KatoKid Posted November 25, 2009 Posted November 25, 2009 Intro time... After having built plenty of projects as a young fella then doing the whole marriage, mortgage and kids thing I feel the need for a project once again and its definitely going to feature some boost! Im old school with a history of putting big NA engines in small cars and am blown (haha) away with performance of forced induction straight 6 engines from the land of the rising sun. Thanks to Hybridz and you guys Ive joined the Z cult and bought a 76 2+2 that looks reasonable on the surface (floor pan, spare wheel well etc all good)but Im sure will hide some surprises elsewhere. Plan was initially to go 2JZ but engine and trans prices are silly so Im leaning towards RB25DET. This wont be a no expense spared project but I want to do it proerly and it has to be engineered so Im thinking of sourcing a complete R33 GTS-T and using as much as I can including brakes and diff. Has anyone adapted R33 GTS-T front and rear brakes before, any pointers would be welcomed. Also R33 GTS-T diff.... I cant find much about what type of diff they come with, assume its an R200 of some kind? Will need some help on adapting hubs and shortening CV shafts as well. Seems to be many of you in Melbourne so Im in the right place! Cheers. Quote
S30Mike Posted November 25, 2009 Posted November 25, 2009 Welcome mate, Looks like youve got a good plan there! Im sure some of the other guys will be able to assist with compatability, and if you have a look in the tech section, you will find some experiments that have already taken place and have a full walkthrough. GOod choice on engine, its going to pull hard! -Mike Quote
Sirpent Posted November 25, 2009 Posted November 25, 2009 Welcome, and good luck with the build. Seems there are a lot of us old timers coming out of the wood work and experiencing The "Z" mid-life crisis bug for these classics. cheers John Quote
. Posted November 25, 2009 Posted November 25, 2009 Yes, welcome. The conversion sounds mildly ambitious...just the ticket. The advantages of the rear conversion would be the new stud pattern and diff options. But I'm not sure thats enough to justify the hassle in my view. But I think I am a whimp when it comes to conversions. Quote
FLEXZED Posted November 25, 2009 Posted November 25, 2009 Welcome, and good luck with the build. Seems there are a lot of us old timers coming out of the wood work and experiencing The "Z" mid-life crisis bug for these classics. cheers John hope your not point a finger at me john hahaha Quote
zzzzed Posted November 25, 2009 Posted November 25, 2009 I cant be going through a mid life crissis because i havnt yet grown up welcome to the club mate Quote
RB30X Posted November 25, 2009 Posted November 25, 2009 Yeah as far as engines go mate, keep it in the family aye Quote
zedevan Posted November 25, 2009 Posted November 25, 2009 welcome! as you would have seen over on hybridz one of the recent issues with doing an rb conversion is the lack of oil sumps that are required, although there is a patrol one that can apparently be modified to suit and should be readily availible second hand in aus. there is some talk of modifying skyline rear ends to bolt into the zed, however i am yet to see anything that looks easily do-able. there are no off the shelf kits that i'm aware of to adapt their brakes to zeds either, might be best just to sell off the skyline bits and do the more common conversions, such as vented hilux brakes up front and 280zx, r31 or s13 rear brakes? i'm planning to just get a custom driveshaft made and use my long nose r200 diff and half shafts till they brake, then go with datrat cv's... Quote
Moderators Zedman240® Posted November 25, 2009 Moderators Posted November 25, 2009 Another welcome! You're thinking of a good combination of mods there.. Nothing beats a RB25DET for power for $$$. Sump you will need is from a GQ Patrol; Waxhead (member on here) did a great conversion of that sump to fit in a zed; search for that thread and see how easy it was. As for the Skyline diff, I think the R33 diffs are the short nose type.. Diff from a R31 Turbo 2 door (import) will fit straight in with no mods needed. I'm sure you will find out everything soon! Quote
MaygZ Posted November 26, 2009 Posted November 26, 2009 G'day katoKid, have a look at this one, it may suit you. Make sure you read to the end. he pranged it while he was trying to sell it http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/Sale-1989-R32-Gtst-t291632.html Quote
Scando Posted November 26, 2009 Posted November 26, 2009 Welcome to the forum! As far as the diff goes, the posts above have it spot on. The R33 uses the short nose R200. The problem with this is there's nothing in the Z to mount the front mount of the diff to. The other thing is that R33 GTS-T diffs are viscous which aren't as good as the mechanical versions in high stress applications. As Dimitri said your best bet is a long nose R200 LSD which came out in a few 80's imports. Or you could fit an aftermarket LSD centre to the diff you have but make sure you get the right one! There's an excellent post towards the bottom of this thread on fitting a KAAZ LSD centre to an open R200 diff by a guy called matt: http://www.ozdat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=4034&hilit=kaaz+r200&start=15 I run this exact conversion with the KAAZ centre. It is good for the track but is a very harsh LSD for road use. With the brakes I'm running R33 GTS-T front callipers with 332x30mm DBA discs for a WRX (which also use the same calliper but with Subaru stamped on it). The discs I used are two piece so I had a mate make me up some hats and the brackets to attach the callipers to the mounts. This took a bit of work but is a very good setup. You will struggle to find a better calliper than the R33 one for the price they go for. The standard R33 discs could also work well but would need to be re-drilled and possibly have the centre hole diameter increased? I'm also not sure about the offset of the R33 discs. On the rear I’m running R32 GTS-T rears but I believe they are the same as the R33 GTS-T rears. The discs I’m running are the same dimensions as the R33/R32 disc but are already drilled 4 stud. I had them given to me so I have no idea what they’re off but I think they might be off a non-turbo Z31 300ZX. You will also need a bigger master cylinder. I’m using a 1” one for a Patrol which is an easy conversion. A lot of people go for the 15/16” master cylinder from a 280ZX but I found it was a little spongy with this setup. You will also need a proportioning valve to reduce the pressure to the rears to get the balance right. There’s a fair bit of work involved but it’s a very good setup and definitely worth doing. Quote
KatoKid Posted November 27, 2009 Author Posted November 27, 2009 Hi all. Thanks for the responses and warm welcome. I'm now part of a certifiable group of fanatics! Scando, Ive PM'd you for more info on the R33 brakes, thanks. I'm also going to do a power steer swap as well. Looks like the Subie swap is more common but haven't seen any comments on how the finished MX5 swap went. Any comments on the pros and cons of each would be appreciated. Cheers. Katokid. Quote
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