Removing Front Struts Monday, August 31, 2009

We took of the front struts tonight and it all went pretty well. The nuts were on unbeleivably tight probably from being screwed on too tight after the springs were cut.

The struts will be replaced tomorrow with some fresh struts at stock height. The springs could be taken off the struts with no pressure at all. It would of seriosuly been near impossible to drive or handle this car! There was no tention from the springs! I say the struts would probably be no good as they have had to adjust to the extreme drop in height.

The nuts in the middle here were the ones that were near impossible to get off even after alot of WD40 and attemps. Finally a huge torque wrench did the trick!

Struts to go in compared to struts with cut springs

Making good progress!

A few Photos

Heres a few photos of the car. Front is jacked up to start on struts. Notice how low the back is... Coilpacks look good.

List of things that need to be fixed

Here's a list of all the things at the moment we can find that need to be fixed in the car:

Fix Transmission

Replace Gearbox

Replace front and rear struts and springs (half done)

Replace Clutch

Fix Headlight Relay (Done)

Ckean Clutch Line

Clean out Clutch Fluid

New Bolt for Gear Selector

Install Front and Rear Speakers

Create a mount for rear speakers being burnt out

Install Head Unit

Fix or Replace tumbler in Ignition Switch

Weld on Exhaust Hangers (Held Up By Wire)

Replace Coolant Container

Buy or Make Targa Buttons

Fix or Replace LHS Mirror

Replace front right tyre

Thats all that I can think of for now. If I find any more I'll add them to the list

A Few Minor Things Fixed Up Sunday, August 30, 2009

Forgot to mention a few things that Vinnie fixed up today:

Connected up the Shifter Rod that had came loose and unconnected (still no gears to feel)

Fixed the Relay for the headlights. Made a buzz sound when headlights turned on and blinkers didn't worth but hazards did. Both work fine now.

Checked everything for leaks and oil. Everything good except for the coolant tank has a leak.

Took apart the dash and got the ignition switch out so we can turn the electricals on

Replaced Battery

Took off and apart the key tumbler to try and fix it, might be ok, might need replacing. Yet to tell

Checked clutch line, throttle, exhaust valve all good - whole motor looks fine

Checked Coil packs and Spark Plugs

Checked everything electrical - All works fine except LHS Mirror Motor and LHS windscreen water jet

Haven't Started the car yet because of the gear problem. Seems unpredictable what will happen if its locked in a gear but everything on the engine side of things looks good.

We havent managed to get the car off the ground yet to start work on it because it is too low to even get a jack under! The car is so low and stiff that when we found one spot we could semi-jack at the back left, the right came up with it. Tomorrows job involves digging a hole in the ground for the jack to sit in so that we can get the car up on stands.

Tomorrow I'll write a whole list of the things that need to be replaced and fixed. Heres a few photo's from tonight, I didn't take many.

Introduction

Hey everyone,

I'm Blake and I'm doing this blog on the build and restoration of the 1988 Nissan EXA that me and a mate from school Vinnie just bought. I'm in Year 12 finishing up my HSC soon (about 2 or 3 months away from being done) and want to do Television Production at CSU in Wagga Wagga next year.

So yeah, this blog is here to show the process of what we are going through and what we are doing to fix up our EXA. Enjoy!

Blake