1UZ-FE into 1973 240Z

[DoctorMuffn]

Okay... I guess I'll start with the current status:

I have a 1973 240Z that is a rough riding son of a bitch. But it's my baby and I'm going to do this and then keep it for the rest of my life. I've begun to disassemble the suspension this week so that I can install Energy Suspension bushings and straighten/safen up the ride a bit; 36 year old rubber translates to no rubber and a very raw cruise with lots of knocking from the rearend. Thankfully I have a good heel-toe double-clutch downshift to lessen the shock. My touch has been fine-tuned on my ever-shifting driveline. I have the 1UZ-FE to be swapped. I've disassembled, measured (blue-printed), and short-blocked it so far. I also have an R200 from a 1984 280ZX (I believe that's the right date and model) which I pulled at a parts yard.

 

The Dream:

I want a Drifter/Wangan purpose built daily driver that is reliable and naturally aspirated. I DO NOT want power steering, power brakes, power windows, A/C, or any of the bells and whistles that cars come with. My biggest pet peeve (other than drivers who take excessively wide right turns) is a car that locks me in by its own doing. I believe I'm a purist at heart (as far as I think I understand it) and my Z will always be a driver's car. I envision myself 80 years old and excitedly seating myself (after sufficient practice in Yoga) into my raw Z by closing a drivers door with a cable-pull door latch on the inside panel; a stiff, unassisted brake pedal (per McLaren F1 and Ferrari F40); and a beast of a lexus motor mated to a stout 4 speed - the same my car was born with.

 

And that is why I'm writing. Your Help:

I welcome your feedback and suggestions with regards to mating my 4 speed to the 1UZ-FE. I do not know of any companies that make bell-housings for them, but have only started my serious research today with the reading of Marc's thread. The only thing I can perceive of that might change my mind is if the 4 speed cannot handle the stock powerband (tq and hp output at respective rpm) the 4.0 litre will be delivering. I've checked a spec sheet at http://www.lextreme.com/misc.html which puts the hp at 250 @ 5600 and tq at 260 @ 4400. I would welcome higher revs if it proved advantageous to the purpose - drifting and wangan - but don't foresee needing much more power on such a light setup. My motto in this build will be balance.

 

I want to keep the 4 speed because it is my understanding that fewer and taller gears are better suited for drifting as a general rule. That and I won't need to modify the transmission mounting or shift lever location if I keep the same trans. Everything should stay the same from the trans back save the differential swap. This leads me to my next query: Is there a better differential to be used for drifting? I think I'll be looking for a tall final drive as well to keep with long hauls in each gear.

 

The way I picture it is pretty, but I'm sure there are things I'm not fully aware of. Hence I'm starting, and I'm starting here. I think if anyone can help you at HybridZ will be the best suited. Thanks for stopping by and I'm looking forward to including everyone who is interested in on my project.

 

Sean Molle

[tonycharger72]

Hey mate,

 

Have a read of this,

 

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=139981

 

Two places in Australia makes lots of different bellhousings to suit the 1UZ, google,

 

Dellow,

Castlemaine Rod Shop,

Speed Technology - EFI Hardware

Rush Imports

Bullet Cars

[DoctorMuffn]

Okay... I took pictures of the rearend while disassembling it and I'll post them soon enough. I'm aware that it's not exactly the engine as this section of HybridZ would have me focussing on, but the final drive and rearend geometry is incredibly important for the cumulative result of my build.

 

I'm considering Gabriel Tyler's Techno Toy Tuning IRS CV joint and hub conversion kit:

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=122079

I'll be checking into the different differentials to be used with this setup and the different ring and pinion ratios they offer. I need to project an output for my engine and then do some number crunching to figure the optimal gearing for decent hwy mileage and long yet powerful pulls in at least a couple key speeds.

 

I also think a Wilwood brake package for the rear might be optimal. Let me know what you guys think.

 

Anyone know where I can find a passenger side stub axle in the meantime? I pulled my stuff apart and found the splined-end cleaved where the nut fastens to it to retain the wheel/hub assembly in the hub carrier. I've been lucky I haven't lost a wheel while driving around town.

[Marc280]

Hey DoctorMuffin,

 

sounds like you've got a pretty good idea of what you want the car to be able to do which is always good!

 

I don't know of anyone that makes a bellhousing to mate the stock 4 speed to a 1uz although as tonycharger 72 posted there are quite a few companies out there that make bellhousings to adapt to other transmissions. I have a feeling that if you were to get a custom made bellhousing, you could probably have bought another conversion kit and gearbox for less.... Also I'm not sure how stong the 4 speeds are... From what I can tell you guys in the US can get a hold of a r154 or w58 transmissions pretty cheaply. If you got one of these and kit from Australia (with the exchange rate being in your favour) it would be the best option in my opinion. You can use a bunch of different length shifters on these, so you should be able to get one that lines up well for the gear shifter.

 

I haven't heard too many people saying that having tall gears for drifting is really needed (although I must admit I'm not really in any drift circles) and there are plenty of silvias and the like running five and six speed boxs with 4 cylinder engines...

 

Although I think whichever gearbox you do use, you should be able to play with the diff ratios to get it to how you like it. Also 1uz's have been proven to be able to rev pretty hard (so long as you have one of the earlier engines with beefier rods), which will give a wide rev range.

 

The R200 should be fine for what you want to do although, if your going drifting you will definitely want a limited slip centre. I'm planning to try and OBX unit as there are plenty of guys on here that are reporting good things about them and they are relatively cheap.

 

keep us posted on any updates!

[240Zed]

You don't want power assisted brakes?

[DoctorMuffn]

Marc280,

 

Thanks for your input. I will be checking into those transmissions after all. I feel like I'm caught up in this whirlwind of fickle decision making which is not my style. But you're right, I've got an idea of what I want; I've had it for a long time. Now I'm just figuring out what parts I can mix and match and what aftermarket support is out there. There is a great deal more research yet to be done, but I've never been so motivated to do this stuff in the 5 years I've owned this car.

 

You bring up a good point about the Silvias/240SXs running five and six speeds and doing fine on the track. It is essential that I have a tall top gear so she is still streetable/economical on the freeways. I like the R&P on that Armada differential (it's something like 2.96) but that's an R230 diff which will require some fab to fit into the S30 chassis it seems (with T3's kit). I'd prefer to stay away from the fab since I'm not really educated/skilled in it yet. That and Gabriel says the R230 will be overkill.

 

That leads me to the engine:

It's a 1993 1UZ-FE and I don't know if that is early enough or not. But from what I remember the rods were forged (don't know about sintered forged or really what that means) and I've balanced the entire engine to half a gram (excessive in the world of balancing I've been told) and measured and mixed so the pistons all rise to within .002" of each other. She should be able to rev very nicely. I also need to buy another engine for some of the externals and might then get something earlier if necessary. Or maybe even something later if they've ever had variable valve timing (which would be preferrable for a streetable N/A beast that idles nicely). I can always frankenstein a new motor with early rods and late VVT heads. Again, there's so much I still don't know.

 

Also, I'm not a fan of forced induction, but 260tq @4400 rpm doesn't sound that exciting on paper. Therefore I'm considering the possibility of having a couple 1UZs - one turbo'd and the other stock/NA depending on what I'm interested in doing. I thank this video for that almost nonsensical idea:

Check the second video too. It's a very nice build.

 

Anyway... Lot's of ideas running through my head and I really appreciate all the input. So now I'm going down to pull the driver's side pivot pin now that I found a die to clean up the threads; M12 X 1.25 is not very common. I still don't have a tap to clean up my special pin tool.

[DoctorMuffn]

You don't want power assisted brakes?

 

 

NO WAY!!! Hate 'em. I love that heavy pedal feel. I've been braking unassisted since I owned my first car back in 2003.

[eurokevin]

hey, im trying to do the same swap on my 77 280. just use the auto bellhousing from the sc400 and i have a buddy that makes adapter plates to mate with a w58. i have 2 w58 trannies right now, and as soon as i get my car into my new house i can tell you which of the 5 speeds will be the best candidate. ei trans from celica supra, mark 3, or sc300.btw, if your intersted i believe its alumnium and 250 shipped. if your interested let me know!

[DoctorMuffn]

I might be interested, Eurokevin, but at the moment I'm more curious what your provisions are for the clutch and slave cylinder etc?

[eurokevin]

as for the flywheel, i know of two options. there is a toyota truck flywheel that has to be re-drilled and the front surface needs about 1/16 of an inch removed. or my buddy makes an aluminum flywheel and clutch that will work. the throwout bearing has to be hydrualic, the one being used now is called a howie bearing. jegs sells one called ram but no one has testesd it yet to see if it will work.

 

they re-use the mark 3 supra clutch master cylinders for this setup with custom lines -one toe the bearing from the master, one from the bearing to the engine bay for bleeding the clutch.once i get my car here and see how it fits into the engine bay i can tell you if it will fit with the 280zx power brake setup and clutch master cylinder.

 

for more info, look at the supra v8 swap section at lextreme.

[tonycharger72]

NO WAY!!! Hate 'em. I love that heavy pedal feel. I've been braking unassisted since I owned my first car back in 2003.

 

Really? I had a Charger with non power assisted brakes and it was terrible, sit there stomping away on the brakes with nothing happening!

 

Why stop at non power assissted brakes though, go for a mechanical clutch linkage and remove the bushes, that will give you left leg a workout to go with your right leg !

 

Also, I'm not a fan of forced induction, but 260tq @4400 rpm doesn't sound that exciting on paper. Therefore I'm considering the possibility of having a couple 1UZs - one turbo'd and the other stock/NA depending on what I'm interested in doing. I thank this video for that almost nonsensical idea:

Check the second video too. It's a very nice build.

 

Like have an engine sitting in the garage ready to be popped in when you want to go for a spirited drive ?

 

Seriously though, if you go down the Supercharged route, besides loss of fuel economy, think you could probably have the best of both worlds here, not cheap though!

 

That leads me to the engine:

It's a 1993 1UZ-FE and I don't know if that is early enough or not. But from what I remember the rods were forged (don't know about sintered forged or really what that means) and I've balanced the entire engine to half a gram (excessive in the world of balancing I've been told) and measured and mixed so the pistons all rise to within .002" of each other. She should be able to rev very nicely. I also need to buy another engine for some of the externals and might then get something earlier if necessary. Or maybe even something later if they've ever had variable valve timing (which would be preferrable for a streetable N/A beast that idles nicely). I can always frankenstein a new motor with early rods and late VVT heads. Again, there's so much I still don't know.

 

I dont think there is any difference in what the bottom ends are made out of, just the earlier 1UZ's, I think 1991 and early 1UZ's, used rods with thicker castings, so apparently stronger!

 

Don't know if you needed to do any of that mate, these things are fairly bullet proof, you can rev them silly and if you blow one apart, go and grab another one for $1000AUD, throw it in and continue !

 

They really are well put together!!!

 

There was a VVTI head for the 1UZ, but not to sure what is involved in swapping it over!

 

And that is why I'm writing. Your Help:

I welcome your feedback and suggestions with regards to mating my 4 speed to the 1UZ-FE.

 

I want to keep the 4 speed because it is my understanding that fewer and taller gears are better suited for drifting as a general rule. That and I won't need to modify the transmission mounting or shift lever location if I keep the same trans. Everything should stay the same from the trans back save the differential swap. This leads me to my next query: Is there a better differential to be used for drifting? I think I'll be looking for a tall final drive as well to keep with long hauls in each gear.

 

and a beast of a lexus motor mated to a stout 4 speed - the same my car was born with.

 

 

When you say 4 speed are you talking about the original Z 4 speed manual transmission or just any 4 speed manual transmission?

 

I think the 240z z 4-speed manual transmission would sh$t itselt behind the 1UZ even in its stock form, this would mean that if you wanted to retain a 4 speed you would most likely need to use a different gearbox, which will require you to possibly make your own gearbox mount or gearbox crossmember!

 

If you are looking for better mileage its probably better choosing a transmission that will give you an overdrive gear, get a T56 and you get two !

 

If you are chasing serious HP, ditch the W58 and go with an R154 or T56!

[eurokevin]

tony is right, if you want serious hp and torque, don't go with the w58. the stock internals have proven to hold up fine until more than 400 hp/lbs of torque.i was just throwing a simple solution out there.i thought the stock 1uz internals were only good for around 400 anyway?i could be mistaken this is only my second car build.

 

btw my friends website for the parts is here: http://forum.uza70.com/viewforum.php?f=2

[DoctorMuffn]

Thanks, Eurokevin. I'll be checking into your boy's site.

 

And I appreciate your input, Tonycharger72. It seems I will be switching over to a different trans, as at the moment Dellow's stuff is looking to be very appealing. I guess that ultimately makes it more of an assebly than a build when it comes to my project since I'll be purchasing mostly ready-made/engineered parts and won't be fabing up much myself. I just lack the knowledge as of right now.

 

Furthermore, I can't forsee myself actually going with more than 400hp (let alone needing any more than that). And 300-400 is a steep goal for a streetable, economic N/A 4.0 litre (even if I do figure out a way to frankenstein VVT-i heads onto my early motor). As for forced induction... Well I'm gonna stick to one thing at a time for now. Maybe later with a full on stand-alone and sick tuning skills (yet to be developed) I'll consider a full-on JGTC type build; something like the above linked supra 1UZ video.

 

I must say that I really do appreciate everything I've been privy to on HybridZ; especially its members' input. I now have a very clear direction with my project. I'll update as I carry on.

 

I got the driver's side pivot pin out earlier this week, but when I went to take pictures I found that my camera was FUBARed. I left it on the dryer and it endured a weekend of laundry. I think the heat broke something. Anyway, I'll post pics soon.