ZFreak's RB26DETT Z32 300zx build...

[ZFreak]

Painting the engine bay the same color as the car... white.

Here's the latest update:

Ok.... still waiting on the oil pan


Today I unpacked the exhaust, cleaned it up, and painted it flat black with some hi-temp paint I had. It's aluminized steel in the middle section (that's why I painted it)... the Apexi N1 muffler and TRUST (modified) downpipe is stainless steel (the bottom of the downpipe has a steel flange though. ) V-band mount on the turbo, came already wrapped, and with a free o2 sensor from his Power FC Djetro. It has two bungs wired up for whatever my need. Not bad for a $400 USED custom exhaust that'll bolt up to my setup.


I also finally have all the parts I was waiting on to finish swapping bellhousings. The Z32 tail section and RB26 bellhousing bolt right up. This allows me to use the Z32's driveshaft, trans mount, etc. without any modification. It will just bolt right up.

The transmission has about 170k miles on it...and I was impressed of how great of shape it's in. (the previous owner ran redline MT90 in it after having 4th gear scratch's with Royal Purple.).

Also, you'll see below, the 4th gear synchro's are a little worn, which would explain why it doesn't scratch on my 3-4 shifts all of the time...just some time... the pedal just has to be pressed fully for it not to scratch. I'm sure this will slowly get worse.

Anyway, here ya go:

The final product, ready to bolt up:

 

[AllGOnoSHOW]

Great progress man. Props! I can't wait for you to do a full car photoshoot, engine shoot, and some videos! :wink:

 

[ActNow]

Can't believe I never seen this thread. Beautiful car man.

 

[boneyS]

damn nie car ...

 

[fastflyinaccord]

lovin all the work youre doing

 

[90Z32]

hey there, i have a 90 300zx n/a. ive been looking into this for a swap, just have a couple questions. with the z32 tranny and rb housing, do u need to alter/replace your 300zx drive shaft? i do currently have the stock 2 piece, but plan on getting a lightweight one piece. do u have to fabricate new tranny mount? cause where the rb's so much longer compared to the vg doesn't the tranny get pushed back? and with that, does your shifter location vary at? and i also read about having to alter the cross member, and understand now, thanks for the pics, amazing help. you said you replaced your sway bar, what did you use for the replacement? just a OEM z32 one? and im also not so sure i understand the oil pan issue, did u just straight replace it with a pan from a rb25? any fabrication needed? and my last question is could you take some pictures of your motor mounts? i have very moderate fab skills, and would like to see an example. thanks, and sorry if i thread jacked in any way, not my intentions.

jason

 

[mraw112]

looks great. Where the hell does the starter go on a z32. There is no hump on the tranny.

 

[ZFreak]

mraw112: The starter on a Z32 "bolts" to the bottom of the transmission. It has a hole in the side at allows it to sit there and be annoying...being JUUUUST in the way to remove downpipes & testpipes from the passenger side. Ugh. The RB26's starter sits under the intake manifold facing the transmission. Much better location IMO.

Jason:
The RB26 AWD bellhousing mated to the Z32 trans lets me use the stock Z32 transmission mount and location, therefore the stock driveshaft is still used. No modifications needed. The motor mounts are welded up to the unibody framerails instead of to the lower crossmember. This is how I get around a lot of the modification. Stock transmission, stock location, therefore, stock shifter location, stock speed sensor, and the TACH on the dash works with just one wire to bring into the cabin.

www.speedandsoundSTL.com makes the mounting kit (motor mounts, modified crossmember, and a brand new sway bar) for $1800. They had a race shop that deals with sprint cars make the front sway bar from a piece of chromoly (heat formed, etc.) Of the 5 or so people that I know with this swap, there's only 2 that use a front sway bar. The rest just don't run one up front.

I like the new sway bar because it becomes the lowest point on the car (and if it weren't there, the OIL PAN would be the lowest point...and yea, I don't want that).



The oil pan: The RB26 block has bolt holes for a RB25 oil pan and a RB26 one. The RB25 pan will bolt right up if you use a RB25 dipstick, dipstick tube, oil pick up, and associated gaskets. (those parts alone are about $150, plus a $200 oil pan... that's $300+). And the RB25 oil pan is stamped steel...flimsy. It is also VERY VERY VERY (did I mention VERY?) hard to get it not to leak. It's a terrible oil pan. The RB26's oil pan is VERY thick cast aluminum, and it holds 5.5 qts as opposed to the RB25's 3.8 qts. Which would you want?

The modification to the RB26 oil pan that is needed is to hack off all of the old front differential stuff (a bandsaw works well!), mill the cooling fins off for clearance, and then TIG weld up the two holes left over from the front axle. Most machine shops can do this for a few hundred bucks or less.... you can do it for free if you're handy in a machine shop and have the tools. I paid speed and sound STL $450 (includes return shipping) to modify the oil pan. The have done several now and is by far a better choice.


Jason, also just so you know, this swap is FAAAAAAAAAR more expensive than you may think. You see an RB26 on ebay for $2500 shipped and it may be very appealing. Just so you know I'm probably going to have about $20,000 or more just into this swap (not including the other mods on the car, plus the price of the car)... total invested is probably closer to $40,000 if I had to guess. I've been keeping track of the swap's cost in a spreadsheet and will post the final results at the end, but it's around $15,000 right now, and I still don't have a clutch ($700), flywheel ($500), PowerFC Djetro ($2200), Wideband ($450), Wastegate ($500), FPR ($250), and misc. lines etc. (budgeting $500).... That's $5100 MORE still yet to get (that'd be about $20,000 total then) and I have still yet to hear this engine run after almost a year and a half of working on it.

 

[AllGOnoSHOW]

Wow, just wow. 40K... Now that's dedication. Keep up the good work!

 

[ZFreak]

Wow, just wow. 40K... Now that's dedication. Keep up the good work!

My wife won't let me sell it...so I'm doing the next best thing: Exotic engine swap. heh... I wanted to sell it and get a new GT-R, but the insurance on it would drive me broke. Insurance with Haggerty (collector car insurance) is like $400 a YEAR on my Z. Insurance on the GT-R is over $8000/year. yeah... ouch. Yes, eight THOUSAND, not eight hundred, per year.