New to the Site: My Z
 

I'm new to here and thought I'd share my project. Most of this is copy pasted from another forum so it might seem jumbled.
I'm going to use this thread to document the build of my new to me 240z.
Here is the car the day after I bought it. I found it on Craiglist for $3250. An old lady was selling the car. Her husband had recently passed away and she just wanted it out of her garage. I was able to talk her down to $2500. The car had the original Nissan Motor keys, owner's manual, and service records!!! Only 60,000 original miles. It wasn't running but a new battery, spark plugs and gas fixed that. I had it towed from Boulder to Highlands Ranch (thank god for AAA) and had it running in about an hour and a half.
Here it is the second day. Look at the paint! After washing and buffing/waxing it still has some gloss in it! My girlfriends brother is an auto body guy, so I plan on painting/ fixing the dents and rust on the car while I'm building it.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...8/055345a1.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...8/58b06458.jpg
I immediately started ordering parts for it ::driver::
Here is the spoiler I put on it:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...8/466f5a9b.jpg
I also ordered fender flares and a front vented air dam:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...8/7910f304.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...8/990fea5d.jpg
I'm waiting to put the fender flares on for when I have my wheels. I plan on going with 17x10 in the rear and 17x9 up front but I'm thinking I may go wider in the rear. We'll see!
And here's a little teaser of what's to come:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...8/a13e4441.jpg

got the front air dam on. Being an ex composites worker, the quality of the part was less than acceptable. But I made it work with only one part that did not fit properly.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...8/59053ebf.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...8/b6459e92.jpg
Look what showed up Wednesday:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...8/9665d3f2.jpg

I took the engine to a buddies shop in Sedalia, which is about 20-30 minutes south of where I live in Littleton. I had originally planned on doing the swap there, but I decided against it. So there my engine sat for the last two months. My girlfriend bought a house in august, and closed the 1st of September, so we had our hands full with fixing it up. (Thanks obama :doh: ) After it sat for two months I decided to move it to our house. The day before I was bored at work and looking for a transmission. You can use the 300ZX transmission if you bolt the RB front half of the bell housing to it. I found a great deal just by luck and called the guy immediately. The next day I had a 1992 JDM 300ZX TT transmission sitting in my garage.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...8/DSCF0335.jpg
And then the fun began. Seeing as how many people can be shady about JDM parts, I decided I'm going to give this engine a nice refresh. New piston rings, bearings, gaskets all around, hone, etc. I started tearing into it and at first thought I was in way over my head. I had never worked on anything Nissan before, let alone a GTR engine!
RB26 Bitches!


After working on it over the weekend/today here is how the engine sits right now.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...8/DSCF0358.jpg
The right side is much dirtier...
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...8/DSCF0357.jpg
This weekend I plan on pulling the head, rods/pistons, and crank out to take the block to a machine shop.
Oh, and since I <3 JDM ish (fan boi?) here are the badges I have for "her"
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...8/8f5f5cd9.jpg
One more thing, yes I know I probably shouldn't have the engine bolted to the stand from the flywheel housing. After looking at the FSM I need to buy the correct mounting bracket. Anyone know where to get one? It will help immensely since right now its so heavy I can't rotate it on my stand. :rant:
I picked up my plates yesterday.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...8/fdf0fddc.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...8/DSCF0322.jpg

very nice. good luck with build.

looks like a cool project welcome to Zilvia

will be keeping an eye on this build. looks very promising.

Thanks for all the comments guys. I'm buying a Nismo oil pump this week, and then I probably won't be buying much for it until the summer. I've got a trip planned to Japan for two weeks in July and need to save for that.

Cool guy and cool project ;) Keep it going Ricky!

what a great find, awesome condition. sexy car. youre putting a rb26 in it? thats ridiculous!

Subscribed. You probably already know about this ( your original thread might be there ), but HybridZ has a great deal of info on RB swaps.

Good luck with your build. Do that Z justice.

Nice car! looks cool glwb

awesome, can't wait for the updates...

note: plz get a better chain, i had a sr drop from 2 feet up with that skinny chain. eeek

damn now this is what i call a build...keep us updated yo

The engine isn't held up by the chain. I have an engine stand, I just had the chain there for insurance. It was one of the thickest I could buy and still fit bolts through the center. I have it positioned much better on the stand as well.

nice build i one day want a 240z or a roadster. shoulda kept it in the z family and put a vq motor in!

VQ's are POS..That would have been a horrible idea

If I were going to do a V series I would've done a VR38 hahaha.

kinda sucks to modify a car that clean and original....


but have fun with it!

Bringing this back... to say it's no more. I sold the Z. Wish the project would have been complete, but I just didn't have the time for it. I bought a 1995 Skyline GT-R V-Spec

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...8/e3c1f3cc.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...8/5caa8129.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...8/b51c2c59.jpg

i mean, that works too haha

I like what you've done to it!!! lol. Nice buy.

LOL, it was quite the upgrade. Custom flares, hood, fenders, rear end, roof. :D

you bought a skyline motor and said...WTH, i might as well buy a skyline.

nice buy though.

well damn, haha. nice upgrade!

pulled a complete 180 there haha nice buy though!

haha! great buy!!!

haha damn straight what an upgrade! gl

haha nice bro, question-- where did you go to get those fender flares for the z?

Would've kept the Z honestly, a good Z is hard to find and a damn sight cooler than a R33.

That being said though, that's a good looking 33, nice and simple, with some awesomely rare wheels.

I ordered them from thezstore.com I believe. Came as a kit with the flares, airdam, and rear spoiler.

The Z would have been cool, but I love the Skyline so much more. I'm just not a classic car kinda guy. I did think about keeping it, but it just wasn't feasible.

both look stunning. sad to hear the 240 project didnt happen, but no complaints seeing its replacement!