jamo240 Posted December 4, 2011 Author Posted December 4, 2011 Hey thanks Gareth...I don't usually show off my undercarriage until after the first date, but in this case, I'll make an exception and let you have a look when the car is all cleaned up and going vroom. Dave: Happy to TIG up your system when the time comes. One good turn deserves another. It's all getting very close now. The last bits are off to the platers, and I've got started on the wiring. I just might fire a shot before the end of 2011! Cheers lads. Jamo Quote
jamo240 Posted January 5, 2012 Author Posted January 5, 2012 Well boys and girls. I thought it was time for another update. Things slowed down a bit through Xmas, but now I'm back on it. The mechanicals are all done, and the parts are still to come back from the platers who are all shut down at the moment. I am taking the time to sort the wiring out, and have reconfigured the radiator and feed pipes. Fortunately, the std R33 skyline lower radiator hose fits just perfect, provided you re-orient the bottom radiator spigot to be straight out, not a 90 degree upward bend. The top tank is a bit more fiddling, and I made a pipe to make its way around the turbo ducting into the inlet manifold (remember it's an end entry setup). I also put a thermofan switch in this pipe because i am not running the engine driven fan, and the ECU has no capacity to drive fans. I have also decided to go with a coolant recovery system, so I have had to make a coolant recovery tank that sits just in front of the radiator support panel and up against the inner fender wall. It's a bit of mucking around, but keeps your coolant system much cleaner (less oxidation) and also helps keep the coolant level at the right height within the system to reduce the risk of hot spots/air pockets in the cylinder head. I expect to crank it up in February! Cheers Jamo Quote
jamo240 Posted February 11, 2012 Author Posted February 11, 2012 Hey Lads I have been a bit quiet, but it's still been happening. The old girl is back on the deck now, and I am sorting out the wiring before firing it up. The engine bay is finished now sans a clean up, and i have included a pic of the gearstick...I made it up out of the base of an RB25DET stick, welded to an L series stick...polished and then re-chromed. That way I get the original gear knob look that I am after. The wheels are a bit old school now, but came up ok with a polish i reckon. Cheers Jamo Quote
jamo240 Posted February 11, 2012 Author Posted February 11, 2012 Thanks Dave and Garvice...it's getting a bit exciting now...getting down to all the little finish off jobs. I still have a few bits to get replated, but you know when you're bleeding the brakes and polishing the scuff plates that you're getting close! I will be happy to take you for a ride at the next event that's dry, and about 18-23 degree day! If it's wet or stinking hot, I'd rather just drive the Commodore!! ps: very happy with the new radiator...I had Richard at what was Supatrick (now Natrad) build it, and it is first class...you can also get the fin pitch on the rad core specified to what you want, which is great when you have an intercooler in front of it! Cheers Jamo Quote
sco_aus Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 They look so natural in there... BTW, for the intake, we cut the small hole bigger under where your intercooler pipes goes through on the passenger side and built some pipe out the front for cold air intake. If you can bring yourself to cut the body up a little... Quote
jamo240 Posted February 11, 2012 Author Posted February 11, 2012 Hey Sco...I am fortunate enough to have an original bodied Z without rust because I got it so many years ago and it's been garaged ever since....I can't bear to cut holes in things now! Anyway...it will have all the power I will ever need, and I don't take it out and wring its neck on hot days anyway, so any loss of power is not a problem for what I'll be doing. Here's a pic of the car on the deck too. Jamo Quote
sco_aus Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 Fair enough, the body on mine is shit, so I didn't mind lol. Quote
jamo240 Posted February 11, 2012 Author Posted February 11, 2012 Hey Pete...thanks for the kind words... I am happy with how it's coming together...the pics don't quite do it justice...I'm not much of a photograper. I wanted it to look how it might have looked if Nissan had installed an RB in a 240, and while custom cars are never finished, I reckon I'm getting close to where I'll stop with this one, and only a week or two away from being able to hear it fire up. From there, I will give it to Simon at Nizpro to tune it, and then I'll give it the agony and see whether it's any good or not. Cheers mate Jamo Quote
jamo240 Posted February 26, 2012 Author Posted February 26, 2012 Hey guys I thought I'd show you a few pics of the coolant catch can and (a corner!) of the radiator. I made the catch can out of 1.0mm stainless, so no rust. The overflow/breather has a bit of a curl inside the tank to avoid it ejecting coolant instead of being a breather. The tube to the radiator neck is 8.0mm. I was going to put a sight tube in but the packaging is too tight, so I decided to just use a dipstick through the fill port. I got a polishing attachment for the bench grinder to do the sill plates...thought I'd try it on the top of the can too...what do ye say men? Jamo Quote
Riceburner Posted February 26, 2012 Posted February 26, 2012 Very neat and makes use of an otherwise useless area. Are you going into production? Quote
luvemfast Posted February 26, 2012 Posted February 26, 2012 Was expecting a big unveil at ghd all Jap day today Grant Nice cans Quote
jamo240 Posted February 26, 2012 Author Posted February 26, 2012 Thanks Gareth...that's what I thought...it's a very convenient area to put it. If someone wants one, I could make one...pretty straight forward, and I have the templates to cut out the material, so no biggie if you want one done. CHeers Jamo Quote
jamo240 Posted February 26, 2012 Author Posted February 26, 2012 Sorry Simon...I've been a bit pre-occupied with a few other projects, but I was sorting wiring today, so I must be close to the end right!?? I still have to pull the engine and put the clutch in...but I will hit it hard this week after work and get it moving. 30 hours work left! Jamo Quote
jamo240 Posted July 22, 2012 Author Posted July 22, 2012 Well boys, it's been a while since my last post. Lots of tidy up work has been done and the car is looking pretty good. Redline Shockproof oil went into the gearbox today, along with priming the power steering pump prior to cranking the whole lot over. The engineer has done his first inspection and is happy with it all, so just wants to see it now for a brake performance test and then will write up my ticket to legality. I have yet to make a stainless steel battery tray and modified hold down set, but that's a quick job, so no big deal. Finally, there's a bit of wiring to tidy up and then the mechanical stuff is finished. I will then give it a tune, and give it to a mate to retrim the seats and door trims. Should be all sorted in time for spring! Cheers Jamo Quote
KatoKid Posted July 22, 2012 Posted July 22, 2012 Must be getting excited now! Bags first ride. Quote
jamo240 Posted July 24, 2012 Author Posted July 24, 2012 Hey Kato Yes...it's getting exciting...fantastic to be doing all the tidy up work and getting ready to start it. I am not in a big hurry...it'll be done when it's right! Happy to take you for first run...won't be far off now. Yours looks great too, so I'll be happy to TIG that exhaust up for you a bit further down the track, and be an early joy rider too! CHeers Jamo Quote
KatoKid Posted July 24, 2012 Posted July 24, 2012 Sounds like a plan Grant! Which engineer are you using??? Im hopefully going to have the shell back home in a few weeks and need to throw the drivetrain back in for the first engineers inspection and I reckon they will be more comfrotable with mine if I use the same guys that have seen yours. Quote
jamo240 Posted July 24, 2012 Author Posted July 24, 2012 Good idea Dave...the more familiar he is, the better. The guy i used is Paul Bottomley. You can reach him at Roaring Forties...he will arrange a time to come and look at the car at your place. The way you are doing yours should be no problem...he just may need the body guy to certify the quality of the rust repairs, but otherwise you'll be fine. CHeers Jamo Quote
jamo240 Posted September 16, 2012 Author Posted September 16, 2012 Well gang, project 250Z is now ready to go on the dyno and make some noise. It's been a frustrating few days while I have been trying to track down a gremlin in the Apexi engine management system. While all my sensors and outputs appear to be working, I can't get a clean start, so it's off to the tuner for some higher reasoning. I need to tune it on the dyno anyway, so I figure I'll kill a couple of birds with one stone. Here's a few pics of how it came together...there are a few wires to be tidied up once it's running right, but otherwise it's about there. Oh, and the bonnet is back on after the pics. Right while I was adjusting it, the cable broke, so it was a bit of fiddling around to pop the bonnet and then repair the cable by silver soldering the slug back on the end of a slightly cut down cable to get it all going again! CHeers boys Jamo Quote
dat240z Posted September 16, 2012 Posted September 16, 2012 Hey mate, nice build. U may want to extend the pipe holding your airfilter from the turbo as it may not be long enough to create adequate turbulance for the turbo to work properly. I had that issue with my rb25det build and now the filet sits down near the front cross member.. Just a thought in case you encounter trouble on the dyno.. Quote
RB30X Posted September 16, 2012 Posted September 16, 2012 U may want to extend the pipe holding your airfilter from the turbo as it may not be long enough to create adequate turbulance for the turbo to work properly Umm what?? Quote
jamo240 Posted September 16, 2012 Author Posted September 16, 2012 Hey Dat240Z..thanks for the tip...I will keep that in mind when we dyno it...if there are issues, that's one place to look. CHeers Jamo Quote
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