Kato Kids BMW M3 powered 71' 240Z

[KatoKid]

Thanks guys.

 

The panel shop has a lot of experince with rods and restorations and they stronly recomend a satin black as it helps disguise wiper arms etc. so I will probably go that way

[240z71]

Whatever way you go i can +1 Gavs answer of that grey color being original as my car also had that.

[garvice]

Your car is far from original. I wouldn't be worried about painting the plenum a different colour that only 1%of the owners would notice anyway.

[ric240z]

That Colour looks Great

Congratulations

 

Ric

[KatoKid]

Let the fun begin!

 

 

 

[mossy]

Beautiful, having the hoist will surely make assembly a whole lot easier!

[CBR Jeff]

That just looks spectacular Dave.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing the next few weeks/months as she comes together.

Jeff

[Sirpent]

This has to be the best part !

 

I've done twice before and its was fulfilling seeing the gradual product come back together.

 

I'm extremely jealous but also smiling for you David

 

Incredible build and finish David !

[luvemfast]

Awesome!

[KatoKid]

So now the car is back home my motivation is up and I find myself doing things I should have been doing ages ago while the car was in panel gaol

 

Z31 CV's on custom shortend R32 GTR axles. All cleaned, painted and reassembled with new boots etc. ....tick one more job off.

 

 

[Sirpent]

Think every step forward is going to leave us gob smacked about this build in the months ahead David

[KatoKid]

Haha...thanks John....won't be that exciting!

 

Meant to add....if anyone is looking for CV boots etc this guy was great http://www.cvcentre.com.au/ he let me go out back in his shop and search through his collection of criclips and snap rings for what I needed for the custom shafts and matched up the correct boots etc.

[Riceburner]

Fantastic stuff David! This one be one very special Z?

[KatoKid]

Another of those"I should have done this ages ago" jobs......valve clearances.

 

I quickly checked these when I first got the engine running and noted a few out of spec, not far and not noisy but I dont fancy doing this once the engines in the car.....

 

I was a bit worried that there may be some rust on the cams after sitting for so long without running but all was good.

 

 

BMW wanted $100 + for the tool to compress the buckets to get the shims out so I "invested" a couple of hours in making one from a picture I found on the interwebs. Pretty fidly as its only 5mm wide and needs a 1mm T piece to keep the tool central between the buckets

 

 

The tool goes under the cam and presses on the edge of both buckets simultaineously with the T piece serving to ensure the tool doesnt slip off the edge.

 

Time to order some shims I guess.....expecting full BMW tax on these babys!

Edited August 1, 2016 by KatoKid

[luvemfast]

Yeah. BMW know how to charge.

The lights on the caravan would play funny buggers when connected to my wifes X5. BMW wanted $300 for an adaptor to fix it.

I made my own using 50cents worth of resistors in an adaptor plug. 

[vorn70]

Looking good Kato. Of course I'm a fan of the colour. You are building one special Zed mate.

[KatoKid]

Still waiting on valve shims...they finally left today. I use Schmiedmann in Denmark for most of my BMW bits, great service and reasonable freight but they had to order these in which is not unexpected.

 

Valve cover, airbox and Fairlady grille came back from chemical stippers. Grille is pretty good except the corner pieces which will require disassembly and some repairs.

 

Also been working on wiring....set the dash up and pluged everything in.....surprisingly after a bit of mucking around and cleaning some conections it all works, including the combination switch, all lights, wipers, fan, horns, even the windscreen washers! I had previously installed the Speedhut guages http://www.viczcar.com/forum/topic/12906-240z-speedhut-gauge-install/ but hadnt wired them so finished this and then had to source various power outputs required for the BMW ECU and EWS security system:

• 12V in Run and Crank
• 12V in Acc and Run
• 12V in Acc, Run and Crank
• 12V in Crank only

Sounds easy until I realised there are no outputs from the ignition switch to the car that will provide the 12V in Acc, Run and Crank combination. Like many older cars they drop power to Accessories in the Crank postion to maximise availble power for starting so I ended up joining the Acc and Run output with the Crank output (starter solenoid) and used a diode to isolate the Acc and Run circuit. I wont be using the standard 240Z Crank output (starter solenoid) circuit as the BMW harness has all this built into it so this is just for the "I'm cranking" feed to the ECU.

[CBR Jeff]

Good work Dave. Just a one beverage job?

Jeff.

[KatoKid]

Haha...yep just one....the lectrikery stuff is hard enough sober.

[d3c0y]

Z31 CV's on custom shortend R32 GTR axles. All cleaned, painted and reassembled with new boots etc. ....tick one more job off.

 

Drive shafts before.JPG

 

Drive shafts complete.JPG

 

What's involved in the shortened R32 GTR axles and how much does it cost? I have the Z31 CVs and have been looking into this and so far the only option i have come up with is billet axles from SWM for $1200! What companion flanges are you using?

[KatoKid]

I bought them alreday shortend by another member on here....cant recall who and havent seen him on here forever!

 

Any engineering shop which can cut splines could do this and shouldnt be too expensive.

 

Used the standard companion flanges and had 20mm thiick adapters machined up and welded on.

[d3c0y]

So is the R32GTR axle the same spline count as the Z31? Did they literally just cut the axle in half and join it back together because the axle tapers down after the splines? Why not just shorten the Z31 axles if that is the case?

 

Did you upgrade to 27 spline 260Z stub axles?

 

What did your adapters set you back?

Edited August 18, 2016 by d3c0y

[KatoKid]

GTR axle is the same spline count. No way you should ever cut and rejoin an axle, axles should be shortened and then resplined at one end....and thats the trick with any axle you are shortening....you have to make sure there is a enough meat (diameter) on the shaft where you need to respline. Have a look at the pics on previous page and you can see where they have resplined just the one end.

 

Yep, upgrade to 27 spline 260Z stub axles.

 

Cant recall what the adapters cost.

[d3c0y]

OK excellent they are the answers i was seeking thank you.

[KatoKid]

Update time:

 

Shims arrived and valve clearances completed.

 

Dash wiring completed:

All the feeds from the drivers side of the car across to the passenger side where the ECU will be located as  well as gauges and1.5mm cable from the ECU controlled fuel pump relay to go to the rear harness and fuel pump.

 

 

 

Power for the main 240Z wiring harness and fuse box is taken from the starter. Rather than run power to that point (BMW starter is on the opposite side) Im supplying power to the main harness up behind the dash were the +ve and -ve terminals of the ammeter will be joined as Ive ditched the ammeter all together and wil just run a traditional charge light on the dash.

 

 

I had the grille chemically striped at the same time as the rocker cover, while its a long time before I will hang this on the car I needed to do something to stop it rusting (even more). I was surprised how rusty the corner pieces were under the paint but once disassembled and glass bead blasted all the pieces cleaned up  well and apart from a little reshaping they came up really well. Just need to hit them with some etch primer tomorrow.