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~73 Turbo L28 to N/A RB25 240z Project~


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The car looks super good!

Can you post your ground clearance and wheel spec here:

http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/125395-whats-your-ground-clearance/

 

Thanks! Ground clearance has never been an issue for me since going with 17's. With the gold 15's that were on the car when I bought it there was scrape marks all over the down pipe and it was only a couple inches from the ground. Even with my suspension set to ultra low I've never scraped anything or had to worry with the 17's.

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Now that the cars been up and running properly I've been hitting the twisty roads more and more and I'm getting a feel for the areas that need to be addressed. A thin front sway bar w/ no rear sway bar is probably the biggest thing I notice so were going to fix that up with the Suspension Techniques kit. I've read good reviews on these so I'm sure I'll be impressed. Before this I need to get that diff installed though!

 

The gunmetal grey powder coat is a perfect match to the wheels..

 

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Edited by ~KnuckleDuster~
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Got crackin on the new rear diff. This will likely be the biggest bang for the buck mod I'll do so really excited to feel the change.

 

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Swapping out the driveshaft flanges, stub axles, fluid changes.

 

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I'm going to get some new nuts, lock washers, driveshaft bolts, and insulated diff mount to freshen everything up.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Got the diff in. This was quite a pain in the ass by myself and no lift. Hardest part was getting the driveshaft bolts in and out & tight, the flange of the aluminum driveshaft is twice as think as stock making movement even tighter. Right out of the driveway the LSD was very noticeable, the rear wheels feel like they're griping the road even at very low speeds. Powering through corners is amazing, you can just mash on the gas through a corner twice as fast as I could before. This differential is totally quiet too, the last diff had a nice whine but this one doesn't make a peep. As for the new final drive ratio from 3.9 to 4.4 that helped big time. Acceleration is quicker and I don't have to wind her out into high rpm's to get in the power band I was after. I actually got into 5th gear on a non highway road!

 

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I installed the rear sway bar brackets from ST but with the car lifted the bar didn't seem like it was going to clear the half shafts and the angle of the holes were too aggressive. The instructions are somewhat vague, does the suspension need to be compressed to get everything lined up right? Or is this because I didn't do enough research and the R200 swap puts the halfshafts lower so I needed to order the 280z kit..

 

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Edited by ~KnuckleDuster~
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http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/95789-seattlejesters-1971-240z/?p=1169508

 

http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/95789-seattlejesters-1971-240z/?p=1170181

 

Jmortenson recommended a 1/2 inch spacer made from aluminum. Made the holes line up almost perfectly. Spacer can be seen in the first link.

 

In the second link 3 pictures down you can see the sway bar. I don't think there is any interference problems.

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http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/95789-seattlejesters-1971-240z/?p=1169508

 

http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/95789-seattlejesters-1971-240z/?p=1170181

 

Jmortenson recommended a 1/2 inch spacer made from aluminum. Made the holes line up almost perfectly. Spacer can be seen in the first link.

 

In the second link 3 pictures down you can see the sway bar. I don't think there is any interference problems.

 

Hmm interesting. I'll have to give it another try. Thanks

 

Ha, I know how you feel with throwing that diff in alone.  I will have to say, I swore more that night than any other!  

 

That diff looks wonderful.  Where did you get it from and was it rebuilt?

 

I ordered it from whitehead performance. I paid a premium for it but they have been in business since the 80's and go through the diffs and make sure everything is within factory specs

 

"Side bearings have been checked for wear and proper clearance, ring and pinion teeth checked for excessive wear and damage, backlash has been measured and is within factory specs, clutch unit has been tested for break-away torque and general operation.

 

They recommend paying extra for them to do the seals. I didn't choose this option but once I received the seals looked brand new, maybe someone changed their mind and returned it so I got lucky on that.

 

Anyone in the future planning on a n/a rb25 swap you can get away with a 4.6 rear end. The n/a R34's run 4.364's so a 4.6 should provide some great acceleration without being too short. I don't think there's a factory 4.6 that's LSD however..

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  • 2 weeks later...

So I've had the coolant lines re-routed since the beginning of the swap. Here in California you don't need coolant to warm up the throttle body and thus heat soak everything around it so I bypassed this. At the time I had a rubber line going across the top of the motor back down to the return. I had a left over turbo water line kit laying around and thought this could be nice way to re-route the coolant cleanly around the motor rather than over top of it.

 

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Here's a recent shot of the engine bay.

 

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When doing the rear diff swap I noticed the passenger side brake master cylinder was leaking and the rear brake reservoir was empty, so rather than spend the money to re-vamp the drums I'm going to go with the rear disc. swap

Edited by ~KnuckleDuster~
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What rear setup are you going with? I did the Datsun Parts brackets and 86 Maxima calipers.

 

Your bay is really coming along.

I was planning on doing the same thing. Do you like them? Noticeable stopping power or just the benefit of being modern?

 

Thanks, these cam covers are starting to stick out like a sore thumb though. I'm keeping my eye out for an extra set I can send to the powder coater.

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I like them because they use the larger Z31 rotor. The piston size is the larger one, unlike the smaller 280zx or S13 calipers. I upgraded to the S12W caliper at the same time from the S12+8 vented. I havent tracked the car or locked them up yet, so I am not sure how balanced they are.

 

I am glad I got the flat valve covers for my RB25, I like the look with the wrinkle black coat. Very retro! They only were R32 though, R33/34 had those humps for the air/oil separator.

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I like them because they use the larger Z31 rotor. The piston size is the larger one, unlike the smaller 280zx or S13 calipers. I upgraded to the S12W caliper at the same time from the S12+8 vented. I havent tracked the car or locked them up yet, so I am not sure how balanced they are.

 

I am glad I got the flat valve covers for my RB25, I like the look with the wrinkle black coat. Very retro! They only were R32 though, R33/34 had those humps for the air/oil separator.

Just ordered the silver mine kit. Now I have to pay twice for the brake caliper paint, damn!

 

Yeah your covers are nice and clean.

 

In preparation for installing my tach adapter under the dash I decided to first remove the heater core, blower motor and most of the tubing. This stuff was alot heavier than I expected . Heater core 13lbs. blower motor and 8lbs, removing twenty one pounds of something that will never be used or missed, priceless.

 

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So much room for activities now..

 

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Edited by ~KnuckleDuster~
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Installed the front sway bar. Haven't had a chance to test it out yet. 6 lbs heavier than the stock one!

 

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Contacting the frame rails on the side. Is this normal? I already have to add spacers in the rear now this with the front?!? I went with ST because they were so highly recommended but there's some little issues that I don't care for...

 

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Rear brake stuff is in, just waiting on paint & wheel studs now.

 

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Edited by ~KnuckleDuster~
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