Project: 600Z; 1971 240Z build thread

[jrb240]

So I finally decided to rejoin the NICO brotherhood, and this time its with my 1971 240Z. My idea was to build the "do it all" car. Something I could use on the track, but still not TOO uncomfortable for the street. In addition to this plot, I wanted to modernize almost all of the mechanical aspects of the car, as well as some subtle styling without losing the awesome look of the Z.....

Day one

First round of disassembling. Very happy. I got lucky with this car. The only rust is some light surface rust and a 1/4" hole at the edge of one rear fender well!

Full DOM roll cage installed



Removing the turd. To be replaced by a 6.0L turbocharged V8!

New rear floor pan for the fuel cell.

Some fresh paint for the cage.

New black mahogany steering wheel

H1E turbo

Rear adjustable coil overs by T3 (yes I have the fronts too)

Adjustable RLCA's by T3

Adjustable FLCA's by T3

All the necessary parts to use the R200 in my Z. I also has custom Dutchman axles made to hold all of the powa

I have a new dash cover, some gauges, and some other random stuff I'll have other pics of up soon.

Let me know what you guys think of it so far!
Modified by jrb240 at 10:03 PM 3/16/2010

[Eikon]

So you sold the 'vert?Now you're building a V8 Z... LOVE IT!

I want to do the same thing. But i'm poor while going back to grad school.

What motor are you using?

I've got a pair of LQ4's in my garage just waiting for someday in the future when they can come back to life.

Nice project Josh!!!

Catch you later.

[gmac708]

This is going to be awsome!

[jrb240]

Yep, sold the 'vert...:-/ But I'm going all out with the Z. I have some 5 lug hubs on the way from Modern Motorsports too. I stripped all of the old and busted stock suspension today and prepped it for undercoating and for all of the new goodies. I'm going with an LQ9, forged internals, good boost cam, LS6 intake, and that big ole' H1E. I've seen boosted LQ9's make over 700hp and over 800tq on 19psi from a comparable turbo. (not that the Z needs that kind of power...) Also, mocked up the ZG flares, more pics soon.

[evildky]

what turbo is that?

[Eikon]

Holset H1E

[evildky]

looks like about 72 lbs/min, thats a lot of air!

[jrb240]

Yes sir. That'll be just right for the six liters of fury

[Eikon]

If you've already bought the motor.. then the die is cast. If you haven't bought the motor yet, then I might suggest you rethink your motor choice.

The LQ4 is the better motor for a turbo application because it has dished pistons resulting in a 9.4:1 compression ratio, while the LQ9 has flat top pistons which give it a 10:1 ratio. As we all know, lower compression is better for turbo motors..

You could say you are planning to rebuild the motor and would replace the pistons, but in that case, you might as well pick up the cheaper LQ4 motor to start your project with...

Anyhow.. like I said, all worthless advice if you already have the motor in your hands.

[evildky]

low compresion turbo's are for sissies not to mention he can run different pistons, or heads to make his CR whatever he wants

[Eikon]

Agreed.. he can swap pistons, heads, etc... but my point was.. if you're going to do that, you might as well start with the less expensive lq4 block if you are just going to take it apart anyhow.. The only difference between the two is the pistons.. and yet somehow the LQ9 goes for hundreds more than the LQ4 for the cost of a used motor.

anyhow... sorry Josh, I'll quit trying to take over your thread.. lol. But I will def. keep an eye on it. I can't wait to see your progress.

[jrb240]

Agreed.. he can swap pistons, heads, etc... but my point was.. if you're going to do that, you might as well start with the less expensive lq4 block if you are just going to take it apart anyhow.. The only difference between the two is the pistons.. and yet somehow the LQ9 goes for hundreds more than the LQ4 for the cost of a used motor.

anyhow... sorry Josh, I'll quit trying to take over your thread.. lol. But I will def. keep an eye on it. I can't wait to see your progress.

I have not purchased the engine yet. I am planning on building the engine, and you raise a good point. I have not researched the LQ4 heads tho. That is something I was going to keep from the LQ9, as they are nearly identical to those of the LS6. If the LQ4 heads are the same, then I would definitely go LQ4 because of cost. If you know of any LQ4's for sale then I would definitely entertain the idea of owning one, at the right price... No worries on jacking my thread. Your words are helpful and I appreciate it. Anyone else who may have ideas or constructive criticism is also welcome.

[Eikon]

If you go LQ4, stay away from the 99/00 model year because they have heavy iron heads, plus you can't use a T56 trans due to the crank being machined specifically for the 4l80e trans. Of course if you are rebuilding the whole thing from scratch, you could get an ls1 crank and be just fine. I think the 01+ years are identical to LQ9.. aluminum heads... I think they are the same 317 casting heads.

The only other thing i've heard is that the LQ9 may have different rods... but i've heard of people putting 1000+ hp to an LQ4 stock block. So I wouldn't stress it.

I wasn't planning on going turbo, so I picked up a set of L92 heads which are supposed to flow some nutso hp NA. I guess they dyno over 500hp with an aggresive cam. I figured 500hp would be more than enough in an 240sx or 240z.

[jrb240]

I just like a little overkill. I would like to be using 50% of my engine's/turbo/injectors/w/e else's ability and make 500whp rather than use 90% of my engines/turbo/injectors/w/e else's ability and make 500whp

[jrb240]

Just an update: welded new flanges on my fuel cell and sent it along with many other parts to the powder coater today. Also, my Modern Motorsports 5 lug front hubs came in!! Just ordered a set of ARP studs and I'm tearing apart the brakes and preparing them for powder coating as well....

[evildky]

500 whp is only about 70% of what that turbo si capable of, for 500 whp goal I'd keep it n/a, stoke it and poke it, ballanced, cammed, ported and tuned

[jrb240]

Its just easier and cheaper to do it on boost. Plus, who doesn't love the sound of a boosted V8???

[jrb240]

assembling suspension, hand painting quarter emblems, undercoating, powder coating........been too busy to post. Pics of all progress to be posted this week. Engine/trans. mock up this weekend!!!

[jrb240]

Just back from the powder coater!!!

drip rails and window trim in semi gloss black

Calipers in candy red

red fuel cell. I left the top raw and am thinking of either having it polished or painted to match the roll cage since it will be seen through the rear glass

I also hand painted my quarter emblems!

this is a 50+rwhp cupcake. It'll be a great compliment to the H1E (happy birthday to me!)

[Eikon]

WOW.. those calipers look good enough to eat. Candy Red is right... holy smokes!

[jrb240]

Thanks buddy! I fell in love with the color when I saw it. It will compliment the anodized red lug nuts very well, imo.

[nissangirl74]

Keep the updates coming, I am subscribed

[jrb240]

I'm sorry that it has been so long. Recent business endeavors have not allowed me to keep you guys updated as mush as I would like, and haven't allowed much time for me and my Datsun...

Anyway, Here are some recent pics of the small things that I have been able to do in the last couple of months. No worries, though, this project is going back to the top of the list! The updates will be more frequent and the progress will be more significant now that it is finally a priority once again!


The rear suspension finally going on with the R200


Shiny, mountless, crossmember.


New front suspension being assembled.


The Datsun with the triplets... (My K-T Pro Late Models. Yes, I am the driver.)

[evildky]

what happened to the coil overs in the first post? decided not to hack up the housings? or was that just a stock pic? what inserts did you go with? spring rates?

[jrb240]

Those are the same coil-overs from the first pics. I just didn't have pics of the fronts in the first group of pics. Those are the rears. The fronts are the ones you see in the new pics with the spindle attached. They are 250lb springs all around. Something I can still use on the street, yet still aggressive enough for the track. I run as low as 150lb spring on my race cars with a big sway bar to keep the car from hitting the track. The key to them, though, is to make the tires do all of the work. The car literally rides 1/8" from the ground when the springs are compressed and is solely riding on bump stops and sway bar. Them you run low compression/high rebound in the shocks to hold the car down through the corner. I expect that I can get the Datsun dialed in pretty well at the track with what I have here. Anyway, sorry for rambling...lol. Yes, they are the same coil-overs from the original set of pics.

[DCaff300ZX]

Glad to see you are back at work on your Z, looking VERY sweet!

[Blown240sx]

Come on son get to work!! Give me a call when ya got some free time Josh and we will knock out all the suspension work.

[evildky]

oooohhh, you're using the seperate hub faces, thats just a bit to far to bother imho, at that point you might as well just redesign the whole irs architecture to accept more common parts

[jrb240]

Already have lol. I'm using custom axles, which are ready to install, made by Dutchman Axle that have Z32 splines and flanges. Everything to do with the IRS is all redesigned and accepts Z32 parts in some areas and S30 in others. I really like it since I get the modern style IRS setup, not to mention the strength and reliability of the R200, getting rid of the u-joint axles, and adding the indestructible custom Dutchman axles. After 10 years experience building and driving race cars, i believe that overkill is always the best option. I like knowing I can beat the crap out of it on the track and, as long as I don't crash it, I can drive it home without mechanical issues.

[jrb240]

Just got the rear all together, other than the lower control arms since I decided to have new brackets made for them. Not because I really needed them, just didn't like stamped steel brackets bolted to all of the new shiny machined parts... Here are some pics!!!!! (Custom axles, R200 diff, Z32 hubs, redesigned IRS by T3)