A musician's therapist (The $300 Z)

[rossman]

3 hours ago, Zetsaz said:

 

... I thought you knew, you were the one who directed me to them haha.

That was Nostalgic AC not Vintage Air.😁

[Zetsaz]

5 hours ago, rossman said:

That was Nostalgic AC not Vintage Air.😁

OHHHHHH.... My mistake, it was Nostalgic Air, I don't know why I wrote Vintage Air. Edited the other post for clarity. 

[calZ]

Did they not want to sell it by itself? I emailed them a couple years ago and they sent me just the bracket. 

[rossman]

2 hours ago, calZ said:

Did they not want to sell it by itself? I emailed them a couple years ago and they sent me just the bracket. 

I purchased the bracket and compressor together, nothing else. 

[Zetsaz]

8 hours ago, calZ said:

Did they not want to sell it by itself? I emailed them a couple years ago and they sent me just the bracket. 

 

I was alright getting the compressor and bracket (didn't get the hoses), but honestly for cost saving if you're trying to save every penny it'd be cheaper to get the same compressor elsewhere.

 

Unless you're sticking with a stock system, there's no point to using their hoses

[Zetsaz]

Currently in Utah, but opted to not drive the Datsun and take a break for a while. Lots of changes recently.

-Switched to a Mishimoto radiator after my radiator developed a leak and I didn't feel like just patching mine up.

-Installed the Turbo block and got the base timing set and a couple short test drives to tweak the VE map with my old NA parts

-Bolted the AC condenser. Top of it bolts straight to the radiator core support at two points, and bottom used a single bent bracket I made that bolts to the center then to original front valence brace.

-Installed a proper Aeromotive FPR and ran a proper return since my base fuel pressure was much higher than ideal. Used the blockoff for the in-tank regulator I was using before.

-Committed to the internally regulated turbo I got with the block (Fairly certain it's a T3/T04e .63ar 57 trim)

-After chatting with Godzilla Raceworks about my goals, I decided to stay internally gated and bought a 5 bolt  "ultimate internal wastegate valve" from ATP that should flow much better than a stock internal wastegate and transitions into a 3in v-band. That, a new actuator, and bracket for the larger compressor housing cost me less than just a new internal wastegate, never mind the cost of the external wastegate mods. Hoping it's a good compromise of performance/cost/packaging for my use. 

 

Unfortunately something about changing the block and the new mounts changed my driveshaft angle enough to get some serious vibrations. Thought the clutch wasn't centered at first, but the noise is only under load and not really noticeable vibrations when free revving to the same rpm.

 

Also need to roll the rear driver arch slightly more. Rubbing a lot while driving right now, or it's some kind of CV noise when the load is that direction.  Another thing to inspect.

 

Burned out slightly after all that and not really in the mood to work on it in all this heat, so I'll be back at it sometime in August, hopefully finishing turbo stuff, AC lines, electric fans, and maybe even an upgraded transmission.

 

[rossman]

Sounds good Zetsaz! I'm excited to see some progress when you get back to her.

 

I will say though, that the .63 A/R GT35 combination on my 3 liter chokes the exhaust and power starts to off earlier than it should, around 4.5 - 5k.  I'm sure that the GT35 being tool much compressor for the engine doesn't help either. I'll be "upgrading" to a more modern small frame turbo some day...

 

It's totally ok and normal to loose interest from time to time. I know I do sometimes...but she's always there ready when I am.

[Zetsaz]

15 hours ago, rossman said:

I will say though, that the .63 A/R GT35 combination on my 3 liter chokes the exhaust and power starts to off earlier than it should, around 4.5 - 5k.  I'm sure that the GT35 being tool much compressor for the engine doesn't help either. I'll be "upgrading" to a more modern small frame turbo some day...

 

Might just be that it's too much compressor. I don't know enough about turbo sizing though, so I was sticking with what I had which has been mostly proven to reliably suit my goals. I'm a little surprised your power falls off that early though. We'll see what happens once it gets going. Just got the swing gate sent to me and it looks really well made. Check that link for some pictures. Gonna aim for about 11psi as my base boost and just leave it at that until other stuff gets sorted before worrying about a boost controller and trying to push it much. I'm slightly injector limited right now anyway.

[AydinZ71]

10 hours ago, Zetsaz said:

 

Might just be that it's too much compressor. I don't know enough about turbo sizing though, so I was sticking with what I had which has been mostly proven to reliably suit my goals. I'm a little surprised your power falls off that early though. We'll see what happens once it gets going. Just got the swing gate sent to me and it looks really well made. Check that link for some pictures. Gonna aim for about 11psi as my base boost and just leave it at that until other stuff gets sorted before worrying about a boost controller and trying to push it much. I'm slightly injector limited right now anyway.

Have not followed the thread intently, so apologies if these comments have been covered: 

 

I had similar power drop-off you are describing. In my case, it definitely was the exhaust back pressure restriction that caused it. This was mostly my turbine wheel/housing, followed by the OEM downpipe (which sucks), followed by the compressor wheel, and finally the restrictive P90 head. Working in that order will give you the biggest bang for the buck  

I was maxed out at 16psi on a T3 super-60 compressor trim.

 

[Zetsaz]

I may have just lucked out on an SR20 transmission here in Utah... will confirm on Saturday.

My trans was never going to hold the power and was actually getting close to rebuild time as it was so I'm pretty excited.

[Zetsaz]

Update, got the transmission! $200 seems like an awful good deal even if I end up having to rebuild. People are asking way too much these days. It shifts well and I'll be de greasing and power washing to clean it up. Will have to figure out a way to carry it up to Washington with me, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. 

 

Included an ISR short shifter and my understanding is the SR20 trans had better synchros on 2nd (and 3rd?) as well as a bigger shift fork and a reverse synchro like the late 240sx transmissions which were an improvement over the earlier KA transmissions. 

[1969honda]

If you have to ship it check on rates thru Fastenal on 10th west.  Supposedly they have really great rates between their locations for freight anywhere in the US.

[Zetsaz]

On 7/6/2021 at 11:44 AM, 1969honda said:

If you have to ship it check on rates thru Fastenal on 10th west.  Supposedly they have really great rates between their locations for freight anywhere in the US.

 

I'll check it out. Was kind of just planning on throwing it in the back of my Infiniti haha. I travel very light. At worst I think I'd just have to take the bellhousing off and carry it in the back seat on a tarp and some padding. Won't even necessarily need the bellhousing but I can give it to a friend who had his damaged from a bad road that probably fractured in the intense heat up there last week. 

 

If he doesn't want it I'll probably just toss the gearset with tail housing and bearing cover/fork in the trunk on a tarp. I already know an fs5 gearset fits back there with plenty of room to spare from when I redid the front bearings on my hardbody truck but have never had to load the bellhousing. 

[gerrud]

On 3/15/2021 at 4:10 AM, Zetsaz said:

Not really much to update. Heater has worked fairly well, mostly no complaints cruising this past week with the nice weather we've had. Brakes have felt good. Really not many complaints other than the interior not being fully done and the IAC needing some more tuning. Protunerz recently showed some new versions of their intake manifold with a throttle body provision for the GM IAC and it's tempting me to just go turbo already... Maybe sometime. The trans cost to hold the power is still the big setback. 

 

 

Anyway, here's some random better pics with bumpers now. I'll be fully vaccinated by my spring break and I'm hoping to drive the pacific coast highway in the Z and camp out along the way. We'll see how that pans out. 

 

 

 

 

Nice car! What rims do you have? I'm currently checking some cheap wheels on 4wheelonline for my current 240z project.

[Zetsaz]

15 hours ago, gerrud said:

 

Nice car! What rims do you have? I'm currently checking some cheap wheels on 4wheelonline for my current 240z project.

 

They're just rota rkr wheels

[Zetsaz]

Mild update:

 

Finally making progress after the summer hiatus. The return to in person instruction at my job kept me busy at the tail end of summer into the start off fall, so the car has been sitting on Jack stands for a bit. 

 

Finally dropped the transmission and pulled off the bellhousing for the 240sx transmission upgrade. Local shop is taking care of the machining. 

Transmission crossmember and new driveshaft are both ready to go but I think I'll have the transmission inspected and possibly rebuilt just to save future headache. 

 

Some pictures to come when I get the bellhousing back next week and start putting things together

 

[Zetsaz]

Well... As expected, I've called on two separate occasions and both times the machine shop has told me they haven't gotten to it yet despite calling a day or two after they told me it'd be ready. 

 

It's "top of the list" right now and will be done "Monday or Tuesday" but I'm not counting on it haha. 

 

As soon as I get the bellhousing back and cleaned up the transmission is going in for an inspection and rebuild from a local shop I've trusted before with the transmission in my hardbody 

[jpndave]

6 hours ago, Zetsaz said:

Well... As expected, I've called on two separate occasions and both times the machine shop has told me they haven't gotten to it yet despite calling a day or two after they told me it'd be ready. 

 

It's "top of the list" right now and will be done "Monday or Tuesday" but I'm not counting on it haha. 

 

As soon as I get the bellhousing back and cleaned up the transmission is going in for an inspection and rebuild from a local shop I've trusted before with the transmission in my hardbody 

What do you need machined on that?

[Zetsaz]

On 10/30/2021 at 7:25 PM, jpndave said:

What do you need machined on that?

 

Countershaft bearing opening needs to be opened up for the larger 240sx bearing, and some surface around it machined down to provide clearance for the gear which is a bit wider... longer (?) front to back than the datsun one. Top shift rod opening needs to be opened up a bit as well for the thicker shifter forks/rods

 

And I think that's about it. It's really not about the time and more about the fact that most machine shops just don't seem to take on low volume stuff these days. Shouldn't take much once they get to it. If they don't get to it soon I may just ask for it back and find another shop. Wanted local to avoid paying shipping both ways to have Godzilla Raceworks do it.

Edited November 1, 2021 by Zetsaz

[NewZed]

18 hours ago, Zetsaz said:

Top shift fork opened up a bit as well for the thicker fork. 

 

Actually it's the shift rod opening that needs to be opened up slightly for the thicker shift rod, along with the gear clearance and the counterbearing work.

 

Here are some references.

 

http://zhome.com/ZCMnL/tech/240SX5spd/transmission.htm

 

http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/240sxtransmissioninstall/index.html

 

And Hybridz member Nigel had a Motortopia page but it is gone now.  I think he might have moved the info somewhere else but can't remember where.  @Nigel