Alright guys, completely forgot about the thread for a while while i was waiting for it to be approved, and ive been so busy with work and the Z that i havent had much time to update the thread. That said, i have made so much progress since the last post, so here goes.
I'll go ahead and start with the progress on the chassis. The first order of business was pulling out the old L28.
Things are pretty tight in the ol' storage unit, but ive got pretty much everything i need out there. It really sucks when i forget a tool i need cause its a solid 20 minute drive from my house. But anyway, off with the hood and out with the motor.
This thing was so complete its insane, literally everything was there. But as you can see, it looked like it had been covered in oil and parked in the desert with the hood off.
The fluids looked amazing, like it had barely even seen much time on the road.
As you can see, its got some of the good old Z car rust. more stuff to go ahead and replace, although most of it was simple surface rust thankfully. I decided to go ahead and cut out all the original brackets and smooth out some seams, essentially shaving the bay but not going too crazy with it. I also went ahead and welded all the factory holes shut that i wouldnt be using anymore.
And after all the hard stuff was taken care of, down went the primer and paint.
After that i clearcoated the bay and im real happy with the results. It took a long time to get the bay right, but every time i look at what it used to be im reminded of how worth it it was. I also sprayed a small part of the rear quarter to see how the body work turned out, the thing looks immaculate in person, so stoked on that.
Now that the bay is done its time for the motor. It was pretty dirty as well, and i don't care much for dirty ass parts. So off i went on my mission for a sparkly little Ls1.
Dont have many pictures of the process here, but you get the idea. I spent four straight days cleaning this thing, and had my first experience taking a blast of carb cleaner to the eyeball. I would not wish that upon anyone, btw. haha
After a 9 hour drive to florida i got my hands on a t56, clutch, flywheel and bellhousing for a hell of a deal, and a pretty fun road trip to boot. Again Ft. My mom's poor honda fit
Boxes of parts had been sitting in my room for weeks, it was like christmas every night as the build went on.
And then it was finally time to drop the motor into the car. Somehow we managed to get it right the first attempt, got everything bolted up that night and celebrated with a few beers of course. At this point the kid in a candy store feeling was pretty much a constant as i stared at this thing of beauty.
My dad is used to his old big block 454 so he was obviously a bit confused, but even i was surprised at how tiny the Ls looks sitting in the bay.
Everyone seems to use the Tilton 7/8 clutch master for this swap but i opted for the Wilwood because its gorgeous. You can see it fits really well too.^
Went ahead and picked up an aluminum radiator and dual 12" fans to go with it, they couldnt fit any better and they look so sweet sitting up front. Here you can see the Walbro 255 pump and the Corvetter filter/Regulator as well. Stupid expensive little guys.
Cleaned up all the ignition components and finished the motor off, Now you see how sweet the fans tuck up into the factory radiator cutout.
With that, it was time to begin the thing i have been dreading the most since i began this project. I put it out of my mind until i had no choice but to do it; The wiring.
But after 14 hours and plenty of help from that pretty KM in the background, i wound up with my own little standalone Ls1 harness.
Reworked the body harness as well, removing any unnecessary stuff form both harnesses.
For me, wiring is like math. When i understand it its actually pretty fun. Plus my dad has been doing electrical for 30+ years so i dont really have a choice but to like it. Got Vats, Downstream 02's, evap, Air injection, and all that junk tuned out of the stock pcm for the healthy price of $50. Huge thanks to the guys at PCM of NC for the work there, highly recommend their services to anyone. After i finished tying my harness into the datsun wiring, it was finally time to turn the key. I said a quick prayer that three months of work didnt burst into flames, and lo and behold, the thing started up like a bat outta hell. The feeling was insane, on a whole different level than any other build ive done so far.
Pieced together my intake setup from JTR, and with a little mothers polish it came out pretty badass.
Looks a little goofy i admit, but once the hood/grille are back on itll tuck away nicely.
Well, I guess that about does it for the massive thread update ive been putting off for so long. Ive only got a bit of wiring to do and a couple small things to knock out before its daily ready, but ill do my best to keep the thread updated as i go. This thing isnt even finished yet but i already love it 10x more than any other car ive ever touched. Theres nothing quite like seeing this much work finally come together. If youve made it this far then congrats, hopefully it didnt take you as long to read as it did to write. hahah, hopefully some of you dudes like what ive got going on here, im pretty damn stoked about it myself. Thanks for checking it out
