Pharaohabq

Now them be some Sexy Intakes. Oh course you'll be forever known as that Horny Z guy. But really those look awesome, and that clamping idea looks like it worked out really well. looks very stable on the mill. I'm impressed at all the machining you got done with how busy you've been. really it looks amazing. Too bad you can't fit your air filters in the throats on those horns, maybe fit 2 screens, one back in a couple inches, then wide cell oiled foam, and a shiney outside screen to hold it in place. that would work well and be showey. Cleaning the foam would be a pain unless you found an easy way to snap the outside screen in and out easilly. (large snap ring?) For daily driving you could adapt a 240z/260z Air cleaner to the front of the horns. so you wouldn't have to worry much about airflow. n just remove the foam between the screens. Again awesome job, keep the picts coming! Phar

yeah looks real nice.. so what does the front of your dash look like. I guess you've used 350Z gauges. I'm pretty interrested in how your speedo will work out, I mean there's a ratio on your driveshaft to your wheelspeed because of the diff, so does that mean there'll be fewer teeth on your shaft for the pickup to read, so that it'll read the right wheel rotation? I'm really looking forward to seeing how you'll do this. I just gotta find me a 350z engine/tranny that won't cost 10 times what I paid for the whole car. Phar

Hey yeah that looks really good. I'm most impressed. The short run on the bosses is a bummer, but hey at least that won't be too hard to fix. I can't hardly wait too to see them all mounted up pretty and in place. I completely understand the other side though, the idea of taking your daily drive out and ripping guts out to put in a new intake, I did that on my jeep, and tho I had the parts, it still took a couple weeks. fortunately I had my Z to drive. hopefully your install with go smoothly, especially since you've already for the Megasquirt worked out. So are you just going to use a standard intake gasket and cut out the parts in between for it? Phar

Sorry, yeah, I dunno I think I got the idea when we were talking about the heat shield stainless steel and all that. Sorry, would not want to offend. Ahh! rescheduled, I was so hoping for more :fmad:foundry:fmad: pics today! oh well we'll have to wait till next week, work comes before play... Hm so the Gel coat made it easier to finish the surface, but not well enough for you, Do you think it still saved you some time/work, since you sanded it anyway? Phar

Well I still think putting it all in a box straped in the front seat area would work best for you, but if they'll ship the block then great, no worries. As for the heads, well everything I've read says you probably don't want to use either of those heads if you have a choice. (tho the P79 hear is the better of the two.) what you should do is find a p90 or P90a head off a 82-83 zx. they're hydraulic so you won't have to dick about with the valve spacing, though, definitely read about the valve seals replacement in the stickies at the top of the forum. While it's apart, you might think about putting in some forged pistons or at least Z turbo pistons, so you can add boost later if you decide. Though if it's going to cost you more than about $300 bones to ship it all, then you might just sell it on craigs or Ebay and get another when you get down there. might be hard to sell torn down tho. Good luck, oh and while it's apart, either clean or swap out your engine harness connectors, they're likely corroded. Phar

Very nice Derek, as you know I too have been watching your project from the start, though I didn't realize it had actually been two years since you started it. The New blanks look awesome. I love all the new bosses. oh, and good thinking on the angle table squares, I had wondered how you got the correct angle on the first manifold for fit to the head. Not to mention those would give you a nice handle to drag them around with. What is the Gel coating supposed to do for your mould? Better surface? looks like it takes the "woodgrain" out. So here's a question, I didnt think of till just now, but that you could probably fix in the MS setup. A lot of cars have a cold start injector, I'm not sure how you would put one on an ITB setup, or if you'd even need one. (I know you said this car is basically going to be a garage queen.) The Thermotime is in the head too I think, though I don't think MS would use that. I keep thinking "what could he have missed?" and nope, I think you've got it all covered. The manifold looks amazing. oh and I'm sure you've got a line out the door for appentices huh? Phar

this thread.... So done anymore on the casting of the rear manifold? I was thinking you might want to add a couple bosses to mount your fuel rail to, not to mention MAT sensor, if you're going to use one. That way there wouldn't be trouble from vibration on the hoses. just a thought... It's an awesome project however you look at it... Phar

nice. Okay I see what you've done now.. that looks really good. The zero position on the ring should be sensor pointing at leading edge of the sensor ring at TDC right? That's how it was on my Jeep EFI conversion anyway. That's cool tho that MS is running your Spark. I like that the plug wires aren't running over the top anymore. it sure cleans it up a bit. Your Megasquirt unit will be mounted like that suggest in the cabin right? then I assume your Mar would be mounted on the fender or firewall, or even another one of those pretty brackets, hung off the side of your balance manifold. O2 sensors go on the Exhaust so it's pretty easy I was just hoping for pictures and examples of how you're doing it. Notice any more drivability issues? Are you still posting in the other thread on making the 2nd manifold? Phar

Hmm A lot of heat, like how much? Should I be considering sone heat shielding from the body? I wouldn't want anything to light up my undercoating on a longer drive in 90-100 degree weather likewe get here in New Mexico. much less melt anything important.

Discs and calipers certainly look good. How are you thinking to mount them to the stock strut tower? I was thinking pehaps mounting a plate to the back that then had two other holes drilled to accept the caliper bolts. I dunno maybe something like this, I know my photoshop skills suck.

was talking about the rear bearings, aren't the stock 260/280 Z bearings small for the Z31 shafts? I'm not sure how large the rotors are on a Z31 Phar

Well, hold on to those factory gauges, I might want to buy them from you when I get to do mine. So, how are you going to get the Speedo to work then? I thought the Factory Speedo was timed off the electronics in the tranny, with no accessible VSS. Where does your mechanical Speedo connect? Phar

Nice job! that's very impressive to say the least. I can only hope when my turn comes around that I can do half as nice a job. Your exhaust sounds great too! I see you're going to use the 350z stock gauges. That's I'm sure a great idea. but how are you planning on integrating it with the L28 dash, or are you? it all looks great, and I love the white for the S30 , that color is definitely in the running for my Z.. You rock, now get it on the road n lets hear how it sounds driving down the street. Phar

In anycase, the new LSD diff he's got should be nice! Toni, Looks like those rotors will fit. Any luck on the bearing issue? What model Mercedes are those rotors for? Z31 rotors are too thin I guess? Some people use truck calipers in their swaps. Tho Brembo would be sweet. I wonder if the Z33 Brembo calipers are any good. (just trying to stick with the theme here you know?) Phar

wow, yeah I pretty much decided I'm going to swap in a VQ35 in place of my L28. Otherwise I'd REALLY like a set of those too. The milling I'm sure you have a file for, but I bet the lathe work wouldn't be cheap. So as for the megasquirt, could you kind of rundown how you have yours setup? The laptop shows you have a MAP, but how've you mounted it, and I guess the O2 sensor comes later? What is your timing ring from? aren't you afraid the vibration will loosen those 4 tiny screws? Pretty nice in anycase. Phar

so, uh, you start it yet?

Looks good to me. Yeah I don't know for certain, but I think all the 260's came with 180's. yours could be a R200, but We'd need a pict of the #'s on the casing to know for sure. I know your new Z31 Diff is an R200, and should be LSD, because it's got the fins on the Diff-cover. that's usually a telltale sign. I didn't realize there was such a size difference on the Shaft/bearing diameters. between the S30 and Z31 Shafts. I am really thinking I might want to swap mine over too. I have a Z31 NA parts car sitting in my yard under a tarp and that might be a really good upgrade, especially if I end up putting in the VQ35DE HR I'm looking at buying. Could you please post more pictures on how you're doing your Diff/shafts/rotors swap? I'm really interrested in just what you'll have to modify, and what exactly will just bolt in place. Thanks a bunch, and your project is looking really tops of the scale. Oh, I was going to ask what you're planning on coating the undercarriage with? I assume they use a lot of salt on the roads in finland? I had a wonderfultime when I visited Helsinki/Jyvaskyla/Petajavesi/Rovaniemi among other places. Though I was there in the summer when there was little ice. Thanks Phar

I'm always amazed at how fast you're completing things, I'm hoping you'll hav no trouble getting it started in the next few days. I would really like to do this with my 78's30. though I'm sure it wouldn't be as pretty. I had a couple comments on your build tho. If you wanted to use fatter rubber mounts for your engine, how about putting somethign like this: Whereas the back is the frame rail, the cube in the center is a rubber mount (this would be angled ad needed for the engine mount surface, and the sides should triangulate into the frame rail) This should be as strong, and allow for larger rubber mounts. sorry my drawing is so crude. I've heard people also use the pathfinder oil pan on these swaps. is there any reason other than $ that you decided to stick with the stock pan... Lastly, do you mind if I ask how much you spent buying the engine et al from your buddy? that's the scary part, I've seen some serious price swings. Phar

okay maybe pull and clean your fusible links. it's odd it was doing it when you first walked out. almost tells me there's a short. Maybe look on the passenger side fuse box area for any moisture. it's not uncommon to get a leak there, n start corroding wires.

Everytime I look at what you've done, it just impresses the hell out of me. You might think about a few upgrades while you've got things apart. I was looking at your rear diff, and It looks like it might be an R180, You would need to do a little about changing the shafts, but you might think about a R200 VLS diff out of a Z32 twin turbo. Both can handle the power you're estimating, but the viscous limited slip would put that power to the road a little more evenly. Not to mention, you know it's better on ice. The half shafts would need to be changed, I'm sure there's tech on here about it. You've probably already considered this I'd bet. Phar

Wow! 45000+ PSI water? I guess that would work well to remove paint and about anything else like fingers and arms that got in the way. Very impressive. I wonder if there's a company that does that here in NM. So, that rotisserie. Is that a homegrown unit, or something purchased, it looks a little custom. Without the drivetrain is the Z really light enough to support it's own weight for very long? That's Quite a cage you're building in it, Are you planning any particular events in Fi? or just upping the OMG! factor. I am most impressed and in awe over your restoration prowess, but do we dare ask how much you're spending so far? Doing the work yourself, I'm sure has saved a lot, but also taken a lot of time. good job Phar

Toni, Hey I'm amazed at how much work you've done on the car. I wanted to ask tho, what is it that you used to clean off the car, with the pressure washer, was it just heated water, or some additive? It really looked like it took the paint and everything else off really well down to the bare metal. That really looked amazing. I have no idea how long it took, but you really did a nice job. Oh and your welds all look great too. nice job on the replacement rails. Oh Can you tell a little more about which engine you're planning on putting in?? Keep up the good work! Pharaoh

that's awesome, I loved finland when I was there. It's Nice there's Z's up there too. I'm sorry I don't remember enough finnish to be conversational. But hey if you need Z parts/help send me an Email, I know some sources. Eric

hmm, have you already bought the IAC? mine looks a little different than that. I'm sure you've got it all set right though. I think it looks really good. I would gusset the mounting tabs, but that's a very small detail. Phar

okay, that's a bummer. What engine are you replacing it with? 170HP isn't bad in an MR2, how would one work in a Z? hehe. I know, it's not particularly suited to a S30, but it's good to know what preformance engines are around. what will your new engine run about, if you wouldn't mind.... Phar