Sanchez Posted December 28, 2021 Author Share Posted December 28, 2021 (edited) @acpmick Wiring wise the hard part is just finding the car to cut the VVeL sub harness out of, and then cutting it correctly. But if you take your time and make sure to trace wires between the connectors and be careful with your cuts it’s pretty easy. Fans are pretty simple. I don’t know how Zfever could retain the fan function because that is all controlled inside the IPDM. The ECU itself has no pin for a fan trigger, it sends can-bus data to the IPDM which controls a ground trigger to the 3 fan relays and a PWM controller module. I wouldn’t bother with trying to wire that mess up, I’m planning on get a PWM style dual fan controller with adjustment (Derale makes one) so that the fans can run at multiple duty levels based on need. But if you are racing and don’t mind full on or full off and the noise than you can do something really simple with 2 relays and a basic thermo switch. For the gauges you can get by without any Can-bus gauges, I am going to get a can-bus tachometer though because it takes some electrical trickery to get a standard tach signal off this engine. Have to use a GPS speedometer and the other engine gauges can be what ever you want, but if you’re only using the stock gauge locations you’ll probably have a coolant temp, oil pressure, and fuel level (not part of engine wiring anyway). Those gauges will be programmable and the signals sent into the ECU by those sensors will play nice with most universal gauges. They also make OBD2 splitters which means you could always have an open OBD2 port for a scanner and run a full set of speedhut gauges which will daisy chain with each other (except speedometer which will need to be GPS). Edited December 28, 2021 by Sanchez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acpmick Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 On 12/28/2021 at 1:39 PM, Sanchez said: @acpmick Wiring wise the hard part is just finding the car to cut the VVeL sub harness out of, and then cutting it correctly. But if you take your time and make sure to trace wires between the connectors and be careful with your cuts it’s pretty easy. Fans are pretty simple. I don’t know how Zfever could retain the fan function because that is all controlled inside the IPDM. The ECU itself has no pin for a fan trigger, it sends can-bus data to the IPDM which controls a ground trigger to the 3 fan relays and a PWM controller module. I wouldn’t bother with trying to wire that mess up, I’m planning on get a PWM style dual fan controller with adjustment (Derale makes one) so that the fans can run at multiple duty levels based on need. But if you are racing and don’t mind full on or full off and the noise than you can do something really simple with 2 relays and a basic thermo switch. For the gauges you can get by without any Can-bus gauges, I am going to get a can-bus tachometer though because it takes some electrical trickery to get a standard tach signal off this engine. Have to use a GPS speedometer and the other engine gauges can be what ever you want, but if you’re only using the stock gauge locations you’ll probably have a coolant temp, oil pressure, and fuel level (not part of engine wiring anyway). Those gauges will be programmable and the signals sent into the ECU by those sensors will play nice with most universal gauges. They also make OBD2 splitters which means you could always have an open OBD2 port for a scanner and run a full set of speedhut gauges which will daisy chain with each other (except speedometer which will need to be GPS). Thanks for that run through, that makes sense. Look forward to seeing more of your work... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanchez Posted December 31, 2021 Author Share Posted December 31, 2021 @acpmick Your question about the gauges had me look at Speedhut website the other and see that they actually just released a line of JDM 240Z replica gauges using their gauge technology which look very similar to the originals with some great custom options. None of these were Can-Bus gauges I’m going to see if they can just transfer those gauge faces to the Can-Bus gauges for the tachometer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gumiho3 Posted January 1, 2022 Share Posted January 1, 2022 On 12/31/2021 at 5:33 AM, Sanchez said: @acpmick Your question about the gauges had me look at Speedhut website the other and see that they actually just released a line of JDM 240Z replica gauges using their gauge technology which look very similar to the originals with some great custom options. None of these were Can-Bus gauges I’m going to see if they can just transfer those gauge faces to the Can-Bus gauges for the tachometer. The speed hut gauges look like the best option for aftermarket guages. I went with the revolution series guages. I'll post some pics as soon as i get them. Been waiting since black friday.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossman Posted January 1, 2022 Share Posted January 1, 2022 You'll be happy with them. I love my revolutions with black faces with white letters that light up red at night. The only think I wish I had done differently was get the dual speedo/fuel gauge. That would have saved me one gauge and fit better in my setup - 8 in total. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossman Posted January 1, 2022 Share Posted January 1, 2022 On 12/31/2021 at 7:33 AM, Sanchez said: they actually just released a line of JDM 240Z replica gauges Dang those are really cool! I'll have to call them next week to see if they will sell me the faces to swap out on mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gumiho3 Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 5 hours ago, rossman said: You'll be happy with them. I love my revolutions with black faces with white letters that light up red at night. The only think I wish I had done differently was get the dual speedo/fuel gauge. That would have saved me one gauge and fit better in my setup - 8 in total. Dang 8 gauges, what does it all read? Autocross or track car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossman Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 12 hours ago, Gumiho3 said: Dang 8 gauges, what does it all read? Autocross or track car? It's just a street car: Speedo, Tach, Fuel Level, Volts, Coolant Temp, Oil Pressure, Oil Temp, and Boost pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanchez Posted January 26, 2022 Author Share Posted January 26, 2022 Did the fan intake chimney, my cut out rusted one can be seen in the picture below. This area is definitely not a breeze to cut without a really good dremel or a really slim profile cutoff wheel. I ended up making a few modifications to the design, namely shrinking the whole chimney by about a 1/2 inch in each direction to hopefully allow water to flow around it easier. I also think I will also be making the cover that keeps water out able to be unbolted and place a screen mesh or even some non-restrictive HVAC filter on the opening to keep leaves from hitting me in the face when it’s on. But welding it in will need to be done from underneath and I’ll need to get some good seam sealer and paint on the area. I would say that based on how hard the Kia blower motor moves air that anybody else doing this could problem just weld a 4” long piece of 3” diameter pipe in the dead center and not worry about choking anything out. My buddy also suggested 3D printing the chimney and bolting it on with gasket and sealant, maybe if I lived in a drier area I would try that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanchez Posted January 30, 2022 Author Share Posted January 30, 2022 It ain’t pretty but nothing about welding in that area is easy. I did some tacks all around on the underside and will finish up the 2 accessible sides fully from the top, then the other 2 sides will be sealed with epoxy for water tightness. I think that will be sufficient for a weekend cruiser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossman Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 (edited) On 1/30/2022 at 2:53 PM, Sanchez said: It ain’t pretty but nothing about welding in that area is easy. I did some tacks all around on the underside and will finish up the 2 accessible sides fully from the top, then the other 2 sides will be sealed with epoxy for water tightness. I think that will be sufficient for a weekend cruiser. Well, nobody besides us looking at your thread is going to see it once you cover it up! I am planning to do as you buddy suggested - replace mine with a plastic or aluminum chimney but bonding it to the sheet metal instead of bolting it. I also live in a wet climate but since mine is a nice day weekend cruiser, it rarely sees any rain anyway. Edited February 1, 2022 by rossman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanchez Posted February 14, 2022 Author Share Posted February 14, 2022 Quick update on the Z and quick video about the VQ37 with some footage of it fired up. https://youtu.be/387XBy1wQ4o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanchez Posted February 26, 2022 Author Share Posted February 26, 2022 (edited) Worked on the heater core housing the past week. Unfortunately our sandblasting cabinet started to act up mid way through blasting, and the cold and humidity of the garage makes rattle cans come out looking 7/10 stars at best so it’s not the prettiest but it’s hidden. Pressure tested the rebuilt heater core I got for free in exchange for working a local Z. I repaired the heater valve and I used cork gasket for the large door area, camper top sealing foam tape for other areas, and pro tip… a beer coozie and one of my old wetsuits from work cut into strips makes a perfect seals for some of the areas where the pivoting door doesn’t lay flat. Edited March 3, 2022 by Sanchez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gumiho3 Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Will you be running an A/C setup? I dont see many people with the vq going that route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanchez Posted March 3, 2022 Author Share Posted March 3, 2022 (edited) @Gumiho3 I’m not gonna run AC, I used to drive around FL in the summer with black leather interior in my RX8 and never really used it. I don’t even like that my Altima forces AC on when I use the the defroster. I’m sure you could make some mounts that move the AC compressor so that it doesn’t interfere with the steering joint. Plus why would I wanna take power away from the crank… or make it harder to fit a centrifugal supercharger on it in the future… Edited March 3, 2022 by Sanchez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanchez Posted March 11, 2022 Author Share Posted March 11, 2022 (edited) So my dog caused a nice little hairline fracture of my elbow about a week ago, so body work on hold again until that heals up in about 2 more weeks. I swear this body work stuff takes forever if you can’t commit full days to it regularly. In the meantime I started work on the steering rack, column, and shaft. I ordered a big haul of parts from ZCarDepot and started ripping it apart. It came apart pretty smooth and the grease inside looked pretty good (I feel like 7-8 years ago I may have topped it off) but the steering effort was really high and I had a pretty bad wheel shake above 30 on pretty smooth roads which is why I decided to go all out on restoring it. As a “fix it before it becomes an issue” person I decided to do rack tube end bushings as well as the steering shaft u-joints. 1. The rack tube end bushings are a small cylinder that is pressed into the steering rack at each end to center the rack in the tube, seem to be brass lined steel with a small oil/grease channel. These are not shown anywhere in the steering diagrams I could find in the FSM or searching. Mine did not seem to have any excessive wear but since I found the OEM pieces at $9 each it seemed like a good precaution. They are only one length but the driver and passenger side are different lengths so cutting required. Just need to find a good way to pull these out without scoring the tube too bad and hopefully they will be a solid fit without machining given they are OEM. 2. The damn steering shaft u-joints! Like a few joints on our cars these were made non-replaceable after the Series 1 run, so any 72 on Z will have the 15x38mm u-joint staked in (early Z was 16x40mm and used external clips to retain the cups. Again mine aren’t necessarily too bad, but piece of mind is worth a lot to me. I unfortunately can’t find any 15x40mm u-joints that have internal/external clips, though there are options for staked ones: 15x40mm (can’t be staked if used) https://www.amazon.com/Febest-AS-1540-FEBEST-Universal-Joint/dp/B00HAQIUDQ 15x39mm (could be staked, or a slot cut for a thrust ring in the bore if you have the know how) https://www.driveshaftparts.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1343&search=uj15 Ive seen some discussion on the other forum sites about replacing these. Cutting the old u-joint out is a requirement. Since this would probably be something you would only have to do once, for keeping the caps on I was thinking it could be kept simple by using either Loctite retaining compound or just epoxy a stainless washer over the end when done if using the 15x40mm since the cap will sit flush. If you wanted a clean look a press fit plastic end piece could be used it you have access to a 3D printer to make one. I’ll try and get a video out going over what I did soon. Edited March 11, 2022 by Sanchez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanchez Posted April 4, 2022 Author Share Posted April 4, 2022 Quick update: Passenger firewall patch finished up. Now I’m waiting on a laser ruler to align the main front frame rail and weld it in. Got talking to Apex Engineered and they are letting me get in on the VQ swap front crossmember and mounts preorder! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanchez Posted April 6, 2022 Author Share Posted April 6, 2022 Additional small update: Ford 8.8 from 2008 Ford Explorer arrived yesterday afternoon, 102k miles, turns smooth. I plan on on getting a master rebuild kit Eaton TrueTrac and 3.73 gears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanchez Posted May 22, 2022 Author Share Posted May 22, 2022 (edited) Shout out to @ohmster101 over at Apex Engineered! The front subframe and VQ mount kit arrived while I’m still slowly making progress on the front rust. Check out the video linked below for the Steering Rack and Column rebuild with VQ parts at the end. 240Z Steering and VQ Subframe Edited May 29, 2022 by Sanchez Add video link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanchez Posted June 29, 2022 Author Share Posted June 29, 2022 (edited) Been a hot minute with work getting busy as more staff change over happens and finishing up the plumbing for the front of the garage building… oh and all the car shows which always happen on Sunday’s my one day off each week. Got the seal kit for the 8.8 and I’m waiting on the 3.7 ring gear and trak-loc to arrive. Just wanna get that all buttoned up and stuff it out of the way. And started on the front frame rails. My car suffered from rust at the sway bar bushing mounting points and those little pockets that allow you to reach the subframe bolts so I’m doing everything from the subframe mount location forward to the lower radiator core support new/custom. Still using 18ga and hoping that the car won’t fold in half at the weld when I hit a pothole. I did botch the channel in the photo by about a 1/4” on the top face so I’m gonna remeasure and try again to get it closer. Edited June 29, 2022 by Sanchez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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