Bobette build thread.

[Nathyne]

Decided I will start a build thread for my 83 720.

So about my truck purchased it a few months ago as a project truck and I am just starting to dive in head first

It is a:
1983
z22
4speed
4x4
reg cab
235000kms

Here is a picture


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my plans for this truck are:
SAS (using toyota axle)
33" Mud terrains
Rust repair and repaint
HIDs
fix up and paint interior and stick some new buckets in there
Megasquirt ecu

And lastly but not least a picture as to what I am starting on first.



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Was going to start with the SAS but found this decent engine.
I picked this up for 320$
Includes engine transmission and ecu with a cut wiring harness (wiring doesn't scare me as much as is probably should...).
Has 152000 kms on it person swapped it out for an SR20

Now from what i have reasearched I will need to modify the mounts (found some great writeups on this), oil pan and will need to do something about the fuel pump. I was going to use my stock 4 speed but was wondering would this 240sx transmission bolt to same spot as the 4 speed? can't find any info on this the extra gear would be nice because this truck will see lots of highway use in the summer.

This is my first large project so expect lots of questions! I am learning as I go.

Will start pulling out my z22 this weekend or next i'll post some pictures up of that aswell!

Also forgot to say Bobette is the name of my truck

[PEZi]

Very nice! Hope the KA treats you well!

[breadbox]

It should bolt up fine. I'm not sure on the angle it sits at tho. The main difference in the blocks between KA and Z are head/front timing/and the where the starter sits. The starter on the KA has a place to sit where as on the Z it bolts to the trans and not the block at all.

The wiring should be pretty straight forward for the KA. While its out replace any line that looks old at all. Both KA and Z need flawless vacuum to purr like a kitten.

Looks good and I like the plan thus far. This truck will be boss this time next year.

Oh and ka24e's turbo really well.

[breadbox]

Take motor out and leave trans there. Its easier for 4x4 to do them as separate things. You could try to find a 5spd 720 trans from a Z24 4x4 if you wanted different gearing.

It only takes a couple hours to get the motor out, I've done it alone, these carb'd trucks are so easy to mess with.

[Rev_D21]

Looks like a fun build!

[Nathyne]

I was thinking about a turbo at some point possibly the megasquirt should make it easy to tune for and I happen to have upgraded my GTRs injectors to 750cc so I have some 440s that I think work in this engine haven't researched it yet though . Ya these trucks are a dream to work on compared to m GTR even changing the oil is a pain on that thing! the oil filter requires interesting hand positions and I have yet to manage not to spill atleast a little when taking it out. But anyways looks like I'll start getting it ready to pull out this saturday need to borrow an engine hoist from my uncle before I can yank it out completely. Really want to scrub the engine bay down it is oil central guy who sold it to me tried to tell me there was no leaks... then again he thought it was burning oil but it was really running richer than bill gates. I will have some parts for sale including a 32/36 weber and a z22 if anyone needs them obviously the engine leaks oil from a few spots but the weber has all of 1km on it or less from driving it in my garage and back out before i decided to go with the ka.

So if you guys had the engine out is there any seals you would replace that are prone to failure? Trying to keep this on a small budget as my GTR eats a lot of cash up and I am still working on building a small teardrop for this litle truck to tow.

[breadbox]

Just from my reading and stuff. Megasquirt is ideal for tunability and switching to MAP sensor.

If you are going KAeT you can ditch the 240sx ecu for a 200sx KAe ECU that IS pinned for consult and do NISTUNE. Which is what I want to try to do.

AND end thread jack.

[flinterman2000]

For 152000 kms that engine looks immaculate. We would like to see results asap. Keep it up.

[Nathyne]

Okay so didn't work on it as much this weekend as I would have liked but I made a little progress on my rear suspension. Borrowing a hoist next weekend so I thought I would try and tackle my rear bushings this afternoon. Almost have the leafs out but I have been working at those damn front bolts for like an hour and they are just too stubborn what has anyone else done to get them out? I tried a slide hammer prying them hitting them from the other side all to no avail they have moved at the most a 1/4 inch. Going to see if I can pickup new ones tomorrow if I can i'll just cut them out.

Here are a few pics not very exciting but something to look at atleast



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this bolt at the front (right) are the annoying ones!



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old bushings pretty much fell apart when I took them out.



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picture of the nasty on the rear of the box

[Nathyne]

Made a bit of progress today uncle didn't end up getting a hoist for me but I did manage to finish my rear suspension rebuild and took my front end apart along with getting the engine completely ready to pull. Here are a couple pictures.


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seems like he hit something with the brush guard bumper is bent along with the rad support just on the right side along with the bracket so I guess that's why it was crooked.

Going to fix some rust and repaint the fenders and such while I have everything apart.



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this is how I got those stubborn bolts out on the front of the leaf springs it worked decently bent them a bit but these were not coming out at all just had to hammer them back a little bit.

[Nathyne]

Pulled the engine out. Took the oil pans off to make one out of both. Was a bunch of plastic in the ka24s oil pan any ideas? timing chain tensioner? What do you guys use to clean off oil? don't want to breathe in a whole can of degreaser to clean the bell housing and stuff out.

Here are some pictures


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[fastboatman29212]

Wire brush and putty knife to break up the thick stuff, then a rag and maybe a wire brush again, then try brake cleaner. Catch the dripping brake cleaner and use it again on a rag. Dawn dish detergent breaks down grease that's thin. and is good for a final rinse.

[Nathyne]

Okay I'll give that a shot this thing shot oil everywhere. Also i guess it's the timing chain guide should i just replace it or some other stuff as well like the chain and tensioner?

[flinterman2000]

Depends on your budget. Change what you can. The chain may not need changing, but new is always better.

[Nathyne]

Started working on the oil pans don't have too much done yet. If i could start again I would have used the whole bottom piece from the ka one instead of welding them together seeing as i ran into clearance problems at the front.

Here is a picture



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[Nathyne]

Update! haven't been working a ton on it as you can tell but here is an update!

I'll just post the pictures no need to explain them.



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[N-Dually]

Nice job! I need to replace all of my bushings also!

[Nathyne]

Thanks those bushings are a bit of a pain. Worked on her again today tried to use the 240sx mounts engine sat too high and too far back to bolt flush against the transmission have them out now with the engine held up by the hoist going to modify them this weekend. Got my starter modified both the bell housing and the starter were threaded so I just drilled out the threads on the starter and ran the bolts through it. Also my oil pan just doesn't seem to want to cooperate just doesn't clear the front diff does anyone have a picture of a 4x4 d21 ka24e oil pan? might try and use one of those. If all else fails i might just take out my front diff and remove the drive shaft and axles and run 2wd until I do my sas need to park my GTR soon. Has anyone done that? Also used a rb26clutch and flywheel everything bolted up fine and seems to be working properly should be able to hold the power when I decide to jump the gun and turbo it

[synack7350]

man I dunno but that Ka looks sick bro! could never find one that clean with that mileage in these parts. I looked at a drive train with less klicks and it looked like s*** compared to that! good find.

[Nathyne]

Update! New rubber and rims hard to get a picture in a single car garage. Just going to run these as a temp will buy some 33s once I do the SAS. Rims off a wagoneer I guess just fit over the hubs had to sand the oxidation off for them to slide on nicely lol.



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Slowly finishing up on the engine swap. Just need to figure out what connection goes where with the alternator (the two prong connector), finish my fuel system, figure out where some vacuum lines go, wire in the ecu and figure out what to do with my power steering pump z22 one will mount on the top but need a bottom bracket plus it completely blocks off the throttle body maybe a D21 pump will work. That's about all i have left! should have it running this week. Oh ya and need to find a 240sx downpipe to steal the bracket off to mount onto my ka24e exhaust manifold no 240s at the junk yards around me might try a D21 one. Also if you know the ka24es vacuum lines check out the ka section for my post!

[JoeCool6972]

Good progress so far!

[Nathyne]

Another update!

Finished off my fuel system today used the existing hard lines and changed the rubber ones to high pressure lines. Used a walbro 190lph pump. Just need to make my intake, rewire it (wired it with an incorrect ecu pinout...) and put the d21 oil pan in wasn't happy with mine. Also removed my front diff and axles in prep for sas and so i can drive it in 2wd without modding the oil pan again to clear the diff (my welding sucks lol).

[Nathyne]

Update!

Made a temporary intake it's a little more restrictive than I want was like 40$ total and going to use the filter for my second one. Going to relocate the battery once she runs and I make sure there are no wiring problems before i possibly add more. Also had to modify the new oil pan to clear the 240sx block support, used some thicker sheet metal and was a million times easier. I have a cheapo 199$ mig welder and it only has two heat setting. Low was too high to weld the sheet metal i used on the first one so it was a bugger to make oil tight. The thicker sheet metal is much better and don't need to worry about punching a hole in it even though the engine is installed already.

Picture! justed used two 2" rubber couplings and a piece of 2" pvc and a pvc 90 sits right in front of the engine.


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Truck will be running this weekend and i should be driving it next week!

Also forgot when i relocate the battery will put the intake there with larger metal piping with a lot shorter of a run so should be much better! I doubt this one is better than oem maybe if i used metal piping so the internal diameter was bigger it would be but not with the 2" stuff. Sorry for the rambling on :P

[Nathyne]

Not running yet but the oil pan is in and oil tight finally damn 199$ flux core welders... Anyways wired it and I am having some problems if you know anything about wiring the swap check out my post in the ka forum. Just have to modify my down pipe, make a throttle cable and figure out my power steering. Not too sure what to do with the power steering I know the z22 one had a reservoir and the ka24 one doesn't the z22 one wont clear the intake is it possible to run the ka24 one out of the 240 if i just adapt the connections or will it not hold enough fluid? if you have any ideas let me know!

Picture of the engine in its current state



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wow realized I have been saying it will be running soon for months... oopsies!

[Nathyne]

SHE IS ALIVE!

Started it up today after trouble shooting for eons about why it wasn't starting turned out to be three things

Started right up and idled perfectly once everything was how it was supposed to be if that made any sense lol. Plug number 4 had oil and grit on it wasn't burning oil when i ran it today i'll know once i start driving it if some is going amiss. Just need to do a few mundane things and i'll take it for it's first drive and post more pictures as I have cleaned up the engine bay a bit.

Will also do a idiots guide to the wiring as well i know i could have used one.

Just need to do my power steering (found a solution D21 has remote reservoir so i'll use one of them with the 240s pulley on it so the belt matches) then i'll start gathering parts for the SAS!

[Nathyne]

Truck drives!
My RB26DETT clutch works well. Engages quite early but nothing i couldn't get used to. Should hold all the power I need no problem with that little ka
Truck is about 10x faster if i hit the gas i can actually accelerate!

Here is what I put in:

KA24E 152000kms from a 90 240sx
Stock 4 speed transmission (how strong are these anyways?)
RB26 6 puck clutch (was rated around 400 ft lbs i believe)
cheap custom intake out of pvc and generic filter will relocate my battery soon so I can build a better one
Wiring harness and ecu from an 89 240sx
190lph holly/walbro pump Came with holly warranty box and stuff but says walbro right on it


Still left to do:
reinstall down pipe with gaskets (truck is loud and leaks like crazy there)
Power steering pump
Finish fixing and bed lining the floor
Wire up the lights on the roll bar
Mount ecu and clean up wiring in cab
Wire in the check engine light
some kind of water temp gauge
order and install some studded general grabber tires for when the snow flies

This winter I plan to:
Install some new buckets, paint the interior
order some new fenders front valence and paint them all a dark dark blue along with my tailgate
More general maintenance stuff
Gather parts for solid axle swap

In the spring I plan to:
Do the solid axle swap
install painted parts and paint cab
look for a rust free bed (haha i wish...)

And in the summer one word. Turbo! I want to do a very mild turbo 5-7psi 180-200 hp is the goal thinking about upgrading the intercooler on my car and using it in my truck should be more than sufficient also have some 444cc injectors already.

Updated pictures! not very exciting but slowly this truck is coming together I am hoping next year to have a pretty nice little datsun



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Sorry for the bad pictures but just taking them on my phone.

[synack7350]

god that looks seckzy

[flinterman2000]

Seeing all the progress on this forum keeps my spirits high. Hope to post something positive about me build soon.

[Nathyne]

Drove it for the first time to work today 60km trek. Drove great apart from being bloody noisy ordered an exhaust manifold so didn't want to buy down pipe gaskets if i have new stuff on the way but i will be i guess. With no sound deadening i feel like i am driving in a tin can lol. Will put a thick coat bedliner on the floor and that should help some.

Picked up some junkyard parts today got an electric fan and all the power steering parts except box out of a D21 80$ for it all. Would anyone be interested in a thermostat controlled electric fan diy writeup?

Saw a winch and almost couldn't walk by it! was a 2000lb winch though so not really useful at all mounted on a custom rear bumper of the d21 was just a 1/4inch thick 6 x 2 piece of c channel.


also add on to the list of future mods:
5 speed from a R33 skyline with an RB25DET

[Nathyne]

Well i haven't been on here for a really long time nor have i done any work over the winter on my 720 but I have picked up a few parts and done a lot of planning for the SAS weather is warming up will be time for me to work on the truck again soon and I am itching to do so as you can see it is turning into more of a off road build than a DD.

I picked up a couple little things a Dana44 front and chevy 12 bolt rear full width axles for her
Going to do a 3 link with panhard up front. Once i pick up some tires and strip all the IFS out then i'll decide on a possible ride hight and if i need to step up and extend the frame to be as low and long as i want. Lower link mounts will be mounted on the outside of the frame rails and will have some rear link mounts on them as well when i decide to go to a 4 link rear. I will be cutting away most of the fenders to fit 36-38" tires (whatever size i find for cheap) to keep it low. Wont start cutting stuff out until i finish up my GTR in my garage (just doing a timing belt and need to prep and fill in a few dents on my hood for paint). But I'll be buying some plate to start making brackets pretty quick. Not too much to show for my plans yet but i have been planning all winter . Here is a teaser pic just have stripped the front apart found a few bad bearings and ground a few mounts off.


Dana 44 cover and one caliper done along with a bunch of parts I am reusing the bearings seemed to be either new or just completely siezed in this diff one hub got water and dirt in it somehow.


sorry it is a little fuzzy

more to come in the coming weeks I promise!