240z Build - SR20DET - The New Thread - Long First Post

[TheMission]

Ok, This is my attempt at rebuilding my build thread. My original thread died to to losing all my photos from the host, so I have decided to rebuild from scratch and use my archived photos to catch back up. I'll update this as I continue to build in the next year:

 

 

Ok, This is my attempt at rebuilding my build thread.

My objective was to build up a street/sport SR20DET 240z, trying to make it cleaner, as well as being unique around Portland.

Plans were/are

SR20DET Powered –

Aftermarket Cheapo Intake Plenum and Manifold

Vildini Mounts

Extigy Clutch Stage 2

Taurus Fan

New Fuel Lines / Fuel Cell

New Fuel Rail

 

Chassis Wise -

Laguna Seca Blue w/Black Accents

Shaved – Door Locks, Signals, Logos, Antenna, C –Pillars, Fuel Door

ZG Flares / MSA FG Front and Rear Bumpers / ZCC Spoiler / Xenon Front Lip

ZCC Tow Hooks Front and Rear

Ebay Fender Mirrors

Diamond Racing Wheels w/ Kumho Ecsta AST Wheels (props to CrazyOctupus)

Coilovers w/ ZCC Adapters

Stripped to Minimum – No Fans/Heat/AC, etc…

EZ Wiring 21 Wire Harness

All New Gauges

Corbeau Seats

Auto Power Roll Bar

 

 

I picked up the Z for 500 bucks off a guy named Joe and immediately went to work on disassembly.

Here’s what I looked like where I sat:

 

 

 

 

Within two days I was already taking it down to start finding all the rust (and there was a ton) and getting to work on things. The biggest areas of rust were the floors and doglegs. The area under the battery was toast as well, so I replaced that from a donor car.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some of the rust issues I faced:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I believe at least two months of free time was spent just sanding/repairing/patch paneling different parts of the car. It has new floors, new doglegs, new rear hatch panel, and good front fenders and a good driver’s side door of off donor cars. I built my own rotisserie out of wood and tie downs to work on the floor with POR15 and some good undercoating!

 

 

 

 

I also recoated all the suspension components and cleaned all the grease and gunk off of them

 

 

I decided to shave pretty much all I could off of the car when it was stripped down, so off when all the logos, the C-Pillar holes, turn signals, and even the fuel door, as I was planning on running a cell. I also shaved what I could in the engine bay by welding most of the holes closed and filling the holes in the firewall I wasn’t going to use.

Here’s some of that process:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fuel Cell Install was pretty straightforward, with a JEGS simple aluminum cell, with applicable support. I essentially cut out the rear floor and welding in new support for the cell, and padded everything and made a cover plate with a fuel door from jerry bickel racing off of dragster style equipment. I also mounted a small area for an optima battery back there to hide under the panel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was just lots of sanding and primer and sanding again to try to get everything ready for paint. My good friend Nick is a painter by talent and his father by trade as he took great care of me by pretty much perfecting my body work and then spraying the whole car, inside and out. It’s not absolutely perfect, but it’s amazing none-the-less

Here’s some of it before it went to paint and some right after it came back:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s the shots in his driveway as I pulled it out to look at it - I love the tires… I was replacing them anyways, so I told him not to worry about masking them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then it became engine time:

I picked up the engine and trans and went through them pretty well, replacing the water pump, the water neck with an s14 one, the oil pickup and pretty much every hose I could get my hands on. It seemed to be in really good condition and was the only bigger issues were the engine harness and making sure I understood it completely, as there are so many things that are unused and so many wires to take care of.

It did look pretty though:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did run all new fuel lines and battery lines to the front to make sure everything had what it needed to run. I also ran a new FPR, and all AN fittings in the engine bay to make things look cleaner in there as well:

 

 

The Taurus Fan is by far one of the best rated fans out there, so I picked on up off of ebay and cleaned it up all nice:

 

 

Then it was all wiring - I used an EZ Wiring 21 Circuit kit and set to rewiring the whole car. The dash, console wiring, tail, headlights, and engine wiring to the SR20DET harness and gauges is all new.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I fabbed up the whole FMIC setup myself, as well as using bits and pieces of S13 stuff I could find on Ebay to make the intake from MAF work. I also fabbed up a recirc setup for the BOV from piping I fitted from walking around an autoparts warehouse and playing with hoses. The radiator was a simple install and I’m using a fan controller with remote sensor to control the front fan.

 

 

 

 

 

Most of that work is completed and ready, but the details are what get you. The gauges were just so tedious to get wired up and configured, but the end result I am comfortable with.

 

 

 

 

After that, I pretty much shut down for the winter and didn’t do anything on the car. After the weather made a change, I got started again and cleaned her up.

 

 

 

 

I got some Corbeau Forza seats and they were tough to fit it, as they are a super tight fit, but I’m happy with them and the layout:

 

 

 

 

I’m running G-Force 5 Points on them and had to modify the rear bar to add a harness bar to it, but it worked out really well and the harnesses fit nicely:

 

 

 

 

Because I went cheap, I had to remove the side windows and the door frames and have them fully powdercoated black, so they were removed, and I send the door handles with them as well to be black as well. The chrome just stood out too much on the car with the blue and black everywhere else:

I then added the rear battery shut off, as It’d be necessary if I ever really wanted to track or take it down the drag strip someday and got a good deal on a taylor switch. I’m also running remote battery terminals to keep the maintainer connected to and to jump it if I have to.

 

 

The rear bumper in on and set, but the front valance is still in primer and waiting to be painted, so the front will be done in the next weeks

 

 

The last touches currently are the fender mirrors. They are the cheapos off of ebay, but I’ll pick up “Real†ones someday. They’ll do the job for now. I have a wink 5 panel mirror to give me good rear visability to add when I have the time.

 

 

 

 

 

That’s it for catching up. Many things are coming in the next few weeks .

Window Frames and door handles are going back on

Remote Terminals are Getting Added to the Rear

Wheels and Tires are Mounted

Exhaust will be Routed

Front Valance will be fitted with front bumper

 

I’ve decided to support a local guy and run the ZCC adapter tubes for the Coilovers, so the tubes will be here soon and I’ll have to find a good deal on Coilovers to go with them. Other than that, it’s just smaller things like door panels, interior trim, and tweaks until I can raise the funds to build the engine up further.

Edited August 19, 2011 by TheMission

[Graphitez]

Looks good,makes me wanna go the SR route.

[itzgoten]

VERY NICE! I love the build.. First thing I had to ask though.. you did sell those OEM hub caps for a lot of money right?! hehe.. Them being more rare these days and all.

 

And also since you are reposting this thread all over again, what is the current status of the car? Does it run or it's still being built?

 

How do you like the Vildini mounts? I picked up the McKinny mounts and I would say they were "OK" at best. I have the motor sitting far back but I still notched the front crossmember to accomodate the oil pan.

 

Looks great though! I can't wait for the updates!

[TheMission]

It's running now. I took it around the block this week a few times just to check for leaks/etc... I need to bleed the brakes and do a few things before taking it to get the exhaust fabbed up in a week and a half, then it'll be road worthy.

 

The Powder coating was supposed to be done today, so I was going to put my window frames and door handles on tomorrow, but they are delayed till Monday.

 

The wheels are scheduled to ship around Monday from Diamond Racing, so I'll have them mated to the tires in the next week and a half as well.

 

My front valance is going to be painted tomorrow, which is the same one in your pics (xenon). I may or may not install it quick, as I'm thinking about fabbing up a temporary cheap splitter for it to strengthen it and add a decent look. I'll pick it up on Sunday and at least have it around. I have the front FG bumper ready to go on, as well as a JDM licence plate mount I'll install on the side to stay legal here in OR.

 

Tomorrow I'll work on some wiring things that need tweaking, as my prosport gauges are too dim in amber mode during the day, so I'm going to change them to their white mode on a switch to give me better visability. (They are Boost/Vac, Water Temp, Fuel Pressure) The digital ones below are Intake Air Temp, Oil Temp, Oil Pressure, Fuel Level, and Volts. My H/B notification LED needs to be hooked up to the H/B relay and my speedo sensor on the tranny needs to be grounded out and the other end added to the Autometer sender line. The autometer tach was a pain to get working, as the stock sr20det ecu doesn't put enough voltage through the tach out line, so I had to step that line up with a resistor from the 12v supply to drive the tach (Searched around google for a bit for that solution).

 

I'll also add remote battery terminals to the back tomorrow as I have no way of jumping the car if I ever needed to, as well as having an easy place to hook up my battery tender while it's sitting in the garage it's moving to.

 

Next week I'll reinstall the door/window frames, side windows, and door handles and get them all operational with the keyless entry system. I also have to troubleshoot my driver's door window as it binds up a bit when it's close to being fully open and my power window conversion motors don't like it.

 

With the valance and all that done, it should be a quick and LOUD ride to the exhaust shop to get it all fabbed up, then wheels and tires mounted, then ZG flares (Which are painted and waiting) will be installed. I just today received some great welting to make that install look wonderful. With all that done, it should look pretty nice, but it'll be jacked up until I can score some megan's. I made a call tonight to a friend who can get them near cost, so I hope that'll pan out and I can save a hundred or so on them.

 

I've already ordered the plates and tubes from ZCC, so they should arrive next week as well. In two to three weeks I hope to have a nearly presentable Z. After that, it's time to find a friend with a TIG setup and some talent to make the last few mods possible.

 

In the future there are going to be the T3 arms, Subi Diff and Engine Upgrades, but that's just 3-4k of cost for next year. I just want to drive around a bit before winter hits and I mothball the car again.

[itzgoten]

My front valance is going to be painted tomorrow, which is the same one in your pics (xenon). I may or may not install it quick, as I'm thinking about fabbing up a temporary cheap splitter for it to strengthen it and add a decent look. I'll pick it up on Sunday and at least have it around. I have the front FG bumper ready to go on, as well as a JDM licence plate mount I'll install on the side to stay legal here in OR.

 

A cheap way to get a front splitter is just to get some alumalite. If you go to FastSigns.com and find a local place near you they'll sell a 4x8ft sectopm fpr $100. WAY cheaper than a APR splitter. After all of this nonsense with my Z is done I'm going to pick it up. You can trace your air dam and put about a 2 inch lip out. Cut it before the front tires and you'd have a pretty solid splitter. I was going to do it out of aluminum but why when alumilite is lighter and cheaper. It's super durable and supposed to last all types of extreme weather conditions. I'm sure it'll be able to take a beating on the road.

 

My buddy did it for his S2000 and he just put a bunch of decals on it to cover up the alumalite sign. Hopefully you like the idea.

[jacob80]

Wow, this is awesome, looks good buddy!

[TheMission]

Wheels shipped today, and the powder coated parts are done today as well.

 

The Wheels will be here Friday, which is good, as I have all the week after that off of real work for fun work on the car and get to the exhaust and wheel shops to get tires mounted and exhaust fabbed up.

 

I'll put the door frames back on tomorrow morning, as well as the side windows and the door seals. If I have time, I may be able to get the handles on too.

 

After I get them all good, I can put my interior panels back on, which I've been waiting for. Then I can take some pics and be happy with it for a while.

 

Itz... I looked at that option for a splitter, so I may get it set up in the future. I think I'm going to fab up a piece with 9.99 home depot wallboard first to see if I like the dimensions and look of it, then go to the more expensive alumalite if I'm happy with it.

[19762802+2]

Did you end up with the Diamond racing 16's or 15's? I can't remember what your thread said on ratsun, looking forward to the wheel pictures.

[TheMission]

I ended up doing exactly as Crazy Did, with 15x10's and the Ecstas... I really liked the stance with the ZGs and the lowering. I won't go AS LOW though.

 

I got the hood pins on this weekend too, but I had a problem with my scuff plate on the passenger side and had to order a new one as when I drilled through the hood for the screws my bit broke and scratched the heck out of the scuff plate. I ordered two sets as they were cheap and I can replace pins/plates/rods if they wear out or get nasty.

 

I'm half tempted to try the EMUSA coilovers as I'm curious as to how bad they can really be compared to the Megans. My biggest concern is that they are shorter than the Megans and that I'd end up being "TOO" low and not being able to get the 1.75 inches up that the megans can give me over the EMs. I shouldn't be that cheap...

 

I have a Google Doc that I constantly tweak and modify of my TODOs and I'm happy to see it get shorter and shorter...

Edited August 23, 2011 by TheMission

[TheMission]

Wink 5 Panel is in, as well as getting my keyless entry system up and running. I'll get my window frames in tomorrow and hopefully start work on getting my door seals up and running.

 

My front valance is done, but I want to try to reinforce it before putting it on, so I'll make a little DIY splitter and go with that for a bit to see how it works.

 

The ZCC tubes and plates came today, so I'm planning on giving it a shot with the EMs soon, if I can find a good TIG solution, as I'd like to do it remotely and do most of the prep work myself and just have someone come in and TIG away for an hour or so.

 

Other than that, it's a bunch of little stuff and my goal is to be driving around this month, but who knows if that'll happen yet.

[TheMission]

I have some updates from Today's work.

 

I have the door handles and door window frames in now. The rear terminals are on and good.

 

Also got the dovetails on the doors and the side window's framed up. I couldn't get them in without help pushing from the outside. I fitted the front valance, but it's only clamped on really.

 

Here's pics of what it looks like now... which is more "carlike" The front bumper will go on when I get the valance figured out.

 

 

 

[TheMission]

Wheels arrived!

 

 

Tomorrow is more little things to get ready for exhaust/work next week while I'm off work.

[TheMission]

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

 

The Bad - I didn't get my rear Flares on yet... I ran out of time last night and now can't work on that aspect till I get the car running... which brings me to the ugly.

 

The Ugly - The nuts holding the turbo to the manifold all decided to back out and it ended up separating my turbo from the manifold by like an inch.... oops, my bad. I have locking plates being shipped today, which I should have used in the first place. When taking apart pieces of that section (which I'll finish tomorrow) I noticed oil on the air inlet/outlet side of the turbo, which aint good, so I'll look at that as well now that I have to take that whole side off and apart.

 

The Good though is that I got the exhaust on and it's nifty. Before my turbo snafu I was able to drive around a bit and that was plain fun. The coilovers are here and now I just need to get it back running to move forward on the other things.

 

Here's some nifty pics that show an almost completed car (Way, Way too high without the coilovers and missing the rear flares)

 

 

[TheMission]

Well, It's roadworthy and driving around a bit.

 

Before anyone comments, yes, it's as high as a monster truck and the coilovers are sitting in the garage to fix that, but I need to have the plates tig welded in, so they are going to have to wait a bit till I can arrange that setup. The inner door cards are needing a bit of modification as well, so I will install them later. Otherwise it's just tint and a few little things like front blinkers and I'll be good to go.

 

I took some pictures in an industrial park today just to show what she looks like now.

 

Enjoy-

 

[Alonso*]

Damn that looks good! Great job!

 

What rear end/axles are you running?

[TheMission]

Right now, stock 180... but that's next year on the plate... I'm planning the subie sti r180 with the adapters. I think that's the best solution I've seen.

 

Next year/winter plan is brakes, front and rear arms, rear diff and cvs, and engine upgrades. Also the ZCC spoiler.

 

I solely wanted to get it on the road and troubleshot this year in more stock trim, then hit the mechanicals and such when I get the bugs worked out. I've already had to tweak a few things (Move the stock o2 sensor location because there just wasn't enough firewall clearance when the engine torqued, and knock part of the firewall back 1/2 inch to give clearance for the turbo elbow to not vibrate against it.

[19762802+2]

The wheels look awesome but something about the color doesn't seem right, I think the Diamond racing silver might look good, I usually try to go with three elements when I paint my cars such as orange white and chrome. Glad to hear you got it going though I bet it must be nice to finally drive it.

[pleadingbark]

Looks great, may I make a suggestion and move the maf after the intercooler though?

[itzgoten]

Looks great, may I make a suggestion and move the maf after the intercooler though?

 

Where do you see this? I went back and looked at his pic's and didn't even pay attention. The MAF should not be building boost so it shouldn't be before or after the IC. It should be after the intake cone before the turbo. Maybe if I knew which picture you were looking at?

[UofA_ZCar]

looks good! how did you do the evolution MR style fins on the roof?