san marino blue

Thanks I'll bear all this in mind. You are right all the little things do add up as with any job and it is usually cheaper to buy an already done car However me and the Z have gone through quite a bit together and I am attached to her. She's a 313 convertible by the way I bought her with virtually no oil pressure, before anyone much knew about the dreaded oil gasket problem and sorted that out I quite like the idea of doing it myself as well, without a kit of bits. I've never been afraid of moding stuff or rebuilding engines or cars I used to rally a 16valve pinto'd Sunbeam, that had more Ford bits in it than it had Talbot I also had a small block Chevy engined TR7/8, which I did myself that went like hell, so this is right up my street. I do like it when people look at your car and asked who did the work?

Very nice and thanks. That's the sort of finish I'm aiming for. Going to invest in a two post lift next month, get her off the ground and start to have a good look and do some measurements. Guy down the road has a reasonably new Scooby, so I'll go talk nicely to him and see if he'll let me have a look at his turbo. Not a euphemism!!!!!! I think this is certainly a possibility, either twin or single turbo Anyone else with any turbo build picks, or words of wisdom, I'd be most grateful

Thanks for the links. Really what I needed to start making a few decisions. I hadn't considered a single turbo. I'll certainly take a look at that I'm not ruling out a supercharger either, the Jag ones can be bought cheap enough. No thought gone into this yet, so that might be a stupid idea, but worth considering all the same What you say is pretty much what I thought. I know space is tight, it always is on these cars. I'm going into this with no expectation of it being easy and certainly not a straight bolt in, slam the bonnet and annoy the local 911 brigade. I think, hope, this will give me a turbo car at a reasonable price. As Z dedicated has said, it is fool hardy to expect to do this job on a pittance, but I do think with some ingenuity, engineering,, time and patience I could build something very good at an affordable price, using decent bits My next move will be to remove the front of the car and see exactly what space I have and what I can reasonably get in there. I know I need to keep my air tracts short and as balanced as possible, both sides, so this will come into play. Once I have decided on what turbos will actually fit, I think getting everything else in there will just be big, infuriating, Tetris luckily I have a garage the size of a barn, so space isn't a problem. Any other advice really appreciated

Fair comment on the cheap turbos, this is really a tentative throw it out there, just to get a feel for what I want to do. I thought the same at £150, they are fairly unlikely to stay together long I may use Genuine Subaru ones and either refurb used or look at the cost of new, not sure yet, will need more research. The manifold I know would be difficult to weld as you say cast isn't easy, but I was thinking of using it as a whole and making adapter plates for the turbo to fit the standard flanges. Space may stop this working anyway, but it's an idea I just don't know if it would flow well enough without being tubular. I know throwing money at anything gets results, but this on the face of it looks a more budget friendly approach. At £6500 plus, for the turbo kit, I'd better off selling the car and investing in something else with more BHP to be honest

Thanks I totally appreciate all of this and as I say, if it takes 18months, it's not a problem. Ebay has Subaru turbos new at £125....How good they are is another matter, but even if you pay a bit more for known quality ones then it's still mega cheap. Intercoolers aren't too bad, I am thinking of using two small ones, rather than one big one, better cooling and easier to hide I realise I will have two turbos handed the same, but I think if I can get the high pressure outputs both pointing up, then it won't make much odds. I have a mate who is a welder so the hard pipes are no problem, the rest is flexi silicon, again good ole Ebay I am a maintenance engineer, so have access to lathes and a miller and am pretty good on machining. I will replace the exhaust as it's stock, a guy round here is brilliant at custom systems at reasonable prices. One other question, how does the standard Manifold flow with a Turbo? Will I need a tubular high flow one, or will modifying the flanges to fit the turbo work out ok? How much boost will I need to get to 450bhp?

Thanks, That is exactly my logic on this one. Basically I am not afraid of doing the job and I know it will take me time, a bit of head scratching, welding and machining, plus loads of tea. Plus probably the odd moment when I wonder why the hell I started this in the first place!!!! Subaru turbos are less than £200, so I am thinking a pair of these, one each bank, as the scooby is 2litre, about 230bhp and single turbo, so two on a 3.5litre at 450bhp should be about right ? I also agree that it would be the map or engine management that would stop it all going wrong and that's the really clever bit. In my way of thinking, all I have to do is build an exhaust to accommodate the turbo, duct in some air, pipe out the charge, cool it down (intercooler) add some charge control (Waste gate) and pipe the whole lot up into the plenum. Simple. Be in the pub for lunchtime....…. The only problem I can see with the Z is space under the bonnet. It is tight under there, but I was one of the first to do the dreaded timing chain oil gallery gasket leak on a HR, before it was common knowledge, so I know my way around these things and they aren't that scary when you take the front off them Surely it can't be that easy, or someone else would have done it by now?

Hi, Forgive me if this has been asked before, I am sure it has, but I can't find a thread I have a VQ35HR, engine Z. I would like to supercharge or turbo it, but the cost of the off the shelf kits is basically too expensive for me to consider. My son runs a Nissan Colt CZT, which is already turbo'd standard, but running a larger EVO turbo which is now at 225bhp at the wheels. A 50% increase in power It was pretty easy to do and with bigger injectors, fuel pump exhaust and a remap we came in at about a grand, result. My question is this; Has anyone used a stock pair of turbos or a supercharger from another car on a Z? I know it will take a fair bit of engineering and fabricating, but I am fine with this. The car is not my daily transport, so if it takes 12months it's not a problem. Evo, Scooby etc turbos are cheap as chips, as are Jag XJR superchargers and Mercedes compressors. As it's basically just a case of getting more air and therefore fuel into the cylinders, surely this would work? I'm looking at 400-450bhp ideally. Obviously it's an expensive mistake if it blows my motor, so I really don't want to start experimenting and find I burn holes in my valves or pistons, or worse. I know there are more components than just the compressors, that's not really a problem, I can fabricate and machine stuff, plus there are loads of off the shelf bits available to do this. By all means tell me I am completely wrong and why, but if anyone knows someone who has done it successfully I'd be really interested to know what they used.

Thanks, but I am actually after a hood for my Zed and they happen to sell them Sorry this wasn't that clear

Hello, Has anyone replaced their roadster hood with one from Mazda hood shop? I know an MX5 hood isn't the same as 350z hood.... But they are selling Mohair hoods at a pretty reasonable price. Cheap usually rings alarm bells, but you never know, they may just be cutting their loses and just not making huge profit margins But then again, it could also be a cheap Asian thing, that looks like a bin bag full of spanners when it's fitted and gives up after 6 montths Feed back from a member will sway my choice. Any experience of these guys, even if it was on another make? Pics of anyone with a hood from them would be great Cheers

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I'll give the car Car hood Warehouse a go then It's kind off what I thought, go for Mohair and fit it myself . Thanks again, it's feedback like this that makes this site great for all us DIY mechanics and saves every job being a voyage of discovery

Thanks very much for the link, but I think I'll get a new one rather than go used. My guess is it will shrink a little over time and get tough, so I think it may make it difficult to fit. Also with it being such a prominent bit of the car when up, it'd be nice to have a lovely smart new one. Mines a grey colour now so apart from starting to perish it's also not very pretty. Cheers anyway

Hello, The summer is looming and we can look forward to luke-warm rain and even bigger gangs of middle aged blokes on bikes to have to avoid at high speed on fast A roads. My babies hood is looking a bit worse for wear as she is unfortunately and out door girl, not having the luxury of a garage. I keep telling myself that lying under my baby, on a gravelly road with water running down my back is character building and only girls rebuild their car inside.......I am however jealous of you all who do have such a wonderful place. I have suggested we put a roller shutter where the living room bay window is, as no one likes that dancing program and it'd be a much better use of space, but the other person I live with, who makes the decisions isn't having any of it! Funny fella my wife! She still moans about my roller cab living in the hall and won't believe it's an Ikea sideboard no matter how many times I've told her. Anyway she puts up with me so she aint that bad! I notice quite a few people have had hoods replaced and I can see a few You tube vids, but has anyone out there actually done one? I am guessing the actual fitting isn't too bad, but obviously I don't want to end up with a hood that either won't close because it's as tight as big lasses leggings somewhere, or is a baggy as teenagers jeans and flapping around. I believe the original hoods are canvass which is why they are a pain when cold and that the mohair hoods are far better in cold weather. I am one of those idiots that owns a convertible so will damned well drive it topless regardless of the weather. Probably should own an Atom! Are they as durable and water-tight as the original? With no garage this is super important. I live in the back of beyond, North Wales so getting it fitted is a bit difficult and hell to it if someone else can do it I probably can. So any advise on if DIYing it would be great. Is it a good idea? Who supplies a decent replacement with a glass rear? Mohair or canvass? OE Nissan or after market? If the worse comes to the worse who can do this in the North West, N Wales, Liverpool/Manchester way? Also price, I wouldn't say at any cost, but I'd rather do this once and do it properly than find I am replacing it again in two yrs or the damned thing leaks and I end up with a sopping wet interior I also take it that they are all the same? I have an 07, 313 in San Marino blue, anyone fitted a navy blue hood? I'm torn between blue or a standard black one. Cheers for taking the time to answer

Mtec dot and grooved rotors They work well, clear the crap and water away The only issue is they do wear the pads a bit quicker and I do mean a little bit. Also your wheels get very dusty quite quickly, but they work, so it's a small price to pay Brembo standard pads Don't buy race pads they don't get hot enough on the road,They're Brembos, most other makes would kill for these as standard Braided hoses Replace the bleed nipples with stainless as they corrode DOT 5.1 fluid, drain the system first Decent tyres, Goodyear Eagle F1s, as there's no point in stopping the wheels, but not the car You'll not go far wrong with that little lot. Personally I don't live on my brakes, set her up well, down through the box, good lines, power down as you apex and leave, slow in fast out, gets em every time. I live on fast curly Welsh B roads, so I drive these daily

Roadster is fine on long journeys It's actually quite comfortable especially the 313 I'm a short arse at 5'9" but there's loads of head room and my seats nowhere near all the way back Did Le Mans this year from North Wales, top down all the time. Perfectly comfortable top up or down A, B or motorways Top is easy to drop and put up, and is really water tight The only time my hood plays up is if it's really cold It can be a bit of a pain to get it to fold, but it's an 07 car on 90,000miles and original hood i find if I flick it as it is opening it folds up much better Above 5 degrees C it's fine A bit noisy and blowy with windows and hood down, but windows up, it's fine Heater is killer hot and very fast, so even on sub zero days the tops off Performance is virtually the same and it was designed as a roadster, so it maybe slightly worse in the bends, but mine still sticks like glue, so there's no real gain there either Tyres make more of a difference, If it's your only car then the boots crap on a roadster, but mines a toy I have a pick up when I need to shift stuff Some people like roadsters, some don't, it's personal I guess Neither are bad, just different Best thing is to have a go in both, that'll make your mind up I love the back on the Coupes, but I love the top down and you can't have both.

I had this problem and sorted it myself Mine was the May thread mentioned earlier It's a sod of a job as stated at least a day if you've not done it before and it all comes apart quite well. Mine didn't and took me considerably longer Do not attempt this if you are not a competent mechanic, but if you know your way around a set of spanners, it's no worse than say changing a clutch, just a lot of stuff to take off, before you get to the little beggars Nissan will not recognise there is an issue, so no recall unfortunately. Odd how the new gaskets are way better than the old ones though, considering there's no issue As stated don't ignore this one it will get worse and will eventually kill your motor. You don't lose oil as it's an internal leak, Luckily if you do it in time, you will save your engine and we with Zeds have oil pressure gauges, so you can see the problem, unlike the G guys I now have to be really careful when cold as my oil pressure is 110psi just on tick over and doesn't start to drop for a good 3-4 miles running

Welcome I have a 313 roadster, great bit of kit It's worth the extra just knowing it's a 313, and has a bulge in the bonnet. Watch out for the usual exceptional gearbox whine, they all do a bit, but should quieten down when it warms up HR engines are prone to blow two paper gaskets in the timing cover at over 60k. Check the oil pressure is ok, should be at least 15psi at tick over when hot. If they're blown,it'll be down to less than 10psi. This is a lot of work to repair Clicky rear axles, not a big job, but common Good luck with the new purchase, very exciting your first Zed

Agreed, Buy one with no issues Gut feeling is rarely wrong If it says no, But the heart says yes Listen to your guts! You've answered your own question......If they find more????? There'll be another with your name on it

Hello, i am a maintenance engineer and do loads of welding, MIG, TIG ,ARC and once in a blue moon gas. Are you definitely using gasless mig wire? Looks like a gas mig with no gas on that's all. As gasless MIIGs rely on flux in the wire to keep out the oxygen, rather than a separate gas shroud,used in gas MIGs, it maybe that you have the wrong wire. With thin stuff like car body work, you want very low amps, and try spot tacking and fill in between to minimise distortion. If your welder will take gas as well, it's better to use gas, an Argon/CO2 mix is best such as Cougar 5 It is better at keeping out the oxygen and also cools the weld Setting the MIG is 60% of the battle, 20% practise, 20% ability If you know someone who can weld ask them to come and show you a few things Other than that, College is a great idea, good old You tube for tips As already said slight weave, weld away from yourself as you can see where you are going, a decent mask also helps especially as you get a bit older and your eyesight aint what it used to be! Rust is an insulator so clean as much off before you start. It'll burn off, but can be hard to strike Well ventilated area as there are some nasty things in stainless and galvanised coatings especially. Galv also spits like hell Cover your arms and don't wear a v neck t shirt because you'll get terrible sun burn on exposed skin and V neck T shirts are for girls, not blokes! I tend to hold the end of a nod down mask as I was brought up on hand helds and it steadies my hand, but whatever feels comfortable I have a guy who works for me uses both hands on the torch, works for him I also like plenty of background light Practise with different wire feeds and currents and metal thicknesses, the more practise the better you'll get, it's not rocket science, just touchy feely The thinner the metal the quicker you need to move the torch as well Start on thick stuff and work your way down as you get the hang of it After a few weeks you'll be welding Kit Kat wrappers back together! Once you can join two bits of soggy bog paper upside down, you've cracked it Ideally you want to blend the two pieces of metal together, the wire should just replace the vaporised metal, not stick it together You want good penetration (Don't we all), so you want to see the weld just coming through the back If you can get the pieces flat or an inverted V, that makes things easier, up welding and upside down welding is much harder. Keep your tips clean(Oooooh Matron) and replace regularly, the right size for your wire. Keep your wire dry and rust free too if it's kept in a shed or garage There are some good cheap MIGs out there now, there's no reason why you can't get some ok results at home As with most things the more bucks you have the better the bit of kit you'll get 500 notes buys an alright TIG for home use or a great MIG. TIGS are the boys on body work, but a cheap MIG is an ok start and you will be able to get it to work for you Forget ally welding, you'll get nowhere with a cheap MIG and that stuff

If you''re thinking about this seriously, buy a reader and check the codes before you buy Never believe a seller Failing that check with Cougar if they have a record of it coming in If your gut feeling is leave....... LEAVE IT. Also make sure the rest of the car is ok and don't just concentrate on the CEL Loads of good posts on here about buying and the usual faults I bought mine with low oil pressure, assured it just needed a service and it would be good again My gut feeling was it wasn't that simple, but by then I was well and truly bitten so I bought her anyway I had to rebuild the whole timing side to get to a blown gasket a bitch of a job Worth it in the end, as mine was cheap, but only as I do all my own spannering Not sure on those codes, but there is loads of info on P codes on the net No doubt someone with experience of the Berks will fill you in on the codes IMO, you are usually better paying reasonable money for a good solid car than one that seems cheap and ends up being a money pit, you end up hating it and the whole experience puts you off the cars in general Good luck either way, keep us posted

Thanks That's worth knowing. Not something you'd normally check I'll take a look at mine in the morning

I'd second that Brembo pads work well The trouble with race pads is they are hard as hell and are crap when cold, which lets face it, is most of the time on the road I run Hel hoses, 5.1 fluid and grooved and drilled disks, plus Goodyear Eagle F1s Never get any problems

Always buy decent make blades The cheap ass ones don't work and wreck your screen

It looks fantastic! We were at Le Mans last week and the Mustang took all the second looks My God they sound well too The 06 Mustang is cammed, phlenum, cold air intake and chipped, plus the exhaust has a divert to the side which de cats it and puts a tiny silencer in place of the full system They got all the late cars so right

5.1 is pretty much the same stuff I drive min hard on very curly Welsh roads and never had an issue with 5.1 fading Maybe if you track it, it may matter, but it's way better than the old stuff which would fade under heavy use Go for braided hoses I fitted Hel ones and it really improved the braking with Brembo drilled and grooved discs and Brembo pads My fixed pipes had all seized too so swopped for copper Fit new stainless bleed nipples only 25 quid and no corrosion problems Never scrimp on brakes or tyres they keep your arse out of the hedges Better to pay big money for these than getting your car repaired after a bang

Very nice Mustang, Very envious Interesting that the Mustang is quicker than the 370 I have a 67 drop head Mustang as well as an 07 350Z roadster My father has an 06 GT Mustang with some Roush bits on it Whilst it is a stunning car the Zed leaves it for dead all the way It's quicker, out handles it and out brakes it Mines a bog standard HR, His is 420bhp but is an auto, so I guess that doesn't help However a mate of mine has a 135i beemer that blows us both away and looks like your mums car Really whizzes us both off