Slow Build 240Z LS1/MN12 - Build Thread

[JoeK]

I hadn't realized the JCI kit reuses the driver side motor mount, and I'm pretty sure I tossed mine when clearing junk out of the garage. I can find the motor mounts all day long, but they are just the isolators, not the clamshell part. Anybody know of aftermarket clamshells? I think there are solid mounts that do the same thing, but I think I'd like to have that little bit of isolation, even if I opt for a poly mount.

 

To that end, it is my understanding that the clamshells are the same on both sides of the LS platform motors. But the JCI kit only uses one of the original mounts, and the other side, the passenger side, uses another motor mount. Can anyone confirm that it's a small block Chevy mount on the right side? I'm thinking I'd buy a poly mount set for the LSx and poly mount set for an SBC. Then I'd have poly mounts on both sides, and set for someone else, since I don't think there is left or right for either.

[RebekahsZ]

You are correct about the mounts. You need one each (LS and SBC) they are a pair, so you will have one set for you and a set to share.

[383 240z]

Joe.  What tank is that?  Any pics of the install?

[JoeK]

It's a tank out of 2000 LS1 Camaro. '99-'02 should all be the same tank, '98 was a steel tank. I think the 6 cylinder cars have the same tank with a different pump, but was never able to confirm this.

 

Others have done this swap successfully as well. Lots of ways to mount the tank. I think mine is probably way stouter than it'll ever need to be. Bars are welded in side to side, then front to back on top of those, so in case of a rear end accident, the rear crossmember isn't connected to the ass end of the car, guaranteeing a totaled car. 

 

Frame was made with 1 x 2 x 1/16" tubing. Straps are stock replacement straps. I glued cork on the straps, though wish I had used rubber.

 

I haven't really figured out how I'm going to deal with the filler hose, but I don't think it looks very hard. Biggest issue is the LS1 tank has a pretty small filler hose and the 240Z original filler hose is really big.

[JoeK]

Double tap

Edited December 22, 2015 by JoeK

[JoeK]

Weather hasn't been warm enough to do any painting, so I've had to move on until it warms up enough to spray the interior. Installed new TTT GTX2 front LCA set up, along with AZC coilovers. Finished up the rear brakes. Finished reinstalling the brake lines and rerouting the fuel line. Still working on the brake hoses for the rear, ordered some incorrect adapters and now waiting for some new ones. 

 

Picked up some 5 lug front hubs form TTT's garage sale. Just ordered some Honda Odyssey rotors, going to try to copy the GSXTCY R32 caliper swap. Already have the calipers, I rebuilt them this summer, along with the Z32 rear calipers.

 

And getting ready to pull the trigger on new wheels. Thinking of getting Rota RKR 17x9.5 -20 offset. Hoping I'll be able to run 275/40 or 45's.

[trackzpeed]

Looking great.... I would give my left arm for a rotisserie, my neck still hurts running all my lines, etc on my back under jack stands. Great work.

[OMONLA]

nice build joek!...those AZC coilovers?

[JoeK]

Yes, those are AZC coilovers. For the rear, TTT extended the AZC threaded tube and welded the tabs on. They did it for no charge, even threw in the powdercoating. Ofcourse, I was buying everything else needed for the R230 swap

[OMONLA]

KEWL!!

[Ryan Merrill]

Builds looking fantastic. !

[JoeK]

Looking great.... I would give my left arm for a rotisserie, my neck still hurts running all my lines, etc on my back under jack stands. Great work.

I can't imagine doing so much of what I've done while on my back under the car. Other big advantage is the car takes up much less room in my tiny garage when on its side.

 

KEWL!!

Danks

 

Builds looking fantastic. !

And still having a lot of fun. Decided to replace all of the brake lines, and even enjoying that.

[Aero Z]

Have fuel setup identical to yours. What I did was use the camaro filler neck and a new hose to fit the camaro tank and neck. I cut the datsun filler neck/flange (where it meets the filler door) below the T (where the vent line runs in).  The inner diameter here is almost exactly the outer diameter of the camaro neck so you can fit it inside the cut datsun neck. (Secure with good gorilla tape- but its a tight fit anyway)  Doing this keeps the gas door flange the same as it was but with the chevy neck inside this you just put the gas nozzle inside the camaro neck. Top of the camaro neck should be just below the datsun neck vent T. 

 

I cut the camaro neck down where it tapers down the outlet diameter (from the larger diam). I think this was an inch or so before the 45deg bend.  I then used the 45 bend further down to make an elbow in the line. Had to do this to keep the newly bought filler hose from kinking. 

 

Keeping the datsun filler neck with the vent T allows you to run a vent from the camaro tank back to this T to allow the air to circulate out when you fill the tank.

 

I messed with my setup a bit and this one works perfect. 

 

Here's the  camaro neck I'm talking about. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1999-CAMARO-FIREBIRD-Fuel-Filler-Neck-OEM-00-01-02-/161709133508?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368

 

 

 

I haven't really figured out how I'm going to deal with the filler hose, but I don't think it looks very hard. Biggest issue is the LS1 tank has a pretty small filler hose and the 240Z original filler hose is really big.

Edited January 20, 2016 by Aero Z

[JoeK]

Thanks for the ideas on the filler. I do have the original Camaro filler neck, it came with the tank. But I have body rot around the filler area and have thus far struck out thus far on finding that body cut. I have taken that inner part off, and it could be saved if I had to, but the body has holes in it, at the curve and I don't think I can replicate it.

 

If I can't find that body area in decent shape, I may use one of the these Hagan fuel doors. they have them in different shapes too, might be kinda fun to go with a tear drop shape, since the rectangular wouldn't match anyway. But I'm still holding out hope to find someone parting out a 240z with that area not totally rusted to crap. I've got a long ways to go before I'll be seriously into the body work. If anybody has used or seen one of the Hagan fuel filler assemblies, I'd sure like to hear about it. The hinge looks like a weak link.

 

I've also thought about going to the junkyard with a cordless grinder and cutting out a rectangular filler on one of many cars out there with similar sized doors. For about a month I was driving around looking at every cars gas doors thinking I could just cut that one off, or maybe that one...

[JoeK]

And some progress over the last week or so, and some lack thereof as well.

 

Finished up my steering rack. I bought a used one off a member here for cheap, and it felt pretty tight. So I cleaned it, repainted it, got some new tie rod ends and boots, new poly bushings, new grease and installed.

 

Finished up the rear brake lines. Seems the threads were messed up on the original fittings. I couldn't get them to thread into the new adaptors. Not sure if it was the threads being bad, or that the original fittings were threaded all the way down to the end and the adapter fittings looked like they wouldn't allow that. So, I decided to just make new lines with new fittings. I got enough line and fittings to redo everything, which is my plan. I was going to need to rework the front lines anyway to work with the new Wilwood master cylinder and proportioning valve/splitter. Soooo, that'll be fun.

 

And I finally bought and received the rotors for the front brakes I was going to try do. I really want to use the Z32 calipers I rebuilt. I was going to use Honda Odyssey rotors. They would need to have the center hole enlarged, and the pattern redrilled. After calling many machine shops in my area, nobody will take on this job. So, I'm rethinking the rotor choice. Now looking at Wilwood rotors and rotor adapters. Looks like the 5 lug TTT hubs I picked up have the same rotor bolt pattern as the Wilwood adapters. This looks like a pretty promising solution, and it'll be nice to have rotors that are relatively off the shelf.

[JoeK]

Just about finished up the brakes system. Just a little bit more plumbing to do, fabricate the lines from the Master Cylinder to the Proportioning valve, and flare the ends if the front lines. Waiting until I get wheels to make sure the flex brake lines won't interfere, then I'll know which fitting size to put on the flared ends. But I went ahead and replaced all of the brake line with new hand bent Fedhill line, Wilwood Master Cylinder and combo proportioning valve/splitter.

 

Got Z32 brake adapters from Arif. Needed to make do some minor clearancing to the calipers, since my hubs were 240z copies. Was some very minor grinding where the caliper hit the mounting ear, nothing a quick hit with a rotary file didn't take care if in a few minutes. I did end up having the Odyssey rotors machined for this set up. I had hoped to use the Wilwood rotor adapters and rotors, but the adapters turned out to have a different bolt pattern than the hubs, so that plan was scrapped. Then I designed new rotor adapters and got pricing from some CNC machinists. That came out to about $350 per side, so that plan as scrapped as well. Happy with the  Z32 set up, as it is now, just hope I don't have to replace the rotors anytime soon.

 

The TTT R230 swap set is nice, but doesn't come with a way to attach the parking brake lines. If I was smart enough to grab the front parking brake cable from the parts car, I think you can slightly modify the bracket on the end to attach the rear brake cables to. But I didn't have that part and couldn't find it used for less then $50. It's just a bent piece of metal, and I can be stubborn, so I decided to make my own. This of course involved me converting an old drill press I had lying around into a vertical mill of sorts. Of course that ended up costing a few hundred bucks in tooling by the time I was done, but now I have that tool to use and play with.

 

 

Edited April 10, 2016 by JoeK

[auxilary]

Very nice. I need to come up and get some ideas from your build. Of course, they'll be executed in a much poorer fashion

[RebekahsZ]

Beautiful build!

[Gaiden_08]

Dude, this is an awesome build and you are making some crazy fast progress! I am jealous.

[JoeK]

I finally dealt with my rusted fuel filler. We'll see how it holds up. There were holes rusted through the body, and when I removed the recessed portion, I found the entire area traps moisture and was pitted with rust. So, I started looking for a replacement, which was kind of like looking for a live Unicorn. After finding some that may have been just as rusty as mine was, I decided to take another look at what I had and see if I could make a repair. I decided it wouldn't hurt to try welding in a simple patch panel. I only had to weld through rust in a very small section, and was able to get it done. But welding the recessed filler in wasn't going to work. It was too pitted after I beadblasted away all the rust. So in steps structural adhesive. Basically epoxy made for autobody repair, this stuff is designed attaching entire body panels to cars, so it should be good enough to hold my filler on. It ain't exactly the prettiest work in the world, but it's smoother than it looks and the filler will be less than 1/16" thick.