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UPDATE!!!!!!! Got the Z back from the fabricators.    The camber plates are in, going to make sure they are symmetrical to each other tonight (no reason to think they would not be, but better safe than sorry.) The struts are on order and should be here in 2 or 3 weeks.      The cage is also in, it looks really good. There is almost no interference with getting in and out of the vehicle. Also, he said the only things needed to make it fit the rules for most series is the door bars (which could be pretty easily added). The fabricator is going to email me a website for a good padding for the cage, he said its not to bulky and starts out firm but changes to soft upon impact (he said stay away from the pool noodle crap). A clutch has been ordered, engine and trans mounts, oil pan, and some other minor stuff have been ordered. I had some things come up that have changed the plan for the Z. I was going to take my time and get everything done at once, its going to go in stages now. This is what the proposed changes will look like: Get car back together and running , leave interior and exterior stripped or unfinished (May 2018, little to no rain from June to Sept. so should be ok to drive) Strip car back down to shell, prep for body work and paint (October 2018) Assemble all running gear and start interior work (May 2019) Fully Finished (Dec 2019).
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Nov 6, 2017 17:19
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How much did all that fabrication cost, if you don't mind me asking?
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Nov 6, 2017 19:34
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This was 1,500 for the cage and camber plates. This guy does it to fuel his race car, so you have to be really patient with his timeline (2 months). The other quotes i got from big shops were all about 200$ a point (weld).
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Nov 7, 2017 00:58
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A tiny update:  Crankshaft was converted from A/T to M/T, could not get the engine and transmission to mate. The pilot bushing fit over the input shaft i think we were just struggling with both the engine and transmission moving while we were trying to combine them. So we will likely just wait for the mounts and mount the trans in the car and drop the engine in and mount it that way.  Goodies came in, front struts. Techno Tuning Toys. Going to order the rear conversion kit in December.
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Nov 21, 2017 04:56
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I was thinking that the Z was getting lonely so I got it a friend: 
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Dec 7, 2017 16:56
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LOL, you're so screwed now, they're breeding.
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Dec 8, 2017 02:52
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Since the 280 is on haitus for a while I had a chance to start compiling a list of what the 300 needed: What I believe to be rear main seal area is leaking Power steering rack has a slow drip Hicas light is on Abs light comes on and off Idle is high Temp gauge is wonky (bad ground as it is reading wrong and also wobbling) PO used stop leak (what a cocksucker) Heater doesn't blow hot or warm air PO tinted the windshield (other tint needs to be removed and replaced) Missing front turn signals Seats need to be foamed and upholstered Interior is burgundy Window motors sound like the tracks need grease Wiper cowl needs to be replaced Wiper blades need to be replaced Tires need to be replaced Front tires rub on hard corners Engine has trouble getting up to temp Fan clutch failed on all the time Shroud missing Lots of cracked lines on top of engine Lots of little bolts missing All the exterior plastic trim pieces missing (ie fender liner is beat up, all the black plastic behind bumper covers are beat up, plastic skid plate beat up) Possible exhaust leak at manifold Do not know if I trust PO after digging into his handy work, likely needs timing belt and rollers just for a base. Just a running tally for me to keep track of my to do list. All in all though the car is fun as hell and pulls like a freight train. Will provide updates on this list.
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Dec 18, 2017 07:31
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Lord of Garbagemen posted:
It is likely a number of, if not all of, these are related. *fan shroud? Start with thermostat, radiator, fan clutch... extreme_accordion fucked around with this message at 18:18 on Dec 18, 2017 |
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Dec 18, 2017 18:15
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Just need a 350z now and you'll have the whole starter pack.
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Dec 22, 2017 23:02
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280RBZ Update: Guy who makes custom mount kits and does really good oil pan conversions decided to take 2 months off and not tell anyone. Still waiting on oil pan and engine/transmission mounts. 300Z Update: The 300 does drive fine except for this (as the PO said) "small oil leak , maybe a couple drops a day, its probably the cam seals." So I looked underneath when buying and saw quite a bit of oil. So I got it up on the stands and behold the carnage (trigger warning my pictures suck rear end):  This is more than halfway down the car. A bit more forward of the last pic everything is still soaked,also bonus, that transmission cradle should have three bolts visible in the pic. The PO was kind enough to leave me the third snapped off inside the body. Just bathed in oil. More oil, jfc. Also another trigger warning look at the starter. WHAT IN THE ABSOLUTE gently caress!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (sorry for the blurriness) For the small bit of good news, found a company that has original BBS center caps, and ordered one because the car only came with three. I don't this think is a pic of the new one but I didn't take any others and wanted to post some good news.  I got the exhaust off, starter mostly off (still figuring out that PO fuckery), all the other stuff off to drop the transmission. I want to redo all the exhaust gaskets (manifold back) because the engine is very loud under the hood (and from what I have encounter finger tight is the PO torque spec for hard to reach exhaust bolts) but am legitimately stuck on how to get the down pipe /turbos off. This is a first on a car, mostly because everything is packed into a tiny as poo poo space. I need to get the turbo off to see what bolt pattern it has (likely the standard four bolt) , but in addition to the exhaust gaskets I likely still need to get a new starter, starter/alt/battery wiring harness (could crimp on a new tab will have to see, might just be better to get as much of the PO poo poo out of the car as possible), might get new manifolds as the OEM has a tendency to crack and I am in there and poo poo really is hard to take off. Lastly, I think I am going to wrap the exhaust manifolds, turbos , and down pipes. Does anyone have any preference? Wrap, blankets, paint? Lord of Garbagemen fucked around with this message at 16:59 on Jan 8, 2018 |
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Jan 8, 2018 16:56
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Isn't the service procedure on those pretty much "Step 1: pull engine"
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Jan 8, 2018 17:16
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Larrymer posted:Isn't the service procedure on those pretty much "Step 1: pull engine" Yes and no, from what i have seen its not always necessary. To get the down pipes off I think I just need a set of these https://www.amazon.com/OEMTOOLS-255...foot+wrench+set . Once the down pipes are off the turbos come off, then the manifolds. The crows feet might work because the bolts are too close to the pipe to get a box end on and my wrenches are too long for the open end, same issue with sockets not enough clearance between bolt head and pipe to get socket over. Also the leak is from the rear main seal (or other two gaskets right there) not anything up on the heads. Lord of Garbagemen fucked around with this message at 19:35 on Jan 8, 2018 |
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Jan 8, 2018 19:27
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Best of luck. Always loved the 300 but was never ballsy enough to work on one (better to live vicariously  ). A guy on jalopnik has a few good articles on restoring his.If the rear main is leaking, then you're at least pulling the trans. That may not be too bad for a RWD car but with the other fuckery that you're finding it might make sense to just pull the whole powertrain at once and go through it.
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Jan 8, 2018 19:45
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Larrymer posted:Best of luck. Always loved the 300 but was never ballsy enough to work on one (better to live vicariously Eventually I will, just want to get its Code Red problems all squared away then get back to the 280. When the 280 is done the 300 will get all the tlc it needs. Also if you can get a 300, the car is so dam fun. And it's got such awesome looks.
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Jan 8, 2018 21:01
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Wrap vs coat etc. Wrap is awesome for heat but sucks for water / oil retention. Also itchy dust every time you touch anything. https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Tech-Line-Coatings-Black-Satin-Ceramic-Header-Coating-12-oz-,35785.html This stuff is awesome. You'll need an airbrush / spray gun to put it on, harbor freight is fine. Follow the directions and it works great.
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Jan 9, 2018 04:06
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Small 300 update: Didn't have to work both days this weekend so did a little bit of work on the 300ZX got the transmission pulled and the carnage became obvious:  Obviously the extent and duration of the leak is on full display here, everything was wet to the touch.  Nice, trashed trans mount. No wonder the shifting was a tad wonky. More stuff to replace.  FFS, dude probably thought 1/2inch ratchet was fine. (btw this thing was torqued on to an ungodly amount) Guess it needs to be replaced.  This is the neutral switch, likely A reason the HICAS light is on, the wires should not be exposed and it looks like the wires on one side are frayed.  Speed sensor, inspected the gear no teeth missing.  reverse Switch, this would explain why the reverse lights never came on.  Somewhat cleaned, new reverse and neutral switches installed  Moar cleaning  Moar cleaning, I dont think the oil is gear oil (didnt smell horrific) but I think i will replace the front seal and cover gasket just to be safe. I have a ton more cleaning to do on this.
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Jan 29, 2018 03:12
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Replacing the rear main seal? Might just be motor oil from that.
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Jan 29, 2018 20:15
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Larrymer posted:Replacing the rear main seal? Might just be motor oil from that.
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Jan 29, 2018 22:30
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I love this project. That said, how much did thatvfab work cost you? Because those welds are making me cry.
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Jan 30, 2018 00:20
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iwentdoodie posted:I love this project. Probably too much in hindsight (welds are bad). But I have since met a guy who welds for a living and also has a Z fetish. Said he could fix most of the welds and get them looking much better/stronger for a bottle of good whiskey. So that will be in the cards before too much else. My current need is finding someone who makes decent quality mounts for the swap since McKinney Motorsports is no more. I have heard cx racing product is hot garbage so no go on that.
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Jan 30, 2018 05:52
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One of those low effort , high satisfaction days for the 300zx: Before:   After:   Before:   After:   All Nissan genuine parts so everything was easy to install and everything was included (bulbs, gaskets, hardware, etc) More boxes came in:    Have some more gaskets and parts coming in, tomorrow is taking more stuff to get the manifolds off.
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Feb 3, 2018 20:46
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300 Update: Got back to the not so fun stuff that the 300 needs:   Passenger Side /Driver side  Back of engine with clutch,flywheel, and rear main and cover off. So i got it all apart and have some questions to bounce off the more experienced gear heads in here:  So I am a little worried about this (but I don't know if I should be). The engine is unknown mileage, PO claimed it was a JDM long block. I have never pulled one apart that has the wear from the rear main seal spring. It is very very thin, I can just barely feel it (i would say the difference in material is maybe the thickness of a fingernail maybe less). Should i hit it with the highest grit sandpaper I can find? Try to move the spring on the new rear main forward or backwards, or just not worry about it? edit: i should state I originally did all this because of a bad leak from the rear main seal area. Secondly:   PO stated that clutch was replaced when engine was replaced (read "recently", probably bullshit) rivets are starting to show does that mean time to get a new clutch? No burning or scoring on flywheel, one little darkened patch on the pressure plate. The friction plate kind of looks like it was slipping, maybe I need to get a stronger pressure plate and friction plate anyways. I wanted to get the exhaust manifolds off without pulling the engine but I think that is impossible, so likely the engine will get pulled again in December in which case I can replace the clutch then. Lord of Garbagemen fucked around with this message at 16:59 on Feb 6, 2018 |
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Feb 6, 2018 16:53
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Eek, that groove on the crank is a bit worrying. Can't say I've seen that before. I would not try to smooth it or sand it though without talking to a machine shop and see what they suggest. And I would replace that clutch disk. That said, it's hard to tell quite how much meat there is left on the friction surface, but eye the difference between the rivet heads and that and make your decision. Doesn't look like a ton from the pictures. How does the flywheel look? Never trust a PO.
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Feb 7, 2018 01:59
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My Altima's KA24DE had a similar groove in the crank from the front seal, FWIW. New (OEM) seal worked and kept it dry, but I didn't trust it as much (but it was the front seal, so it wasn't nearly as bad to get to as the rear one). The groove on mine was just barely enough to catch a fingernail. FWIW, I pulled the original seal around 140k (miles) or so. You might check the aftermarket to see if they make a sleeve for it - it's a common issue on Ford's Windsor V8s. I can't imagine Ford's the only one that has an aftermarket solution. That clutch disc looks relatively new, but with some weird wear... I'd replace it while it's apart for cheap insurance, it's cheapish compared to tearing the whole thing apart again. I'd guess it's either been beat on a bit or slipping.
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Feb 7, 2018 11:58
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Larrymer posted:
Holy poo poo, mods can we rename the threads The Z Story: Never trust a PO. Flywheel looks good, pressure plate has one small score(burn mark) bought the size of a nickel. I am pretty dead set on pulling the engine in November and December to fix all the other PO gently caress ups (New harness, sand blast/ crack check/ ceramic coat the manifolds, rebuild the power steering rack, clean the bay just cause). I might just stick the friction plate back in (it only had a little bit of chatter, likely cause it was in an oil bath for so long) and do a good known twin plate set up in December. Yu-Gi-Ho! posted:My Altima's KA24DE had a similar groove in the crank from the front seal, FWIW. New (OEM) seal worked and kept it dry, but I didn't trust it as much (but it was the front seal, so it wasn't nearly as bad to get to as the rear one). The groove on mine was just barely enough to catch a fingernail. FWIW, I pulled the original seal around 140k (miles) or so. Apparently its a common thing in Nissans, I have asked some guys on reddit. One says hit it with a Speedi-Sleeve. The other says Nissan installed ones from the factory (that have the spring in one spot) and all the ones the sold to dealerships have the spring in a different spot (will measure and check). Also was told that installing the seal flush with the retainer instead of all the way back on the block. A quick cruise of the FSM didn't have a measurement, but I ordered a dial caliper and will measure the difference (groove to non groove) and also try to T gauge the new seal and see if I get a reasonable measurement (I am assuming I would want a slight negative clearance because the spring stretches a little when installing). Lord of Garbagemen fucked around with this message at 18:34 on Feb 7, 2018 |
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Feb 7, 2018 18:15
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 A PACKAGE CAME IN 2 DAYS AGO      THE Z PROJECT ISNT DEAD!!!!!! Turns out the only guy who was making these came back and did not quit?? Anyways got my awesome looking oil pan (with awesome baffles and doors), and engine and trans mounts (ordered black not red but whatever got the parts). Now the engine and trans can get mounted and the project can continue. 300 progress since last time:   Got the rear main put back together (was a giant PITA) I am hoping it wont leak but not super confident. The rear main seal has a carrier that needs to be installed, the carrier is supposed to be installed with the oil pan off (read engine out of the car). I bypassed that crucial step and may pay the price for doing so, we shall see. Also, getting the transmission back in the car was also a PITA. The PO in his infinite fuckery was driving the car around with 5 of the 9 bell housing bolts installed (the 300zx's have to gussets that go from the engine to bell housing, both were missing). I have sent out requests to all the JDM parts places to see if they can find me a set. Also on the trans cross member if you look carefully you see one of three bolts is in the car. PO kindly decided to trash the threads on three of the holes (nuts welded to the inside of the frame) and torque one hard enough that it ripped the nut off the frame of the car. I have some questions out to some 300 community's on whether those nuts are accessible from the inside of the car or not, likely going to end up helacoiling the 3, and possibly getting a stud welded on for the one that is ripped off the car (if its not accessible from inside the car). Lord of Garbagemen fucked around with this message at 17:59 on Mar 5, 2018 |
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Mar 5, 2018 17:11
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Lord of Garbagemen posted:
Who/where? Thanks.
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Mar 5, 2018 22:08
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extreme_accordion posted:Who/where? Thanks. Mckinney Motorsports did this work. He does good work as you can see, the oil pan and mounts are to convert to a RB series block keeping the factory subframe and mount spots , etc. Long story behind this I ordered these from Raw Brokerage back in August. This Mckinney dude just straight stopped answering all contact methods beginning of November. Raw Brokerage offered to refund me my money in January, but I really needed the parts so I had them hold it until they found a new maker. They got a random package 2 weeks ago and my order was part of it. Mckinney Motorsports makes the highest quality stuff, but I still don't know if the dude is going to quit or what. CX racing makes stuff but the guys at Raw Brokerage said its hot garbage, so I stayed away. I talked to Techno Toy Tuning, they said they might be interested in starting up making conversion parts for engine/trans, so maybe drop them a line.
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Mar 5, 2018 23:47
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Dear Z thread, Should I take the plunge? https://kpr.craigslist.org/cto/d/zx/6465324287.html (I looked at it and test drove it before. Unfortunately I could not get underneath it. Was not able to test drive it too fast due to the lack of rear struts, but it seemedl like it would be a very fun cruiser...) Not really a car guy but I really like how it looks... (And I've also heard these get pretty good mileage for being a straight 6.) One thing I did not like is the lack of "play" in neutral. (A few inches side to side between 1st and 3rd gear.) Also, T-tops seem leaky to me... I will see about getting a stout jack or lift or something so I can take a closer look. (Assuming it is still available.) Senor P. fucked around with this message at 05:27 on Mar 8, 2018 |
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Mar 8, 2018 05:12
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Senor P. posted:Dear Z thread, Hello fellow Washingtonian. Vancouver here. Here are my thoughts, S130 is the least desirable chassis in the family of Z's (excluding the 350 and 370 those do not count). This is a manual (plus), but it is N/A (not a negative but also not a plus). If it is the factory five speed its likely the early generation and not as good as the late model s130 turbo five speeds. Some things that stand out to me: Reading his list makes it seem like he wanted to mod the car but wanted to do it on the cheap (this is bad). A huge red flag was that he was going to use wheel spacers to convert to a five lug (the actual hubs are not that much money). So I would take every chance to look for shortcuts he took. HVAC panel is not sitting in the dash correctly (again look to short cut work) The rust will be in the same places as the s30 chassis, tons of people have written guides better than I ever will. If you are not into working on cars, and this is going to be more than a summer car , DO NOT BUY A T TOP. Save yourself the heart ache, get a solid roof or be ready to fork out a little to have someone replace all the seals. Its not turbo, for me I would love the turbo version over the NA Lots of miles, and imo way over priced. I would start considering at 2,500
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Mar 8, 2018 18:06
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~s30 4 lyfe yo~
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Mar 8, 2018 18:20
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Senor P. posted:Dear Z thread, Also, depending on your budget. If your heart is set on a S130 and depending on your budget I would just get a 200zr out of Japan. Those imo are the best looking of that style body. Also Japanese cars can be insanely clean for their age. edit: Correction the 200ZR is on the Z31 chassis. Japan got an S130 , that had the l20et it was probably just called Fairlady Z Turbo. Lord of Garbagemen fucked around with this message at 19:17 on Mar 8, 2018 |
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Mar 8, 2018 19:13
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Senor P. posted:Dear Z thread, Sorry ZX's and T-tops are not my things. There was a thread with a free ZX in it many moons ago that was completely and entirely rotted out around the firewall and foot wells. That'd be where you really need to look from both the outside and the inside. My floors on my Z looked good until I realized it was all rust held together by the original sound deadener material.
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Mar 8, 2018 20:45
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Been doing lots of little repairs on the 300, got a good one finished tonight: Before:  After:  These are engine to transmission bell housing gussets, the PO thought that 4 of the 8 bolts was enough to hold the engine and transmission together. Since most normal people do not throw these pieces away (kind of important) naturally they are hard as hell to find. Got some off a wrecked 300 and got them installed. They have been missing for eons as well, I had to clean the threads on the bell housing about 6 times before the bolts would go in smooth. Plan for this weekend is to hammer out the rest of the little fixes and get the car started to check for oil leaks. Also, still need to helacoil the stripped bolt holes in the trans cross member. Just dragging my feet cause I can't gently caress em up (only got one shot at this and its in a weird spot). Will post some more pics of the other small repairs this weekend.
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Mar 16, 2018 16:50
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The 300 runs. Redid all the lovely wiring the PO tried to fix (will post pics later today). Got the new starter harness installed, new battery installed, new starter, new trans fluid, bled the clutch, new master cylinder, bled the brakes, new ECT sensor, new coolant temp gauge sensor (redid the wiring on both of these). Still need to helacoil the holes for the trans cross member so the trans stand is still under the car. Couldn't put the exhaust on because it would cover the spots I need to drill out. Fired it up with only down pipes on. This was a mistake it was very very loud. It has no fan currently so i only ran it in increments of about 5 minutes (so as not to over heat). So far no oil leak at the rear main area (fingers crossed). After running it for a bit, the clutch pedal felt lovely again, I need to adjust the pedal and probably bleed it again. I might get a braided line and wrap it with heat reflector, being so close to a turbo the pedal gets a really lovely feel from the heat soak. All that is left for the immediate future: Helacoil Trans Cross member bolts Install Electric fan and Thermo Switch Have overflow nipple on radiator welded back on (PO managed to even gently caress this up) Install overflow tank (OEM is missing?) Install HID ballasts and lights Install New Shift boot, Parking Brake boot, and Shift Knob Adjust parking brake Get windshield tint removed, have all other tint replaced Rewire turn signals to go to 2 wire JDM Harness HICAS Light is on, need to figure out why Long term repairs: Convert the Interior to black (preferably alcantara) Fix HVAC, I think the lack of heat might be from a chooched blend door motor (very very common) Get a similar color wrap New Steering Wheel Repair the seats (leather is wrecked, and up/down motor on drivers side is inop) Convert to JDM power folding mirrors Replace drivers side T-Top, started to rust from inside, all research shows you cannot fix it once it starts. Replace Engine Harness and convert car to MAP sensors and Haltech ECU.
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Mar 19, 2018 00:16
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Lord of Garbagemen posted:The 300 runs.
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Mar 19, 2018 05:18
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Lord of Garbagemen posted:Install HID ballasts and lights Don't do this.
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Mar 19, 2018 07:04
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Yu-Gi-Ho! posted:Don't do this. ...unless you have the whole projector/lens assembly from the donor HID. Please don't put HID lamps in a reflector housing, behind a lens expecting a halogen lamp.
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Mar 19, 2018 08:02
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300 had projectors from the factory. I would never put the in reflector housings it's awful to be in front of and the light pattern is also trash. The jdms we're factory hid, usdm got halogen but both were projectors.
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Mar 19, 2018 15:13
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Lord of Garbagemen posted:300 had projectors from the factory. I would never put the in reflector housings it's awful to be in front of and the light pattern is also trash. Projectors meant for halogens != projectors meant for HID lamps. The discharge arc from a HID lamp is longer and narrower than the filament on a halogen bulb. If the JDM got HIDs in the same exact projector housings, then they'll work, but otherwise you'll have improper beam patterns and likely blind people with your lowbeams. :edit: Read this for why. http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/conversions/conversions.html sharkytm fucked around with this message at 16:12 on Mar 19, 2018 |
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Mar 19, 2018 16:00
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