mikey

Oh OK I see. From the measurements they give on trademe it looks like it'll be pretty close and then I can just drill the tabs as you said. If it's way off then I can just drill new holes in the car. No biggie really. Might just buy the thing then... Don't worry about measuring.

I very much like the look of the black bumper in your photoshop. Doooo eeeiit. I too will be blackening my bumpers in the near future. Also, could you do me a favour and measure the bolt spacing of your radiator on the gem? I'm considering buying this for the 240z 'cos it has the outlets on the correct sides for the new engine and looks like it might just use the original mount points.

http://gallery.proficad.eu/tools/AutoCAD-Viewer.aspx ^^^ This is a very good online DXF viewer. I test all my DXF's in this before I send to cutters and haven't had any problems.

if you are going to bolt the x member straight to the floor, id make it 100mm wide, and along the flat part of the floor and up the side of the tunnel, on the top side of the floor, then stitch weld it in So would 100mm x 100mm x 5mm be reasonable sized plate to spread the load?

Righto, the engine's in and various bits and pieces hooked up. I now have a shifter again! The position feels pretty good but I may move it a little closer to the floor. And I swapped the 11.75" rotors for 12.19" ones which means I have a lot more braking area. I will need to make new brakets to locate the caliper 2mm closer to the hub but will run it as is for now. Next tasks are wiring and put the suspension & steering back together.

I've had to cut a section out of the stock crossmember to clear the front of the engine I'm swapping in. The crossmember no longer is used to support the engine. I was going to box this up with 3mm plate is that legit? The original steel is around 1.5mm thick. Stitch weld or continuous? Also what dimensions should I make the trans mount plates I weld to the floor? Stitch weld sweet? Thanks cletus; legend.

You're totally right. I really want it to be a old japanese street car, which is a bit of a giggle at the track. Definitely don't want it to become awkward and too track oriented / uncomfortable. I'll just stick with standard seats/belts. Half cage is still a possibility later on. But I'll go hooning first!

Yeah side bolstering would be nice actually... You do slide around on those seats. A race seat really would be better. I just don't like the look of 240's with race seats and roll cages. Prefer it looking more street. Hmmm. Anyhoo, I'm probably getting ahead of myself. ho ho

There's actually a fair bit of room in the arches for tires, I can definitely go wider. Dont wanna go mega balloon spec thou. I may have to just get racing seat. But if I do I'll get something classic looking. This is the stock seat with 4pt harness but without holes for top straps: This is one in WGTN with holes cut somehow: edit: yeah the engine should be OK oil wise at track. 350z's don't seem to have any issues.

Yeah, wider, not bigger diameter. I can get wider tires on the current wheels, so will try that first. My word, 4.1 seconds is madness. She's already very keen on a cage. I suppose it makes sense. I'd like to have a harness bar with it so I can run harnesses when I'm at the track. But my seats aren't designed to work with 'em so not sure what to do there, I quite like the look of the stock seats so don't wanna replace them. I've seen people cut holes in their seats to accept harnesses, might be the go if I get an upholsterer to do it... Orrrrr replace them with some classic racing seats if I absolutely have to.

Fuck I can't imagine how fast 0-100 in 5 secs feels like! The fastest car I've owed is this one with the L24. Something tells me my wheel sizes wont support very good 0-100 times though, might need to go bigger. The deadline is pretty tough, but I've been without the car long enough thou so having the deadline is great for motivation. And Pais is sweet with all the shed time if there's a deadline involved for some reason. Might as well get a K&N one, they're not that expensive when you look at all the other crap I've bought.

Hey Mickey Mouse, I've not given it much thought yet, I think for the 3rd of November I'll just chuck a pod filter on the end of the MAF sensor housing, so long as it runs! Once everything's running l'll go back over a few things and tidy it up. So eventually a cool air intake in front of radiator perhaps? There's so much airflow under the bonnet that finding cold air probably isn't much of a problem! I think the specs for the 350z said the factory airbox added 3hp in ram-air effect alone!

Sweet, will do exactly that. Thanks.

You want update? I giv you update muthabitches! Shits painted. Everything looks pink but I think/hope it's just my camera being gay. Fuel/brake/clutch lines (mostly) in. I'm using the 350z clutch master. Added another steering uni and rose joint to clear the exhaust/mounts The gearbox came with this relocation bracket which puts the shifter too far back. So I cut that shaft out between the two uni's and welded the unis together, then made another bracket. Bought a new airdam It'll look a little like this My goal is to have it ready for the Leadfoot cruise on Nov 3rd. I reckon it's touch and go. The plan is to put the engine in for reals tonight, start wiring this weekend. Send driveshaft away to get shortened (recommendations?), put everything back together and then finally drop it off at ttt to get the exhaust made. Shit it's a lot more fun putting a car back together than pulling it apart! ho ho

Nah, it's "Xenon" which is an American company I think. Come around whenev's. I'll probably be in the shed every day until Ha Hei!

Nice one Dave. Oh how I lol'd. This is what it _really_ is.

Anyone know a automotive paint store open weekends? Or anyone have some durepox harder they can spare?

Looking super sweet. Carry on.

So much win!

I'll have a spare seat if my car's running. Which is 50/50 I reckon. I'll be leaving from Auckland but happy to swing past the tron if that's where you are. / getting a bit far ahead of myself. Ho ho

Ok thanks guys. I'll high build the slut.

I think I'm doing it wrong. This is the current state of play, all holes filled. Started sanding the transitions from paint to steel but seems to take forever to get it smooth. Instead of this sanding, should I be giving a light skim of bog and sanding that? Some bits were gonna get a light bog anyhow, but I didn't think I'd need to bog everywhere I've stripped paint. OR should I remove all paint? Sanding sucks.

Entire day spend in the shed but not much to show for it.... It's ALMOST ready for paint, just needs sanding. Man, sanding sucks! Takes forever.

Ha ha. I even painted the fence after you left too!

I painted all my shit with 2pac Chris did some more weldy weld weld weld. I relocated the fuel reg. I put new brakes together They're R32 GTR brakes, the rotors are brand new curved-vane Wilwood rotors 296mm x 32mm which I got for a very reasonable price from Pedey. Last night represents the a turning point in the swap - there's no more stuff to take off the car - from now on I'll only be putting things back on. YAY! Rust under the drivers side guard is way better than the passengers side, so that's nice. If things go really well on Satuday I might have everything in primer. (Nothing ever goes that well now thou does it?)