CFS_Z

First off Mods please move if need be .
This will be my small Drift/street car build , not planning any crazy swaps at the moment but anything is possible !

Started off by saying I bought this rebuilt title 03 touring a week or so ago . First Z ever not perfect but good enough for what I want it .
Noticed the low beams didn't work , with tons of moisture in them so decided to take those off and and noticed a few reasons why .ill be ordering new headlights soon .

I knew the car was on some type of suspension because it was super low in the back and herd a bit of a "drag" of something in the back ,
Sure enough CX racing coils , look beat up but I'll be switching to a real coil over style soon as well , couldn't find any loose wires or lines that would drag so that's a unsolved mystery.

As much I know this Will be drifted , I hate all the Christmas tree lights on the dash , have a lot of fail & safe check to clean that up started by the fuses and found the ABS Fuse not having a cover and blown so I'll be fixing that
Also my oil starts off at 60 and drops down to 30 even a little lower after a while but car has oil I'll be replacing the oil pressure sending unit here in a bit once I give it the ol tune up and hopefully fixes that as well as the oil light .

Plans are adding a hydro e brake and a decent diff ( maybe even welded ) since I won't be daily driving this. For the first even down here !

Any comments or suggestions highly welcomed as this is my first Z

dboyzalter

iTrader: (3)

Oil gauge seems right... Should stay around 60 till the car warms up and then it drops down.

Abs fuse is probably removed so the previous owner coulr drift... With the fuse in you will have a hard time breaking the tires free for any period of time.

CFS_Z

ill take another look into the oil gauge,
and makes sense about the abs Fuse, ill probably replace it either way, once i start drifting it ill switch it.
thank you for the info.

CFS_Z

Bit of an update , came across a decent deal for a Duraflex "Nismo" kit . Front bumper , side skirts. Rear Bumper extensions . All for $350
Not my First Priority as far as things to do , but it was cheap !
Mesh will probably come off or painted black .

Extreme Dimensions

iTrader: (7)

Looks good! Don't forget to dry fit & drill mounting locations before painting. The black will have to be block sanded off & bondo skimming for a smooth finish. A pro tip is to use a primer adhesion promoter when you go to paint with any FRP or Poly parts as normal primer is not gonna cut it. Keep us posted!

CFS_Z

Will keep that in mind ty

Decided to tackle my headlights , besides having water damage and dirt/rocks inside they were all scratched up . I'll be looking to just buy new/used ones if anyone has any recommendations ! I'd appreciate it .
I've read in a few post that having no/bad tail lights can cause the Z to go into limp mode , do the head lights cause the same issue ? I couldn't find anything on that issue any help would be great.

CFS_Z

While waiting on parts decided to take off the the stock side skirts.
Passenger side still had all the stock bolts/clips.
Driver side was a bit of a pain with zip ties and self tappers... yeah self tappers about 2"s long

I will be test Fitting the N-1 side skirts this weekend and drilling some mounting holes for the front bumper as well.

On another note i am not a fan of the Rear Bumper extension this kit came with, if anyone wants to buy them HMU ! they are brand new part # and pic attached. or trading for set of HID headlights !

MicVelo

The generally accepted best upgrade for headlights is using the OEM 2006+ Bi-Xenon set up. Lots more output, sharper/cleaner cutoff. If you can find a set of OEM in good condition (there's at least one in the Marketplace currently I believe), then it's pretty much plug n' play (so long as all the components - ballast, ignitor, etc - are there or swapped over from your original lights).

Best aftermarket alternative: DEPO headlights.

Still not inexpensive at about $350/side (shop around).

But there's these (which I don't understand why they're so inexpensive...) A few people here have or will be upgrading to these. (Not an endorsement as I have no hands-on with these).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DEPO-BI-XENO...5SA-Le&vxp=mtr

I managed to find a pristine condition and complete OEM unit for really cheap then searched for a month or two before finding the other side to match so they're out there if you're patient. If you need them right away (looks like you do) then buy a pair of new DEPOs. (Currently re-building them with new lenses and full uprated internals .)

On the other hand, you can buy a pair of DEPOs in '03-05 format for way cheap if budget won't allow for the '06+ upgrade:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Depo-315-114...RYdYJK&vxp=mtr

=================

Again generally speaking, headlight swap shouldn't cause an ECM error but no guarantees. I've heard of people that did have an issue but there were other coincidental malfunctions that could trigger that as well. Tail lights, for some reason, seem to be a bigger culprit. I suppose if you left your headlights out entirely as pictured and tried to drive, the ECM *would* sense that and cause a bit of grief but only speculating, again with no hands-on with that.

CFS_Z

Ty MIC I'll look into those

So while I was at work searched a few threads and info on the Z and came across the one where you can unplug the abs module ? Which will explain the Christmas tree lights in the car ! Sure enough with 1 hr left of light came home opened the compartment and sure enough unplugged ,
Might hook it up tomorrow and see what happens

Also decided to mock up the N1 side skirts and front bumper , gatta say so far the side skirts fit like crap and will need some modifications bumper looks and fits decent , I guess it's a hit and a miss with Duraflex , but I paid $350 for the whole kit , can't be mad at it .

CFS_Z

Looks like the more I dig into this car the more disappointed I Am
Came to turn the car on today just to get the juices flowing and sure enough
Car wouldn't start , battery is drained . Tried to jump it and just doesn't have enough juice left , I sure hope it's just the battery

Oh yeah and old owner looks like he had some rigged stereo system and left the grounds hooked , hope those aren't OEM lol

CFS_Z

Been a while since I updated , battery took a crap
It has been sitting for a bit and I put in some work this weekend
Added a battery , got it driving again and did some research on these cars ,looks like they are famous for the " rear clunk noise " due to the bushings , also noticed the car is sluggish after 3500 rpm almost like a slip but not really
Anyways , added the skirts and rear add one that came with the kit with some trimming and self tappers fit pretty well !
Btw previous owner was a savage , look at the front spring !

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

Looks like he cut the spring for some odd reason

The Swede

Whoah looks like someone had a couple juice boxes too many when that spring was cut!
Is it just me/the picture or is that shock bent as well?

dboyzalter

iTrader: (3)

Wow that is ugly, looks like an oem spring mounted on some adjustable shocks... Probably used a k12 saw for cutting asphalt with that kinda precise cut.

CFS_Z

Or he tried atleast

its the picture. but they will be replaced either way.

he tried atleast... lol.

CFS_Z

Not much progress but I did manage to get rid of some bumper Sag and installed some bumper diffusers I was given , I personally like them makes the bumper a bit more aggressive, by no means was this a super clean work , but

CFS_Z

took some time to start taking off the old spark plugs because i don't know how long these have been on there.
on the right side ( driver side ) plugs seem fine , worn out but fine.
on the left side ( Pass side ) was pretty much covered in oil.
so i will be doing a valve cover gasket replacement soon.
One coil was pretty ugly as you can see also.

My next step is swapping my open diff for a welded one. ive done a little research and a lot of people will mark the bolt pattern on the diff and the axel to match back when its all set and done. I Will be swapping it with another whole different pumpkin from another 350z. will this cause any problem? i cant match that pattern to a different diff.. any tips/info on this will be greatly appreciated
.. on to the basic pics.

CFS_Z

Been a while since I've posted anything !
Few things have changed and we are in a bit of a time crunch to make it to the first event for the Z and I for September
Bought a spare open diff and had that welded
Bought a set of the PBM solid diff bushing
Bought cleaned and fresh painted a set of OEM rear calipers for a dual caliper hydro set up
Had 3 of 4 oxygen sensors bad so Bought all 4 new and replaced those btw PB blaster FTW !!
Next up is SPL solid subframe bushing which I will be attaching soon ! So wish me luck !
On to some pics

Ceedagr81

dope!

Extreme Dimensions

iTrader: (7)

The Z skirts are tight & require trimming on the interior ledges where the skirt meets the body of the car to fit correctly.