In today's episode of "Why did I buy this" I halfass mocked up some (hella JDM yo) fender mirrors. I hate them, but the one mirror I do have is inop (read: broken off).
And then, I started developing a plan to fit these:
In here:
2005 Legacy power seats. Super comfy. Decent support.
Bad news: Way too tall. 9" from slider rail to seat top, which is 3.5" taller than Z seats. That's if I cut the feet off the Legacy seats and weld in some flat stock to mount it to.
Good news: they were free.
Bonus good news: this Z has no rust under the seats! Hell ya!
In other news, the Z has been grounded. It doesn't get to drive around town being super loud and annoying with no muffler. Because:
- the rear brakes are toast
-the fronts are not any better
-it's consuming coolant at an alarming rate
-fairly certain it misfires on 6 cylinders. (100% is a good thing, right?)
-the suspension is scary bad
-everything else
I have decided to VH45DE swap it though. Just need to sell more stuff, work more jobs, finish my novel, whore myself out, etc for car funds.
New hat. New engine. Great view.
More on the way.
Plot twist!
Because all good stories have at least one, right?
The FedEx guy made me very happy today. He arrived this afternoon with a package containing this:
The Google tells me it's an RB25DET head off an R33 Skyline. U3 comes up as stock cams, which is odd to me considering it's a VCT engine with the VCT solenoid and cam gear replaced with eBay special adjustable gears. I was hoping for a wild cam that eliminated the VCT, but does not appear to be the case.
However, cylinder 6 looks like it got hungry and ate itself, and cylinder 2 shows signs of a piston slap. I'll need to find cam caps and get them line bored, remove valves and check them, clean the head, inspect and repair damage, etc.
Should be pretty obvious what the directional change is going to be for my Z...
Wait. Is this a thing? A crossflow dual cam head on the L series?
Hubba hubba! Now we're talking! I've long fantasized about a normally-aspirated, 24-valve, 240Z using Skyline parts.
In reply to iansane :
It is a thing, yes. It's not what I'm doing though. Check out the Datsunworks KN20 head. ~$9K, but so cool.
In reply to ae86andkp61 (Forum Supporter) :
Sorry to disappoint... It won't be a normally-aspirated engine.
Almost sounds like you're building a franken-RB turbo motor by collecting different pieces.
pres589 (djronnebaum) said:
Almost sounds like you're building a franken-RB turbo motor by collecting different pieces.
RB powered Zs are my favorite.
I initially bought the L28 to do a simple and quick power upgrade, but quickly got to the point where I would be spending well over $5K, so pulled the plug and just went with my long term dream build. At that price point, why bother?
L28 build forecast: Block (bore, hone, new pistons and rings) $800, Head (Port n polish, cam, valves, machining, etc) $2500, Header and exhaust $1000, Misc $500 (hoses, gaskets, pumps, etc). And that would be just to run the stock SU carbs, which is not what I was wanting. I wanted to find a set of triples or ITBs but that would set me back another $2,000. All in all, I'm easily spending 8 - 10K to build a less than ideal engine.
RB Build: Head $200. (will need some machining, costs unknown). Bottom end $1000 (roughly). Realistically another $5k in fueling and piping. Then I'll need to add engine management, electrical, etc. It will likely be a larger expenditure, but it's the car I've dreamed of building for 15 years.
I'm jealous. There's a 240Z sitting at a friend's shop that's been awaiting a VQ35 transplant for quite some time. It just continues to sit, with no progress made, ever.
Hell, to get it moving, I'd swap in that B13 I own.
Azryael said:
I'm jealous. There's a 240Z sitting at a friend's shop that's been awaiting a VQ35 transplant for quite some time. It just continues to sit, with no progress made, ever.
Hell, to get it moving, I'd swap in that B13 I own.
Time to make an offer on it?
In reply to birdmayne :
Build your dream, brother.
birdmayne said:
In reply to iansane :
It is a thing, yes. It's not what I'm doing though. Check out the Datsunworks KN20 head. ~$9K, but so cool.
Is that the one that's basically a Honda K20 valvetrain +2 cylinders?
sobe_death said:
birdmayne said:
In reply to iansane :
It is a thing, yes. It's not what I'm doing though. Check out the Datsunworks KN20 head. ~$9K, but so cool.
Is that the one that's basically a Honda K20 valvetrain +2 cylinders?
Yes, that's the one. It makes beautiful noises.
In reply to birdmayne :
I may, but I get the feeling he'll be wanting far more than it's worth in it's current state, given that it's just a shell with an interior that's been lived in by stray cats while it sat outside for quite some time.
We'll see.
In reply to Azryael :
What's the worse thing that happens? You shoot an offer and he says yes and now you own a Z?
Who's going to do the head? Will it be an Oldeskewltoy special? 
Project VentureZ has been put on temporary hiatus.
Birdlady and I made a big decision. And now, I would like to introduce:
The birdcave. (WIP Name)
2.5 bays of heated and air conditioned excellence. My own bathroom, laundry and water heater. A sink and a dishwasher for washing parts (need an actual parts washer to decrease oil and grease in sewer though).
50A 220V receptacle for oven / welder. Shop is not attached to the house, so late night ugga duggas should be okay.
Oh, and it comes with a house and a yard.
Motivation.
This was at the JCCS (Show) in Long Beach in 2010. The owner worked for Nissan and had recently moved from the west coast to Nashville. It was an impressive car.
In reply to birdmayne :
Wooooooow. Congrats on the shop! (and house)
Congrats on the shop and outbuildings!
Nice new place. Following now for RB content.
The RB25 should move the 240z along quite nicely :)
preach (fs) said:
birdmayne said:
My current plan is to completely disregard the coolant gauge and continue to enjoy the car until it blows up.
This is the Way.
So, this is a thing...
[shrugs]
Anybody care for a milkshake? I'll scoop out as much as you want.
