History of my Z - Part 2 - The conversion to TT

[marty1mc]

I decided to break this up into two parts in order to keep it from loading for a long time.

To continue from Part 1...

Once the brakes were upgraded, I got the itch to give them something to stop. Since I was tired of being the slowest in the family, it was time for a radical change. I found a Z on TT.net in Colorado. The car was immaculate until a domino's pizza delivery guy slammed into it and totalled it. The car had only 68k miles on it, turbos with only 10k on it, new timing belt and clutch. The guy parting it out also had upgraded Stillen Intercoolers, a JWT ECU, a new EFI wiring harness, but had sold the injectors. I bought everything I needed to do the conversion, plus a bunch of interior items, transmission, gauge cluster, shipped for a little over $3k.

My initial intention was to do only what was necessary to get the motor stable and reliable and do the conversion for under $5k. However, both that goal and the budget soon went over the side. I have a habit of doing that. I start small, but soon get excited and begin to upgrade. My son called it correctly when he said "It won't happen Dad, you will not settle with middle of the road stuff."

My initial list was:

120k kit
555cc injectors w/ boost jets (that was what the ECU was programmed for).
Stock TT bumper.
Turbo timer
TT fan clutch (didn't have one since his setup was electric)
TT shroud

The engine showed up from Colorado on a day when we had snow. I pulled it into the garage and began to inventory all of the stuff I received. I had everything I needed to do. But, when we converted my son's Supra, we bought new turbos. It was a good decision as turbos tend to be the weak spot. Since mine only had around 10k on them, I really didn't need to upgrade. However, I found a set of new JWT Sport 500's at a good price and decided to change them. As I went through the project, I found many more things I wanted to change.

What I ended up with:
300 degree fuel rail w/ 740cc Nismo injectors
JWT Sport 500 turbos
New lifters
New Alt and Battery harness
New Z1 Silicone Boost hoses (all of them from the turbos to the intake)
SS T-Clamps for all boost hoses.
New Z1 Silicone PCV, AIr, vacuum hoses (30 ft of various sizes from hosetechniques.com)
New Z1 Silicone Water/heater hoses
New knock sensor and harness
New Howe Radiator
New OEM oil hoses (all of them for the turbos, oil cooler)
New OEM PS hoses
New Master and slave clutch cylinders
JWT Sport clutch and lightened flywheel.
Remey idler studs
Remey Chromoly clutch pivot bolt
SS clutch flex line
Greddy ProfecB Spec 2 Boost controller
HKS Turbo Timer Type 1
New OEM Motor Mounts
99 Jspec front fascia
99 Jspec tails
KurumaZ spoiler and new 3BL
new decals for motor and spoiler
SS bolt kit for motor
New OEM FPR and Damper
Gates Injector hi pressure fuel hose
OEM Fuel filter

There is more, like paint and a gun, but this list is pretty complete. Needless to say, the budget went out the window.

Some pics of the motor when it arrived at my house...





The garage once all of the stuff started showing up. I had no room to move at one point. Boxes everywhere. I could tell it was the weekend because UPS/Fedex didn't show up!



New turbos...





bent waste rod...easily fixed. Got bent in transit.



New Lifters - I replaced all of them since several were very soft, mostly on the exhaust side.





Covers painted and installed...



Front of the motor cleaned and painted...





I had to cut the crank sprocket off the crankshaft. It was rusted solid. I broke my puller trying to get it off.





Top of the motor cleaned, painted, sealed and re-assembled...



Rear of the motor with new battery cable, silicone hoses...



Front of the motor re-assembled. I didn't like the rust in the coolant pipe. There is nothing I can do but regular flushes. I flushed the entire block while it was down and drained it. But, it takes time to get this stuff out...



Right side turbo installed...



Tight fit for the wastegate boost line. I had to grind the motor mount a little to make clearance...




Prepping the Z to pull the NA motor. I sold this to a buddy of mine. After 156k miles, the compression was 187/cylinder. It didn't vary one pound on any cylinder.





Pulling the motor...





The nasty engine bay. It amazes me how dirty these get even when I cleaned everything I could reach on a regular basis...





After cleaning up the engine bay and prep for painting the bay and underside of the hood...



Ready to paint...



Painted! You can see orange from the sunlight, that is the AG2 Aztec Red color...







Left side of bay with everything re-installed. I painted all of the accessories the same color as the valve covers (brake booster, power steering reservoir, cruise control, balance tube, etc...)



Right side. You will notice the second bleed point for the clutch is gone. I eliminated this as part of the conversion. I found a shop that makes custom tubing and took my old line and the junction block to them. They bent a new line, used the "nuts" from the old line (6mm x 1.0 thread) and made a new line that duplicated the old one without the junction block for $20. I found a 10mm to 10mm junction at Advance Auto parts and completed the deletion.



Line deleted...







A picture of the front end after all was put back into the engine bay. I positioned the Z at the end of the driveway while I straightened up the garage to install the motor.



Then tragedy struck...





My wife had been up all night working on coupons for food. She does this and saves a ton of money (67% of the normal bill), but was tired when she went to the corner store. She didn't see the Z and accidentally backed into it. I wasn't mad about it all. It isn't the end of the world and I can repair it.

The motor installed...



JWT sport clutch installed with the transmission...






And finally, some pics of her after I finished the conversion.













I have decided to name the Z "Sybil" after the multi-personality woman in the movie of the same name. The car drives just like an NA until you decide to hit boost. Then, Sybil changes into a very mean girl. I have been quite impressed with the power it is making. On stock boost (11.4 lbs), it walked right by a BMW M3 -2004. The guy was shocked. Also, without launching the car and shortshifting 1st gear at 3500 rpm, waiting for 2nd boost to build, it pulled 0-60 in 4.53 seconds. The funny thing is that it doesn't feel fast. It is very smooth.

That's the story. There is much more over the 8 yrs I have owned it, but this will give you an idea of the transformation both it and I have gone through since the time I first saw it sitting in a parking lot a long time ago.

[ffrpwner]

This is just amazing. I love the care and enthusiasm that you have for your z. I always personify things(i know its a little weird) but im siting here imagining if this z could talk...and it would be very grateful to you. I know that 10-15 years down the line this z will still look and perform amazingly.

I'm very glad that you joined and shared your story with us!

[vulcanrush]

marty1mc, a lot of respect for you and your car.

you seem to be a very sensible and knowledgeable person.

[marty1mc]

This is just amazing. I love the care and enthusiasm that you have for your z. I always personify things(i know its a little weird) but im siting here imagining if this z could talk...and it would be very grateful to you. I know that 10-15 years down the line this z will still look and perform amazingly.

I'm very glad that you joined and shared your story with us!

Thanks. I am glad to be here as well. This was the first time I have told the story of my Z from start to now. I just finished a drive since the evening temps drop off quickly and I can boost safely.

I have many hours in this car over the years. When I get bored, I usually do something to it. The next steps for the Z are to fix the driver's door and repaint it, install the TT gauge cluster I got with the swap and fix the horribly fitting Megan Racing test pipes. I actually need to take them to a shop and have them re-bent so they align with my catback. I am very disappointed in them.

marty1mc, a lot of respect for you and your car.

you seem to be a very sensible and knowledgeable person.

Thank you as well. I doubt my wife would say sensible after what I spent on this project. LOL. As far as knowledge, that just comes with work. I couldn't afford to keep this car and pay a mechanic to fix it. I like to do this stuff anyway, so it's a good fit. I am patient and that definitely helps.

[LIBRILZ]

Damn this car is awesome, just looking at it's history and all. I say you get some coilovers now.

[marty1mc]

Thanks! Yea, I may end up with coil overs. But, my son and I noticed the car really digs in with the stock suspension. My suspension is completely stock, except I have Monroe Sensitrac struts/shocks (LOL). I would like to lower it a little, maybe an inch. But, I don't want to increase wheel hop. A stiffer rear will keep it from digging. So, it's mixed emotions on this.

I had the Z in Western NC after I finished the build. It was a hoot. I had to crunch to finish the conversion in time. We had it aligned at midnight the night before we left for Asheville,NC. My daughter and her S2000 club were meeting there and she wanted me to go along. We ran the "Tail of the Dragon" while we were there. It was me in my Z and about 100-150 S2000's. The Z with a stock suspension felt sluggish in comparison to those little go carts I was chasing. But, all in all, it did quite well. The TT motor really made a difference in 2nd gear for power. I was able to push her into the turns, shift the weight to the front and then power out of the apex. I didn't feel any issues the entire time. A good stiff suspension would certainly have made it easier to control. I am just not sure if I will pick up wheel hop if I do convert.

[es.biggs]

Man that's a great story - thanks for sharing. Inspirational to me, as I've been going through a bunch of work on my Z as well.

I thought stiffer suspension helps to get rid of wheel hop? I had major wheel hop when I first got my car. I put the subframe spacers on and it helped a lot. You could also try getting the upgraded sway bars and bushings, along with subframe and diff bushings. That would really tighten up everything back there to give you better performance in the twisties. I always thought that tighter suspension would reduce wheel hop? Just a few thoughts on it...I'm sure you've already been thinking about all that anyways!

You have an exceptional story, you've really truly built this car. I have a lot of respect for you because of that. Kudos!

[marty1mc]

Thanks Ethan. The one thing I have learned about the Z is it has two states: Needing parts and in between needing parts. There is usually something needing attention on the car. But, I will say that it is very rewarding. Most won't attempt working on them, and even many Z owners won't. So you deserve kudos as well.

The thing is with a stock suspension, I have no wheel hop. I am nervous about putting stiffer suspension on it. The softer suspension in the rear allows the weight to transfer and appears to give me more traction. I would have to spend $1000 to confirm my theory and so far I am not willing to spend that. I may in the future, but will upgrade all of the suspension bushings as well.

As I think back on all of the things I have done on this car, there are very few things I have not taken off and re-installed at some point, from the motor, to interior, and rear end. The one thing I forgot to mention on the TT swap was the Q45 rear conversion. My NA rear started making noise shortly after the new motor arrived. I kept the Z on the road while I prepped the TT motor. Well, I found a thread on converting the NA rear end to a Q45 rear. The advantage to this on a TT is that it is the same gearing as the TT rear end, but is the R200V rear end that is in the NA. The only thing needed is to swap the front shaft and the rear cover. It bolts right in. I like the TT gearing ratio (3.69 vs 4.09) as it is a little taller. I may in the future look at modifying a G35 automatic rear end (also an R200V). This would make the gearing even taller (3.357 vs. 3.69). I think it would make 1st gear usable again and 2nd gear would become another "sweet spot" for power.