I thought i'd drop you a link to a slideshow of all the progress on the car so far plus a few new photos to show you where it's at at the moment.

 

Just having a mass ebay then ordering new parts in the next couple of weeks.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/600zx/

 

 

 

 

 

 

looking really nice mate out of curosity what gearbox have you got fitted to this v8 lump.

 

cheers Nathan

Hi Nathan, it's a Tremek TKO 500 box from a mustang and a mixture of chevy and ford clutch plate/flywheel. If i were doing it again and had more money i'd go for the 600 as it's a little less notchy or even the T56 box but for the price i paid for it i couldn't turn it down.

 

I'm hoping the notchyness or whining isn't quite so prevelant when i make up the new linkage. As my dad said when he drove it, it sounds like a 1950 breadvan :rofl:

 

Well time for an update. I can't access facebook any more from work so haven't got time to reupload the photos but made some huge progress yesterday and i'm on track for getting the engine back in tomorrow morning.

 

The whole bottom end is now finished, sump is back on and torqued down. One of the problems i had previously was the incessant leaking from the sump i was getting seeping through the welds and out the back.

 

The original gasket was a 4 piece affair with felt on the sides and rubber front and back with a good dollop of silicon to fill in the gaps which didn't really work.

 

This time i'm completely degreased it prior to fitting and used a one piece rubber gasket with better bolts. Even the hole that cross threaded badly last time has been straightened and all torqued up.

 

I put the first head on last night to check for fitment and it's looking ace. Going to flat off and polish the front faces today before fitment then get the last bits done ready to go in tomorrow.

 

I'm off this afternoon again the same as yesterday so about 9 hours straight to get it finished off so unless i hit any more snags i should be hooking pipes and wires up tomorrow to give it a test start.

 

God it seems so long since i last got to drive it, I can't wait now! :hyper:

 

If i get time today i'll tidying up the paintwork in the engine bay seeing as the weather's so good and fitting my aerocatches and bonnet lift ready for tomorrow.

 

Really hoping I pull this off now, the weather's supposed to be amazing the next week so i'd at least like one day with the roof off and that beautiful V8 soundtrack humming away in the background :)

Nice to see your getting there you have done alot since i saw it a couple weeks ago!, wish i got as much free time as you!, cheers chris

Probably a bit late for that buddy, they were in for a week, now cleaned up and ready to fit :x

 

Piccies please!!

pics to follow, unfortunately ive had a set back (as aways) spent 3 hours trying to find the second set of head bolts and failed so had to order some more at £77 a set(!) :(

 

So ill have to lash up one head and fit the second later otherwise i'll get nothing done this weekend!

 

Off to finish off what i can before bringing the engine back and dropping it in.

Well after losing the headbolts on friday i thought all was lost again getting the engine in the car properly this weekend.

 

Amazing a stroke of luck occured, Saturday night i ran out of time to get the engine in so got a mate of mine to lock it up in his transit overnight and then drop it off first thing Sunday.

 

Sunday morning i got about jacking up the front end to get it ready to install the engine when it arrived, opened the bonnet and in the corner where the battery used to go what's poking out? A blue plastic bag with 17 headbolts and washers! No idea how it survived a 10 mile journey towed over bumpy roads and still didn't drop out but - phew! :hyper:

 

So torqued the heads up to spec, lashed all the valves outside of the engine bay (sooo much easier!) and set about putting the engine back in.

 

7pm i finally finished, engine back in, all mounts secured and ready to start refitting the exhaust tonight. More to come as it happens!

 

So did you manage to get the engine and box in, just on axle stands? It looks a lot longer than the VG engine, looks like youve done something to the front slam, pray tell :thumbup:

I have 4 of the Halfraud's ramps i use to get the car in the air, i just used 2 yesterday to get a bit of angle on it then an engine tilter to get it up, under and back up again :)

 

I haven't actually had a VG out before (the car came with no engine) but i know the gear lever comes up further forward so it may well be shorter front to back but being single cam you don't get the huge heads on the front so it's actually a nice compact little unit for 6.3 litres :D

 

Yep, cut the centre slam out to help get it out and in a little easier. There's a panel bolts in between in its place (the original is just there for the next couple of days until i rip it out mount the oil cooler/fans in a different way)

 

Eventually i'll modify it so the light panels come out on bolts too to make it a ten minute job to get the engine in and out - if it's specced to race i need to be able to work on it pretty damn quickly :)

Cheers for the info Nick, i admire your dedication, especially as its not the first time youve had to do it lol.

Cheers buddy, for the record this is my 3rd block, the 9th time i've had to put the block back in, it's now cost me in excess of £13,000 and many many hundreds of hours, probably close to a thousand all in all not including the hours of research i've had to make during the build :)

 

I'm going to go through all my posts on here and everywhere else i've posted and write up a book with photos to leave with the car for people to thumb through at the shows and then get the brackets and adapters made up as spare if anyone else wants to mount up a chevy into a 300zx.

 

Piece of cake if you stick with a standard block and transmission :)

I'd do it!!

I've still got to get around to popping down and getting those doors off you yet buddy, you can see what i'm up against to get this on the road to get to santa pod for round 1 this weekend :headvswal

 

Well if i get enough interest i'll have all the adapter mounts made of 4mm steel and powder coated, the design i've made reuses the complete zed subframe with longer drop through bolts and spacers in the sides and the original zed engine mounts.

 

Even though the car's going to be lowered 35mm it should still give me 4" clearance underneath.

 

The gearbox mount may be a little harder as it depends on your box, i'm using a tremek tko 500 so that'd be different if you used a T56 box/Borg warner or even in Manta V8's case a supra box!

quoted from bantumbunny (Hi Nathan, it's a Tremek TKO 500 box from a mustang and a mixture of chevy and ford clutch plate/flywheel. If i were doing it again and had more money i'd go for the 600 as it's a little less notchy or even the T56 box but for the price i paid for it i couldn't turn it down.)

 

Many thanks mate for the info, also

 

 

I'm going to go through all my posts on here and everywhere else i've posted and write up a book with photos to leave with the car for people to thumb through at the shows and then get the brackets and adapters made up as spare if anyone else wants to mount up a chevy into a 300zx.

 

id be interested in the designs or pictures as well, i have a 5ltr chevy lump here im thinking of fitting to my zed, unfortunalty has an autobox but would prefer manual, so if you could recommend a box to fit a 305lump then it would be appricated.

 

Cheers Nathan

So what is the projected tire smoking date?

id be interested in the designs or pictures as well, i have a 5ltr chevy lump here im thinking of fitting to my zed, unfortunalty has an autobox but would prefer manual, so if you could recommend a box to fit a 305lump then it would be appricated.

 

Cheers Nathan

 

Hi Nathan,

 

The best are the Tremek T56 or the TKO600, the one i have is a good strong box. In general the american manual boxes are shit, clunky and whiney so you're better off with the T56 as it's the same one they fit to most TVRs.

 

You'll probably need a new belhousing adapter and i'd also recommend a collar style clutch actuator. That's what i used with mine and it gives a nice light shift between gears and makes the box feel a lot more modern.

 

Cheers,

Nick

 

So what is the projected tire smoking date?

 

Hi Andy,

 

I was going to get on with it last night but unfortunately was so knackered after the weekend i fell asleep on the sofa till 8pm :headvswal

 

I've got to visit the parents tonight so won't get much done but planning on at least trying to connect up the oil side of things and the starter/manifold on the drivers side to test for leaks and clunks before doing any else.

 

I'd like to get it done for saturday to get to santa pod but it's looking like alot of work to rush when i could take my time and get it right rather than botching it.

 

Will definitely be started before the weekend just probably won't be on the road until Sat/Sun afternoon depending on the weather :(

Well didn't get more than 30 mins on it last night before i went otu but managed to get the first engine mount secured in the right place and passenger manifold on.

 

I'm on it all tonight and tomorrow so expect to see a few photos going up and the car being turned over briefly tonight if possible. Just need to prime the oil ways and connect the starter motor then test for any clunks. If that's alright then i'll hook the fuel line up and give it a brief start to check for problems then it's on with connecting up the prop/exhaust and we're done!

Okay, i'm knackered but worked through my lunch yesterday to finish at 3pm and got straight into it as i got home.

 

Rather than bore you with the whole story of all the problems I had, things i lost in the process and driving back and forth to my parents to grab tools i'll tell you what's done and what's left to do.,

 

Done:

 

- Oil system complete including the remote dipstick tube which needs securing to the loom clips, all 10 litres of oil are in and no leaks

 

- Wiring to the starter motor and alternator are complete, starter now works (wouldn't engage before) and engine turns on the key

 

- Battery is charged enough to get it going but could do with with charging for a couple of days straight to get it topped up or just drive it till it's full

 

What i'll be doing tonight:

 

- Water system including the expansion tank

- Fuel system

- Plugs, leads and distributor (already pre wired, just plug and go from the last time)

 

Then give it a start and see what happens! No sounds of anything clunking or scraping so i think i've made enough clearance on the rods.

 

Really excited to hear that big old chevy block kick into life again for the second time! :hyper:

 

More to come as i get there!

Weathermans calling for some real bad Thunderstorms here late tonight mate....Im just going to assume its your Z firing off.

Haha I would have agreed if I hadn't have snapped a sparkplug putting it back in :(

 

Unfortunately, American spark plugs aren't easy to come by on a Friday night, so looks like drag racing is off the cards today - not a good start to the season :rant:

 

On a positive note, bled the clutch, whacked it in 5th and got the speedo working off the sender as it turned on the key. All the plugs and leads are connected bar one. Just a few water pipes to go and we're ready to start.

 

Oil pressure was spot on with no leaks - 65psi when I primed it

 

Clutch is perfect with no leaks

 

Fingers crossed on the plugs!

It's working! :hyper:

 

Started up this evening after working flat out on it. Just two new exhaust gaskets to fit and a bit of tuning and it's ready for the road.

 

Will write more tomorrow guys and gals

It's working! :hyper:

 

Started up this evening after working flat out on it. Just two new exhaust gaskets to fit and a bit of tuning and it's ready for the road.

 

Will write more tomorrow guys and gals

 

Am keeping fingers crossed for you Nick. I will be going up to see Pete and we shall be fitting some panels to the underside in a few weeks. With luck we could have a run out in both motors :) Today while you are sweating I will mostly be going out on my new toy - 2 wheels rather than four :)

Haha, another toy? :rofl: You just don't stop do you buddy lol

 

Let me know when you're coming up and i'll pop up to Pete's and a cuppa! :)

 

Well the car's getting there. Found a small leak in the top heater hose which is dripping as it's running, also had to hook up the second fan to keep the temp down.

 

Did briefly get down the road and back but the tuning is way off. Spent a bit of time this morning getting it right but unfortunately flattened the battery keep starting it so messed up the timing reading and got to start again.

 

Off to pick up the new gear lever today then i can start rebuilding the shifter with a direct shift system instead of the long lever. Means i'll have a direct short shift.

 

I'll get some piccies up when i'm happy with it so far, just looking forward to giving it a longer run some point in the next 24 hours :)

Well done that man!!!!

 

Oh look, its BBQ weather ;) lol

Just working on the driveway and garden while the weather's good buddy, I'm thinking Sunday 8th May for our BBQ if you're free?

Im getting so frustrated! :tt2: