Snailed Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 I think it's time to document my project. The car is a '71 240Z with 71k miles on it. It has spent it's whole life in the North East and has the rust and shoddy repairs to prove it. My plan is to do a semi-professional restoration and modify things as I go. It will sit very low, but I plan on setting up the suspension so that it has pretty good geometry since I would like it to handle at least as good as my other projects. The rear suspension will be from a '95ish Q45 and the front will likely end up being some mongrel I cobble together but is still undecided. I have started reinforcing the body as I begin to repair the rust in hopes of making it a little more rigid without adding too much weight. The goal is to be under 2500lbs and have at least 400hp at the wheels. Here is what I collected for parts so far; 240Z 5 lug 300zx hubs q45 rear subframe with diff and shafts 17x10 wheels that are somewhat light poly bushings for steering rack and coupler Recaro seats Cabin vents from some GM car Now on with the pictures to get this up to date - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snailed Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share Posted October 27, 2011 My first steps went something like this; -get it running -do donuts -weigh the car -weigh the q45 suspension -remove engine and start stripping it -cringe at all the body filler and rust -try to sell parts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snailed Posted October 28, 2011 Author Share Posted October 28, 2011 (edited) This car has a bunch of rust that was hidden under filler and fiberglass. The floors look like someone just taped the holes shut and flooded it with polyester resin. Next step is tackle the rockers and patch some smaller holes in the door jambs and A pillars. Edited October 28, 2011 by Snailed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snailed Posted October 29, 2011 Author Share Posted October 29, 2011 Here are two patches, one at the front of the drivers door sill and one at the rear. The passenger side got patches in almost the same spots and another one where the a pillar meets the door post. Then I cut the inner and outer rockers off and replaced the inner with a strip of 19G with holes for rosette welds to attach a 1"x3"x0.083" tube. The tube was treated with dupont etch primer in and outside then some black emamel paint to help protect it once it's on the road. Once the car is painted I will spray the cavities with some oil to prevent rust from forming. This was done to both sides and then I made outer rockers on both sides. The bottom of the rocker is 3/8" lower than stock to help the car look low. The front of the tube will be tied into new 2.5 x 2.5" rails and the back will be tied into the front subframe mounts and a bulkhead that runs across the car to tie in the tunnel, like the triangle section built by the factory. I might try to reuse the tool boxes too because I really think they are neat. We'll see how much room there is though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snailed Posted October 30, 2011 Author Share Posted October 30, 2011 (edited) Patches. I might name this car Patches. New outer rocker panels are on. 19G w/ Dupont etch primer for now. The top edge was butt welded and the bottom is plugwelded every ~1.5" edit- rocker picture Edited October 31, 2011 by Snailed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mutantZ Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Nice work so far. I think we could all nickname our cars patches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snailed Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 Nice work so far. I think we could all nickname our cars patches. Thanks. I'm not being very fussy but I hope it's a fun car to drive when I'm done. Now that the car has some rockers that are not oxide of anything, It's time to figure out the rear suspension and what I need to make that happen. First some measuring; 240Z rear fender to fender outside measurment 63.125" Q45 rear hub to hub 64.625"(!) I decided I would remove 7" of the Q45 subframe. This should get me the width I want with some 10" 0ET wheels later. I'm using +12ET for now, probably with spacers. Total width will be ~68.625". That's 5.5" wider (2.75" each) than the stock fenders. Did I mention I'm making steel flares? I want to leave the lovely center pinion in the center so that's 3.5" taken out of each side. Taking it all apart. I'm really surprised how light these aluminum hubs are. Curious what the unsprung weight might be compared to a stock Z. I turned some pins that fit the stock bushings and fabricated a jig that will hold the parts in alignment. Tacked together. Pinion mount is raised 6mm in case I need to adjust pinion angle to match the drive train that I don't have yet in a currently unknown position. It's good to have adjustment, I figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iBang Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Love seeing how you are doing everything! I'll be doing the same with my S13 subframe shortly and by the design of the Q's rear sub, it ought to be a fairly similar modification. Have you thought about how you are going to mount the rear end into the car yet? I'm dreaming of somehow mounting mine without modification to the car. I would love to keep it to where all of my aftermarket modifications can be un-bolted and the original parts put back in place. With the value of our cars increasing all of the time there may come a day that I want to retun the Z to its factory setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 tuff z Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Subscribed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snailed Posted November 1, 2011 Author Share Posted November 1, 2011 Love seeing how you are doing everything! I'll be doing the same with my S13 subframe shortly and by the design of the Q's rear sub, it ought to be a fairly similar modification. Have you thought about how you are going to mount the rear end into the car yet? I'm dreaming of somehow mounting mine without modification to the car. I would love to keep it to where all of my aftermarket modifications can be un-bolted and the original parts put back in place. With the value of our cars increasing all of the time there may come a day that I want to retun the Z to its factory setup. Yup, I already have the floor cutout from the taillights to the seats and have started building a structure to support the subframe and strengthen the car a little. I'll get pictures up next week if I have time to work on it. I would be really surprised if you could get one under it without cutting and have a ride height you would like. I really have no urge to treat this car as an investment. They are pretty much worthless compared to other classics. Which means more fun modifying them! more subframe stuff. Added braces and removed the harmonic weights at all 4 corners. -8 lbs maybe... Don't worry those bushings come out when I weld. I machined some 3/16" steel discs instead of using the stock bushing setup. Much lighter and simpler at the expense of a little more vibration. The diff is rubber mounted (like s14/skyline) as are the control arms, so I don't think it will be too harsh. Sandblasted and primed the whole deal so I can move back to the body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iBang Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I'm mostly looking to the future. Not necessarily as an investment, but more as respect for a car I expect to be a full classic within a decade. That's too bad that its looking hard to get the subframe in to the stock points. I expected it would be difficult, but I was hoping it was at least going to be possible. We'll just have to see how things work out when I start work on mine. I like how you are doing things but I also have a different approach in mind for my own setup. I also have some great adjustable rear arms and links that may allow me to cheat a bit on the geometry and run the subframe a bit lower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snailed Posted November 4, 2011 Author Share Posted November 4, 2011 Here are the rear bits hung in place so I can plan out how I'm going to build the replacement structure. Some design details I'm considering; -subframe position to extend wheelbase and allow for a low ride height -battery built into the floor behind R seat and as far back as possible. Easy to access. on/off switch location? Jump posts? -fuel tank should be as far forward and low as possible. 16-20 gallon. About 12" front to back? -roll bar pickups tied into rear support structure -shock tower bracing into roll bar rear tubes -incorporating factory storage box(es) -retaining factory inner wheel tubs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snailed Posted November 4, 2011 Author Share Posted November 4, 2011 (edited) double post Edited November 4, 2011 by Snailed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iBang Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Ooh... that looks COOL hung in there like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snailed Posted November 30, 2011 Author Share Posted November 30, 2011 A little progress working out the rear tube structure so that it will be light and rigid. The front end of the round tube that comes from the rear subframe mounts, will be connecting to the end of the subframe connectors I haven't made yet. I'm trying to make sure as few tubes as possible are going to see bending loads. I'm trying to use each critical connection area as a node...It's tempting to totally get rid of all the unibody stuff and tube the whole thing but I don't think th ere is any advantage for what I'm trying to achieve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snailed Posted December 11, 2011 Author Share Posted December 11, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snailed Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 Alright, I'm back at it after a little break. I ordered a 1JZ-GTE swap for my Z the other day and started fabing the main rails today. I'm pretty sure I'm going to build an unequal length double wishbone front suspension for this. I haven't bought any parts yet but I'm iching to build a subframe and some control arms. Been spending way too much time on VSusp trying to dial in something that will fit and work pretty well for. I think a need to start a suspension thread and get some opinions on some of the details. There a several guys here that I would like advice from. Most likely going to use premade spindles of some sort. Forged Mustang II, 2" drop spindles for $110/pr? I also picked up a nice used R154 trans to sell or build up for later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snailed Posted September 16, 2012 Author Share Posted September 16, 2012 (edited) Rails are all done. These are set up to be the same height as the rockers and the bottom of the front rails are 1.25" higher than stock. Edited September 18, 2012 by Snailed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snailed Posted September 22, 2012 Author Share Posted September 22, 2012 (edited) The engine swap arrived. 2nd version 1JZ-GTE with an R154 5 speed. Looks pretty clean overall. The driveshaft it came with is junk so I cut off the yoke to keep the trans output shaft clean. I cut out the left sub rail, frame rail, whatever it's called, and set one of my new ones in place. Should work pretty well. I'm planning to add a tube connecting them over the bell housing and some boxes connecting the front of the rockers to the angled part of the new rails. Edited September 22, 2012 by Snailed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snailed Posted September 30, 2012 Author Share Posted September 30, 2012 Scored this for $77 on ebay. These are forged and reasonably light with usable geometry for this project. The Z31 front hubs are for sale now and I'm looking for aluminum hubs. MBM makes a very inexpensive hub that looks ok... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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