Still around but no progress :(

[zedevan]

good to hear. i'm contemplating the same thing about not bothering with an RB conversion and building an L series instead, specially due to the enjoyment which could come from having a car on the road sooner with more money to spend on driving it thanks to petrol prices. i'll be shattered if its at $3 by the time my car is back on the road!

those jada models are awesome, i just bought a 350z one as i thought it might look niceish next to the 240z, but dam its ugly!

[apsilon]

Yeah I decided over the weekend, built L series it is. It should allow me to get in on the road and enjoying it sooner. Cost wise there won't be much in it between the RB conversion the way I wanted to do it and the build of the L series.

I don't want to think about fuel prices but as it'll only be odd weekends and trackdays I'll live with the heavy fuel consumption.

[sjcurtis]

It would be good to see someone do the milage with a VH41 through engineering. L series is a good option but go injected save the fuel money.

Good luck.

My 2C
Steve

[apsilon]

The VH41 is certainly possible, and legal, but is made difficult in NSW by the fact you can't change, modify or even reinforce the chassis rails (don't know if chassis rails is really correct for the 240Z unibody but you kow what I mean). That makes mounting a little more difficult. Add to that I couldn't find a manual box that would bolt up. There are places around that claim they can do adaptors etc but my contacts couldn't recommend any of them and I trust their judgement. If it wasn't perfect the shifting would suffer if it worked at all and by that stage you've already made a big investment in the whole thing.

I'd love to do it but really it's too much trouble for too little gain.

[PeterAllen]

... is made difficult in NSW by the fact you can't change, modify or even reinforce the chassis rails ...

As Pauline would say "Please explain!"
I would be interested in the background to this statement and any relevant references you have.  I have just had a set of full-length, deeper and heavier-gauge rails made up (copies of the US Bad Dog design) and was planning to install them next week.

http://www.baddogparts.com/

[apsilon]

I was planning on doing the same thing until I spent an hour going over plans and rules with an engineer. I suggest you do the same. If you remove and replace the rails as you're planning to do it can no longer be registered as a production car and becomes classified as an individually constructed vehicle (ICV) IIRC. Makes the engineering process much harder. You can repair the rails but you can not make any changes to the design and repairs must involve the minimal amount of work possible to facilitate the repair.

As I said, speak to an engineer. John at Consulmotive is fantastic, highly recommend him.

EDIT: I should just add I was looking at not only replacing the under body rails but also the rails in the engine bay. I still suggest speaking to an engineer asap.

[mrp69]

my chassis has been replated the whole way for more strength

no1 told me that would be a problem plus i bought the car that way

peter

[apsilon]

To be honest it's one of those things that if it looks factory, you're unlikely to get picked up on it. The underbody rails in particular shouldn't attract attention but if you're doing an engine swap and other mods all at the same time, the engineer will obviously pknow about it.

There are some dodgy ones around that'll let it go but there was a crack down on engineers not long back and several lost their tickets which to my understanding also means any certificates they'd issued were also invalidated. It comes down to the risk you're willing to accept. My old MX-5 didn't have an engineers certificate for any of it and I never had any trouble in the 9 years I had it but that was the risk I took. If I had been picked up (and the second owner after I sold it was, rego was cancelled and the car flagged as unregisterable) I would've been screwed.

[PeterAllen]

.. If you remove and replace the rails as you're planning to do it can no longer be registered as a production car and becomes classified as an individually constructed vehicle (ICV) IIRC...

I contacted the RTA today and was advised that there is ... how shall I put this ... 'a significant degree of inexactitude' in this statement.

PS. Thanks for the sleepless night!

PPS. I note your edit and I actually do appreciate your post, it made me double check the situation.

[apsilon]

OK that's good. I'm only going on the information from my engineer, I'm by no means an expert (which is why I'm working with one). Perhaps it's the complete rail replacement inc those in the engine bay that pushes it over the edge. Something for me to ask about next time I see him but that's unlikely to be until next year.

Oh and having dealt with the RTA a lot over the past 20 years, make sure you got that in writing from them in case you need it in the future.

EDIT: Just a thought but you did tell them the type of vehicle and stress that under their classifications they'd refer to it as a unibody didn't you?

[PeterAllen]

Thanks - I covered the unibody construction.

I can see where your engineer and the regulators are coming from on this.

Changing the configuration, even the gauge size of components, will affect the deformation pattern of the vehicle in an impact. From that perspective I would agree that careful consideration needs to be given to replacing the engine bay rails with a heavier gauge material - the last thing you want on impact is for them not deforming but coming through the firewall into the occupant compartment. 

I don't think an S30 would have any ADR compliance requirement regarding cabin intrusion other than the side intrustion bars in the doors - anyway the steering wheel is likely to kill you before anything else. I doubt any modification which strengthens the occupant compartment would likely be rejected on a car of the S30 vintage.

The lastest update has NSW adopting the National Standards in Jan 2009, i.e. three years after the other states!

[DevilZ]

Is it just me that thinks an S30 is complete junk with anything except an L - series engine in it?

I cant understand why anyone would want to fit another engine to an L series like an RB, SR20 or VG30 etc..... especially not V8's !!!!
An R33 skyline goes for less then 10k now a days. If you want an Rb why not buy one of them. There chasis and gearbox is already built to take the engine and its a tonn cheaper to upgrade the suspension etc on a skyline then a Z plus the brakes are decent too.

Anything but an L series in a Z just seems like junk to me. Also significantly drops the resale value.

[mrp69]

Thanks - I covered the unibody construction.

I can see where your engineer and the regulators are coming from on this.

Changing the configuration, even the gauge size of components, will affect the deformation pattern of the vehicle in an impact. From that perspective I would agree that careful consideration needs to be given to replacing the engine bay rails with a heavier gauge material - the last thing you want on impact is for them not deforming but coming through the firewall into the occupant compartment. 

I don't think an S30 would have any ADR compliance requirement regarding cabin intrusion other than the side intrustion bars in the doors - anyway the steering wheel is likely to kill you before anything else. I doubt any modification which strengthens the occupant compartment would likely be rejected on a car of the S30 vintage.

The lastest update has NSW adopting the National Standards in Jan 2009, i.e. three years after the other states!

what happens with this national standards??

does that mean i dont need to reegineer my car as its engineered in VIC and im in NSW??

peter

[stevo_gj]

Is it just me that thinks an S30 is complete junk with anything except an L - series engine in it?

I cant understand why anyone would want to fit another engine to an L series like an RB, SR20 or VG30 etc..... especially not V8's !!!!
An R33 skyline goes for less then 10k now a days. If you want an Rb why not buy one of them. There chasis and gearbox is already built to take the engine and its a tonn cheaper to upgrade the suspension etc on a skyline then a Z plus the brakes are decent too.

Anything but an L series in a Z just seems like junk to me. Also significantly drops the resale value.

Ahh you purist you! I can see where you're coming from with that but many people on this forum (me included) want the pros of having a newer engine combined with the styles of the S30. I want an original looking 260z but with a modern powerplant that has better fuel consumption, reliability and power. You're right about devaluing the car though, and the only reply I have to that is that I never intend to sell my Z, which isn't really an argument haha.

And as for skylines (i associate bad things with that name unconsciously) they're just not to my tastes. I love Zs  (no offence to any skyline owners, that just personal preference speaking)

[biggels240z]

Hey guys i know where your coming from abouta modern day engines with more power but in terms of reliablility i ve done more thatn 100 000 k since i rebuilt my zed and havent had a problem with it , it gets around 8.5-9k per litre no matter how i drive it if the cops pull me over it looks standard i dont think you can bet the l series engine it will take a beating and keep coming back for more!!!!! unlike a lot of more modern combos!!!!!!!!

just my thought

cheers
Richard