96' Zenki slight overhaul

[s14unimog]

So I've been meaning to take the plunge for a minute now and I think I'm finally doing it! The car's purpose is for drifting so every upgrade is attention to the departments that are lacking... I'll use this thread as well to give you feedback on the parts I'm using, in case anyone has been considering these upgrades.

Here is the car...


Item 1: Control Arms & Tires

I've been meaning to do this one for some time now. My camber was all jacked up and making my wheels look sunken. So, I bought Circuit Sports Rear Traction Arms, RUCA's, and Toe rods. So to cover the suspension catagory we've got front camber plates, Tein tie rods, Nismo Power Brace, SPL subframe spacers, ST sway bars, Polly TC bushings and the Flex's with EDFC. After searching, I finally found a local shop that would let me back there while they did my alignment, so I've got -.05 degree camber all 4 corners and the car running straight as an arrow. The tires I bought we're a set of General Exclaim UHP 225/45/17 front and 245/40/17 rear; nothing special but they hold up well to some tire spin.










I took us almost 30mins to get the car on the rack; actually ended up pulling to front bumper to clear the wheel stops in the front. After they got the sensors on there we found out that I pretty much got the camber by eye but the toe was all fu*ked up.

[s14unimog]

Item 2: Drivetrain

Currently I've got a factory s14 VLSD that has done pretty much all she can do for me; beats an open I guess. I've also got a 1 piece aluminum drive shaft from the driveshaft shop, a poly tranny mount from SPL, and spec Stage 3 6 puck with Spec 13lbs flywheel (I'll get back to that in a minute...). So to replace the Viscous unit, I got a KAAZ 2-way! Here is the progress on that...

I wonder if the fluid has ever been changed ( I bought this open from a friend:goodjob



:gay:

Keep all this...


:superman:



Three freakin cans of carb cleaner!










They sent me this sticker so I just slapped it on the rear cover..



I've still got to swap the housing out for my VLSD unit, but I was tired and wanted some food. I want to try and get that done tomorrow.

[s14unimog]

Item 3: Engine

s14 SR block
Eagle H-beam rods
ALC bearings
OEM pistons W/new OEM rings
new OEM thrust washers
OEM Revised metal timing guides
new OEM front timing cover/oil pump
Revised OEM chain tensioner
Greddy oil pan
Cosworth 1.5mm metal head gasket
Refreshed head
JWT valve guides
New OEM valves and seals
HKS springs
BC retainers
Greddy RAS
HKS 264 Intake/Exhaust cams
Freddy intake manifold
Nismo FPR
Nismo 740cc injectors
Greddy Pulleys
P2 coilpack grounding plate
Tomei Expreme exhaust manifold
GT28RS .60 A/R (soon to be replaced with a 20G)
Z32 MAFS
Greddy turbo extension
Blitz down pipe
Nismo motor mounts
TAKA oil/coolent lines
Spec stage 3 6 puck
Spec 13lbs flywheel
Every single seal/gasket/o-ring OEM replaced
NGK iridium plugs

I had all the bottom end work done by Sammy himself at Tiger Racing. At this point I'm waiting on my new 20G and so misc. hardware that needs replacing.

As some of you might know, I've got an s14.5 that I stole most of these parts from. currently the car sits motorless and awaiting the relatively stock blacktop that sits in the blue car right now.

The goal is to have the blue car with the new motor tuned and running before the end of next month, but school and work are keeping me pretty busy.

As for the tuning aspect, I have a NIStune real time rom tuner with a Zeitronix wideband that I can monitor and make changes from with a laptop.

Everything to seal up an SR20det


Picking the engine up from Tiger Racing



Clutch and flywheel



My progress so far

[moonshinekouki]

nice bro very nice

[sunnys14]

Just wanted to know why you pretty much built the bottom end, only to use OEM pistons in the end?

[s13 @ fullboost]

Originally Posted by sunnys14

Just wanted to know why you pretty much built the bottom end, only to use OEM pistons in the end?

yeah I had the same question ? wtf?? save money?

[mxsx25]

i usually dont like zenki but i like yours .. also curious why you didnt upgrade the pistons? otherwise nice build man

[s14unimog]

My ultimate horsepower goal is only 450 MAX. I think I'll most likely run a mid to high 300hp boost level and call it good. If you tune the car right there is no need to replace the pistons; that only forces you to re-bore and spend more money. This setup can accommodate 500+, the weak links for SR's are in the rods anyways. Think about it this way, unless you are going for a high HP amount on a completely optimized setup, there is no reason to incure the extra cost. Its like, "why didn't you port match?" B/c you don't really need it. Sure you might see a slight HP gain but who cares when you have a 2800lbs vehicle that has 400hp. Then on top of all that, Nissan OEM is great stuff! These motors are incredibly strong in the first place.

[JRas]

I like

I'm in the process of changing out my differential

waiting on bolts and a pinion seal ...

[forum04pl]

The sr rods are pretty stout as they are, on the other hand the pistons can be weak. I think you may have your information backwards. I had stock sr piston fail on my 420 whp setup. Replaced all the pistons and reused stock rods. She still runs strong over 2 years later.

[clark]

Originally Posted by JRas

I like

I'm in the process of changing out my differential

waiting on bolts and a pinion seal ...

check your pinion bearings for pitting.

just wanted to say nice job on everything. i'm effing jealous. it's too cold here now to do everything and i dont' have a garage.

[JRas]

Originally Posted by clark

check your pinion bearings for pitting.

just wanted to say nice job on everything. i'm effing jealous. it's too cold here now to do everything and i dont' have a garage.

I didn't start the thread :P

just a random stating I liked his build and I was in the middle of changing out my differential like he did, except HLSD

[s14unimog]

Originally Posted by forum04pl

The sr rods are pretty stout as they are, on the other hand the pistons can be weak. I think you may have your information backwards. I had stock sr piston fail on my 420 whp setup. Replaced all the pistons and reused stock rods. She still runs strong over 2 years later.

Hmm that is interesting, are you sure you can attribute the damage to piston failure. A close friend of mine is making 443rwhp on totally stock internals and beats the ever living crap out it at every drift event.

But either the case, I plan on running a stout 380ish and keep it reliable. I'm only running 245's

[J-Team]

exterior shots?

[s14unimog]

Originally Posted by J-Team

exterior shots?

unfortunately it seems all of my current shots are of the front, but here are some more...

[s14unimog]

So a little progress update. I got the motor out of the blue car in about 3 hours but had to do some Calculus HW before 12; fucking bull shit, homework on fall break!

Still hot from the ride down. I've been doing all of my work over at my dads since I live in an apartment; they tend to frown apon this sorta automobile work in the parking lot.


My swap kit


piece of shit car covered died over the 2 months she sat


So hot and no motor....



Them both and my fathers "shop"


Gettin there...






Dad's donkeys



Played with some matches...



UHH, out in 3 hours...:bump:


going to bed...

[Bigsyke]

I wouldnt use a jack when even being close to underneath the car. Mine fell off once and the brake rotor was 5" away from slicing my arm. If i was underneath I wouldve died.

[s14unimog]

there were two on the front tow hooks and both rears were chocked. I've one fall of too...destroyed the screen of my phone...

[Naughty240]

Nice build you got there. lol at the donkeys.

[orion::S14]

Originally Posted by s14unimog

Item 2: Drivetrain

Currently I've got a factory s14 VLSD that has done pretty much all she can do for me; beats an open I guess.

:gay:

If that's what came out of your car...then it was an open diff, not a VLSD.

Just a note, if someone later comes upon this thread and finds that pic to compare.

...FWIW.

...

Otherwise, nice work...keep it up.

- Brian

[s14unimog]

Originally Posted by orion::S14

If that's what came out of your car...then it was an open diff, not a VLSD.

Just a note, if someone later comes upon this thread and finds that pic to compare.

...FWIW.

...

Otherwise, nice work...keep it up.

- Brian

I had an extra open diff/pumpkin that I bought off a friend; if you read...

[s14unimog]

I seriously procrastinated about doing an update so this will be a little behind the actual time. The next morning I got up and finished the install. Since I had trouble with that damn PS line I didn't take any completed shots from this day, but all is good b/c I just ran out side and took a few.

The dog was sleeping funny so I took a picture of that before I got started...:screwy:


a collection of body parts while I finish the swap


I pulled the intercooler from the blue car, since I have to use the pipes


A little clean before we get started



I changed the oil, swapped over the short shifter, swapped in an extra set of Nismo mounts, and cleaned the rest down a bit. Unfortunately the drive shaft bolts at the diff were stuck so I had to get my dads help and wrestle the engine in and line the shaft up; all I know is that cars were in the air, I was under one, there was a tranny over me and the damn turbo outlet was getting all hung up on the steering column.... FUCK!:mad_pirate:






A few shots from tonight, sorry they are a bit dark...





Mail man brought me a present!!! I bought this off a guy on here for a great deal :cheers: Forced Performance 20g with return tube, gasket set, HKS adjustable wastegate, and two option DVD's

:bump:

[ZipTied]

I might be a little confused on this. Your pulling the SR out of the zenki to put it in the S14.5 then building another SR for the zenki?? I'm so lost haha. Nice looking cars either way.

[Justin Bernstein]

I had the same problem. So did that swap just take you a few hours, or did you not take pics for a while?

[s14unimog]

Originally Posted by ZipTied

I might be a little confused on this. Your pulling the SR out of the zenki to put it in the S14.5 then building another SR for the zenki?? I'm so lost haha. Nice looking cars either way.

Correct. The zenki chassis is the only 240 I've got a soft spot for. I've been building this car into my idea of a drift car since 04', its just been recently I've been able to afford serious modifications.

Originally Posted by Justin Bernstein

I had the same problem. So did that swap just take you a few hours, or did you not take pics for a while?

I did the swap in two days, but got distracted with some of the swap over issues (PS line, wiring, etc...) and forgot to post the other pictures.

The picture of the turbo was taken last night, and I've got some more I took today of some parts I made for it. I'll post those when I get out of work.

[s14unimog]

More updates...

Since the 20g doesn't have coupler connections on it I have two chooses: source out the s14 inlet and outlet castings OR make my own. Since I have the resources and am some what of a tight wad, I made my own...

On top of having access to these wonderful machines, I also have the privilege of working with a skilled machinist. This really helps when I can spend most of my time designing and detailing the parts and have Daniel produce them

Machining of the flange face with one of our Fadal 3 axis CNC mills



uhh money!:superman:



Turned the barb out on a standard manual Lathe that's fitted with a DRO



Took my hand at some Tig welding. Since its a butt weld, you can get away without using any filler rod (which I suck at doing by the way)



Finished product!




It was getting late and we got tired of fooling with it once food was on the mind. I'll get some updates as soon as I get the outlet flange finished.

[fromxtor]

^^Those are some perfect welds man, looking good.

[s14unimog]

I had to do a little house cleaning this after noon. I started thinking about it and realized it would make the install of the new motor go so much smoother if I could walk under the car, instead of scratching my back and crawling all over the ground. Previously, I had left the parts car over the pit to aid in strip down ,but the car ended up stuck, due to fact that it no longer had a suspension system, and I didn't exactly have a great way to move it. Well last week my dad calls me and suggested an idea on moving the car. He remembered that he had an extra boat trailer out in the field, from his 18' MAKO, and thought, maybe, we could some how get the shell on it. End of the story goes, an s14 shell WILL fit on an 18' MAKO trailer; so if anybody asks, that's the answer...



I didn't fell so bad, because this was the damaged side, but something didn't quite feel right about doing this. I used the engine hoist, hooked to the cross member under the speaker deck, to support the rear of the car while be backed the trailer up. To help the hoist reach the speaker deck, we beat the shit out of the fender and gained a few extra inches; plus it made jacking the hydraulics more accessible. I then got a damaged hood I had, flipped it upside down, and placed it under the front cross member area; to aid in the sliding. Another great thing about this trailer is that it has a winch for pulling the boat, or 240 in this case, mounted by the tongue. Basically as my pops backed up I just kept winch'en the car onto the trailer. A big plus also, was the fact that the frame rails lined up with the carpet supports for the boat and she just slide right on.

[NemeGuero]

Why'd you ditch your ka-t?

[s14unimog]

b/c I've always been an SR fan, just never had the money to get there. I did that KA-T b/c I couldn't stand being n/a, slow, and that's all I could afford at the time. I still love to see KA-T's though...

How's your going?