Project Compromise - G35 Sedan

[Sileighty_85]

So it seems I cant just own an ordinary stock car, just seems boring to me.

So I call this Project Compromise cuz things are changing, I have a daughter and the 2 door cars are just not cutting it and wanting something a little bigger, nicer, little more comfortable but sporty as well that I can mod a little. Fuck, I'm getting old I guess...

The G35 came to mind and some with in the price range Id be willing to pay for one since im not a fan of spending 20K+ on a car or like owing money or being in debt. So set out in search for one.

Getting a 6 Speed was a must, not a fan of Auto and the problems that spawn from them, also wanted black interior.

Looked for a couple of weeks, could find 40+ autos but manuals were few and far. Checked craigslist one night before going to bed to see one pop up for a great price with a good bit of mods on it. Majority of the mods were ones I was going to do to one.

Messaged the guy and drove up that evening to check it out. it was dark but looked pretty good but had some little flags that popped up for me on the front end. Headlights and front bumper missing the black stripe the side skirts had for one. Said he ran into a trailer hitch in a stop and go fender bender and replaced the bumper. Okay doesnt sound to bad.

Drove fine until I took a sharp right then you would feel something grab the wheel and feel the front right wheel shutter and the skid light come one.

was pretty sad cuz I wanted this car really bad being it was the only 6 speed in a 250 mile radius of me.

Took it back jacked it up looked like the FR wheel was contacting the front upper control arm, turns out the wheels are staggered and the Old owner of the wheels put the tires on the wheels wrong so the owner had the rears on the right side the fronts on the left side. Being the rears are 1/2 wider and a higher offset it sat really close to the upper control arm and would contact the CA when cornering....

So being pretty sure that was the issue I took a gamble and cut him a check and drove it home.









So Saturday hits and I was going to take the daughter to the store to buy some waffle mix to make waffles for her.
I go to put her Recaro seat in to find no seat belts in the back......What in the fuck.... Dude mentioned nothing of seat belts being removed knowing I was buying this as a family car.

Dude had put some bags of parts in the trunk, scrounged through to find the seat belts but only one anchor bolt for the upper part... great so now I have to learn how to tear apart the back end of this install one belt then do it again when I get the rest of the parts later....





So when removing the rear seats I stumbled upon this... great this probably fucked up...



So im not sure if im mad or impressed. This guy managed to turn a 1.25 thread pitch to a 1.5 without destroying the stud or nut..



so super long story short got in one usable seat belt in the back.

So next up the headlights. Ginormous pieces of shit, cut off is garbage and output is shit and looks ricey as shit.



Popped in some brighter bulbs and disconnected the LED but left the Halo's to make them look a smidge better until I can get some OEM HID lights






Also noticed when pulling the headlights my assumptions were correct that the front end was damaged a bit more than he told me as the fiberglass core support had been replaced from a Automatic transmission G35 due to a factory OEM information sticker taking about auto transfluid. That and the Powersteering cooler dosent have nutzerts in the core.

Frame appears fine though so thats what really matters to me.

Anyway, Upgrades that came with the car

Stillen Pop Charger
Kinetix V Plenum
Thermal intake manifold spacer
Kinetix high flow cats
Tanabe Medallion Exhaust
Dyno Tuned with an Osiris Pro Tuner
Apparently it made 60hp and 80 ftlbs over stock



So only had this car for a few days and already ordering parts for it.

I want to keep this pretty mild so not wanting to slam this as I pan on taking this on long trips so want it to be comfortable.

Being that in mind i ordered some Tein H Tech lowering springs just to give it a little drop but keep it comfortable.

Also ordered some brake pads for the GTR's Brembos, so thinking about swapping the old GTR's calipers on the G35 seeing that they are just about the same size and make it a bit sportier looking.

[andisan]

I know what you mean about a 2 door car and family growing, I'm looking for a good G20 to buy for when I take my girls out, or when the wife needs to make a quick run, my thing will be like you, won't keep it stock XD

Good luck with the build

Hopefully the car won't give you any trouble

[Sileighty_85]

Originally Posted by andisan

I know what you mean about a 2 door car and family growing, I'm looking for a good G20 to buy for when I take my girls out, or when the wife needs to make a quick run, my thing will be like you, won't keep it stock XD

Good luck with the build

Hopefully the car won't give you any trouble

I had thought about a G20 but hate dealing with anything FWD. lol but would be a fun little car to play in

Got the coils in today!


Got 3 of 4 done :/ if I had 1 more hour I could have had it all done :/



Pulled off a rotor to compare to a BNR32 rotor pretty much the exact same diameter but a lot thicker, so it would seem the BNR32 brakes are an upgraded To the G35's.

Need to get a caliper on there to see if it bolts up.

[Sileighty_85]

Got the rest of the coils installed, rides nice, dropped it about 3/4 of an inch.

Now to find some wheels maybe

[DJTTon]

What a perfect thread!
Have been a fan of the G35 sedans since I picked up my G35 coupe. Excited to see what you do to it, since Im kind of in the same position as you except no kids. Purpose is for daily/street use.

How are you deciding on parts for it?

Also btw, update your signature

[Malik]

i was hoping this would be a VIP thread.

[Sileighty_85]

Originally Posted by DJTTon

What a perfect thread!
Have been a fan of the G35 sedans since I picked up my G35 coupe. Excited to see what you do to it, since Im kind of in the same position as you except no kids. Purpose is for daily/street use.

How are you deciding on parts for it?

Also btw, update your signature

I never concidered one of these cars until I came back state side lol, saw how much they are going for as well as having a good power plant and RWD MT then realized that exact what I'm looking for.

For parts I'm just going for a mild build, so parts that are reliable but on the cheaper side. Like for control arms I would love some SPLs but because it's just gonna be a daily I'm gonna go with Z1 arms with the poly bushings.

When I sell the S14 I'm gonna buy a built short block, I would love to build it myself but I take way too long to get that done. IE: my RB26 lol
And want minimal down time

Yeah it probably about time to change all that.

Originally Posted by Malik

i was hoping this would be a VIP thread.

As much as I'd love to slam the shit outta this thing, It'll be a mild VIP, some suspension work and nice wheels if I can decide on a set I want.

[Initial Drift]

Aye! Excited to see where this "mild" build goes.

Been thinking of a daily car too and something about the nissan family just calls to me. Want that touch of luxury and class while still being sporty. Looks like G series fits that order.

[DJTTon]

Originally Posted by Initial Drift

Aye! Excited to see where this "mild" build goes.

Been thinking of a daily car too and something about the nissan family just calls to me. Want that touch of luxury and class while still being sporty. Looks like G series fits that order.

Many parts are also shared with the 350Z (apparently), which has a good aftermarket support too. So there wont be a shortage on upgrades

[Sileighty_85]

Originally Posted by Initial Drift

Aye! Excited to see where this "mild" build goes.

Been thinking of a daily car too and something about the nissan family just calls to me. Want that touch of luxury and class while still being sporty. Looks like G series fits that order.

As soon as I can get the S14 sold, I can order a built short block for it. Probably gonna wait til The R23 4 Door arrives so the wife will have something to drive during that time and have a spare vehicle.

So far I think so, strange having a car thats not slammed rides smooth with a little git up and go.
The GTR rides good but the G is way softer

Originally Posted by DJTTon

Many parts are also shared with the 350Z (apparently), which has a good aftermarket support too. So there wont be a shortage on upgrades

Yeah I noticed that, pretty nice some stuff crosses over, so maybe I can get some engine/suspension parts a little cheaper maybe

[Sileighty_85]

Been TDY to Vegas for the last month so haven been able to do shit except order a few parts.

Finally got my hands on some OEM Xenon headlights, need to wets and and polish the lenses before installing them though.



And ordered some Z1 banjo bolts for installing the BNR32 front brakes.

[Sileighty_85]

So finally back from Vegas, sadly did not become a millionaire :/

But got to work on restoring the stock head lights I got.

Tired wet sanding and working up to 2000 grit and sealing it with gloss clear coat. was working pretty good until the first coat started to orange peel even when cleaning the surface with alcohol before applying. I think it was due to being outside and kinda in the sun, causing the paint to the dry too fast.

luckily this was the old broken headlight so just used it as a test.







so until i perfect this methood i just went with the Rain-X kit.

Worked really well


Before



Comparison
Buffed but not sealed yet




Sealant applied

[Sileighty_85]

Headlights installed, much better




Played around with this but having a small clearance issue on the back side of the rotor. Need make a little 1mm spacer I think. Or I'll just do akebono or brembos lol

[Sileighty_85]

Been a hot minute before being able to do something with this thing.

Order a set of Achilles ATR Sports, ordered 4 but the company sent me 6 instead lol
winning.

Untitled by Neil Sellers, on Flickr

Untitled by Neil Sellers, on Flickr

So went on vacation a month ago and like everytime i go on vacation something pops up 2-3 days before i leave.
This time was a coolant leak. would only leak when I romped on it. thought it was the rad hoses, replaced them was fine for a day then happened again.

wiped down the engine bay to take it for another ride to help locate it. when i wiped the rad i noticed it was wet again.

pulled it out and found this.

Untitled by Neil Sellers, on Flickr


An autozone replacement was 200$, a Koyo from FRSport was $250..... did not have enough time to order the koyo and was not gonna spend 150$ on expedite shipping.

So i ordered the Autozone one, drove down to AL, Ordered the Koyo, swapped out the Rads and returned the Autozone one with no questions asked lol

Untitled by Neil Sellers, on Flickr

Untitled by Neil Sellers, on Flickr

all tucked away so you cant eve see its beauty

Untitled by Neil Sellers, on Flickr

[Sileighty_85]

So i guess photobucket finally caved? If so i can finally update these.

Best junkyard find ever! Found some 06 tailights in the JY for $60! Winning







Then needed Some new pads and rotors. So made the logical decision and bought a Brembo setup lol







Boom



Still looks tiny on 19"s lol

[DJTTon]

Glad to see this going along.

[Sileighty_85]

So been out of the US for the last 6 months and just got back last week.

Bought a few parts while I was gone



Then unexpectedly picked up a VQ engine at a junkyard. Went to the JY just looking for a VLSD and stumbled across a half pulled VQ, could not pass up this opportunity.

The plan is I will be ordering a Re-manufactured long block and sending this block in as a core so I can keep mine and maybe build it one day.


Current engine is pushing about 175K and burns oil so its a ticking time bomb, especially since this car was modded by prev owners So I know they probably beat the shit outta it.





Being that this car is the family DD that I drive on 10+ hour road trips I need it to be reliable and must refrain from turning it into a race car (for now) and time is not on my side at the moment so I dont have time to tear it down and build it.



fashioned myself a sling lol







Easy enough



So this yard does not have wagons for moving heavy shit so my ass has to tote this fucker by myself in a wheel barrow from the other side of the yard. Felt like I just did legs and back



Got it home and started to strip it to open up the bottom end to make sure it is still a good block.

was kinda worried on why a non wrecked chassis and a half pulled engine was junked.

This was the first time Ive worked on a VQ engine and gotta say I love it thus far. So easy to work on. So use to working on RB and SR's with 500 hoses under the IM manifolds. This intake has like 3 hose, super easy to remove the IM





rolled it outside to power wash it


so I dont have any spare engine stands so have to improvise to pull the oil pan to inspect it.





Pulled the pan and everything looked good surprisingly, no Gold



pulled the plugs and probably found out why they junked it.
#6 cylinder plug tube was full of oil and water and the plug tip was just about non existent

[A54]

Welcome home brother...Nice updates. Another 179 TDY completed?

[Sileighty_85]

Originally Posted by A54

Welcome home brother...Nice updates. Another 179 TDY completed?

Yup lol, Thanks!

New Engine has arrived, just need to order some DC headers since after seeing how shitty and small the stock headers are why not, that and it would be the best idea to do that while the engine is out since i read its a PITA to do with the engine in the car. Hoping I have an upgraded clutch in the car already too

[DJTTon]

yo this is sick! Im so happy youre still working on the Gsedan. Definitely get all your little upgrades in while the engine is out. Working on the VQ while installed is nightmarish

[Sileighty_85]

Originally Posted by DJTTon

yo this is sick! Im so happy youre still working on the Gsedan. Definitely get all your little upgrades in while the engine is out. Working on the VQ while installed is nightmarish

yeah man, was super close to getting a Stillen SC kit for it but have to refrain. need to keep this car somewhat reliable and finish the other projects I have..

Started cleaning up some of the parts to install to lessen the down time of the G35 when I pull the engine.

wish I got some before shot. the runners were probably 3 times worsr then the plenum underside.







then got my DC headers in. Would love some Z1's but cannot justify 1K for some headers :/





crazy how restrictive the stock headers are.

[Sileighty_85]

Its happening

Whole lotta "What the Fucks" were said when pulling this engine from the previous owner





RTV all the gaskets!..... Fucking RTV on MLG's






Time to invest in a real sling, this was way to difficult by myself

cannot believe it cleared core support




RTV in the front crank pully......


Pulled this just in time
probably only had a few hundred more miles on it.

DMF is shot so guess Ill have to upgrade lol





Calling it a night


Too many engines not enough space.. How many do you see? lol

[Sileighty_85]

So the Dual Mass Flywheel is just outta spec for reuse. kinda was hoping to reuse it to keep cost down, but low key kinda glad to upgrade it and drop a little weight.

Ordered a Z1 clutch kit with a 21 lb flywheel to keep chatter minimal but shave a few founds.


also replaced the front trans seals and upgraded the pivot ball to a chromoly one.





Engines pretty much done and ready for install. Just need to clean the bay a little and replace some hoses.









Should be able to drop it in this weekend

[Green Arrow]

You should do the pathfinder* coolant crossover mod while its out.

[Sileighty_85]

Originally Posted by Green Arrow

You should do the pathfinder* coolant crossover mod while its out.

Had thought about it, if I was tracking it then maybe would have done it.
But for stockish its fine.


Long day today but lots of progress. Got the trans mated and dropped in, just need to install the radiator, plenum, few hoses and fluids.

Was not to bad to do by myself, hardest part was getting the engine to clear a line on the rack and pinion when trying to mate it to the trans







Wispers in Mclovin's voice: "It's in!"

[DJTTon]

Amazing! Idk if you talked about it but are you staying stock ecu or are you getting an uprev tune?

[Sileighty_85]

Originally Posted by DJTTon

Amazing! Idk if you talked about it but are you staying stock ecu or are you getting an uprev tune?

Yeah its already been tuned on uprev, probably get a retune to optimitze its performance

[Sileighty_85]

Kenetix manifold needed a new gasket, previous owner scrapped it off and just RTVd all that shit together....always shspected a vac leak though too.

But the guy over torqued the shit outt this thing and warped it, so a new gasket didnt work :/

So had to install the OEM intake plenum till i can aquide another one.





Filled up all the fluids, put some redline MT-85 in the trans. Primed the oil system and fired up on the first try!

[Sileighty_85]

When it rains it pours...
Looked down from the road to reset my trip odometer to see a white flash(big ass fucking rock) go under the right rear wheel bent the wheel and punctured the tire....

Main reason to have legit wheels





After beating the shit outta it with a brass sledge i got it to seal.
Was on a time crunch as in 4 days i was leaving to go on a 12hr drive for the holidays so needed to fix this. No one local had any spare 19s or a legit rims repair shop.




So finished the breaking in period the day before leaving on the road trip, so after changin the oil i then could drive over 3K. Durring the trip i noticed an oil burning smell when coming to a stop. Didnt see any active leaks under the car and couldnt see anthing leaking on the headers so figured the rings were still seating.

Finally go to my destination and crawled under the car with a flahlight to see some oil residue.


Traced it up....



A fucking cracked block..... not by me, rotating assembly is fine. Fucking company over looked this issue when they rebuilt it.... really shitty since i just swapped this fucking engine in and being 700 miles from home....



Welp some fucking Three bond is gonna have to do the trick till i get this bitch home....

[Tearlessj]

Damn dude that fucking sucks, hope they take care of you.