530ZX - In progress
12-29-2015, 03:23 AM
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530ZX - In progress A little background if you have the time:
This is my first car, which I got when i was 17. When I was 19 or 20, the timing belt, on the stock non-turbo VG, decided to unburden itself, and instead of just replacing the belt and any valves/headwork, I decided it would be cool to swap in a turbo VG. Well this turned out to be a bad idea since I never got it running correctly, which I'd still attribute to the local machine shop that rebuilt it, but either way it was a failed attempt at a stock option swap.
After that the car sat, and I'd tinker on it from time to time. In the interim, I had a '90 accord as a daily which was a bit emasculating
, then I bought a custom '91 chevy swb off a buddy and drove that around for a while.
Then one fortuitous evening I was introduced to the almighty LS in the form of a friend's '04 GTO with a 175 shot. I was done. And shortly thereafter purchased my first fbody/LS in the form of a '01 WS6, which I had until around 2010.
Got through college, started my career, got married, bought a house, and unfortunately, the wife hated the Z so it ended up sitting a while longer untouched. Then a few years ago I got a divorce, and "temporarily" stored the car at my stepfather's place, which actually ended up turning into 3 years
While the car was stored, I got rid of my tundra and bought a 2000 SS to daily, and basically ended up performing a ton of maintenance including the entire suspension before turning that in on '08 Z06. So around February of this year, the thought of reviving my aging Z into a track car sprouted legs and so began the process of unearthing it and relocating it to my current residence. And even though I'd never done anything like this before, I wanted to approach this project as hands-on learning experience and figured that if I screwed something up it wasn't a big deal since the only remaining value left in the car was sentimental.
As luck would have it, there happened to be another guy doing roughly the same swap and had went through the arduous legwork of assisting Dirty Dingo Motorsports develop engine mounts for this application, which they'd just released weeks prior.
With engine mounts purchased, around April I picked up a 5.3 out of an '02 Yukon XL from a local yard, and over the course of the next several months, spent many hours researching and started swapping out the various components and purchasing all the odds and ends to fit it into the engine bay of the Z.
In October, I contacted Kenny Cash for a new harness and PCM flash. And having received this and completing the integration into the car, I test fired it for the first time last Monday and much to my surprise and relief it started on the first try with no leaks, fires, or explosions.
So on the following several posts I'll backfill the photo log, and from there start adding new content as I complete tasks. Thanks for reading!
The general plan so far:
Stand and Welder
This is my first car, which I got when i was 17. When I was 19 or 20, the timing belt, on the stock non-turbo VG, decided to unburden itself, and instead of just replacing the belt and any valves/headwork, I decided it would be cool to swap in a turbo VG. Well this turned out to be a bad idea since I never got it running correctly, which I'd still attribute to the local machine shop that rebuilt it, but either way it was a failed attempt at a stock option swap.
After that the car sat, and I'd tinker on it from time to time. In the interim, I had a '90 accord as a daily which was a bit emasculating
, then I bought a custom '91 chevy swb off a buddy and drove that around for a while.Then one fortuitous evening I was introduced to the almighty LS in the form of a friend's '04 GTO with a 175 shot. I was done. And shortly thereafter purchased my first fbody/LS in the form of a '01 WS6, which I had until around 2010.
Got through college, started my career, got married, bought a house, and unfortunately, the wife hated the Z so it ended up sitting a while longer untouched. Then a few years ago I got a divorce, and "temporarily" stored the car at my stepfather's place, which actually ended up turning into 3 years
While the car was stored, I got rid of my tundra and bought a 2000 SS to daily, and basically ended up performing a ton of maintenance including the entire suspension before turning that in on '08 Z06. So around February of this year, the thought of reviving my aging Z into a track car sprouted legs and so began the process of unearthing it and relocating it to my current residence. And even though I'd never done anything like this before, I wanted to approach this project as hands-on learning experience and figured that if I screwed something up it wasn't a big deal since the only remaining value left in the car was sentimental.
As luck would have it, there happened to be another guy doing roughly the same swap and had went through the arduous legwork of assisting Dirty Dingo Motorsports develop engine mounts for this application, which they'd just released weeks prior.
With engine mounts purchased, around April I picked up a 5.3 out of an '02 Yukon XL from a local yard, and over the course of the next several months, spent many hours researching and started swapping out the various components and purchasing all the odds and ends to fit it into the engine bay of the Z.
In October, I contacted Kenny Cash for a new harness and PCM flash. And having received this and completing the integration into the car, I test fired it for the first time last Monday and much to my surprise and relief it started on the first try with no leaks, fires, or explosions.
So on the following several posts I'll backfill the photo log, and from there start adding new content as I complete tasks. Thanks for reading!
The general plan so far:
- 5.3L
- T56
- S13/S14 rear sub frame
- R200/R230 diff
- Kouki front-end swap
- Gutted interior
- No A/C or Heat
- Power steering retained
Stand and Welder
12-29-2015, 03:26 AM
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Had to swap back to the non-turbo crossmember
Turbo crossmember removed
Turbo (offset/non-painted) vs non-turbo
Non-turbo crossmember installed
Dirty Dingo Mounts
Turbo crossmember removed
Turbo (offset/non-painted) vs non-turbo
Non-turbo crossmember installed
Dirty Dingo Mounts
12-29-2015, 03:28 AM
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TBO replica lip came in finally along with clutch, flywheel gaskets and suspension components
Fbody pan and tray
New fbody tray, pickup, and dipstick combo
Picked up two LS1 intakes, got a deal on the second one and resold for a profit nearly paying for both
Broken header bolt removal (1st time and only second time using a welder)
Organization
Painting the valve covers
Fbody pan and tray
New fbody tray, pickup, and dipstick combo
Picked up two LS1 intakes, got a deal on the second one and resold for a profit nearly paying for both
Broken header bolt removal (1st time and only second time using a welder)
Organization
Painting the valve covers
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12-29-2015, 03:35 AM
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Fixing the pass headlight bucket (will be tubed later) and kouki swap initial fitment
Apparently there's a slight difference if splicing the 87-89 bumper onto the 86 fender, will need to cut and glass the lip I guess
Apparently there's a slight difference if splicing the 87-89 bumper onto the 86 fender, will need to cut and glass the lip I guess
12-29-2015, 03:38 AM
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Battery Relocation and routing power
Flaming River 1/0 kit
Had to drill the terminals to fit the kill switch, alt relay and battery junction posts
Battery ground to frame
Engine to rail ground
Additional head to body grounds
Flaming River 1/0 kit
Had to drill the terminals to fit the kill switch, alt relay and battery junction posts
Battery ground to frame
Engine to rail ground
Additional head to body grounds
12-29-2015, 03:39 AM
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Stock theft system bypass for key
Wires and protectors
Trimming the stock truck manifolds
Harness and flashed PCM arrived!
Reusing the stock speedo cable after widening two 2 inches
Integration subharness made of recycled Z wiring
Wires and protectors
Trimming the stock truck manifolds
Harness and flashed PCM arrived!
Reusing the stock speedo cable after widening two 2 inches
Integration subharness made of recycled Z wiring
12-29-2015, 08:25 AM
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Well, that was a lot of pics and a lot of progress. I love it Seems like Nissan needs to just go ahead and start putting V8s in their cars. They seem to find a way in their at some point in the life of the car anyhow. Keep up the good work!
Seems like Nissan needs to just go ahead and start putting V8s in their cars. They seem to find a way in their at some point in the life of the car anyhow. Keep up the good work! 
