Ross k

Well a fairly successful weekend on the zed first thing was to run the fuel lines to the other side of the engine bay which I've done. After that my short shifter arrived from America so I got that fitted and tested and then welded up its a good bit of kit and I could get all the gears perfectly. Next everything back together finally the manifold inlet etc and dropped the engine back in for the last time bolted the engine all in finally unfortunatlly the shifter doesn't sit quite central and sits a bit further back than I like I may just live with this as it functions perfectly. Got the engine wired up aswell which was surprisingly straight forward now it was all going well till I tested the drive shaft and realised the uj on the new shaft is bigger than the old one meaning it fouls on the tube on the rear of the gear box so at this point I gave up for today. 

Thanks alot that helps alot I think I may have it worked out now

Cheers for the comments keyser as you say time seems to disappear. Anyway I really could do with some help I'm trying to sort the fuel lines out I have ran a return line under the car and I have it coming up where the other fuel lines run I have to get the fuel lines to the other side of the engine bay I was planning to run the line up into the cavity where the brake servo etc is and then across to the other side in this area is this a good idea. I also don't know what to do with the evap line some people say get rid of it etc any help would be great also may sound stupid but can someone point out which line is which thanks Ross 

Cheers for the kind comments guys progress has been slow. My crossmember from America arrived tried that on and it fits perfectly with our engine mounts which is a result. Also checked the angle of the diff compared to the gearbox for prop allignment please to say they are aligned within 2 degrees I've Been told anything below 5 is good so happy days. After this I pulled the engine again Ive bolted the flywheel up and clutch up for the final time and got the gearbox bolted UP, next time the engine goes in it will be for the final time. After this I ran the power steering return pipe and tapped the crossmember for the bracket I'm happy with how these turned out hope you like thanks Ross 

Well not much to update ran the return line front to back u also checked bonnet clearance etc and it's all good I thought you guys may find this pic interesting with the strut brace fitted.  It shows the clearance and how much lower the engine sits to the standard de. I also did some crude measurements and I think the 1jz sits around 1 and a half inches further forward than the de and the shifter is 140mm further back than standard so the extra weight should be spread fairly even I also ordered a gearbox mount from America so I'm waiting for that to arrive. 

Cheers for the help but I brought the cj fuel correction kit in the end for the fuel bucket  but I appreciate the advice. Less successful day today trying to work out the gearbox mount also discovered my mishimoto fans won't fit as I only have around 50mm clearance does anyone have any recommendations for very slim pull fans thanks Ross 

Good day today the engine fits lovely with the new mounts. I also ran the power steering pipe across and did alot of little jobs.  you can remove the manifold and Inlet with the engine in position which is a bonus unfortunatlly the engine isn't sitting quite level so I will need to sort that out here's a few pics thanks Ross 

Thanks for the kind words guys really spurs me on exciting new update one engine mount is done!! 

Few more updates fitted a new oil pump last week removed lower and upper sump cleaned up an resealed.  All looks good Inside the engine oil strainer was clean etc also got the flywheel test fitted with the clutch and worked out a few measurements all looks good.  finally I made some dowel pins up and fitted them to the adaptor plate please excuse the unorthodox was of stripping to the bottom of the engine down but with it sitting on the adaptor plate it worked a treat 

Hi guys was wondering if anyone could tell me roughly the length of a 350z fuel line as I need to run a return line for my 350z jz swap I'm currently away from the car and was hoping to fit the lines over Easter any help would be great thanks Ross 

My dad owns an Injection moulding and engineering company so I'm pretty lucky as he's been helping me out I'm actually a traditional coach builder for the day job

Few more updates got the oil cooler fitted to the engine fitted new front and rear main seal and test fitted the flywheel. Then I took the air con pump apart so I can use the housing to support the power steering pump, removed the throttle pedal ready for an s14 pedal. Then I modified the front section to receive the supra rad I've brought I got it second hand fairly cheap so I thought I would give it a go and if it doesnt work I'll sell it on it,  fits fairly well and was designed for the engine and means I don't have to run a super long bottom hose. Heres a few pics of what I've got so far also a pic of the aluminium ready to make the engine mounts 

Well a few updates today the parts pile is growing.  I tackled replacing the cambelt today unfortunately the last owner had rather knackered the thread in the tensioner pulley bolt and had rammed it with locktite then when I went to tighten the pulley back up it just threaded out so I now either need a new oil pump or to put a helicoil in it great one step forward and all that 

Thanks alot flywheel bolts arrived from America so more parts on the pile still trying to get my head around the fuel basket but I will get their 

Well small update rad purchased and on the way the mounts are being made done a few small jobs on the car and I have been tracking down various jz parts which cost the earth  I need to change the fuel system to a return system Ive seen of the shelf kits for this but they seem a bit wasted on me as I don't need all the parts for the standard 350 fuel rail anyone who could advise on this would be appreciated and wether I can make the kit up myself thanks Ross

Awesome build mate just read through the whole thing. I dip my hat to your dedication and the quality of the work you've done its always nice to see it done properly

Cheers for the help guys Ive decided new mounts it is my dad is going to machine a set of new aluminium ones if anyone would be Intrested in a set feel free to message me. Today I stripped the old wiring of the engine and the inlet ready to take the new loom also brought a seat and attached some photos of the new loom 

One Step forward two back pulled the engine back out today in an attempt to move the engine further back. lookslike I will only get it around 25mm further back max if I make a set of custom mounts I'm debating wether in the real world it would be worth all the extra effort for 20-25mm the gearbox already sits 150mm further back in the tunnel than original. On the plus side the wiring loom has arrived from America and looks great.Can anyone shed some light on what the parts in the attached picture are I'm guessing the fuel pressure regulater and? Any help would be appreciated sorry about the bad pics both are under the inlet manifold and fuel related pics of the loom to follow thanks Ross

Cheers for the advice guys I've already ordered the wiring loom from wiring specialists and they are making it as we speak Mark so hopefully should be plug and play :).  I will be moving the engine back as far as I can 350 butcher but I don't think I'll get it more than 1 inch further back due to the sump hitting the cross member and the gearbox fouling the transmission tunnel most people who do the swap in this country use a BMW box as its smaller but I was keen to retain the 350z box I think the gearbox will end up around 4 inches further back than normal thanks Ross 

Also what radiators are people running I want to upgrade mine to the best I can obviously price is a factor I've heard mixed reviews about mishimoto so a little unsure thanks Ross

Update been a busy weekend firstly set about getting the engine out which went fairly well except I squashed the power steering pipe doh!!. Next was to remove the gearbox which all went well turned out the car had a nearly new exedy stage 1 organic clutch fitted. After that I got the gearbox bolted to the jz excuse the array of different bolts I am only using these to test fit the engine. After that I tried it in on standard mounts which were to narrow I enlarged the slots on the crossmember a little. This meant it sat in the car and  the engine fits fine and the gearbox fits in the tunnel!.  It sits fairly close to the rad but I'm going to make some plates up to move the engine back another inch or so as I dont really want to cut into the crossmember underneath 

Cheers for the kind words guys more progress today as I had a day of. Removed the exhaust had the ac gas removed and unplugged the engine harness from the ecu so the engine is pretty much ready to pull out

Update started stripping the car today got the front end of now I need to get someone out to take the gas out the air con. Also have the custom flywheel and adaptor plate need to mill the adaptor plate down a bit but should work OK and the wiring loom is ordered and should be on the way soon thanks Ross

Cheers for the kind words guys I'm more annoyed at myself for not noticing when I brought the bloody thing but their you go.Keyser I will look up emerald as far as ecus I'm open to anything I just don't really want to loose the stock dash and have loads of faults ,The loom for America is set to cost 1400 alone so I'm All ears to anyone who can provide a more local solution. however I will need to go independant managment eventually as I'm aiming for 450bhp or so in a couple of years thanks Ross 

Hi guys,  I'm Ross,  I live in the Buckingham area. A true petrol head, I've had a few cars from a selection of Corrados to an MR2 turbo and a classic mini which I  restored when I was 16. I Purchased a 350z a month ago but unfortunately I was seriously done over.  After driving the car for a couple of weeks I noticed it had serious oil consumption problems and a fair amount of blue smoke was present. On further investigation it turns out one cylinder is badly scored and it needs a rebuild. This is not what I was expecting from a car with 60,000 on the clock, full service history and good bodywork. To be honest I was gutted and due to it being a private sale I don't have a leg to stand on.  After sulking for a while I decided if I was gonna spend a lot of money on a rebuild I may aswell do something I've always wanted to do: a big build. The time seemed right so a plan developed. After some consideration I decided I'm going to drop a 1jz vvti into the 350. It's an engine I absolutely love and it will fill the void I have after selling my mr2 turbo. I'm lucky enough to have a dad whos an engineer with advanced cnc equipment and a fair few friends with experience in engine conversions so the plans are for a fast road 350z running standard power to start with, around 300 with a view to go for more power later on. So here's the car when I got it  I immediately started removing the stripe only to find the bumpers had been painted around the stripes (not a good start)  and it pretty much went down hill from there. So fast forward a few weeks and the new engine was purchased fresh from Japan a 1jz vvti. The engine mounts are being made as we speak and I am chatting with wiring specialists in America about making the wiring loom. I'm just waiting for a standard loom to arrive to send them to see if there's much difference between the lhd and rhd loom other than the obvious differences. I will be using an e46 m3 gearbox with an adaptor plate and custom flywheel. This allows me to retain the six speed. Anyway sorry about the essay, let me know what you think and if anyone has any recommendations for the someone to make the loom in this country who can work with the can bus system let me know. Thanks, Ross