Inferno 08

Picked this stuff up tonight: I'm going out of town tomorrow, but installation for this should start Monday afternoon. I plan on fabbing up a gas cap behind the license plate.

The gold definitely looks better with the color of your car.

Thanks. My other big hobby is photography, so I take a ton of pictures of projects with my DSLR. And I just got a MIG welder for Christmas, so I'm really looking forward to fixing all the rust and reinforcing the frame.

Update: Got all the interior out today. Before: After: Floor boards are completely shot: Random rust by the quarter window: The whole back of the interior is surprisingly clean though: Too bad that part is getting cut up for a rear battery and a fuel cell.

Wow, that's impressive. Have you ever run a full quarter mile with it?

New floors and frame rails, setting it up for a fuel cell and rear mounted battery, and rust repair/body work are the main things I want to get done before I have to go back to college for next semester. I'm hoping to either get a welder for Christmas or some money so I can buy one myself. I don't think the little stick welder I borrowed from the neighbor is gonna be able to handle doing this.

After selling the boosted CRX that I built, I wanted something that was RWD, but of course I wanted to do something different since I like being unique. I also missed the whole oldschool feel that my Torino had, so I picked this up: Its a '71 240z. It had a few little issues, but I got it for cheap so I didn't mind. The car that was supposed to be my DD has some issues so I ended up daily driving this for a while, and got tired of the colors real quick. Needless to say, it got rattlecanned flat black one night (these pics were after one or two coats, not the finished product): There's a decent aftermarket for the dual carb'd inline 6 that came in the car, but why mod that when I can put something better in there? I wanted to keep it carb'd and old school, so I got myself a 4 bolt main Chevy 350 block: The block looked lonely in the back of the Z, so I decided to throw some Dart Pro 1 heads and an Edelbrock intake on it: Over the weekend I cleaned my garage (it REALLY needed it) then got the Z in there and up on jackstands. First on the list was to prep the engine bay for drivetrain removal. Here's the result of that: Then, while waiting on an engine hoist, I decided to remove the rear bumper. This will not be going back on: Next came the engine removal: Lots of space for a V8 now that its out: After the engine came out, I decided to check out the underside of the car a bit. Do these springs look stock to you? Rust hole under the battery tray (knew it was there): Floor board looks rusted through (was expecting it): Hole in the frame rail (was NOT expecting it): I planned on beefing up the subframe anyways, so oh well. Next up will be removal of the interior. The plan is to built a 383 bolted up to a T-56 with (most likely) a Q45 rear diff setup. The rear quarters will be widened to accommodate wider tires. Beefier frame rails will be fabbed and installed, as well as an 8 point roll bar.

I've got the wheel from my '71 240Z. Its in great condition. PM me with an offer on it. Thanks

Can you post some pictures of this?

There shouldn't be a difference between the A/C version and the non A/C one. In '88 to '91 Civics and CRXs, the A/C is a seperate self contained unit that mounts next to the fan assembly. Also, the one for the '92 will be different since its from a different generation Civic.

Looks good! I'll most likely be picking one of these up over winter break.

If you put your hand close to any joints in the exhaust system you should be able to feel pressure where the leak is. I'd recommend doing this when the engine is cold to make things a little easier for you.

Definitely useful info in this thread. I had to clearance the thrust bearing on the CRX motor I was building since it had absolutely zero endplay. Lots of boost and lots of miles later and that thing is still running strong.

Having a breather won't cause damage to the engine. The only way damage could occur was if the system was somehow sealed and pressure built up in the crankcase, which would most likely end up just blowing past the rings. From what you're describing, it sounds like you have a vacuum leak somewhere. A good way to test for that is to spray something flammable like starting fluid or carb cleaner on vacuum lines or anywhere that you suspect a leak. If that causes the car to rev a bit, you've found your leak.

Not having the stock PCV system shouldn't do this to your mileage. The point of a PCV system is to evacuate fumes from the crankcase. Breathers will do the job, but the stock PCV system will work a little better. The downside to the stock system, however, is that it routes those fumes (along with oil vapor) back into your intake, which isn't exactly a plus for performance applications.

Those look amazing. I now know what gauges I'll be going with.

If the car has been reprogrammed there's a possiblity that the tune they put on it has it running rich, which would again explain the terrible mileage. There's no reason a correctly running LT1 should be getting 11 mpg, especially in something as light as a Z. Out of curiosity, what transmission and rear gearing are you running?

I'm loving the plaid!

That's a great idea. I'd love to see someone do that just for the uniqueness of the setup.

Making stuff yourself is just so much more fulfilling, plus you can make it exactly what you want it to be.

Wow, that looks great. What sort of paint did you use for those?

Stuff like that always seems to happen at the worst time. Hopefully its nothing too serious.

O2 sensors can definitely cause bad mileage. If the engine isn't getting correct air/fuel ratio readings from them, it will run rich to protect itself, and as such burn more fuel.

Wow, that paint looks great. Awesome job on the rust repair too!

In general, you should be good with a set of block hugger headers. I believe steering shaft clearance on the driver's side is the main concern, and I'm not sure if/how they'd affect the addition of air condition in the future.