RebekahsZ Posted April 30, 2012 Author Share Posted April 30, 2012 (edited) Has he still got catalytic converters or any other sound deadeners along the way to the muffler? The big escalades, trucks and suburbans have 2 mufflers - a big one and a small one. It was a tough weekend. I'm trying to get the R200 CLSD, CV axle conversion done so I can try some slicks out - I was all over the track on my first outing on street tires. My brother is visiting on May 17, so I'm pushing to be ready and I have to leave time for a professional alignment (I'm gonna be pulling the blasted spindle pins out and changing rear control arms too). I tried the CLSD clutch upgrade and that went pretty well. Had to buy a new impact wrench and shattered a socket trying to get the ring gear off - didn't know it was lock tight-ed. Next time I'll heat the bolts. Only nearly ruined one of the Phillips head screws that hold the carrier together. From there the clutch upgrade is pretty straight forward, except that I made an incorrect assumption: I thought my clutch supplier was selling me everything I needed to complete the conversion - turns out that I needed to source my own shim material. That info WAS in the forums - I just needed to read more exactly. So, now I'm waiting for shim material to arrive. I'm not going to stress out about the exact breakaway torque, just gonna put in 4 shims aiming for 60 pounds and try to enjoy whatever breakaway torque I achieve. I don't want my car to start pushing: been there, done that. By the way, I decided to build the 3.90. I'm writing off 1st gear for now. Later, I will convert an open 3.36 or 3.54 to CLSD using the guts out of the extra 3.70 CLSD I currently have. Burned the rubber bushings out of the 280z mustache bar so I can re-use my current poly mustache bar bushings. Hopefully the CLSD shim material will arrive this week and I'll get this finished (but probably not installed) next weekend. Rebuilt my Z31 CV axles using JMortensens shortened axle shafts. Again, I screwed this up by the numbers. Only thing to finish on this is the boot clamps - I screwed 'em up and have to order more tommorrow. The threads and videos on youtube make this look pretty easy. Be advised, this job is a total b i t c __! My hands are so tired and I stink like every automotive oil, grease, and solvent known to man. JMortensen's thread shows how to do this conversion correctly - I plan to make a thread when I'm finished that reviews all the ways to screw it up. I did EVERY part of this conversion twice. The hardest part for me was knowing just how rough I needed to be to get things apart, then back together again. This is a job for a man with a really big hammer and the will to use it. I couldn't get the inner CVs apart, so I just cleaned them with solvent and re-packed 'em. I went thru 4 rolls of paper towels - what a messy job, but hurray!-I'm done. Started Saturday at a car show from 8 - 12 at Athens, Alabama. Everybody was positive. I parked with my buddies in the Cobra club. Nobody gave me a hard time about the fake velocity stacks! I was pretty shocked - I figured at least somebody would take a crack at me, but nobody did. A big GTO club was there, and they loved the car too. Photos next weekend when I have something to show. Edited May 2, 2012 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted May 7, 2012 Author Share Posted May 7, 2012 (edited) R200 CLSD subassemblies rebuilt, painted, filled with oil and ready for installation. Used 2 quarts of Valvoline synthetic 75-90 for LSD and one tube (7oz) of CLSD additive. Gonna jack up car tomorrow night and try to have all the old stuff off during this week so that I can start re-assembly next Saturday. Anybody know for certain which side gets the short CV axle? Otherwise, it is measure and trial and error for me! Edited May 7, 2012 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alainburon Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 R200 CLSD subassemblies rebuilt, painted, filled with oil and ready for installation. Used 2 quarts of Valvoline synthetic 75-90 for LSD and one tube (7oz) of CLSD additive. Gonna jack up car tomorrow night and try to have all the old stuff off during this week so that I can start re-assembly next Saturday. Anybody know for certain which side gets the short CV axle? Otherwise, it is measure and trial and error for me! The driver's side is supposed to be the short one from all I have read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted May 7, 2012 Author Share Posted May 7, 2012 The "snout" on the inner CV is a different length from one side to the other. I think I have it right?? The short CV is on the short axle and the long CV is on the long axle. When I had them backwards, the axle assemblies were within 1/8" of each other in length. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted May 11, 2012 Author Share Posted May 11, 2012 Just checked wet breakaway torque of 3.90 R200 CLSD with Savage42's 6-clutch upgrade and (4) 0.004" shims. Result: 63 foot-pounds with 2 quarts of Valvoline synthetic 75-90 oil for LSD and 7 oz of LSD additive. Did not check it before upgrade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted May 14, 2012 Author Share Posted May 14, 2012 (edited) Got diff R200 in with CV axles, and shortened adjustable rear LCAs. Ops normal, I did everything wrong and had to do almost every step twice. I am now an expert with the spindle pin puller, having learned the wrong way to use it first and getting it stuck on the spindle pin. (That tool is an ablsolute miracle - everyone should order one right now). I am an expert on putting a spindle pin in backwards (why didn't Datsun, put the flat spot exactly in the middle so it could go in either way??). I am proficient at cross threading a locking nut onto a stub axle, but luckily, I'm pretty good at cleaning up goofed threads. I'm good at re-routing brake lines that rub on the companion flanges. All that considered, it went pretty well. The RT mount is so much easier to install than the stock mount; it also allows you to torque the driveshaft bolts with the crowded front-rear suspension crossmember off, although there still isn't enough room to use an actual torque wrench to tighten them. The 280z mustache bar goes in pretty easy if you take the rear-rear suspension cross member out first since it goes BEHIND the uprights instead of in front of the uprights for the 240z mustache bar. My buddy's high torque long-ass torque wrench is awesome. The CV axle bolts have room to use a crows foot and torque wrench to torque them rather than using german torque as required with stock companion flanges. The Z31 CLSD R200 input flange was exactly the same as my old 240z R180 input flange, so the JCI driveshaft bolted right up without modification - I just dropped the driveshaft and let it hang, so I didn't have to drain the tranny. The adjustable LCAs allowed me to reduce the negative camber induced by lowering and upper camber plates, as required to get my wheels and tires inside the wheelwells. I kicked the top of the tire in just enough for the tires to clear the fenders. Well, I used the LCAs to pull the bottom of the tire in. Stock LCAs are about 14.5" center to center. I adjusted my new ones an inch shorter at 13.5". That actually gave me some obvious positive camber! Imagine - a lowered Z with positive camber! Once the suspension settles with a test drive, it may not actually be positive. When I get it to the alignment shop, I'm going to arrange for 2 settings: drag with zero camber and autox with whatever johnc's specs are. I dropped my coilovers way down and jacked the LCAs way up with the CV axles loosened up to check for axle bind (the shafts are shortened by JMortensen). Full travel up and down, and I always had a little slack in the axles (not much). Glad I flipped the cages while I had them apart. It was a busy weekend. I'll try to add some pictures tomorrow. Edited May 15, 2012 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted May 20, 2012 Author Share Posted May 20, 2012 New stub axle nut on and torqued. CV axles in and torqued. Adjustable rear LCAs in. Bought a LongAcre camber gauge. Can adjust from zero to -1.5 camber. Will have to try to get new end-links so that I can set at -1.5 for street and up to -3.0 for race (I cut 'em too darn short-aaargh!). Diff still BANGING after oil change with additional Trans-X, will try to patiently do lots of turning before I give up and pull it back out to de-shim it (big job). The hydraulic handbrake set up that I put in is giving me trouble - the upper caliper is hitting on the sheet metal just next to the strut tower now that I've pulled the wheels in some more. Gonna raise ride height another half inch and trim a little sheet metal. Lots of hours on the car, but not a very glamorous post to show for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted May 25, 2012 Author Share Posted May 25, 2012 (edited) Trip to alignment shop was fun but as usual I can't do anything on the first try. The technician used a 4 wheel laser system - it was cool. But my goof up on my rear LCAs limited me to .75 neg camber. The passenger side LCAS had to be shortened and the driver side lengthened - seems my car is pretty warped! Will be going back next week-I went thu the machines report and found that the mechanic read the machine wrong and really over did it when he figured caster for the crown of the road- he adjusted one side to 4 and the other to 5.5 instead of 4.5. Car drives straight with the steering wheel cocked just a bit to the right. Toe in is 1/8 front and back. Time to do chassis mods for exhaust clearance. Edited May 26, 2012 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 Ross just replied to my email thru his website. He's gonna send me some new links. Yippee! I love getting beyond my screw-ups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted June 3, 2012 Author Share Posted June 3, 2012 It looks like the five of us: fritz, sunny, alainburon,fuzzy dice and I are all stalled for either parts or time. My father in law lives with us now on hospice for heart and kidney failure. I have weekend duty with him and my wife takes the weekdays so I can keep my practice afloat. Rebekah just graduated from high school and just returned from her senior trip. This is a good day for her to help me take car to local street rod builder to leave car to get frame/chassis notched for exhaust clearance. Still waiting on new LCAs end links from Ross. He replied to an email then went black ops again without any action. I took a smooth turn at probably fifty-ish yesterday and I could feel rear tire roll. Got home and looked at tire and sure enough I'm gonna need more camber even for the street. Gonna bring front end up another inch too-got hung on some train tracks yesterday. Low has its drawbacks but coilovers rock! While car is away I'm planning to make a little switch panel for the console. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UofA_ZCar Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 I did EVERY part of this conversion twice. I feel your pain. This is how most of the parts of my build go. The first time through is the figuring it out and the second time is for the finished product. I installed Jmortesons (sp?) CV adaptors, new wheelbearings, and 280z stub axles only to realized I should have installed the bracket for the rear disk swap first. So I had to take the CV's and Stub axles back off right after I installed them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted June 5, 2012 Author Share Posted June 5, 2012 I trimmed my caliper brackets so that they could be installed without pulling the axle stubs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted June 8, 2012 Author Share Posted June 8, 2012 After 2 more weeks of being patient and sending a few more emails, Ross at Modern Motorsport quoted me a price of $180 to replace my 4 rear LCA end links. I looked at some other websites for similar links and they were at least $50 each, so his price is competitive (all my screw ups are expensive). I sent him a paypal payment, we'll see how long it takes to get a package on my porch. The street rod fabricator I use for help with welding and fabrication is helping me with my side exhaust cut-out placement. He's c-notched my front "frame rails" and made an oval hole in my lower front fenders for a "baloney cut" exhaust outlet. He also put reinforcement plates on my seat belt recesses to use as a jacking point. Sway bar replacement and exhaust is next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUNNY Z Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 WHY would you ever notch anything just to make clearance for exhaust? You completely killed the totally RIGID "frame" of your car. Best start over, try again next time. Looks excellent! What was used to cut the hole in the body? Are there going to be mufflers, or boom tubes, or anything of the sort? If I ever did this, I think I'd try to put a beauty ring around it in stainless. I really like that look. http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/180915_1768002634394_5033574_n.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 Yeah, SUNNY, I won't argue with you about the rigidity thing...I am taking a risk. I discussed this with the streetrod fabricator who did the work for me. He used a section of driveshaft tubing for the c-notch, so hopefully it will be plenty strong. He felt like it would be OK. I even talked to him about putting a full loop into the frame rail, but he didn't think it was necesary. We'll see. Honestly, the worst thing that could happen is that I trash my chassis and go find another (better) one. I had a huge crack in my "frame rail" right behind this section where my crappy prior body man "welded" my floor pans in (great painter, lousy welder). He basically just covered the really bad welding with seam sealer leaving a huge gap underneath. I autocrossed it for 15 years that way and it was fine-the car didn't bust in half or anything. That was fixed as part of this job. As a uni-body, the car's stresses are distributed over so many different panels that I'm hoping to get away with it. I will be inspecting it regularly for cracks. He said he used every cutting tool in his shop to finally get the holes neatly cut in the fenders. He said he started with a hole saw. I don't know how he kept from burning or scratching the paint. He's awesome - that's why I hired him and didn't try it myself. I like the trim ring too, but I'm afraid of getting rain water and soot (acid) trapped and re-rusting out that fender. We'll see... I'm planning to run a traditional 2-into-1 system to a muffler in the stock location (my stock gas tank and fuel pump placement made a full dual system impractical). I will have the short (and wonderfully noisy), side exhaust branch off the head pipes controlled by electric cutouts housed inside the front fenders (the only place where there is sufficient room). Can't run any autocross until car is quieter - I'm sure the SCCA boys would turn me away with it this loud on straight pipes. Got the replacement rear LCA end-links arrived from Modern Motorsports today. Can't wait to get those installed, the rear has been REALLY twitchy with only .75 degrees negative camber. With my father-in-law living with us on hospice for heart failure and kidney failure, it has been tough finding time for the car. I haven't ordered parts for the exhaust system yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted June 17, 2012 Author Share Posted June 17, 2012 (edited) The wildest thing happened this afternoon: my wife pretty much told me I was going drag racing this coming Thursday night after work. 23 years of marraige and she goes and does something wonderful and totally unexpected. Well she didn't have to tell me twice; I got right to work. Changed oil and filter, checked fuel filter screen (hardly any sand now), installed rear swaybar (gotta get some shortened links tomorrow due to CV conversion), installed new 1" clutch master cylinder (gotta bleed it tomorrow), re-torqued header collectors, checked coolant level, inspected driveshaft bolts, installed rear slicks and front skinny tires and aired them up, cleaned street tires (Porterfield pads are dusty), put on new Rockford Driveline CV boot clamps (for swaybar clearance), increased shift light limit from 5500 to 6000 rpm, installed new wheels and tires on my truck (tow vehicle). Re-spacing the rear swaybar was a real PITA with the CV axles. I have the front mounted swaybar due to fuel pump placement making a rear-mount swaybar impossible. If I have the end links short enough (4" bolts with thinned poly link bushings and a 5/8" tube spacer in the middle of the bolt) to clear the CV boots and clamps, then the swaybar hits the driveshaft flange. Stock 240z links are 6" end to end. So, I finally made some blocks to space the swaybar down 3/8". Swaybar only just rubs driveshaft in full droop. One more reason why I need to make droop limiters. Only an issue when car is jacked up with wheels off the ground, so I'm running it as is for now. I will now have to dent the exhaust pipe for clearance when it crosses under the swaybar. Domino effect.... Took car for a brief test drive with slicks. Amazing. The rodeo I have with street tires is not present with slicks. It is wild - the car just goes (it is almost boring or anticlimactic). I think I even hit full throttle, which I've never done with street tires. I swtiched from a 3/4" clutch master to a 1" clutch master. The pedal is now quite stiff, but I have some adjustment room at the top and bottom now, which I didn't have before. The 3/4" clutch master used 100% of available pedal travel. It was nice and soft like a Toyota, though. 7/8" is probably the perfect size, since I've now had too small and too large. Domino effect...I'll get used to the stiff pedal in trade for the increased adjustability (my line lock and 2-step will actuate off of a clutch mounted switch(s). Glad it is my right knee that is bad. Photos if I find time. Now got to progressively fill fuel tank looking for a leak. I had none on the floor, just more smell than usual at last fill-up. Bleeding the clutch master was a snap with the remote bleeder line. I want to be ready for Thursday night at the drag strip. Edited June 18, 2012 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 Bump. Last post edited to show last night's progress. Editing previous post doesn't flag updates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUNNY Z Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Sounds like a good time! Get some video if you can! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 (edited) Bought gopro rollbar mount already. Gonna buy a gopro camera between now and then. Everybody loves a good burnout, but I'm gonna do minimum burnouts unless more is needed. A drag video with no smoke can be pretty boring. Daily driving on bias ply slicks is awesome. The car feels like a boat, you sort of suggest a direction instead of driving very exactly as you would with low-profile sport radials. Gotta let some air out. I'm at 20psi and I'm not using the outside inch of the tires. Practice launches seem quicker starting as I would when street driving. High revs and clutch dump still just shred the tires. Edited June 20, 2012 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 Due to delays caused by every obstacle imagineable (all non-automotive), I finally got to the track at 9:45. They closed early at 10:30. I got 4 (1/8 mile)runs in. I had daily driven on my slicks and skinnies this week to get used to driving on pillows. I kept them aired up to 20psi, and found that my wear pattern offitted the outer 3/4-inches of the tread. So, before going to the track, I lowered the tire pressure to 15psi. That was a mistake. On my first 2 runs tonight, the car hooked well, but at the far end of the track, it was swaying back and forth and really scary. I had to back out of it. So, I aired back up to 20psi, and the car was much easier to keep in my lane. The times reflect the improvement. Run 1 8.54 Run 2 8.32 74.5mph Run 3 8.16 87.9mph run 4 7.92 89.1mph I'm in the 7s - and there is a lot of motor left! The driver needs to get a lot better. In-car videos as soon as my buddy has it processed. Maybe next time I'll have more time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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