Finally Building It

HolyGhost

First Fill-Up (of many)
Looks like its really coming together! Nice work.

Thanks. It's coming together hopefully by this weekend I can hear it run. Just need to get the exhaust manifolds back from the machine shop and I can finish the last few things.

Got most of the plug wires in and started the wiring for the coil. My dad was home today due to the stay at home order in Colorado so he tackled the ECM wiring moving it from temp wire nuts to soldered and heat shrinked while I wrapped the exhaust crossover and down pipe in header wrap. Nice to finally have a second set of hands on this project.

Engine bay as of tonight.
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HolyGhost

First Fill-Up (of many)
I miss outboard ignition coils. Simpler times.

Looking good!

Thanks it's getting there. The 300zx ecu is so much simpler than the X's much less wiring.

Picked up the manifolds from the machine shop today. Nice and flat ready to be installed.

To continue the saga of why do I do this to myself I picked up 60 feet of 1" tube today for my rack build. Pictures to come when I get started in April.

some tool marks but you can't feel them.
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HolyGhost

First Fill-Up (of many)
Status for the end of the day. Oil drain finished, coil wired, driver manifold, passenger manifold, crossover and turbo all bolted on and ready to be fired up. Few things I have to knock out tomorrow and I should be ready to start it.

As of tonight.
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HolyGhost

First Fill-Up (of many)
Those last, most tedious tasks are the worst but once you hear it fire for the first time it is all worth it! Nice job dude!

Thanks so much work to get to this point and I bet it will be another month before I have it setup they way I want it. Dash is still out of the X and I need to get power for my O2 and water meth gauges. Goal this week is to get the front diff in and most of the dash back in.
 

HolyGhost

First Fill-Up (of many)
Spent the evening swapping the front diff between the two X's. Got the unlocked diff installed in the silver X and the diff with the locker ready to be washed before I install it.

Great view
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Diff with ARB and drop bushings for the yellow X
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Unlocked diff bolted into the donor X.
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Jwelch

Bought an X
Location
Michigan
This thing is going to be an absolute beast! With the extra power from the new motor are you worried about front CV's? They are already known for snapping locked, so more power + more traction = more broken parts?
 

HolyGhost

First Fill-Up (of many)
This thing is going to be an absolute beast! With the extra power from the new motor are you worried about front CV's? They are already known for snapping locked, so more power + more traction = more broken parts?

I'm not that worried most the wheeling I do is pretty mild and more used to get to remote campsites and hikes. The lockers are more used for a self recovery measure or to reduce the need for momentum in my case.

I am worried about my worn out transmission though hopefully it holds up to the more power. Most of the drivetrain has 220K miles on it so I am asking a lot of worn out parts.
 

HolyGhost

First Fill-Up (of many)
If it makes you feel better, my previous boss still tows his Datsun 1200 race car with his 285k Xterra. The auto doesn’t mind, even still.

True my X has been very reliable even at 220K it still drove just fine just slooow.

I got the X to idle well but it becomes an absolute dog under load, undriveable right now. Took two days of troubleshooting and it's still not picking up under load. My guess is timing but my fuel pressure regulator doesn't seem to work.

Next steps will be finishing the exhaust so I can get the wideband on it to see how the AFR's are. I will also put the right resistance in for the cylinder head temp sensor to trick the computer into thinking it's at operating temp. My understanding with the 300zx there is only 3 real sensors cylinder head temp, crank angle sensor, and MAF. So working on checking on all those.

It's been frustrating but I am committed to getting it going.
 

HolyGhost

First Fill-Up (of many)
Do you have a boost gauge hooked up? Have you tried driving without the maf hooked up?

No gauge hooked up figured no point since I cannot get this thing to move itself up a hill with less than half throttle.

Just tried no MAF popped a lot from the exhaust and ran much worse had to plug the MAF in just to get it into the garage.

Something is very wrong with my computer just have to find out what sensor is causing me all this grief :)
 

HolyGhost

First Fill-Up (of many)
Also got the air filter on. a Green universal filter with a random intercooler pipe I trimmed down to make work.

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HolyGhost

First Fill-Up (of many)
Awww ufck yeah!!! it lives!

Took it back to basics and had the driver side plug wires in the wrong place put them in the right spot and it runs great now. Put the boost gauge on it and it's pushing 6lbs of boost in third up a hill. Still a slight miss under load but that's probably due to the old plug wires have a new NGK set coming soon.

Speedo and temp gauge still work in the X cluster, no tach as expected. Now I just need to button up all the wiring and get the dash back in.


picked up some steel for some 1st and second gen sliders I am going to build. 2x2 3/16 and 1 3/4 .120 DOM.

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Also got the ARB lockers plumbed in. Got new bulk heads and air line. Both lockers engage and disengage haven't had a chance to give them a full test.

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paulforeman02

Test Drive
Hey man, really excited to see this thing up and running. The video didn't have sound, but once you get it going, I'd love to come over to Junction to check it out.

Nice work all around. Really enjoyed reading the last batch of entries on the work you've done to this thing.
 

HolyGhost

First Fill-Up (of many)
Nice job getting it figured out! I have some nearly new NGK wires you can have if you'd like. They are for a VG33e

Thanks I actually have an almost new set of Xterra NGK wires too. The driver side ones have long boots since they go through the intake.

Hey man, really excited to see this thing up and running. The video didn't have sound, but once you get it going, I'd love to come over to Junction to check it out.

Nice work all around. Really enjoyed reading the last batch of entries on the work you've done to this thing.

Thanks! once I get the exhaust on it I can start testing for any issues. I will probably have it up in Lafayette at the end of May if all goes well. Feel free to swing by and check it out.


Pro tip if you want to make the cabin air filter change easier just pull out the whole dash. :)

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Cleaned up and tucked the z31 computer up where the stock X computer would go. Looks pretty stock to me.

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paulforeman02

Test Drive
Thanks! once I get the exhaust on it I can start testing for any issues. I will probably have it up in Lafayette at the end of May if all goes well. Feel free to swing by and check it out.

Cool! Yeah, text me or shoot me a message on here or something when you're back on this side of the hill.
 

HolyGhost

First Fill-Up (of many)
I can't wait to see a video of this thing wheeling. More power, more traction, more hell yeah!

I'm excited to see it run too! Dropping it off at the exhaust shop on Monday so I need to get all the wiring done this weekend and the dash back in.

Took it for a short drive today after getting the BOV hooked up and it's notably quicker than before. You can definitely tell when the boost comes on.

Installed the reservoir and water meth pump. Engine bay is starting to get real full.

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HolyGhost

First Fill-Up (of many)
Got all the wiring cleaned up for the aftermarket stuff just need to attach it to switched power waiting on fuse taps. Dash is 70% in and got the front bumper on today. Starting to look like an X again.

I need to repaint the gauge pod that I got from 4x4 parts fit was mediocre and the grey color is not even close to matching. Waiting till after the virus shutdown to get the custom paint mixed for it.

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HolyGhost

First Fill-Up (of many)
Gauges turn on. AFR is showing lean while driving but I also only have about 4 inches of exhaust pipe right now hopefully it starts reading richer once it's not eating so much air. I'll know more this week once the exhaust is on.

Also my down pipe and exhaust housing is really close to the master cylinder and I am nervous during long high load situations I will melt the plastic and start a fire. Thought I would take a note from the z31 and steal the hood scope and divert air right over the master cylinder and down pipe. Little preview of what I am thinking I will paint it black for now and get it painted body color once the paint shops go back to normal.

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HolyGhost

First Fill-Up (of many)
Man, I am so stoked to see how far this has come! I am glad the stumbling was something simple.

Yeah I am glad too. I hate that it was something that stupid but can't blame anyone but myself for that mistake. Just wish I didn't spend two weeks messing with stuff to discover that.

I need to see this thing. When are you going to get it to the front range?

I'm trying! My initial goal is the end of this month but we will see how things go. Back in Denver for work stuff then it's two weeks before I can get back to my parents place to work on the X. I really need a place with a garage.

Few updates. Exhaust is put on with a Thrush cheap muffler little louder than I want but it sounds pretty cool and keeps the "gurgle" sound on decel which I like. Next steps are to swap the transfer case and then finish putting in the dash. Luckily I traded my dad for a drill press and he is going to swap the transfer case while I am in Denver these next weeks.

I also have a small oil leak that I need to take care of once I find it. Thinking turbo drain right now.

Took the time this weekend and pulled the donor transfer case out with Calmini gears installed already.

Pipe is not as close to the hanger as it looks.
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Donor case looking for a new home.
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HolyGhost

First Fill-Up (of many)
Turbo, crawl gears, ARBs, dang. This truck is gonna be so wildly different the next time you wheel it.

It's going to be a whole new rig. I already know the spots I want to try again now that I have gears and lockers. One of them last year gave me quite the challenge should be easy now.

I am also really curios how it will handle the mountain passes here in Colorado. When I drove the 300zx over from Denver I was like this is how the X should handle these hills but there is going to be a large difference in weight so I am curios.

Speaking of weight I am going to have access to corner scales so stay tuned for overall weight of the rig once I get the skids and sliders back on.

Also got this ordered a month behind schedule but now I don't have to get everything done before GONE since it was cancelled.

Die for the roof rack. Not cheap!
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HolyGhost

First Fill-Up (of many)
Little behind schedule but if you have been watching this thread you know that's the status quo for this project. Got the transfer case in this weekend. My dad pulled the yellow X one out last weekend and we swapped in the donor X one this weekend. Just waiting on the Gl4 oil now.

I was able to fit the hood scope though. I think it came out pretty good and should direct air over the turbo and brake master. I grabbed the air diverter from the 300zx it sits in the hole to help convince air down the hole.

Cut it similar to the 300zx hole.
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Final fitment still needs paint though
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