The Nissan is far from complete. Previous to my purchase, a pop charger was installed, ECU upgraded via Jim Wolf Technology and intercoolers a la STILLEN. Tons of upgrades are in the works. Ultimately, my goal for this car is roughly 600 whp, Kaminari body kit with JDM front fascia, a new, clean paint job and a practically new interior.

The car is still pretty wrecked, but it's only a perception. Everything is back up and running with senor Fritz Groothuis behind the wild wheel, and the smoke issue seems to be minimal. I'm trying to convince Ash to send me the ZEMulator that I ordered more than a year ago, but that seems to be a losing battle. More to come on me getting my refund for that. My next option is a NISTune, a highly praised ECU system similar to the ZEM that utilizes the factory ECU with an EMS approach. Good thing that bad boy is a lot cheaper than the AEM unit; now I can afford some other items that the ride is in dire need of.

Soon to come (hopefully):

NISTune ECU unit, aftermarket oil cooler, Tech Edge dual channel wideband sensor, and possibly Apex'i NEO unit

History:

We were driving back home from Salt Lake at like 6 in the morning when the whole dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree. I kept driving for roughly 30 seconds before I noticed the heat gauge had maxed out. We pulled over and saw that the alternator/water pump belt had snapped. After replacing the belt, thermostat and water pump the car continued to overheat. The only synopsis at this point were totalled head gaskets, head warpage and total K.O.

At that point I wasn't TOO overwhelmed by the amount of work (removing basically everything I had just spent days working on, retiming the entire engine and so on) because I have come to accept the technicality and amount of time involved in working on a car that can put out well over 650 WHP. Not only that, but I just love the thing :D. This is where my car history began.

Stop by to keep up to date!

Update 7/21/09: I'm still in Iraq and Fritz is piloting my hideous but fast ride. I'm trying to hook him up with the forementioned items and get the Z over to Element Racing for a professional tune and possibly dyno. More importantly, maybe they can give us a professional opinion on whether or not the car is ready to be pushed...maybe I should consider a new clutch, too.

Update 4/25/08: The down pipes came in! SpecialtyZ is awesome! The BOV was welded and fixed (thanks Element!), and lots of parts are in the mail, on the way or here already. The timing measures were fixed with new pulleys and tensioner. The boost controller is practically set up now, EPROM dropped into the ECU, and a lot of the interior has been put back together. Looking to install some heat wrap, mount the interior electronics, and get everything taken care of that I can until the final parts arrive.

Update 4/15/08: We have a BOV installed and the other ready to install, but it has a cracked base from when I dropped it. -.- Gay. Ordering the final mass of parts tonight. All electrical connections on the EFI harness are connected (bar O2 sensors). Car expected to run by the end of April.

Update 3/26/08: We have the timing taken care of, which I thought was going to be extremely difficult. I mean afterall, they do charge roughly a grand to take do it in the shop. About three of us took care of it in like 20 minutes. Shizzam. Unfortunately in the process though, I snapped the Auto-Tensioner. Boo. $150 down the drain.

Update 3/24/08: I have more pictures on the way, but here are some from last week. The engine is nearly completely done at this point, and the entire interior has been put back together.

My upgrades over the past few months compiled into this update include - Z1 GT600 Turbo kit, Wiseco forged pistons and Eagle H-Beam rods to name the biggest parts. I also spent some cash on a set of Z1 upgraded valve springs to eliminate any possibility of valve float. It's the only thing left for headwork that I would be unable to do without disassembling the entire system.

As far as just plain work goes, we have rebuilt the heads and did a three-angle valve job and some crank balancing.

Update 6/15/07: Supposedly the shifter bushing and fastener replacement eliminates 90 percent of shifter play. I'm thinking that will also eliminate the majority of the crunch effect when shifting into third and fourth only.

During this job we will also be doing a throttle body bypass, PCV reroute and possibly a IACV rebuild. We will see!

Update 6/11/07: My new fuel rail and 850 CC sard/PE injectors have arrived along with my Koyo radiator - we put a hole in the old radiator with a socket wrench, you ought to see how we took care of that bad boy... We will install those during the job. The Cometic MLS head gaskets should be on their way along with ARP head studs, 300 Degree EGR removal kit, SPLparts impregnated bronze shifter nuts and bushings.

 
EGR removal process courtesy of TT.net

Timing Belt procedure made EZ, courtesy of TTZD.net

Plenum pull and water bypass by NytWolf, courtesy of TT.net