Aaron D

Timeline for this build is going to be... quite a while. I had to save for a while just to get the engine/harness. If anyone knows of a completed Z31 GenIII SBC build please let me know. I've searched everywhere I can think of and haven't turned up much of anything to reference. The only thing I can think of to go off of so far is Z32 GenIII SBC builds and the challenges they've encountered. I don't know how similar the Z31 and Z32 chassis are in regards to the engine bay and firewall are except in pictures. Maybe someone has owned both and can speak to this? I dunno, I'll find out in process and all. I just know I can't possibly be the first to do this swap, so I'd like to get pointers where I can. Thanks! Aaron D.

I got a present yesterday: LQ9 from a 2004 Cadillac Escalade with 48k on it.

Underbody... Before: After: Before: After: Before: After: Before: After: It took me two weekends to get this car cleaned up, this was just from cleaning the underside: The end of my driveway looks like an Prince William Sound, Alaska on March 24, 1989... Worth every dime: I've weighed the original engine, transmission, and clutch assembly to keep track of what my exchange will be. They seem to weigh more than the listings I've found posted on the web by quite a bit. Listed as follows: W-series VG30ET Engine w/starter, no A/C: 473lbs dry (oil and water drained) FS5R30A Transmission: 139lbs dry (oil drained) Stock Flywheel (resurfaced) and Clutch assembly (exedy OEM Spec): 41lbs Total weight: 650-655lbs The scale was Zeroed out between each weighing and for the chains/cables used.

Note to all Turbo owners: DO NOT DRIVE WITH A LEAKY OIL LINE!!! This next series of pictures shows how I've had to clean what must have been 10lbs of caked on oil/grease off the engine bay and underside of this car. Engine bay... Before: After: Before: After: Before: After: Before: After:

Well guys, welcome to project 600zx. I've been setting on this car for a while thinking on how to build it. At first I was planning on doing a mild build up on the stock W-series VG30ET 3.0 sixer adding a stealthy V-mount aftercooler and a Pathfinder upper intake manifold etc. After careful consideration and much searching, I've decided against the factory power plant for several reasons. What I finally chose to go with is a 6.0 liter V8 LQ9 engine from GM. As far as current progress it's mostly been a story of pulling parts and cleaning, but it's progress none the less. Here is the story in pictures: It was so covered with oil and grease, it nearly slid out on it's own.

Good to know. I'll keep it mind. Thanks! Aaron D.

Considering shipping would likely cost over half that, thanks, but no thanks.

Transmission is still available. Any takers?

I have an FS5R30A transmission for sale out of an '87 Turbo 300zx with a production date of 7/87. Chassis had about 180k on it. Transmission shifted well, locked into each gear well, centered into neutral, and hand no grinds. The car it came out of was well taken care of. The below is a clip of all the transmissions that came from Z31's and some info about them, gear ratios, as well as interchangability. If you're doing a serious build up with a Nissan engine and want a manual transmission, THIS is the transmission you want. Pictures here: It's a bit oily from the turbo engine in front of it leaking all over it. I tried spraying it off as best I could with just water. I'll hit it again later, but for now that's how it looks. Price: $300 Thanks, Aaron D. Stock Z31 Transmissions Basic Descriptions The Z31 came with three different manual 5 speed transmissions. All manual non-turbos used a 5 speed Nissan transmission (FS5W71C) which is quite reliable. The 84-86 manual turbos used a Borg-Warner T-5 5 speed (FS5R90A). The 87-89 manual turbos use the same nissan truck transmission found in z32 turbos, trucks, pathfinders, etc (FS5R30A). All manual transissions have synchros on all forward gears. If you change the gear oil in your transmission on a semi-regular basis it should give you absolutely no trouble at all. That is, provided you don’t beat the poop out of it. FS5R90A : Borg Warner T-5 5 speed manual It has been generally regarded that the FS5R90A transmission is not very strong in stock form. People seem to blow these up with as little as 300 horsepower. The good side is they are cheap to rebuild. Rebuild kits are as cheap as $125 on ebay. Any short throw shifter made for the 5-speed Mustang will work fine in this transmission. FS5W71C: Nissan non-turbo 5 speed manual The second strongest Z31 manual transmission is the FS5W71C. This transmission is used in the 240SX, 180SX, Silvia, etc. A few people who have blown up their FS5R90As have swapped to this transmission and not had problems. A lot of 240SX owners have this transmission mated to their SR20DETs and KA24DETs running 400+ hp with no problems. Any short throw shifter made for the 240SX (S12, S13, S14, S15) will fit perfectly in this transmission. FS5R30A : Nissan turbo 5 speed manual The king daddy of the Z31 manual transmissions is the FS5R30A. This transmission is the same design as the transmission used in the Z32 300ZX models. Only the gear ratios are different. There are Z32s running these transmissions with well over 600 horsepower and are not blowing them up. There are supposedly a few short throw shifters that will work with this transmission. They are usually the cheaper/generic short throws made for the FS5W71C. No B&M short shifter fits this transmission to date. 4N71B : 4 speed automatic Automatics suck, but there are some people who still insist on buying them. All automatic Z31s used the 4N71B transmission. Change the fluid every so often, and check the level every time you change your engine oil. Also, if you overheat your car for whatever reson and it has an automatic, CHANGE THE TRANSMISSION FLUID IMMEDIATELY!!! If you don’t, your transmission will blow up as a result of the fluid getting overheated in the cooler and burning inside the transmision, and this is bad. Of course, you could avoid this by putting in a manual transmission, and have more power and economy to boot! The overdrive switch in the automatics has a temperature sensor that does not allow the transmission to shift into overdrive until it is sufficiently warmed up to avoid possible damage. Level 10 makes an upgrade that will allow your transmission to hold 500+ hp. Click here for more details. Fluid Recommendations TransCapacityType E4N71B7-3/8 qtAuto Trans DEXRON FS5W71A4-1/4 ptAPI GL-4 FS5R90A4 ptAPI GL-4 (SAE 80W-90) or type DEXRON FS5R30A5-1/8 ptAPI GL-4 Gear ratios FS5R30A 1987 1st 3.324 2nd 2.077 3rd 1.360 4th 1.000 5th 0.760 Rev 3.382 Interchangeability All Z31 transmissions are completely interchangeable. They have no problems bolting up to the motor. The problem comes in when you try to mount the driveshaft. Each transmission has it’s own output shaft size. Finding the appropriate driveshaft for a two seater is no problem. Just find another two seater that had the same transmission and take that driveshaft. If you have a four seater, you’re going to have a more difficult time. Only in Canada did the North American market get a turbo four seater. And almost all of them were automatics. So you’ll need to find the appropriate driveshaft for the transmission you just bought and have the driveshaft lengthened. If you get a FS5W71C, there are plenty of 2+2 5 speed models around. The only thing left is to determine if your differential companion flange is correct for the driveshaft. There is also sometimes a problem when you try to mount the transmission to the body of the car. Some people have experienced issues with mounting the 87-89 transmissions into the 84-86 bodies. If the holes do not line up perfectly, you have several options. You can drill and tap new holes in the body (you might want to reinforce it). You can slot the holes in the transmission crossmember. Or you could stretch the bushing to mount it (not recommended). Flywheels There are several different manufacturers of lighter flywheels for the Z31. The non-turbo and the 84-86 turbo came with a 240mm flywheel. The 87-89 turbo came with a 250mm flywheel. This isn’t the overall diameter of the flywheel, it is the diameter of the clutch surface area. The overall diameter of the flywheel is the same. Different manufacturers have made these different ways. Some will include the different mounting holes for the different sized/spaced clutches. Clutches There are a bunch of different manufacturers of clutches and most of them offer different stage clutches for different power requirements. All manual transmissions have the same number of splines, so as long as the clutch housing fits in the transmission case, you can use any clutch you want. Just mate it to the correct flywheel. There are occasionally problems with the 87-89 turbo clutches not fitting in the other manual transmission housings. One approach is to shave the extra bracing in the housing to allow the pressure plate to spin freely. Short Shifters A lot of people take the stick apart and cut a small section out of it to give the shifter a shorter height. This does shorten the distance travelled, but it does not actually shorten the throw. B&M makes shifters for both the NA transmission and the BW T5, and they are highly recommended. They do not currently make shifters for the 87-89 turbo transmission. B&M makes three different units. Models 45070 and 45050 both work just fine in the Borg-Warner T5 (90A). The model number is 45088 for the 71C transmission. Beware of imitations. They aren’t always made of the same quality materials or to the same precise specifications. For the 87-89 turbo shifters, just about any other shifter made for the 71C can be used. There is some thought that may be needed for installing it. Quality shifters that will work are C’s, NISMO, etc. Still, beware of imitations.

Thanks for the compliments and thanks for all the links too. I've checked out most of them and they have been very helpful/informative. I must admit that when I bought it I didn't know quite what I was getting into until after the fact and did more digging. Now that I have it and know more about it, it's the version I would have preferred! I just got off work, tomorrow I will begin draining fluids as well as pulling the engine/trans out for further evaluation for upgrades. On a side note, When I pulled the hood off the other day I discovered that it had never been removed before. I almost felt like I was defacing it by breaking that paint seal! lol

Don't replace the injector? Why would I not replace it? Even if it isn't "bad" I still need to pull them to have them cleaned/flow matched, but even so I do want to upgrade to a larger turbo charger, which would require larger injectors... (checking into RX7 550's.. I dunno, I just know some RX7 guys that have these parts laying around...) Also I'm looking at emissions removal and whatever vacuum lines I can eliminate. I'll also be doing some searches at Plentum gutting once I do eventually get the engine out. Yeaaahh, I've learned on the 240's I've had that it's just too easy to pull the whole engine/trans out and working on my workbench or engine stand than to break my back bending over for hours at a time and scratching up my paint.

Hello all, My name is Aaron and I just crossed the line from 240sx camp into the "Z" world. I picked up this '87 300zx Turbo this weekend am really starting to like it! It has a build date of 7/87, so it should be the W-series VG30ET engine with the redesigned water jackets and fully floating piston wrist pins. It also has what I believe to be considered the strongest 5spd transmission and the clutch type LSD. As far as mods, it came with a K&N filter, Manual boost controller, and a 3" exhaust welded on about 3' from the stock downpipe all the way back to a magnaflow muffler. All of which I plan to junk pretty much. The exhaust can stay, but that muffler is way too annoying! (I'm getting old, lol) Now for the bad: It has a bad fuel injector though the car does run/drive and the turbo has a leaky oil return line. As for my plans on the car, they're not going to be outrageous. Since I have to replace the injectors anyway, I figure I'd replace the turbo and add some supporting mods to bring the power up some. I don't have a specific power goal or 1/4mi time in mind. I just want to improve it some without going crazy on it. Engine: Re-sealing the engine with gaskets/hoses/belts Replace master/slave cylinders Clutch Radiator w/electric fans I plan on doing all the free/low cost mods I can along the way as well. Suspension: All new bushings! Lower with struts/springs 1.5/1.0 F/R 4piston brake calipers (Z32) Performance brake rotors New wheels Pics: I haven't done a compression test yet, but will as soon as I can. I've searched a bit, but haven't located a "Turbo for dummies" kind of thread/sticky for these cars yet outlining the limits and required equipment to support certain HP marks. I'm not looking for huge numbers, but would like to see 400+ at the wheels while still being a nice driver. I'd also like to restore the Air conditioning to a working status, but adding an FMIC along with the turbo upgrade. Anyone have a pointer on how that can be done? Thanks! Aaron D.