69sroadster
-
Posts
146 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Events
Gallery
Downloads
Store
Posts posted by 69sroadster
-
-
I wonder if that is what they did to me too...I didn't look into it at the time. How much was the O/H? There's a shop here I can check with but could use a ballpark estimate.
-
Has anyone seen evidence with the TTT TC rods that the rod end has been trying to roll under/over its pivot and/or any lower control arm twisting fatigue? What forces acting on the control arm would be causing this? Would the disc brake torque load put a significant stress on the less controlled TTT TC/lower control arm/ball joint or would the upper strut assembly take the majority of that stress? I'd like to know before I change out my TC's and find some busted lower control arms or ball joints if any has done this swap before.
-
That's good news! What size is the MSA option?
-
I apologize to all of you who have tried to find a build thread by me earlier. I thought I had one going that was neglected and I guess it was on another forum. So this is going to start off with the basic overview and then I'll add in more of the finer details that I can along the way and some eye candy.
This car was my dad's in the early 80's when he was stationed in Japan. It stayed in the family until the late 90's when it was sold to a friend of mine who didn't drive it much. This friend sold it to me for $850 and I drove it from his place in Oregon all the way to my home in Arkansas with no problems (minus the existing A/C charge). At this time (fall 2006) it was a somewhat neglected original that was starting to show some age on the paint with about 100,000 km on the clock. I was going to do a SR20 swap initially on a 2000 roadster I had but decided that the ZX would be a more fun daily driver to play with. I may have been wrong about the fun part on that call later but it's still a blast.
I sold the L28, ECU and tranny to a guy from Fayettevill AR for a good price and think he put it in a 240Z of his. The SR I got crated to my house with the tranny and about 70k km on it for $1700. It still needed a new water pump, engine wire harness (they cut it, idiots!) ignitor, ECU and MAF. The good news was that the engine and tranny were in great shape. I worked over about 2 months on weekends and some week nights to get the engine and tranny in the car. The only issue on initial start was that it would only run a few seconds before shutting down. We found out that the MAF was not the correct one and after a good part change it has worked ever since. The SR has had ARP head studs and rocker stoppers added. I'm running unorthodox pulleys and no power steering since my body didn't ever have it. I also have a lightweight flywheel and aftermarket clutch. Otherwise the SR20 engine, turbo and tranny etc are stock. I had a portable dyno back in the day showing just under 240 whp and 270 ft/lb. That's before I had the exhaust redone with 3" mandrel SS and high flow CAT/muffler.
This car gets me about 29-30 mpg on the highway now and is a blast to drive (3.7 gears and 255/40/17 tires, GPS verified). I've had the swap in the car since fall 2007 and have been racing a the local SCCA course as much as I can around work since 2010. So far only one HPDE at Hallet. I've had no real significant issues but a handful of smaller ones. I'll cover those as the story goes along. I'll also try to keep this in order as I add in the details.
I swapped out the rear diff internals with a KAAZ 1.5 way LSD for a 240sx with an open carrier. I also purchased a set of turbo ZX flanges and CV's.
I installed an aluminum radiator and T-Bird electric fan. Still working on the sticky solenoid driving the high speed fan setting, but the low is still more than enough.
I installed a set of Tokico HP struts/springs all around.
I installed a new Polyurethane bushing kit all around.
Installed a custom A/C line kit for the SR swap and retrofitted to R-134 (discovered that custom hoses had the high/low ports on wrong hoses w/o losing hands)
Purchased a set of 17x9 front Rota RBR and 17x9.5 rears. Also purchased a set of 17x9 and a set of Hankook DOT-R slicks for racing on.
Replaced the stock stereo system and speakers, installed Excelon deck, Soundstream amp and Sony sub....sounds great.
Had a shop tint the whole car.
Installed a set of Corbeau racing seats on both fronts. Modded the driver sliding bracket to sit lower and lean back more...still have to do the passenger (left) side.
Installed an oil cooler and had the used hose that wasn't the right size blow out when racing at Hallet. Fixed that problem and haven't had an issue since.
-
BluD,
I started one a long time ago and didn't do a good job with it. I can still take some pictures to post up for you to look at. If I was better at fabrication and had more patience I would have mounted it a little farther back than I did. I don't want to thread jack so I'll just say in this thread that the two big issues are #1) the SR20 front sump vs cross member/sway bar and #2) for LHD bodies the turbo vs steering shaft/brake booster. I'll work at updating my build thread since it's sooo outdated by now I'm sure. Expect that to get some loving later today after shopping and superbowl fun.
-
Hey Z33 guys, I don't have any good search results that answer this question directly so I want to confirm my suspicions...does the 350z series get its vehicle speed on the speedo through the abs sensors on the rear differential?
-Sam
-
I'm not sure if anyone else has had troubles keeping their ZX cool. I looked at doing the Jags That Run kit but there was an issue getting a good radiator, so I went to Jegs and ordered a generic aluminum one (26"x19" 2 row) to use with the JTR mounting kit. The JTR thread talks about how to do this swap in an L28 powered ZX, but mine was a slight change with an SR20. I had to trim my JTR mounts a little to fit. While I was doing this swap I also went to the junkyard and pulled out a 18" electric fan from a thunderbird. The shroud that came on the fan needed a little trim on the corners to sit in more "flush" against the radiator. For now I am just running the fan on the low speed using a headlight solenoid...and it's rare that I ever need to use this while I'm moving. Keep in mind that I have a bit more front motor clearance with the shorter 2.0 ltr vs the L28, so the Tbird fan may not squeeze in. I also have a larger front mount intercooler and my A/C heat exchanger up front making airflow a challenge, but like I said it's working pretty well in the Arkansas heat with the 2.0. Just thought I'd share a little info for any other hybrid ZX's out there. Be careful with the Mk8/Tbird fan if you get one because those edges WILL cut your fingers even though it's just plastic.
-
Add in a rear strut mount, change to a stiffer rear spring/strut combo, get some rear poly bushings in. Consider a 300zx CV and flange swap if the turbo 280zx CV and flanges are hard to come by. R200's will be just fine. You could also get a LSD for a 240SX with open diff. I have a KAAZ 1.5 LSD like this and it works great.
-
So I've swapped in a set of used ZX turbo CVs into my 1979 N/A 2+2 and the right side is now needing a replacement. I ordered one from autozone for an 82 turbo zx for the right side and it is too long. Wierd, I would have thought that this would be the same longer length on an 79 N/A 2+2 but I guess I'm going to have to use the shorter left turbo CV on my right side. Has anyone else run into this before? All of the search discussions as usual covered swap issues into an older 240Z or 280Z.
-
I think I need to rescale mine but the last time it was 680lb at each corner with me not in it and about half a tank. This is a 2+2 JDM manual steering, with a stock SR20DET engine & tranny, 3" SS exhaust with CAT and muffler...and a working A/C. I've since swapped out the front seats and done some other things so it's probably a bit off now.
-
Thanks Vert88. I'll check the yahoo japan site and see what comes up.
-
I'm looking to just switch to the S13 suspension the next time I bother spending money on suspension parts. Not swapping entire rear suspension, but using the S13 coilover setup as described by cutting the zx front tubes and rewelding the lower section in place instead from the S13 kit.
-
I sandwiched new rubber tc bushings on one side and poly on the other side with no issues for probably 4 years now with a lot of autox and a few 15 min track sessions. I'd agree with the TTT TC rods if you don't care about the increased cost.
-
Would you be willing to helping me find a replacement jdm front right bumper turn light assembly and left fender mirror for a zx/s130? I'm willing to throw in some extra cash for your trouble. For now I've tried rigging up a modified US light and it's not the best looking setup...they're different sizes in width...as is the fender mirror internals that I tried to switch out.
Sam aka 69sroadster
-
I finally had a chance to make a top speed run in my SR20DET 280zx 2+2. The turbo, cams, intake, exhaust manifolds are all stock and I was running 93 octane at 11 psi. I have a lightweight flywheel and underdrive pulleys. GPS showed 145 mph and climbing strong when the ECU decided to cut fuel and end the momentum. I found this wierd since I don't have the transmission sender hooked up to the ECU (running a mechanical sender) and the ECU is not in safe mode. Oh well when I switch to the Power FC and other injectors this issue will go away. What a great little motor. Oh yeah I run 255/40/17's and have the factory 3.70 gearing.
-
just an update to how this finally panned out. the first problem i discovered earlier on was that the left front caliper was literally seized with a little bit of brake application still on the rotor. I replaced the caliper and still had some wierd issues as described above. I checked everything again and after a bit of driving noticed some wierd wearing marks on the left front disc. I pulled it off again and noticed that the left front caliper floating pins had an issue for the caliper to ride on. The upper/forward pin was also seized. I could not for the life of me get it to free up so I found a replacement one at the local yard cleaned it up and greased it appropriately. Magically the brakes still feel firm, but at the correct height and have much better feel and stopping power. I chalk it all up to the old and not serviced well caliper and mounting bracket/floating pins.
-
i'll have to look at where i have the sensor plugged in since I can't remember. Since this post I haven't been to the track again yet, but I have swapped in a generic (read chevy) aluminum radiator that fills in the frame rails in the ZX and put in a thunderbird 18" monster electric fan. I've never got the higher speed to kick on with the fan due to a sticky solenoid, but i've never even come close to needing it either. I have to say that fan is awesome for flow but damn sharp edges. I also had to spray out some oil from everything up there since my oil cooler line busted and clogged up some fin cooling area.
-
I've re-bled the MC on a bench, and in the car, and the rear and front calipers....not much difference really. I've checked the vacuum booster reaction disk (okay) and MC adjustment rod. There are no leaks. The only thing I can think that is still going on is either the brake calipers are having issues...ie not self-adjusting or something like that.
-
My ZX JDM gauges are in metric, but they were showing 125ish Celcius on oil and water at Hallet over last Memorial day weekend. The outside temps were in the 90's Fahrenheit I think, off track. My SR ZX normally runs around 100-110 C on normal driving with the A/C on. I was interested in this response too given the higher temps I thought I was seeing. I'm not 100% certain that they are calibrated to the SR water temp sensor nor that the oil temp sensor is spot on too.
-
I was running wilwood 570 BF and porterfield r4s pads all around. I have read through the brake faq and saw consistent negative feedback with rebuilt BMC's to replace the ZX unit. I will flush the system, again with 570, once the 1" wilwood comes in. If that ends up being overkill like you mention, then I'll figure out the best place to get a rebuilt ZX unit and swap it back on instead of the wilwood 1". That just seemed like a cheap alternative that should provide more juice if/when I ever do swap to the big brake kit.
When this happened I thought at first it was just a hard pedal but then realized it was all the way down. I pumped and it came back up along with the braking response. It's still like this now, but like I said I have not been able to find any source of brake fluid leak and still haven't seen the fluid level drop in either bowl. I need to get another pedal pusher to confirm the fronts aren't doing what they should while I try to rotate a tire up front.
I was also running soft hankook ventus DOT slicks at the time...245/40/17's. Boy did I love those around the turns versus the old nitto nt05's.
-
Where do those holes near the BMC and batter go to? Do they exit out to the side of the car's fender somehow? I've read about that as an option to exit air from under the hood but it seems like you'd need to create a lower pressure differential to get air in that area to actually exit out the sides. I've seen someone use Trans Am side vents which have a front speed bump on them possibly to help this out but don't know if it actually worked or not. Does yours exit the "trapped" air some other way? I've got a ZX that althought theoretically more aerodynamic than the S30 still makes the hood wobble from this high pressure under the back of the hood. It seems that the louvers near the front of the hood aft of the radiator make the most function but I don't like the way they look too much.
I'm also wondering what is too hot for the SR. At my last track day it seemed my oil temps maintained a steady 120ish celcius with the water about in the same ball park, but I didn't have any overheating indications. I didn't get a look at the EGT values, but they might indicate higher than most others since my probe is right by the exhaust port and not aft of the turbo. The highest I've seen there is during lean cruise at 1400ish Fahrenheit. This is a damn near stock SR.
Good luck and your car looks nice.
-
I agree about the MAF differences. First fire up on the SR proved that out for me as it kept dying after a couple of seconds. Swapped to an actual SR MAF and it's been running fine since then. The other MAF I am 99% sure came from a KA my brother accidentally confused for me when he gave it to me.
I love the passion everyone has here in the discussion. It seems we can all do great things with some patience, advice, time and money to whatever motors we want. I opted for the SR because it was lighter and gets better gas mileage and I was familiar with it. I guess I could have gone KA too saving cash, but at the time I wasn't as familiar with it. It was a fun learning experience doing the SR and I still think the torque in it is just fine as it is. I've had it in for 4.5 years now, been to 14+ autox events and a recent Hallet HST event. The A/C works and it gets over 30 mpg on the highway in my 2+2 ZX (3.7 rear gears & 255/40/17's). It makes me smile, and that's all I need. To each their own. Whatever you choose, I hope it can make you smile too.
-
Just had my 1st HST event at Hallet in my ZX and I LOVE the non-PC flag definitions here. Unfortunately for me I was the A-hole who lost his oil line going to the cooler on the track but at least I did get off the line and the track ASAP. Also thankfully I did not lose the motor in the process. I will also say that I only had to let 1 corvette pass on a straight before the drama hit and I'm proud of that for my 4 banger ZX...but it was a new ZR-1.
-
So over memorial day weekend I took my zx for the first time to a "real race track" at Hallet with my family camping there over night. After about 5 minutes into the second HST session my brakes seemed to disappear going into the near 180 degree turn. After a brief panicky feeling and pumping the brakes, they came back enough to slow down in time for a deeper than normal apex (not in the grass). I've bled them and found no air, but a little chunk of blackish hard crud came out of the left rear bleeder. I thought that was wierd. I also bled the master cylinder first, again no air. I also found no fluid leaks anywhere. The pedal initially seems low but pumps up quickly and holds. It also seemed that the rear brakes appeared to be abnormally worn than previous to the racing....excuse me high speed touring...and more than the fronts. After reading a good lexus master cylinder 101 write up I think that the front circuit of the master cylinder is failing or has failed. I've ordered a wilwood 1" for now as I'll be upgrading the brakes eventually to a larger set. I've also looked into the front resevior again after a few days of local limping to/from work at slow speeds to confirm that the fluid is still not leaking out. No leaks noticed, level was the same but I did notice how much more dirty the fluid there looked than the crystal clear it was after I flushed just prior to the racing. My bet is that the original seals in that original master cylinder broke down under the high temp fluid and hard braking from 100+ mph speeds.
Has anyone else seen something similar to this? Also, for those who have done the AZC big brake kits to the ZX and track their car...has it held up to your expectations over time? I've seen writeups with initial great reviews but haven't seen a long term feedback on them for a ZX yet.
Sam Kraemer
280zx N/A to Turbo CV axles
in S130 Series - 280ZX
Posted
Is it possible that what I have installed is not a turbo 280zx cv axle but an N/A cv axle, and that is why when I did get a right side turbo zx cv it didn't swap over? What is the difference between the N/A and turbo ZX CV axle? I'm beginning to think that i swapped out my u-jointed axles/stubs for N/A cv axles & stubs.
Traeg...it depends on what they are going into. Older S30 models have a couple of options to pursue.