The "2JZX" Project

[PerformanceSound]

Sup guys....new member here, but long time Nissan/Toyota fan. Long story short, I came across this 300ZX in Indiana that was posted online three months ago. It looked too good to be true in the pics, and so I called the seller and asked for more close up shots. It was legit! One owner, clean carfax, no rust, no damage, mint condition, 71k mile 300ZX NA 5spd! I drove next day to Bedford Indiana, and purchased the car cash from a 73yr old attorney. She is now the new foundation for my "2JZX" project. I picked up a 2JZ-GE VVTi motor from my buddy's wrecking yard, and ordered some go-fast-goodies for it as well as some left over parts from my old SC300 build. Here are some pics of it and the motor, hope you all enjoy...im pretty excited about this project.

Couldn't resist...lol


Home, safe and sound:






2JZ-GE VVTi....will be a beast when done:




Cylinder head off to machine shop...prepping block for machining:


Mocking up the GE flange to the GTE lower runner for welding.


Im surprised just how close the two GE & GTE flanges are near the head, I know the holes are way off on the center runner section.


Flange all welded up and port matched...looks good, ready for powdercoating.


Back side was much easier to weld as there weren't too many crevices.


Goodies from my SC300 build that I decided to keep (272 cams, manley rods, springs and retainers, valve seals, and valve guides.


I was told these were neccessary if using 272 cams.


Machine shop prepping the block before machinging....welding the steel ball plugs to a rod then removed oil galley steel plugs.
















More to come.....waiting for the cleaned head to come back from the machine shop. :-)

[abazz009]

thats definitely one clean Z, look forward to it!

[PerformanceSound]

thats definitely one clean Z, look forward to it!

I was pretty amazed at how well maintained and clean it was when I first saw it. No accidents, clean carfax, one owner car...really got lucky finding this one. Btw, I noticed you are in AZ? I am visiting AZ new month to look for a house as I will be moving there hopefully this year...should bring your Z by to check out.

[abazz009]

yea one owner is awesome, mines probably had 3+ including me lol.. should of just held off for a better one but oh well... , yes i live in Tucson i dont see to many Z's would be cool to cruise if this is the part of AZ your planning on moving too. not a terrible place to live if you can stand the heat in the summer, my Z is currently not running haven't updated my build log but i have the engine back out and torn apart, need a few tools to completely take it apart, planning on a re-build/re-fresh hoping my issue is just bad piston rings i will find out soon-ish.

[DCaff300ZX]

thats definitely one clean Z, look forward to it!

I was pretty amazed at how well maintained and clean it was when I first saw it. No accidents, clean carfax, one owner car...really got lucky finding this one. Btw, I noticed you are in AZ? I am visiting AZ new month to look for a house as I will be moving there hopefully this year...should bring your Z by to check out.

Welcome!
Super clean NA there, VERY nice...congrats!
So a 2JZ swap, nice...not the easiest route but it seems you have a plan and experience, can't wait to see what you do so keep us posted.

[Ace2cool]

I'll add this to the master build thread! Super cool, keep us updated!

[DrPattCakes]

Hell yeah..I just got myself a 1J

[PerformanceSound]

I'll add this to the master build thread! Super cool, keep us updated!

Thanks! I will definitely keep the forum updated....

[PerformanceSound]

Hell yeah..I just got myself a 1J

Gotta love the JZ platform

[PerformanceSound]

Got the head back from the machine shop (BC valve springs & retainers, GSC seals, and deck & clean....decided to give it a quick spray of primer and aluminum paint.

[Ace2cool]

Super clean!

[DCaff300ZX]

MMmmmmm, purty...and two thumbs up for the choice to dress things up while the chance is there!

[PerformanceSound]

Super clean!

MMmmmmm, purty...and two thumbs up for the choice to dress things up while the chance is there!

Thanks...I am trying to freshen' up as many parts I can access while the engine is in pieces, before final assembly.

[DCaff300ZX]

Super clean!

MMmmmmm, purty...and two thumbs up for the choice to dress things up while the chance is there!

Thanks...I am trying to freshen' up as many parts I can access while the engine is in pieces, before final assembly.

I did the same when mine was out for turbos and total refresh, I always wanted to have my engine bay looking super-clean and this was the chance of a lifetime- both having upgraded performance but also a custom engine bay in my own style.
Hope you do the same!

[PerformanceSound]

The first bits of my Radium Engineering fuel system just arrived....props to the UPS guy for delivering in this nasty Chicago weather.

[PerformanceSound]

While I wait for some new parts for the Z, I decided to rebuild the 2JZ power-steering pump. The seals, o-rings, gaskets, and bearings ran me about $70. It was a pain doing this...but I learned alot in the process. More on the project to come soon as parts arrive.

Painted rear cover:


Painted front cover:


All parts taken apart to clean and replace as needed:


Reassembled:

[PerformanceSound]

The first of a "few" pieces to arrive this week....TT cluster. I am working with Brandon at BTI Innovations (gauges) to make a custom setup for this. More on that soon...

[PerformanceSound]

Started mocking things up....still a ways to go. Waiting for powder-coated valve covers, coil pack cover, throttle body and the OEM stuff (water pump, oil pump, etc..).

[DCaff300ZX]

Looking great!
Keep 'em comin'...

[PerformanceSound]

Got the water pump, oil pump, starter, and alternator mocked up. Had the throttle body shortened and will have my machine shop lathe it for the coupler. Still waiting on my valve covers and upper oil pan (front sump), and assembly can begin. Progress is slow, but moving along.

New oil pump


New water pump


Shortened the throttle body, and it is currently at the machine shop getting lathed.




Denso starter and alternator


Mocking this up








Back to hibernation

[Ace2cool]

Looks so clean. Can't wait to see it finished.

[PerformanceSound]

Got the throttle body back from machining and welding. Tough to weld on dirty aluminum casting....also deleted the second throttle cable wheel (cruise control) and cleaned the entire assembly up a bit by removing unnecessary items as I will be using a standalone ecu.

[PerformanceSound]

Got the valve covers and upper oil pan back from media blasting....and decided to paint them myself instead of powder coating. The valve covers came out really nice, however, I ran out of silver paint for the upper pan so that will have to wait for this weekend. I also drilled and tapped the breather holes for 1/2 npt.

[DCaff300ZX]

The covers look great, today's high temp paints and proper cleaning/degreasing can give a very good finish when not needing auto exterior quality.
However, that throttle body would not work for me as with those irregularities from the welding on the inside, surely there will be some irregular turbulence caused there if not perhaps even a seal loss (boost). I would want to see that filled enough to have been machined to the proper interior sizing (as well as the exterior) rather than what you got.

[PerformanceSound]

The covers look great, today's high temp paints and proper cleaning/degreasing can give a very good finish when not needing auto exterior quality.
However, that throttle body would not work for me as with those irregularities from the welding on the inside, surely there will be some irregular turbulence caused there if not perhaps even a seal loss (boost). I would want to see that filled enough to have been machined to the proper interior sizing (as well as the exterior) rather than what you got.

The welding was done on both sides (inside and out). The pitting or "cheese holes" are caused by dirt in the actual Toyota casting...and it does not go through to the inside. I am debating on going DBW, but for now I think it will work fine. The inside is pitting-free....and the turbulence will be negligible with a big turbo and high boost. Turbulence issues are generally a factor on high compression naturally aspirated engines.

[NolimitZ32]

I'm not really understanding what the point of doing that was, your choke point is still the same size at the mating surface and as fart a s turbulence goes, your butterfly valve assembly creates a lot more unwanted turbulence than that weld so the imperfections really are negligible.

[PerformanceSound]

I'm not really understanding what the point of doing that was, your choke point is still the same size at the mating surface and as fart a s turbulence goes, your butterfly valve assembly creates a lot more unwanted turbulence than that weld so the imperfections really are negligible.

A few reasons why I modified the throttle body:

1) Removes the quirky Traction Control secondary butterfly valve....the 2JZ's have two.
2) Shortens the throttle body tube a few inches to ensure the front of the throttle body clears the 300ZX underhood bracing. If you see others who have done this swap, you will notice that they notch the underhood bracing quite a bit to clear the; turbo, front of valve covers, and front of the throttle body.
3) Cleans up all the uneccessary brackets and junk....gives it a clean simple look.

I am not worried one bit about the "choke point" as I went with the OEM GTE intake manifold for a reason....it is known to handle big HP for it's size. The benefit of the OEM manifold is that it maintains pressure a little better on/off boost because of it's smaller design. I know alot of people use huge manifolds with 90mm throttle bodies, but honestly I prefer OEM fit and finish and the 2JZ's components from the factory are already considered "race grade" due to their high HP capability.

[NolimitZ32]

Understood, I never knew that about the 2JZ, Thanks for the enlightenment.

[PerformanceSound]

So, lately I have been on/off about this project...particularly the engine. I keep thinking maybe a LS motor, then maybe a SR, then maybe a built VG, then maybe a RB, etc...

It seems like every time I ride in a motor swapped 300ZX, I want that motor in my car...lol. Then, I go home....drink a bit...and then go on the internet and buy more parts for the 2JZ.

Last weeks new part, a drive-by-wire throttle body and pedal assembly off of a G35 (Nissan parts), and a badass adapter by Vlad over at NationalSpeedInc. This adapter is VERY well made, and the welds are on point. I decided to paint it aluminum and test fit it on the motor. For those asking why I went DBW....well, after talking to Vlad, MDSUPERSTAR, and other folks who have done this, it's really a great mod. No more IACV, AC idle kick up/down issues, separate traction contorl unit, crusie control delete, etc... The DBW with a proper standalone ECU will be able to not only save wait on deleted parts, but add more functionality. I really like the way this came out, and hopefully will have it integrated well with my build.

Thanks again MDSUPERSTAR!

[DCaff300ZX]

Now that's a throttle body I'd go for, nice choice!