Dat73z

Thanks @madkaw, I'm checking that out now so I'll see how things look. Quick update on the turbo build I unboxed a heatshield from Datsun Spirit and test fit it up last night with the restored SK50s and Surge Tank. I think it'll work well with some slight modification and perhaps add a secondary layer with an air gap. I'll also need to drop the engine in one last time to double check the turbo cartridge clocking and hot side clearances before welding out the elbow. I have about 2 months left to go before the bodyshop so I'm minimizing the time spent diving into specific aspects of the turbo build unless I need to. Mostly I'm test fitting things to ensure I'm not missing any packaging considerations on the chassis. Any other fabrication work can wait until the shell is at the bodyshop.

That's good to know on the Q45/Z32TT wheel bearings. No I am running 280z stubs with the Q45 CVs and custom Moser cut shafts. I looked at the t3 Q45/Z32TT option a couple years ago when swapping out my t3 Konis/GCs and wilwoods and parts availability was definitely a concern. I ended up locking in on the KW and Stoptech setup for the long-term, so my weakest link is still the stubs 😅

@calZ sounds good I'll send you a DM when the time gets closer. I agree it's typically about finding the compromises you're willing to live with 😅 I've been continuing the prep process for the bodyshop and realize I need to check some clearances/brackets on the rear end. A few years ago I imported a NOS Reinhard full 60mm twin exhaust for this build. I figure the twin 60mm should be as good for single or twin turbos. My Q45 r200 is getting rebuilt with a OSG LSD and for the rear end I was thinking of upgrading to all Escort Japan pieces including their extended rear diff cover. The problem which may present is how the r200 (and so far as I can tell the vintage Nissan Comp systems) wrap around the rear of the diff. I only have one grainy picture of a full Reinhard exhaust installed so later this week I'll test fit it up with a spare diff to see.

@Zetsaz there is no baffling inside the VTS tank other than the formed center area. However, the formed center area fully blocks off the fuel towards the rear of the tank which perhaps has some benefit under acceleration/cornering but overall I'd say it's comparable to the OE tank. The main benefit (other than being poly) is the formed recessed component mounting area. I think earlier in the thread I showed some pictures of the modifications on my OE steel tank which required quite a bit of cutting/welding/waterjet custom tank ring for the fuel cell plate. I also sealed off the stamped center baffle and added one way valves. Either way nowadays there are a lot of options for fuel slosh control such as Holley Hydramat, Aeromotive Stealth System, in-tank passive/active surge tanks, fuel pump trays, etc. Each has their pros and cons but that's a separate topic 😅

@calZ if you are referring to the adapter ring there are no links as it is a custom one-off piece in design. What you see in the pics are the developmental 3d prints before machining and finishing. There are a couple of minor things to sort out I didn't show such as an integrated fuel sender with roughly the same ohms sweep as the s30 gauge. If you're interested in getting an assembly let me know and I'll get some pricing for you when the time gets closer to production. Lots of irons in the fire right now, but I'll dedicate a post to the updated fuel system later like the custom cnc intake manifold.

Haven't posted in a while as I've been busy blowing the car apart to a bare metal shell along with welding and rebuilding a bunch of stuff in preparation for the spring bodyshop dropoff date. For the turbo build I started prepping the tank for the in-tank FPG surge tank with integral Pierburg lift pump. I'll be running a single walbro 450 to start, with the option to run twins (3 pumps total including the lift pump) within the surge tank feeding through -8 and returning -10 directly back into the surge tank. Every fuel system I've ever ran in a s30 has been a compromise, so hopefully this will be the last fuel system I ever put together (for this car at least).

A busy start to the weekend due to the holidays but the plan is to get the mounting locations for the water/meth tank set and finish stripping out the interior. For the water/meth tank, I think the cubby area on the pass rear works well and it'll basically blend into the black interior when it's all back together.

@calZ I'm working to import the Mizukami Auto one and yes the exchange rate has been phenomenal 😁. Nils at JDMJunkies is running one on his Swiss s30 build and when I messaged him he had nothing but great things to say about the build quality, fitment, and how complete the kit was down to the weld-in floor plates. I also went down the rabbit hole of investigating other available option(s)/what is historically accurate/made some friends along the way lol and settled on the Mizukami bar as the most viable option for my needs. @A to Z The manifold is a novel clean sheet design from a very talented designer and friend. I'll dedicate a post to discuss the design philosophy and aspects when it's time to refocus on the driveline.

Thanks for the discussion guys, and no offense taken @A to Z. In terms of the scope, chassis modification such as full length frame rails will be carried out for strengthening among other aspects I'll cover later. I see 50k being repeated a lot not sure where that's coming from but this will be done to a high standard regardless. I don't think I've really posted much about the car itself or what it means to me but it'll remain frozen in appearance as a clean narrowbody car, without bodykits, big wheels, etc. It's more nostalgic for me that way and I've already shown early in the build thread, tucking 245rcomps under the factory arches. Not much to update here as I'm recovering from the rona but a lot of irons in the fire. Cnc intake manifold is in production, got some updates and very excited for that. Waiting for my water meth tank to get in and determined the location. Waiting for news on getting a Nissan Comp OEM style rollbar imported so I can weld the floor plates in for that. Also met with the bodyshop guys today to look over the car and the target date to get it in is May. Basically do all the remaining cutting, welding, and drilling before the shell goes on rotisserie.

Still feeling terrible but I'm trying to get all the parts back onto the engine to make space for shell tear down. Today I put the hot side parts onto the engine, and like most custom setups clearances are exceptionally tight so assembly order and angles all matter. I think if I'm feeling better next week some buddies will come over to help strip the rest of the shell. I should probably also find some roller suspension for traveling to and around the bodyshop.

Got super busy and had to take a break, but this week I got covid so I get to catch up on some unboxing and setup. Unboxed my shielded vband special PTZ and hot side components. Also my custom cnc intake manifold is in production so I should have that in soon. I'm changing directions a bit on the build. After years of keeping it a clean patina driver, I've decided to rotisserie restore the car at a local shop that does a lot of high end work for GTRs and other really sick JDMs. The target date to get it in is this spring so I'm going to finish all the bespoke fabrication work so everything goes together like Legos when I get the shell back in.

My plan is to eventually put a couple gallon anti detonant tank in the spare tire well area for volute or direct port injection. For my setup it hasn't been needed at 10psi on 91 CA pump gas and 8.5:1 CR but I want to double that with the new G series turbo. I measured everything out and few years ago for likely candidates around the engine bay area in front of the rad support would be taken up by the oil cooler and AC...which is the case now. The other area I evaluated was the washer bottle/clutch master area which could work but I really wanted at least 2-3 gallons of volume for convenience. Yesterday turned into a nice all day date with my wife so I didn't get much done. After soliciting some opinions from FB groups I decided to leave the lower condenser mount as-is to force air through the coolers. Doing nothing at all is less work and eventually I may redo the air ducting when I do a v3 cooler packaging update in another 5 or 10 years 😆 I considered serviceability when fabricating all of this, with good access to the rad hardware. The easiest location for a top soft mount without making new holes in the chassis seems to be bracketing off the top and/or bottom rad bolt(s), especially if I want the top intercooler air plate to remain independent but this would affect serviceability. Not sure what the best path forward is but I'll think about it over the week.

Thanks it feels good to be working on it semi-consistently again. I still haven't had my half day this weekend, but I had an hour tonight so I started final shaping the lower condenser mount. I drew what I had conceptualized on a piece of cardboard a few weeks ago but decided to freestyle it as I was filing things down. I could do a lot more but I think I'm going to punch some speed/air bypass holes on the bottom of the mount and call it. The mounting is Setrab sandwich style soft mounts with high temp silicone sheet. I'm going to try to wrap this tomorrow and weld in the top soft mounts to the intercooler air plate.

Things got super busy again but this evening I went ahead and hardlined the oil cooler. I'm a bit out of practice on stainless so I accidentally put a couple of tooling marks in the tubes. The line sections are short so I'll work them out with a hardened rod when I wash everything out and rebrush the finish for final assembly. It's one of those things where I need to remind myself to slow down and think things through otherwise I end up making more work for myself or waste material. I also hit the AC Hardlines with some steel wool and wd40 to get a uniform finish but it's is a bit bright for me. I may go back and redo those in brushed as well. I realize I keep getting busy so this weekend I'm going to try and dedicate a solid half day to wrapping up the turbo cooler packaging updates.

@calZ I actually got the fresh air duct idea from the v8 subforum here a few years back when brainstorming the AC setup. I don't recall the thread but it was a super clean silver Z and they ran the lines across the rad support to the pass side. HybridZ is an absolute goldmine of info so maybe someone will stumble across our discussion too and get some inspiration. There's a lot more going on with the AC install on this build I've been working in the background including inside the cabin (I'll update that ongoing thread in the Interiors sub sometime) but I've been trying to keep this thread mostly dedicated to the turbo aspects. For the cooler packaging I intentionally wanted to keep all the AC componentry all on the DS and the oil cooler all on the PS with the intercooler in front of and crossing between the two instead of single sided. So that's why I went through all the fabrication work so far...it would have been a heck of a lot easier to mount the oil cooler in front of the intercooler, run the AC lines much longer onto the other side of the car, etc. but that wasn't the vision