Promise Land's '95 Zenki Rebuild

[Promise Land]

This thread is for my '95 Zenki rebuild. I bought the car in January 2011 and it didn't run. It sat under a pine tree for 4 months before I picked it up. I have been able to get it running and am slowly rebuilding it as I have time for fun.

I typically do everything via video more than I do pictures. It gives me a better chance to catch minor details, so I record everything that I am doing and I'll put it up on YouTube. I am still fiddling with the software on the new video camera I got at Christmas, so bear with me a little bit on the editing process.

Here is the project start:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pho1tVH39cg

The car came with....
Exterior: all OEM
Interior: Nardi Torino wheel (already replaced), Alpine radio (already replaced), was pretty dirty, broken shifter finisher (was able to fix), many blown bulbs
Suspension/Wheels: KTS coilovers, 5Zigen 17x9 +15 FN01R-C (3 black, 1 polished), Tanabe front swaybar, Nismo Power Brace, 300zx front brakes + SPL conv. lines (recently added), Tanabe rear sway bar (not yet installed), aluminum differential bushings (not yet installed)
Engine/Trans: KA24DE w/ 213,xxx miles, Ebay CAI (already installed), Isis radiator + fans (already installed), 5-speed trans, Bee-R 3" cat-back exhaust, test pipe, aftermarket header

I plan to completely tear the car down and rebuild it over the next couple of years. I'll have the engine redone with forged internals and go with a turbo setup in a couple years.

Any advice or comments, post them up in here or on my YouTube page. Thanks for the reviews so far.


I lost the radiator a couple weeks ago in the car, so here is a video of my installing an Isis radiator + cooling fans from Enjuku Racing.

Isis Radiator Install in Project Zenki 240sx - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhKpwkucQUE)

[colombianbryan]

why cant i see any pics?

[zooopreme]

why cant i see any pics?

I believe those aren't pictures. Those are actually embed codes gone wrong.

But OP, this will get locked up due to the fact that in-progress builds are not allowed.

[Promise Land]

Not sure why "in-progress bulds" aren't allowed. There are a half dozen right next to mine. Maybe I'm not a big enough celebrity to qualify...

And I can't figure out how to embed YouTube videos on here.

[zooopreme]

For your reference, it's a part of the rules:

Build Threads

Almost everyone enjoys building their cars and sharing that experience, as well as checking out others' builds for inspiration. Sadly, far too many users have a tendency to do half-hearted builds and either rarely update or update with trivial progress. In the interest of keeping the Chat forum clear of three hundred 'Install SR, ziptie aero, rattlecan paint' threads, incomplete, or in-progress build threads are not allowed. If you have completed your build, wrangle all those pictures into a post and tell us about it, but make sure the build is finalized. If you insist on having an in-progress build, Premium members have a specialized subforum for that specific purpose.

[Wongger]

awesome build thread.

Pho1tVH39cg

[fliprayzin240sx]

Not sure why "in-progress bulds" aren't allowed. There are a half dozen right next to mine. Maybe I'm not a big enough celebrity to qualify...

And I can't figure out how to embed YouTube videos on here.

Did you even bother to look how far along those build threads are when they started posting? They were all mostly done up cars already or people just showing them off. Whatever build threads that are alive around here are 80-90% complete threads and has alot of how to guides in them.

[Promise Land]

Actually, I would disagree that the ones are 80%-90% done cars. Peter Tarach's and Toby Broadfield's are neither that far along when they were started. I love reading all their progress in Gen Chat. There are a few others that start from a basic start also.

If I broke a rule, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause a ruckus. I just wanted to add value and interest to the community. If the thread needs to be locked/deleted, I understand.

[95BoostedS14]

Good luck with your build man. Hope you decide to make another thread once you're done with the car if this one ends up being locked.

[Broadfield]

Actually, I would disagree that the ones are 80%-90% done cars. Peter Tarach's and Toby Broadfield's are neither that far along when they were started.

Mine was 100% done, it's just that I decided to completely tear it back down like I do from time-to-time to change it up. I could of simply posted pages of my build from the last 5 years to start the thread, but why bother since most know the car and have seen numerous parts of the "build" in several threads I have created. So I figured I would start out my build thread at the tear down of a previously complete build.

But like you, I agree that in-progress builds are a good thing. But I can understand why they do not allow it... every 16 year old kid would start one, then run out of money 3 weeks later.

Good luck with the build. I actually like the idea of video recording the build. It would be cool if you recorded the entire build, but then speed up the video for playback by like 10 times.. or have that as an alternate option. I have seen a video of a guy forming his own car body which took hours per session, but sped it up so the viewer could watch each session in like 10 minutes.

[Promise Land]

I redid the undercoating on my car this weekend. I stripped the car down, scrubbed it with a citrus degreaser, and power washed it. It took me 7 hours to apply all the undercoating with a brush, but it was worth it.

Before:

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv197/PromiseLand39209/SAM_0006.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv197/PromiseLand39209/SAM_0004.jpg


After:

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv197/PromiseLand39209/DSCF2139.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv197/PromiseLand39209/DSCF2136.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv197/PromiseLand39209/DSCF2137.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv197/PromiseLand39209/DSCF2138.jpg

[S-Nation S13]

Keep it up, build threads are great ..but i agree and disagree with the rule. The rules are there to keep the half ass threads to a minimun to zero, but seeing the progress of a build is great to.

Lol start a blog like i did as with everyone else here, to avoid the getting your build closed.

[Promise Land]

Yeah, I have thought about a blog. I will probably start one.

Hopefully spending 7 hours on perfecting undercoating will prove I'm not a flash in the pan 16-year old kid that will run out of money in 3 weeks. :-) It may just take me 3 years to build the car to the perfection I am looking for. I really dig Toby's car enough to try and beat his cleanliness, which will be a feat to achieve. Set your standards high and then exceed them.

[Promise Land]

I started a wordpress blog to keep updated.

promiseland240.wordpress.com

[Promise Land]

I dropped some coin on the Isis suspension arms and a suspension bushing set from Enjuku Racing last month. I had enough time and nice weather today to get it all in. Each side took about 4 hours to remove the parts and put all the new pieces back in. Check my blog to see the videos of the undercoating and the suspenion arms going on.

Here's a teaser of the arms all done.

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv197/PromiseLand39209/DSCF2161.jpg

I still need to do the front tension arms in a coming weekend, plus clean the rear subframe up (dirt and grease).