Mr. G. Brettin's Slow Motion Leg Hump

gbrettin

Howdy all. Weather is starting to break way to fair weather in MI so I can actually work on the car. I honestly don't have it in me to work on the car if it is not nice out. Well... it had to be nice for my last task.

I dropped the kmember so that I could scuff and repaint the entire engine bay with steel-it. There were a lot of scuffs that went into the metal of the car from all the work on the car previously, the paint I used last time was too soft. The engine bay was scuffed and wiped down with acetone. It takes 4-6 cans depending on how many coats you want to do on your car. I'm doing 6 because I have a few areas I want to go back over. It's really nice to have a pristine engine bay again. All the swamp bits were cleaned and blown out. It really put some wind back in my sails.

While the kmember is out I'm going to put in the steering rack and SPL tie rod ends. If anyone has pointers for the SPL outer tie rods, I'm all ears.

I've decided to change my accessory drive to a single mid mount alt and remove my power steering pump out of the equation and switch to an MA motor sports packaged electric pump. I'm not sure where I'm mounting that just yet, but the engine is out and I know where everything fit previously so I'm sure the mounting task will be much easier. A decision was also made to run electric AC at some point.

Everything is running off the electrical system so I had to find a billy bad azz alt, which I did. The previous alternator location locked me into a small frame alt which could only produce 150amps. Part of the decision to change the location of the alt was so I could in fact run a large alt. I decided to go with a 400amp Mechman. This should take care of all the demand. A consideration was taken into account for high rpm of the engine so the diameter of the alt wheel was increased to pair with my -10% underdrive balancer. That's a big deal, because I can't have the alt burn out from over spinning. Last reason I wanted the alt moved was to get it away from the turbo up pipes. That's a pretty simple reason. Heat kills everything.

Other misc parts news.... hmmm.... I ordered a new W brace from GK Tech because my OE was bent from trying to grind a curb like a skate board. My transmission has been fully serviced and is ready for action.

In true F-Up fashion, I attempted to drill the plenum holes on my machined heads from M6 to M8. It went like sh!t. The machined heads were swapped with a non machined set of 243 heads (same casting) and are off to get machined again. You might ask, why didn't you have the machine shop tap for M8? well, I tried but they were drilled previously and didn't want to attempt the correction. They had already started on my heads so I was committed to that job.

That being said, I am getting a new set machined, transferred spring components, valves. BUT... BTR is coming out with a thick deck big block like heads (valves canted to a different degree) that are meant for boost and flows a lot. I'm on the call back list when they come out in 4th quarter 2024 or maybe even early 2025.

In-between all that, I've still been making a few carbon inserts for the Nismo v2 Front Fascia. I'm about done with the small run. I feel confident in telling you that the inserts were just carbon fiber practice and I am going to make a front end air box for my car and then duct the air out through the center of the Varis Kamikaze.... which means I am going to cut a 3,500 hood. I'll be sure to get that on video. lol

Links to all the things I mentioned that I purchased:
https://ma-motorsports.com/products/...ering-pump-kit
https://us.gktech.com/products/z34x-wbrc-placeholder
https://www.mechman.com/alternators/...4-18-gm-truck/
https://mkcustomz.com/ols/products/l...lancer-spacing

gbrettin

I ended up breaking down the k-member completely and painting it with Steel-it. I was at a cross roads whether or not to install SPL lower control arm bushings so I put a general post out to FB in a few groups. BTW Tuning reached out to me and had new loaded lower control arms with SPL bushings that he wanted to offload. SO... I took him up on that offer. I've got to say, that I didn't want to paint the subframe but it looks damn good now. I painted the pieces that connect the steering rack "gray" but it looks titanium.

During the break down of the subframe I noticed that the Whiteline swaybar was bent on then end. The SPL endlink bolt that I took out of the sway bar also had significant damage, which I had already ordered new Z1 endlinks. SO.... I went ahead and ordered a new Hotchkis sway. Everything else is new... why not.

I broke down the calipers so that the rear get completed and that the fronts get re-done. From there, I knocked out all the studs on the wheel hubs and put in ARP extended studs because the OE length didn't have enough thread engagement on the open ended Nismo lugs. I was in the painting mood so I added a dusting on the ends of the ARP to remove the gold color.

Powder coater dude said that the calipers would be done next month. That's fine. I can still put the front wheels on with out having calipers to roll the car if needed. I also ordered brake rebuild kits from Rock Auto.

It FINALLY feels like things are moving in the right direction. I've been waking up early in the morning before work trying to put in some car work. Both Sat and Sun were dedicated to breaking everything down and painted. Lot's of movement in a few days.

That steering rack should make it back in this coming weekend.

Mr&Mrs

All the pics on IG of the coated metals is making me want to rip apart the entire underside of the car. The surface rust on alot of the areas has already been bugging the heck out of me.

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Project Z <--Click - Check out the link too many mods to list!

gbrettin

Honestly, It would be worth it to get in front of it before the surface rust turns into something deeper. It's not hard to get after it early.

I have some pictures to post of the subframe going back together. It REALLY looks great. The best part about it, if you scratch it and it happens to come off... just give it a quick spray.

gbrettin

I was on the fence about doing the extra work painting the subframe with steel-it. Not any more. It was worth it IMO. I like details in a build. Pictures will be self explanatory based on some of the other stuff I wrote. Some notable items are the new braided brake lines and factory lines. They've seen some abuse so they are getting replaced.

-Edit: I marked the bolt heads to know specifically if the bolts have been tightened to spec. It also lets me know if anything backs out over time. The first point is most important, because it's easy to miss things while thinking about a whole bunch of next steps.

ZontheRocks

Thread is alive! Glad to see you have things going in the right direction. We all look forward to seeing this thing looking good and ripping tread.

__________________
'16 Pearl White Sport | Stillen Gen. 3 | Motordyne ART | Motordyne Shockwave | ZSpeed | Powertrix | EVO-R | Aeroworkz | Nismo | Z1 | EcuTek | Tuned by Seb @ SpecialtyZ

gbrettin

That it is good sir! The engine and transmission rebuild was quite expensive so it put a lot of things on hold. Well, that and I bought all the cool sh1t I wanted to put into the v2 build.

gbrettin

Sunday was a marathon getting the k-member back to the car. All the small hardware bits needed to go back on the knuckle and the brake lines had to be oriented correctly. I have Alldata now for the technical specification, because I've been using it for torque specs, so that was really helpful. That being said, I had to put the shock and FUCA on in a specific order because of interference issues. Pictures make it look like it took 5min, not 6-7hrs I was messing with everything.

That being said, it's looks and feels like I'm assembling a new car (because it is). I didn't have that same feeling last time I was going through everything. The SPL end link bolts were bent pretty bad, and I'm pretty happy about that (seriously). Energy was transferred from the driver's side 2 piece rotor getting sheered off into the hub to end link, and then sway bar. All those items were replaced. I had some light damage on the brake cooler due to the wheel hub or 2 piece rotor. A hammer and vice grips were to get that right.

Ghostvette suggested that I chase some of the threads so I sprang for a Chinese thread chase kit. Normally when I decide that I want to chase a thread, I'm missing the kit. It's nice having that option now because I used it a whole bunch already!.

The real MVP of this weekend was my lift cart. I first had to remove the 4L80e that was sitting on it myself, SUPER heavy. Then I wheeled right over to the subframe to lift it off to the car. SO EASY.

Ya know... maybe I should load the engine, transmission, and k-member outside of the car... That might just happen vs using a picker. Good thing about having the k-member on currently is that I can get the front wheels on. After the rear subframe gets loaded, I can move the car into the garage. I really hate that the car is in my driveway covered. The neighborhood likely hates it worse.

End result of all this work is looking REALLY good in person. Not sure if the pictures are doing the justice here. I think that the "gray" (looks titanium) looks really rad on the steering knuckles. I wasn't completely sold when spraying that part.

Next up: Bend new hardlines for front and rear brake lines. Rear subframe removal/install. Then we can see what the drag wheels actually look like on.

Edit - I push mowed the grass after 6-7hrs of doing the subframe... Slightly sore today. lol








I think I took the brake lines off and adjusted them after this picture.

gbrettin

Small update

Removed the back bumper to get dirt, formerly swamp/mud, out of the rear bumper. I think this is the last known spot for debris on the exterior. The Last spot to look will be inside the doors and I think that will be 99% of the car cleaned.

I took a moment to inspect the rear because the car went into the swamp rear first. It looks perfect! But, I wasn't really going crazy fast so I didn't expect there to be a smashed rear end. BUT... Nothing really shocks me with this car any more. I'm not use to opening up something and not being a can of worms. Well... I have to repair the trunk latch and trunk lid springs; however, that's fairly common issue.

I FINALLY put the rear wheels on the car to see what it looks like. It really feels like my vision is starting to take shape. Removing the rear spacer has always been part of the plan so that's going to bring the wheel in 25mm.

The rear was dropped out from under the car. Guess what I found... more swamp. lol. It wasn't bad compared to the other stuff.

I need to start getting the arms off and pressing SPL bushings. I think I'm going to put the Sikky Subframe in the car despite not having it fully loaded. Garage space is premium. Having the whole unit loaded up gets pretty darn heavy for driveway work too.

ZontheRocks

Looking sick!

__________________
'16 Pearl White Sport | Stillen Gen. 3 | Motordyne ART | Motordyne Shockwave | ZSpeed | Powertrix | EVO-R | Aeroworkz | Nismo | Z1 | EcuTek | Tuned by Seb @ SpecialtyZ

Rjk370z

Dang! That's some meaty tires!

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gbrettin

Saturday I was going to bolt the Winters Quick Change, quickly, so I could get some more room in my garage. Wrong. Nothing quick about getting that diff in. The rear mount for the subframe bracing had to be removed because the back of the unit interfered, same for the top of the trunk. I want to say that I slid the diff in and out of the rear no less than 6-7 times. That was A LOT of work rolling under the car holding awkward positions cutting. I have to say that because the pictures show a straight line progression, and that wasn't the case. It was an all day grind that spilled into the next day.

On Sunday I put the skid plate on the car which was much easier... but I was sore from the previous day. Also, I didn't hook up the steering column to the rack so a few back steps were needed. Doing the task alone, I accidently didn't have the center lined up correctly so I had to drop the front k-member twice. The brake booster was going to be installed Sunday but I noticed brake fluid lifted the paint in a few areas. I had some gray Steel-it hanging in my crash cart so I decided to paint the booster gray (looks titanium). A new order was put in for both gray and black steel-it so I can spray it black if it looks like garbage.

I'm happy with the progress this weekend... Lot of work... but happy in the end.

gbrettin

Ok guys! I had a cool side quest I wanted to share. Someone contacted me on IG and wanted a carbon fiber emblem for their car. I felt like this was the perfect next step working with carbon fiber specifically for doing vacuum bagging techniques. The molding process was pretty smooth because I had already ran through that for my cubby mount. Less was more for the mold and I made the molds pretty small to make the bagging process better. The mold its self came out really great! I can f' up the carbon process and start over as many times as I want. Of which, I totally messed up my first bagging.

I have really top notch vacuum supplies and a 1,200 vacuum pump... but, I wanted to take a chance doing a cheaper method using a Food Saver. It looked like the vacuum process initially worked well because I had packed in chop strand carbon into the tight areas to prevent bridging. I attempted to do a wet layup combo with vacuum but it failed. The bag lost vacuum twice on the A side of the emblem which I think really did me in.

That all being said, I am NOT mad one bit. As stated, the mold is beautiful and I can make more attempts. The weave laid down all whack due to the wet layup. I'll specifically need to do a vacuum infusion on this. Additionally I am going to use PVA (liquid plastic) inside the mold so that it releases a bit easier.

FYI, I was working on a lot of this concurrent with other parts of my car. There's a lot of stop and go with-in this process.

ZontheRocks

Very cool

__________________
'16 Pearl White Sport | Stillen Gen. 3 | Motordyne ART | Motordyne Shockwave | ZSpeed | Powertrix | EVO-R | Aeroworkz | Nismo | Z1 | EcuTek | Tuned by Seb @ SpecialtyZ

gbrettin

Z update... kind of. I've been working on home stuff and the carbon stuff.

Breaking down the OE rear subframe so I can get SPL bushings in. I had the rear rotors turned because they were practically new previously. Much cheaper than buying new. I repainted the brake booster black because it looked like garbage gray.

I bought a spray gun specifically for PVA (spray on plastic). A compression mold was completed with decent results. I didn't tamp down the material well enough and there was an air pocket in a bad spot, lame.

I attempted a vacuum layup and it didn't go well. There's a couple spots that I needed to be done different:
1.) I laid the carbon in dry. I did that so the weave didn't move everywhere. However, the carbon didn't look completely wet.
2.) I was missing the release film.
3.) They had a great technique for laying sticky tape. Ill try that.