the fuel pump hanger snapped. This lead to a chain of events where the tank was then pierced when trying to drill it out!! This then meant I had to drop the whole tank to repair it.... another horrible job on axle stands. The tank was taken to someone near me who does fuel tank fabrication and they welded it up properly. I took the opportunity to replace the flexi fuel lines feeding the tank while the tank was off but don't have pictures of the fix or the fuel lines - was too annoyed and keen to just get things done to take any at the time! But I do have some of the new fuel pump and one showing the inside of my tank to be very clean looking at least

 

.....I think that will do for today! Ha. Well done if you made it through all that.

Edited February 27, 20232 yr by Peage

Trying to keep the updates shorter for everyones sake...

One issue I also had was my failed power steering, tried a few different things like different rack solenoids and diagnosing the various sensors related to power steering before just changing the pump. The TT pump is a bit of a pain as new ones cannot be bought and neither can rebuild kits from the usual places. I ended up having to grab a refurbished one from Japanese auctions. 

 

Looked nice and this actually solved my issue.... for few weeks or so before the same problem returned!! I have since done further diagnosis, including hardwiring the rack solenoid with 12v on recommendation of Powerzed as a test and no joy. Solenoid ticks just fine and have previously used another one so assume now that is fine and it can only be the pump again? I am currently putting off the job but will have to tackle it soon before summer. Currently thinking I will just bite the bullet and swap to the NA pump which at least is more supported. 

Also fitted a fuse box along the way given all the trinkets in the car now after a suggestion from Jaikai.

Not a fan of random added wires but evidently I now have many but these are all labelled on both ends to make any future work/diagnosis easier. 

While on the topic of electronics, in the end I had to locate another Racelogic unit to replace my broken one. Works amazingly and love the level of control, not to mention launch control. Will at some point wire in the clutch switch so I can setup flat foot shifting but am putting this off as I told myself I would not launch it too much but ended up buying a Dragy GPS unit and launching many many times, tweaking the Racelogic calibration for the best 0-60 and 0-??? 😉 Not sure flat foot shifting would be the best thing for the drive line, neither are the launches, probably. Oh well. 

This was installed on the dash next to the boost controller - but has since been removed while I model a means of embedding it under the skin of one of my custom cup holders. You can see it's previous placement below:

Also the Tein EDFC controller in place in the dash, along with a 90's Nismo gear knob.

And finally a quick picture of the bay after the refresh last summer, my car never will be a perfect example but it's looking much better and more importantly, it's mine and it's enjoyed... when it's working....and it's not raining...and I'm not changing something else on it.....etc.... 🙂 

Edited February 28, 20232 yr by Peage

Nice and clean engine bay 🙂, loving the shiny hardware throughout. I need to paint the coil pack brackets and few other bits to tidy it up like yours. Never seen that Nismo gear knob before - super cool that. 

Just wanted to add some up to date, albeit from last year, pictures of the Z to this thread. 

 

As for now, the car is back to being worked on in the garage. As mentioned before, my power steering issues came back. I have decided to convert fully to an NA pump and used the Z1 kit for this and would highly recommend it. Some parts are re-used, like most of the belt adjuster, some bolts and nuts, etc but you end up with everything you need. The standard TT fluid pot is retained (thankfully as I only had this powder coated last year) through the use of a unique J hose and a plug. 

Whether this cures my issue - Not sure yet as the car won't be turning over for a while yet. 

Quick list of things I need to sort before putting it back on the road: 

- Power steering fix.

Status: Pump fitted. Needs fluid & bleeding and then fingers crossed when I next strike the car up.

- Fuel Tank.

Status: I found this had sprung a leak around where the tank straps are, I guess all the fun with it last year did not help. This has already been removed and is currently with someone who will be brazing to repair. I had hoped to never have to remove that tank again but I really should have taken the time to refurb it last year before refitting. I was was eager to have the car to drive while the weather was still nice though!

- Brake overhaul.

Status: My brakes were terrible after any decent amount of hard driving. I have a set of Cadillac CTSV calipers which are going up front which were brand new and only cost me £100. Rears will be staying standard but I am completely rebuilding. New discs, pads, stainless brakes lines all round. Front and Rear calipers are currently with the powder coater being refinished in matching colours.

- Sway Bar Links

Status: Noticed my sway bar links look highly corroded and unhappy. Thought I might as well replace these while the car is on jack stands. Currently waiting on new drop links to arrive for the front and rear. The actual sway bar bushings look okay so will be leaving for now as I am apprehensive of poly bushes for those and when I started looking I found the sway bar sizes vary and it looks like OEM replacements may not be available anymore? Some are available but it seemed conflicting as to which bushes would fit a UK, TT, 2+2. 

- Misc

Status: A number of other miscellaneous things, like some new corner lights which I need to modify to fit over the Z1 intercoolers. My current set were previously modified and then modified again when the fog ducts were installed but I am not happy with them for a few reasons. Also need to decide on a new kill switch solution after my previous placement is not possible anymore. Kuruma window moldings to fit - once I have finished making some end caps as I think they look bad without them. Usual stuff like fluid changes, boost leak chasing etc too, noticed my balance bar still wasn't sealing after replacing the o rings previously and boost leak testing. + Other things which don't come to mind right now!

 

....Once again hope to have the car back on the road with some of the summer to spare. 

My compression is not great and will want a rebuild before I realise the potential of the upgrades and up the boost. I had an oil analysis done on my oil after doing a change and thought I would share the results. Pretty good actually but I did not have a vast number of miles on the oil! I have obviously redacted my personal info. 

 

 

Picked up an old Apexi Versa Cruise grounding kit cheaply on eBay a few months back. Will it do much, I am a little doubtful. Is it a nice engine bay trinket, I think so.

The unit was a grubby as seen below when I bought it: 

These also light up blue as standard as seen here: 

I gave mine a refurb and swapped out the blue lens so it lights up white as I don't have any blue on the car really. 

 

Also have my tank back from brazing and it has also been internally coated and had a quick spray over for protection. 

 

Edited June 12, 20232 yr by Peage