LiamR Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 (edited) Hey all, Firstly thanks for clicking on my build thread and taking the time to read/look at the pictures. So where do I start, if you read my new members post you will see I picked up this 280z from a friend in a trade deal whereby I swapped my home built s2000 turbo (some say I'm crazy to get rid of it but bah, what the hell.. I knew the s2000 was going to a good home and I love old Z cars.) Here it is when I went round to view it at my friends house... I instantly fell in love... I knew I just had to have it! It already had the SR20DET swap which is a little rough round the edges, but in the PO defence, he had 28 day warranty on the engine so had to get it into the car as soon as he could to make sure it checked out OK. This wasn't long after he had it all up and running. I drove home that night with a huge smile on my face knowing I would be a Z car owner!! My dream car was going to be mine. So the day came to swap the cars, here is an image of the 2 cars together.. Edited November 24, 2018 by LiamR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiamR Posted November 25, 2018 Author Share Posted November 25, 2018 So I drove it home, so very very pleased. It sounded awesome, popped and banged on the over-run, turned heads everywhere and all in all was a gorgeous drive. I gave it some boost going down the road but it seemed a little slow, a little hesitant... I could only assume that as my s2000 was 550hp, this obviously wasn't going to feel as quick. So carried on driving it regardless. I noticed that half of the dash gauges didn't work (he told me this when showing me round it) but now I got to have a closer look. The voltage gauge was reading off the scale with the charge lamp on constantly... I thought nothing of this as I he told me it wasn't wired up to the gauge so was showing incorrect readings. Oil temp didn't work, coolant temp didn't work, rev counter didn't work... all making sense as the sensors were not hooked up or indeed calibrated for those gauges. Only the fuel gauge worked, this only worked upto half way though.. above half a tank doesn't show on the gauge. Anyways... fast forward to a few weeks later (only driven the car once more since collecting it) and I pull up at my garage to hear a hissing noise (kind of like a someone letting air out of the tire) On closer inspection I hear that the hissing noise is coming from the engine bay. I think possible coolant leak? Pressure escaping etc? I open the bonnet (Hood in your case) to find that the battery is swollen like a balloon and the hissing is coming from there!! I managed to open one of the battery caps and release the pressure. Checked the voltage and its kicking out 17.5v at idle! RIP BATTERY! Found out the external regulator was still connected to the car and the SR20 alternator runs an internal one. A few days of wiring checks, regulator rewire etc etc turns out the alternator voltage regulator is dead anyways, so no difference made there New Nissan Serena alternator purchased (90A) to replace the dead one. Mounting holes seem to match up even though the plugs and power are in slightly different locations, but no worries as everything will reach! So whilst the alternator is out of the car, I decided to replace the restrictive "turbo elbow" that comes on the SR20. OF COURSE the manifold studs were going to be seized and come out of the head.. why wouldnt they? Had to be re-tapped, so new studs and nuts ordered! Oh and I think I found why the car seemed a bit sluggish.... exhaust leak city. Now onto the turbo... that's right you guessed it... TURBO STUDS SEIZED TOO. Out they come, turbine housing re-tapped and new ones put in their place. Whilst all this is off, I looked at the current exhaust.. It was a miss-mash of old parts. 3 inch tubing bashed in places to fit around the r200 diff. A supra back box that the PO had laying around so decided to use on the Datsun. My friend who's into fabricating his own parts took one look at it and said he couldn't let it stay like that. So he gave me a shopping list and told me to go do a buy. He decided that he was going to fabricate me a custom exhaust which goes up and over the rear axle. It's still a work in progress but here's the back box... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unterbergamotten3 Posted November 25, 2018 Share Posted November 25, 2018 love the grey colour. Got some interior pics to share? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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