JMortensen Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 A little background. I bought my second Z, the currrent project, the year I got married. It was 1997, I was 22, and my wife wanted "a car with some character". The plan was to build a nice handling street car that I could autocross for fun and that she could drive daily. That's what we built the first time around. Here is a list of what the car had after the original build: GC coilovers and camber plates 200/250 in/lb springs Illuminas Gmachine bushings in back and TC kit in front poly front LCA bushings L28 with dished pistons and E31 head SU's a very small cam upgrade 280ZX EI MSD 6AL header 2.5" exhaust full carpet kit 80 280ZX 5 speed 3.70 Z31T LSD diff Toy 4 piston calipers 79-81 ZX rear disk 240SX ebrake cable 79-81 ZX master cylinder Autopower roll bar Recaro seats Autometer gauges MSA anti-roll bars H4 headlights on relays and a really bad but still expensive paint job This combination was fun to drive and did OK at the local autox, usually placing in the top 15 or so. As time went on my wife was driving the Z less and less. Neither one of us can really figure out why that happened. She loved the car, but she just seemed to lean towards our 93 Toyota P/U, and when we bought a new Subaru it was all over. She would drive the Z maybe one day a month or so. That's when it became my car, and that's when I started to modify it to be more serious about racing. 4 point harness rod end TC rods rod end front LCAs slotted the front crossmember for bumpsteer adjustment larger cam 44 Mikunis electric fan strut tower bars front and rear L28 bottom end with flat top pistons and Euro damper 15x8 circle track steel wheels Yokohama slicks, front take offs from Toy Atlantic cars I raced it pretty religiously at the local autox until they lost the space. Then I started trying track days at Buttonwillow, but they were very expensive so I couldn't go as often as I wanted. Later I found out about NASA's autox in Marina, CA, and began to do the 2 hour drive to go to that event every month. After a couple years the NASA site was shut down, so I was relegated to only doing track days at Buttonwillow and also at the Streets of Willow. The car was pretty competitive. I was racing a lot of the same guys I had been autocrossing against, and was coming in the top 5 overall. Rust started creeping out of every seam in the body and bubbling up under the paint on every panel. The car was flexy, really flexy, and everything was just tired. Here's an autox video from about this time period: http://videos.streetfire.net/search/autox/0/3B512F0F-8AD1-4DAB-BD8E-0AE1768FB642.htm. The sig pic is from about the same time as well. Next step was the current build. My wife wanted to move from idyllic, beautiful San Luis Obispo to trafficky, rainy, crappy Seattle to finish her Masters degree, so off we went. This was supposed to take 2 years and I figured that while we were here I could devote some time to the car and get some things taken care of. On my list were a brake upgrade, fuel cell installation, 4.11 diff swap, new roll bar, and maybe a CV swap, but the biggee was to FIX RUST! I was going to try and do the whole project for $2000. 4 years later my wife is supposed to finish her thesis in 6 months, and the project has gone surprisingly not so far over budget, maybe double at this point. The "while I'm at its" have gotten me big time, and here's what I've been up to in that time. Sectioned the struts, but didn't consult here or take pics, so no link for that one. Also installed new rear wheel bearings and 280Z stub axles with MM CV adapters, no link here either. Used longer ARP studs. Also installed long studs in the new 280Z front hubs that work with the JSK Wilwoods. Made a Simon De Groot style front diff mount: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=92546 Made a rotisserie: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=105319 Fixed rusty doglegs:http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=102470 Fixed cowl rust: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=106849 Stitch welded chassis: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=95739 Cut off the drip rails (not finished with this one): http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=107679&highlight=drip+rails Swapped LSD into 4.11 diff and shimmed the clutch stack: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=92629 New roll bar (which is going to turn into a roll cage project pretty quick): http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=102715 Somewhere in here I had the talk with my wife about the car and it's future. It was decided that it will be a race car, and the build will proceed on that basis, so basically no more concern about comfort, no passenger seat even, no roll up windows, etc. Ultra-Shield seat: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=103817 Decided to fix the TC rods I had. The old ones were binding horribly, and I had never noticed. I also wanted to adjust the anti-dive characteristic of the front suspension. This project also led to installing bad dog subframe connectors and some mods to my seat bracket: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=106974 Made a toe adjuster with blueovalz and jeromio (already needs a repaint): http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=89111 Bought new rear ST swaybar, and in the process of installing it and trying to make it adjustable, went to a pretty crazy full rod end solution: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=105596 Bumpsteer adjustable tie rod ends were in here somewhere. This was done so that I could raise the inner pivot of the front LCA higher and still adjust bumpsteer at the tie rod. This also lead into moving the steering rack to add Ackerman: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=111435 Modified rear frame rail for suspension clearance at seriously low ride heights: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=110536 Realized in testing the clearance for the frame rail, that the poly bushings were causing a lot of friction, so modded the rear control arms again for monoballs/rod ends: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=110536 I have most of the parts assembled for a JSK brake upgrade, have 280Z stub axles and Z31T CV shafts with http://www.modernmotorsports.com adapters, and a new Ultra Flo muffler to install. To do list: Dual master cylinder upgrade (have the parts, this should be starting next week). Fuel cell install rebuild zx 5 speed Finish roll cage make some sort of aluminum dash to hold gauges reseal front of engine bodywork new tail light panel - thinking of cutting it all out and installing round trailer lights in a sheetmetal panel, my rear panel is rusted pretty badly. flares of some sort roll on some rustoleum paint rewire car with circuit breakers instead of fuses new airdam or fix current airdam I know I'm forgetting other little things here and there. I guess I'll have to add them as I remember them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted January 18, 2015 Author Share Posted January 18, 2015 I guess I forgot to update this for 9 years. I'll fill in the blanks later (or not), but for right now this is the big news: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnBsFVZjT-k&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YLVifKqkHQ&feature=youtu.be http://youtu.be/btKLxaNgG5U Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Big day! Congrats!! Totally AWESOME-woohoo! For some reason I always pictured you as an old codger.....not so! Good to meet you and the family-your daughter sounds like your biggest fan. But, I think you need some wider tires. I like that power steering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted January 18, 2015 Author Share Posted January 18, 2015 Just turned 40. Katie is all excited about going for rides. They're telling me she needs to wait until she's 9, but she wants to go really bad, and loves riding around in our 99 Miata too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dat260 Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Nice to meet you JMortensen. Nice ride too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heavy85 Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Sounds mean! Congrats Jon. Looking forward to read about you sorting it out. Cameron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1 Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Congratulations Jon! First startup is always a big day. jt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube80z Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Love how the camera shakes when it revs. You beat me to startup -- great job. Cary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 That is awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
310z Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Congratulations, Great to see things coming together. As RebbekahsZ said I also thought you were older and at least older than me at 50. I have had my car since I was 18 or 19 and only 5 yr. ago did it finally come together. As it should, building cars seems to take a back seat to wife's, education, and family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboHLS30 Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I've never been one for V8 swapped Z's, but this is really cool! Props to you! Looking forward to upcoming updates! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garvice Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) Well done mate. Very serious build. I'm just trying to finish a quick (18 month) cheap build on a 1600. Unfortunately due to the rust it turned into a full rebuild (over 2 years now). I know how things can snow ball.ha. Edited January 21, 2015 by garvice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datz44 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Awesome car!!! No words for your car's attitude. What size are the wheels and slicks? Take more pics of the whole car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnosez Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I've made a reminder in my calendar (June 12, 2017) to look for your post of an on-track experience. Nice to see all those ideas, big and small come together. Congrads!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 (edited) Awesome car!!! No words for your car's attitude. What size are the wheels and slicks? Take more pics of the whole car. Wheels are 15x14, slicks are 13" Hoosiers off of a Formula Atlantic. I've done most of the following projects here, so pics of almost all of this are available: finished fuel cell install with new hard lines dual master mod brake plumbing JSK brakes install bought Austin Hoke's Corvette brake setup and used Superlites with it Hoke Performance caliper bracket whole lotta roll cage IMSA rear flares custom AL dash rewire car - Dave Irwin did this 3 lb battery tail light panel 5.3L/T56 motor/trans mounts flexplate and dual 7.25 clutch Accusump rear control arm droop limiters remove front fenderwells Beta Motorsports hatch and hood coneeng.com mufflers and merge collectors Schoenfeld IMCA headers morphed into DIY side pipes laid radiator down and ducted to front tube frame detachable front end Woodward ps rack right and left side window nets modded sway bars braced front strut housing to spindle Ron Tyler diff mount 39 spline chromoly stub axles and companion flanges modded Harbor Freight tire mounting tool for the slicks made lexan door windows with slider for driver's side What I still need to do: DIY defroster from NASCAR brake fan Finish wiring (windshield wiper is the big thing) glue in windshield make lexan 1/4 windows install doors and seat(s) mod another front swaybar - kinda messed up the one I have on the car right now. Finish gigantic front splitter Finish front end/fenders Edited January 22, 2015 by JMortensen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cnunes Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Jon, Great to read this update and hear the start-up. I don't post a lot, but you, your car and your epic, detail-oriented build have been an inspiration for me! My two daughters are young, so I'm in no rush, but I'll be following in your footsteps eventually... Chris 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted September 7, 2015 Author Share Posted September 7, 2015 (edited) Well, I drove it a little bit. It's definitely not a street car, that's for sure, but it does seem like it will keep me busy learning it for a while. Very fast, very twitchy. Intended to autox today, but believe it or not, it's about 1.5" too wide to fit on the trailer with the 14" wheels. When I had measured before I measured between the fenders, but when the bed tilts down there is a little frame rail that sticks out, and I can't get the tires past them. Will need another set of wheels and tires just to get it on and off. Thinking about doing 15x10s and putting rains on them. I can get 15x14 rains too, but I think the 10s might are probably a better choice anyway, even if it looks a little stupid on the car, plus I wouldn't need a 3rd set of wheels/tires. Also found that it high centers coming in and out of my shop and I had a (used) Hyperco spring fail on the first drive. Just went soft. I guess next step is get some 15x10s and raise it up enough so that I can drive it in and out of the shop. Edited September 8, 2015 by JMortensen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 Incredible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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