2 4 0 Z L S 1

[disepyon]

I purchased the Z in mid October for about $1,700 running. It has around 140,000 miles on it. I havent done much to it but add on a front air dam and rewire the radio or rather fix the wiring and put in a new one. I recently got a red top optima battery for it since the battery that came with the car went bad. The car is pretty much all original other than what i said. The interior is in great shape for its age and of course there is the usual rust but this one isnt all that bad compared to some other 240z's i looked at in the past.

 

I cant stand the dual SU carburetor L24 engine so i decided to start shopping around for a swap of some sort. Dont get me wrong, carburetors are great when tuned properly but i dont want to put up with all of it, plus i dont really feel like learning and getting into it. I can tune the SU carbs on the L24 alright using the sync gauge except for the fuel tuning which takes some one that really knows what there doing and using proper measurment tools to get it right. Ive always wanted a rb26dett motor (who doesnt) to keep the datsun an inline 6, but unfortunately i cant afford the swap right now in life the way i would want it done, but maybe in 5 or so years i might be able to get my hands on one. So i decided to just do an ls1 swap. Cheap motors for great power and reliability (well i dont know that part since ive never owned one).

 

I plan on getting this done in summer of 2012 hopefully.

 

Here is the car when i bought it.

 

Here is the Airdam installed and some interior shots, ill try and get more internal pics later. My brother took these, he likes to mess around with his camera.

 

Now for the engine: 2002 Camaro SS LS1 with close to 15K miles on it. The guy i bought from had it stored since 2003 when the car was wrecked. Decided to pull the motor and trans and sell it. This cost me $2,000. I plan on selling the tranny and getting a 6 speed later. The bad thing is that it did not come with an engine harness

 

Thats it for now. Ill keep this updated as much as possible, but dont plan on this being a fast project, Im pretty much broke right now hehe

[RebekahsZ]

Consider keeping the auto transmission and installing a steering wheel paddle shifter kit. I haven't seen anyone do that before. You'll be better off for drag racing, it will be easier on your drivetrain (axles and diff) and you will be doing something totally unique to this forum. You'd have lots of hits on your project because lots of folks will want to see how it goes for you. You really need to go back to your donor car and try to get the wiring harness, computer, data port, radiator fans, fuel tank and fuel pumps, and as much wiring as possible.

[disepyon]

Consider keeping the auto transmission and installing a steering wheel paddle shifter kit. I haven't seen anyone do that before. You'll be better off for drag racing, it will be easier on your drivetrain (axles and diff) and you will be doing something totally unique to this forum. You'd have lots of hits on your project because lots of folks will want to see how it goes for you. You really need to go back to your donor car and try to get the wiring harness, computer, data port, radiator fans, fuel tank and fuel pumps, and as much wiring as possible.

I may think about keeping the auto, just that its so huge in the tranny tunnel compared to the 6 speed. I dont have the donor car, i bought this from somebody and they already got rid of the car, the guy sold the engine harness because he was going to keep the ls1 and use a painless engine harness so he sold the original one since he didnt want to hack it up.

 

UPDATE!

 

However it doesnt pertain to the LS1

 

So the other day i was trying to start the Z so i could drive it but no luck. It has only been a little over a week since i drove it. The engine would turn over but wouldnt fire or attempt to fire. I thought it had to do something about spark, but turns out that was all good. I check the fuel lines going to the carbs and it was bone dry. All the fuel lines after the mechanical fuel pump and filter were all dry. So i thought it had to be the electrical fuel pump but after looking stupid under my car trying to find it and looking in the manual, it turns out only the 260Z (depending on what year) had both the mechanical and electrical pump. Mine only has the mechanical. The filter looked pretty dirty, so i took it off and blew air in it to unclog it. After that it was time to test it out and see if fuel would prime through the lines and it did. Car fired right up and ran good.

 

Found out one of the coolant lines had a bad leak, so i decided to give the engine a tune up with oil, oil filter, spark plugs, air filter, a replacement hose and coolant. Goh dam that **** wasnt cheap!!! Cost more than i thought. Then i got to thinking well since i spent this much on that crap i should go ahead and pull the motor and replace gaskets and reseal areas that need it incase i find more leaks later on. The previous owner did a head gasket replacement but he didnt seem to knowledgeable on cars, so i think he did a shitty job and now i have to go back and do things right. After all the motor is baked with oil.

 

Trying to keep this on a very low budget and save towards the ls1. Most people would say screw this im not investing in this motor when i have an ls1 to replace it. But me, NO, i still want to drive my Z until i get all the parts to swap the ls1.

 

Pictures!!

 

The L24 in the car before pulling it.

 

Hoist ready to take the motor out, only thing left are the tranny bolts.

 

Picked a bad day to do this, been slightly raining off and on, but then it started to rain hard and i finally said F*** this.

 

Motor out.

 

Empty and very nasty bay.

 

Nuts and bolts labled in zip lock bags.

 

Decided to get a new engine stand, one that i can use for the ls1 later on. Went to harbor frieght and got this 1 ton capacity, was on sale but not that much off, but better than nothing.

 

Was trying to look for some bolts to bolt up the engine to the stand, but couldnt find any in my misc bolts and nuts bin. The stores were closed already so now im stuck where im at, have to wait till tomorrow.

 

Bought this brownline torque wrench back in November during all the sales, cant wait to try it out.

 

some of the tune up parts i bought yesterday.

 

Gaskets, filter and thermostat from previous owner. Ill have to sort through all the gaskets and see what i need.

 

Time to make a list of what i need and start ordering.

[disepyon]

Small update. Finally able to work on this now that finals are over for me.

 

Engine bay before stripping it down to make cleaning easier.

 

Engine bay after stripping it down some what. Hehe, not much of a difference.

 

Cross member off as well the steering rack.

 

Thats it for now.

[disepyon]

Cleaned the engine bay today.

[disepyon]

Did some more cleaning today.

 

Disassembled the steering rack and pinion.

 

Cleaned the crossmember, steering rack housing and pinion.

 

So to paint the block i want the original color which is pontiac blue (close to it anyways) made by VHT but no where could i find this locally. Instead i tried to find a decent looking blue (or so i thought). The test tube i painted in the picture is ford blue made by duplicolor and is way to bright for my taste. I really dont want to order the VHT pontiac blue so im thinking i might go with a dark silver/grey look. I dont want to paint the block black.

 

I really wanted VHT paint so when i went to all the auto stores to look for this color i failed to see if duplicolor had this color instock. Tomorrow im going to return the paint and look for duplicolor pontiac blue and if no store has it then its silver/grey then.

Edited December 19, 2011 by disepyon

[disepyon]

Update!! not much but something.

 

I sandblasted some parts, tried my best on the crossmember cleaning it and blasting the inside (was such a biatch).

 

Got the right paint color for the block, here is a test sample.

 

Head gasket set arrived and rear main seal. Waiting on the inner and outer tie rods. Also bought new boots, no picture though.

 

Painted the crossmember and rack housing with por15. You can actually see all the details now whereas before everything was covered up with grease and caked oil. The paint isnt all that smooth. I could have cleaned it better after sandblasting and i painted this near the garage door opened, it was a little windy and some dirt most likely blowed on it. oh well this thing is sealed for life.

 

Now its time to work on the motor while i wait for the rest of the steering parts.

[frankist]

loooking pretty promising. keep up the good work.

[disepyon]

loooking pretty promising. keep up the good work.

Thanks for your input. Ill try my best to give detailed pictures for now on after this post hehe.

 

Update!

 

Got a few things accomplished, been lazy lately, but now that i have everything i need to get this motor running again i should have it done in a few days.

 

Sorry for the crappy pics, camera i have isnt very good.

 

Here is the engine block before cleaning it. It was more disgusting than this before i took the car to the carwash a few weeks ago and pressure washed the eninge and bay.

 

All cleaned up, tried my best.

 

Alright so i completely misjudged the color for the engine block compared to the original. The color i used was pontiac blue. I think the closest you can get buying from a auto store is GM blue (maybe). Old ford blue is to dark i think.

 

Head back on.

 

Had my brother powder coat some steering parts for me.

 

This one looks rough because of the casting from the metal.

 

pinion painted. I would of powder coated it but the joint has these rubber insert bushing things in it, so couldnt do it.

 

And of course more **** to clean.

 

tomorrows plan, clean that crap, glass bead them and assemble more of the motor.

[rsicard]

Always paint the components in a lighter color such that leaks will show up easier.

[disepyon]

Another small update.

 

Parts glass blasted a few days ago. I would do a better job blasting the parts but there not going to be powder coated so i didnt feel the need to get them perfect. Also they should be sandblasted if powder coated. I really dont care enough about this motor to take the time for my brother to powder coat the parts, ill do all that for my ls1 motor.

 

This is where im at now with the motor. I would have finished puting everything on it but a broken stud kept me from doing that. Back when i disassembled the motor one of the exhaust manifold studs snapped off. I tried getting my tig welder to it but there isnt enough for me to make a clean weld, i tried anyways but that idea failed. Might go buy an extractor and try it out, if that doesnt work then screw it, ill just leave it be.

 

Finally have all the steering parts to assemble the rack and pinion together. Inner tie rods came in yesterday and bushings came in today. I bought boots ahwile back that ill have to return now becuase i didnt know the inner tie rods came with them.

Edited January 1, 2012 by disepyon

[disepyon]

Update!

 

Pump and AB (antiback firing) units removed.

 

Pic of the carb/intake manifold after that stuff removed, sorry i dont have a before pic, i got a bit lazy taking pictures.

 

Then i went on to removing the air gallery from the exhaust manifold. Again sorry for not have a before picture. I first tried to remove the fittings with the tubes all connected together and was only successful on the first. The secod fitting was a fail so i just decided to cut the tubings off to get a better grip on the fittings. Of course the fittings would round off using a wrech so the vise grip was used and it wasnt working on getting the second fitting off. A pipe wrench was used and it did the trick. Then i decided that using the air gun on the remaining fittings was a smart idea and it worked like a charm.

 

First two fittings removed without the impact gun and the third removed with the gun, 3 left to go.

 

Various crap to attempt on removing the fittings

 

All fittings removed

 

all the inner tubing removed

 

Air gallery and check valve removed and in pieces

 

Incase anyone wants to know what this innertubing and fittings look like in the manifold.

Here is how the inner tube fits in the manifold. Notice the flare at the end.

 

You take them out away from the inside (toward the outside of the manifold). My dumbass was trying to take them out the other way until my brother said they go out opposite of what your doing.

 

Tube and fitting

 

another picture of all the emission crap removed.

 

Now it was time to weld those holes shut.

Grinded down best i could

 

closer pic

 

In the oven to heat the sucker up before welding.

 

All welded up, accomplished with tig

 

closer view

 

other side view

 

On to the intake/carbs. Removed the coolant passages to the throttle bodies.

removed the fittings and hose at the end of each manifold. found out that these coolant passages were clogged and filled with dirty liquid. Cleaned it all out with running water through it and blowing compressed air.

 

Pic of the middle connector passage before removal

 

Here is what it looks like removed and the fittings welded shut, accomplished with mig

 

Coolant lines, hose and fittings that were removed

 

decided remove the coolant fitting from the water outlet that goes to the throttle coolant stuff and weld it shut.

fitting removed, used the impact gun on this boy, why make tasks hard on yourself.

 

Sanded down befoe cleaning

 

Welded with tig and installed

 

Exhaust and intake/carbs installed along with the distributor

 

Thought the oil cap was interesting, wonder what the reason for the elephant is for?

 

Was trying to bolt one of the brackets that holds the spark wires in place on the valve cover and failed. As i was ratcheting in the bolt it suddenly got tough so i tried to back it out and the bolt snapped off. Well this pissed me off and i took the bracket along with the bolt and threw it on the ground and made some dirty comments at it. The plastic bracket shattered in pieces and i was unable to find the remnants of it. Well with my lack of luck the bolt extractors i bought for the snapped exhaust stud didnt work. My only option now would be to drill it out completely and put in a helicoil, but i dont care right now just want this motor back in the car.

 

Next to do is block off the tube of the coolant y connector that goes to the back intake manifold for the throttle body. deciding if i should just hack it off and weld it shut or just put a cap on.

Edited January 3, 2012 by disepyon

[disepyon]

Alright i got the car to drive again, now i just need to take it in for a steering alignment.

 

Old and new fuel filter

 

Putting the steering rack together

 

new inner and outer tie rods and dust boots

 

lubed the crap out of the rack

 

rack installed in the housing and measured for equal distances protruding from both sides

 

pinion installed

 

adjusting screwed installed

 

decided to use the lock nuts that moog performance provided since they are thicker compared to the stock nuts

 

more measuring, making sure both sides are equal with the inner rods installed

 

dust boots installed

 

outer tie rods installed

 

grease injection

 

rack housing prothane bushings installed. Was a biatch to get them on. I first tried to boil them in water to soften them up and it worked out ok, but were still stiff. I remembered i had a heat gun and that did the trick. got them soft enough.

 

One of the passenger side sway bar bolts snapped off back when i was taking off the crossmember. Since the bolt extractors i bought previously were crap i decided to weld the head of the bolt that snapped back on. There was enough sticking out for me to weld so it worked out great.

I used a mig welder for this job

 

threads look a bit rusty inside

 

Pic of all the sway bar bolts. my first attempt didnt work (the balled up metal) so then i just welded on the head of the snapped bolt. Make sure to clean everything first before welding for a strong weld.

 

tapping/cleaning the threads

 

New ss bolts

 

For the y split coolant connector thing, i just decided to hack off the end i didnt need and weld it shut.

ready to be cut

 

hacked off

 

welded shut, i did clean it by the way before welding

 

installed on the motor

 

Steering rack on the car

 

cleaned the underside of the hood

 

complete!!

 

car looks the same though

 

next thing to do is replace the shifter bushings.

[Leon]

Very nice!

[disepyon]

Very nice!

thanks!

 

Well ****, i just got my car aligned at hibdon but who ever tried to drive my car used the wrong key and broke it. It was my subaru factory key. I told the guy at the front desk to use the gold looking color key. The way i see it both sides are at fault. I should of just gave them the datsun key only, but i just cut my nails and its not fun trying to get the keys off that ring. His fault because he didnt communicate with his employee about using the right key. The person who broke my key is also at fault for being a dumbass for not looking at the key on why its not working. All he had to do was look at it and read that the key says subaru!!!

 

Oh well, im not that mad, the front desk guy was nice before the whole broken key situation and after. He was really into my car (liked it). He gave me a 20 dollar discount and said that they will buy me a new key. Tomorrow im off to subaru dealership to find me a factory key.

 

 

Then i realized that my datsun key is cracking. Makes me wonder if the guy that broke my subaru key is responsible for this one too.... I think i have a spare key, **** maybe i dont , ill have to look around.

[Leon]

Wow, stupidity at its finest...

 

I'm worried about my keys as well, moreso because the driver's side lock is very tight. I need to get on that, good call on checking the key for cracks.

[disepyon]

Wow, stupidity at its finest...

 

I'm worried about my keys as well, moreso because the driver's side lock is very tight. I need to get on that, good call on checking the key for cracks.

Yeah some people should stay away from cars period.

 

My driver side is also a bit screwy. Ill have to open it up some time and look at it, seems like it just needs to be lubed up.

[Leon]

Yeah some people should stay away from cars period.

 

My driver side is also a bit screwy. Ill have to open it up some time and look at it, seems like it just needs to be lubed up.

 

Same here. I need to pull my door card and adjust the window regulator as well, locks will be inspected at the same time.

[disepyon]

Alright I have a great update that may also help others too!! I enjoyed this little project.

 

So instead of replacing my shifter bushings, i decided to change my coolant setup. Originally i needed to replace just my fan clutch so i went to my local auto salvage yard (la's imports, thanks from a member that told me about them, comicartist)and searched around. I looked at various datsuns from 240z-280zx (spent about 35 minutes scouting around, big place). My first find was a n/a 280zx (not sure what year)with an engine that was in great shape, had everything on it, basically untouched. My initial plan was just to take the fan clutch with the blade, but then i realized that my radiator from my car is leaking in a few spots, well while i am here lets take the radiator, shroud, hoses, and reservoir too. Told myself alright lets not be one of those people who say all they need from the grocery is milk and leave with a full cart of crap. Instead i looked around some more hoping to find a z with a fan clutch easier to get to. No luck with that so i went back to the 280zx and said *** it, im taking it all and i am glad i did!!

 

To do this 280zx radiator/cooling setup swap into a 240z there is welding involved but not much if done my way. I tried to make it as simple and not much work involved as possible.

 

Lets Get Started!!

 

My original setup

 

The n/a 280zx cooling parts i pulled off from the salvage yard (radiator, shroud, reservoir, hoses, and fan clutch with blade). I paid almost 100 dollars, i get 10 off when i bring back my radiator. I still say its a bit on the high end of the price

 

Comparison (280zx on the left, 240z on the right)

 

If you look closely the bottom bolt holes of the 280zx match up perfectly with the 240z. This means that the distance from here to the top of the radiator is almost the same as the 240z, meaning it will clear the hood, however the bottom will hang down lower on the car.

 

There is some trimming involved for the radiator to clear the chassis of the car on both sides. The 280zx radiator brackets stick out further compared to the 240z, meaning its a bit wider. Just need to trim the lower portion of the brackets on each side up far enough to the bottom bolt hole.

 

Also these tabs that stick out on the front side of the radiator need to be hack off, so it can sit flush along the radiator support of the car. I just grounded off the spot weld and the tabs came off.

 

After all that, ready for the first test fit

 

driver side

 

passenger side

 

underneath the car

 

hood does close!!

 

to prove it here is a under shot, my guess is there is about an inch of clearance

 

the lower part of the radiator does not hang that low, the lowest point is the cross member (on my car anyways)

 

Now to get the top bolt holes to line up, i just marked the area that needed to be drilled out with a sharpy and drilled it, or rather enlarged the corner.

this view is looking at the radiator support from the front of the car. Marked the area that needed to be drilled

passenger side

 

driver side

 

I decided to remove the original nuts welded on for the 280zx bolt hole location just to make things look cleaner, this is not necessary

before,

driver side

 

passenger side

 

Nuts cut and excess remainder grounded off

 

Then i drilled out the red marks i made for the top bolt holes for the radiator, no pics of this.

Test fit again

 

The radiator does not allow enough room for the blades of the fan to spin freely

 

decided to test fit the top part of the shroud. It aligns great.

 

Since the radiator does not allow room for the fan, the back/inside of the shroud will rub too

 

I welded the top nuts of the radiator bracket to match it the same as the original, this part isnt necessary either.

 

Now to make the radiator clear the fan, the easiest way i saw with minimal work involved was to cut the upper radiator bracket, push the radiator back and weld the cut i just made (this is the part that welding is absolutely needed). This allows for the radiator to move closer towards the radiator support of the car and give clearance for the fan. The bottom did not need to be modified since the fan already cleared it with enough clearance (about finger clearance).

upper radiator bracket view showing where i would make a cut

 

After both sides were cut, test fit again

passenger side, showing the cut made and the radiator pushed back

 

driver side

 

finger clearance

 

each side welded

passenger side

 

drive side, looks like a pile of crap since the gap was bigger, harder to weld. I think some of my welding actually touched the radiator which isnt good, ill have to keep an eye out and see if this side leaks. If so thats going to suck, i hate leaks

 

show the clearance again after welding

 

Radiator is done now, next is to make the shroud fit. Since the upper part of the radiator is offset compared to the bottom part from the brackets, the shroud wont align good. All i did was pound the crap out of the brackets to make the shroud line up all around. Its extremely important to get the upper shroud to clear the fan.

Remember where it was rubbing. get it to set/touch the radiator for maximum clearance for the fan.

 

brackets i pounded

 

various views of the upper shroud aligned

 

bottom shroud on

 

bolt holes are off. I just took pliers and bent them till they lined up with the shroud holes. my radiator shroud brackets were off to begin with, not sure why, car i pulled from must of ran over something before

 

radiator cleaned inside and out, then painted the areas that needed it.

 

fan clutch and blades cleaned up and installed

 

radiator installed

 

showing clearance again

 

shroud, hoses and reservoir installed. I decided to put my reservoir on the strut tower. COMPLETE!!!!!

 

Results: Fan does not rub anything, it pulls air strong when feeling the font side of the radiator, its quiet when compared to my old fan, temps do not pass the half way mark on the gauge, it only passes halfway because my thermostat has not opened yet, but when it does the temps drop down with in seconds, having a reservoir is great compared to not have one. Was worth it to me, not sure about other people.

 

Now i can start work on the shifter bushings and that is it for me, then i can enjoy driving the car around and work on the ls1, coming soon!!

Edited January 15, 2012 by disepyon

[Fuzzydicerule]

My neighbor gave me a NOS 280zx radiator from his old car that he donated years ago, and for some reason kept the rad. I got away with drilling 6 holes (2 for the alignment hooks, and 4 for the bolt holes) in the firewall, and it works fine, i never had any fan clearance issues. your way is a bit cleaner though.