finally got a Z and wanted to say Hi!

[ce1lardoor]

Hey all,

About a month ago I got the itch to sell my lifted Jeep and get back into a fast car. I have owned a slew of speed machines in my years e36 M3, hawk eye STI, jeep grand cherokee SRT8, and an m5 to name some of the faster ones. None of them were stock. The first Z I saw in person was when I 12 or so and I went to the vet with my mom and our dog, sitting out front was a black on black t top 2+0 300zx TT. I swear my heart skipped a beat, turns out it belonged to the Dr. that ran the vetrinary clinic, we talked about his car for a bit and he even let me sit behind he wheel after he was done attending to our dog! I was hooked! 28 years passed before I finally decided to take the plunge into owning the temperamental beast. So i started looking for a candidate for my project, I came across a black on tan NA 2+0 for with a spare vg30de and I got the guy to throw in a 5.3l LS. The car is not pristeen but its a solid start, and i was looking for a project!

Now for the part that will get me crucified here. The plan is to build the 5.3l to around 500hp and then stuff it into the 300zx. I'm hoping to start aquireing parts shortly, sell the 2 vg30de's and start the process of building an unholy speed machine.

obligatory pictures!




well I guess thats all for now guys, I'll start a build thread if there is interest once I get the ball rolling. I look forward to learning all I can on here and being a part of this awesome community!

[DCaff300ZX]

Welcome!
It may not be the most chic swap for many, but there have been a few I've seen here and there and I've noticed in their posts that there are many swap components available for the sb chev swap, plus a few other things if you have that kind of $ and/or don't intend to fab things yourself. Biggest problem and result I've seen to the swap is the front end treatment for the intake snorkle on a GM intake, and engine height where dropping it and far enough back requires extensive steering and suspension mods in addition to all of the custom driveline and trans costs.
Good Luck!

[ce1lardoor]

Thanks man, I appreciate the kind words. This is not a short term plan I intend to take my time with it and do it properly!

[NolimitZ32]

Welcome aboard, fixed your pics for you, please use the [img] post feature next time for pics.

[Ziggy1621]

Welcome to Nico!!

[MrFeesLaw]

In all honesty an ls swap is my eventual goal as well. Will be a couple years down the road... I actually plan on building my parts budget into my home loan. Been doing a lot of research on the ls swap and some issues that may come up. Fitment is the main issue. The next one is getting all the electronics to work with the new harness, and building the frame to hold the power (If you are looking to make the numbers that I am). For now my car will stay as a vg30 with some mild mods until I start having major issues with it. That's when I will start working on my swap. Until then daily driver race car lol.

[RubyRed300ZX]

As Dcaff300ZX mentioned above, "Biggest problem and result I've seen to the swap is the front end treatment for the intake snorkle on a GM intake, and engine height where dropping it and far enough back requires extensive steering and suspension mods in addition to all of the custom driveline and trans costs."

Different engine but see pictures # 2 and #3: http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/csw/c ... 03294.html

Though just my opinion, I don't find it to be the most elegant look. In fact, I think it looses the sleekness in the lines of the Z32 almost completely.

[ce1lardoor]

I agree that a small block with the large air intake on top is not an option, I am going to go with an LS block with an ls1 or 6 intake manifold. With this set up I will be able to keep a stock look on the exterior, while retaining power steering, gauges, heat and even AC.

[MrFeesLaw]

Actually there is a company that now makes the conversion kit for an ls into the z32 300zx that will not require any suspension or front end modifications. It is all bolt on with a modified oil pan to lower the height of the engine. The best part...? They actually make a mating plate so it will bolt right onto the 5 speed transmission from the 300zx! Which, as many of us know, is the same transmission used in the R32 Skyline, and is rated to hold a ton of power with the right clutch. They also offer new transmissions, as well as racing clutches with the kit. It is pretty spendy (around $2000 for just the kit), but if you want an easy quick way to drop an ls in without modifying the frame or suspension, this is the way to go.

http://www.lojinnovations.com/z32%20kit.htm

[ce1lardoor]

Hey that's Mrfeeslaw! That is the kit that I decided to go with when I started forming this plan! I actually just placed an order Saturday with Steve (the owner) for a lq9 engine,swap kit, accessories drive, wiring harness and ecu, and a few other parts! Once he gets back from vacation it's all heading this way.

Then the plan is ls intake, l92 heads, cam and Springs. Possibly a full refresh/rebuild on the engine, while I'm messing with that I'm going to strip the zx and upgrade brakes and a few other things. Then it's stuff it all together and see if it runs Haha.

Steve has been very helpful and friendly I can't speak highly enough. I will put together a build thread once I get cracking if anyone is interested.

[DCaff300ZX]

Ah yes, that's the swap kit I'd seen before and many have had good things to say about. Spendy as mentioned but does a lot of work for you, but you still have the front snorkle issue to some extent which requires cutting the top core support and some other things I don't like myself.

Definitely post up your project!

[MrFeesLaw]

Sorry to post so late on this, but it kind of got lost in the shuffle of the forum...

I'm planning to do an l96 (6.0l v8) swap currently, and run a performance cam, and full custom exhaust I plan to make myself at my shop. Will also be adding a full turbo setup, including a precision turbo and upgrading the Z32 trans with J-spec Syncros to help it keep up with the torque. Looking to make around 800hp on the street running really low boost to make it more reliable for the street. Plan on maybe looking into an E85 tune and pushing the boost numbers up to see what I can make on the dyno. Would love to take it to the track on the race tune, and have a more comfortable street tune to drive when I want to go show-off.

Will post a list of all my planned parts later. Almost nothing is staying stock under the hood except the stock l96 block and head. The cam, injectors, coils, EVERYTHING will be swapped for a better version... My numbers are not cheap... I may be building my budget into my home loan later this year to make it easier to explain to the bank...