A Build in the Mitten State...

[SolaraOnBronze]

Alright, time for an update!

I picked up the cherry picker from my cousin late on Thursday night, and got to work on things for a bit. I ended up pulling the manifolds, alternator, power steering pump, and engine mounts/brackets off of the engine so that I could clean everything really well the next morning. Called it a night at about 2:30 AM or so.

I woke up and got started on the car at 7 AM on Friday so that I could make the most of my day off. I started by taking some Purple Power to the drivetrain to get everything as spotless as I could. It wasn't in terrible shape to begin with, but it cleaned up really nicely:

Before:





After:





After the engine was all cleaned up, I prepped the bay for the engine to go back in. I had to cut & flare the rear brake line for the Chase Bays kit, so I got that out of the way while it was still easy to access.



After that, I reassembled the engine and dropped it back into the car. I had a neighbor come over to help, but I wasn't really sure how to approach it at the time. I ended up letting him go since I felt bad using up a lot of his time, and installed it alone lol. Fortunately I was able to take my time, and I managed to install it without damaging the paint at all.







Before the engine went back in, I finished installing all of the brake lines on the driver's side, as well as the clutch and brake masters. This allowed me to toss the steering column back in, as well as the shifter assembly. Still a lot of mess to deal with in there...



While I was working, the UPS guy showed up with a care package from Mr.Broadfield himself- the last remaining components I needed to complete the battery relocation:



I ended the day by finishing the front suspension and installing the new front brakes. I was also able to install the Chase Bays power steering setup:



This was before I messed with the PS lines- they aren't sticking out on the tub like this anymore. Fits much better now!





So that was Friday... I didn't have much time over the weekend to touch the car other than that, because I was busy finishing up the nursery for the baby. I managed to work on it for an hour last night, but that was all I had the time for.

I started to run my engine harness into the bay, and ran into a bit of a snag. I was able to carefully run the harness through the hole I made in the trans tunnel for it, and everything reaches where it needs to on the engine with plenty of play to spare- so that's a good thing. However, I'm left with a MASSIVE pile of stuff in the interior and no place to put it. I sat and pondered this decision for a while, but arrived at only one easy and rather painless solution:



Ditch the HVAC system. Now I know I am going to get a lot of crap for this one, but hear me out. My car doesn't have AC, and the holes for the AC stuff in the firewall were welded shut when the bay was redone- so that's a done deal. As for the heat, my blower motor has not worked for some time. I don't know why, but I have essentially been driving the car without heat or the ability to turn the blower on for the past 2+ years.

I've tried to fix the blower motor on a couple of occasions, but haven't had any luck. After looking into the drawbacks of not having a heater core (besides the obvious lack of heat,) I don't see it being a major issue. The car is only driven in warm weather, and never sees temps below 40 degrees- not balmy by any means, but bearable. I'll probably be driving it less after the baby arrives anyway- so it seems like a logical sacrifice to make. I haven't had defrost in two years, and the engine has never overheated on me- or come close, for that matter.

In the end, I think it is the right decision. This frees up a TON of space for me to mount the fuse box, relays, brake bias adjuster, igniter, ECU, and all of the associated wiring that is now in the interior. In addition, it also cleans up the bay by removing the nasty mess of heater hoses and clamps required on the back side of the SR in a 240SX chassis. I think I will be happy with my decision- if not, I'll keep the components to reinstall them later and find another solution for the wiring.

I removed everything but the core itself- I've gotta drop the dash bar and remove that tonight if I get the time. Then I can start to tidy up and mount all of this stuff.



The engine harness is pulled into the bay- I'll probably hook that all up tonight as well to see how it looks:

[SolaraOnBronze]

I had a small bit of time last night for the car, but I did manage to get the battery relocation wiring sorted out. I got the heater core removed and organized the engine and chassis harness wiring that is now in the interior. I put the Chase Bays charge harness in and wired that to the distribution block (with a circuit breaker in between,) and then ran the positive cable back into the hatch area. I just need to toss one more circuit breaker in and mount the battery somehow, and it should be good to go!

Grabbed some cell shots on the way out this morning. With all of the room behind the dash now, I can mount the fuse box in an easy to reach location and still retain the use of my full glove box- so that's a nice feature. I still need to determine how to mount the fuse box against the fire wall, but I am sure I will figure something out.

It still looks like a mess, but it is much more organized and sorted out than it was. A bit more time with it and it should be all set!



Test fitted the dash, and everything seems to be in good shape. I am pretty close to being able to leave it in there for good. Tossed the passenger seat in there to keep it off the garage floor/see how it looks with the new red stuff:



This is where I am hoping to mount the battery- I will just need to ensure that it is safe from water, mounted securely, and that the terminal posts are covered up to prevent it from shorting out. (That's what the circuit breaker back here will do, but I want to be really cautious with this.)



I've got a couple of cool things showing up this week, and should make some more progress on Thursday night. I'll keep you guys posted!

[DET240SX]

Hey OP, I ran into this thread earlier this year. What a great build thread!

As a fellow mitten 240 owner, mad preps sir. I'm in Farmington:)

[SolaraOnBronze]

^ Nice! I am not too far from there at all. Thanks for the compliment!

[A a l2 o N]

Man, I've been out of the 240 game for some time now and just came across this thread went thru the whole thing and it has convinced me to get back into another 240.

Great build man, keep up the excellent work.

[SolaraOnBronze]

^ Thanks man!

I didn't have much time, but I managed to install the clutch fan, shroud, radiator, hoses, and intercooler last night before leaving for the in-law's for the weekend. I snuck out of the baby shower to make this post, lol.





The main engine harness is installed. I need to lengthen the lower engine harness, and then that will be in good shape as well. Hopefully it will be ready to start up by this time next weekend. I'm going to slap it together with the current parts I have, make sure it runs, and then go back through it to pretty things up/replace some things/ do the new valve cover. My T-bolt clamps for the coolant hoses are on backorder for a couple weeks, and I need to order black couplers for the intercooler piping as well. Lots of little doo-dads like that. All in due time!

[SolaraOnBronze]

I got a chance to work on it quite a bit yesterday. I finished all of the interior wiring, shortened the lower engine harness and installed that, put the downpipe and exhaust back on, installed the fuel lines (temporary until i replace the fuel setup later this spring,) and finished the battery relocation.

It was nice to hear the door chime and the fuel pump prime after about five months!

http://youtu.be/PkxSqBKEk6g

I should be able to fire it up this weekend! If I don't hit any major snags, that is- lol.

[SolaraOnBronze]

Last night was another busy night, but I managed to sneak into the garage for about twenty five minutes or so to get some work done. When we replaced the metal where the battery tray used to be, I didn’t have a way to tell where to cut the hole for the intercooler piping without dropping the engine back in. Since that would have been a lot of work, I decided to just cut it after the bay was painted- even though I had no idea how I was going to do it.

I’ve been thinking about how to approach this for a while now, and am pleased to say I figured out a solution yesterday. I’m sure there are easier ways to go about it, but this is what I came up with:

1. Wrap the intercooler pipe that needs to pass through the sheet metal in painter’s tape, sticky side OUT. Wrap tightly so that you get the exact shape of the piping:



Wrap it again, this time with the sticky side towards the piping. You should have the pipe covered in tape without any stickiness touching the outside or the pipe itself.

2. Carefully cut the tape off of the intercooler piping. Be sure not to smash it up or anything so that it maintains its shape:



3. Tape the “mock” pipe back together along the seam that you just cut to remove it from the actual piping. Install it into position, trimming away any extra tape at the bottom until the mock pipe is flush with the metal of the bay :



4. Draw a circle onto the metal (or tape over the metal in this case) to show where the piping will run through the sheet metal:



5. Cut the hole in the sheet metal. I used my power drill and a 3.5″ hole saw bit that I picked up from Home Depot.





And wallah! If things went well for you, you should have a pretty solid looking pass-through for your intercooler piping. Mine could have been centered a little better and the hole diamater could have been a little smaller probably, but I am really happy with how it turned out. The size of this hole matches the one in the other side of the bay that was there when I bought the car.





I’m really pleased with how the bay is coming together. Keep in mind that I have to make a second pass through and add some more small details- nice hardware, new valve cover setup, -AN fittings and lines, a new fuel setup, etc. For now I am just going to get the car running to ensure that the wiring is in good shape, get the interior back together, and then get into the fine details while I wait for my wheels to be done!



Not a lot else needs to be in the bay. The coolant overflow will be under the cooling shroud, so that won’t be seen. The only other items coming into the bay to make the car run will be the MAF, intake pipe/filter, and the boost controller. Should be pretty happy with it when I am done!

[jsturges18]

i saw that on zilvia and/or your blog that you said that you were gonna be installing the brake booster, i thought you were going with the chase bays kit? why the change? btw awesome car!! i was sketchy on the wheels you chose but i think its all tying up pretty well!

[SolaraOnBronze]

Hey thanks man! I had some leaking issues with the Chase Bays setup, and that was enough to sway me back to using the stock booster and a Z32 master. I was iffy on the whole thing to begin with, but that sealed the deal for me.

[Driftnaut]

Your car is gorgeous, as I already told you on zilvia

[Broadfield]

I heard the car was getting parted out and the owner is getting an EVO.

[truckmtr240]

I heard the car was getting parted out and the owner is getting an EVO.

Called it haha... I really loved this build while it lasted