EvilRufusKay Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 Hey Guys, Been a while since I wrenched on the Z. Been too busy with working on other peoples cars at night, building my bike, fixing my house etc. That has all changed though since I picked up a 95 Q45 for 400 bones. It has 250 k on the motor but she was running strong when I pulled it out (what a pain in the neck… my advice is to remove the cats before puling on of these beasts….). I pulled the tranny and was about to pull the diff when the dementia set in…. I figure why bother modding the existing Z suspension to use the Q45 Diff.. I know not much is needed however I was going to convert to disks…swap to 5 lug hubs etc… Heck why not mod the Z to accept the whole rear sub-assembly? Then I got even more demented and decided to do the same thing with the front! To install the engine and tranny into the Z I would have to build mounts etc… Whay not mod the Z to accept the front crossmember, and suspension assembly? Again it has a good 2 piston braking system, 5 lug hubs, as well as a power steering rack. The Z is still on the rotisserie so making the mounting points for the front and rear sub assemblies will be a bit easier than if I had it on a lift (which I have 2 of now BTW!!!) sorry I had to throw that in there! Anyone have some advice for me, besides ‘smoke another one’? Thanks! ERK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e_racer1999 Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 wow, that sounds like it could be a killer combo.... what tranny are you going to use? z32? at any rate, i think the hard part is going to be making sure that everything lines up and fits. i would measure six times, draw 4 diagrams, measure another 4 times, then think about cutting. my 0.02 of course, someone could have already done this...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcg Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 I also considered this suspension swap as it is a sweet setup that works very well. I had a Z32TT before and it proved it to me. The reason I stayed away from it was because of all of the weight I would be adding to the 240Z. I felt that I would loose too much performance by adding another 200 lbs of spindles, control arms and body reinforcements to make worth while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilRufusKay Posted June 14, 2007 Author Share Posted June 14, 2007 Thanks for the reply Marc. I have been reading about your build on your site and was quite impressed. Fine work! I originally had other ideas for the Z, but unfortunately had to sell off all of my collected suspension parts at a time that life was more important than my project. Since it will take me a long time to acquire those parts again, this direction will at least allow me to finish the car. Tell me if you would, do you think I will be able to use the struts and springs? I am not concerned with height as I know I can shorten / lengthen them. I am more concerned with the width in regard to being able to adjust camber / caster. Do you think the weld in adjustable cam/cas plates would have enough slot to make it work? Also, would you mind if I shoot you a PM once in a while to ask your opinion on future aspects of the project? Currently I am trying to familiarize myself with the motor so I can plan my rebuild. Any advice on research material would be appreciated. Thanks again! Rufus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcg Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 Do you mean, the Q45 struts and springs going into the 240Z shell? PM if you want, it's not a problem. Tough part of the engine was steering shaft, wiring and transmission. The wiring works. I still need more seat time in the car to assess if the tranny adapter works fine or not. At present there is a fair bit of throw out bearing noise, but the T56 design is meant to let the bearing ride on the surface of the pressure plate at all times. Tell me if you would, do you think I will be able to use the struts and springs? I am not concerned with height as I know I can shorten / lengthen them. I am more concerned with the width in regard to being able to adjust camber / caster. Do you think the weld in adjustable cam/cas plates would have enough slot to make it work? Also, would you mind if I shoot you a PM once in a while to ask your opinion on future aspects of the project? Currently I am trying to familiarize myself with the motor so I can plan my rebuild. Any advice on research material would be appreciated. Thanks again! Rufus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilRufusKay Posted June 14, 2007 Author Share Posted June 14, 2007 Yes I am talking about using the Q45 Struts and Springs, but my car is a 280. I plan on using the auto out of the Q45 in my setup for now as it was just rebuilt 6 months ago. I also have the complete wiring harness and ECU. I even pulled the interior harness so I can hook up the Q45 power leather seats that are in great condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcg Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 I am not sure what would be involved in installing the Q45 front suspension in the S30 shell. I have seen several guys convert the rear to a 240SX suspension, but bear in mind that they are a narrower car then the Q. If you need the wiring diagrams of what I did to get the stock ecu to run the engine let me know and I'll send you a larger format pic of it. Or do you have Smartdraw? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcg Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 BTW VERY NICE work on your Z!! Wish I could do body work like that. Great work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnymrp Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 im in the middle of the vh swap as well. i put 240sx rear irs in i would choose it over the q45 rear end becasue its a couple inches narower. but the 240 sx width is still a couple inches wider than stock Z. i think the only way to get the front of the q45 in to a z would be to widen the frame rails by about 6 inches(thats jsut a guess ive neverbothered to mesure) and to make the upper control arms of the Q45 work properly you would have to add some frame rails and to do that you would then have to widen the strut towers. its almost seams like it would be easyer to cut the whole front of the Q off and weld it on the fire wall of the z and then tapcon the fenders back on. it seams like alot of weight. if you were to put the Q suspension the one thing to consider is roll centers and to match them properly sub frame to subframe. its one thing getting them in there. but another getting them to work right. my personal opinion is keep front end of the Z car -Z car to do the mods evin if you did them very right you would still end up with something that lookes very frankenstien . (BTW. the cats stay on and the engine comes out the bottom tranny and all. should take about 4.5 hours) take alook at my members photo page to see how i did the rear end. if i were to do it again i would chang a couple things but thats another story . Jonny... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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