Yeah, that's a wide seat. If it was a pure track car I'd say cut out the inside door panel to make it fit. Another thing you could try is put a few washers under the outside mounts of the seat to slightly angle the back toward the inside of the car. It might be enough to close the door and still keep you centered at the steering wheel, maybe.

 

I thought of doing that with washers, and so I measured, and it will work if the seat is tilted one inch to the right. This little car is insanely fun, and I just needed a break after that exhausting day.

I'm also gonna see how that seat fits in the 350Z with the side rails. It might be too big for the 350Z as well. But if it does fit, that would be great.

 

Been thinking about your suggestion here for the past few days. It is a track car. The point of no return was removing the whole top assembly and installing the roll bar. I don't care about keeping it street legal anymore, it's a project and I'm having fun with it despite this frustrating setback.

I'm gonna look more closely at the door and see what is removable, but I think the structure is on the outer shell and the reinforcement bar in the middle, so the inner panel could be cut like you suggested. That's an awesome idea, thanks.

I'm shifting my attention back to the 350Z, which means finally getting the '03 put together and removed from the garage to make room.

 

I've got four days off starting tomorrow with mild weather. gonna attack the 03, swap transmissions, Install the OEM differential, control arms, suspension, And non-sport brakes--Gonna sell the Brembos with hard lines, rotors, And new Hawk pads separately. And I'll put the original cats from my '04 on it, get it to pass smog and registered and up for sale. I procrastinated on this for so long, it'll be awesome to get this done and out of the garage.

 

Feels good to spend a whole day on the nissans again after so long. I'm making good progress already, Cleaning up and making room to work and getting all of the parts laid out.

Here's a couple photos of the Brembo calipers, lines, rotors, and pads that are for sale. I have everything for them to go back together, all of the pistons and bolts. The red powder coating looks really good. These originally came on the 03 Track Edition. I bought the Brembo hard lines, although I don't think they're necessary. But that was $200. The rebuild kit is ready to go. HP Plus Pads, $200. These brakes were working when I got the car. Since I got $900 for my other set of Brembo calipers, I think these should bring $1200 with the rotors and lines and pads.

I'm putting the centric OEM brakes on this car to sell it.









This car will be getting the cats and exhaust off of the 04 to make it street legal. And I won't need the high flow cats from Kinetix anymore when I get the LTs installed.

 

While test fitting the Enjuku bash bar I decided to remove the AC condenser and lines. This was a good time to do it. Getting stuff out of the way is a big help, including removing the cowl and wiper motor. Looks like the AC compressor is straightforward to get out. It's nice that it's on a separate belt.


My long reach jack is just tall enough at the current height of my 12-ton stands. They have a 30-inch max, but I've got them at 24, good enough. This bash bar is going to save time. I hate lifting from the sides.




This is my solution to the 8-ft garage ceiling not being tall enough for a two-post lift.

 

Got the exhaust out and getting ready to pull the transmission, and I took a short break to finish removing the AC compressor and belt. it weighs about 25 pounds. plus it was in the way. I love freeing up space around the engine. i want to get rid of the snaking oil cooler lines-- going to install a proper oil cooler tapped into the pan.

This touring edition was 3250 pounds curb weight. the seats weighed about 100 lbs. then there was the audio system, power window mechanisms, rear hatch, oem exhaust, wipers. i added the bash bars and the roll bar. I estimate this car is <= 2900 now. good enough. I'm not going to cut out the aluminum structure behind the seats, not worth it. maybe if I get to a point where I want to put in a full cage. but I'm not really planning on it. a lightweight battery would shave 40 so going to lengths to cut 20 pounds here and there isn't worth it to me.

 

nice work! I need to weigh mine since I removed all my turbo stuff. Cant wait to get back into the Z again. My goal is to have the car under 3K

 

yeah, it's been a while! I'm looking forward to seeing your car again.

The shift cables in my Cayman wore out 2 years ago and I finally bought new ones after they ruined yet another track day for me (My Z3 had seat probs so I took the Cayman on the second day and shift cables locked up... and I didn't want to get towed so I quit for the day). numeric cables and short shifter. I'm eager to get them installed but not going to derail the work I'm doing on the 350Z again.

 

nice piece. I will post some pics of the Z in its final form once I get it done. I have to get the titanium exhaust re done and get a tune. I have some codes that are not good. P1212 and U1001 are still there after the new engine harness install. Gotta figure out whats goin on there.

 

if I remember right, weren't your turbos in the rear of the car? that was a complex setup. but I also wouldn't want to put up with a crowded engine bay.

 

I bought my son this 2005 vert touring edition automatic as a college graduation gift. it's an early 05 so it has a DE, not a rev-up. I've always loved that sunset color, which is sort of a bronze. I asked him if he would rather have one of these or a Z4 and he didn't like the idea of a complicated BMW. I was surprised but happy he chose the 350Z. next time I go there I might take the brembo brakes to put on the car. was going to just sell them but that would be a nice upgrade for him.

 

sweet ride! thats a cool graduation gift. My turbo setup was greddy, mounted on the side of the engine. It was awful to work on.

 

coming out of the hot months now. well it's still hot but looking forward to September. been dropping some big money into remodeling my house. I'm eager to finish the various projects I've got going on the 350Z. eager to get it together so I can do at least one fall event with it.

The BMW is on hold for a while. I got very frustrated with the seating problem this spring and parked/covered it. it's still a fun car but the helmet rule is a pain in the *** there are guys driving boxsters with no harassment and I get black flagged for the seat height. well after the several mechanical issues with that car I just got frustrated and took a break. still love the car, it's hella fun. but it's on hold until I get rid of my '03 350Z to make room in the garage. I'm tempted to put the center console back on and keep it street legal. super fun and unusual with the roll bar and no top as a roadster.

The Cayman is permanently off track now. these cars are going up in value and I don't want to **** it up. a similar car with fewer options, higher miles, is going for over 30k on BAT. I've got a numeric short shifter and cables to install. I still haven't done the passenger side plugs/coils. and it needs an oil change. I'm still planning on doing some upgrades. intake manifold, GT3 TB. possibly the FVD baffled oil pan. Even though I'm not tracking it anymore, I still like that upgrade. also need some paint corrections done. The front bumper still bugs me because the Carrara white is a little off due to age.

 

I'm bidding on this '05 Stillen. I want a street legal Z and my '03 is beat up. (it's a good drift candidate). I was looking at 370s and BMW Z4s but prefer the late '90s/early 2000s. like a 986 Boxster or a z33 vert with a 6-spd.

BAT listing

The first owner posted about the Stillen upgrades here at my350Z so there's a record of the work he did on it which is cool.

linkage

 

got it for 10k
i need to get the 03 rolling to move it into the driveway.
I'm gonna install the leftover brembos on this car. with the red powder coating it will look sweet. need some aftermarket wheels also.

 

Congrats! Hope it gets some good use.

 

The seller refused to honor the sale on BAT so I'm off the hook. It's just as well: I didn't need another car RN. I do think a Stillen 350Z would be fun (for street only). I'd prefer that over a Nismo.

I'm taking advantage of a Black Friday sale to finally get the rear diff rebuilt by Z1 (after waiting two years, but I've been distracted with a home remodel). I'm going with a helical LSD and 4.09 gears.

I've been eager to do this for a long time because the tracks here are technical. I need more acceleration vs top speed. The longest straight of any track here is about 1/4 mi. THEast, for instance, has a 1/4 mi front straight with a 180 before and 90 after so you're just getting up to speed before braking. LS has a 90-degree entry and sweeper at the end but it's still short.

In contrast, the front at Road America is 4400 ft. The front at LS is only 1100 ft. Shorter than a drag strip.

Sonoma: 2.5 mi with 12 turns.
Thunderhill East: 2.8 mi with 16 turns.
TH West: 2.0 mi with 10 turns.
TH Combined (Thunderschleife): 4.6 mi with 25 turns

Nearby tracks I haven't visited yet:
Laguna Seca: 2.2/11
Buttonwillow: 2.6/21
Willow Springs: 2.8/9 (the only "fast" track nearby)

Also finally buying a new clutch: performance street, unsprung full face (similar to a Nismo Coppermix), and lightweight flywheel.

 

Z1 called to let me know the differential is built and being shipped. I'm really excited because this has held up the car for 2 years. I should have just done it right away but I got distracted with other things. 4.09 Torsen. I've also got a new clutch ordered. which should have been shipped by now. I'll have to check...

 

Exciting day! The built differential arrived along with a new clutch, flywheel, friction disc, and some tools. this will be my first time doing the clutch.




it looks like Z1 forgot to install the axle studs (if that's what they're called). they're not anywhere in the packaging. maybe they're somewhere in the foam. idk what to think because I've never rebuilt a diff before. I'll learn more when I get the old cover off.

but more news today: I bought a 2008 Nismo: #1279, Black magnetic pearl. should be delivered late next week. this car is a beauty with 50K miles. I WON'T be taking it to the track.