Jump to content
HybridZ

Olderthanme's 74' 260Z. Project_Loudmouth


Recommended Posts

I picked the name Loudmouth for whatever reason...I guess since it is the opposite of my real personality. Anyway...

 

Specs:

Early 74 260Z

 

Suspension:

7" coilover collars and nuts from www.A1racing.com

QA1 2.5"ID 225Lb/in. front 10" springs and 250Lb/in rear 10" springs from www.summitracing.com

Stock length Tokico Illumina struts from "JDMWerks" on Evilbay

polyurethane bushings from www.zcarparts.com

stock sway bars

coming soon: new ball joints, tie rod ends, camber plates, and real upper spring perches.

 

Brakes:

Toyota S12-8 calipers

braided front lines

crosdrilled/slotted rotors

high performance shoes (all brake parts from MSA, ripoff!!)

New 7/8 Master cylinder

DOT4 brake fliud

 

Wheels:

Diamond Racing "PRO" series 15"X8" wheels wrapped in cheap 225/60R15 "Visa" tires.

 

Driveline:

4 speed tranny

all new universal joints

SPEC 240mm 11LB flywheel

SPEC 225mm Stage 2+ clutch with 700 miles on it(for sale?)

bolt in axle R180 w/ 3.54 gears

 

OLD engine:

L26 block

E88 head partially polished

Mystery header

Roundtop SUs

mirror polished 83mm flattop pistons

L28 crank and rods (stock)

 

New engine:

1993 Infinity Q45 engine.

VH45DE

I'll be lowering compression to 8.5:1 from 10.5:1 with some forged slugs.

I'll also go back through the engine with new bearings and check everything and make sure it is all in great condition.

 

 

 

 

I bought my car on November 15, 2003 that I paid $2000 of my own hard earned cash for. (the day before I turned 16)

260Z produced in November of 1973. VIN RLS30-012743

b32851830.jpg

easter egg under car, in November...

b32851851.jpg

 

the all powerful L26!!! Roundtop SUs and mystery header. It had individual round K&N air cleaners but they were long gone and so was the harware.

b32851843.jpg

Algae...

b32851838.jpg

december 05:

m23866532.jpg

ever have a problem with your horn not being loud enough?

s17335418.jpg

most of my coilover stuff. Great prices on the coilover collars from A1racing.com

m27126937.jpg

playing with rustoleum: first try.b24889348.jpg

now...

 

b65529349.jpg

red rustoleum:

b32717205.jpg

right after I rolled the hood

m32294188.jpg

 

cool threads:

rustoleum painting your car #1

I started rustoleum painting my car

current rustoleum thread

225mm clutch and 240mm flywheel...kit assembled by rustang guys...and I gave them the part #s for 225mm everything...

m34969009.jpg

suspension ready for coilovers...

b28356311.jpg

how not to lower your Z...

m32944527.jpg

Struts ready to go after TIG welding the new collar perches on.

m32936160.jpg

m34890312.jpg

ghetto top hats...lol

b34890305.jpg

 

"beauty shot"...FWIW

m36581486.jpg

m35819613.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

driving pics...

w37446329.bmp

w37446309.bmp

w37446289.bmp

w37446269.bmp

w37446252.bmp

Those pics were from the "Tail of the Dragon"

when I got back I pulled this out of the car:

b39030889.jpg

I had all of my brake lights go out, headlights got really dim, horn got more and more quiet, etc...you get the picture.

New cutom harness board:

m41579881.jpg

harness in car before cleaning up and zip-tying everything:

m47863539.jpg

New wiring harness for the ignition

m47864774.jpg

New dash with the temporary switch panel.

m48628339.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

I got my full engine gasket kit and connecting rod bearings for under $100 today! The engine is at the machine shop getting a small repair done and should be ready by Monday. The plan is to rebuild the shortblock on Tuesday and maybe even make it a longblock. I have to leave for college Friday morning REALLY early so I need to at least get the block bolted up in the car by Wednesday.

I am going to be using the E88 head that I have instead of the MN47 because it is already built and I have never built a cylinder head before.

 

here is the pic of this awesome engine builder "OTM"...well that was all my fame...2 seconds worth on the web...

m71224932.jpg

I was a fencer for several years(6-7?) and was national points champion once and have been state champion a couple times and second in the southeast...I am now too busy and poor to spend $$$$ on the expensive gear and put the money into the Z. I probably have $2000 of gear and specialized tools in my room... time to sell it all off.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

Well The time is about to come to get my car running again!

 

I'm going to run this L26 at the highest compression I can for 93 octane gas... (aprox 10.2:1)

Bodywork is on the plan for this summer as well as geting some fabrication equipment. I am also going to find a motor to start rebuilding. The local JY just got a Z32 so you never know... If I can't find something like that then it will be onward with a 351w motor.

 

The Z32 drivetrain may be a better choice since it already has mostly forged internals and I could do a near-stock rebuild on it for my power wishes. (ie: forged pistons, cams, HG, etc...)

 

So I'll be home in 23 days to put the L26 back in the car and run the snot out of it up at Zdayz... :-P

 

You can check out my blog in my sig for other updates...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

Picking up my new motor in the morning.

VH45DE(T) and will mate it to a Z32 transmission.

The T56 is a better choice but with an early 260Z I won't have a lot of space in the tranny tunnel. A Z32 tranny is about 1/5 the cost of a T56 and the adapter is available from Mazworks in FL to mate the tranny and motor without having to stack a flywheel and flexplate (don't trust it).

 

A local yard near my school has a Z32 tranny for $200 that I may pick up or I may wait for one in known good condition.

 

I'm planning on mounting an HX40 or HX50W right next to the firewall and use a DSM hood bulge to help the hood to clear the turbo. Something like a WRX hood scoop will be mounted on the driver's sidecowl as the air intake

Exhaust will be a 4"-5" pipe running out where the battery normally sits and down to a single sidepipe on the passenger side.

I am sketching a rendering of what the car will look like when done.

 

Just some ideas put together...

I really like the front fenders.

b103668334.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

I figured that it is about time for an update.

 

Yesterday I went to the local JY and got some parts for my VH45.

I scored a water pump for $3 and it looks as if it has never been used. Who knows how much Infinity would have charged for a water pump...Probably $90.

 

I also got the # 1,2,7,8 short intake runners.

Now I have 8 short runners rather than 4 long and 4 short ones.

looks something like this now:

b127425540.jpg

 

b127425269.jpg

 

I have gotten rid of most of the useless emissions stuff but still have some work to do to finish cleaning up the motor.

 

This VH45 has 120k miles on it and since it is in good shape I imagine that with boost it will last about 8k miles. Then I'll rebuild it with forged pistons, bearings, and seals.

I think 450 horsepower (around .5 bar boost) should do me good while building the roll cage and reinforcements before upping the boost.

 

 

If anyone needs a 90mm throttle body I have an extra...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I'm starting school this summer 30 miles from home...

My truck gets 18-21mpg and 16-19 with A/C running, an EFI L6 gets around 30mpg if properly tuned with a good 280zx tranny.

I think I'm going to implant some EFI onto my L26 and get it running/ driving again while I build the new VH45 drivetrain/frame.

Here is the plan:

Get comlete 280Z(X) or Maxima head with intake and complete running gear/harness for around $200 or less and slap it on there...

With an N42 head I'd stay at 9.2:1

With a MN47 I'd go up to 10.2:1

With a P90/79 I'd go down to 8:1

 

I have a line on a "very good" MN-47 head so I'm probably going to go that way.

My current head was an emergency, get it to run, kind of deal with valves from another head slapped in.

 

I think the focus for this summer is going to be getting the VH45 setup and and bodywork.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Today I went to the boneyard and picked up some parts to resell and then pulled a wiring harness from a Q45 for my motor. I figure I'll use the stock harness for now and get the beast running before I mess with upgrading it.

 

I was also looking at a 92 240sx with a KA24 and was thinking that the lower part of the intake would be perfect as an upper manifold for my VH45(trying to use as many pre-engineered parts as possible).

I tried for about 2 hours to get the manifold off but it wasn't happening. Started getting cold and windy so I just left it half pulled apart. Got the TB from it though. I'm trying to figure out if I should use the one 90mm TB or if I could use two smaller ones like 60mm KA24 TBs or even a pair of 50MM Z TBs.

 

Hopefully when I'm done it will look like a completely OEM engine minus the junk.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I just discovered that the #1 and #2 crankshaft journals are toast on my crank and the #1 rod is dead.

Good thing I decided to pull it apart first!!!

 

Looks like the plastic timing chain tensioners broke up and got sucked into the oil pickup and blocked off most of the oil flow.

 

Time for a different longblock!

 

I now have a mockup block though!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...