OK... someone talk me out of buying a decrepit Z31 and turning it into a track car.

I've found *4* different dead or dead-ish Z31 chassis in my local area, none of them actively listed as for sale...

I wanted to find a dead Z34 but those still command >$5k prices around here, assuming I can find one at all.

The idea would be Z31, strip it down, sell engine, mate VQ37 (which I can get for 900 from a junkyard) to the 5-speed (checked, it fits kinda) and hit up Bull for a standalone VQ harness. Roll cage and real suspension from the circle track catalog if I can't find appropriately priced Z parts.

 

Needing some information from those of you better informed than me on the subject. How can I visually tell an automatic differential from a manual one? And more specifically, what do I look for to verify a 370Z Nismo differential from a manual car? I need to pull my diff to replace the worn out bushings again. But I came across what would be a good deal on a Nismo edition one if I can verify it is the real deal. I do half/half freeway driving so I don't want the 4.08 gears but think the 3.91 would be a nice upgrade. Can anyone find out or know where to look?

 

It just so happens I specialize in talking people down from jumping off of high buildings and/or committing financial suicide. I also have a mechanic at work who has one and is constantly banging his head against the wall trying to upgrade it. Look, I know the 80's are coming back and that is a cool looking nostalgic Z. You sound like you at least somewhat have an idea of what you are getting yourself into and that it will at least require a full cage and an absolute boatload of chassis stiffening and suspension work to get it to handle somewhat like a modern car. Between that and the overall lack of technology and development in the Z31 compared to a modern car, I think you are getting yourself into a MAJOR project. And we have not even mentioned the fact that getting parts for a potentially 40 year old car is always a huge pain in the tail. Unless you are just in love with that style and hard up for a project that will rob you of the majority of your time, money, and the skin on your knuckles, I would say, "Hard pass!"

Why not just get a used 350Z or 370Z and go from there? Or whatever generation of Corvette fits the budget. I feel like that would be a much easier project that you might actually be able to get a fraction of your money back out of at some point.

 

Just get back into RX7's .

 

I'd love to build an FC3S track car. I've built several and always thought they were very well suited - they ran the board in IT-S along with certain BMW 3-series models. Then you bring in Speedsource who turns a $4000 aging sports car into $50k turnkey racecar and all their semipro drivers just walk the field. FWIW, IT (improved touring) was supposed to be the cheap way to race production cars. Now, if I cook an engine (which at 11k RPM can happen very quickly) the whole car is done - no engine parts to be had.

Similar issue with a IT-7 or IT-A modded SA22C/FB3S (first gen) RX7. There's a super 7 class that allows you to install the RENESIS engine from an RX8, but those went out of production in 2011, so the engine parts are drying up. What BOTH chassis make very difficult is swapping to another reasonable engine - sure, you can drop an LS engine in there but good luck getting it on the track with any sanctioning body other than HPDE. The engineering issue is the position of the output shaft on engine (and therefore transmission mounting) is very very high compared to a V or I engine, so you have to re-engineer the whole bottom of the car. That's a little more work than I'd like to do.

My thoughts with the Z31 was that underneath its mostly a 280Z still, and parts DO exist. You're not going to build it to Cup Car standards, but to IT? Sure. The engines are old but simple and can easily be run off megasquirt or other cheap ECU. My local Nissan dealer tells me they get parts ordered for the old Z cars all the time and get them from Nissan Japan just like modern stuff.

A 370 would be ideal, but the same issues remain (full cage, expensive parts for suspension, cooling issues, tuning costs on the VQ) AND those cars around here start at over $10K regardless of how beat. One with a dead motor? Unobtainium. That's after networking with the Carolina Z club pretty heavily - SOMEONE has to have a roller, I thought... but no.

I'm pretty confident I can get at least one of the Z31s for under $1k. That leaves a lot more wiggle room to do stuff.

If I had my druthers for cheap track car, I'd go Miata - but anything other than the NC Chubby-Cheeks version have all been snapped up by the Spec Miata folks that essentially wreck one chassis per race day.

I did pass up a chance to go in on a pair of Formula Mazda cars and gear with a buddy... going straight to openwheel is probably not a great idea for a 50+ year old.

Last - I have a buddy trying to convince me to buy an Exocet chassis and, well, just go nuts with it. I still have a ~400HP turbo rotary (that I built) in a crate in the garage.

 

Me: I am going to park so far away at the grocery store that no one parks beside me.

Cherry picker: Hold my beer.

 

I miss my blue slate G35X every day. Beautiful.

 

Actually it looks like he gave you almost a full space if clearance. But yeah... I hear you.

Muck_Man, your car looks great. I used to have that "limo tint" too, until NY made me remove it.

 

Thanks. I try and keep it that way but sometimes it feels like the world has a different idea.

We don't really get bothered about limo tint around here unless you have it on the front windows

 

Welp, now have leaking firewall sunrooof drain plugs on both sides. Not playing around with that passenger side, with the BCM over there.

Since I street park and we get heavy summer storms in my area from time to time, I’ve left my car out in the suburbs neatly tucked away in a friend’s garage.

I’m planning to take on the fix myself, using the bypass method to reroute the drain tubes from those tragically design firewall plugs, and instead bring them them both thru the existing A/C drain near the passenger drive seat. I’ve never done interior work, but gonna give it a shot.

Here’s the method I’m going with:

 

Re-routing the drains is not as hard, or intimidating, as it sounds. Shouldn't take more than a couple of hours or so (depending on how many beer breaks you need, lol) and around $20 in parts from Home Depot. I suggest you also check your cabin air filter for water/ dampness- especially since you'll have everything opened up in the first place. The cowl seals are slowly becoming a common leak issue as these cars age.

Good luck!

 

Yesterday we drove by a Vinfast dealership outside of Toronto. That surprised me.

 

I read this sentence by sentence as I'm scrolling down and my grin grew longer with every sentence. By the beginning of the 3rd sentence the intrusive thought of replying "**** it put a VHR on it" manifested and then I finished reading the sentence spilling my coffee

The swap has been picking up attention due to the now proven stoutness of these motors but being held by the electrical gateway. Once oil cooling is handled they run hard, there are many 370z road/track racing that survive plenty of seasons.

With the unbeknownst blessing we have received of VHRs being somewhat of the same across trims and years works wonderfully when it comes to affordable engine replacements. Where it hurts is on the transmission side. Anything less than the 08+ 6mt is just going to set you back. Pay attention to how cars wake up with the CD transmission swap and you'd then understand why it's necessary to keep. They are getting a bit harder to find used but brand new even Nismo ones struggle to sell for $2k. So engine wise it's a $8-900 but trans wise is $1200-$2000.

My suggestion is to buy a totaled Z. I do require plenty of donor items for the swap that at times it's easier if the customer pulls everything. Since it would be easier pulling everything, then so would buying a crashed chassis, this would be the same case with a totaled manual G37 as well if you find them.

Try to aim for a totaled chassis with engine, trans and front half of the electrical system at least. You wont be using the rest and it will be more cost effective on your end.

 

We're in Dublin, Ireland on vacation this week. I was wondering what kind of cars I'd be seeing, and except for an absence of US manufacturers, it's pretty much the same. All the German cars, Korean and French, etc. Freaking Tesla is here and lots of little Skodas. Nothing seen yet terribly exotic or strange. Taxi drivers are as crazy as anywhere else.

And all on the wrong side of the road, LOL.

 

That's next June for us - Ireland and the UK in general.