1990 TT Budget Build (NEW WHEELS!)

[XX7R]

About 3 months ago i picked up a 1990 NA to TT zx. It also was an auto to 5 speed swap. Picked it up for $6k. Im looking for about 550 horse. I'm going to be doing a budget build since i'm only 17 and only have a part time job not making that much.

Build list:
Bigger turbos (Not clarifying until i actually do it)
HKS replica vertical flow FMIC
Injectors: undetermined
Blitz DD or Turbo XS RFL blow off valves
Actual dual intake setup
Going to fab up some top mount turbo manifolds this winter
Weld up my own 2.5" intercooler piping
Greddy Profec B Spec 2 boost controller
Specialty Z Eprom ECU
Koyo Radiator
OEM Ford Taurus SHO radiator fan
60mm Stanza throttle bodies
Snow performance Water/meth

Heres a few pictures





It has a full dual Greddy exhaust (no cats or anything), Edge downpipes, Greddy turbo timer, dual K&N intakes, Konig Tantrum wheels, JWT Chipped ECU, a big FMIC, and a no name oil cooler.

Oil cooler


FMIC


Greddy exhaust


Dual K&N setup (going to do an ACTUAL dual setup soon!)


I then started to take off the bumpers and get a better look at the engine and paint a few things up on the way

A look in my garage


Plenum off


Top valve covers painted


Sanding the plenum a little


Just seeing how it looks


Radiator hardpipes polished + Fan and radiator taken out


Picked up some Sparco Torinos (still need to make the 5 point harness bar and brackets)



Workin on the Z next to my dads 67 mustang fastback


Pretty soon i'm going to buy a Koyo radiator and a oem tauras electric fan. Also this winter I am going to try and make top mount turbo manifolds to have the turbos sit behind the headlights.
I can't figure out how to take off the side valve covers! I got the four bolts on the top and bottom but they still won't come off! Any ideas?

[canadian booster]

i'm jealous of your shop! rad find for $6k for sure, can't wait to hear how it comes along

[XX7R]

Thanks! Its been pretty fun so far!

[BigTDogg (MA)]

The exhaust cam covers require some "massaging" to get off. They're held on with RTV as well as the screws.

For the Taurus fan, be sure it's from a SHO, the regular Taurus fan is not enough to cool a TT, especially with a FMIC.

Welcome to Nico!

[XX7R]

Alright thanks! Ive tried pushing them around a little but i'll try harder. & Yeah it will be the SHO. I will also only have the FMIC for another few months before i get some side mounts.

[DCaff300ZX]

VERY cool seeing a green GT Fastback with magnum 500's with your Z32!

[XX7R]

Yeah the thing is amazing. I've gotten the chance to drive it a few times and it's a blast

[DCaff300ZX]

Yeah the thing is amazing. I've gotten the chance to drive it a few times and it's a blast

Is it smallblock or bigblock?

[XX7R]

Yeah the thing is amazing. I've gotten the chance to drive it a few times and it's a blast

Is it smallblock or bigblock?

Smallblock

[SilverTwin(OH)]

Nice looking Z, sounds like you have some great plans for it.

Also, it appears as though your shifter is in backwards. If it is installed backwards, it will be too close to the front of the console in 1st, 3rd, and 5th making it a knuckle buster. Easy fix though, just pull the console, rubber shift boots, and support bracket to access the bottom bolt through the shifter, remove that bolt and spin the shifter 180 degrees. The side with 2 knotches on the shifter ring should face forward.
Tim

[BigTDogg (MA)]

^^^ This

Mine was installed backwards when I bought it. Previous owner just thought it was designed to be a knuckle smasher

[StockTurbosFTW]

I like your hood prop...
I can't figure out that intake...
Love the plenum and valve covers...
Good luck...

[XX7R]

Thanks everybody! Ive gotten my shifter already straightened out since the pictures have been take but thanks for the advice! Ive also installed new oem shifter bushings since they were terrible. & yes the hood prop is a little "ghetto" haha until i find an actual one. Right now i just have a bad injector holding me back from actually putting it back together. Should be up and going pretty quickly though
Also did a compression test and it came out pretty good!
Cyl 1- 140
Cyl 2- 150
Cyl 3- 150
Cyl 4- 150
Cyl 5- 155
Cyl 6- 165

[Ziggy1621]

^^^ This

Mine was installed backwards when I bought it. Previous owner just thought it was designed to be a knuckle smasher

For the injectors... check out these guys... http://fuelinjectorconnection.com/. Read good reviews on them.. sending my set over to be rebuilt

[Zimmerman]

Nice looking car. Lots of extra parts already on it equals big savings at the end.

[300ZXttZMAN]

Welcome to NICO!

[XX7R]

Thanks everybody!

[XX7R]

Will be ordering some new injectors pretty soon so i can get her running. In the mean time i picked up some carbon fiber and did a few interior panels. This is real carbon fiber, not the cheap 3M stick on stuff.

Steering wheel cover, still needs a clear coat






With a coat of clear on


Did the gauge cluster cover that is a part of the dash


All of the pieces i did today: The steering wheel cover (top and bottom), Dash gauge cluster piece, and the fabric piece that covers the underside of your wiring under the dash/steering wheel

[300ZXttZMAN]

Very nice. Looks good.

[vulcanrush]

About 3 months ago i picked up a 1990 NA to TT zx. It also was an auto to 5 speed swap. Picked it up for $6k. Im looking for about 550 horse. I'm going to be doing a budget build since i'm only 17 and only have a part time job not making that much.

good luck with your build, you have some nice stuff, but i don't get the "budget build, only 17 years old with a part-time job not making that much BUT I STILL WANT 550 horses"

[XX7R]

About 3 months ago i picked up a 1990 NA to TT zx. It also was an auto to 5 speed swap. Picked it up for $6k. Im looking for about 550 horse. I'm going to be doing a budget build since i'm only 17 and only have a part time job not making that much.

good luck with your build, you have some nice stuff, but i don't get the "budget build, only 17 years old with a part-time job not making that much BUT I STILL WANT 550 horses"

haha. I meant that as in I'm not going to spend like $2000 on a nice set of turbos or $800 just for intercoolers. The build will just be what is best for the money that you can find. But yes, hopefully in the range of 500-550 ponies

[Ziggy1621]

500+ may be tough without the turbos. Not saying it couldn't be done, but you may spend $2000 everywhere else trying to get to what bigger turbos will do. I'm expecting just better than 400 on mine with stock turbos, pop charger, 2.5" downs and tests, catback, 550cc injectors, boost controller, and about $450-600 worth of dyno tuning.

[vulcanrush]

haha. I meant that as in I'm not going to spend like $2000 on a nice set of turbos or $800 just for intercoolers. The build will just be what is best for the money that you can find. But yes, hopefully in the range of 500-550 ponies

i think you need a nice set of turbos and a nice set of intercoolers for 500-550 ponies.
you can't get 550 ponies on a budget is what i'm trying to say.
2k is a very good price for turbos, fyi.
jwt530bb turbos are around 2.3k, and they won't get you 550 horses.

[XX7R]

I didn't mean that I'm not going to get bigger turbos and a different intercooler. I just meant that I'm not going to spend like $5k+ to get 550 horse. Here's my build list

Build list:
Bigger turbos (Not clarifying until i actually do it)
HKS replica vertical flow FMIC
Deatschwerks 740cc injectors
Blitz DD or Turbo XS RFL blow off valves
Actual dual intake setup
Going to fab up some top mount turbo manifolds this winter
Weld up my own 2.5" intercooler piping
Greddy Profec B Spec 2 boost controller
Specialty Z Eprom ECU
Koyo Radiator
OEM Ford Taurus SHO radiator fan
60mm Stanza throttle bodies
Snow performance Water/meth

[vulcanrush]

I didn't mean that I'm not going to get bigger turbos and a different intercooler. I just meant that I'm not going to spend like $5k+ to get 550 horse. Here's my build list

Build list:
Bigger turbos (Not clarifying until i actually do it)
HKS replica vertical flow FMIC
Deatschwerks 740cc injectors
Blitz DD or Turbo XS RFL blow off valves
Actual dual intake setup
Going to fab up some top mount turbo manifolds this winter
Weld up my own 2.5" intercooler piping
Greddy Profec B Spec 2 boost controller
Specialty Z Eprom ECU
Koyo Radiator
OEM Ford Taurus SHO radiator fan
60mm Stanza throttle bodies
Snow performance Water/meth

i don't think you understand what i'm trying to say. you say you'll get better turbos and intercoolers, but you don't want to spend 5k+. then i think you have to tone down your expectations.

how much do you think better turbos and intercoolers will cost?

to get to your power goal, at a minimum you'll need jwt700bb turbos or z1 675rs turbos, and they're about 2.5k+. (550hp requires a custom dyno tune, not an off-the-shelf chip, add another 800, true dual intake about 500, fuel rails and fuel injectors another 1k at least, and that's not including an upgraded clutch and/or flywheel). that's 5k already.

5k seems like a lot, but it's not when it comes to modifying these cars.
heck, 10k won't get you 550 horses....and i should clarify, on regular gasoline.

for example, those dw fuel injectors are junk, and might cause you more aggravation in the long run.

budget and huge power are mutually-exclusive, imo.
sorry to bring up that old cliche, but cheap, fast, and reliable, pick two.

[XX7R]

I've heard good things about the new deatschwerks injectors. They just used to be bad when they just took old oem's and drilled them out. Also the turbos I'm looking at will outlast garretts and cost a quarter of the price. The SZ tune is just a base map, so yes i know it will need to be tuned.

[vulcanrush]

I've heard good things about the new deatschwerks injectors. They just used to be bad when they just took old oem's and drilled them out. Also the turbos I'm looking at will outlast garretts and cost a quarter of the price.

regarding the turbos, i'll believe it when i see it.
turbos are probably one of the last things i would look to save money on.
garrett is oem-quality, there's a reason they are who they are.

ask melissa miller, that girl who drifts, about cheap turbos, when she installed godspeed turbos.
http://specialtyz.com/blog/?p=892

[XX7R]

You don't need to spend top dollar to get great performance. That's why were all driving 300zx's and not ferrari's.. It'll be a few months before I can pick all of this up but it'll be worth it.
And i'm not talking about godspeeds or ebay turbos lol

[NolimitZ32]

You don't need to spend top dollar to get great performance. That's why were all driving 300zx's and not ferrari's.. It'll be a few months before I can pick all of this up but it'll be worth it.
And i'm not talking about godspeeds or ebay turbos lol

Fast, Reliable, Cheap, pick 2, you CANNOT have all three. Have fun pulling the engine after 6 months to replace those trash Chinese turbos with something worthwhile. A lot of experienced people are trying to HELP YOU and you aren't listening. yes you DO have to spend money on good turbos, NO you WILL NOT find "good" turbos for 1/3rd the price of garrets, period, end of story!

FYI: MHI turbos are a little cheaper (not 1.3rd the price) and require a TON of custom work to fit on a Z32. IHI turbos are just as MHI a little cheaper (not 1/3rd the price) and once again require a ton of custom fabrication. Borg Warners unless going very big are nowhere near as efficient as Garrets. Any other turbos (short of ridiculously expensive custom built units ei: Turbonetics, etc.) ARE JUNK!

[BigTDogg (MA)]

Deatchworks are, and always will be, total garbage. That is, until they actually make their own injectors. They still redrill injectors, which is a garbage process. Otherwise I look forward to seeing some fabbing on your end, great initiative

I wouldn't buy a turbo from China. China needs to stick to what they're good at; t-shirts and iPhones. 100,000+ RPM rotating machinery is not their field of expertise