Starting up a new build thread as my last one met with an accidental untimely end. All good though and I get to start a new online journal And I suppose I get a new "starting" point Year: 1991 Model: CZ32 Slicktop Engine: VG30DETT Transmission: Manual Interior: Leather/Custom The car has already gone through something of an evolution... Here's how the car ran when I bought it with an HKS air filter, BlitZ Catback, what looked to be GFB atomic boost controllers (yes plural, some numbnutz fitted one on each side...) and UAS H/D clutch And after adding tuneagent dump pipes, tuneagent front pipes, metalcat high flow cats and a UAS X-pipe I wish I had some pics of the car from a couple of years back but I can't find any I was fairly happy at the point until I had some work down by forum member Zed4Life aka Zedcare. Mark left a threaded insert (accidentally dislodged during a PTU changeover) inside the timing covers and told me it would be OK to drive home to Sydney, and not knowing any better I took his word for it. Needless to say it wasn't, and the timing belt had skipped teeth (and was showing a few choice holes) by the time I got home. I sent Mark a fairly polite email to the effect that I wasn't going to be an arse about it but this was what had happened; he declined to respond and cue epic rebuild... The current mod list stands at So here's how the mod list currently stands Audio Eclipse PA5422 Four Channel Amplifier Eclipse SW6200 12" Subwoofer Eclipse SE8465A 4x6 2 Way Speaker Eclipse SC6500 6.5" 2 Way Component System Kenwood KCA-ip500 Kenwood KDC-MP443 CD Player/Receiver Body GZA Cleared Rear Sidemarkers GZA Rear Wiper Delete Kit International Auto Specialists HID High Beam Kit 6000K Nismo JDM Center Panel Nismo Total Clear Corners Nismo Clear Side Indicators Nissan Series 4 Tail Light Set Nissan 3rd Brake Light Panel Super Vision HID Low Beam Kit 6000K Unique Auto Sports Greddy Style Front Bar Unique Auto Sports Border Style Carbon Fibre Bonnet Brakes Brembo F50 Brake Kit for R34 GTR Chili Brake Master Cylinder Brace Goodridge Braided Brake Lines Nissan R34 GTR V-Spec II Rear Brakes Unique Auto Sports Brake Air Deflectors Engine 300 Degrees Fuel Rail 300 Degrees EGR Elimination Kit ACL Forged Pistons ACL Race Series Bearings Aeroflex Silicone Couplers ARP Head Studs ARP Main Studs ARP 2000 Series Rod Bolts BNR 180amp Alternator Border Racing 60mm Intercooler Piping Bosch. Motorsport Threaded Fuel Filters Brett Dempsey Engineering Rebuilt VTC Intake Sprockets CazRacing Engine Polishing Concept Z Performance Bronze Valve Guides Evans Waterless Coolant Earls Superstock Braided Hose Earls AN Fittings Earls Pushlock Fittings Earls Prolite Braided Hose Ferrea 1mm Oversized Intake Valves Ferrea 1mm Oversized Exhuast Valves FilterMag RA Series Oil Filter Magnet Gates Kevlar Timing Belt GZA Radiator Overflow Cap GZA Engine Bay Dressup Kit Grooveryder Fabricatinos 2.5" intercooler piping JUN Auto Adjustable Exhaust Cam Gears JUN Auto Stage 2 Cam Kit K&N Engineering, Inc. Extreme 3 Inch Pod Filters Reverse Cone Mike Smith Performance 60mm Compressor Inlet Pipes Mike Smith Performance High Flow Exhaust Manifolds Motorsport Connections Stainless T Bolt Clamps Motorsport Connections Billet Oil Filter Sandwich Plate Nismo Oil Cap Nismo Radiator Cap Nismo 740cc Fuel Injectors Nismo Thermostat Nissan GTR Charcoal Cannister Odyssey Batteries Dual Purpose Battery Perth Zed Performance Silicone Heater Hoses Perth Zed Performance Silicone Idle Air Hoses PlazmaMan Polished Alloy Power Steering Reservoir Procoat Ceramic Coated Upper Plenum Procoat Ceramic Coated Lower Plenum Procoat Graphite Intercooler Coating PWR Thermo Fan Shroud PWR Twinpass 53mm Radiator with Oil Cooler/Heat Exchanger RedZedMikey Stainless Bolt Kit Russell Pushlock Hose Sard Radiator Cap SCAT Connecting Rods Setrab Oil Cooler Smithys Place Fuse/Relay Cover (Small) Smithys Place Polished IACV Feed SPAL Thermofans for Oil Cooler SPAL 16 Inch Thermo Fan Curved Blade SpecialtyZ Expansion Turbo Outlet Pipes SpecialtyZ 2.5" Alloy Accordian Pipe Replacements Speedflow Fuel Rail Fittings Speedflow Sandwich Plate Fittings Splitfire Super Direct Ignition System Stillen Engine Damper Brace Tomei Multi Layer Steel Head Gasket Turbosmart AN Fitting Kit Turbosmart Silicone Radiator Hoses Turbosmart Silicone Intake Hoses Turbosmart FPR1200 Fuel Pressure Reg Turbosmart Plumback Blow Off Valve Turbosmart E-Boost 2 Unique Auto Sports 3 Inch Bellmouth Dump Pipes Unique Auto Sports GT2871R Turbo Kit Unique Auto Sports Alloy Lower Radiator Hose Unique Auto Sports High Performance Engine Mounts Unique Auto Sports Battery Box Unique Auto Sports FMIC Lower Air Guide Unique Auto Sports X-Flow Center Muffler Unique Auto Sports Custom Rear Mufflers 3 Incch (Pair) Unique Auto Sports Starter Motor Unique Auto Sports Racing Harmonic Balancer Unique Auto Sports 3 Inch Custom Exhaust Unique Auto Sports Plazmaman Intercooler Unique Auto Sports Alloy Engine Splash Shield Unique Auto Sports Radiator Air Guide Unique Auto Sports Cryogenically Treated Crank Shaft Unique Auto Sports Cryogenically Treated Crank Shaft Girdle Unique Auto Sports Ported Heads Unique Auto Sports Oil Catch Can and Radiator Header Tank Unique Auto Sports Custom Intercooler Piping Vi-Pec Plug in ECU Walbro Twin in-Tank Fuel Pumps Z1 Motorsports 58mm Throttle Bodies ZSpeedPerformance Chrome Throttle Return Spring Covers Interior Autometer Electronic Gauges Barry Hopkins Auto Trim Custom Leather Interior Interior Innovations Leather E-Brake Handle International Auto Specialists High Power LED Kit Link DisplayLink Digital Display Nissan OEM Replacement Door Handle Nissan Series 4 Leather Gearknob Recaro Speed Seats in Leather/Suede Smithys Place Laser Etched Stainless Door Sills Street 2 Strip Gauge Hood Unique Auto Sports Carbon din panel Suspension Bilstein PSS9 Coilover GZA Stainless Lower Tie Brace Nagisa Auto Fender Braces Okuyama Carbing Front Strut Brace Powertrix Rear Strut Brace Powertrix Adjustable Front Sway Bar End Links Powertrix Adjustable Rear Sway Bar End Links Tuneagent Adjustable Rear Upper Control Arms Tuneagent Adjustable Tension Rods Unique Auto Sports HICAS Lockout Brace Unique Auto Sports Tension Rod Support Brace Unique Auto Sports Front Upper Control Arms Unkown Adjustable Traction Rods Whiteline Front Sway Bar Whiteline Rear Sway Bar Transmission Concept Z Performance Chromoly Clutch Pivot Ball FilterMag TM Series Transmission (Diff) Magnet Metropolitan Driveshafts Custom Chrome Moly Tailshaft Nismo Gear Box Mount Nissan OEM Replacement Speed Sensor Nissan OEM Replacement Flywheel Assembly Nissan OEM Replacement Clutch Master Cylinder Nissan OEM Replacement Clutch Booster Nissan Series 4 Manual Transmission RaceClutch Jim Berry 4000lb Single Plate Clutch The Lab Bolt on Catch Loop Unique Auto Sports Single Piece Braided Clutch Line Z1 Motorsports Z1 Premium Short Throw Shifter ZSpeedPerformance Solid Shifter Mount Wheels and Tyres Dunlop SportMaxx Nismo 50mm Wheel Studs Rays Engineering Gram Lights 57s Rays Engineering Duraluminum Lug Nuts Sumitomo HTRZII Here's a dyno running 100 octane and agressive timing And how it currently runs with a conservative 98 octane tune And some pics of the car Anyways updates to follow below....
Custom Bonnet So a little while back the carbon fibre thing started to wear a little thin. I must be getting old because the factory styling is looking better and better all the time... I like the functionality of the Border design but just want it looking a little smoother, a little more factory. So the logical thing to do seemed to be to modify a stock design. After a botched first attempt by a body shop that turned out to be either incompetent or blind or both, I started ringing around classic/restoration specialists (thanks Tektrader for the tip) for someone that could actually modify and fabricate ally. After speaking to a couple of places I settled with Gladesville Auto Body Works http://www.gladesvilleautobodyworks.com.au/ -not because they were the cheapest or the flashiest, but because the owner (Nat Stillone) was genuinely interested in making something that I was going to be happy with. Jamie was good enough to give me the hood off his wreck (ex Andymac car) in exchange for some spanner work, and this is how the first draft came out. Note the rear vents are still to come at this stage. The pic below shows the alloy frame that Nat made to support the main louver. I was very specific about not wanting a glass/ally/bog job.... At this stage the main frame is riveted in place but it will eventually be TIG welded once the fitment etc is OK. So here we have draft number 1 being test fit. Unfortunately the fitment is very tight and we did run into some clearance issues. Flash forward a couple of months and I was back for round 2. This time Nat had put a little curve in the louver to give some more clearance at the front. It was still sitting a couple of mm high over the drivers side headlight. No touching, no fouling, just sitting a little high. Cue measuring and checking... Couldn't find any problems, but still not quite sitting flush. It seemed the alloy must have warped a little under welding. Easy fixed... At the moment the hood is back in the shop -the "massaging" with the rubber mallet left a few high spots to chase and then they'll chop and fill it. Plan is to get it ready to paint and then I'll book a booth for my brother to paint the hood as well as the JUN front bar and TwinZ bar that I have sitting in the garage
Stock pics Found these from when I first bought the car. Looks like I was still living at my mum's house (pics taken down the street) so that must put the pics around 2004. March 16 2004 according to the meta data. Not quite stock but not far from. I actually quite liked those wheels but moved them on when I got a killer deal on some racing hart CP035's, which were in turn moved on in favour of the Rays Gram Lights that it's wearing now. Other visible mods Blitz exhaust (which sounded awesome) and auto meter boost gauge. It's really not all that different to how it looks now... still wearing the same paint.
Nothing dramatic -I had a bloke show some interest in the car while it was for sale. Things turned a little nasty when I refused to meet him at my home for a first meeting/inspection. He'd done a little digging online and knew a little more about me than I was comfortable with so I asked mods to hide the build thread for a little while -unfortunately there was a misunderstanding within the mod team and it was accidentally deleted. No harm done just one of those things.
Just that somebody threatening to find out things about you where you live leading to you asking your build thread to be hidden - that's dramatic!
Ha dramatic was being called from multiple different numbers being called a **** and a mother****er etc... There are some interesting people out there!
Man anyone who goes out of their way to call on a Friday night and explain is definitely not a jerk All good. Besides it's only the internet, the car is still here!
Well the shoe does fit... Kidding mate, glad that there's a full engine mod list in the one place - will give me plenty to reference from!
Your slicktop appears to have been in extraordinary condition from the beginning, Rob. Always a huge bonus
New Seats Not so new any more but new since the last build thread. So I used to have these really nice OEM seats that had been recovered in a premium black leather. These ones Anyway they were really nice and I could never see what the fuss was about with Recaros, until I drove a car with some and was hooked on the "grippiness" from a more performance oriented seat. So I sold the leathers and bought some second hand Recaros and started making enquiries on having them recovered. Turns out it was cheaper to buy a brand new set of Recaro Speed (which are like the SRIII that were an option in later series Zeds) in the cover I wanted than to recover a second hand pair, so they went to a new home and I ordered a new set. I went with black Ambla leather with black suede inserts. The first thing that struck me was the weight -they are so light! I think I've shaved 18kgs from the car compared to the OEM electric driver/manual passenger combo that I had before. Anyway some pics Fitment is pretty good. I bought the Recaro double locking sliders and Z32 base frame rails. The instructions were in Japanese but I figured it out eventually... the kit came with an assortment of good quality high tensile fittings, and I sourced some Zinc plated high tensile fittings for bolting the frames to the car. The fit as you would expect an OEM product to, the only modifications I had to make was cutting some bolts down when I dropped the assembly a little lower (the frames are modular so you have a choice of three heights). The ride takes a bit of getting used to -I live in a battleaxe and am used to reversing out the drive so I noticed the restriced movement in the shoulders right away. Legs stay in pretty tight too. All in all very happy, I've done a couple of long drives and they're very comfortable in a "supportive" kind of way, and really hold you in place on tight corners. Being an OEM product (the frames actually come with all the relevant numbering etc on them) it's nice to know I'm not going to get hassled about them. Oh and if anyone is wanting some new Recaro goodness for their own ride check the link here https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.682847781732594.1073741829.665862543431118&type=3 EDIT hmm pics came out a little darker than I'd like, might try some more when the sun pokes out again tomorrow
