Project Mid-life Crisis ...

[DougTaylor]

Hey are you right in Niagara Falls? I used to know the folks at SeidoKan Karate there..

[bobbo]

For what it's worth...
I'm a big fan of the KISS method of doing things. KISS=reliability in my opinion.
If youre not looking at getting more than ~440whp out of your car you won't need to change your FPR or fuel Pp. The only thing you could do is rewire the Pp for better power supply. There's a write up on here somewhere on how to do it.

[AL91GTR]

I'm around 15 min from the Falls but know the area pretty well.

I hear you Bobbo, but I suspect my pump is on it's way out after reading some tips from Skym and also the fact that it's 23 years old and been getting louder and louder for the past year or so. I have a new DW pump sitting here so i might as well install it with a relay and see what's up. Same with the FPR. I'll do the injectors and tune later.

BTW, I couldn't resist posting a pic of my old Zed ... I loved this thing long time. 87 Z31T Black Edition with Full suspension upgrades including the complete catalog of DMS Tuning parts and a bunch of bolt on engine mods, custom front mount intercooler, etc, etc:

[JZ]

Loving this thread, and add another mid-40's GTR guy to the distinguished list.

I love the attention to detail. Its great when money is not a major hurdle in the desire to get things done and right. A longer lifetime of experiences with cars creates a wariness for stupid little **** that goes wrong and fucks up everything else down the road. Been there, done that, don't want to do it again.

Lets see this thing at SkyMeet this summer. Us older guys should grab a coffee together lol.

Love the Z31. I'm a former Z32 owner back when they were still in production in the 90's, but I remember really liking a RB powered 31 that was blogged about by a guy in Japan. The webpage was called "Soul Syncro Machine". Car looked a lot like yours.

[AL91GTR]

Thanks JZ. I remember the Soul Synchro very well. That was my internet buddy Kai back in the day. His car was a 200ZR with some Panasports. He sourced some very rare JDM spec Z31 parts for me and my car back in the day. His buddy Toshi had the RB Z31. I probably still have some old vid's and such of their club cruises. I was actually in kai's online Z club haha.

I used to be very involved in the Z31 scene back then and even ran a custom parts business out of my shop for a few years making strut braces, intercooler kits, intakes, suspension bits under the name DMS Tuning. I recently searched my old 'net name/parts on google and E-bay and found a few things for sale - awesome flashback!

[AL91GTR]

Ignition Fix:

I actually did this work last year before the turbo rebuild but just found the pics so I figured an update was in order. Near the end of summer 2012 i was starting to have the typical hot misfire, ignition issues. I tried a new WS harness from Daryl at RightDrive and checked my coil resistance. Changed the plugs for new BKR7's and still had issues after about 20 min of driving. The ignitor tested out bad so I started looking at options. None of them looked very appealing until I discovered the LS coil upgrade that deleted the old ignitor

My time is pretty limited so I found a guy here who is making wiring harnesses (ToroGTS) and I added a 6 pin and 3 pin connector so it is easily removeable. I didn't want used coils so I picked up some brand new LS coils from a 2006 Yukon with the built-in heat sink. I noticed alot of guys mount them off to the side on a plate but I thought I would try something a little different and made up a stepped stainless plate to mount them right down the middle. I'm pretty happy with the visual result but I'm still looking into a coil on plug setup.

I ran these from a Mine's tuned ECU with no dwell adjustment for a year or so. The difference to the idle quality and no misfire at all is very noticeable. I recently returned to a stock ECU (getting ready for tuning) and it also runs perfectly. I feed them power directly from the battery through a relay.

I probably have $500 all in for this work but it could be done for a fraction of the cost if you pick up a used set of coils, do your own harness, etc... Still cheaper than stock replacement parts, ditches that old-ass ignitor and i now have cheap replacements if needed.

ToroGTS Harness

Stainless Plate

New 'Yukon' coils

Mounted up and Ready to go

Finished Result

[AL91GTR]

Also from last year and in preparation for more power - new Blitz front pipe. Thanks Daryl at RightDrive:

Out with the old (2 x 60mm into 1 x 80mm) Mild steel. Anybody want this BTW?


In with the New (2 x 70mm into 1 x 80mm) Stainless

[AL91GTR]

I love new parts! Now just need to run the gas level down in the tank and find some time to get the new pump installed. Got the Tomei FPR and fuel pressure gauge done last weekend.

Deatschwerks injectors, pump, Innovate MTX Wideband, relay, fuse, SS fuel lines, a few other bits and pieces:

[bobbo]

Good call on the innovate WB. If you take your time and are a little creative it mounts perfectly into the swivel vent on the driver side. You just have to take it apart. Can post a pic if you want to see how it looks.

[AL91GTR]

Thanks. A pic would be cool. I've seen a few different mounting options and still not sure where I'd like this mounted yet. I kind of don't really want to see it all the time while I'm driving because of the way these things seem to flash and disco so much. I really only got it for tuning and the occasional monitoring at the strip, etc.

That vent might be a good spot so it's kind of out of line of sight but I like the a/c haha. Still checking my options.

[S13Jordie]

Not a wideband, but you get the idea

[AL91GTR]

Looks good Jordie, but decided to go a little different route ...

Template:


Still want a usable glove box for insurance papers and stuff:


I love structural foam and RTV:


Used an old VDO Boost gauge for mock-up (BTW, old VDO Cockpit gauge is an awesome match for late 80's and early 90's Nissans):


Finished product with the Innovate WB, MediaLink and Defi controller installed:


Really happy with the overall look now and easy to see when you need to or close the glove box when you don't:



BTW, what is this? Seems like it was attached to the hvac some time in the distant past - the little string was broken and didn't really seem to want to connect back to anything. just a spring in a little plastic tube that was screwed to the back of the glove box on the outside?

[Bossman]

I think that's just a damper for the glove box, keeps the glove box from dropping onto your lap when you open it. I'm going to use picture hanger wire to replace that thin wire that snapped.

[AL91GTR]

I figured an update was in order since it's been a while - My wife and I decided to have another child (smart move for a 44 year old guy ??) but we ended up with twin boys showing up quite early. Everything has been settling back to 'normal' and I still need something to fool with in the garage so I've been stock-piling some parts for winter fun:

I swapped out my coilovers for some new HSD Monopros from JRP
Changed out the carrier bearing on the prop shaft for a new Nissan unit (thanks Daryl at RightDrive)
TIG Welded new SS bung to my Blitz front pipe (thanks Franks Specialized Welding)
Removed, cleaned, new gaskets for stock Recirc valves
Minor stuff here and there.

Sitting in boxes:

Deatschwerks 550 injectors (yes, still sitting in the original package for the past 6 months)
Apexi L-Jetro (should be fine with MAF my modest 400 WHP power goal)
Kakimoto N1 Mega to replace my old school HKS cat-back
Turtle Garage Hicas bar and some ISIS pro S13 arms - going to do full elimination of Hicas
I made a stainless battery tray/mount for the trunk and have started in on this with some remote terminals and shiny stuff
Going to re-work my filter relocate/t-stat because I'm not too happy with it
Going to do some minor trim repair and stuff like that on the inside
I've spoken with a couple of reputable tuners for spring so basically narrowed down to either Magnus Motorsports or Eurocharged ...

Will post pics as updates continue

[JosiahP]

Glad that you will be putting the PFC to good use! Build is looking great so far!