Minnesota Datsun 280Z / NA Miata / 1990 F-250

Found some more time to get out to the garage and get some more work done. I'd been putting off stripping out the interior for a while, however today I couldn't wait to pull the seats out - so much so, I didn't get a before picture:



Next up was removing the disgusting carpet and hoovering out the interior as best I could:



Really looking forward to dealing with this mess (not my doing!):



Finally, I got most of the dash out. Well, I now have all the bolts out and can move it, but I've still got the HVAC controls to remove. Had to give in at that point as I need to refer to the manual. Pulled this bit out, and discovered that 42 year old foam turns to dust.



As I was out there anyway, I swapped the Volvo for the MX5. If I'm only getting out in a car once a week, it may as well be fun - plus we haven't had any snow for a whole week now!



The carpet was do disgusting that I actually ordered a replacement. Both door seals are also gone, along with the heater ducting.

Indeed. Thankfully it appears to mostly be for the audio stuff, which I don't care for. The speakers are located behind the rear strut towers, pointing into the boot - so you really hear very little through them. I will remove as much as I can, hopefully it terminates at a plug somewhere.

Edit - here it is from another angle:



I did some reading of the service manual - I now believe I am well equipped to finish the dash removal.

That wiring belongs on this car, what a relief.

Turns out my coolant temp sensor had the wrong plug on it, and at some point had an altercation with a propane torch:



Original 280Z sensor fitted:



Spaghetti monster is taking over the engine bay:



I'm looking to get some more push-fit connectors for the vacuum lines that are a little more resilient to the temperature they are exposed to. Three of them failed last year, which resulted in a pretty rich running car to the point of having to pull off the road for a lie down:



However, I'm struggling with figuring out this thread:




I'm assuming it's some kind of NPT, looks really close to 10x1mm, but I only have a metric thread finder. I'm guessing 27 NPT...

Finally, I got the dashboard back in, all the wires are ready to be hooked up. Note the new door seal loosely in place - I'm wondering if I need adhesive for it, or if the pinch fit will do. I'll trim it down once I fit the rest of the carpet.

This indeed looks very much like 1/8" - 27 NPT thread. Very common for this kind of fitting.

Nice build!

Who knows if this will work - but the car fired up first time.

OK, now I'm questioning myself. There's no doubt the engine sounds good and AFRs look OK, but I'm not convinced I was using the right timing mark on the pulley. I think I'll revisit it with a fresh brain next time I'm out at the garage.

I also have six vacuum ports that are no longer used on the ITBs. I was never really sure what they were meant for, so I'm just going to slip a vacuum cap over each and pretend they don't exist. As long as my MAP signal is stable enough from the vacuum block until I reach the switchover point to Alpha-N with ITB mode, I should be OK. And if not, then I'll just move to entirely Alpha-N tuning.

On another note, our house hunt has taken another step towards a successful conclusion, so I have a rapidly approaching deadline where all my free time to work on the car will disappear. The house in question has a nice 4-stall setup which I am just itching to cover with oil, coolant and whatever else leaks out of the 280Z.

Everything progressing on the house front. Grabbed a picture of the most important room.

Had definitely planned on taking more pictures, but the just kinda got into it. Reused some old fuel rail to tidy up the loose hose at the front. Decided on a new spot for the vacuum manifold, hoping to reuse the rest of the bracket for a catch can eventually.

Ran the vacuum lines as well. Going to get some heat resistant wiring loom tape to give them some more insulation.