blakt out

I have the Arizona Z Car camber plates, front and rear. Thing is, you can look down at the road below through the open hole. I know these are really for the track, but I have my car built for the street. It's loud, and it lets fumes inside that make my lips go numb. Any ideas as to what I can do? Here's a pic.

Just found out that I'll be having some pictures of the car taken with Peter Brock!

No wipers because, when I turned them on, one went one way and the other the other, so I have to figure out what's up there. Good catch!

Thanks again, everyone. Well, here's the story: I flew into Wilmington, NC (where National Speed, Inc is) from Knoxville, TN (where I live) to watch them finish up a few jobs on the car. They just got it the Saturday before that, and had some things to do. For example, the throttle cable wasn't ideal coming out of the firewall, so they were going to fabricate a bracket for it. These guys are amazing fabricators, by the way. Also, with concern for the turbo getting the bottom of my freshly painted, non-vented hood hot, they were going to fabricate a heat shield. I was sort of bummed by this, because it would hide my turbo and not look pretty. But I'd be more bummed if it bubbled my paint or melted my plastic brake fluid reserviors. They were going to hook up some of the gauges, including the tach. They found a way to make the stock tach work with the 4cyl S15. They're going to tell me who helped them on this, because they deserve a ton of thanks. I apologize that I don't recall the name, but I'll make sure that fellow gets a public sign of appreciation, for sure. Anyway, plans were to fly in Wednesday, them finish the car on Thursday, I drive the car around in celebration all day Thursday, in case anything came up that needed to be addressed, and then leave out early Friday morning for Tennessee. This is an 8.5 hour drive, a real maiden voyage, for sure. Before flying out, I was very excited. This would be my first time seeing the Z fully assembled, as well as my first time driving it since it went into the shop 36 months ago. Late one night earlier in the week, when I was still in Knoxville, I got a call from Chris Polanski, President of National Speed. I could tell in his voice that something wasn't good. My heart sank. "There's bad noises coming from inside this engine. I don't know what it is. We'll find it." The next day, he calls me back. One of the rocker arms has sheered, flopping all around inside the top of the engine. A valve shim is damaged, and the valve guide is missing, likely in the oil pan (which is was). The camshaft might have suffered some too. Gulp. I started reading all the SR20 threads online that I could find. I then found something of interest: When you build one of these engines, especially with upgraded cams, you have to put rocker arm stoppers in to keep them flop slapping everywhere at high rpm. I sent Chris and Jordan (my customer service superhero at National Speed... Zedex on this forum) some links just before I went to the airport, showing them what I'd found. When I land in Wilmington, I immediately drive to National Speed. In 5 minutes of talking with Jordan, including the greeting, I find out that National Speed has a new cam, all hardware, the stoppers which were omitted before... all coming next day air. Some parts they already had. They had John, a head technician, already working on it. I was happy about this, but I said "what about the cost? The time?" Jordan looked at me and said, "It's been a long time since I missed something on a build. I missed it on this one. We're taking care of all of this for you, and we intend to have you out of here and on your way back to Knoxville on time, with all the fabrication completed as well." I couldn't believe it. I actually COULD, because I've been working with these guys for a while now. But wow. When it actually happened, I can't explain the relief and respect that I had for these guys. Friday morning, the car was back together and running very well. So, I took it around the block to their fabrication shop. They were a little behind becaus of the engine stuff, but now they could fabricate the heat shield, throttle cable bracket, install the temp sensor, create a bracket for the bottom of the intercooler, and fabricate a washer fluid reservior that more fit the style of my engine bay. On the way over, the suspension felt really, really wobbly, and any bump or seam in the road caused a liver-shaking thump. It was so horrible. Upon looking at the coilovers, they realized that they weren't installed correctly, or all the way. So they throw yet another tech on my car to fix this. I'll skip forward here, but after at least a dozen hours of working on the suspension (till Friday night around midnight, Saturday all day until about midnight, and all day today - Sunday - so far. I'm writing this from the fab shop) they've got the suspension feeling good now. The Arizona Z Car (www.arizonazcar.com) equipment is absolutely stunning and ridiculously adjustable. I want to do everything I can to send business their way, because AZC is an incredible company, with integrity, and overengineered and GORGEOUS products. I better can't tell you with words, so I'll show you the pictures. So now, they're working on a custom fabricated speedo gear. They have been for a couple of hours at least. The throttle cable bracket is done, as is the heat shield. Look how gorgeous this heat shield is. It's sanded stainless, and perfectly matches the coil cover that they designed. We took it to the alignment shop today around 3:30, which is an hour and a half before they close. They got it up on the rack and saw what they had to deal with, and the lazy guy actually called me back and said that he didn't want to get into it on a Saturday afternoon. So, I'm going to drive it back to Knoxville tomorrow with the alignment off. National Speed wouldn't let me leave with it off as bad as it was, so they did the best they could at eyeing it, and it drives just fine. I must say, I haven't even flipped it to high boost yet (which is over 500HP), only leaving it in low boost, which is 380 or so. It's incredibly stout, and the beautiful noises that this car makes gives me a boyish grin that I can't hide. Even at low boost, this car is extremely quick. I can already tell that I'll be getting in touch with Arizona Z Car and ordering some stiffer springs. National Speed also had to actually fabricate spacers for the sway bars to connect to the control arms and not move around. This isn't an Arizona Z Car issue, but a sway bar company issue. AZC parts have been flawless so far. So, I want to give a heartfelt thank you to National Speed for having up to 4 techs on my car after hours until midnight, from morning until (who knows, we're still here) on the weekend, and for being great guys to spend countless hours working on my dream car with. I'm a customer for life. I'll be starting some sort of muscle car build next, as I already have the drivetrain (LS3 & 6spd) out of a 2010 Camaro SS to play with. Jordan at National Speed already is planning up a single turbo system for it, but that's a long way away. But next time, I plan to do all of the resto work myself (National Speed WILL be doing any power mods though). Heck, they actually have every gauge in the Z, original gauges, working with the new drivetrain perfectly (speedo still being worked on, but I'm confident, to say the least). If I ever build another Z car (I can't see why I would), I'll definitely go straight to Arizona Z Car and Les Cannaday at Classic Datsun. The pieces that Les gave me made my dream of a resto-mod Z with a perfect stock interior a reality. I've got a handful of photographers lined up to shoot this car, and they'll be framing up this interior a good bit. Right now, it's got my luggage all in it and a photo from tonight wouldn't do it justice. Thank you, Les. I also want to thank Guy Ried who tirelessly sought perfection on the unibody of this car. The body is laser straight, and he used filler in no areas except in one paper thin area where he had welded in a new piece to the rocker. I also want to thank John at CC Wheels (CCW). I think that my car wouldn't look just like I wanted it to with any other wheel set. These are gorgeous too. He had to study all of the parts that I had under the suspension over the phone and online, because I was in Thailand for a few months while he was making the wheels. The very first test wheel he sent fit perfectly. The stance is spot on. Mack with McKinney Motorsports gave me great info and sold me great parts. Of course, Motorsport Auto had great service, and always sent the right part right on time. Again, thanks to all of you. Tomorrow, I take it on its maiden voyage, if nothing else comes up. The wipers still aren't on, as the motor is burnt out and it's supposed to rain. I sure hope it holds off, but RAIN-X! The steering wheel isn't straight, because it hasn't been aligned. It hasn't been corner balanced. It hasn't been set-up. The rear springs are too mushy. But guess what, I won't be caring. I'll be thanking God that I'm finally driving it. Despite a huge change in my personal finances since the start of this build, He sent enough good people my way to have it completed without any, ANY compromise to my original dream and I'm finally able to take her home. Thank you all for following this thread. I'm sure that I'll be posting up more, answering any questions that I can, and basically telling you all how giddy I am. And just for fun, this was an un-planned photo op at National Speed this week (well, I saw the others there are parked mine there for the picture). National Speed knows Z cars. They know fabrication. They know custom turbos. And they know how to treat people, even when they make the rare mistake. I think I've made some lifelong friends in this journey. I hope you have enjoyed following along on my build. The Z and I didn't make it to the Mitty this weekend. We didn't make it to the show at European Auto Garage in Knoxville (another terrific shop that works on other cars that I own). But we're registered and ready to be in the show at the Nationals in Franklin, TN. I hope some of you can attend. I'd love to meet you and show you my car. There's so many custom fabricated parts on it that it takes me 30 minutes to show someone all of them and explain why it was made the way it was. I'm very proud of it.

Smokey, Thanks much. Where are you in NC? I'll be driving it from Wilmington up I-40 all the way to Asheville, and then through Hot Springs and into Knoxville on Friday... Jared Oh, at least I left the interior alone! It's all new, from Classic Datsun Motorpsports... every little thing is restored.

Thank you much, men. As far as the Mitty, my business partner owns European Auto Garage here in Knoxville and they're having a big Cars & Coffee event with lots of crazy cars lined up. I think I need to go to that instead. BUT, if things change, I might just do that! Are a ton of Z guys going to The Mitty?

Well fellas, the wait is about over. I'll be picking up the car in a few days. At that time, we're going to be taking a ton of pics, and I'll post them on here, along with video. I can't wait. After nearly 3 years (this thread title says 24 months, and it's been 36 now!), she's almost done. I'll be having a professional photog shoot the car this week, and I'll be sure to get that stuff up here for you all. I'm proud to say that this car will be at the Nationals this summer, and I'm putting it in the show to see how well she can do. Thanks so much. I can't explain how giddy I am!

Thanks!

Arne that would be wonderful. Whatever you can do to clear this up. I feel like an idiot.

Pat: Sorry so long. We worked on the car at Miller Brothers Hot Rod Barn this weekend, and I agree. The heat from the exhaust is too close to those reservoirs. We're putting a heat shield between them. Thanks for the post! The air filter though, it gets a ton of air where it is, oddly enough. We checked it as much as possible each way. But with no airflow (dyno) it still sucks in a ton of air, as evidenced by the dyno chart. I need to clear something up though, so please read this part, everyone. I had said earlier that Les (Classic Datsun) was charging me $2400 for my steering wheel. I saw that wheel for the first time this past weekend, and it's amazing. It's going to be one of my favorite parts of the car. It is worth $2400, but he only charged me $400. That's all he ever intended to charge me. I just messed that up, and I wanted to clear it up. I hope that it hasn't been any negative to Les. He's terrific and I really, really have liked working with him. That price is amazing too. Thanks Les! I should've taken a picture of the wheel. It's not in the car yet, since we're not through with the build. It will likely be the very last thing put in. I don't want to hurt it! We're looking to be done with the build by April 4th. Fingers are crossed...

I'm tryin' bro! It needs a lot more than fenders, though. The hatch isn't on, the interior isn't in, and there's a lot of fitment to get just right too. We're on it!

Wonderful. Will do. Thanks much.

OK yunz. I'm registering RIGHT NOW for the Z Convention in Nashville. I'm putting it in the Judged Show, as well as People's Choice. Thing is, I have to choose a category and can't find anything that defines each category for me. I chose, for the time being, "Street Modified". Can any of you help?

Until the car is fully put together and we get a photo shoot (hopefully in less than 4 weeks), I figure the only thing left that I can show you all is the dyno graph. It's a darn well-breathing engine!

From National Speed's Dyno Day Saturday... Pics taken by Kyle McManus - Auto Photog for hire

It just did 431.44whp and 319.72ftlbs!

The car just did 421.90whp and 306.28ftlbs on 18psi! PUMP GAS!

Tuning session is going well. This one, on 10psi, got 302rwhp. Shortly thereafter (and while I was on the phone with them hearing this thing scream), it got 351rwhp at 14psi. The goal of 380-400 at high boost seems perfectly attainable.

Thank you very much! That was part of the goal, actually... but to do it without taking any of the glory of the real 240Z away from it. On that dyno run that I showed in my last link... although it was shut off around 4,000rpm (which is only halfway up the tach), and only at 7psi (which it will be running more than double) it put down over 200whp! That's crazy. Can't wait to see what today brings!

sleepy: Yup. In Knoxville. Would love to show you the car when it's done! Branson Z Fest... I'll look it up to get some dates...

Here are some vids. The first two are it just getting put onto the dyno. It's not dramatic, but I just love seeing it moving around under it's own power. Then, here's a very early tuning session on the dyno. This run goes to 4,000rpm or so and is only at 7psi. They're having to totally write the ECU map for this thing, so it takes a while. I got some clarification today on the engine power. I had chosen in the beginning of the engine build to have a focus on minimizing turbo lag as long as it put 380-400hp down to the wheels. So, the turbo I got has a sweet spot in its efficiency range around 350 or so at the wheels. I'm really happy with this choice. Here's a bit of cool info too. In a little dyno run like you see below (only at 7psi, but run up to 4,500rpm) it put over 200HP at the wheels. That means this engine is really going to have great midrange grunt. We're going to double (or a bit more) the psi as tuning goes on. I'm excited.

luv24ds: Thanks! Thumbs up for living in Vancouver! It's my favorite city in North America. Jared

mgmoreau: Thank you very much! I haven't kept it a secret at all that I didn't do much of the work on this car myself. After the bodywork was so well done, I decided not to compromise on the end result. However, going through this has also given me an even rougher itch to build another myself! I might do it... But I don't want to think too much about ANOTHER Z project right now! So glad to hear that it's inspiring others too. It sure is me! Diseazd: I don't know him, no. Hmmm. I just moved to Knoxville 5 months ago, but I'd love to get to know another motorhead/track rat! five&dime: Man, thanks so much. I think you're being aweful generous with your praise, but I still appreciate it. As I said, I honestly don't "get" the RB swap unless it's just for bragging rights. My engine on high boost could make 600whp. More for the street is plain silly, and I doubt too many people are good enough drivers to handle such a light car with more. I'll leave mine on low boost (hopefully 380whp or so) 99% of the time, because it'll be a handful at that! I wouldn't be surprised if lap times are lower on low boost, honestly. So, the added weight, worse weight distribution, and more finicky nature of the RB just doesn't make sense. I see no reason, honestly, for anyone to ever use that engine other than emotional reasons, which ARE very important and I've made many on this build. But the negatives don't make sense for me. I'm about to post some videos for you that happened today during tuning. Jared

Awesome. Thanks much. No reason I can't make all three.

Front shot… And a few drama shots… Thanks to Jordan at National Speed for hooking me up so constantly with wonderful pics of my baby. See y’all tomorrow.