My Turbo LSX Z31 Builld

[nismo kid]

Began focusing on how to keep the engine cool. So I Installed a 186F thermostat & all coolant tubing.

[nismo kid]

Followed by a Taurus 2 speed electric fan & Hollister Road Co. Relay kit. Had to modify the fan shroud a little bit to fit. It also had a plug you can no long buy the mating connector for. So I opted for a different style weather pack connector. If I have any cooling issues I'll make a replacement shroud the covers more surface area. I'm confident this setup will be more than efficient enough to keep the car cool. I've had great success with this fan in the past.

[nismo kid]

The last couple pieces of the coolant system puzzle was installation of a coolant overflow reservoir & hooking up the steam port vents.

[nismo kid]

With coolant system out the way I could wire up & install the last few sensors/components.

[nismo kid]

Up next was addressing crank case ventilation with the installation of a catch can.

[nismo kid]

I noticed the lack of a dipstick in my engine bay. I don't know why I hadn't noticed earlier. lol I installed a Locking Lokar dipstick.  Having seen dip stick blow out a few times I didn't want to take my chances.  The price tag seemed excessive for a dipstick but it's a quality product. 

[nismo kid]

Next thing I got done was the installation of a aluminum splash shield. After some slight modifications to clear my wastegate dumps it fit nicely.

[nismo kid]

The final item which is small,  was finally getting some clamps for my intake tube. I'm intrigued to see what my IAT's will look like. If they're sky high I'll be making some changes. But only time will tell.  Thanks to all for following, visting, & commenting on my build thread. Sorry this last update to so long to get posted. I hope to have another pumped out well before summer time. Take care guys & gals.

[boosted300]

Fantastic work!

[nismo kid]

Fantastic work!

Thanks man!

[nismo kid]

This is a Major update!

#1 on the list was finishing up tackling the fuel system. The fuel tank was in need of a cleaning so I took it to a radiator shop for a acid bath, cleaning, & reseal. I was quoted 2-3 weeks. Unfortunately it was misplaced/lost during it's stay. Normally that wouldn't be a problem. But sourcing a good condition fuel tank is getting harder & harder these days. 99% of Z31 parts are NLA from the dealer. They are also becoming scarce at the junk yards. Not that that matters all my local junkyards punch huge holes in all fuel tanks. I went there on my 1st day off once I heard the news. I spent over an hour searching their facility for it. Eventually I found it near a scrap container under a bunch of used radiator cores. (Thank you baby Jesus). At the end of the day I was taken care of/compensated for the hassle. 

[nismo kid]

While waiting on the fuel tank I continued to make progress. I drew up a few rough drafts on paper, then chose the "best" option in my eyes. I was adamant about retaining the stock fuel tank & filler neck. So I chose to run a "surge tank" setup.  Dual pumps wouldn't fit my fuel basket. The risk of having a pump fail under WOT causing a lean condition wasn't appealing to me. On the other hand adding a sump to my tank wasn't either. It would mean having my fuel pump hanging down real low.  Not wanting to break the bank I started to search around for a budget surge tank solution. None really appeared to meet my "requirements". Until I found a RCI 2010A 1 Gal fuel cell. RCI actually has a Ebay store & the sell certain products in an auction format. I won mine for 12.68 shipped! That's almost 100$ off. It didn't have enough bungs which is no problem. The catch was I didn't know how much psi they were rated for. Well RCI informed me all their fuel cells are rated/tested to 1 psi. No biggy. I already mocked it up & wasn't feeling how far it hung down. So I had planned to shorten it aways. Funny thing was the tank held almost 1.25 gallons prior to modification. Now it holds exactly 1 gal.

[nismo kid]

To fit the surge tank I cut out the entire tool tray are which had succumbed to "typical" Z31 rust which is highly common in that area. ( I still have plenty of sheet metal work to do. It'll be covered in future updates). The surge tank would need something to feed it, so a Walbro 450 was chosen to be installed in the tank. Thought it would be best to have full -8 in & out. PTFE washers & Gasoila E-Seal Pipe Thread Sealant with PTFE Paste was used to ensure a good seal.(pics of bulk head in next section). I was having trouble finding small wiring bulkhead terminals. The only place I found that carried some was in Australia. My quote with shipping, tax, & customs fees was almost 90$. Couldn't bring myself to pay that for basically 2 bolts. So I made my own. In the pic I included the Lowes part numbers I used. (None of my local Homedepot stores carried all the parts I used)

 

[nismo kid]

Now a issue I ran into with the fuel hose included with my Walbro 450 & fuel hose I found at autoparts stores it was only rated for E85 internally. The exterior was NOT. I used Gates 27097 Submersible 3/8in Fuel Hose. Which is fully E85 submersible. At most of my local parts store it's basically 32$ per ft. Amazon had it for 21$ per ft. The Walbro 450 was installed on to the fuel basket. The Walbro 450 have 10ga positive & negative wires to the fuel hat. (Walbro said the wires in the tank are sufficient for the short run they have. The problem is outside the tank is where most run too small of wire for too far causing voltage drop.)  I also Cleaned up my sending unit using white vinegar.  The Walbro 450 is assisted by a Magnafuel 4303 external fuel pump. The 4303 is fed using the -12an fitting on the surge tank. A 100micron stainless steel fuel filter is used pre pump & a 10micron stainless steel post pump. Per Magnafuel's recommendations. As for the wiring 6awg was used for both positive & ground. (Note I do plan on making brackets to support the fuel filter too but the parts didn't come in time for this update) Fragola PTFE fittings & 6000 Series PTFE Lined stainless hose with black covering was used for every hose assembly in my fuel system.  -10an was used for post pump side up to about 1ft away from the passenger side firewall. At this point it splits into 2 -8an hoses to feed the F.A.S.T fuel rails. The banks continue to stay separated all the way to the Magnafuel MP9950B-BLK FPR. A -8an return from the FPR makes its way back through the B&M 70298 Hi-Tek 10in x 7-1/2in Heavy-Duty Cooler paired with 350cfm Spal Fan. Then the into the surge tank. Which has a -8an overflow returning fuel to the stock tank. To measure fuel pressure I added Marshall Instruments CWB00100 Liquid Filled Fuel Pressure Gauge directly to the FPR. (I plan to add a sensor for dataloging) Here's pics of fuel system along with a diagram I made depicting how it's laid out.

[nismo kid]

While the entire fuel tank fiasco was happening I started the electrical. It began with mounting the battery in the back. Originally I planned to keep the bottom of the spare tire well but, the battery just wouldn't sit where I'd like. So it had to go. ( I still have plenty of sheet metal work to do. It'll be covered in future updates). Now I place the battery where I want. Or so I thought. The bracing for the tow hook would need to be modified, so the battery could be secured to the frame.  Instead of doing that the battery was moved forward a few inches. The battery bracket I used was the Chassis Unlimited  "FUNCTION" Group 34 / 78 Optima Battery Side Mount. Got it powder coated too. I added 1/4inch steel plates on either side of the frame for added strentgh.  I used grade 8 3/8inch bolts to secure the battery/bracket to the frame.  A Flaming River FR1003-2 Big Switch w/lever kit was also added to the mix. I tried my best to follow NHRA rules even though I never plan to run @ a NHRA track.( My local track is IHRA). I did a small mod to be able to hide the hole for my cutoff switch. I'm now able to remove a trim piece under my passenger taillight to expose the hole for the cutoff switch rod. That way when I'm driving on the street or at a meet I don't have to worry about people messing with the cutoff switch. With the battery now secured it was time to make/install panels for my fuel pump relays & fuses. I also mounted 2 Bue Sea breakers. ( 100amp for starter & 200amp for alternator). 2awg was used for all battery& alternator wiring.  Below I have also uploaded a wiring diagram of the main + & - wires in my setup. 

[nismo kid]

After I finished up the alternator/battery wiring I finally got my fuel tank back. It wasn't until I was installing it I had a Homer Simpson "DOH!" moment. The battery partially blocks the filler necks path. Here was my solution. 

[nismo kid]

Next was ditching my outdated fusible links. They're a pain in the ass to locate. Really just in general. Maxi fuses were my meal ticket IMO. They Are held by a JL audio 4 gang power distribution block. I began to look for a easily assemble spot to mount it along with other fuse blocks/ terminals. Not finding anywhere, a "trap" door was constructed. It's 1/4in ABS plastic with a stainless steel hinge attaching it to the firewall inside the cabin above the passengers feet. Flush mount furniture "nuts" were used as anchors for everything to be bolted to the panel.  That way passengers wouldn't scratch their feet on bolts & what not. The panel is held up level with the dash using custom brackets & threaded knobs. Turned out quite nicely for little $ I invested into it. The fuse box in the upper left is all 12v switched. The other fuse box/group with the fused relay is for the MS3 Gold Box. Maxi fuse box/block towards middle/bottom is what replaced my fusible links.

Moving on I install the new AEM 30-0300 X-Series Wideband UEGO AFR Sensor Controller Gauge. (Note there is multiple versions some have OBD2 support unlike mine.) It has more wires than previous Uego units I've used. It also responds much faster too. I reached out to AEM looking for support but they just tried to sell me a Infinity & AEM net unit. They insisted it was the only way to enable communication for data logging. GTFO Ain't No body got time for that. I ended up brainstorming with Mike @ EfiSource about it. They said they hadn't heard of anyone using the X series Uego with MS3 Gold Box yet. I ended up only using the Red(12v switch), Black(Ground), White(Analog +), Brown(Analog -). I wired the White to the 02 wire & brown to Sensor ground on the MS3 Gold Box harness. Works like a champ.  I also wired/set up the AEM Trim pot switch for boost control. Big Thanks to Matt Happel for all the info covering this! I also wired up the Factory GM 3 wire Oil psi sensor & Mac 4 port valve. According to MAC the 4 port valve it only requires a 12v switched on any of the 2 wires. (On the 12v switched side I installed a 10amp fuse. per their recommendation) The other goes to the ecu which sends a ground signal. In the past I've never any issues with the 3 port without a fuse but whatever lol. I made this speedo block off. By modifying broken speedo sensor & tapping it to approve a old magnetic LS oil drain plug. So I made this contraption/rig to prelube my engine. It was a old fresh water pump I tore down/cleaned. The ball valve "regulates" the amount of oil going into the engine. The blue 90 is where the oil goes. The pump is activated via my power probe 3. This setup yielded me 25psi of oil pressure before start up. (I pumped 3 qts in)  This setup isn't pretty but it worked. It's only dumb if it doesn't work......... or that's what they say.

[nismo kid]

At this moment I was SO SO close to my very 1st start up I could taste it. Got some E85. Topped off my oil & coolant. Double & triple checked everything. Installed Tunerstuido on my girlfriends laptop(mine all shit the bed). Armed with my chicks laptop I started my 1st Tunerstudio project ever. Then loaded a Efisource pump gas base tune. Only thing I wanted to have setup before cranking was the oil pressure gauge. Well I along with my buddies Matt & Andrew fought with the IMEI process. With no luck I bought the registration. Finally I was ready to start the car. Cranked it several time. Had Not RPM Synced alert. Took several composite logs. Still couldn't figure out what was wrong. The tooth count was correct as was the tune. This was late Friday night. Emailed the logs to Efisoruce. Well I fought with it all weekend checking everything from wiring to sensors. Monday came around. I contacted Efisource. Initially they thought I installed the  Cam 180 degrees out which I thought would be impossible. So I tore the entire car down to verify. Just like I thought it was perfect.  Well they asked for my to degree the cam 180 out & take another log. (Which I did without the pushrods & rockers installed. Not wanting any crunchy stuff going on.) It gave me the exact same result. My E85 tested perfect too. With that done I put everything back the correct way. with the exception of leaving my coils & injectors unplugged. Then we began to suspect my OEM crank sensor. Due to the fact my tooth wave looked nothing like other peoples composite logs. So I went to my nearest dealer to buy another Factory GM sensor. Came back home & installed it. Gave it another try. Still Not Rpm synced. WTF!!!!! Now I reloaded the tune even though I hadn't changed anything beside the engine size for required fuel. Gave it several more tries. No Luck. Took a break to eat dinner. Came back out cranked it 3 more times. Still nothing...... Towards the end of 4th time I noticed my Not RPM Synced alert went away. Then checked the composite log to see what the Not RPM Synced line looked like. It was SMOOTH!!!!! I was like **** it. Hooked up my coils & injectors. Set my phone up to potentially record my very 1st start or fire which ever comes 1st lol. My girlfriend was armed with the fire extinguisher just in case. Began to crank it up after a several seconds the car STARTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It actually runs now! It was an uphill battle the past 72hrs have been hell & heaven at the same time. I have everything else to put it together & on the road but a custom driveshaft. I hope to take it to ZCON in Austin in June. It'll be very very close but I'll still try. Thanks too all that motivate, view, & follow my build!!!!! Biggest Thanks of all goes to my Girlfriend for putting up with this never ending car.(She honestly was more excited than was!)  Enough talking here's some pics & videos! 

1st Start

 

 

Cutoff test

[1969honda]

Awesome updates! Glad to hear it's running and getting close to finished.

[nismo kid]

Awesome updates! Glad to hear it's running and getting close to finished.

Thank you!