Yeah we'll see about the F15...
Today I labored over the brake master cylinder (ugh!). I've HATED working on them ever since about 5 years ago. Anyways, I got the 280ZX master in there, it sits REALLY close to the manifold compared to the stock master but I had no choice. I put a manifold blanket (heat shield) to keep the heat away and also put some more heat shielding on the master itself...it should keep it from melting
Going to a top mount turbo setup would have been a lot better choice in the long run. Or at least sticking with the stock cast manifold would've helped a lot, the header type manifold just sticks out too much into everywhere else. The turbo also sits less than 1/2" above the steering box, even though it's heat shielded I don't like how crowded it is, so a top mount will probably be in the future. RHD cars don't have to deal with any of this stuff.
Keep in mind if you want to use the 280ZX master cylinder, it's set up for 4 wheel disk brakes so it may not work so well with drums on back. Also, it's a lot bigger in diameter (3/4" vs 11/16") than the stocko so the 1200 pushrod doesn't work the same, but you can make it work. I cut a slot in the 280ZX washer that holds the pushrod in so I could use the stock 1200 pushrod, but the pedal height is not quite right....to get it right you will need an adjustable pushrod. Some Datsun models have these (210's usually), and sometimes they come with the master cylinders but I have neither so my pedal is going to have to sit a little bit lower for now (only about an inch). Not that it really matters anyway because the pedal is STIFF as hell and doesn't need to go down very far anyway! None of my 1200's have ever had a pedal this hard but I think it has to do with bench bleeding the master cylinder REALLY well, and actually having a brand new master cylinder (not rebuilt or reconditioned)....not to mention it's also a 3/4" master and 4 wheel disks that are normally power assisted so that makes it pretty stiff too.
I don't have anything to do on it tomorrow except maybe cleaning and straightening it up and acquiring more small parts for it. I need to get ahold of some front brake pads for a Z car and the struts won't be done until Saturday so I finally have some free time to do other things. It does need a new battery and I've got some new speakers and an amp for it, maybe I can do that too in my down time. My goal is to drive it out of the shop, kinda for good by Sunday because they will be closed ALL of next week. I have to find a friend with an extra parking spot off base which can be a huge challenge in Japan. I'll keep everyone posted!
Thanks for the great comments!
-Andy