With the coolant bypass hose deleted, you'll eventually wear out that water pump. The bypass allows coolant to circulate when the thermostat is closed, preventing the water pump from dead heading.

 

The only line that did not get welded and deleted was a small line that goes from the driver side on the block, to the rear coolant pipe. Is that the bypass you are talking about? I remember when researching coolant paths, I came across a lot of old threads and pretty sure I saw some of your post back in early 2000's regarding coolant lines.

 

I'm talking about the hose that goes from the thermostat, across the front of the engine, to the passenger's side. That hose looks like it's gone. It's what allows coolant to flow when the thermostat is closed. Without it, there's no coolant flowing and the water pump is dead heading, resulting in increased pressure and turbulence inside the water pump. I don't understand why you would delete that. There's no performance gain or improved cooling.

 

Sooo an update lol. Got through the hour drive to the new house (months ago now), was overheating randomly for the last 20 miles and had to pull over a few times. Turns out there was a leak on the passenger coolant pipe and another issue. I drilled a 1/8'' hole into the thermostat and replaced the coolant pipe with a silicone hose, seems the overheating is fixed now.

Bought a new OEM oil pressure sensor. Oil pressure is now accurate to the oil pressure test I did. NEVER buy non oem sensors for this car. This was the first time I did not, and it caused a lot of issues.

Finally made new brackets for the nitrous solenoids. Something I have put off for a while. Old ones, n then the new ones. Tried the alumiweld, it made the brackets easy to make. These are the old janky ones.. New ones are already installed.






Got rid of the rubber and replaced them with carabiners and spandex. Tight seal and no more issues. Gotta get new shrink wrap to cover the ferrules instead of the tape.
How the interior sits now. Also finally relocated the OBD2 port to the passenger side. I wanna redo the Door panels completely soon


This took a while.. I took out all the harnesses (EVERYTHING), labeled, unwrapped, removed/rerouted wires, and finally wrapping it all up with Tessa tape. Was not a fun job, but everything is so much easier to access and remove now, slimmer, and cleaner. Below are some before and after. The center console area I messed with before, was horrible. I fixed all connections but it was very messy and the loom was trash and bulky. Ending up removing a large amount of wires in this area too. cleaned up the floor and got rid of any surface rust, then bed linered. Some before and after pics.






You can see the ebrake handle reinforcement on this pic, there normal is a large gap near the button. Painting the floor, after finishing the wire looming.






Had to redo the spoiler for the 4th time? FINALLY happy. used primer this time on the spoiler, made sure to use VHB tape, and used the AZ sun this time.

With the Brake handle cover, I had to cut and trim a lot off the ebrake handle. Yanked extremely hard on the Ebrake on accident and snapped it after years of use... Bought a new one though, trimmed it up, and used the alumiweld to brace it on the sides, so it wont snap again. Only have a pic of it snapped.

Fixed the passenger seat bracket, had to put the proper bends into it to fit without resistance.


Next up, few more fixes, sub box, Carbon A pillars, new door panels, wrap, getting off a base tune.

 

Small update.. Bought a 2015 Chevy Sonic Sedan 1.8L manual with 82k. Fun little weird looking car. Replaced clutch/flywheel, new tires, basic maintenance. Gotta do the timing belt soon..
Previous owner somehow broke the nipple from the intake manifold to the brake booster and JB welded it back on (leaking). I had to replace the whole manifold ($430 new, which was the best price I could find). WHAT A PITA! Had to disconnect coolant lines, fuel lines, so many different types of harness connectors, remove valve cover, remove 2 engine mounts and drop the engine, just to get it out of the engine bay..




Z has taken a backseat and have not done much.

Finished the subbox a bit ago, don't have any pics of it really atm, redid it in suede and got rid of the symbol.

Added windows back lol. Jesus they are heavy doors again, was only like $100 per window assembly. Removed windows now, for painting the window panels, re-greasing tracks, and redoing the door harnesses. Now all the wire harnesses are done.

Currently working on:
Redoing the door panels.
Found someone to make low pressure struts for the carbon hatch.
Replace coolant res as mine just cracked randomly.
Replace oil temp sensor.

 

Alright, been making some more progress...

Got the window assemblies installed! Window tracks were cleaned and regreased (BIG difference in performance), new stainless hardware, bedlinered door panel, and newly wrapped door harnesses re-installed.


I had a Doorman plastic coolant overflow tank, which snapped the nipple off recently, so I installed a new aluminum tank for the coolant, should not have an issue with it now.


When dealing with my overheating issue, I noticed my fans never turning on. I did the test where the car runs through the electronics, including the fans. I had power at the relays and harness ends. Replaced with a Mishimoto fan shroud and works perfectly now.


FINALLY got some struts for my carbon hatch. Here is the thread to the specifics of the struts... Also finished grinding away at the hatch side near the strut that was rubbing on the body.


I did a test a while back on adding an intake duct and seeing a huge difference in temps... So for some fun I'm making a fiberglass header headshield (below), fiberglass enclosed filter box, and fiberglasss intake duct. Will have my old heatshield and intake duct to compare to, and also lots of gold tape to come for testing as well. Should be fun.


Picked this laptop (Dell Laptop Latitude 7470 14" Core i5 6th gen 8GB Ram 128GB SSD) up for $120 to keep in the car for logging/tuning. Really surprised me, for the performance you get for the price nowadays with laptops. Have not touched laptops in years since building my PC.


Currently working on the door cards and header heatshield. Carbon A pillars will arrive next week, hoping for the best with em.

 

Got the carbon A pillars in. Just waiting for the clips to come in on Friday to install them. Been a while since there were 2 complete A pillars on.


Heatshield is pretty much done, just needs to be sanded and wrapped.


Got the intake heat shield all mocked up. Started to fiberglass it already, just gotta wait on more resin. It will seal against the hood.

 

These were the only progress pics I took. Took a few tries to get everything fitting and sealing with the hood.



Wrapped the shield that goes above the headers. I have DC shortys that are uncoated/not wrapped; so hopefully this helps.


Finished the intake heatsheild! Here are some pics. Had to change up the design from the mockup due to the vented hood. Without the incline forward, it was popping through the vent and looked unfinished.



Both heatshields installed!


Finished the passenger door card. Gotta start the driver side soon... I don't know how people run these door cards with the window switches in the cutouts they provide, my arms just sit on them n feel horrid. Made a little box to relocate the controls on the driver side. Door is very dusty.


Got on the carbon A pillars. I'll do a small write up on them. Overall, for the price, I am happy with them.


Also ordered a new spoiler to try lol. Tired of the poly.

 

So I have not done much recently. Got the new spoiler. I was looking for a cheap spoiler, to eventually use as a base to make a real carbon spoiler. Was $110 from Amazon, made of ABS, hydrodipped carbon. Fit was very good overall. I decided to use a thicker trim to space the spoiler from the hatch slightly. The only real issue, 1st spoiler had a slight crack, fit great, got a 2nd spoiler, horrible fit/finish. Ended up fixing the crack and returning the 2nd one.. This is gonna be a base, so it worked great for me; but these seem to be a hit or miss if you purchase one.


Cleaning up the exhaust and putting all new gaskets/hardware. The stillen exhaust is a pain... I have to remove the whole catback/w brace due to the U clamps. Had some Vbands welded on so this is not an issue again.

After Vbands.

Trying the 3D printing route. Got this window switch mount made in ABS, have to prep and paint.

I fixed the gaskets along the windshield cowl. The one on the bottom is with the new rubber trim, the top is OEM.


Misc - Also put on some hydrodipped B pillars that I will lay with carbon later on to match everything else. Removed all rivnuts on the sideskirts and hard mounted them, I never trusted the rivnuts in plastic and 2 rivnuts were almost pulled out. Got a used rear OEM crash bar and brackets, gotta paint them still... I removed mine a while ago with intentions on getting a bash bar, but have since decided OEM is the way to go for me.

Working on fitting up the rear bumper correctly (its so nice being able to remove the bumper by yourself in under a minute lol). Ordered a bunch of misc items to finish loose ends. Started on minor body repairs, then I'll wrap, tint, and get it fully tuned.

 

I like to see beautiful custom work like this. kept going through my mind as I was reading your thread... these cars are fun but they tend to be a project black hole. which just causes me to think objectively a bit. why do these cars need so much work if we think they are so great.? That's the thing, I don't think these cars are that great anymore. they require way way too much work to get them up to par with a lot of other cars which is why they are falling off a cliff in value.
I don't regret buying my '04 but after putting about a thousand hours into it over two and a half, and easily 10 grand upgrades, it's not my first choice when I want to take a Sunday drive.
interior is so bad in these cars that one can't help but want to spruce them up. And how much is my time worth to me?
I think it makes a great track car. when I realize how much time I was dumping into this car, I decided, hell with it, and went full track, quit trying to make it a street car. because I have a couple other low priced sports cars that are fun to drive.
see, I think you've done one of the best jobs I've ever seen on a Z. your work is beautiful.
but it also makes me think that these cars shouldn't require so much custom work.
I guess the point I'm making is, maybe a later model 370Z is a better choice than dumping hundreds of hours into a 350Z because of the lower entry price. at the end of the day, I think about the same amount of money has been spent but losing hundreds of hours of your life? irreplaceable.

 

I see your point, but I don't think they really need that much work. The Z is a solid sports car right out of the box. It's not fancy. It's an analog vehicle in a digital world. A lot of "work" that we put into them is often self-inflicted. I don't think the majority of enthusiasts necessarily look at modifying as some type of onerous chore and more of a hobby or something that we enjoy doing. I may be alone, but I would not view the time I've put into my modifying my Z as losing hours of my life.

 

Regards:
Heel till I die wrote: " I don't think these cars are that great anymore." Using your criteria, neither is an unmolested 240Z. Bet you'd like to own one though (grin).

The 02/03 Z ran neck and neck with contemporary 'Vettes. The 07/08 HR rubbed quite a few Boxters' nose in the dirt. There's no magical transformation that updates/upgrades the ride without some effort on the owner's behalf, even stock it remains a ride that can please an experienced driver in the twisties and is quite capable of getting a careless driver in trouble quickly.

Give it a few more years of wrapping Z's around a telephone pole on Thanksgiving and youthful drivers ricing them out, appropriately maintained it's well on the way to attaining status as a classic.

​​​​​​​An unblemished '08 GT in the shed with just over 40k miles, look forward to those sunny Sundays!

Peace,

 

Hey now, I never said that.

But yes, I would like a (rust-free) S30. Even if it is a bucket by today's standards.

 

Thank you very much for the kind words! Honestly, I love the car. I think outta the box, they are great but can also be vastly improved. For today's pricing I do think the 370z is a better purchase overall (I personally don't like the style).

This car turned into project status years ago, it will forever be one. I enjoy working on this car so much, takes my mind off of everything else around me and I get to learn a lot of new things as I always take the chance to learn/buy a new tool for a job when I can. So, I never look at the hours I put into the car as a bad thing, especially bc I feel productive from them.

I am a bit odd, the goal for this car is simplicity, weight savings, and fun. I try to take off weight, but still have a "complete" car that does not feel like a gutted tin can, while making all parts easily removable/accessible. Most things I change/add are unnecessary, I just think it would be cool and/or an improvement.

 

Installed this TS short shifter a while back, was always hesitent to center in neutral. Guessing I bashed it in too hard when I first installed it? Ordered up the GKtech as it looks like a beter design. Also went to install the GKtech shifter springs, and the driver trans weight blocks access, even when I lowered the trans a few inches I still couldnt get the weight off (I ripped off the actual weight lol, just the bracket remains blocking now). Also changed fluid to OEM, had Redline in there from a very long time ago.


Just a pic of the ugly DC collecter. I plan on getting tomie headers later next year.


Decided I may as well clean and paint this too to match everything else.



Everything on the rear...I made these foam blocks, wrapped with electrical tape (to not cut into it), to serve as a soft spacer.. Making the bumper light up nicely. Also adjusted the quick releases.... So, 2 bolts (at the op, under the hatch area), 2 zip ties, 2 quick releases, and the bumper is off without needing the tail lights out as well.


Santed and painted the window control mount.

Switched to aluminum hub centric rings due to the plastic ones I had cracking.

Waiting for the shifter cup so I can lower the car down again and work on the front end.
Body issues to be fixed.. Fenders need to be sanded (recleared), front bumper needs work for better fitment, fix a dent on the door edge, align passenger exhaust pipe better, and align doors better. Other than that, some basic filling/sanding/panting small areas that may need it.

Found out Corbeu switched their FX1 seats :/. Sucks as I was lookin on getting a 2nd seat since the OEM seat is now gone.

 

Everything installed back again.. witht he new GK shifter cup, I'd say 80% of the stickyness in the shifter is gone. probably will go away copletely after using i for a bit.


For some reason, I'v never made this diffuser easier to install.. Finaly threw in some rivnuts into the brackets. Hopefully it fills alright still lol.


I had some passenger QP rust a while back. Got it repaired (new metal welded in before it got bad. It "LOOKED" like rust under the paint in these 2 areas... it was not thank fully, it was just bad paint (they had a good body guy, horrible paint guy).

Removed all tint and residue off the windows/windshield. I tried using cheap tint to try and attempt tinting.. it went decent... I'm on the fence of paying someone or trying myself with 5% cermaic.


Cleaned out the whole interior. Nice not having everything covered in dust and trash.


Exterior wise, I'll be fixing the front bumper and adjusting the doors.

Interior, waiting on parts for the doors still. Hopefully this fits correctly....

My center console (the arm rest part) is in rough condition, not sure what to do though as the only time I have seen them modified is layed with Carbon... I don't really wanna go that route and have something glossy in the interior, but thats for another time.

 

I wish I would have done rivnuts for the rear diffuser a long time ago... its so much easier to remove/install now.

Adjusted the passenger fender, door, and headlight .Below is the before and after. Much happier with it now.

AFTER


Started working on the front bumper. Decided to keep the side quick releases I currently have. Having fun witht he plastic welder, had to add some material near the passenger headlight and on both corners where the bumper meets the fender.


To fasten the bumper better and eliminate any need to go into the wheelwell, I mounted the bumper bracket to the fender directly with an added spacer, which the bumper just slides into place and gets sanwhiched.

Finished the door cards and installed them. The mirro switch panel came out great, as well as the speaker grills. The best part though is my leg/knee does not hit any of the switches and are no longer getting hit by my arm on accident.





Next up: Mainly sanding various spots before wrap.

 

Great work, this is a really interesting thread.

 

Started the exterior work. Sanded the fenders.. Also adjusted the door/fender more on the passenger side after these pics and am happy with it now... The passenger door was slightly too close to the QP before and was unable to adjust it correctly as I forgot to unbolt the door strap.


Hammered out the slight dent and sanded the edge of the door.


You can see the extra material that was added to the corners of the bumper. Not perfect, still have a little refining, but MUCH better than before.



QP sanded.


Decided to start the center console and just be done with that area. Also wrapping the cup holder this time. Deleting the coin holder, switch panel, and rubber Ebrake trim, making the center console a lot cleaner

 

Got the body work done, just 2 progress pics of it.



VERY happy with the center console. Deleted the ash tray, hazard button, switch pawnel, and the rubber ebrake trim.



Working on this panel again. Fillin in the OEM switch location, hood release, and small vent near the CC. Also am fixxing the CC switches being crooked lol. New switch will be moved onto this panel too, including a new hazard button. This is the BEFORE.

Quick test fit.Still got 2 more things to do to finish it.

Everything fits well, just a bit dusty lol. Sadly the cupholder will have to be painted. Too thick with the suede on it lol


Next up is finishing the cup holder and driver panel. Not sure what to do with the kick panel and bottom door trim, they are the only peices left that are the fake leather. Been enjoying the interior work honestly lol.