Had a week off work so I did some more messing around with the car.
First I picked up another Z34 rim so I could get closer to completing my rim setup. I've also purchased some tires. For now, I'll run 19x10+30s all around with 265/30 rear and 235/35 stretched up front. 19 inch tires are expensive and I stumbled on a deal I couldn't pass up.
The most recent rim I picked up has a 275/35 tire mounted so it's a bit big still. After a fender roll, a 265/30 should fit pretty nicely out back. No spacers on front or rear right now. All stock S14 components with the exception of coilovers/camber plates (set at ~ -1.7* up front).
I worked on fitting the intercooler up front and it actually fits decently well behind the stock zenki bumper. I had to clearance various things on the front end but I think it'll all fit together pretty well once the IC mounting is figured out.
After hearing stories about people having clutch pedal brackets failing when they run upgraded clutches, I opted to pull out the pedal bracket and add some more tack welds to reinforce it. Nissan really didn't put any extra weld metal in the bracket to start with. It looks exactly the same as the $100 Nismo clutch pedal bracket now!
While I was around the master cylinder area, I swapped in a BM57 (17/16") Z32 brake master cylinder to deal with the extra 8 pistons I now have on the car. I went with the 17/16" because I am pretty accustomed to stiff brakes (think 510 sans booster).
The stock S14 rad and S14 rad brackets still fits with the RB26 so that is encouraging. This will allow clearance for the AC condenser in the stock mounts in front of the S14 rad. R32 GTR rad hoses seem to work well.
In preparation of pulling the engine out again, I decided to make a non-sketchy engine/trans dolly using some 2x2 square tube and 3 crazy wheels. It sits with 1" of clearance under the frame. MIG welded for expediency. It worked super well!
With the engine/trans/downpipe all removed together, I can now fab up the front downpipe that needs to dodge the steering shaft. Along with that, I'll be modifying the upper and lower rear turbo oil drain hard lines and the rear turbo water return line.
I swapped an S chassis 4 bolt flange onto the diff in place of the CV flange that comes on the GTR diff. With the subframe risers, there isn't enough clearance from the CV flange to the e-brake cables. Using an S chassis flange also allows me to use an off the shelf RB25 swap driveshaft. The R33 e-brake cables fit beautifully as the internet promised me!
I also picked up a torsen to build into a spare GTR diff. This will allow me to swap between the stock GTR 2 way and a torsen by only changing out pumpkins!
I had my stock RB26 injectors cleaned and flow tested/matched so that I shouldn't have to worry about injectors when it comes to getting the beast up and running. The filter baskets in the injectors were also replaced.
While the engine/trans assembly was still in the car, I used my fancy laser level to determine the pinion angle. With the trans jacked up right into contact with the transmission tunnel, I had 0.9* pinion alignment difference. To correct this, the front of the engine needs to come down around 1/2". I'll be modifying the upper engine mount brackets (RB20) to sit the engine down about 1/2" lower. To accommodate a lower engine position and stock sway bar clearance (I want to run a Nismo power brace with stock sway bar) I opted to pull the pan off a final time for further modifications. It is pretty common on the RB26 swaps for the front of the pan to be chopped to make room for the stock 240sx sway bar. To make up the capacity of the pan, I added a hammerhead on the passenger side that is nearly 1L.
Once the engine mounting up front is finalized, I'll fab up a transmission crossmember to use my new Nismo trans isolator.
Grinding down the reinforcement webbing for crossmember clearance.
Making some clearance so I didn't have to mess with the stock drain plug.
After finishing up the oil pan and checking it for leaks, I gooped it back on the engine for good and focussed on getting a few other odds and ends buttoned up. I opted to run with an Exedy twin disc clutch (sprung hub) since many say that the HKS GD Pro twin disc is pretty harsh for street driving. It's torqued down for good and ready for action. The GM LQ9 coilpacks are roughly installed for now and the coil brackets are coming in the mail.
That's it for now. More in the works coming soon!
Hoping to have the beast running sometime on Christmas break!
To do that I've got a few things on the list to do still:
Fab downpipe/modify rear turbo lines
Modify upper engine mounts
Fab "Nismo Power Brace"
Install trans/clutch fork/TOB on RB26
Reinstall engine
Fab trans crossmember
Swap GTR pump into S14 tank with S14 fuel sock
Order Wiring Specialties R32 RB26 to LQ9 coilpack harness
Run relayed power to coilpacks
Extend engine harness wires for O2 sensors and MAFs
Modify GTR IC piping to suit S14
Clearance S14 for 80mm IC piping
Install fuel rail/injectors
Install some sort of air box
Install rad/rad hoses
Loop heater lines for the meantime
Tweak R32 exhaust to fit S14
Other ancillary items:
Order/install an S14 non abs RB25 driveshaft
Install power steering cooling loop
Find a PS high pressure line that works
Install PS reservoir
Rebuild clutch slave
Fab IC mounts
Fab BOV recirc piping
Order/install new brake/clutch flex lines
Install ABS pump
Install rear ABS sensor (on diff output shaft)
Bleed brakes/clutch
Install heater lines
Ground straps on diff and exhaust
Put everything else back together.