260DET

How did everyone go then, have a good day? Jason, I thought you would be regaling us with tales of spirited and skilful driving and how those fancy sprint hot rod drivers were thrashed by a racer

Problem with a crate engine Phill is that they don't come with any front accessories so everything including mounting brackets has to be bought and I did not have a clue, still trying to sort out the PS pump. I looked at buying a used engine to get all the bits but hard to get a low k LS3. Haltech is a plug 'n play so it's own loom. I remember your sump drama but just to be difficult I'm sticking with a wet sump and a lot of mods. Once there is something to show I'll get some pics up, the basic problem (even with a dry sump) is poor oil drain down from the heads. Eventually it will get external drains.

What's a Luddite Anyway, if this was a ground up build then it would have a aftermarket pedal box and DBW would be used but the present OE stuff works well so it's staying. It is getting a plug 'n play Haltech 2000 with the lambda thing kit though.

I don't have much lectrical knowledge but the LS3 DBW throttle body has six terminals while the TPS has three. It's a LS1 TPS.

Someone is on it, yep, cam will add another 50hp to bring RWHP up to about the same as the VG30DET did. Presently just want to get it all sorted and running well, performance upgrades can follow. But really 400+ rwhp will be enough, after that it's driver limited.

Pity I'm without Z at the moment, a lost chance to 'engage in some friendly yet spirited track intercourse action'

Why? Personal preference.

Yep, I'm resisting Facebook in preference to dedicated Z sites like this which deserve support but sometimes I wonder why bother.

Do people really read the real technical stuff? My impression is that if there are not lots of pics to look at then not many will stop to read anything much past a line or two. There is heaps of tech stuff in the projects section, the trouble some go to post stuff up in detail takes a lot of work and time. My impression is there is a lot of quick scanning going on without much acknowledgment so the poster has no idea if his work is of interest. From my perspective the site is going well but it's up to those interested to make meaningful posts if they are interested. After all, it's not up to some to bust their boogie to provide 'material of interest' to suit what others want.

Doing the detail stuff at present, like converting from drive by wire to an old school cable operated throttle body which came via Ebay from China. Not a bad piece except that when first fitted it was only getting about 2/3 open throttle. Which is all about the amount of leverage exerted on the butterfly. The lever is an aluminium billet piece so I was able to modify it to reduce leverage which means that for a given amount of cable movement the lever moves more. The actual amount of leverage throughout the movement range can be modified, which gets a bit complex to explain verbally. Cable used is from a FWD Mazda 323/Ford Laser. Had a brainwave, problem was the engine as delivered had the fuel rail connexions on the left side whereas by necessity the lines from the swirl pot at the back were on the right side. The fuel rail on these engines is a one piece H shaped piece, the injectors are clipped into it so it all comes off together after undoing four bolts. Modern efficient and simple component design, love it. Anyway, the brainwave came when, bingo! it suddenly occurred to me that the whole lot could be rotated 180 degrees and bolted up. Putting the rail connexions on the right side Doing a project like this, love it, built not bought

No need for Nev to be worried Aub, he has got a real handle on Lakeside now. Thanks Gordon, it should be a blast to drive

Progress Report. Basically what's happening is I'm doing the work I can do well, the rest is going to be outsourced. Stuff like some electrical, welding, things like that. Where the welding involves fabrication then I'm tacking it first. Engine is located and installed for fitting purposes, the captive mounts are done. The Commodore sump was replaced with a GM Performance item which comes with a windage tray, a crank scraper is on order. The sump will be modified with kick outs on both sides. To improve engine venting for oil drain down purposes a large crankcase vent will be made and fitted. Oil drain down is a problem with these engines for circuit work so the lubrication arrangements are receiving special attention. To bring the engine back close to the firewall the clutch MC had to be removed, it will be replaced with a fabricated internal MC, the gearbox fitted nicely in the tunnel but for the gear lever the opening will have to be moved forward a bit. A suitable and fairly long lever is being made up. With one exception the engine fitted in nicely, plenty of clearance for the steering, the car has a S14 front X member and steering. The exception is the alternator which required the left strut tower to be 'modified', see the pic. Mounting the alternator high and to the left meant that there was more room for the headers which are to be made to suit and the mounts, with the engine so far back the strut towers restrict accessory space. The front of the engine is about 100mm forward of the wheel centers which should help F/R weight distribution. There is plenty of detail work being done but the pictures show the general layout and clearances. More to come, questions and comments welcome.

What I try to contribute is a current view on various fast Z cars, not some out of date 'lost in the rules and 80's' opinion. Even where a Sc Z is concerned. What I saw of a certain Q Sc Z was not impressive at all, plenty of attention to detail lacking in a class where every little bit helps. As for an old two valve Falcon engine being the sole reason for fast laps still can't get over that old fashioned ill informed view.

Will post up any Z car videos I come across. Two blokes came over from WA, here is a link to some tidy incar from one plus some pics http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/open-racing-discussions/52206-bathurst-motor-festival-easter-2014-a.html#post455841

Pensioner builds, not buys, fast Z cars.

I was going to say that Jason does not know much about really fast S30/S130's but don't want to give the poor bloke a heart attack

Always good for a laugh Jason, but you know if you are going to post times and say how great they are, what do you expect? I'm just evening up the hype a bit, surely you can handle that. Nice work Lee for a first timer, very nice.

You shouldn't have done that

About time McKeon did a decent time in that Marque race car on slicks but you do realise Jason that Nev's road registered 260Z is down into the mid 58's don't you. Last time I saw McKeon at Lakeside he was bumbling around well above the minute mark, with his experience and the development that has gone into that car..................

Sc racing, good move Mike. Pretty sure that PPG do sets for later Nissan five speeds, dog engagement included. Such sets would fit into a legal case with some mods I think.

Yeh, looking forward to it Pic of gearbox.

The blokes who race NA LS engines say there is plenty of torque already Roberto, if anything they lack top end power. Plus with much more torque the TKO Tremec would be marginal which would mean a heavier box. Balance is important to me, it makes for a nice car to drive and I must say that my lap times have never been limited by a lack of power.

Thanks for the tips Peter, the car is already built, only the engine and transmission is being changed so the rear end will stay the same as the existing R200 is quite capable of handling the power. Why a five speed and not a six is an interesting question, basically with the torque spread of the V8 a six speed would be counter productive for circuit use and of course it is heavier and bulkier too. The lower than usual .82 fifth will be good for the +200kph straights, the high 5th on the Z32 box used behind the VG was painfully slow. Have bought a set of block hugger exhaust manifolds which should fit in the engine bay or at least be easy to mod to do so. VG gave plenty of power but for now I'll just say it was jinxed rather than go into all the detail. Missing Bathurst due to the possibility of engine damage which may have resulted from melted spark plugs was it for me, either call it a day or go V8 were the choices. Turns out the turbo is fine so it's very unlikely that the VG was damaged after all. More pics to come once the stuffed camera is replaced. At the moment I'm waiting on a more suitably shaped GM Performance sump so a trial fit in the engine bay can be done.

Some of you would have seen this around, the news is that the VG30DET donk has been removed and will be replaced with a Chev LS 6.0 liter V8 engine powering through a Xtreme light flywheel twin plate clutch and a five speed Tremec with a .82 fifth gear. Engine puts out 430hp out of the box with 480 available from just a cam change. Pics below are of the (white) car as I imported it from Japan a few years ago, the DET engine just before it was removed and the car at Lakeside.

Good quality video Roger, what camera? And was that a lap timer I could see there, facing away from you of course.