homeslicej2

Wow, just wow. I'm loving the amount of actual fabrication going on in this build. Great job on the build thus far.

JDMJNKY

The raw talent in here is suffocating. Awesome build.

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donandal

Here’s an update on the build….
These are .042” thick aluminum inner fenders. They tuck behind the lip of the fender and eliminate the need for the factory fender braces as well. The compound curves were made with the English wheel. The factory plastic liners rubbed the tires.

more inner fenders




We also did the conversion to three point belts with winders. This bracket is stainless steel polished smooth where the belt rubs. Behind the pillar is a steel plate with nuts welded in place. The notch was made for the seat belt to run thru.





Making the wiring adapt to the wipers looked more difficult than making an adaptor plate and using the 350Z wiper motor. The actuator arm had to be modified with a new arm and socket ball from the SX, and a rubber gasket/pad against the firewall, but it wasn’t too difficult. It also was a little smaller and fits well.






More to follow…..

CamryOnBronze

Awesome build- keep it up!

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holemilk00

aaaahhh I'm doing the same thing for finder liners as you did, I didn't bother with the top pieces and the compound angle/curves because I would still rub regardless of how tight I made it. You beat me to it. haha really nice work on them though, I never thought to make the bottom front section two piece.

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conrad_s13.5

this shits amazing!

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cONtRol FReAkS

MillS14

Tight work, and great build quality man!

PoorMans180SX

Your work quality is pretty sweet, but I am very confused as to why you are doing some of the things you are.

Why use a 350Z gas tank? That's pretty pointless.

350Z wiper motor? Even more so.

Why are you keeping all of the 350Z wiring in general? You're working wayyyy too hard.

Also, why are you looking to keep soooo much suspension travel in the front? Are you running really low spring rates?

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JDMJNKY

This build should go down in history....a proven testament to what you can do! Very methodically built and I'm infatuated with it. :thumbup:

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dutchsx

awesome! one of the most creative things i have ever seen!

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Starfire97

amazing, want to be my dad for a few months? save me a ton of money on a swap, and i'll actually walk away with some fabrication skills

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donandal

We didn't use the 350Z gas tank.....we used the 350Z fuel pump and fuel qty pickups in a 240SX tank that we modified with an additional riser. Both a sending unit and pump that just plugged right in, and will be easy to service from the trunk

350Z wiper motor... well, that's the one that works with the stalk on the column with the least hassle, plus it's new.

Keeping the 350Z wiring...we kept everything 350Z wiring so we could use all of the gauges,the speedometer,all of the emissions,all of the A/C controls and heater climate controls,all of the headlite and steering column swithes and controls, etc.
but mostly, unless you are an EXPERT at wiring, getting rid of the NATS,wiring up the body control module and ECU, and getting it to run seemed like a LOT more work to us. We wanted a reliable, emmisions legal street legal car. It started up and ran perfect first try. Our research indicated a lot of potential problems getting a VQ35HR to start and run.I guess that's why.

The suspension travel is a little less than four inches TOTAL.... we are running 6"/ 400 lbs up front, because that's the SOFTEST rate we could find from Eibach. We can always go stiffer. That leaves about 2 inches from static to coilbind at our ride height....to my way of thinking that's not very much at all...and that's why it won't be slammed any lower either. At full bump we will have just over an inch of clearance at the skid plate from the pavement.

As far as working Wayyyy too hard... isn't that the point?
otherwise......just go out and buy it!

RussellM

THIS!

Im glued to this thread. I have stopped checking cnn and espn updates and I now come here. Thanks!

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newslidz

love this build and everything about it.. and the fact that your going so far outside of what people on zilvia do is even better.. sure you use some of the same parts these guys do but your methods are far greater.. Even if they dont approve atleast you know your not gonna see another anywhere close to this pop up like some of these cars... I absolutely see your points behind keeping so much of the 350z stuff when its all plug in play.

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PoorMans180SX

Whatever floats your boat I guess. Your part of New York must be different than the one that I stayed in, we didn't need so much emssions stuff, it was safetly inspection pass or fail.

Nats and all that garbage can be eliminated with a simple ECU flash.

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secondtonone317

OUTSTANDING WORK.....very clean

stephens14sr

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yomisiu

wow great build!

donandal

Those top pieces probably don't do a lot anyway, we just wanted to close it all up, then we'll spray it all with undercoating or bedliner. We made the bottom front from two pieces in case Allen wants a different front or lip, then we can just modify that one flat piece and it's easy to take off.

bb4_96

I like the way nothing is really half assed on this car. I think that's what makes it different. The goal was reliability with the swap, and proper time and energy is being exerted for such. I didn't read everyone elses posts yet but I'm waiting for zilvia to chime in with:

-Doesn't the VQ seem like a waste when an LSX can be had for a fraction of the cost?
-Why do all that hard work when you could just cobble together a sketchy drift car?
-You know you could have gotten some XXR's for less.

nomoremk2

This should be stickied and set as the standard for what a build thread should contain. It's as though you really put a 350z inside a 240sx, I love it. I'm glad you guys kept all the OEM z wiring you could and didn't just hack a harness together like most of these. Not sure if you covered this yet or not but what are the plans aesthetically?

donandal

No I guess we didn't really cover the final plans for the look yet. Allen had some thoughts early on about some mild body enhancements, but hasn't settled on anything yet ( that He's told me anyway ). He did chose a color.
It's Nissan Millenium Jade. The engine bay is allready painted that color.
We'll probably drive it for a year or so, before it's painted.
Thanks

donandal

No I guess we didn't really cover the final plans for the look yet. Allen had some thoughts early on about some mild body enhancements, but hasn't settled on anything yet ( that He's told me anyway ). He did chose a color.
It's Nissan Millenium Jade. The engine bay is allready painted that color.
We'll probably drive it for a year or so, before it's painted.
Thanks

donandal

hey that's funny... a double post...
actually we lost power during a thunderstorm and it got sent
twice...haha

HS13KLS

That metal work is sick!! Nice work!

mrchomponthis

I never post on build threads, but I just had to say I envy your craftsmanship.

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donandal

Ok,
Here is the next update… this is the interior progress.
The dash from the Z was disassembled and the two bigger pieces of the dash were loosely mocked up over the 240SX steering column and old steel dash support.


It looked like everything would fit with a little trimming. We could use a “cut” line in the dash at each side and would end up with a clean look…perhaps. The steel sub-frame for the dash was mocked up and it looked good as well. At the proper distance for the steering column used from the Z, there would be a gap at the front of the panel at the windshield, but the curves looked natural and we could fabricate an aluminum filler strip and cover it with black vinyl. We will also fabricate two end fillers that transition to the door panels for a clean look.

Next we looked at all of the dash components for air and heat and checked their fit also. It was very tight but would work with some modification. The heater core was located more near the middle. The A/C would work also if we added some clearance and modified the air intake plenum.


We made these collars to fit the firewall and allow the heater hoses to pass thru. They are recessed to allow more clearance between the engine and firewall.

This is what they look like installed. The big hole next to this collar was added for one of the main harnesses from the Z that goes to the gas pedal and steering column.

The other holes that weren’t needed were welded up.

The steering column was also moved toward the frame rail to give extra clearance at the starter. This collar and bearing piece was made, and uses the original studs in the firewall.



Everything fit pretty well, so we fabricated the 350Z steel dash support into the 240. The center support lined right up with the tunnel as well. Once the steel support was in, everything else just snapped into place.

The inside primed… the flanged grey bracket will hold the front of the dash and trim strip

Primed with epoxy

These brackets are gusseted at both ends. When it’s all bolted up and bolted to the tunnel it’s quite sturdy.

The center fit nicely. We built a custom lower dash panel that transitions to the center console and everything fits…. more of that later.

The dash support is in and stuff is going back into place. There are a lot of wires!

Here’s Allen, checking out the steering wheel position.

The 240 center console didn’t line up with the new Z dash, so we built a center console from .060 aluminum. The three hole A/C control cluster bracket is made from .080 aluminum.




The hardware from both the Z and 240 were used.

The grey pieces have been black wrinkle powder coated. The trim ring and shifter boot are from the Z .


This panel had the airbag. We made a plate to cover the big hole where it was,and skimmed it with bondo and recovered it in black vinyl





That’s about it for the front part of the interior.
More to come ….

Quail

You're a true craftsman. Amazing build.

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Wheelchair

wow..so impressive... great attention to detail!

Lees_Garage

I'm speechless, subscribed!

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