New swap-4G63T

[jeffball610]

Well, I passed the point of no return. I just switched over to Z31 rear bearings and hubs. We got them welded in today. They're pretty close to being perfectly straight. I figured in the adjustable pickups I'll upgrade to and figured 1/16th"-1/64th" was pretty close for what we had to work with. I think we even added some positive camber to give less negative camber when the car gets lowered. We measured everything with the swing arms level.

The hubs are the exact same outer diameter as the stock 510 units so it was pretty straight forward. I'll be posting picks after I get it sand blasted and painted for now. After I finally get the adjustable crossmember and the other little parts, I'll powder coat it. I'm sure it won't be anytime soon. The project wasn't that difficult and I get the advantage of 5 lug wheels, larger disk brakes, and CV flanges for better axles. Where's the down side? I guess I'll find out.

Since I've got it all apart, I'm going to put new bearings in. The part # is on the stock bearings, correct? Also, is there a part # for the seals and new lock nut? I could go through a Nissan dealer, but figured someone had a better/cheaper source.

[thisismatt]

It's all just in the matter of how much work you want to do, and at what point you find modifying the stock design to be fruitless and completely swap in something different

Yeah, bearings typically have the # on them, and sometimes the seals do too. Easiest would be to just go to rockauto.com and look at the beck/arnley replacement bearings/seals...they'll be OEM. I'm not sure about the Z31 bearings, but if they're open on the inside like stock 510 bearings you might want to find the sealed equivalent instead, though. It's usually just a suffix after the number designating open or sealed on both sides. A local bearing supplier should have no problem helping you out if you want them right away.

[jeffball610]

The Z31 units are open on the inside. Will I still need the seals with the sealed bearings? I assume so, since the seals are on the outside. I'll have to look up the seal part # anyway. The old ones got destroyed or are just missing from the procedure.

I should have some pics up tonight. I'm going to the local Friday Night Drags to take pictures and I'll upload what I have with my rear end swap.

[thisismatt]

Are you talking about the outer seals held on by a few bolts on the hub flanges? They seem to be non-existent on my 510 stubs and I don't feel anything there is really necessary.

[icehouse]

Not that it will help at this point but the z31 bearings have the same ID as the 510 bearings. Me and a buddy put the z31 stubs in a zx swing arm just to see if it worked, yep fit perfect. The zx and dime have the same bearings so it should work perfect. Maybe since Mat hasn't finished his rear suspension he can give it a shot. I still have all the parts I just need to pull a Byron and make some really good measurements and see how close it really is.

When I put my SR in this last time I did the same thing to my core support, I was able to fit the same radiator and a 12x24x3 intercooler behind the grille. Let me see if I can find a decent pic





To me it looks like maybe if you lower your IC a bit you may be able to scoot it forward a little bit... Yeah the 510 doesn't leave much room.

As for the steering link, I don't think its a big deal. How often are you driving at full lock? I drove a few cars around like that and had no problems, sometimes in parking lots you can feel the engine through the steering wheel haha

[jeffball610]

There really isn't much room for a 3" intercooler. I'll try to lower it. I might have to get rid of the shiny trim to make this more functional.

Here are some pics of the Z31 hubs and such. I'll just put one photo on here and then some links to keep down on the bandwidth. The Z31 does share one bearing in common with the 510. The inner bearing is the same size on both, but the outer bearing on the Z31 has a larger inside to accommodate the larger shaft. You also have the caliper bracket already attached to the hub, so no need to order aftermarket pieces. The extra slag you see in the pictures is not a concern. It all came from the stock 510 hubs. We decided to cut those out to preserve the metal in the trailing arms. Hope this helps anyone trying to do the same procedure.



http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u71/ ... 0001-2.jpg
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u71/ ... 0002-2.jpg
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u71/ ... 0003-2.jpg
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u71/ ... 0004-2.jpg
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u71/ ... 0006-1.jpg
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u71/ ... 0009-1.jpg

I'll take some pictures of the welded up units when I get it blasted and painted.

[thisismatt]

Not that it will help at this point but the z31 bearings have the same ID as the 510 bearings. Me and a buddy put the z31 stubs in a zx swing arm just to see if it worked, yep fit perfect. The zx and dime have the same bearings so it should work perfect. Maybe since Mat hasn't finished his rear suspension he can give it a shot. I still have all the parts I just need to pull a Byron and make some really good measurements and see how close it really is.

I'm staying 4-lug since I already have the wheels, so I'm not going to mess with any z31 stuff

[jeffball610]

I believe the 84 Z31 non turbos had 4 lug wheels. You could upgrade to CVs and better rear calipers without too much trouble. I could be wrong about the 4 lug thing. I might end up with a wider track in the rear as well. It looks like the Z31 hubs stick out a little farther. I didn't take measurements or the track before we started cutting.

[thisismatt]

Right, they're 4 lug, but I don't think the brakes are any better than the 280zx turbo ones I'm using, and they've CV as well.

[jeffball610]

Finally found a set of 5 lug front rotors/hubs. They don't seem to spin as well on the 280ZX struts as the 280ZX units did. Maybe they just need some new grease. But hey, they're 11" rotors and if I really had to run stock Z31 calipers, they would still stop better than the 280Zx units.

As a side note, I saw an FC RX7 with some nice 4 piston calipers. The rotors look pretty small, and the mounting holes aren't close to Nissan stuff. However, they look like they might be a good upgrade for someone running smaller wheels. I think it had a 10" rotor and the caliper itself may have been aluminum. Just a thought. I might pick these up if they're there next time. For $5 a piece, why not?

I should get my modified intake manifold today and I'll finally get started on my wiring harness. I'm trying to hide as many wires as possible and trimming each wire to length. This will be a major part of the project. I've also decided to go with a slotted crossmember for now. And I'm in search of a 4" piece of tubing to pass though the rear crossmember for my 3" exhaust.

I'm way ahead of myself, as I have very little money to be spending right now. But these are all things that I am doing for cheap or free to get it ready before I move. I'll be in Las Vegas by July 9th and I won't have space or money to work on the car. So I figured I might as well do what I can while I can.

[thisismatt]

Finally found a set of 5 lug front rotors/hubs. They don't seem to spin as well on the 280ZX struts as the 280ZX units did. Maybe they just need some new grease. But hey, they're 11" rotors and if I really had to run stock Z31 calipers, they would still stop better than the 280Zx units.

That's because the grease seals are smaller on the s12 200sx and z31 300zx...people force them on and claim they don't wear out, but they're technically not the right size.

[jeffball610]

Thanks, that's good to know. Can I just swap out to the 280ZX seals? It seems to simple to work, but thought it was worth asking. I figured since the bearings seem to be the same size, maybe the seals were the same, or at least close enough to work.

Also, I got my "new" intake manifold yesterday. The guy I had do it kinda messed up and swapped out my "shaved" unit for a stock unit. So I've got another couple of hours to make this one look nice and presentable under the hood. I'll take some pictures when I get it done. Hopefully this weekend.

[thisismatt]

Nope, they're different externally as well. You could use 200sx struts, though (either I4 or SE V6, but V6 has the wider caliper spacing). The bearings are the same, yeah.

[jeffball610]

Well, I got my manifold back today. Looks pretty good. I have to clean up some welds and smooth out the inside of the runners, but it should work fine. I might end up moving the brake distribution block to get some extra clearance, but it fits well enough to leave it alone. Well, here's some pictures.

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u71/ ... 0004-3.jpg
Almost looks at home in a 510. Guess it's time to change my signature.
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u71/ ... 0009-2.jpg
I've only got 4.5" of clearance, but 3 quick 90 degree bends should take care of the intercooler piping.

ps I need to figure out how to get my photos on here without cutting off the whole right side. Can I make my photobucket images smaller?

[jeffball610]

Well, I hit a snag. I just tried to reassemble the Z31 hubs in the 510 arms, and wouldn't you know it, the CV flange hits the swing arm. Not by much, but it might be enough that notching the arm isn't enough. I'm not totally sure how much space there is since I can't seem to get the bearing assemblies fit into the hub. I'm sure there's a trick to it or just something I don't know. I'm going to just try and put the stub axle nut on without the flange so I can move the car. I'm moving to Las Vegas in about 10 days and need the car to be mobile enough to push it.