Logan's 03 Twin Turbo Built Motor Swap
12-04-2013, 10:09 PM
#1
Logan's 03 Twin Turbo Built Motor Swap
Hope you guys are doing well and things are great during this holiday season!
Let me start off by saying when I got my Z, it was not stock. It had some work done so I cannot take full credibility for this car. I bought the car from a guy down in Atlanta who had just purchased the car from the original owner/partial builder of the Z. I got the car thinking I was going to make this my daily driver with 430 hp to the wheels and drive it without any worries. Let me say, that got boring fast. I wanted a show stopper/street monster with my own style of things. With a stock VQ35de and a bolt on GReddy 18g kit, slowly, she began to give out on me (I don't drive it like a grandma). The car was lowered on some springs and had a crappy fit body kit (but a legit body kit, no knock off).
Around July of this year, I decided to put her on jack stands and have at it. I didn't get much done in the next couple of months. I wanted to take my time with this build and make sure everything gets done right the first time. I'm not a shortcut kind of guy. I began looking around at built motors and price compared to buying each individual piece and building the motor up.
I came across Rome64's ad for his built VQ and I couldn't pass it up. I want to give him a big shout out for working with me and being so patient. He is an excellent person all around. Around late October, I received the motor. My car is being built by Custom Concept Motorsports in Soddy Daisy, TN. Check them out online. They do excellent work and George is a great guy. Tell them Logan sent you
As of 11/20/13, the old motor is out. We found out that there were a lot of half way done things and the more we dug, the more up and coming issues we found. 1) The oil return lines were janky. The fittings weren't perfect and it looks to be an off brand. 2) Almost every coupler was loose or had a small hole. The passenger side coupler mounting the turbo and piping had a hole almost burnt completely through. 3) 4 of the bolts holding the manifolds on were halfway loose. I had some extreme exhaust leaks. It's amazing the manifold stayed on
4) My motor mounts are starting to crack. I decided to stick with oem mounts since i do not plan on tracking my car. 5) My fuel pressure regulator was mounted about as awkwardly as you can possibly do it. The gauge was too close to the firewall and every time the motor rocked it would bump into the firewall, almost completely cracking it in half.
Slowly but surely we are making progress. I'll be sure to keep this thread updated as much as possible with pictures and details. I hope you guys enjoy it and any opinions or suggestions are welcomed. I have a lot in store for this car in the next few months so be sure to keep checking back
Let me start off by saying when I got my Z, it was not stock. It had some work done so I cannot take full credibility for this car. I bought the car from a guy down in Atlanta who had just purchased the car from the original owner/partial builder of the Z. I got the car thinking I was going to make this my daily driver with 430 hp to the wheels and drive it without any worries. Let me say, that got boring fast. I wanted a show stopper/street monster with my own style of things. With a stock VQ35de and a bolt on GReddy 18g kit, slowly, she began to give out on me (I don't drive it like a grandma). The car was lowered on some springs and had a crappy fit body kit (but a legit body kit, no knock off).
Around July of this year, I decided to put her on jack stands and have at it. I didn't get much done in the next couple of months. I wanted to take my time with this build and make sure everything gets done right the first time. I'm not a shortcut kind of guy. I began looking around at built motors and price compared to buying each individual piece and building the motor up.
I came across Rome64's ad for his built VQ and I couldn't pass it up. I want to give him a big shout out for working with me and being so patient. He is an excellent person all around. Around late October, I received the motor. My car is being built by Custom Concept Motorsports in Soddy Daisy, TN. Check them out online. They do excellent work and George is a great guy. Tell them Logan sent you
As of 11/20/13, the old motor is out. We found out that there were a lot of half way done things and the more we dug, the more up and coming issues we found. 1) The oil return lines were janky. The fittings weren't perfect and it looks to be an off brand. 2) Almost every coupler was loose or had a small hole. The passenger side coupler mounting the turbo and piping had a hole almost burnt completely through. 3) 4 of the bolts holding the manifolds on were halfway loose. I had some extreme exhaust leaks. It's amazing the manifold stayed on
4) My motor mounts are starting to crack. I decided to stick with oem mounts since i do not plan on tracking my car. 5) My fuel pressure regulator was mounted about as awkwardly as you can possibly do it. The gauge was too close to the firewall and every time the motor rocked it would bump into the firewall, almost completely cracking it in half. 
Slowly but surely we are making progress. I'll be sure to keep this thread updated as much as possible with pictures and details. I hope you guys enjoy it and any opinions or suggestions are welcomed. I have a lot in store for this car in the next few months so be sure to keep checking back
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12-11-2013, 07:52 PM
#11
Update as of 12/11/13: Motor mounts finally came yesterday as well as my oil return lines and couplers. I went with OEM motor mounts because I don't plan on tracking my car. No need for solid and didn't really want that extra rattle. I'll be posting some pictures here soon of some updates.
I went ahead and ordered all new White Line front control arm bushings. The oem one's are starting to show some wear.
I went ahead and ordered all new White Line front control arm bushings. The oem one's are starting to show some wear.
12-17-2013, 08:09 PM
#12
More Updates 12/18/13
After quite a few hours of buffing and sanding, I finally got my stock intake plenum polished to a mirror shine. I'll be putting this one on instead of my Kinetix SSV plenum. So if anyone is interested in buying that, it will be up for sale soon.
I also wanted to go ahead and upgrade my old coilovers. I ordered some Stance GR+ coils and will be putting those on as soon as the car gets out of the shop. So I will also have a set of TopSpeed Pro1 coils for sale.
I also wanted to go ahead and upgrade my old coilovers. I ordered some Stance GR+ coils and will be putting those on as soon as the car gets out of the shop. So I will also have a set of TopSpeed Pro1 coils for sale.
12-27-2013, 04:10 PM
#13
Registered User
I also wanted to go ahead and upgrade my old coilovers. I ordered some Stance GR+ coils and will be putting those on as soon as the car gets out of the shop. So I will also have a set of TopSpeed Pro1 coils for sale. <--------- Price Please
<--------- Price Please
Last edited by 06silver350Z; 12-27-2013 at 04:11 PM. Reason: e
12-28-2013, 09:12 PM
#14
Bad Day
Well, another day, and another big disappointment. I guess this is what you get for buying a "pre-built" motor.
Got everything swapped over to the new motor and everything was coming together great. Pulled the oil pan off and what do you know, broken off pieces of the oil squirters were laying in the bottom.
So, to make a long story short. We pulled the motor apart and found out that the shop who built the motor installed the pistons wrong. Each piston has a notch cut out on each side to fit around the oil squirters. These were put in with the notch facing the wrong way, so the squirters on bank 1 are toast.
Next step is to pull the heads off, pull the pistons and rods out and put them in the correct way. So far this is the only problem but i'm scared to know what else could be wrong if the person who put this together can't even put the pistons in the right way.
Also, a what could have been major problem, is come to find out that the motor doesn't even have the ARP studs as I was told. So that'll be another thing I'll be adding to the list. Hopefully i'll be back with better news later. As of now, we're on hold until this issue is fixed.
Broken vs a good squirter
Don't worry, those red valve covers will be gone asap
Old Motor
Got everything swapped over to the new motor and everything was coming together great. Pulled the oil pan off and what do you know, broken off pieces of the oil squirters were laying in the bottom.
So, to make a long story short. We pulled the motor apart and found out that the shop who built the motor installed the pistons wrong. Each piston has a notch cut out on each side to fit around the oil squirters. These were put in with the notch facing the wrong way, so the squirters on bank 1 are toast.
Next step is to pull the heads off, pull the pistons and rods out and put them in the correct way. So far this is the only problem but i'm scared to know what else could be wrong if the person who put this together can't even put the pistons in the right way.
Also, a what could have been major problem, is come to find out that the motor doesn't even have the ARP studs as I was told. So that'll be another thing I'll be adding to the list. Hopefully i'll be back with better news later. As of now, we're on hold until this issue is fixed.
Broken vs a good squirter
Don't worry, those red valve covers will be gone asap
Old Motor
02-03-2014, 10:16 AM
#15
Update, more bad news
This has been nothing but a headache. Never again will I ever buy a motor built by someone else other than myself or people I personally know.
The heads were scared pretty bad from the pistons being installed the wrong way, so everything has to go to the machine shop and redone. On top of that, the BC stage 2 cams are completely shot beyond repair. That's $1100 alone, plus the cost of labor. Needless to say I'm pretty pissed. This motor was nothing that it was said to be. I could have built my own motor for less than this.
The heads were scared pretty bad from the pistons being installed the wrong way, so everything has to go to the machine shop and redone. On top of that, the BC stage 2 cams are completely shot beyond repair. That's $1100 alone, plus the cost of labor. Needless to say I'm pretty pissed. This motor was nothing that it was said to be. I could have built my own motor for less than this.
02-03-2014, 10:53 AM
#19
hatersgonnahate
iTrader: (162)
Just giving you a heads up, i got burned and had to rebuild my greddy turbos. No fun.
GL with the rest of the rebuild.
Are you going to extend your exhaust tips?
Any other engine bay clean up?
GL with the rest of the rebuild.
Are you going to extend your exhaust tips?
Any other engine bay clean up?
02-07-2014, 02:17 PM
#20
So you bought a built motor that was never run or tested? No support from the original motor builder? Hope for the best, plan for the worst...
Which means get your turbos rebuilt before they crap out on you and possibly take out your new motor. It is not expensive for journal bearing turbos. Any metal bits that are either en route to or already have passed through the turbo oil feed could be a ticking time bomb...
Make sure that motor (and all the oil bearing lines) gets properly cleaned out so there are no metal bits anywhere in the oiling system.
Which means get your turbos rebuilt before they crap out on you and possibly take out your new motor. It is not expensive for journal bearing turbos. Any metal bits that are either en route to or already have passed through the turbo oil feed could be a ticking time bomb...
Make sure that motor (and all the oil bearing lines) gets properly cleaned out so there are no metal bits anywhere in the oiling system.
Last edited by rcdash; 02-07-2014 at 02:20 PM.