floydfan_90 Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Well I thought it was about time I started a build thread! I want to start by saying that I know this build will not sit well with everyone (the purists) but please don’t turn this into a discussion about what should and should not be done to a Z! This is my car and I will mutilate it as I please. Moving on, the car is an 86’ N/A 5-speed I bought the old girl in April of 2009 from the original owner in (a nice old lady in her early 60’s) for $800 it had 73,265mi on the clock and was in very good shape with the exception of the driver’s side seat where the stitching had separated in a spot and considerable paint fade. I started by finding some wheels (18’s off an SVT mustang) than lowered it with some coilover sleeves and added some 5% tint on the door glass. I put almost 20,000 miles on it in the next 2 summers! In the spring of 2011 I bought a new DD 03’ Jetta VR6 6-speed and decided to turn the z into something “moreâ€. I started by ditching the stump puller VG (sorry guys its the truth) tired out of date IRS and weak MacPherson strut setup. I also don’t care for the original dash so that went to, I plan to fit a mk4 Jetta dash and custom center counsel. Rear suspension: I found a complete IRS from a 91’ 300zx talked him down to $150 damn cheap for a posi IRS I thought! Installation of the sub frame itself was a breeze however I didn’t like using the shock mount as a mounting point for my coilovers (not meant to completely support the car and messes with the geometry of the IRS because the coilovers are meant to lean towards each other) so I am making tubular strut towers that will tie into my rollcage to properly mount them. (this is still in progress as of 2/12/12) Front suspension: The IFS came from a Lexus SC300 (bought at local “U pull†for $147) its light looks great and most important it’s vary â€solidâ€. Fitment is a little bit more involved than the rear as I had to notch 5.25 inches out of my frame to achieve desired ride height while maintaining proper control arm geometry. (This is still in progress as of 2/12/12) Engine: I knew I wanted to run an inline 6 and almost pulled the trigger on an Rb25 however to achieve my desired power and remain reliable would have cost a fortune (factory oil pump failure is common and is very expensive to upgrade). Instead I found a 2jz at the local “U pull†it came out of the same SC300 as the IFS did it cost me $200! The engine will be controlled by a mega squirt MS3 v3.0, force fed air by a gt35r, supplied fuel by a A1000 inline pump and regulated by an A1000-6, intake manifold will be one off custom. Transmission: T56 (6-speed manual) from a 96’ Pontiac firebird found this using an online auto salvage search called car-part.com the yard thought it was a junk tranny because it would not go into reverse on the bench so he sold it to me for $350!!! (the T56 has a reverse lockout solenoid that prevents accidentally hitting reverse instead of 5th gear it needs 12v applied to allow the shifter to travel far enough to the right to hit reverse) anyways the transmission is mint its actually extremely clean inside! This price was kind of ironic because that’s what I sold the original 5-speed for lol Body mods: I found an 88 N/A 5-speed parts car and bought it for $400 robbed the front clip (hood, fender, lights and bumper) also kept some other stuff I thought might be nice to have as spares like T-tops, loaded doors, taillights, transmission(to sell(still for sale)). I also plan to shave the door handles and completely rework the rear end(replace the bumper with a custom roll pan and work in some R35 looking tail lights) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randy 77zt Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 With all the mods to the unit body to handle the new suspension systems how do you plan to maintain or increase torsional rigidity of the unit body?Seems to me the suspension mountaing point will have to be tierd into some kind of cage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Well I thought it was about time I started a build thread! I want to start by saying that I know this build will not sit well with everyone (the purists) but please don’t turn this into a discussion about what should and should not be done to a Z! This is my car and I will mutilate it as I please. You're on the right site. No purism allowed here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaparral2f Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Good start, just be careful of the "while I'm at it" syndrome. The front suspension swap should work work out well. Z31's are really strong platforms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floydfan_90 Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 (edited) randy my frame mods are not creating a weak point, the "tin" I cut of the unibody was replaced with 3/16 plate fully boxed. also like I said I will be running a cage that will tie into the rear suspension. I also plan to build tubular supports that run from the firewall to the strut towers and than from the front of the towers to the frame this car will be quite ridged when compleate. john, thats good news! Edited February 15, 2012 by floydfan_90 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floydfan_90 Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 chaparral2f thank you for the tip but its to late lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floydfan_90 Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 thought i would throw in a few more pic's for you guys My coilovers rear tire profile with the Z32 IRS another shot of the SC IFS with the new clip mocked up and chassis at desired ride height (crappy cell phone pic) with the new clip mocked up and chassis at desired ride height (crappy cell phone pic) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I'll be interested to see what is involved in the T56 to 2jz mating. I've heard of a company making an adapter, but have never seen a nut and bolt conversion done. *subscribed* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floydfan_90 Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share Posted February 15, 2012 (edited) I have not heard of any company that makes an adapter to mate the 2jz to t56. There was a company making bellhousings but they no longer offer them. Not 100% sure what you mean by a nut and bolt conversion but if you mean using a bunch of factory components to make it all work than no this most certainly is not a “nut and bolt conversionâ€. The route I’m taking is to have a steel adapter plate cut on a CNC water jet using a .dxf file bought online. I’m waiting on the adaptor until I figure out my clutch/ throw out bearing in case I need to increase thickness of the adapter to allow for a proper amount of TOB free play. Edited February 15, 2012 by floydfan_90 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazeum Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Nice project It looks like something quite original & challenging! I'm following the build for sure. I'd be curious to see how you successfully adapt everything on the original z31 chassis. Ditto for the motor/trans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I have not heard of any company that makes an adapter to mate the 2jz to t56. There was a company making bellhousings but they no longer offer them. Not 100% sure what you mean by a nut and bolt conversion but if you mean using a bunch of factory components to make it all work than no this most certainly is not a “nut and bolt conversionâ€. The route I’m taking is to have a steel adapter plate cut on a CNC water jet using a .dxf file bought online. I’m waiting on the adaptor until I figure out my clutch/ throw out bearing in case I need to increase thickness of the adapter to allow for a proper amount of TOB free play. I meant questions like what clutch/throwout bearing/ flywheel are you using. I've seen cad files for adapters but haven't seen what other components people use to finish the conversion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floydfan_90 Posted February 18, 2012 Author Share Posted February 18, 2012 gotcha, well I'm going to run a modified tilton flywheel from a chevy small block with a tilton 7.25" ot-II twin disk clutch W/cermitalic/organic discs and a low profile hydrolic TOB. my trans is the lt1 version t-56 and did not come with a hydraulic throwout bearing. im still figuring out what size throwout bearing I need ( overall height and throw). 4 anyone seriously interested in doing this I will post the part number for a bearing that accepts a t 56 input shaft and fits the 2jz crank (ge and gte as well as 7mg and gte) sorry if this post is sloppy but I did it on my phone lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floydfan_90 Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 just some pics of the 2J cleaned up with manifold and temporary turbo mocked up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger280zx Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 Update? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floydfan_90 Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 my shop has been quite busy so the z is on the back burner for now. I'm tinkering with the rear struts/towers right now I'll party some pics when I get somewhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
260DET Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 Great project, keep us up to date if you can. Only real comment I have is, depending on power output, if you run into trouble adapting the six speed a good five speed may be a better proposition. Lighter, better shift and less bulky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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