Bought my old zed back, because race car

so that explains the recent weightloss....

nothing to do with the wedding at all!

 

i put 5kgs on during my honeymoon.. need to remove that because race car

 

Bond Roll cage is POS

I tried to fit up the bond roll cage a couple of nights ago and it doesnt fit, not even close.. i think its for a Z31, have a friend with a z31 whos going to check it out for me

This thing is supposed to be a direct fit, cams approved roll cage. Allan at bond roll cages isnt being very helpful.. even though my e-mail enquiry to puchase the cage clearly stated i have a 1990 300zx 2+2 Targa top model

He is now claiming the reason it sits too high is because i have targa tops. but as you can clearly see by the photos, The slicktop car is 100mm higher than a targa, its not.. his asked that i cut and shut the cage to fit. now even if i cut the legs shorter and reweld the plates they cage still does not follow the a-pillars.. so i think i need to remake the front legs, and possibly the whole main hoop as its too tall and not as close fitting to the b-pillars as id like.. frustrating setback






i also spent last night beginning to remove all of the tar sound ending.. 5kg of dry ice didnt cut it. which is pretty funny as 4kg did my nissan patrol.. the difference being the 300zx tar crap is placed ontop of a painted body shell where the patrol had its tar applied and then the shell was painted. this stopped the thick layer of cotton insulation emedding into the tar making it difficult to freeze. still need to finish off rear wheel arches and tranny tunnel

pics

 

Man that's shitty about the cage, it can **** right off. Get your money back.

 

ah memories of sound deadening removal


When I searched no place had a jig/template for the Z32 full cage which is why I had mine made from scratch .

send it back

edit
out of curiousity did you way your cage?
mine is between 30 -35kg

 

No way in a million years would that cage fit a slicktop.

 

yeah no kidding.. they're idiots

last weekend i finished pulling the sound ending out.. 16kg in total just in the tar stuff.. wow
the dry ice was useless on the vertical stuff.. even though i managed to make some dams to hold the dry ice against the walls it seems to be a different, thinner material with a different adhesive.. doesnt take to dry ice very well.. wasted another 5kg and got bugger all off..

i ended up blow torching it for about 20 seconds per area (eg front of rear wheel well) and then using a scraper.. worked a treat.. it loosened the glue and lifted off very easily in a whole sheet

leaves a sticky residue behind that comes off with acetone

i then rewired and cleaned up all the areas i hacked the wiring out of that i didnt need (immobiliser, turbo timer, all the wiring down the tranny tunnel, fuel pump controller etc) and shifted her back outside

variety club bash scrutineering is in 3 weeks so i need to turn my attention back to my bash car for a few weeks as i havent even put the new motor back in it and i still need to make a new tube steel rear bar and back hatch

 

Did you specify "Z32" when ordering the cage? With the Z31s running up to 1989 and the Z32 also starting in 1989 (my wife Renee (Renzed) has one but it's often referred to as a 1990) he may have simply gotten mixed up. Surely if you show him those photos that make it clear the cage wasn't built for the car it's going into, he should realise he's just supplied the wrong cage and refund / swap it?

Nice build by the way

Cheers,

Craig

 

Cheers. And yeah I said "1990 z32 300zx it's the 2+2 model with targa tops"
I've been busy building my variety bash car. Ill have another go at convincing them to take it back after Scrutineering next week

I sent it to them in an email that they replied to so they don't have leg to stand on

 

Put the car back together yesterday getting ready for jacks hill climb next weekend.. First time for a hill climb event. Looks to be a lot of trees close to the track. Should get the ass puckering

Took her for a wrap yesterday.. She seems a lot more violent now, couple of hundred kilos lighter and no sound ending.. So loud inside.. The whole theatre of the thing was far more entertaining

Se also brake traction on the semi slicks now at the top of first and second in a straight line.. Didn't do that before.. Must be significantly lighter.. Can't wait to get her back on the weigh bridge




Finally got around to installing my new harnesses. It was handy to find an existing nutsert where you can b-pillar mount seat belts, the bottom mount took the eyelet for the race harness perfectly

The rear straps are a little past 45 degrees when mounted into the rear seatbelt holes.. But will have to do for now till I sort this cage out.. Figure a little past 45 is better than the old door mount lapped out sash belt



Also pulled the ac compressor and condenser and associated pipe work for an extra 16kg weight saving over the front axle and better flow to the radiator



My old battery was knackered, so also pulled the battery tray... Hopefully my new lightweight battery and mount rocks up before the weekend
Saved another 11kg going to a small Braille AGM battery and ally mount
Found some really neat lithium race batteries.. But didn't think the $1200 was worth the extra 3kg at my level of skill

 

New lightweight battery

installed my lightweight racing battery yesterday
looks good.. cranks the engine over very quickly
its a Braile B129 and the braile battery mount to suit

original battery was 14.9KG, battery tray and bracket 900 grams
new battery is 4.3KG and the ally mount was only 270 grams

over 11kg saving

it was only 175 + 100 bucks from batteries direct

 

That's tiny, what's the CCA? Nice LHD loom

 

yeah, couldn't get the RHD looms cheap back when i bought this one

Braille rates their AGM batteries as PCA (pulse cranking amps ~5sec) as opposed to CCA which is tested for 30 seconds, lithium batteries do the same

this batteries PCA is 813 Amps

if my car doesnt start for 30 seconds im better off working out why rather than just keeping cranking

 

Yeah fair enough, is it sealed? Good for mounting in the rear?

 

yep, its an AGM battery (Absorbed Glass Matt), fully sealed, as its not fluid it can be mounted on its side lying down if you want to (just not upside down)

haven't mounted it in the rear as it'd be almost another 3kg of cable to get it there

 

I realise you don't have the cage in yet, but I'd be ware of running those belts like that. In an accident you're risking serious spinal injury. Recommended is within 10 degrees from horizontal.

What was the outcome on the cage btw?

 

yeah i realize that.. i want them to go back to a harness bar on the main hoop.. they're not as steep as what that photo looks as they're slack and curved.. but still 35 degrees or so which isn't the best (but still within CAMS requirements of 40 degrees max as stated in the CAMS Manual schedule I, 10 degrees is ideal).. but i figure they're better than the 25-year old stock door mount that i had

im only doing a pretty low speed hill climb this weekend before i start to make my new cage

the cage is being sold to someone i know with a z31 with a vh45 turbo i met at racewars (if it fits, but im pretty sure its for a z31)

ive just bought the dies to suit CDW tube for my tube bender and ill make my own from scratch

 

Yeah at this stage I'm probably going to do my own as well. at least then if it's not right you've only got one person to blame lol (or in my case the old man will probably cop the blame lol).

Very disappointing Bond Cages didn't sort this out for you though. Looks like I won't be making any more recommendations their way in future

 

Quick vid of my fastest run yesterday at Jacks Hillclimb

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xvuQgbEtaI

car went well all day.. have to put her to bed for a couple of months now as I'm in full swing prep for this years Variety Bash

should be back on the track at Barbagallo's on the 12 Sept

 

Cool vid, interesting track, not much chance to open her up.

What are your plans for the car, going to race it? Or just stick to hill climbs and sprints?