Chris Hammond
Sunday, March 15, 2009 2:42:10 PM
Spent an hour or two yesterday, working in the garage. Cleaned off the hood of the car, which was buried. After that I spent some time cleaning off the workbench, which was also buried. Lots of junk thrown away, and other junk organized.
I even got working on car parts, taking apart the intake manifold and trying to get it cleaned up. It was full of chunks of metal from the explosion back in the summer of 2007. I think I finally got it cleaned up, and I hope to put the intake back together this week, and maybe even get started on putting it on the motor.
Views: 11348
Chris Hammond
Saturday, February 28, 2009 7:08:57 PM
So I had "lost" some bolts for the intake, I found them last week. Today I think I figured out I hadn't lost them, I just didn't realize they were in a bag they were in. Today I spent a little while in the garage getting ready to reassemble the intake and exhaust manifolds on the motor. This video is of that brief work. I'm headed to Orlando Thur/Fri this week, I'll be back late on Friday and hope to spend Saturday and Sunday next weekend putting the motor back together, with the goal of putting the motor in the car the following weekend.
Views: 4903
Chris Hammond
Saturday, February 28, 2009 1:12:22 AM
So I should have been working on the book tonight, and I did get some done, but I took the evening to finally reskin www.project240z.com. I took the skin that Dang designed for www.dotnetnukeblogs.com and reworked it for the Datsun.
What do you think?
Views: 10202
Chris Hammond
Saturday, February 21, 2009 3:29:17 PM
I don’t know what I’m doing with the Datsun just yet. I should sell it, but I couldn’t sleep the other night because I was thinking about what fun it would be to spend a few weekends in March working on the 240Z.
Well, I don’t know if it’s a sign or what, but month or two ago when I was trying to put the new motor back together I couldn’t find the bag of bolts for the intake and exhaust manifolds. Well guess what I just found today!
Now, I just need to get my book done, and hire my good buddy Terec for a weekend to help me get the motor back together and in the car. I find that if someone is here helping me on the car I get 10x the amount of work done as if I am by myself. So, Terec, what do you think, first or second weekend in March good? If we got it running on 3/15 that would be awesome, as that’s my bday :D
Happy Belated Bday to Terec as well, 2/18.
So, am I selling the car? I don’t know. I want to buy another 350Z, but it would make a lot more sense to not do that and try to get this datsun running.
Views: 2006
Chris Hammond
Wednesday, January 21, 2009 3:54:20 AM
So this time, I think, I am serious about selling the Datsun. With moving sometime in the next 5-6 months I need to start preparing for the move, and with my work/school/book schedule there is no way I will have time to work on the Datsun in the coming months.
I'll post up more info later this week on the sale of the car, but if you're interested let me know. As of right now I will likely have everything I own for the car (minus the Corbeau A4 seats) for sale as a package.
1973 Datsun 240Z
L28E motor
Megasquirt
2 transmissions
LOTS of other stuff including a spare suspension, hatch, and lots of boxes with parts.
I will try to do a full inventory, or at least a more detailed inventory later on.
Views: 2146
Chris Hammond
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 3:12:31 AM
Not much progress has been made on the car lately. Since I lasted work on the car I've been pretty much working on work and school stuff non stop, no car work. I was in Vegas at a conference for a week, I started working on my book (work related) and then I've been finishing up a econ paper that I was supposed to do this past summer, and am just now getting finished up.
Views: 1855
Chris Hammond
Sunday, November 30, 2008 11:41:31 PM
What do I see? Maybe the car I will be driving in 2010?
Views: 2474
Chris Hammond
Sunday, October 26, 2008 8:44:15 PM
So I woke up this morning, earlier than yesterday, but still not as early as one would have liked. First things first I ran to Radio Shack to get an AC power source for my Chase Cam so that I could use it to record video today.
Views: 4081
Chris Hammond
Saturday, October 25, 2008 7:24:26 PM
So my weekend of working on the 240Z started off quite slowly today. I ended up sleeping until almost noon this morning, it was nice to catch up on some much lost rest from the travelling the past few months.
So after my restful morning I had a few errands to run to get my costume ready for a party tonight. Once those were completed I was able to spend some time in the garage. First things first getting the months of piled on crap off the top of the car. That led me to assembling the 2nd craftsman stool that I had purchased probably 10 months ago now, it was in a box on the hood of the car.
Once I could see the top of the car I made room at the back and rolled her back a bit in the garage, this allowed me to get to the motor which has been on the stand for quite some time sitting in front of the car. Without the Corvette in the garage (*sheds a small tear*) I had plenty of room to move the motor over to the free side of the garage to work on. The next step for the car is to get all of the motor bits back together, the manifolds, turbo and all other accessories need to be put on the car so that I can put it back in the engine bay. I spent some time this afternoon cleaning off some more of the grease/dirt that covers the motor. I think Lynn, the previous owner, took it to a rally cross based on all the dirt and grime I’ve pulled off this motor over time.
I didn’t get too far today, but I hope that tomorrow I can get all of the parts back on the motor, if I can successfully do that I should be able to get the motor back in the car next weekend. The biggest problem I have working on the car is staying focused, if I’m by myself I tend to stray from the task at hand, and I never seem to get anything done. Case in point today, at some point while working on clearing off the car I got out the angle grinder and wire wheeled the hole where the FM antenna was at one point, I thought it looked like it might be rusting so I took the paint off then sprayed some primer on the car. Now it looks worse than before, but I had fun! :)
More updates tomorrow, hopefully with some video. I tried using the Chase Cam today to shoot some video but apparently the PDR doesn’t really care for normal AA batteries as it only stayed powered on for about 5 minutes before shutting off, without me knowing.
Views: 2622
Chris Hammond
Wednesday, October 22, 2008 9:25:37 PM
So this coming weekend will be the first free weekend I've had since the first weekend in September, and that was pretty much a weekend spent getting ready for the Solo Nationals. I hadn't had a free weekend before that since Mid June, needless to say the Datsun hasn't seen much love in a while. Well this weekend that changes. I'm going to try to get the motor back together, and see how far I can't get to putting it back in the car!
Views: 1673
Chris Hammond
Tuesday, September 30, 2008 11:47:03 PM
So it's been a while since I've made any real progress on the 240Z, but come the end of October I hope my weekends will finally slow down enough that I can start working on the car again with the intention of getting it running before Christmas!
The Corvette goes away in just over a week, which will leave me without a fun car to drive, so hopefully that will motivate me a little bit to work on the 240 after I get done travelling for the month of October.
Views: 1833
Chris Hammond
Friday, August 15, 2008 11:06:11 PM
Yesterday I spent an hour or so working on the motor in the garage. I only got one thing finished, and hopefully it is finished and doesn't need to come off again, I got the cover and gasket installed on the head. After that I got the oil cooler connections on the side of the block and then spent some time cleaning up other items on the blog. It's amazing how much crap is on that block, I wish I had a pressure washer to clean it off. Video on the full post
Views: 1952
Chris Hammond
Sunday, August 10, 2008 7:42:32 AM
Views: 1415
Chris Hammond
Saturday, August 09, 2008 6:24:26 AM
So I picked up the trailer this evening, here's to hoping the tires have air in them tomorrow so I can bring the car home! Nick is supposed to be here at 9am and we'll head east at that point. I haven't made room for the car in the garage yet, but am hoping that having it at home sitting in the driveway will motivate me to get the garage cleaned up tomorrow. Otherwise the home owner's association will be all over my ass, of that I can guarantee.
Views: 1508
Chris Hammond
Friday, July 25, 2008 9:57:30 AM
August 2008, that is the month that the 240Z will come home. Oh yes, it will come home, and hopefully it will run!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Views: 1340
Chris Hammond
Wednesday, July 16, 2008 8:43:58 AM
Well the garage finally has a little more room, though not enough to bring the car home from storage yet. Perhaps later this summer, though with my racing schedule (www.corvettez06.org) I don't have any free weekends until September, and even then I think I have only one weekend that month, maybe 1 in October and then 2 in November if I am lucky!
Views: 1248
Chris Hammond
Wednesday, June 11, 2008 7:11:48 AM
While in Atlanta for the National Tour Carter Thompson brought me a gift. He had a lightened flywheel from his 240Z that he had been telling me about for the past two years. At the National Tour he brought me the flywheel. I must admit, at the time I carried it from his truck to the SPS Van I kept thinking, this sure doesn't feel light.
Tonight though I was moving things around in the garage and came across both the stock and lightened fly wheels, the new wheel is definitely lighter than the stock wheel!
Now, I just need to make some time to get the motor together so I can bring the car home sometime...
Views: 2610
Chris Hammond
Monday, May 26, 2008 7:01:30 AM
So I'm stopped in Manchester Tennessee tonight on my way home and to Lynchburg tomorrow. I went out to check on the car out in the parking lot and saw a 240Z parked out there in tow behind a frontier. The car looks cherry, orange, straight and without a single spot of rust from what I can tell. I took a photo, once all my Atlanta National Tour photos finish uploading I will post the photo I took with my cell phone.
Views: 1338
Chris Hammond
Tuesday, April 29, 2008 10:55:17 PM
Alright, here's my goal, and I'm stating it here so I can hopefully hold myself accountable.
I want to bring the Datsun home from storage in May. In order to do that I need to make room in the garage, which means finding a place for the following
16 tires/wheels (headed to the basement)
Complete Datsun Suspension (disassemble and then take to basement)
Dispose of an automatic transmission for the Datsun
Dispose of a 5 Speed for the Datsun (someone is supposed to be picking it up tonight)
After making room I need to finish putting the motor together, which I should be able to do in a couple hours worth of work this week and coming weekend.
I'll post later this week with how I'm...
Views: 1287
Chris Hammond
Monday, March 31, 2008 3:38:03 AM
Last week Dad and I worked on the motor a bit, then I got sick and work pretty much halted. Today I started on what I had hoped to do last Sunday, cleaning up and reassembling motor bits.
Here's a list of the things I did today, or attempted to do :)
Painted the oil pan. Last week dad and I took the Oil pan from the L28ET motor to the car washed and tried to clean it up, it had a lot of left over motor parts in it from the destruction, and I also noticed that the pan itself had taken a beating during the desctruction, though it only put a few dents in the bottom, no punctures.I cleaned up some of the inside of the pan today and then painted the bottom with some 1200 degree flat black. After painting it I cleaned up and installed a new gasket and attached the pan to the block. I did figure out that I had to change the oil pickup from the L28ET to the L28E, so that the turbo pan would attach properly. Not a big deal but I hadn't expected that so I spent some time cleaning up the pickup.
Painted exhaust manifold and turbo downpipe. I don't figure the paint will last very long on these as I imagine the turbo will get pretty hot, but I figured I'd at least pretty them up a bit before putting them back on the car.
Painted the valve cover. The turbo valve cover had a few places where the paint was chipped off, so I hit it with the flat black. I'm not sure it's pretty, but it is better than it was before. It really needs to be powder coated sometime.
Beyond the above, I also took a few pictures of the bottom of the motor. I'm not exactly sure why, but the coloring of the internals of this motor is far more orange or red than the other motor was. I'm assuming one of the following scenarios. 1. The motor has a lot more miles on it and the coloring is due to this use. 2. The motor is 5 years older than the other motor and the metal is just different between the two. Anyone have any thoughts? Here's what I'm talking about
Photos from Today
Photos of the old motor, taken over a year ago.
It looks like I won't get much done over the next three weeks on the car. The next three weekends I have out of town races (in the Corvette) and quite a bit of home work for school, not to mention a lot going on at the...
Views: 1393