Update time!

First off, congrats to Jayhovah on the finishing of his kit today! Hats off to him and his brother in law being the first to tackle this kit as a DIY! I chatted with them briefly on the phone a few times, super awesome dudes. If we ever get the chance to meet up, I'd like to buy you a few beers. Thanks for all the help. I'm truly grateful for this awesome 370z community!

Day 5 - 12/31

Day 5, I got the driver side turbo on and tightened up. Took some careful maneuvering to get the nuts all tightened up, but at this point I was feeling comfortable with tight spaces.... hah!

http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...psys6p0eur.png


My process for the front nuts:

Hold like so:
http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...psmywdqmsu.png

Jam your hand all up in there:
http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...pspq33jdxl.png

Then finish with speed wrench/crowsfoot.

I also shielded the braided hose lines from rubbing harnesses/hardlines:
http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...psboxd3b7s.png

http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...psmuvewjpg.png

Happy little turbo all mounted
http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps5vgsjoj0.png


I plumbed coolant lines as well:
http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...psnyft2edm.png

http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...psx9eobrep.png



Day 6 - 1/1

Spark plugs, injectors, wrapped harness that had mouse damage from this fall :(

Harness before:
http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps0nlp5nnf.png

After: :tup:
http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...pssmjdwnzv.png

Installed the Gtr plugs that are 1 step colder than the OEM 370z ones (NGK DILKAR8A8):
http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...pseklmxlky.png

I didn't have a spark plug socket, but my craftsman 14mm deep socket and a magnet did the trick:
http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...psbnefdlgr.png

http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...psembeusap.png

Injectors swapped:
http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...psrtdenfi3.png

Torqued up:
http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps0djkygrh.png

And I spent the rest of my evening trying to come up with a game plan for my oil pressure sensor and doing turbo oil line routing. There is an available port on the oil distribution block that they give you, but it faces directly toward the OEM oil temp sensor. I picked up a 90 deg elbow and am going to give that a try next.

I took the day off on 1/2 to hang out with the wife and take care of some other stuff around the house. Gonna get back at it on Sunday!

To do list:
Finish routing oil lines
Add more heat wrapping on the main harness / fuel lines
Drill/tap/install intake manifold
Route IC piping
Mount intercoolers
Tap pipes for PCV plumbing
Mount driver side wastegate
Vacuum line routing
Power steering mounting/line hookup
Install oil pan
Install downpipes
Install test pipes (and O2 sensors)
Fuel pump install
Boost controller install
AFR gauge Install
Boost gauge plumbing
Oil Temp plumbing
Oil cooler bracket fab and hose fab

Fill fluids (oil, coolant, power steering)
Flash ECU
Start/check for leaks
Wait for the snow to melt!

All in all, I feel like things have been going along rather smoothly, thanks to Jayhovah and his BIL's tips on a few things! :driving:

Just found this thread! And here I thought you were being lazy with no build thread (I was looking for it to pop up in FI subforum). Awesome progress! You are making us look like a couple of amateurs!

Hah! thanks! yeah, I have some updates to do... I'm back at work now, so I don't have nearly as much time to work on it. I was able to finish routing the oil lines, the heat wrap the remaining components on the passenger side, connect my fuel line, drill/tap/install my intake manifold, mock-up the IC piping and mount the intercoolers though.

I'd like to try to get the bulk of everything else done this weekend if I can, but it's just gonna be pretty dang cold, so I'll have to play it by ear. Keep an eye out for a better update soon. I'll have more pics too, I promise. :driving:

Good luck, it's soooo cold out here in Des Moines.

Thanks! yeah it's downright frigid here... didn't get a chance to do as much as I'd hoped this weekend, but here's this week's recap:

Finish routing oil lines: Got those done. Had a bit of trouble with the proximity of all the plumbing, though. The oil distrubution block is really great in that it connects both turbo oil lines and the OEM pressure sensor together with yet another threaded hole for your own oil pressure gauge. I installed a Defi red racer gauge as one of my three in the cluster (boost, oil pressure, and oil temp) and that looked like the ideal place to connect it. However, the hole is perpendicular to the OEM oil temp sensor. So to make everything work, I picked up a 90 deg fitting and plumbed it up. I realize this isn't perfect, but works in the available space. For people that haven't tried this before, I DID try to index the oil dist block to clear the oil temp sensor, but the casting would cause an interference to the Defi pressure sensor in any other orientation. Pic below:
http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps1mifccat.png

Add more heat wrapping on the main harness / fuel lines: I bought some of the fiber-based wrap and put that around my heat taped harness for good measure. After looking at pics of Jayhovah's setup as well as Gamma's, I figured I should do the same. I ended up heat wrapping the plate by the fuel line with extra heat tape I had for good measure. If anything, just hoping it will help reflect some heat.
http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...pscnt7qp4l.png

Drill/tap/install intake manifold: This was definitely one of the more intimidating things for me to do than most of the project. Drilling and tapping into plastic was a concern, but just like everything else, go slow and take your time and it will work out ok. I verified the tap location with Jason at Gamma and went for it. Anywhere on that raised flat surface where the brake booster connect works, just make sure you have hose clearance. I then bolted that puppy back on and connected all the hoses to the manifold.
http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...psnqr4dajv.png

Route IC piping: This is, an adventure. I, unlike Jayhovah, had two of the same air intake pipes. Gamma confirmed that the short end of the pipe goes into the driver side turbo, and the long end goes into the passenger side. That worked out for the most part. I mocked up the rest of the pipes (no clamps), snapped this sweet pic then went on to drill and tap my intake pipes.
http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...psxme3ervm.png

http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...psejwfp2ge.png

Getting everything to fit up properly brought up some areas that needed thought/work. I had to bend my mount for temp? maybe? by my radiator to fit my intercooler

http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps5gunje2r.png

I also had to get rid of these supports. There was no way the IC's were going in otherwise. Drill out a rivet and take some bolts off. Supports!?! We don't need no stinking supports!! (it's only supports the hood latch... we're good, right?)

http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...psivuru2fl.png

http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...psl3ahaikd.png

Also, this wiring harness:
http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...psnipzmvul.png

Not quite sure on the game plan for this guy... I pulled off the bracket to give them some more slack. I'm going to try and tuck them under the piping, we shall see. I'm open to suggestions. When it comes to this IC piping, it seems like it just touches/rubs EVERYTHING. I wish I could give more clearance, but there just isn't much there. Jayhovah, kinda curious to see some shots of your engine bay to see what all you did / how you routed everything.

Like this, for instance:
http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...pszpj0nlia.png
This is a shot of the driver side water line sitting above the connector for the O2 sensor. preeeeetty tight. I haven't been able to get the clip loose yet and reroute, and I don't think I can connect it as-is without doing a serious amount of shoving stuff around! heh. I've learned so much from this build. It's amazing how all this stuff has been able to fit into the engine bay of a 370z.

Here's what I've got left:
http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...psmidq7gzo.png

I asked about recommended setting for the BOV's from Gamma, they said to turn it all the way on hard, then back it off 3 full turns. Got those set and ready to go now:
http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/q...pshqheg2ih.png

(oh yeah and I put my driver side wastegate on too, no cool pics of that)

I think that's the highlights of things I found interesting/useful so far. Here's what's yet to come :

Finish clamping IC piping & remove material for 90 deg coupler fitment by IC uppers
Power steering mounting/line hookup
Install oil pan
Install oil drain hoses
Install downpipes
Install test pipes (and O2 sensors)
Fuel pump install
Boost controller install/plumbing
AFR gauge Install
Boost gauge plumbing
Oil Temp plumbing
Oil cooler bracket fab and hose fab

Fill fluids (oil, coolant, power steering)
Flash ECU
Start/check for leaks
Wait for the snow to melt! :tup: :driving:

Your turbo inlet pipes were the same? I don't even know what to think! Did you confirm with Jason that you are OK like that?
I did the same =)

Yup.. Did the same. I also worry about this.. my intercoolers press against the latches a little as well.

Yeah those harnesses get in the way of the pass charge pipe. We were able to keep them in that plastic bracket/holder, but the top cable went over the charge pipe and the bottom one went below. Text me I can get you a pic if you need.

That clip is a sonofabitch. We heat wrapped the o2 cable and the coolant feed and clocked the feed fitting toward the chassis.. the line barely clears the plastic connector, I am sure they kiss from time to time but the heat wrapping is soft. I think Jason also recommended we can just take those clips off the positioning tabs and leave the connection to float. We ended up doing that on the passenger side.. We couldn't find the positioning tab and figured it must have come off with the harness cover. =)
Should be good! We did 4 full turns since you can only do 8 turns before the spring launches the cover into outter space (found that out the hard way) and so we figured half way should be good. We asked Johnny during tuning and he said they were working well and didn't need any adjustment. I love how the manual says "adjust per manufacturer instruction" and the Turbosmart manual gives no guidance.

Make sure you SCRUB that oil pan clean! Ours had a little casting dust left in there... Also one of the screws on the baffle was cross threaded :confused: which I found annoying. I reinstalled with thread lock per the manual so I feel OK about it.

Feel free to text me for any pics you may need.. If they are easy to take (top of the car) I can get them pretty quick if I am near the car... anything else I'll have to sift through our huge bucket of pics to find one to send =)
I remember most of the hiccups though, so I can usually describe it at the least!

Nice work!

Thanks! And thanks Jay for the feedback. I'm glad we're thinking the same way! I'll be sure to scrub down that oil pan. And yeah, Jason said that there were two sizes of those turbo inlet pipes, one would only work on one side, but the other could work on both. I've made them work, so I guess I'm good? :D

You are good!

I'd guess they sent you two drivers sides. The drivers side was the one we could only get with the correct pipe in the correct orientation.. The passenger side we could get with either pipe in either orientation =)

nice work dude! subscribed to see the final results :tup:

good stuff man, I applaud people that tackle on projects as big as this. Do you have any prior mechanical knowledge or doing this with the help of a friend?

:iagree:

Looking good, let me know when you are done & I will add you to the finished builds thread: http://www.the370z.com/forced-induct...ed-builds.html

Yea, hows about an update? You have it all finished yet?

It runs, leaks have been checked. I've heat cycled it up to 180deg oil temps twice. AFR and boost controller are hooked up. I've been meaning to post a proper update, but with work and recent events I haven't had the time.

Planning on posting this weekend, videos and all. Hopefully with highs above freezing next week I will be able to get it on the road the following weekend? All I've been able to do is fire it up in the shop, make sweet engine noises and huff exhaust fumes getting it to temp. Gotta love test pipes! Hah! More to follow..... All I have left to do is put the remaining body panels on, tidy up some wiring, and then do interior work. I want to redo my A pillar and build a gauge mount in my cubby for my EBC.