SamJulian Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Hi all, had my zed for a few years now but never got round to starting a build thread. I've recently started a fresh rebuild on it which i'll get to soon, but first i'll catch up to date with whats happened to it after the past few years When i first got the car it was a relatively stock UK GT spec (Brembo's, BOSE, cruise control etc), other than a pop-charger, plenum spacer and D1 throttle controller Coming from a row of EF civics then my Mk4 golf this was a big step up in power for me and my first rear wheel drive so loved it from the moment i first drove it! Didnt take long to decide i needed some coilovers though so had these after a few weeks.. A few stubborn bolts and alot of swear words later they were on Next on the list was a set of wheels, didnt know what i wanted but a mate had these for sale for cheap so thought why not! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamJulian Posted September 22, 2017 Author Share Posted September 22, 2017 Back in late 2014, next came spraying the wheels all the same colour then taking it to Silvertone for my first ever time on track, little bit nervous but had alot of fun, but did realise running anything under half a tank of fuel will lead to fuel starvation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamJulian Posted September 23, 2017 Author Share Posted September 23, 2017 That's pretty much how the car stayed for a while then, untill i took it off the road for the winter and got tempted by a complete single turbo build a local lad was selling along with his forged engine. The spec was as follows: - Garrett GT3582r - Haltech Platinum Pro management - Wiseco low compression pistons - Manley H-beam rods - ACL bearings throughout - ARP fasteners throughout - Cometic MLS head gaskets - Deatchwerks injectors - Single mass lightened flywheel with paddle clutch kit - 3-1 stainless tubular manifolds Probably more but i can't find the list. The turbo setup itself consisted of all homemade manifold pipework / link pipes, downpipe, boost pipes etc, which was half the reason the guy was selling it, spent alot of time making it and come the end of the build wasnt very happy with how inefficient the whole thing was, had issues with heat management in the bay, and didnt have it in him to redo it again. These are the pictures i was sent before i bought it.. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamJulian Posted September 23, 2017 Author Share Posted September 23, 2017 With the price he was selling at i wouldnt have even been able to buy all the parts to do it myself so i thought why not? Couple weeks later i had this sat up in the garage.. After getting it all sat in the engine bay for the first time i really didnt like how long the link pipe was going all the way around the back of the gearbox, and the turbo intake wasnt lined up with the intake hole in the slam panel so wouldnt have been able to get an air filter onto it.. So next i cut up and remade the link pipe in a way that i probably shortened it by 12-18inches, and sat the turbo more in-line with the intake hole.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamJulian Posted September 23, 2017 Author Share Posted September 23, 2017 (edited) Now down to working long hours and spending alot of time out with friends/family it had now been the best part of 8-9months between buying the turbo setup/engine, to getting to these final stages. Up untill this moment it had seemed to have gone pretty much to plan, the idea was to get it to my tuner to write a decent low-mid boost map, then i would use it day to day for a few months and if i got on with how it drove, performed etc i would send the car to have all manifolds, boost pipes, exhaust etc all made new and TIG welded so we could start messing with some high power. But from the first start up we had already run into issues, it was damn smokey! The Haltech was saying it was sitting at around 14.6 at idle so we pursued with trying to bleed the coolant system which wasnt happening, so i removed the thermostat from the housing, and jacked the front end up about 3 feet, and used the funnel in the radiator which seemed to do the trick but only after hours of trying! The next day came and it was booked in with the tuner, who immediately was unhappy with the map already on the ECU, not only was it all over the place but the amount of fuel going in was ridiculous! So in between cleaning/switching spark plugs around every 5mins he got the fueling a bit nicer at low revs etc, but yet the car still didnt seem happy, so off home i went. First thing we did was dump the oil to see that not only was there water mixed with it, but fuel as well!! Then realised that the radiator had also thrown alot of coolant out too the overflow At this point the car just seemed like a pretty ornament with a wanky single exit exhaust.. ... As a result, i frustratingly pushed the car to the back of the unit, put a cover over it, and purposely forgot about it, for months. Edited September 23, 2017 by SamJulian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybp Posted September 23, 2017 Share Posted September 23, 2017 I know how hard it can be with a project like this when something goes wrong and you just feel like giving up but I hope you find the enthusiasm to finish this project I like to see people doing real mods to cars far too many people think that a few stickers and a fake carbon fiber air filter count Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamJulian Posted September 23, 2017 Author Share Posted September 23, 2017 Yeah it does get a bit like that, felt like i had wasted so much time and money after that drawback that i was kinda glad too just chuck it under a cover and forget about it It did in a way end up helping one of my dreams come true though, my one car that I've always dreamed of having when i grew up was and FD Rx7, but with the rising prices and the fact that i sunk so much into the 350 i kinda come to terms with the possibilty of not having one for a few years, then having to fork out £15k+ when the time came. That was untill i saved up a load of money from ignoring the 350 for a while and driving my cheapo Mk4 golf around, and this little gem popped up literally 5mins from my house!! It's a JDM import that was imported in 2007 with 21k miles on the clock (converted from kph), the old guy who owned it loved it, but in the 9 years he owned it only did 1800miles! I heard possibility of him wanting to advertise it so i knocked on his door before he got the chance, had a good viewing of it, 22,800miles on the clock, underneath is immaculate, and has a whole host of Re-amemiya parts on it. So i cheekily waved £6k cash under his nose and he told me to pick it up at the end of the week with a fresh 12months MOT on it, BEST, DAY, EVER That was back at the beginning of last year now so a quick catch up on a few things i've done to it over the 17 or 18months of ownership. Spoiler was first to go! Next up it turned out the coolant seals had rotted out because the car had pretty much been sat, with the same coolant/anti-freeze in it for the past 9 years, so a quick strip down and rebuild along with new seals, and stage 2 Competition Clutch.. Then rear wiper delete, its first machine polish and wax, and the wheels from the 350 Shortly after i had a brake pad fall off of the actual backing plate at Castle Combe which in turn destroyed the disc, and melted the piston seals in the caliper, so i thought why replace them when i could upgrade them ? Also grabbed this at a bargain price the same day.. Removed the silly arch extensions to reveal the lovely clean original arches And to bring it up to the current day, i also got a set of original pop-up headlights, and sprayed the wheels silver And thus, explaing where my moneys gone for the past year and a half therefore not touching the 350z 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEADPHONES Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Wow...." " SPEECHLESS What a story/ journey! Glad you found a silver lining to your cloudy build troubles or should I say RED Hopefully all is smooth sailing ahead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamJulian Posted September 24, 2017 Author Share Posted September 24, 2017 1 hour ago, HEADPHONES said: Wow...." " SPEECHLESS What a story/ journey! Glad you found a silver lining to your cloudy build troubles or should I say RED Hopefully all is smooth sailing ahead Haha thanks, the Rx7 was definately what i needed and was the pick me up i needed to drag the 350 out of the garage earlier this year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamJulian Posted September 24, 2017 Author Share Posted September 24, 2017 We're now up to the beginning of this year, i had been daily driving the Rx7 for about a year, done a number of track days, and had come to the conclusion i could do with having the 350 back as my daily driver, as much as i love the Rx7 it isnt exactly the most practical everyday car So i dragged the zed out of storage and gave it its first clean in aaaages! Then out came the engine/gearbox and strip down comenced.. Can anybody guess where the headgasket went? Yup, in two places So that would explain the coolant in the oil then... Next was to figure out how fuel had got into the sump, anybody want to hazard a guess as to what i found when i pulled the pistons out? All looks okay right? WRONG! So it would appear that mega detonation played a part in the self destruction of this lot, so looks like those rather expensive pistons are now just paper weights At this stage i decided i'm giving up on the turbo build, as i already said i just want it back as my everyday car so i just cant justify pursuing this any further, so the next step was to buy a standard set of pistons with a new set of Nissan piston rings. Whilst they were on the way i spent a weekend measuring the bores on the block, somehow, despite the piston rings breaking into pieces, the bores visually looked perfect, no scores or marking and can still see the original honing marks. I didnt take any pictures of this step because it seemed a bit pointless, but using the picture as a reference i measured across the 'X' and 'Y' axis, at the bottom, middle and top of every bore as to check for it being out of round or tapered. Did every measurement 3 times, and every measurement was within .001" of factory specs so i was more than happy with that Removing the old rings from the new standard pistons.. Whilst i was at this stage i took the time to weigh the Manley rods and Wiseco pistons i took out of the engine, only to find that they were all different, meaning that if they hadnt been weight matched then the rotating assembly definitely hadnt been balanced! So at this time i took the 4 hour journey from home in Cornwall all the way to Bicester to a company called Vibration Free, such a highly professional company yet highly humble, was a pleasure to spend the day there having my complete rotating assembly balanced and will definitely be using them again in the future! The Manley rods started the day with 3grams weight difference between the heaviest and lightest, whereas the OEM pistons were a little less than that, they were soon all within 0.1grams then all assembled onto the crank in the block, and the first spin up on the machine showed 190microns of movement! Over the course of the day each part was balanced and added to the rotating assembley, so by the end we had the crank, conrods, pistons, bob weights on the pistons to replicate piston ring weight, timing chain sprocket, front pulley, flywheel, and clutch plate all rotating together showing 2.8microns of movement! That's 2 point 8, down from 190microns without flywheel and clutch plate on A quick video of how the machine works, it spins up to speed on a floating table, that way it detects vibration, and having the laser on the pulley tells it where exactly you need to take the weight from to even it out, very clever piece of kit! 20170516_121824.mp4 Also managed to snap a quick picture of this while i was there, custom built in-house, including all body panels, land speed car, that's over 22feet long!! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybp Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Fantastic .at last something worth reading keep up the good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilscorp Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Always love a good oily thread, nice work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamJulian Posted September 24, 2017 Author Share Posted September 24, 2017 2 hours ago, andybp said: Fantastic .at last something worth reading keep up the good work. 49 minutes ago, evilscorp said: Always love a good oily thread, nice work. Cheers guys, sorry the posts are so long i've had alot to get through to catch up to date Still got a bit more to catch up with yet so will get round to putting that up shortly! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scobie140 Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 An interesting read, glad you seem to be past all the bad news Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamJulian Posted September 25, 2017 Author Share Posted September 25, 2017 Just a short one while i have 5mins, when i took the engine out i took the opportunity to clean the engine bay. After a de-grease and clean it still looked rubbish because of the crappy factory primed finish they leave, so got handy with some silver hammerite and cleaned up some of the plastics One of the cheapest mods i've done yet makes such a difference! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scobie140 Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 Wish I had the time & facilities to do that level of work. The old driveway is pretty limited Going to a cracking car once finished Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bytespc Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 Fabulous job...well done that man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamJulian Posted October 2, 2017 Author Share Posted October 2, 2017 (edited) Cheers lads! Now at this stage I had a car with no engine/gearbox in it, i knew there was a couple deteriorated bushes and brake lines that have been advisories on the past MOT's, and the underside of the chassis ideally needs cleaning off and protecting, so i started to get slightly carried away Started splitting all the parts apart and cut the bushes out of everything.. Took a while to decide what to do with all the aluminium parts so i made a start by de-greasing them all cleaning them off with a grinder with wire brush attachment.. Decided at this stage that I couldnt be bothered with polishing them all up because they would only go white and corroded again further down the road, so got handy with the brush and got keen with the 'Hammerite Special Metals Primer' Then finally onto some generic silver spray top coat, didnt want any fancy colours as silver is just easy, looks nice and OEM, and most people arent even going to see the underside of the car.. Will post up polybushing and subframe assembly next time i get 5mins, thanks for reading Edited October 3, 2017 by SamJulian 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Great work, great story, keep it coming mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamJulian Posted October 3, 2017 Author Share Posted October 3, 2017 Cheers bud Also, i found the perfect place to put the GT35 turbo that now isnt going back in the 350 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian@TORQEN Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Great project, Sam! Whatever you do, just don't mention TOMEI to me! I currently hate them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybp Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 WOW bloody brilliant wish I had the space to do this to my suspension, keep up the good work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybp Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Oh and glad you found a use for the turbo, I have three on my garage floor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamJulian Posted October 4, 2017 Author Share Posted October 4, 2017 On 03/10/2017 at 16:34, Adrian@TORQEN said: Great project, Sam! Whatever you do, just don't mention TOMEI to me! I currently hate them! To be honest i had completely forgotten about them! Its going to be a little while before i even make a start on the engine so dont sweat it, need to order an engine gasket kit etc yet still Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamJulian Posted October 4, 2017 Author Share Posted October 4, 2017 On 03/10/2017 at 18:29, andybp said: WOW bloody brilliant wish I had the space to do this to my suspension, keep up the good work It is damn handy! Unfortunately will be moving it to somewhere smaller soon though as its currently taking up space at work and i'm sure my boss is getting sick of the sight of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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