buying a tt clip from cpz

[Re037]

Hey guys, long time no post. Ive been dding a 74 260z for the past few months and im about to bite the bullet and go for the tt swap on my 92 2+2 5spd. yes the car has sentimental value

i know there are differneces of intake cams and exhaust housing for the turbos between auto and manual tt engines. just wondering which one would you guys recommend. i know the auto is rated 20hp lower in us spec but what about jdm spec? im thinking about getting an auto tt clip since odds are the engine had an easier life staying in lower revs. My power goals are not too outrageous. Ill prob stick with stock turbos or replace chras. Do you think its worth the extra money to roll dice for better intake cams on the manual front clip? the price difference is $3000 vs $3200

[t.mcginley.jr]

According to posts on tt.net the JDM auto vs 5-speed TT's had the same differences in intake cams and exhaust housings that the USDM TT"s had. So you should try to get a manual TT clip. Getting a JDM engine is rolling the dice anyway so there isn't really a difference between auto and manual as far as wear and tear is concerned. As for power differences, you should get the 5-speed. Another thing to note is if you got the auto JDM engine, you would need to remove an extra piece of metal at the end of the crank in order for you to get your pilot bushing in all the way. If you get the 5-speed you wont have to do that.

[300ZXttZMAN]

If I was in the market for a TT clip I would try to find a TTZ wrecked then go from there.

[andre1038]

yes like 300zxttzman said go that route if possible....... the JDM front clip route is like walking a fine line between a good and bad idea and it can become bad quick if you don't know what your getting. In my case i knew what i was getting and knock on wood the whole powertrain is solid no crazy stuff found everything on the car was stock all the way down to the clutch. The person obviously babied the car cause everything was up to date even the timing belt kit that was on the car but i am doing it anyway as a precaution. My clip was a 5speed tt


P.s becareful with the front clips now they could be from tsunami damaged cars. The risks outweigh the benefits. Even though i went this route i asked a lot of questions along the way because 3 to 4 k is not chump change. But if you happen to get a good Z then awesome cause its like getting a mint U.S 300zx tt just cut in half with EVERYTHING but the car is old so there isn't that many good cars left in Japan since the car is 20 yrs old.

U.S 300zxtt crashed = safe bet
JDM 300zx front clip = rolling the dice but if you land a good car JACKPOT like winning the lottery. Trust me when i got the clip the first thing i looked for was anything weird inside the engine or mods, absolutely nothing 100% stock with new parts. After inspection i looked at the car the whole day just happy i landed a mint clip.

[Re037]

cant find any low mileage wreck tts in socal. i did find a 96 tt in north carolina with 96k miles. would be 2-3k after all is said and done to get it over here. no vtc tho. and lower hp. its the red headed step child of z32s. porque nissan, porque!

i found a really clean jdm clip from a 2+2 tt. 62k km completely stock with rear subframe and driveshaft. it even has the stock radio in it. so many options. my brain is about to explode.

[andre1038]

Dont go for a 96 its the lame duck of them all. (sorry didnt meant to offend anybody with a 96tt) its just a OBD2 which is a pain when it comes to parts since that is the only year OBD2 was available on our cars.

i bought a 2+2 clip if you look up my build thread you will see what i did. What year clip ?

[300ZXttZMAN]

Yea def don't get a 1996 thats completely useless.

[Re037]

pretty sure its a 91, tweed trim, no airbags, black Z emblem on nose panel, old style ptu, auto cilmate control

heres the jdm vin if anyone knows how to read jdm vins

GCZ32-524418

KRGZ32JSHE6

[andre1038]

JDM vin to me is pretty much chasis code to identify it. Looks like a legit chasis number. mines is in the area of that number. Cool thing about front clip is the clear foglights and the fenders with the lights. What's condition? not mileage but like actual compression test numbers. I compression tested my front clip engine. Car was putting out awesome compression numbers. Also any warranty?

[Re037]

150 across the board on just 4 rotations. im pretty happy with it. 30 day warranty on block and heads only. time to order me tt fuel pump and wiring harness. should i buy new injectors?

[andre1038]

Replacing injectors is probably a very good idea but up to you if you want to shell out the money. I might have to as well due the early style injectors in the front clip i got and the one you are getting. I am in the process in buying a new harness with the new style injector harness already on it so i can upgrade to the pintleless injectors that don't have issues with the ethanol gas we are getting in today's gas

[nissanfreak12]

Along with injectors, I would also do 120k timing service, rear main seal, possibly oil pan, oil pump. Would make all this mandatory when doing a JDM clip whether it be in a clip or on a pallet. I would also strongly suggest either new CHRA's or new turbos, the ones in the clip are probably bad and it is a PAIN to replace them if they do go bad after you get the engine in. You will also not know the turbos are bad until you have them running in the car.

Just because you are getting the front clip, expect to spend double on just parts and a "just in case fund". It is expensive to swap to a TT. When I did mine I easily spent 4k to get it running and on the road, this is with me doing all the work myself. I have easily spent an additional 1k cause I was cheap and didn't replace certain things, injectors, water pump, and odd miscellaneous things. It adds up extremely fast.

Talk to some of the guys that have done swaps, just get an idea of what it takes.

[nissanfreak12]

150 across the board on just 4 rotations. im pretty happy with it. 30 day warranty on block and heads only. time to order me tt fuel pump and wiring harness. should i buy new injectors?

Was this cold or after the engine is warm? I would still be weary, those numbers can be, well lets say, altered. The warranty is total BS, very few people get the engine in the car and running good enough to drive around in 30 days, unless you have a ton of time or you take it to a shop, and still that will take a few weeks.

Im not trying to push you away from TT'ing your car, it is a blast when the turbos kick in, and do not regret it in any way. It is just an expensive venture, and swaps normally cost in the range of 6k-10k. I would personally wait until you find someone parting with a TT engine that can prove with you there the compression or even rebuild one yourself.

I do have a JDM engine, but this was bought from a running car that got wrecked, the guy was even able to start it up and I was able to hear it and compression test it before he pulled it out. If anything go on projectZ32, look up Zdreams, pm him. He might be able to get you a deal on a TT engine or even point you in the right direction. Coz is a good guy, I have never had issues with him and has always helped me out. Some others have on this forum, but this is my .02 about him. He used to get his clips through Pitstop, which s what I heard, which is where his shop used to be at in Phoenix, I had a few bad experiences with Pitstop and would not trust them. Some of the guys had good experience on the project Z site, so maybe ask around if Coz does get through them.

Whatever you decide to do, just make sure you do your homework and ask questions, A LOT OF QUESTIONS. We are all here to help.

[Re037]

150 on a cold engine. $3600 before shipping. pricey but i think it might be worth it. because of crappy exchange rates, front clips are going up in price recently. i contacted elite jdm and they told me they are not importing any in as of right now and prices would see a 30% increase if they did. so with that, they decided to just wait, while other importers are buying crappier engines to make up for the yen-dollar ratio.

i was looking at cpz's refurbed conversion package as well.

http://www.conceptzperformance.com/Cart ... 8.87.52.70

$7200 for a resealed and assembled longblock with rebuilt turbos but rings are not replaced and lifters are not new either. ideally, I would buy ipp's stage 1 long block and get new/rebuilt oem everything else but that option gets even pricier fast. im aware the swap is costly and ready to pay for it, but im not looking to go all out. found a 95 wrecked tt in texas with 90k miles. lightly modified so probably beat on as well. cpz's tt 5 spd clip has no warranty either and "We are not responsible for any missing parts, unless it's part of the long block(engine)" so im kinda worried about that too.

as for injectors which kit are you looking at andre1038?

found this on z1

http://www.z1motorsports.com/product_in ... ts_id=4558

and this on cpz, not sure if its pintleless however.

http://www.conceptzperformance.com/Cart ... 8.87.52.70

[NolimitZ32]

Getting into the $7k+ territory it may be beneficial to look at a refurb longblock or IPP option and then collecting other parts separately because really you need to be concentrating on the health of the engine and turbos, everything else is much cheaper in comparison.

[andre1038]

yea cause im purchasing a new/used wiring harness from a guy at tt.net his harness has the new style injector harness already on it so i might as well upgrade. i might look into those injectors from CZP and see if they are pintle-less. If not then i will just convert the new harness im getting back to the old style and keep the new style connectors for the day i upgrade to some 740cc

im also purchasing a new/used RPS clutch kit from him. only 3000 miles on it looks really good. He decided to part out his NA converted TT so he has a lot of new used parts (parts that were just recently installed before parting out began)

Been watching classified forums on nico and tt.net like a hawk buying things that i need

[Re037]

well after doing some math, with the jdm clip im looking at combined with misc parts (harness, fuel pump, motor mounts, etc), im estimating it to be around 6k after all is said and done. but then id have many parts left over to resell and make some money back...

the cpz refurbed engine conversion kit is about $7600 shipped... with new turbos, and a lot of stuff. only draw back is id still want the taller tt rear diff. or a q45 diff. its still unclear if the refurbed package is indeed a 'complete drop-in' ordeal. doesnt mention anything about some of the accessories (intake plenum, injectors, idle control, fuel pressure regulator, etc)

im leaning towards the refurbed package from cpz now. but it is really hard to justify nearly 8k...

[BigTDogg (MA)]

Where are you located? There's a guy in CT selling his 50K mile (certified) TTZ engine complete with alt and PS pump, turbos injectors, everything. He said he'd ship.

[nissanfreak12]

only draw back is id still want the taller tt rear diff. or a q45 diff.

Why? I have the NA rear end, and other than 1st gear being really short and when I get on it all I really do is smoke tires. A mod some guys do is swap out for the NA rear end, that and it deletes the hicas. I love the deeper gears. I am pushing about 400 hp and have zero problems with it. I even get about 24 mpg on the highway and 19 mpg in the city. I have no idea why, but its better mileage than my old NA, as long as I don't get on it a lot.

If your still on the fence about the refurbished thing, call Coz and talk to him. Word of advice, nothing is "drop in", there are things you are going to need, things that need to be replaced

Look on the classifieds, look in other cities, shipping is going to be expensive whether you have it shipped 400 miles or 1500 miles. Dropping 6-8k is no joke and we don't want you to have a bad taste in your mouth for these cars cause you went JDM and the engine failed. Some have had good luck, others not so much. Do it right and do it once.

[nissanfreak12]

Also another thought, I know you want swap it in your car, but why not actually buy a running TT for the 6-8k, swap everything out of the TT into the NA and vise versa, then turn around and re-sell the now NA? Think of it as buying a parts car, but instead you will get a bigger return when you sell it and you know you will have all the stuff you need to swap it. This case you can drive it, see how it feels, how it runs, and even swap in some stuff that may be "trashed" in your car.

Doing it this way you can actually fly to the place your buying it and drive it back, could be cheaper than shipping.

[t.mcginley.jr]

someone is selling a 95 TT swap for $3k on the Facebook Z32 buy/sell parts group. The ad says it comes with engine, trans, a/c lines, and pipes? Not sure what he means by pipes but that might not be a bad choice if he can confirm the miles and compression results. Then you just have to put some money in to get additional parts

+1 on keeping the NA diff, its better in several ways

[andre1038]

Nissanfreak and all the others have a point. getting the clip is just step 1 (this step costs alot of money). Look since your converting ur Z its best to buy parts from someone parting out theirs or just sell ur NA and buy a good TT. 6 to 7 grand is alot!! i bought a front clip due to me getting it at a good price. $3600 shipped to the shop, then from their i took it home. But my car is an original TT just needed to be turned around which i am in the process of doing. I see it this way, If you are not sure about the clip don't do it! you want to be sure on your decision when it comes to that kind of money. In my case i was sure. The car was a complete car (not modified 2+2 twin turbo 5sp) that was running that i had cut so i can get all the goodies i needed. Front clips are a gamble you need to be sure you are gonna come out winning. Get this even though i got it out a running RHD Z im still doing the 120k timing belt kit (water pump,seals,, ,belts, tensioner, etc....the whole thing was like $550 in parts) I even bought an oil pan for the motor (from a fellow Z32 guy) because i don't want low pressure issues since the whole front clip sat on a pallet. I am doing main seals as well and all coolant hoses underneath the plenum. Buying the front clip is just the beginning man you still are gonna need a couple more $$$ at least and time and effort to get it done right.

[Re037]

yeah, i know its gonna cost a lot but i'm prepared for it. it was either go tt, or get a scion fr-s. i've just been through so much with this car, not just as a learning experience but personally as well. in the past 5 years ive owned this car ive done 120k timing, clutch flywheel, 1 piece driveshaft, coolant bypass, new injectors, heater core, underdrive pulley, egr, pcvs, knock sensor, too many plenum pulls to count. i feel like a tt swap is my next learning progression. plus my fiancee and i had our first kiss in this car, she doesnt want me to sell it... ever. happy wife = happy life

[andre1038]

Then convert it! You Remind me of myself with my TT Z. I have learned so much on it that i don't want to get rid of it at all. My last name ends with a Z lol its meant for me to have this car, Idk but i get a feeling every time i look at the car im looking at a reflection of myself just in car form. Call me attached or w.e lol. And the FR-S i like the car a lot (i work at a dealership as a tech) but no power! rather buy a used S2k to get the handling feeling with more power. Subaru BRZ would be my choice if i were to get one of the two (in world rally blue) but knowing me i would wait for a turbo version of the vehicle (if it ever comes out).

[Re037]

well good news. i found a way decode a japanese serial plate. I got a hold of nissans "FAST" parts info system and dled a japanese database from another forum. 524418 = june of 92 build date. also got us, canadian and eu databases as well.

[andre1038]

Do you still have access to that database? i would like to know when exactly my front clip was built

[Re037]

Sure, just give me the serial.

[andre1038]

523445

[Re037]

KRGZ32JSHE6

dec of 91, color code 732, int color g, 4 seater, manual

it checks all models too, so if anyone needs to look up skyline or s13 clips. lmk.

[andre1038]

That is all accurate. The car was a 2+2 TT and since it was made in december of 91 it is essentially a 92 model and its manual. Everything checked out on my clip Thanks Re