Intro -

After more than 15 years of ownership, many great meets, road trips, and track days, my Fairlady is going through a full top to bottom rebuild. During many of the meets I discussed building the ultimate NA with Slick Pete as we shared the love of high revving NA motors. Almost everyone recommends going TT conversion or LS swap as the easy way to high power but I wanted something unique. So after securing some workspace with NickZ32 the tear down began. Its been slow going but continues to move forward. 

Will provide updates as I pull together photos and details 

 

Edited July 5, 20241 yr by madmarco
redundent

Engine ready to drop back in! Welded up the heater core pipes, was going to cap them but one nipple was interfering with the fuel rail so they had to go. A lot more simple without the EGR, IAC, and plenum coolant lines!

Fresh update. Engine is installed, Haltech mapped and configured. With some help from Nick it is running and sounds sweet! Just need to install new glass and should be on the road again.

Well she’s ready to come home… everything wired up and installed. Last check of fluids and should be leaving the lock up. It’s been a long journey but now it’s time to enjoy the Z again!

Nice! Looking forward to seeing how it runs and some numbers from a dyno tune. Any idea on when that will be? Sorry if I missed it before in the conversation. Lot of posts and information to sift through in here.

She’s home! So nice diving her again, although I forgot how extremely low I had her, had to avoid any speed bumps. MOT in the morning and away we go! Dyno and tuning will be booked soon.

Looking fantastic Marco, love it!

What exhaust manifolds are you using?

On 11/08/2025 at 20:09, smudge2031 said:

What exhaust manifolds are you using?

Japspeed. Not the best but with coating, wrap, ( and O2 sensor relocation) they will do.

Any news regarding some results and a tune?

I am currently in the process of two NA builds, one of which will be higher HP. Always curious seeing other like minded individuals results and work. I'm excited about your build, so keep us posted!

Tune scheduled for Sept 1 by RaceCal using TDI’s dyno. Will post the results. Great to see there are other owners chasing the elusive NA power!

Current state of the engine bay and a shot with her much bigger brother at C&M.

I remember seeing my first Z32, it looked massive, so wide. The size of that R35 next to one shows how much cars have swollen.

On 14/08/2025 at 18:51, Stephen said:

I remember seeing my first Z32, it looked massive, so wide. The size of that R35 next to one shows how much cars have swollen.

So true!!

....And the Zed is looking good Mark - great to meet you at Beaulieu last month!!

Back at TDI for mapping, will report results soon!

Hate to report this but ran into problems during mapping. Tuner noted power drop off at 6k on multiple runs then detected ticking sound. The consensus with RaceCal and TDI is to pull the motor for inspection. Car is on the way back home tomorrow and I will tear it down and send the long block back to TDI for inspection. Will update as things develop.

Oh man, that's sad news to hear. Keep us in the loop when you know more. Appreciate the updates! Hopefully it's something minor that can be fixed easily. Best of luck!

Motor stripped and dropped off at TDI. Should have some answers by next week. Oil looked good so don’t think anything too bad happened but time will tell…

28 minutes ago, madmarco said:

Motor stripped and dropped off at TDI. Should have some answers by next week. Oil looked good so don’t think anything too bad happened but time will tell…

T-belt slip? Tensioner not set correctly? They can be a pain sometimes to get just right within that range. Hopefully nothing involving physical contact of the rotating hardware. *wink

Been following this build for a while, such a shame to hear of the issues. How has your experience been with RaceCal? I’ve heard really good things about them.

On 16/09/2025 at 07:39, Raja93 said:

Been following this build for a while, such a shame to hear of the issues. How has your experience been with RaceCal? I’ve heard really good things about them.

Romain at RaceCal is very good at his craft and a genuine nice guy. Highly recommended

Any update on what the issue was?

On 24/09/2025 at 17:07, protoj said:

Any update on what the issue was?

Not yet, still waiting for TDI to finish the inspection. While the engine is out I’m taking care of a few small jobs. New dual air filters rather the HKS set up, power steering lines no longer leaking, horn wiring fixed, and a few cosmetic jobs.

Refurbed the front Coilovers today. After many years they were looking a bit tatty although still functioning well. New springs, top pillowballs freed up and relubed, and given a good clean.

Before and after photos -

Edited October 12Oct 12 by madmarco
Typo

41 minutes ago, madmarco said:

Refurbed the front Coilovers today. After many years they were looking a bit tatty although still functioning well. New springs, too pillowballs freed up and relubed, and given a good clean.

Before and after photos -

Did you get new springs from meister?

14 hours ago, nickz32 said:

Did you get new springs from meister?

Yes, they offer all sizes. Mine were 200mm long with 8 (front) and 6 kg ratings.