SupaDoopa

Hey again brosephs.

It's been a while since I've started a build thread. Seeing the departing of my old hatch, I originally intended on scoring a S14 until a friend of mind decided to put his two tone coupe up for sale. I instantly jumped on it after seeing how clean it would inside and out. I've always wanted a coupe [originally, I wanted a coupe more than a hatch but the same issue arose when I saw the hatch - it was too pristine to pass up] and a two-tone definitely was an added bonus.

Now, the fun part. He lives about a 10 houses down and around a corner and the only way to get this thing to my house was push it with the front end on dollies [the front suspension and tie rods were gone and we couldn't source any nor was I going to buy any when they were just going to all be replaced anyways], call or a tow truck, or rig something stupid unsafe. We opted for the third option.

So this is what we came up with. The front rack would have 2 Harbor Freight 1,000LB each dollies [yeah, this is already bad idea one], tie 2 tow straps to each tow hook and strap those to the back of my STi hatch. For some reason after it was hooked up, it looked like a good idea. When we started moving, it was a horrible idea.



Needless to say, it took an hour to move a tenth of a mile but we managed to get it here without smashing into any children or cars and getting stuck anywhere. I removed the front fenders and hood so I can monitor the dollies in case they were moving. Getting it home was a little shaky at points but not as bad as I thought.



So, I pushed it from there up into the garage and got her on jack stands planning my next moves. I have so many ideas and plans for the car but some of those will remain under wraps. After the move, I was absolutely beat so I ended up showering and passing out fairly early.

I woke up the next morning and trolled Zilvia and my local Craigslist for shits and giggles to see if anything caught my eye while I was tearing the car down. I came across brand new Circuit Sports half and half tails from a kid who bought them and hated them [his car was roller painted baby blue, disgusting] so I ended up scoring them for $20. I drove to work and continued my trolling until I headed home. I got home and remembered how much fun the rear end was last time [sarcasm] so I decided to start there and get the worst out of the way while I had some motivation.



So, I ripped out the rear subframe and thank God I started where I did. 3 of the 4 bushings were trashed to the point the centers just fell out when the subframe dropped, the rear axles were both torn, and the arms were covered in axle grease. None of it was my buddies fault as the car did end up sitting a long time and I'm sure somewhere along the way, the axles decided to give up as I'm sure they weren't too new. Not a big deal because again, it'll all be replaced.



With the subframe on the ground and the arms all being removed, I also removed the full spindles with the brakes, hubs, and axles all left together. Why? I plan on throwing some PBM rear knuckles with rear lower controls, brand new axles, EVO brembos [most likely if not 300ZX's], and 5 lug hubs so pretty much that whole setup can go right into the trash. All the arms in the rear will most likely be PBM as I had very good success with them on my previous car and of course some PBM solid subframe bushings. I used SPL's before but didn't really utilize the collars that much so I decided to go with PBM for cost savings and more functionality to my needs. Yes, it seems like I order pretty much out of PBM's suspension catalog but honestly after using past and present product, I couldn't be more happy with them. I have used SPL with great success and may experiment with them as well, but as of right now, the build calls for what I've found tried and true.

The rear setup I'm hoping for:
KAAZ 2-way
PBM solid subframe bushings
PBM rear drop knuckles
PBM rear lower control arms
PBM rear upper control arms
PBM traction arms
PBM tension arms
PBM toe arms
EVO Brembo's [possibly going dual caliper later on]
PBM coilovers

As of right now, that's where I'm at. My focus is all on that rear setup and getting it done and put back up so the only other time I'll ever have to look back there is throwing in the one-piece drive shaft or putting up an exhaust. Most likely in the next few days I'll also drop the front too so I can clean up the rack, check for leaks and issues, and give the whole front a cleaning of a life time and some new bushings. It looks a little over do.

Now, before I end this post, most of you are thinking "what motor are you planning on throwing in?" Ironically, I have a decent deal on a 2JZGTE non-VVTI block local that I may exploit. I may end up getting it because the deal is too stupid not to and slow build the piss out of it for either this or something for later on. I also considered V8 in the form of a LS1/2. They're around me local but not sure if I want to go V8. I may go the purist route for now and go with a SR as I have plenty of experience with it. That's more of a decision for a later date when I'm done tubbing the front end and cleaning it all up. This build isn't anything that is going to be done over night but I'd like to enjoy it before the end of the summer if possible.

Any and all input is welcome and any comments, questions, and concerns I will be more than happy to address.

NOTE: I will be kitting it and with the help of some photoshopping and trolling the two-tone thread, I'll get a better idea of what front end I'll also be doing. Those, again, are still undecided as I'm more concerned getting everything else squared away first.

jdmbeaner

seems like a giant crock too me...gl baby cakes anyho im concidering going rb pretty cereal nowz so hit me up if you wanna work something out for the sr setup in minez coupe.

KiLLeR2001

What type of wheels do you plan on stealing... errm... I mean, buying this time around?

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yetijeff

Win... Hahaha

singlecamslam

Hopes and dreams is not a build thread.

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Nothing says racecar like a stock car with no interior.

S13slida

Its ok his wife will help him out with that, Shes got the balls in the relationship

xBtony

2 tones are cool. I'm in.

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headup240

Not quite a build thread... Wait till you make some more progress.

s13livin

right when I saw the name of the build thread I knew it would come up. don't know the whole story just knew it would be brought up haha

SupaDoopa

You're so clever. You should get on the clever bus and go to clever school with the rest of the clever kids.




Anyways, progress. Helped a good buddy and neighbor of mine work on his S14. He wanted me to slam his car yet sit flush as possible and tuck some rim. So, I did. We then relocated to my house to drink some beer and tear down the coupe to it's bare bones.

ZOMGZ, KiLLeR, how did I manage to contain myself and not still his wheels?!?!1!??!1?1?!?1/!!?eone?1?!?!?!one?!!?!1?


So, we then went to my garage. First thing I started to do was slowly remove and wire wheel the sound deadening. I'm not 100% done with it yet because I will be grabbing some dry ice tomorrow to finish the larger portions. The gas tank was dropped in prep for a battery/fuse cell cage to take it's place. I removed the deadening from the side area as well not knowing how large the cage will end up being.



From there, I stopped when I got to places where dry ice would be much better suited than the method I was using. I then gutted the interior to get it ready to get dry ice'd, deadening removed, and prep'd for a cage and paint. I was writing up a nice shopping list [No, KiLLeR, not a steal list you clever boy] and I'm actually pretty excited for this build.



After the progress was done, I got a phone call from a buddy for a hatch his neighbor wanted gone. It was a rolled with a right corner hit on a wall at a local track. It wasn't nearly bad enough to tear down his car and change chassis [the frame was perfectly straight; with a tubular front from the strut tower forward, the car would be a perfect chassis to slide] but to each their own. I jumped on it with my free towing and had it brought over [no, KiLLeR, I didn't steal it either you clever boy].

More pictures when there is a little more light out and I'll start typing out the shopping list. Hopefully some of you will get as excited as I am to see this done.

SupaDoopa

Got a package in today and should have another tomorrow. I bought some brand new SPL solid subframe bushings and collars for the subframe I'm completely rehauling. I intended to go with PBM because they're a tad cheaper and I didn't really take advantage of the collars last time but the deal I got was stupid dope that I had to jump on it [thanks zaneithan for the awesome deal!].

Came in super quick and brand new in the sealed bags just as if it came straight from SPL. Now I just have to sawzall the inner collars on the subframe, throw these in the freezer, then install them in the subframe and wait for PBM to deliver me some goodies.



The plan for the rear end:
PBM drop knuckles
PBM toe
PBM traction
PBM RUCA
PBM RLCA
Ichiba 5-lug conversion
KAAZ 2-way
New axles to replace the beat ass ones I just pulled
300ZX brake conversion*
300ZX e-brake conversion*
Agency Power conversion brake lines
Clean/paint the whole subframe to avoid weathering/rust issues in the future
* = possibly going dual caliper with dedicated hydro e-brake

Like I said prior, I'm not a PBM fan boy, just had super good luck with it all and a good friend rocks the front and rear knuckles and loves them. I took the car for a spin and instantly fell in love. He also has the PBM coilovers which I'm definitely getting as well if I don't end up going Fortune Auto which I have in my EVO and love as well. Once all the parts are mounted and the subframe is back up, hopefully the only time I'll ever touch anything back under there is when I need to align the car or change differential fluid. Or if I break something.

Anywho, the parts should start pouring in for the rear end which relieves the shit out of me. Some of the PBM stuff should be coming in this week, some next week and some in a few weeks as some things were on back order.

I'd also like to have you guys give me some suggestions on the front end. I know some people use S14/Z32 tie rods [inners and/or outers] to get more angle. What do you guys suggest and what do you think feels good? Most likely I'm going PBM front knuckles but I'm not sure what you guys recommend. Feel free to bounce some stuff off of me!

More pictures to come of sound deadening removal, a full shopping list write up, and plans for the future.

KendallH

"SupaDoopa stole my subframe bushings!"

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SupaDoopa

I seriously laughed so hard. Haha. More updates coming Mondayish. I'm planning on pulling the whole front subframe off to inquire about moving the rack an inch forward and clean/prep the engine bay further. I'm also prepping to get tubs [possibly partial] and a tubular front.

I also may binge today on PBM's website and buy the rear knuckles to further complete the rear.

SupaDoopa

Got a S13 SR black top from a friend today. Needless to say, the motor needs work. It looks like it fought in both Iraq and Afghanistan and never took a bath. I took off the valve cover to see what we were dealing with to find a lot of missing shit. Good thing we worked a pretty decent deal for it. It'll need to be sent to a machine shop when it's completely torn apart and then damage control will need to take place. Not too worried as all the essentials look in place.

Here it is after starting the tear down.


It 100% definitely needs a harness amongst other things but a lot of the janky shit is being replaced with better stuff anyways so I'm not too concerned. The plans are to go BC for most of the hardware on the head and Tomei Poncams with Tomei adjustable gears. If I can't source a new set, I'll most likely be going HKS. The goal is to hit somewhere close to 500RWHP. We'll see because I'm kind of doing the motor and rear end at the same time [as I find dope deals, I'll go back and forth]. The motor will be a slow build even though I first thought of throwing a Toyota motor in it; maybe I'll make use of the 2JZGTE block later on and start building that once the car is running and sliding.


As you can see [and most of you know], the work is never done and plans always change. I have a pretty specific build list altered for the SR now which is giving me a warm and fuzzy. So, tomorrow I will break down and label everything in the motor, figure out what needs to be replaced/cleaned/powdercoated/saved/thrown out and keep on trucking. That process will most likely take me a few hours because most likely I'll keep changing the motor part of my shopping list. I don't like buying things twice. Oh, and hopefully I can grab a few SAWZALL blades tomorrow and FINALLY do the SPL solid subframe bushings. Every time I get to it I either get ADHD and go do something else or someone calls and needs me to go help them out.

Here is more progress on the stupid sound deadening. Once I get a little further, I can dry ice the back seat portion of the car. Still undecided if I'm going to do the front seats part as well. I know from past experience it gets hot as death without even with a carpet and with the added 110ish degree weather every day this summer, I'm not too tempted to rock it especially in a car with no A/C.


Anyways, I should have a few boxes on their way from Japan so when that arrives, I'll take more pictures.

KendallH

5 finger discount?

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g_mac530

Goodluck with the build! Just an FYI, if you decide to run the PBM rear drop knuckle, you will NOT be able to use the 300zx parking brake drum setup. I have talked with Dan about it and the knuckle is not compatible with it. You can use the 300zx caliper, just not the drum brake setup.

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SupaDoopa

He never saw me coming.
Really? So I guess that sheds more light on the dual caliper brackets being standard on these knuckles - they're meant for hydro. Well, seeing as that was part of the plan anyways, looks like I'll pick up two pairs of the 300ZX rears. Appreciate the heads up. Do you also have the fronts?