New to the Site: My Z - Zilvia.net Forums | Nissan 240SX (Silvia) and Z (Fairlady) Car Forum

Ricky Ricer · 02-01-2010, 10:42 AM

I'm new to here and thought I'd share my project. Most of this is copy pasted from another forum so it might seem jumbled.
I'm going to use this thread to document the build of my new to me 240z.
Here is the car the day after I bought it. I found it on Craiglist for $3250. An old lady was selling the car. Her husband had recently passed away and she just wanted it out of her garage. I was able to talk her down to $2500. The car had the original Nissan Motor keys, owner's manual, and service records!!! Only 60,000 original miles. It wasn't running but a new battery, spark plugs and gas fixed that. I had it towed from Boulder to Highlands Ranch (thank god for AAA) and had it running in about an hour and a half.
Here it is the second day. Look at the paint! After washing and buffing/waxing it still has some gloss in it! My girlfriends brother is an auto body guy, so I plan on painting/ fixing the dents and rust on the car while I'm building it.

I immediately started ordering parts for it ::driver::
Here is the spoiler I put on it:

I also ordered fender flares and a front vented air dam:

I'm waiting to put the fender flares on for when I have my wheels. I plan on going with 17x10 in the rear and 17x9 up front but I'm thinking I may go wider in the rear. We'll see!
And here's a little teaser of what's to come:

got the front air dam on. Being an ex composites worker, the quality of the part was less than acceptable. But I made it work with only one part that did not fit properly.

Look what showed up Wednesday:

I took the engine to a buddies shop in Sedalia, which is about 20-30 minutes south of where I live in Littleton. I had originally planned on doing the swap there, but I decided against it. So there my engine sat for the last two months. My girlfriend bought a house in august, and closed the 1st of September, so we had our hands full with fixing it up. (Thanks obama

) After it sat for two months I decided to move it to our house. The day before I was bored at work and looking for a transmission. You can use the 300ZX transmission if you bolt the RB front half of the bell housing to it. I found a great deal just by luck and called the guy immediately. The next day I had a 1992 JDM 300ZX TT transmission sitting in my garage.

And then the fun began. Seeing as how many people can be shady about JDM parts, I decided I'm going to give this engine a nice refresh. New piston rings, bearings, gaskets all around, hone, etc. I started tearing into it and at first thought I was in way over my head. I had never worked on anything Nissan before, let alone a GTR engine!
RB26 Bitches!

After working on it over the weekend/today here is how the engine sits right now.

The right side is much dirtier...

This weekend I plan on pulling the head, rods/pistons, and crank out to take the block to a machine shop.
Oh, and since I <3 JDM ish (fan boi?) here are the badges I have for "her"

One more thing, yes I know I probably shouldn't have the engine bolted to the stand from the flywheel housing. After looking at the FSM I need to buy the correct mounting bracket. Anyone know where to get one? It will help immensely since right now its so heavy I can't rotate it on my stand.

I picked up my plates yesterday.

sickstatus · 02-01-2010, 10:54 AM

very nice. good luck with build.

s13 @ fullboost · 02-01-2010, 10:57 AM

looks like a cool project welcome to Zilvia

charlie321 · 02-01-2010, 11:07 AM

will be keeping an eye on this build. looks very promising.

Ricky Ricer · 02-01-2010, 11:12 AM

Thanks for all the comments guys. I'm buying a Nismo oil pump this week, and then I probably won't be buying much for it until the summer. I've got a trip planned to Japan for two weeks in July and need to save for that.

Kouki_monstr · 02-02-2010, 08:11 PM

Cool guy and cool project

Keep it going Ricky!

*dawagarage* · 02-03-2010, 12:36 AM

what a great find, awesome condition. sexy car. youre putting a rb26 in it? thats ridiculous!

usafdarkhorse · 02-07-2010, 11:04 AM

Subscribed. You probably already know about this ( your original thread might be there ), but HybridZ has a great deal of info on RB swaps.

Good luck with your build. Do that Z justice.

RB24_S14 · 02-07-2010, 11:41 AM

Nice car! looks cool glwb

Chrischeezer · 02-07-2010, 02:14 PM

awesome, can't wait for the updates...

note: plz get a better chain, i had a sr drop from 2 feet up with that skinny chain. eeek

I LUV MY S13 · 02-07-2010, 02:15 PM

damn now this is what i call a build...keep us updated yo

Ricky Ricer · 02-08-2010, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chrischeezer

awesome, can't wait for the updates...

note: plz get a better chain, i had a sr drop from 2 feet up with that skinny chain. eeek

The engine isn't held up by the chain. I have an engine stand, I just had the chain there for insurance. It was one of the thickest I could buy and still fit bolts through the center. I have it positioned much better on the stand as well.

lazysk8er2 · 02-08-2010, 04:59 PM

nice build i one day want a 240z or a roadster. shoulda kept it in the z family and put a vq motor in!

Kouki_monstr · 02-08-2010, 05:14 PM

VQ's are POS..That would have been a horrible idea

Ricky Ricer · 02-08-2010, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazysk8er2

nice build i one day want a 240z or a roadster. shoulda kept it in the z family and put a vq motor in!

If I were going to do a V series I would've done a VR38 hahaha.

Bushido · 02-09-2010, 11:08 AM

kinda sucks to modify a car that clean and original....

but have fun with it!

Ricky Ricer · 12-22-2010, 10:03 AM

Bringing this back... to say it's no more. I sold the Z. Wish the project would have been complete, but I just didn't have the time for it. I bought a 1995 Skyline GT-R V-Spec

shiftdrift · 12-22-2010, 10:06 AM

i mean, that works too haha

Pure_JDM · 12-22-2010, 10:08 AM

I like what you've done to it!!! lol. Nice buy.

Ricky Ricer · 12-22-2010, 10:59 AM

LOL, it was quite the upgrade. Custom flares, hood, fenders, rear end, roof.

STEEZxIT · 12-22-2010, 11:30 AM

you bought a skyline motor and said...WTH, i might as well buy a skyline.

nice buy though.

murderrsirenss · 12-22-2010, 11:41 AM

well damn, haha. nice upgrade!

two40guy · 12-22-2010, 11:46 AM

pulled a complete 180 there haha nice buy though!

Slammed Assassin · 12-22-2010, 11:58 AM

haha! great buy!!!

Future_gohan · 12-23-2010, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by STEEZxIT

you bought a skyline motor and said...WTH, i might as well buy a skyline.

nice buy though.

haha damn straight what an upgrade! gl

z0rd0n1 · 12-23-2010, 08:50 PM

haha nice bro, question-- where did you go to get those fender flares for the z?

LoneStarSilvia · 12-24-2010, 06:40 AM

Would've kept the Z honestly, a good Z is hard to find and a damn sight cooler than a R33.

That being said though, that's a good looking 33, nice and simple, with some awesomely rare wheels.

Ricky Ricer · 12-24-2010, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by z0rd0n1

haha nice bro, question-- where did you go to get those fender flares for the z?

I ordered them from thezstore.com I believe. Came as a kit with the flares, airdam, and rear spoiler.

Ricky Ricer · 12-24-2010, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoneStarSilvia

Would've kept the Z honestly, a good Z is hard to find and a damn sight cooler than a R33.

That being said though, that's a good looking 33, nice and simple, with some awesomely rare wheels.

The Z would have been cool, but I love the Skyline so much more. I'm just not a classic car kinda guy. I did think about keeping it, but it just wasn't feasible.

VinceSpec · 01-21-2011, 06:44 PM

both look stunning. sad to hear the 240 project didnt happen, but no complaints seeing its replacement!

02-01-2010, 10:42 AM	#1
Ricky Ricer Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Littleton Age: 36 Posts: 30 Trader Rating: (1) Feedback Score: 1 reviews	New to the Site: My Z I'm new to here and thought I'd share my project. Most of this is copy pasted from another forum so it might seem jumbled. I'm going to use this thread to document the build of my new to me 240z. Here is the car the day after I bought it. I found it on Craiglist for $3250. An old lady was selling the car. Her husband had recently passed away and she just wanted it out of her garage. I was able to talk her down to $2500. The car had the original Nissan Motor keys, owner's manual, and service records!!! Only 60,000 original miles. It wasn't running but a new battery, spark plugs and gas fixed that. I had it towed from Boulder to Highlands Ranch (thank god for AAA) and had it running in about an hour and a half. Here it is the second day. Look at the paint! After washing and buffing/waxing it still has some gloss in it! My girlfriends brother is an auto body guy, so I plan on painting/ fixing the dents and rust on the car while I'm building it. I immediately started ordering parts for it ::driver:: Here is the spoiler I put on it: I also ordered fender flares and a front vented air dam: I'm waiting to put the fender flares on for when I have my wheels. I plan on going with 17x10 in the rear and 17x9 up front but I'm thinking I may go wider in the rear. We'll see! And here's a little teaser of what's to come: got the front air dam on. Being an ex composites worker, the quality of the part was less than acceptable. But I made it work with only one part that did not fit properly. Look what showed up Wednesday: I took the engine to a buddies shop in Sedalia, which is about 20-30 minutes south of where I live in Littleton. I had originally planned on doing the swap there, but I decided against it. So there my engine sat for the last two months. My girlfriend bought a house in august, and closed the 1st of September, so we had our hands full with fixing it up. (Thanks obama ) After it sat for two months I decided to move it to our house. The day before I was bored at work and looking for a transmission. You can use the 300ZX transmission if you bolt the RB front half of the bell housing to it. I found a great deal just by luck and called the guy immediately. The next day I had a 1992 JDM 300ZX TT transmission sitting in my garage. And then the fun began. Seeing as how many people can be shady about JDM parts, I decided I'm going to give this engine a nice refresh. New piston rings, bearings, gaskets all around, hone, etc. I started tearing into it and at first thought I was in way over my head. I had never worked on anything Nissan before, let alone a GTR engine! RB26 Bitches! After working on it over the weekend/today here is how the engine sits right now. The right side is much dirtier... This weekend I plan on pulling the head, rods/pistons, and crank out to take the block to a machine shop. Oh, and since I <3 JDM ish (fan boi?) here are the badges I have for "her" One more thing, yes I know I probably shouldn't have the engine bolted to the stand from the flywheel housing. After looking at the FSM I need to buy the correct mounting bracket. Anyone know where to get one? It will help immensely since right now its so heavy I can't rotate it on my stand. I picked up my plates yesterday.

02-01-2010, 10:54 AM	#2
sickstatus Zilvia FREAK! Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: SoCal Age: 33 Posts: 1,539 Trader Rating: (15) Feedback Score: 15 reviews	very nice. good luck with build. __________________ straights are for fast cars, corners are for fast drivers.

02-01-2010, 10:57 AM	#3
s13 @ fullboost Post Whore! Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: St.Petersburg,FL Posts: 2,549 Trader Rating: (15) Feedback Score: 15 reviews	looks like a cool project welcome to Zilvia __________________

02-01-2010, 11:07 AM	#4
charlie321 Zilvia Addict Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Long Beach, CA Age: 32 Posts: 989 Trader Rating: (4) Feedback Score: 4 reviews	will be keeping an eye on this build. looks very promising. __________________

02-02-2010, 08:11 PM	#6
Kouki_monstr Zilvia FREAK! Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Colorado Age: 38 Posts: 1,295 Trader Rating: (12) Feedback Score: 12 reviews	Cool guy and cool project Keep it going Ricky! __________________ 97 Kouki- Third times a charm Instagram@Koukimonstrr

02-01-2010, 11:12 AM	#5
Ricky Ricer Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Littleton Age: 36 Posts: 30 Trader Rating: (1) Feedback Score: 1 reviews	Thanks for all the comments guys. I'm buying a Nismo oil pump this week, and then I probably won't be buying much for it until the summer. I've got a trip planned to Japan for two weeks in July and need to save for that.

02-03-2010, 12:36 AM	#7
dawagarage Premium Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bremerton, WA Age: 39 Posts: 2,037 Trader Rating: (23) Feedback Score: 23 reviews	what a great find, awesome condition. sexy car. youre putting a rb26 in it? thats ridiculous!

02-07-2010, 11:04 AM	#8
usafdarkhorse Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Knoxville,TN / Akishima-shi, Tokyo, Japan Posts: 26 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	Subscribed. You probably already know about this ( your original thread might be there ), but HybridZ has a great deal of info on RB swaps. Good luck with your build. Do that Z justice.

02-07-2010, 11:41 AM	#9
RB24_S14 Zilvia Junkie Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Hagerstown Age: 32 Posts: 477 Trader Rating: (1) Feedback Score: 1 reviews	Nice car! looks cool glwb __________________ 460whp 350Z

02-07-2010, 02:14 PM	#10
Chrischeezer Zilvia FREAK! Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: earth Age: 40 Posts: 1,406 Trader Rating: (2) Feedback Score: 2 reviews	awesome, can't wait for the updates... note: plz get a better chain, i had a sr drop from 2 feet up with that skinny chain. eeek __________________

02-07-2010, 02:15 PM	#11
I LUV MY S13 Post Whore! Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Norwalk, Los Angeles Age: 34 Posts: 3,349 Trader Rating: (35) Rides Gallery: I LUV MY S13 Feedback Score: 35 reviews	damn now this is what i call a build...keep us updated yo __________________ -Jorge

02-08-2010, 05:14 PM	#14
Kouki_monstr Zilvia FREAK! Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Colorado Age: 38 Posts: 1,295 Trader Rating: (12) Feedback Score: 12 reviews	VQ's are POS..That would have been a horrible idea __________________ 97 Kouki- Third times a charm Instagram@Koukimonstrr

02-09-2010, 11:08 AM	#16
Bushido Post Whore! Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: SFL Posts: 3,563 Trader Rating: (10) Feedback Score: 10 reviews	kinda sucks to modify a car that clean and original.... but have fun with it! __________________

12-22-2010, 10:03 AM	#17
Ricky Ricer Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Littleton Age: 36 Posts: 30 Trader Rating: (1) Feedback Score: 1 reviews	Bringing this back... to say it's no more. I sold the Z. Wish the project would have been complete, but I just didn't have the time for it. I bought a 1995 Skyline GT-R V-Spec

12-22-2010, 10:06 AM	#18
shiftdrift Nissanaholic! Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: indiana Age: 33 Posts: 2,242 Trader Rating: (42) Feedback Score: 42 reviews	i mean, that works too haha __________________ SW Fab

12-22-2010, 10:08 AM	#19
Pure_JDM Zilvia Addict Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denham Springs, LA Posts: 814 Trader Rating: (2) Feedback Score: 2 reviews	I like what you've done to it!!! lol. Nice buy.

12-22-2010, 10:59 AM	#20
Ricky Ricer Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Littleton Age: 36 Posts: 30 Trader Rating: (1) Feedback Score: 1 reviews	LOL, it was quite the upgrade. Custom flares, hood, fenders, rear end, roof.

12-22-2010, 11:30 AM	#21
STEEZxIT Zilvia FREAK! Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: socal, man! Posts: 1,261 Trader Rating: (11) Feedback Score: 11 reviews	you bought a skyline motor and said...WTH, i might as well buy a skyline. nice buy though. __________________ @dangerdamian

12-22-2010, 11:41 AM	#22
murderrsirenss BANNED Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: https://t.me/pump_upp Posts: 354 Trader Rating: (2) Feedback Score: 2 reviews	well damn, haha. nice upgrade!

12-22-2010, 11:46 AM	#23
two40guy Zilvia Junkie Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: binghamton,ny Posts: 442 Trader Rating: (9) Feedback Score: 9 reviews	pulled a complete 180 there haha nice buy though!

12-22-2010, 11:58 AM	#24
Slammed Assassin Nissanaholic! Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Oxnard/SV Posts: 2,065 Trader Rating: (34) Feedback Score: 34 reviews	haha! great buy!!! __________________

12-23-2010, 08:50 PM	#26
z0rd0n1 Join Date: May 2010 Location: SoCal...soon back to Portland, OR Age: 36 Posts: 23 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	haha nice bro, question-- where did you go to get those fender flares for the z? __________________ -DON'T FORGET TO WEAR YOUR SMILE TODAY!-

12-24-2010, 06:40 AM	#27
LoneStarSilvia Zilvia FREAK! Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Okinawa--->Arizona Age: 36 Posts: 1,509 Trader Rating: (5) Feedback Score: 5 reviews	Would've kept the Z honestly, a good Z is hard to find and a damn sight cooler than a R33. That being said though, that's a good looking 33, nice and simple, with some awesomely rare wheels. __________________

01-21-2011, 06:44 PM	#30
VinceSpec Leaky Injector Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: NY Age: 38 Posts: 99 Trader Rating: (2) Feedback Score: 2 reviews	both look stunning. sad to hear the 240 project didnt happen, but no complaints seeing its replacement!