350z Track Track car build
Discussion
I've always had a weird fondness for the 350z. I like the quirky jdm styling.. the fact that they are a two seater instead of having a back shelf masquerading as a seat, grunty-ish v6, importantly, RWD and naturally aspirated. being a six cogger helps too.
Bought my last for a cheap daily and in the end circumstances meant I let it go.. then another neglected example popped up whilst isolating from COVID and sooner than I could say corona it was on its way to my door.
Expecting the absolute worse, I was pleasantly surprised - I mean it even still had the upper cubby door - which is a miracle given they generally have all the rigidity of a slice of cheese.
Paint is absolutely oxidised, torched by the sun. But salvageable I reckon.
|https://thumbsnap.com/S4ZwtaLV[/url]
They're at that price where I think they're dirt cheap and a fair amount of car for the money. Anything 4 cyl just doesn't do it for me, nor do mx5's. So it seems like the best candidate for some track fun!
No idea what exhaust it has, doesn't sound too bad, a little boomy and given it has a couple of resonators, probably isn't the most free-flowing tubework.
So far, the biggest bugbears are that someone decided to rip out the oem amp. Not sure how I feel, the heavy bose sub probably isn't necessary as much as I like to be able to listen to some tunes. I'm also not sure what exactly they have done as there's no audio.. Maybe they re-wired the head unit, maybe they just cut out the amp and gave up because it got too hard..
But nope.. turns out they chopped the speaker outputs too. So looks like the plan was to rewire the speakers direct to the headunit. Not sure I have the patience to rewire them, so out with the subwoofer, in with a bluetooth speaker in the rear shelf between track sprints..
Unfortunately they are at that price where people don't want to maintain them so finding one with history is a rarity these days.
Second is that it has some cheap as chips tyres, that spin in first and second
does not instil any hope so will either replace with some P4S' or some lighter wheels and something grippy
So first things first will probably be the usual oil, plugs, transmission oil.
Next up a light, flowing exhaust and plenum expansion.
Followed by some light weighting, seats, wheels, rear hatch
Coilovers, grippier pads, maybe a new clutch.
The seats are worn under the seat covers, they seem to literally fall apart at the seams when they get any decent miles on them.
They'll be going for something in a race seat (any recommendations for a good fit are welcome)
I think if I can get in at 1300kgs (down from the relatively lardy 1460 stock for such a compact car) and up to 300-350bhp (280bhp stock) then she'll be enough fun.
Will be keeping it N/A ideally so the lower end of that target will be more realistic. But we'll see..
Aim is to tear it down and add some extra edge to her for a road-going track car once I decide on the ideal partlist
Bought my last for a cheap daily and in the end circumstances meant I let it go.. then another neglected example popped up whilst isolating from COVID and sooner than I could say corona it was on its way to my door.
Expecting the absolute worse, I was pleasantly surprised - I mean it even still had the upper cubby door - which is a miracle given they generally have all the rigidity of a slice of cheese.
Paint is absolutely oxidised, torched by the sun. But salvageable I reckon.
|https://thumbsnap.com/S4ZwtaLV[/url]They're at that price where I think they're dirt cheap and a fair amount of car for the money. Anything 4 cyl just doesn't do it for me, nor do mx5's. So it seems like the best candidate for some track fun!
No idea what exhaust it has, doesn't sound too bad, a little boomy and given it has a couple of resonators, probably isn't the most free-flowing tubework.
So far, the biggest bugbears are that someone decided to rip out the oem amp. Not sure how I feel, the heavy bose sub probably isn't necessary as much as I like to be able to listen to some tunes. I'm also not sure what exactly they have done as there's no audio.. Maybe they re-wired the head unit, maybe they just cut out the amp and gave up because it got too hard..
But nope.. turns out they chopped the speaker outputs too. So looks like the plan was to rewire the speakers direct to the headunit. Not sure I have the patience to rewire them, so out with the subwoofer, in with a bluetooth speaker in the rear shelf between track sprints..
Unfortunately they are at that price where people don't want to maintain them so finding one with history is a rarity these days.
Second is that it has some cheap as chips tyres, that spin in first and second
does not instil any hope so will either replace with some P4S' or some lighter wheels and something grippy So first things first will probably be the usual oil, plugs, transmission oil.
Next up a light, flowing exhaust and plenum expansion.
Followed by some light weighting, seats, wheels, rear hatch
Coilovers, grippier pads, maybe a new clutch.
The seats are worn under the seat covers, they seem to literally fall apart at the seams when they get any decent miles on them.
They'll be going for something in a race seat (any recommendations for a good fit are welcome)
I think if I can get in at 1300kgs (down from the relatively lardy 1460 stock for such a compact car) and up to 300-350bhp (280bhp stock) then she'll be enough fun.
Will be keeping it N/A ideally so the lower end of that target will be more realistic. But we'll see..
Aim is to tear it down and add some extra edge to her for a road-going track car once I decide on the ideal partlist
Step one whilst waiting for my plugs, plenum and oil filter to arrive is to make it look a little less ropey
2 stages of polishing with a microfiber pad followed up with a medium pad had a massive improvement on the bonnet
The paint on these is strangely resilient I've found. Chalks up hugely but doesn't peel too quickly. Should have some lasting power with a couple of layers of coating on it when its perfected a little.
The worst areas as you'd expect are the roof, rear hatch and top halves of the doors. Amazingly the headliner inside is immaculate.
Half hour and a single stage polish to the doors reaped rewards. Paint gauge showing a little thickness still left. 150mm microfiber pad, mid speed with the bigfoot. Problem being that the dents now stick out. Can't have it all Will have to undertake some paintless work on it next up..
|https://thumbsnap.com/VWkB8Cw3[/url]
Bit of a transformation for minimal effort..
2 stages of polishing with a microfiber pad followed up with a medium pad had a massive improvement on the bonnet
The paint on these is strangely resilient I've found. Chalks up hugely but doesn't peel too quickly. Should have some lasting power with a couple of layers of coating on it when its perfected a little.The worst areas as you'd expect are the roof, rear hatch and top halves of the doors. Amazingly the headliner inside is immaculate.
Half hour and a single stage polish to the doors reaped rewards. Paint gauge showing a little thickness still left. 150mm microfiber pad, mid speed with the bigfoot. Problem being that the dents now stick out. Can't have it all
Will have to undertake some paintless work on it next up..|https://thumbsnap.com/VWkB8Cw3[/url]Bit of a transformation for minimal effort..
Being a track car I didnt want to get sidetracked making it too pretty. Just enough to not look completely ratty on the road.
So spending hours chiselling away the clearcoat on the bonnet and roof wasn't ideal. Next best thing was to wrap it. I won't bother spending too much time prepping the car. Hopefully with steam it won't lift the clearcoat beneath
I'm a sucker for Nardo grey so went for the closest I Could get my hands on..
Not sure if I'll cover the rest of the car..
The clean bonnet started to show up the disgusting headlights..
So taped up, and a test polish with microfiber bad and cutting compound - to see if wet sanding was necesarry. Would rather avoid it if possible, as it quickly becomes a steeper effort to get a clean finish..
Just like the paint, the worst of the hazing was actually lifted out with some aggressive polishing. No sanding required
That'l do nicely. Because they weren't sanded, Can get away with a final fine polish before wrapping in PPF to protect them for a little while yet.
Relatively easy car to wrap, as are the headlights due to the relatively geometric shape.. Loose fit the film and the only section that needed stretching was the final bottom inner corner. Trim and tuck, jobs a goodun..
For Good measure, decided to add some pearl white and matte black pattern - hand cut since I'm stuck working in the garage.
Never realised how much more compact the Z cars are compared to the GTR..
All for now until some parts start arriving
So spending hours chiselling away the clearcoat on the bonnet and roof wasn't ideal. Next best thing was to wrap it. I won't bother spending too much time prepping the car. Hopefully with steam it won't lift the clearcoat beneath
I'm a sucker for Nardo grey so went for the closest I Could get my hands on..
Not sure if I'll cover the rest of the car..
The clean bonnet started to show up the disgusting headlights..
So taped up, and a test polish with microfiber bad and cutting compound - to see if wet sanding was necesarry. Would rather avoid it if possible, as it quickly becomes a steeper effort to get a clean finish..
Just like the paint, the worst of the hazing was actually lifted out with some aggressive polishing. No sanding required
That'l do nicely. Because they weren't sanded, Can get away with a final fine polish before wrapping in PPF to protect them for a little while yet.
Relatively easy car to wrap, as are the headlights due to the relatively geometric shape.. Loose fit the film and the only section that needed stretching was the final bottom inner corner. Trim and tuck, jobs a goodun..
For Good measure, decided to add some pearl white and matte black pattern - hand cut since I'm stuck working in the garage.
Never realised how much more compact the Z cars are compared to the GTR..
All for now until some parts start arriving
Hey man glad to see another track 350Z, I think for a car to drive to a track, fly around in all day, then happily drive home in for the money they’re hard to beat.
Mine has all the chassis bits, some 370Z big brakes (not really necessary over the factory Brembos tbh), lots of cooling / oil cooling, square wheel/tyre set up - It’s great and so much fun. Great forum, great spare parts network / aftermarket support.
(I think you’ll struggle with your power goals though without FI, assuming it’s a not a HR engined car - I personally think keep it simple, plenum spacer, perhaps some high flow cats, remap & enjoy the reliability and seat time).
Looking forward to seeing the progress. Keep it coming.
Edit - I have Buddy Club P1s on Bride rails. With some fettling of the rails I’ve gotten the seat really low with a really nice driving position. But the seat itself is pretty tight, designed for the smaller frame I imagine.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/bmFfLQAj[/url]
Mine has all the chassis bits, some 370Z big brakes (not really necessary over the factory Brembos tbh), lots of cooling / oil cooling, square wheel/tyre set up - It’s great and so much fun. Great forum, great spare parts network / aftermarket support.
(I think you’ll struggle with your power goals though without FI, assuming it’s a not a HR engined car - I personally think keep it simple, plenum spacer, perhaps some high flow cats, remap & enjoy the reliability and seat time).
Looking forward to seeing the progress. Keep it coming.
Edit - I have Buddy Club P1s on Bride rails. With some fettling of the rails I’ve gotten the seat really low with a really nice driving position. But the seat itself is pretty tight, designed for the smaller frame I imagine.
[url]|https://thumbsnap.com/bmFfLQAj[/url]Edited by Ryan_T on Sunday 17th July 16:22
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