Tony D Posted November 9, 2009 Share Posted November 9, 2009 Ditto with what Nick said. Nice to see it going to good use. I am at an internet cafe in the middle of Mindanao, Philippines. Nick emailed me about your progress and I had to take a look! Bastard... If you see Valeri or Jenny say hello for me! I was supposed to be in Manila last month, but the job fell through. Now I'm headed to Sendai for maybe a couple of weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr jdm Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 I have a rhd z, the problem I was running into is using the mckinney crossmember, you cant mount the motor far back to clear the oem crossmember without having the intake manifold HIT the clutch master cylinder. I bought a shorter tilton clutch master, I have not yet tried test fitting the motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280zjoel Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 I have a rhd z, the problem I was running into is using the mckinney crossmember, you cant mount the motor far back to clear the oem crossmember without having the intake manifold HIT the clutch master cylinder. I bought a shorter tilton clutch master, I have not yet tried test fitting the motor. Hey whats up, i remember reading your thread before about that. Lol Since hearing what you said i made sure to measure where the intake sit in regards to the master cylinder, and on the stock intake I did clear the MS. By the way did you have to move the alternator to the Left hand side to clear the steering shaft? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280zjoel Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 I got another update guys, I lost my camera( i just fround it right now) and took some quick snapshots of what i did yesterday. I got the windsheild off, but it ended up cracking it:evil:. Kinda sucks but oh well. Anyhow i mounted up the brace from one door hinge to the other and then welded it together, and welded some bars from that to the top of the roof, I also welded a bar across the frame rail before the firewall, and a bar on the trans mount, I have the car sitting on blocks on the rear lift point, Oem scissor jacks behind the TC rod mount(on the rail) and jacks up front, the block pretty much lifted the car about 1/8 of an inch, and when i set the scissor jacks I hand tightened them until they hit the rail and did a 1 revolution turn, just to get some slight pressure on the rails, I still have to shim the jacks in the front to get a small amount of pressure on them. So what do you guys think? is it safe or should i brace some more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280zjoel Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 Here are some of the dimensions I got from the engine bay, now i just have to check some measurements for the interior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggz00 Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Lookin good. How about a brace from the bottom of the "V" brace to the trans tunnel. I'm just thinking that although the bracing looks great, what are the chances that the tunnel drops slightly since the firewall is the main thing holding it up(besides the frame and all, haha). Then again, you need some room to work though, too. You might also consider getting some diagonal measurements across the engine bay. Can never be too safe Keep it up! Can't wait to do one of my own! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280zjoel Posted November 11, 2009 Author Share Posted November 11, 2009 (edited) Thanks Shaggz00, I did not even think about the tunnel not having something to hold it up, I did place a block under the tunnel where the trans mount is to hold it up. Thanks again. I got most of the firewall out and remeasured some of the points and everything lines up. Ill get some good pics tommorow when the sun is out. Here are some pics, grrrr I can wait to paint that engine bay. I hate the horrible paint job done on it. Edited November 11, 2009 by 280zjoel added pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr jdm Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 Hey whats up, i remember reading your thread before about that. Lol Since hearing what you said i made sure to measure where the intake sit in regards to the master cylinder, and on the stock intake I did clear the MS. By the way did you have to move the alternator to the Left hand side to clear the steering shaft? Nope I didnt move the alternator, everything cleared. also, I never had a stock manifold, I just peeped at one I have laying around inthe other room. Right away It looks like the stock manifold would clear, but greddy one wasnt. I bought a shorter tilton master and was actually going to test fit the motor this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLave Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 Nice, i respect the guts and effort, but that is an awful lot of work just to put the wheel on the wrong side! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garvice Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 but that is an awful lot of work just to put the wheel on the wrong side! I think you meant right side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280zjoel Posted November 15, 2009 Author Share Posted November 15, 2009 ok guys, here is another update. I stripped off all the leftover sheetmetal from my 280z to get the firewall in, which took a long time:(. Then I found out that the bottom of the cowl panel had to be removed also so that the firewall could go in. SO basically all 3 sections(firewall, top of cowl panel, Bottom of cowl panel) had to be removed in order to be installed. Here is what i mean: Notice how the firewall will not drop down.... Here is why, that section is too wide to fit in, so I separated the rest of the cowl from the firewall. (2 days later) FINALLY!!!!!!!!!! it took a while but its in. Not welded but its in. Im going to get some self tapping screws and measure everything and make sure Im good with the measurements, screw it together, double check the measurements and then weld it in, then remove the self tap screws and plug weld em up. Ok, so here is my screw up. Notice the trans tunnel right before the firewall, when I was installing the firewall, i noticed that section needed to be removed in order for the bottom of the firewall to slide in, since the firewall slides under the floorboard, well i though to myself that if I cut that section and just reweld it back on, I should be ok. LOL When my bro shows up to see the progress i made, I hear him say "NOOOOOO why did you do that?" then I was like "um.... cuz i need it outa the way"....... OPS ADD moment. Anyhow he mentioned if i weld that peice back on it will end up flexing at the welds, so to fix this we are going to do this: Im going to get some sheetmetal and drill some holes in it and plug weld it on both sides to be on the safe side. What do you guys think? any other ideas? Anyhow hopefully I will have it all welded together by next wed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr jdm Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 I have 2 questions for you. The z firewall has so few things mounted to it. I know you are trying to go with doing the job EXTREMELY correct. But what would be the disadvantage of cutting this section out and welding it to the firewall that was in place already? Also, if you have a welder handy and you seem you are pretty good at welding, why didnt you just smooth out the whole entire factory firewall and just redrill holes/mounts for brake booster, clutch master, and steering shaft. Seems like it would of been much easier? no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280zjoel Posted November 15, 2009 Author Share Posted November 15, 2009 I have 2 questions for you. The z firewall has so few things mounted to it. I know you are trying to go with doing the job EXTREMELY correct. But what would be the disadvantage of cutting this section out and welding it to the firewall that was in place already? Also, if you have a welder handy and you seem you are pretty good at welding, why didnt you just smooth out the whole entire factory firewall and just redrill holes/mounts for brake booster, clutch master, and steering shaft. Seems like it would of been much easier? no? well if you look at the opposite side of the firewall from the drivers side area, you will notice that there are those 2 square sections that pop out 1/8''. Those would have to be cleaned up and redone so that the firewall plate would sit straight. But then it would not fix the issue with the cowl panel with the vent being on the other side. also the bottom sides of the cowl panel are not Asymmetric, it wouldn't work to just remove the vent and weld it on my origional. also since the whole RHD clip was bead blasted there was just slight surface rust, my original had some rust under the cowl. Good time to fix that lol, I could have redone the whole firewall, but that would leave me with a rusty cowl panel (under the top panel). So I figured since i already have to swap the cowl panel might as well just swap the the firewall too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmac708 Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 Wow, pretty impressive. Awsome work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerryb Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 Ive been following and am amazed. You are insane sir....in a good way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr jdm Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 WHen I bought my z the sr20 was already in there. The owner made custom mounts that were weak and one snapped. With his mounts the alternator sat fine. I just mounted my motor today, but didnt try bolting up the alternator, it may or may not need to be moved. I used the mckinney front crossmember and snapped a pic of the distrance between the Greddy manifold and the clutch master. The clutch master is a Tilton one, that is about 2" shorter than a stock z one, and I had to use a 90 degree an fitting. There was no way of mounting it any more further back without hittin the clutch master. I also had to cut about 1/2" into the oem front crossmember for the oil pan to clear. When your mocking up your motor mounts just be sure you know which intake manifold your going to be using. Here are some pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggz00 Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 Nice update, sux about the cowl, and the trans tunnel... Your solution should work just fine,I think the best thing you can do to fight deformation is to make the patch panel as close a fit as possible before you start attaching it with screws or begin tacking. Of course be sure to seal up that backside extremely well. Seems like the ideal place for water to get trapped in from underneath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280zjoel Posted November 18, 2009 Author Share Posted November 18, 2009 Thanks for the comments guys, it motivates me to do more work on the car. Well, I did get my brother to weld the firewall and bottom section of the cowl panel since I havn't been feeling to well these last couple days. Ill post some pic tomorrow when the sun is out of the work we got done so far. Everything thing looks good so far, and all the dimensions look good. Hopefully soon ill have it back on the road. Here is a little teaser shot I took( its too dark outside to get a good shot with my cheap camera) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 Curiously, I'm wondering what you're going to do about the VIN, since the RHD firewall has one on the right side, and the LHD one is on the left side... This just now occurred to me...since the RHD Dash doesn't have one at all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280zjoel Posted November 19, 2009 Author Share Posted November 19, 2009 Curiously, I'm wondering what you're going to do about the VIN, since the RHD firewall has one on the right side, and the LHD one is on the left side... This just now occurred to me...since the RHD Dash doesn't have one at all... Well, Im going to weld in the Original Vin from my car onto the firewall, and grind off the old vin(unless the indentaions are too deep, then ill just cut and weld in a clean plate) there is a spot for the vin on the cowl cover that bolts on in front of the dashboard, im just going to drill the rivets and place my vin on that cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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