First and foremost, it was nice to meet you guys tonight at the CTZCC meeting. Jason and I made it back safe and sound and the center console of my car was only 146 degrees when we got back here. Insulation soon!

I am posting this in multiple posts cut from other threads on other forums I had frequented prior to becoming an active part of this community.

Without further delay. (and keep in mind, the "The shoemakers children usually go barefoot" customer cars get a little more fit and finish which I will post some photos of as well.

-Pete
AutoSport CT
860 Five 0 8 967 Zero
Pete@autosportfab.com


Note: This project really guided my life for the last 12 years. It has not come without a lot of sacrifice and man hours.

In 2001 I was in college. I spent more time chasing girls and looking up car info than going to class. I was studying psychology and engineering trying to decide about my path in life.

I was a Nissan Fanboy and went to meets race other Nissan people in my Maxima after 5 transmissions I decided to hunt for what I always wanted. A 240z. So I sought one out. Traded one of my two Maximas for it. Figured out how to work on carbs. Got it running well. Took it to the local two lane black top and rear ended someone while staring at a pretty girl. All in 8 days time.

My world ended. I took some photos and brought them to the local welding shop knowing fair well I would be able to bribe him with the $1000 cash I had on me. (i sold everything I had worth anything at all to fix my car)

He basically shrugged me off and said go buy a grinder and a welder good luck.

So i did. I cut the frame rails out and made new ones. I shoddily repaired the inner fenders and rebuilt the front structure. Somehow a friend of mine convinced me it would be stupid to use the 240z motor... So I bought a junkyard V8 and began learning all the ins and outs of fabrication (slowly/painfully) I gutted the car (still not sure why) and realized the previous owner had glued the carpets down COMPLETELY. Some how I theorized that It would be easier to fabricate new floors with no tools at all. I returned to the same welder that laughed at me and asked for sheetmetal cut into specific sections and shapes so I could easily manipulate them. He offered me a job on the spot.

The next three years were spent learning (the right ways) to fabricate parts. I did some amazing projects and really broadened my horizons. Work slowed down around 2004 and I moved on to work for a local Porsche race car shop.
I ignored my car a lot between 2004 and 2008, here come some of the photos.


IMG_2013 by peej410, on Flickr


IMG_1484s by peej410, on Flickr


IMG_1001 by peej410, on Flickr

In 2009 I bought a house. With a house I received this lovely incentive from the government of exactly $10,000. I spent $1k on the house. You know where the rest went.


40412_459979416349_711386349_6780097_6377658_n by peej410, on Flickr

Deets on it. Home built 354 chevy, Studded throughout, block fill, JE Pistons Eagle Featherweight rods. Scat crank. Ram Flywheel. Totalling 30lbs removed from rotating assembly. Custom solid roller cam Morel Pressure-fed lifters sucking air through AFR 195 Eliminators and maintained by titanium retainers 200lb springs and Jesel Rockers. NOM NOM.

So I drove it around broke in the motor then got on it hard in fourth gear and broke the rear suspension at 100mph or so (not sure I wasnt looking) You can hear it go into wheel hop at the top of third. This was before tuning it and admittedly only 370whp not the claimed 500 (that I thought it was at) Fast forward to 3:50 for the good stuff. http://youtu.be/0jKX5tITulk

Anyways. So I get a buddy to flat tow me home and I sit on a stack of wheels for my E36M3 and ponder how to fix a broken halfshaft, damaged diff, and bent body and suspension. My gf comes home, instantly knows I broke my car and asks me why I still have the ugly wheels on it. (you know cuz shes real sensitive)

Ugly wheels

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

So I had this sitting in my garage after my buddy parted out an E36M3

zm3 by peej410, on Flickr

I talked to a bunch of shops and had my suspicions reinforced that the 32mm hollow axles were extremely robust (800hp claimed) and the diff was good for at least 500hp.

SOO I had one of these laying around.

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

I took a bunch of measurements and before you know it,

Datsun 240z rear Suspension by peej410, on Flickr

Datsun 240z rear suspension weight by peej410, on Flickr

And the M3 suspension

E36 M3 rear suspension by peej410, on Flickr


E36 M3 rear suspension weight by peej410, on Flickr

Admittedly I forgot to put the M3 brakes on there which adds quite a bit but you see where Im going with this. After many moons passed, I had a plan.

Cut here

M3 floor minus subframe and rtab by peej410, on Flickr

Paste here. (yeah right)

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

So I set along making my own parts from scratch with the exception of the trailing arm pockets. So I made this thing, (black)

photo 4 by peej410, on Flickr

This is the beginning of the trailing arm pocket.

photo 3 by peej410, on Flickr

This is the jig I built to make them symmetrical

photo 1 by peej410, on Flickr

Ill deal with the surface rust when I hang new quarters.

photo 5 by peej410, on Flickr

And then I did this

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

Tire clearance to inner fender

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr


Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

I started on the new front lower control arms

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

Which go here

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr


And these

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

Which went here

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

I had Anze Suspension Whip me up some custom valve Penske Single adjustables for about $950 without the springs which is not bad for custom valving.

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

Then I went through and began the whole fuel cell thing

photo 2 by peej410, on Flickr


image3 by peej410, on Flickr

When I need to get in to check stuff out I can remove the suspension as a cartridge.

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

First time on her wheels

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

First time on the scales (old exhaust)

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

I took it to an autocross for a shakedown

DSC_0338 by peej410, on Flickr


DSC_0342 by peej410, on Flickr

This is the power at the wheels
pjhptq by peej410, on Flickr
This is from before I built the headers and retuned.

So I was disappointed. But the technician said it was really weird that it pulled so hard right to 5200 (cam should run up to 7k) So I re-evaluated my supporting systems. Then got bored over the winter. And made these.

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

These

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

and this

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

This is how it fits in the car

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

A shot of the swarm of tubes

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

On to aero junk
Z cars have really bad lift in the front end. There's varied/effective ways to deal with this. I decided to just cut big holes in the hood. The two vents will be open towards the center of the hood. There were be a wall against each inner fender. Its hard to picture so I will make sure I post more as I make more progress. I also worked on oil cooler positioning and ordered a handful of parts from summit. I bought the cheap summit brand pushlock fittings because I am going dry sump over the winter for ground clearance. (I may have already mentioned that) BTW the summit fittings leak which is REALLY ANNOYING

Anyways onto the pics!

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

So with the new headers and more power i found it more and more difficult to put the power to the ground. So I yanked the subframe pressed out the bushings and cleaned them up

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

I went ahead and cut some disks

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

Then welded them in

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

As installed

Untitled by peej410, on Flickr

The final result. Keep in mind I am very much taking it easy. She is all new after all.

240Z V8 SCDA Track day LRP (Limerock) 8-26-13: http://youtu.be/3O55MU76tFQ

I hope you guys enjoy it took me almost 2hours (distracted) to write it up!

PS: if you respond and we met tonight (11th) please remind me who you were so I can put a face to the SN

_________________
240z, E36M3, Z31t, YZ250F

I think we all drooled on your car a bit tonight. I had some Qs but you were constantly surrounded by others who were asking better questions than I would have.
I admire the hood vents and the way you took control of the incoming air and put it just where you wanted it. I undrstnd you vented the hood that way to combat nose lift at speed, but I have always been a proponent of letting the air out from under the hood as soon as you're done using it for its intended purpose ~ cooling the radiator. Therefore, as soon as air gets thru the radiator, it should be channeled OUT of the engine bay. That way, it doesn't build up a huge 'brick' of air resistance which can slow you down (aerodynamically) and overheat you by making it hard for incoming air to flow thru the radiator because it has to move hot air out of the way first. Your vents do exactly what the Ford GT40 did back in the day; it RAMS the air thru the radiator, then FORCES it out of the engine bay. It's done its job, no sense keeping it around in there. Use it as downforce to keep the nose on the deck.

But I did want to ask you how the car FELT to you at LRP? Was it stable? Balanced? Did it push with the nose (all that V8 weight)? Do you have enough "stop" for all your "go"? Does your driveline feel lined-up to you, or does it vibrate? I watched the YT video but couldn't tell these things from watching it. It just looked like you were having some easy fun with it.

Frank

_________________
1970 240Z

SIMPLY AMAZING! i am very jealous and very impressed with everything you have done. and when i ever get the chance to redo my car from scratch i will be stealing your custom interior work. that was sweet. my car was the all primer 280Z. and i loved your spoiler by the way.

_________________
Mike Tubiak
1978 Datsun 280Z - HLS30-438694

Im sorry I didn't have the chance to talk to you guys in person. I guess I will HAVE to go to Ross' shindig. Haha

Thank you for the kind words and thank you for not judging on the whole "every last part isnt exactly finished yet" theme. I like to test out ideas to see if they work and how well they will work prior to committing the time required for a perfect fit and finish.

The hood vents were an attempt at a sleek solution for a common problem. I like the factory hood hump and wanted to keep it (my air cleaner feels the same way) Eventually it will only have a very small opening up front to help minimize the amount of air entering the engine bay A bunch of the hybridz.org rented the wind tunnel a few years back and saw a significant amount of lift at the front. I want to change the rad angle more and move the top significantly further forward. I may or may not do it before the end of this season but I have other things to focus on.
The rear lip I installed solely in an attempt to cancel lift at the rear. It was stable at speed. (120+)

It handled well at the track. Its neutral. Under braking the rear wheels lock up. I am not exactly sure why yet because my M3 does not do this. I have a brake bias valve and it helps a little bit but It makes me apprehensive to go deep on the brakes (im sure you saw me let off way before the numbers) It could be that there isnt enough droop it could be too much rebound in the shocks. It could be the stupid drilled rotors that came with the rear suspension I bought. Who knows.

As you probably heard me mention, no power steering and sticky 285 hoosiers are an absolute bear to handle on the track so I may actually go to a larger steering wheel for now.

The car also needs to be much lower which I am working to achieve. The front E36 M3 dampers are too long. A real race damper like I have on my M3 is shorter but still leaves room for improvement.
These http://www.anzesuspension.com/galleries/e36/e36.html are a little over an inch shorter which will work well but they are huge money. ($1800ea for fronts)

_________________
240z, E36M3, Z31t, YZ250F