Back From The Dead - 180Sx Restoration

Because these threads were where I learned most about 180s,200s etc etc I thought id throw up an old build thread of my 180 that iv been restoring so it may help some youn guns in the future like the old threads helped me, back when I bought my car I was able to trace the history of the car through these forums and had a fair idea of what I was buying before I left the house. Its been slow progress but progress none the less. Will try put photos here to show where im at now with it and progress as its made

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That is the car roughly 3 weeks before it went in to a garage to get the engine and box rebuilt


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With alot of stories in between, roughly 3 and a half years later this is how I found my car when the garage was no longer answering calls or messages

Aaand this is where im at now, just under a year later iv done the work over time myself. what started as a box and engine rebuild turned into a full restoration. Not doing too bad for limited tool supply or experience I think anyway. So from the last pictures to these there has been a small amount of welding to be honest it wasn't overly needed but when I was at this stage in a build I decided to tidy up what I could do with the welder and properly restore this car not cutting any corners and thought why not, it was another thing I could learn to do as I had a history in working with heavy metal many years ago, welding with metal this thin was like learning to weld all over again.

Also as can be seen in the last photos, there was a bit of cleaning to do in the engine bay before any painting could be done so that is how I spent my christmas 2017 was cleaning back the rust, priming and painting. While I had used industrial paint on heavy machinery before I did want to try my hand at painting this as well, thought whats the worst that can happen that my painting isnt ok and iv just spent 50euro on trying or the painting turns out ok and im happy with it, I was lucky it was the second option. Not saying I can spray paint but im happy with the results so far, also want to take the opportunity to thank Barry Quirke at Barry Quirke Autobody for answering my questions about painting over the Christmas. And yes I know tieing it to the roof and holding it up with that and timber is not great however for the limited work I was doing it was fine (I wouldnt recommend it to anyone, but it was fine) make do with what I had as the aim is to drive this to Japfest this year finally

I am looking for some advice or some help with this at the moment. Does anyone know is its ok the use high tensile bolts on parts like bolting the gearbox together or what other options is there apart from breaker yard. Im looking at going into the shop and walking out with a mix of high tensile nuts and bolts but wondering is that ok or what. Thanks in advance

Can't answer your bolt question jojo but glad to see the passion is still there despite the horror you've had to endure. Can't wait to see this back on the road and you enjoying it again at long last. Have you tried driftbits or elite autos for bolts? some of the trickier bolts might just be sitting on their shelves waiting to be sent out.

What bolts are u missing. Iv a few Ca18's floating about and can check to see if there are bolts in them for you assuming it's a CA not SR?
As LarZ mentioned great to see the love is still there and you intend to get her up and moving again!

Thanks Andy, its an Sr not a Ca :) at the moment im looking for the 4 nuts for the rear sub-frame and the bolt for the bottom of the rear shock. From memory I think it was driver side rear shock has a bolt into it at the bottom that is different to the passenger side already having a bolt in it if that makes sense. Will also be looking for gearbox to engine bolts,Bolts for the rear lower control arms into the rear subframe as they have a groove in them for positioning (I have one and missing the other), gearbox mount bolts. If I can get that far for now id be happy to get it rolling I am just missing those parts, I would go into a shop and get these made/ ordered but I have no originals to bring in with me to show them what I want.

Also the most important thing im looking for at the moment is the bolt for the crankshaft so I can turn the engine by hand, anyone have one of these lying around? or again would a new high tensile bolt be ok?

Cheers Larz, to be honest it wasn't until Christmas day I was painting the engine bay that the passion to keep working on it came back properly. I have not tried them Larz, thanks I completely forgot about them to be honest. For the normal bolts and things I dont mind getting high tensile from a shop but its the specific bolts that have grooves etc and because I dont have any originals to go by its just taking time to organize everything. Might give you a message some evening to have a look at your 180 if that is ok Im just trying to figure out how to run my wiring and break and fuel lines underneath and while google is great, I cant find anything that is answering what im looking for. until I get nuts and bolts my next jobs are start putting parts back into the engine bay and maybe look at putting the wiring in.

yeah man shout whenever. with the brighter evenings it will be no bother to jack up the car and take pics some evening!

Its okay to use any bolts you want . Aslong as the shear rating in them is decent enough and you obviously get the correct length and thread . Sometimes it can be tricky to get some of the finer thread bolts . I generally buy to big and cut them back down to size ..
i have allen key bolts in my gearbox its much easier to put it in and out and .

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