I often start these by saying "Lots done in the shop today...", but sometimes, I work all day and it seems very little gets done! Such is the case with custom work - sometimes you spend more time scratching your head than getting something finished and sometimes getting it finished means redoing something 3 times!!
Such was the case today. At least I managed to get past the brake pedal and e-brake set up and mock up the trunk hatch mechanism.
Last up for the e-brake was re-sizing of the mid-cable.
After cutting the original end off, I cut the wire to size, then made a new end from the shank of a 3/8" bolt and drilled a 3/16" hole through it to insert the wire cable.
To secure the brake pedal to the shaft and secure it against it rotating on the shaft, I decided that just having a flat spot for the set screw was not going to be sufficient to handle the torque of the pedal on the shaft. After asking for some input on my favourite site, GarageJournal,com, I decided to drill the shaft part way so that the set screw would seat INTO the shaft. This is definitely better - and probably enough - but I think Istill may go one step further and put a bolt right through both the pedal and shaft...
At the back end, I finished up the battery cable placement by drilling though the trunk floor, inserting a "full-cover" grommet and running the wire through.
I'll be leaving the ends until the battery gets placed....
Next up back here was the trunk latch. The owner found a latch with cable and had made a bracket for it, so all I had to do was to "just" place it correctly!
Here's my first stab at it. I first set it up so I could see where it "should" be set....
Then I cosed the lid and peaked through the side to see if it was anywhere close to meeting up with the trunk lids sheet metal.
Then I looked at it from the inside:
Once I figure approximately where it should be, I slipped it into it's spot and used some spacers to hold it in place
To give me some wiggle room, I slotted the mounting holes on the bracket:
My die grinder got a workout on this project...
Finally, I mounted the lower catch piece...and bolted in the latch.
I drilled new holes directly below the bolts that mount the latch to the bracket,
so I could get at them to adjust and service the latch.
Here is the trunk lid closed - without the tie-down strap it came in with!
Coming around the side, the gas filler cover needed mounting - but more importantly, needed to be contoured and tweaked.
Just before shutting it down for the night, I wanted to get some POR15 on a couple things. When I tried to open the can it was like trying to open a cement tomb!
Some went on the rusting inner mount of the gas door....
....and some went on the undersides of the battery box, inside the open frame side and where the lip of the new metal will go on the 240Z:
Don't forget to check out my website at www.E-tekRestorations.com !
