My Z car log....small jobs done and fun things

[A to Z]

04-26-2025. Well, I was able to fix a few little things on the Z today, getting it more and more cleaned up. I ended up putting a stainless clamp around the turbo to manifold hose, as it was getting sucked in pretty bad from the pressures, this keeps it from doing that to a great extent. I let it idle and revved it a bit and I could see a real improvement. I developed a front tire rub again, which is weird as it was entirely done and good a long while ago, but it is what it is, so I was able to get that done, changed out the timing belt for a much better one, and ran the wiring from the shifter, through the boot and under the console down to the point where the connections are for the Water-Methanol injection.. It will be on a push button shift knob I ordered. The boost switch just wasn't working like I wanted. I want more control over it. I drilled a small hole at the top of my dash insert and installed a small amber light which when wired in, will let me know when the water/meth is on. I also took 2 video's, once of the finished engine idling, and a walk around. So 2 pics and 2 videos. Cheers!

 

Videos (2) click below

 

(14) Facebook

 

 

[A to Z]

05-02-2025. I got my shift knob with button. I got it from Speed Dawg Shift Knobs. Top notch shop. Shipped it very fast, well packaged and I even got a military discount. If you need a shift knob check this guy out! I got it installed, and all wired in to my Snow Performance Stage 1 Water/Methanol injection kit. I also got my Vacuum Block from Amazon, and got it all hooked up, so the vacuum needed for my Boost Gauge and J&S Safeguard is more professional. I also added a pic where you can see my passenger well is all cleaned up. Good day!

[A to Z]

05-07-2025.  My custom ordered fender stickers came in.  I covered them (and the rear stickers) with some PPF clear to make them permanent.

[A to Z]

05-10-2025. I did a lot of odds and ends today.....little things put off.....I just went around and fixed as I saw them.  I used the clear PPF film over the carbon fiber on the inner fender as it was getting real ratty looking on the edges.  I also cut some pieces, and put it on the 2 spots the seats are showing wear from being a big guy getting in and out of the car.  Will they work on Vinyl?  Not sure, but I need something there.     Seams showing some cracks due to my poor bodywork skills, this seals them so I can just forget about it and enjoy the car.t Tuch up painting all over the place, then vacuuming....I guess you could call it spring cleaning.  I went back to a novel way of richening up the carb a little....washers under the choke know to add fuel everywhere and buy add a washer at a time I have been able to make a lot of progress on getting it right.  The other way would be to buy a richer needle, but this is easy, cheap, I already have the parts, and it works.  In short it was just a nice sunny day and I got stuff done.  I did take A LOT of pics, so the pics I will put on here.....it's pics heavy. so you are forewarned.  Cheers and God bless.~Joe

[A to Z]

05-17-2025. Today I installed a light kit in the engine compartment and another inside the car. I got both from Amazon. I also went ahead and installed a "Green Filter" on my block breather tube. As soon as I tightened it, it crumpled the green part a tad. It would have been great if it had not done that, but oh well. Here are a few pics.  Videos, click below.

 

 

Video's (click below) :

Facebook

 

Facebook

[A to Z]

05-24-2025.  I got the clips and screws to finish up landing the wiring down for the lighting I added, and got other little things here and there taken care of, I installed the plaque I had made to label the switches on the dash, then I went to the carb, and changed out my accelerator pump nozzle to a larger nozzle, from a 70 to a 90.  a custom 90 that is made by V performance development.  car is still lean below 3000 and giving it any more that 1/8 throttle below 3000 it just falls flat, so I took the needle out and taped it off and did some grinding on it and re-installed it.....MUCh better  but needs just a hair more.  I took it out and ground on it, but I think I left it too rough, as it doesn't want to move cleanly in the needle jet.  I went ahead and ordered 2 needles for the carb in the richest one they offer.....stock is 97, these will be 95's.  I will put one in the carb as-is drive it, and mod the second LIGHTLY and gently and keep playing with it.  Everything is great except for the transition from the pilot jet to the needle....TOO LEAN, so it's just trial and error now.  Pics follow.

[A to Z]

05-31-2025 Test and tune.  I ordered some richer needles and today they were here so it was time for more trial and error.  The needle rides inside of a "needle jet", and the one that was in there a "Y-8" was one step richer from the stock "Y-6" jet.  Well, I went to the next richer size needle jet a "Z-0" and that is the largest one they have.  then I took my new needle a "95" the richest needle they make and set it on the lowest (richest) setting.  I went and drove it and it added about 50% of what I needed more of to make it just right.  I ordered 2 needles, and so I taped off the other 95 needle and with my dremel began modding the needle.  I added fuel in the 1/8 th throttle to 1/2 area, and then polished the ground area to make it smooth and put it in  the carb and went for another run.  Out of the 50% more improvement I needed it gave me another 25%, so just a little more.....pulled the needle back out and lengthened  the area to grind down towards the tip a little, re-polished it and installed it....now she runs GREAT!  only in one area was it not giving quite enough fuel, 2000-2500 RPM in second gear....roll on the throttle to the floor...... so I went back to my shims I had made to go under the choke and trial and error got me at 2 shims.  It is now just right.  feels good.  strong and smooth, with a 3000+ RPM power band to redline.  I did have a bit of a problem, as I wanted to simulate DYNO conditions, i.e. 4th gear, 2000 RPM, floor it and see if it would pull clean, the second time I did it I got a loud POP, and lost power.  I started limping home and had to stop at one light, and it started smoking blue, then went to almost white for a second, then all smoking went away the rest of the way home.  NO MORE SMOKE ?!? Initially I figured I had blown a head gasket.....but it wouldn't have quit smoking.  looking under the hood, the vacuum line for the power brakes and the vacuum line for my vacuum advance on the distributor were blown off.  Apparently I had put the car in an almost lug condition under load with full throttle, which shot the boost as high as you can imagine, and I LUCKILY had these hoses blow off, instead of the head gasket.  These hoses are not clamped on tot heir ports so the boost was able to just push them off.  I also found that one hose connection was leaking at the end, so I sealed it up and will give that 24 hrs to cure.  DISASTER AVERTED!  Those NISSAN factory Head Gaskets really are top quality.  I highly recommend them!  When I take it to the DYNO, I will just let them know not to full throttle it in 4th until 3000 RPM.  Gradually add fuel until you are at WOT by 3000 RPM.  here are some pics of the needle mod.

[A to Z]

06-07-2025. More work on the Z car. Swapped out some fouled plugs for a new set of NGK BPR6ES plugs. Gapped at .032 and I put a daub on anti-seize on the threads to make them easier to take out eventually. Then I swapped out my thermostat, and started the car and it works! After that, a long item waiting project.....drilling a second set of holes in the stainless steel washers I use with my hood pins. They have 6/32 screws holding them in place. After getting everything on the engine sealed up, I started it and it smokes like an old 2 stroke SAAB. The back firing situation that blew my hoses off apparently blew out the carbon seals I had in my turbo, so the turbo had to come off so I can get it fixed. at the same time, I removed the brake master cylinder and booster. Initially I was going to eliminate the booster and enjoy all that space, but results are very mixed on doing that, save for the professional setup made by Chase Bays, that costs $750 for the master Cylinder and then you need flexible fines to go from the master cylinder to the proportioning valve. I have decided to re-drill mounting holes and move the booster and master cylinder over to the right about an inch. This will give me the much needed room to put in a heat shield between the master cylinder and the turbo and exhaust. To keep the pushrod for the brake booster straight, I will take a piece of thick steel and drill 2 holes, 1 inch apart with a hole drilled in one side where the original rod will go through with a nut on the front side that will be welded to the plate and then tack the rod flush with the steel plate. Then the other hole will be 1 inch over and will be where the clevis will hook on to the brake pedal leg. saves me some money, get to keep the nice brakes and look much better etc. in the engine bay. Pics follow. Cheers!

[A to Z]

06-14-2025. I have decided to try out a manual brake master cylinder, i.e. no booster. If it doesn't work out I can put the booster back on......I researched into using the Chase Bays master cylinder that replaces the master cylinder and changes the pedal ratio from 3 or 4 to 1 to 6 to 1. In their instructions they talk about raising the master cylinder 1/2 inch. So I started reading about pedal ratios and come to find out....raising the hole on the pedal shaft 1/2 inch raises the pedal ratio to 6 or even 7 to 1! So, I got a piece of 1/4" thick aluminum plate and went about making a plate where the master cylinder was 1/2 inch raised fup from the center line. I then removed the pedal and drilled the hole 1/2" raised up for it, and I have an aftermarket rod setup, that I will have to cut down to use, but in playing around and albeit some yelling in pain I got the master back up and mounted with the new plate. I made sure to use my polishing wheel and some Mothers Mag wheel polish to give it some shine. It was a pain, and I am still fighting the brake pedal getting the bolt back in after getting the return spring on and then pushing it up and getting the big bolt through. the car is small and I am big, so there is some yelling going on, and coming out to wipe my face off and keep trying. I decided to stop here for the day and let my mind work on it mentally for a bit. Pics follow. Cheers!

[A to Z]

6-21-2025.  I went ahead and tackled the inlet to the engine from the turbo.  I had just an offset hose between them, about 3 inch gap....and then I learned that turbos can pull hoses in.  So I had put a clamp around it so that the hose could only be collapsed so far.....but with the work I am doing, it was time to fix this.  With a 3 inch space and needing an offset, and being ar etired electrician it was simple.  Use a 2" diameter offset nipple!  It has 3/4 inch of offset in a 3 inch long configuration.  Of course the need to clean it up and make it look good versus a cheapo home depot looking fix, I ground it up in spots, and then ground the threads down flush on both sides.  then it was a case of measuring it against the hose, and getting the right length of hose for both ends.  from the pics you can see there was some porting I had to do and one small spot a ported too much and had to patch it with some JB weld, no big deal.  once assembled a good coat of gloss black using the 2K paint from Rustoleum with paint and primer together really works nice.  then I worked on engine bay cleanup a tad where the turbo sits and can't be done once it is back on, and then lastly the push rod for the brakes.  I got it down to where I have the exact right size, but it won't it in, unless I take the brake master back off, put the rod in, and then bolt it back down.....that is next time.  Pics follow. Cheers!

[A to Z]

06-26-2025. I finished the manual brake conversion. I had to remove the master again, from the firewall screw in the rod all the way and then take measurements....how far the rod goes into the master cylinder, and then figure out how much rod needed to stick out of the firewall to be just right....and then because it was screwed all the way in, take a bit more off from that and it should be good......but when you change pedal hole height, sometimes you have to shave down the rod to fit in the master without binding from being on a slight angle, etc. So, using the die grinder I got it smaller and decent looking and then re-assembled. Works, pretty good. when I push on the brakes, I can feel it come on within 1-2 inches and by 3 inches the floor it stops, and if I push HARD it completely stops 1.5 to 2 inches from the floor. I set it with about 1/4" of play at the pedal when released. So, we will see how it works on the road. Here are some pics:

[A to Z]

06-28-2025.  Putting the new turbo on.  With the new turbo to manifold piece, I had to actually remove the intake manifold, put it all together, and then slide the manifold back on.  It WORKED!  Look at those HUGE ports!  I haven't seen them in awhile!  That's my Russ Racing prepped and shaved E31 head!  I have it almost all assembled, I had to "slip" the top hose clamp up a bit to get a really good seal clamped down.  Looks "different" but it is SNUG.  I vacuum tested the new wastegate actuator......WAY too high (boost crack at 15 psi !!!) , so I put the older one on, and it boost cracks at only 2.5 psi.,....but I didn't port the turbine housing this time, so keeping that in mind, I think very little boost will be bleed off....enough to protect the engine, but it's going to pump quite a bit of air and fuel!  (boost creep expected).  The Skillard brake master cylinder heat shield I ordered came in, and is waiting me to custom mod as needed and install.  Also went ahead and started clamping down the vacuum hoses to avoid any more hoses blowing off under boost.  I have also added on a few pics of my intake ports if interested.  Almost done!  It is now HOT, have to keep stopping and wiping my face off.  I think it was over 86!  cheers!   pics attached.

[A to Z]

07-01-2025. I had a crack in the fuel line, so I took the time to change it up and use a bit of 1/8" pipe and fittings to make it so it is supported versus kind of floppy before. I deleted the cheap fuel psi gauge I got from Amazon which was spotty at best.

 

Click on "V1MOV" below for a short video

 

 

 

 

 

 

V1.MOV

[A to Z]

07-02-2025. Well my Z car is finally done......again. it was finished a year ago. But then I decided to turbocharge the engine and that involved redoing the braking. it's done. lightly turbocharged. It now has the one thing I felt it was missing. took 8 months and enormous amounts of patience and going back and forth jetting, etc. Powerwise? Who knows....at the rear wheel.....probably 200-210 max. that would be about 250 or so at the flywheel. it's just a cruiser and a real 10 footer. DONE. whew!

[A to Z]

no exhaust, straight off the down pipe, now back on full exhaust. crappy video, but you can hear a bit of it.

 

click this below:

V3.MOV

[A to Z]

07-05-2025. Installed my Skillard brake master cylinder heat shield. I had to modify it quite extensively for my use.

[A to Z]

odds and ends pics from today:

[A to Z]

07-06-2025 polish day. Did some waxing. wipe down with a wet towel to get the dust off, and then a coat of pure caranauba wax from Mcquires (the Gold Class Caranauba Plus paste wax). My pallnet fuel rail has always been raw aluminum, but with some mothers mag wheel polish, a rag and elbow grease it turned out pretty good! I took a couple pics where you can see without and with polishing

[A to Z]

quick vid of my Z on the street. not a very good video, but the best I can do

 

Video below.  Click to watch:

 

 

[A to Z]

7-10-2025. Well, Summer is in full swing, and that has helped cause a heat issue for my Z car. I had to solve a few issues that showed up yesterday......when under those high temps, my main jet, which comes into play at 3/4 throttle to floored wasn't pushing enough fuel. So I took another jet I had and drilled it out, and it came out a bit larger than my largest jet ,a 240 Main Jet. It also just so happens no one makes a jet larger than a 240, so I drilled it out, similar what I earlier had to do in modding my needle for that mid range throttle use. In the pics below, the one on the right is my new main jet, larger than the largest one made. I also raised my hood pins about an inch, and drilled a second hole where I have clips that the hood rests on, and the normal hood pin clips on top, now I have an inch of venting for the engine. Below are several pics to show how it looks. Lastly my temp gauge. This is driving around with the hood up today. When I got home I ordered some more insulation to put around the internal wastegate area on the hot side of my turbo.....last night she registered a temp of 700 degrees +, so that is what I think caused all the issues. in a couple of days, it will arrive and God willing I can get this wrapped back up and get the car to acting right again. When it gets that hot, the mixture for the carb is all out of wack.