ECUAdam Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 The car started off in this thread ( http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/105090-my-1973-240z-ka24de-t-conversion/ ), but has taken a different direction because the KA developed a rod knock. I have been collecting parts for about a year and a half. I am hoping to include a bunch of information on the stuff I figured out with the help of the hybrid z forum. I bought a truck motor first. I just picked up a pull from a local shop. I do not know anything about what vehicle that it came out of, but it is for sure a 5.3 because of how the pistons looked. The first thing I did was pull the heads and oil pan off the truck motor. As we all know, the truck oil pan would drag on the ground so I bought and f body oil pan, windage tray, and oil pickup. I then put a new oil pump, timing chain, and gears for good measure, No better time than the present, right? All buttoned up on the bottom. All cleaned up, ready for new gaskets I had been told that the LS head bolts were one time use, so I ordered some headstuds. I put f body 241 heads on the motor. I also put the car intake on the motor. The belt routing took some time to figure out. I used this thread ( http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/95229-cheap-low-mount-alternator-setup-for-truck-accessory-dr ) , other sources, and a little trial and error to figure it all out. I used an f body lower alternator bracket with 3/4 spacers behind the bracket (If you look in the photo below you can see the spacer). Also as mentioned on the thread I linked I had to drill and tap a hole for the second bolt to go into. I had to buy a pulley ( the same pulley that is on the tensioner) and space it out a little bit to mount onto the fbody alternator bracket. The crank pulley is from a truck. When I went to put the cars intake on I found out that the trucks water pump hit on the cars throttle body. I had to source an Fbody water pump, tensioner, and 3/4 of an inch spacers behind the water pump to line up with the belt. The clearance for the battery terminal on the alternator is very good going this route. So here is the list of the parts to use a truck motor in a 240z with a car intake and a low mount alternator: Truck crank pulley Fbody oil pan Fbody windage tray Fbody Oil pickup Fbody water pump Fbody tensioner Truck alternotor 55" x 13/16" belt extra pulley ( the same pulley that comes on the Fbody tensioner) 3/4 aluminum spacers for water pump. 3/4 inch spacers (2 of them) for the alternator 2 Allen head M10 x 1.5 bolts 140mm long After all that parts swapping and spacers, we get this... ( Dont worry I cleaned up the crank pulley) If your also wondering why the harness and sensors look weird, it is because I decided to control fuel and spark with microsquirt I went with the tried and true JCI kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 (edited) Looking great Adam. Just made another TN Z-car buddy with Charlie (WarlordZ). He's legit-check his build page in Gen III. He came by the house today and I got to see his car. He borrowed my LS1 engine stand and my LS engine lift brackets. Won't be long before we have our own Z-fest for the region! He only lacks a T56. BTW-he likes pimp wheels too, lol. (I think that's the first "lol" I've ever typed)! Edited January 27, 2014 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECUAdam Posted January 27, 2014 Author Share Posted January 27, 2014 Out with the old... In with the new... I wanted to run dual exhaust out the back, and there is no good way to do it with the stock tank. I decided to cut out my spare tire well and make a custom fuel cell. It is made from 3/16 aluminum. Here is the first weld of about 2000 to come... We slowly worked and beat the metal around a tire. It takes a lot more force to bend this sheet than I thought. We finally got it into a circle and welded it together One of 200 test fits...lol More welds... It took a solid hour non stop to weld the bottom of this thing. Weld a little bit, turn it, clamp, repeat. We got the top cut out and started mocking everything up Sump made and welded on, I went with -8 fuel line just in case I decide turbo this in the future I got the hole drilled and tapped for the autometer sending unit, fuel return welded on, welded the top to the bottom, and the filler neck attached. The filler neck will go to behind the license plate. I stole the idea from this guy http://www.revvolution.com/blog/2013/06/rick-s-masterpiece-ls3-swapped-1977-datsun-280z The license plate bracket was from a 1970 Camaro. I welded some tabs on the bottom of the tank so I could attach some clamps to the fuel line. We also had to do some welding on my radiator. I just bought an el-cheap-o from ebay. We had to weld a steam port onto the radiator for the motor to hook into. I also had to weld a slightly bigger neck on my top hose to get a better fit on the radiator hose. I used the hoses I found recommended here on hybrid z Part numbers 22478 and 22625. I also got the Lokar Universal cable and had to fabricate some brackets to make it work. All this little stuff takes so much time.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastTnZ Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Looks good and nice job on the aluminum welding! I wish I had the welder to do that. I'd have built a custom fuel cell! You're making good progress, keep up the good work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naptown Dave Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Tank looks good bro! I built a steel rectangle one and its a little tight on the exhaust. I put some stationary baffles and a 1.75" sump in mine and still get some cavitation at low fuel levels so I'm going to try foam blocks. I have a behind the license plate filler too and I put a flapper check valve in the filler to keep a full tank from puking during take off. Just a couple things to think about. Keep up the work! A wise man told me there is 'nothing to it but to do it!' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattd428 Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 NOTHING TO IT BUT TO DO IT! BAM! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naptown Dave Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Alright maybe wise was pushing it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECUAdam Posted January 28, 2014 Author Share Posted January 28, 2014 Thanks for all the positive replys. The gas tank fill has a gasket and should not leak under acceleration. I'm hoping to get back to the shop this week and maybe hear it run... All I lack is time and money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattd428 Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Alright maybe wise was pushing it Lol nope you had it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattb3562 Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 This thing is gonna be a beast! I love the 5.3 in my Tahoe. But with that aside, being a body man, I wish I seen a freshly painted bay behind that beauty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Hey, Adam. If you know of anybody with a spare T56, give WarlordZ a call? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECUAdam Posted February 1, 2014 Author Share Posted February 1, 2014 I wish, I hunted for about a year. I finally found one on craigslist that was a 5 hour drive from my house (each way). They are going for crazy money now... The T-56 is always the missing piece to all these swaps and the sellers know it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECUAdam Posted February 2, 2014 Author Share Posted February 2, 2014 This thing is gonna be a beast! I love the 5.3 in my Tahoe. But with that aside, being a body man, I wish I seen a freshly painted bay behind that beauty! Install. Fabrication. Test. Paint. In that order, and that order only. This is the first step of many to follow. I plan on getting this thing driving good and then taking it to some track days, shaking it down, and enjoying it all summer long. This winter I will install new floor pans, frame rails, and powdercoat my suspension. After all that is done I will get it painted. I will put the car on a rotisserie when I perform all that work so the motor will be pulled again anyway. This car is on the 20 year plan, or atleast it feels like it. Paint is the last thing this car will see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sq_creations Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Your making good progress. I like the gas tank you made! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUNNY Z Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Eeeek, are those paper head gaskets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECUAdam Posted February 6, 2014 Author Share Posted February 6, 2014 No, those are felpro head gaskets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECUAdam Posted February 16, 2014 Author Share Posted February 16, 2014 Chris started on my exhaust while I worked on all the loose ends. He started by making an x Pipe out of 2 180 bends.I bought v bands to make removing the exhaust really easy. I bought all the bends in a universal builder kit from columbia river mandrel bends. There several tiny bends that have to happen to clear everything. I am really happy with how well it fits under the carShe runs and drives in this picture. It felt pretty good in the short little drive that I drove it. It was 11:00 at night and I had work in the morning so I could not drive it like I wanted to. I plan on working on it Monday and putting it through its paces. I did find out that the transmission I bought has something wrong with 5th gear. It catches loudly when you put it in both shifting up and shifting down. Hopefully it is just synchros. This thing is going to be a blast once I get these bugs ironed out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 (edited) Congrats on one of the fastest builds on here! At the risk of being a snob, we're gonna have to get you on some decent rubber. Plan a trip down here for a tire fitting session. I've got more shoes than Emelda Marcos. I'm not all anti-stretch, but keep those wheels and tires for shows. But, now that you have some power, you will want more tread and less sidewall on the pavement. If you can get some tire circumference, you won't miss 5th for now-heck overdrive transmissions are fairly new to the scene. I had a talk with a guy with a C5 vette yesterday who pushed his rev limiter to 7000 and ran 150 in the standing half mile using only 1-4 gears. At Barber yesterday, my instructor never got past 4th gear and we were flying in a C7. But that was with 345/35/18s. I'm buying the next set of used 315 A6s I come across. Figure out the local autocross club and I will plan on meeting you up there for an autocross and if they will put us in opposite run groups, I will share some race rubber with you. Stay 4-lug. Edited February 16, 2014 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarlordZ Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 20 year plan? No. 20 weeks is your goal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECUAdam Posted April 26, 2014 Author Share Posted April 26, 2014 I have been really good about working on the car, but not so good about updating my build thread. So let me start with the new shoes and flares. I found the two rear and four of these tires on craigslist local to me I then needed to figure out exactly how much I needed to cut off. Using the exact measuring of my buddys eyes, we figured this should be about right. I used thes tools called Cleco's. These were instrumental in positioning the flares and holding them on the body line while i figured out the next hole to drill. You can find kits online with the tool to install them for around 25 bucks. you can see the clecos being used in the pic. If your doing flares on your z, buy them. Trust me. First side cut.... I then trimmed the inner fender so I could bend it upward and make a flat arch in case the tire ever touched it. make sure that you remove the rubber on the metal between the inner and outer fender. If you do not get all the rubber out it will weld like crap. I used a needle scaler to remove it all and it worked awesome. As I was bending it up (I used a hammer and dolly) I had to pie cut the inner fender. I didn't make a ton of cuts so that I didn't have a ton of welding to close it all back up. Getting it closer... Driver rear held on with clecos and car lowered a little more, looking good if I do say so myself... I forgot to take a picture, But all I did was trim the excess metal off flush with the body line using a cutting wheel. I used a 120 mig welder on its lowest heat setting adding extra wire speed to help fill material in. This thin stuff is picky to weld. Driver side cut and inner fender trimmed ready to bend upward. Here you can see the front where I started to cut material out. The best advice I can give on the front is be patient and take your time cutting out a little bit at a time. It is difficult IMO to make the left perfectly match the right when trimming the front valence. I know you are probably going to think I am crazy, but mid way into my flares I decided I wanted to have the Marugen Shoukai flares from RHDJapan.com. They seemed to just fit better based off what I read on the internet. I was lucky enough to have Keith give me the set he had, as long as I replaced them with a new set. From the time I ordered them it was 4 weeks for them to show up. They fit amazing, well worth the extra money if you can afford them. They are as close to the original ZG flares that I have found. The front flares have a hard bend in the flare that matches the body line on the front fender nicely. I used nut setters in the body to accept the screws that hold the flares on. I used 1/4-20 stainless button head bolts, fender welting, and plastic caps for button head bolts to finish the flares off. I don't think I could be happier with how they turned out. Marugen Shoukai MARUGEN SHOUKAI Wide Over Fenders - ZG Wide Type Nissan S30 S31 - See more at: http://www.rhdjapan.com/marugen-shoukai-wide-over-fenders-zg-wide-type-nissan-s30-s31.html#sthash.52U7fsvZ.dpuf MARUGEN SHOUKAI Wide Over Fenders - ZG Wide Type Nissan S30 S31 - See more at: http://www.rhdjapan.com/marugen-shoukai-wide-over-fenders-zg-wide-type-nissan-s30-s31.html#sthash.52U7fsvZ.dpuf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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