id reach out to Rajeet at Mastermind North America.
I did import w themn for quite awhile myself, but ill say that right now, the Amuse full kit is 598000 yen, youd pay sale tax, export and import duities as well as space in a boat to long beach port.
Thats not going to double the price though, save yourself some time and some cash.. i wasnt aware studio rsr even did import.. but id HIGHLY recommend using a company that actually travels to japan every year, meets w shops, has strong ties over many years etc.
Tell him McCann sent you over, he will take care of you and also tell u EXACTLY what to expect when dealing w Amuse. They have a shop in socal as well as an office in Yokohama, its the way to roll for SURE.

 

I'm afraid I'm too far invested into them, one thing led to another. I was not aware Mastermind was the way to go, I only knew Bulletproof Auto but they're pretty expensive but I know they're very good from my understanding which now I think about it, I'm paying nearly the same amount...

If I were to do it again, I would have gone with Bulletproof Auto, Mastermind or even Socal Z to support a local Z shop.
You think I'd pay closer to $8K after everything with Mastermind? I'll pull out if I don't get what I am requesting which is a carbon fiber center deck for the wing, and I'm still waiting to hear numbers on the full Amuse kit fitted with carbon fiber on all the accents that is normally black in color.

 

After pondering for over half a year, I've decided on Porsche Panamera GTS in black, loaded with every possible features offered with the only options missing being the fridge in the back for a cold drink.
I'm happy that I will be able lot put the Z down for the weekends with its more aggressive setting, which I simply can't do for a daily with the wear and tear.
Also not to mention that there are big plans coming soon for the Z, which I intend to win Wekfest car show for best Z in Los Angeles area.

Feel free to ask me anything about the GTS. I can answer.
I just bought a full titanium hardware kit from this forum for the Z so looking forward to that coming in so I'm looking forward to that.





I already ordered H3R Maxout along a floor mounting bracket for the Porsche passenger floorboard. Since I don't need to refer you guys to the photos above to the other Porsche.

 

Good evening, I have made a few more slow progress toward the build.

I acquired an Greddy oil pan, which will increase oil capacity by 1.2 liter, bought hardwares for it on the way.
I was debating these or the Z1 one but I'd figured I'd go for some JDM points.
Sorry, I didn't know how to shrink the image size so bare with me.





Then I got a pair of black DEPO headlights. The idea I have in mind, is possibly a white Amuse Z33 with black headlights.
I'm worried about condensation building up in them from what I hear from other people. I think I'll try to throw them on the Z as is, and try to see where my luck is at.
Once the kit is on, I'm sure it'll be a pain to remove them and fix It by sealing off the edges of the headlights on the mating surface where I could have done that from the start.
I bought new o-rings and the 5000K bulbs.




It took ages, but I have installed the Stanceparts air cup on, I don't recall if I showed this yet. But ended up having to remove the upper collar to be able to fit this all in, and don't worry, it doesn't look like this on the car. I had it the shortest to be able to fit easily onto the car, then I expanded it out once seated to the correct height. I need to run the airlines and figure out how to wire it on the electrical side. I'm not super savvy on this part.




I installed deadening in the rear cargo area, and was test mocking the setup. It clears the false floor if I have it mounting sideway. It somewhat snug and doesn't move too much. I think I'll just run some thick velcro to secure the tank and a foam pad to eliminate metal-on-metal contact to avoid vibration or rattling.





The diff itself I noticed was spewing out gear oil on my exhaust setup which I'm not happy with. So I looked around and bought this little guy for a cool twenty dollars to store overall oil in this catch can.
I think I may have possibly overfilled it because I don't think I drove it too hard to get it up to them and overflow out of the breather too much.



Here it is installed... looks decent.... til the next day I learn it didn't work. The catch can didn't get any oil and the hose near the exhaust ruptured. I think either the heat from the exhaust allowed it to expand or it was too weak and the pressure blew it open. So, for the time being, it just has a longer vent hose to allow the overflow, overflow out far from my exhaust setup. I don't think I can repair the finish on the titanium with oil burned onto it though.



I was thinking about this cooling kit if the diff isn't actually overfill. I'm going to do a diff oil change in about 900 miles.
I do believe it will clear with all the parts I have. Z1 advised I can return it as long as there's no witness marks. Which I still truly believe it'll fit but I really am not in the mood to drop the diff to drill in a temp. sensor.... such a PITA to dro the diff. Dreading it.


This was another idea I saw. I've seen NISMO, Mines, and ARC all doing this way. I've yet to see anything like this for sale but I know there's the EVAP box that can get deleted in favor of this.




My Superleggera Titanium plaque came in. Looks good. Just keep it safe til the body kit gets here.



I think it'll look great in the cabin. Maybe too flashy to be honest.
Maybe'll I'll look into a raw finish instead, or a black finish. Maybe it can go in the engine bay?? Perhaps the carbon fiber cover?




Come a long way.... I'm very happy with the outcome.




So... I just ordered power steering oil cooler and engine oil cooler from CZP with Setrab cores. All I have left that I need is a hood, possibly a VIS Amuse hood because I simply can't pay $6K for a dry carbon Amuse hood. Aerocatch latches, titanium hardwares and.... maybe MCR dual canards on the Amuse kit.

Still waiting on my roll cage and the body kit. I was thinking about Tomei titanium test pipes or AMS test pipes instead of my current Berks HFCs, but I'm undecided.

I'm thinking about swapping in a another HR motor with a manual swap. I have 201K miles on the engine/auto-trans.
I am eyeing the 1GZ-FE V12 engine right now, but I don't know, hence why I haven't changed the test pipes.

 

On the twelfth of January, at 0440 hours, with 203K miles, the Z experienced total power loss on the highway. As I pull off, I discovered a small fire within the engine bay around the cats/headers area. I was able to extinguish it since this is not my first car fire.

I was able to save the car from any further damage. All electrical components is working normally. Therefore, the Z is still good to keep going for the build.



Once I arrived home, I cleaned up the engine bay to avoid any corrosion from the residue. Then I took some time to look at the cause and determined the AT blew out. I couldn't tell quite yet but I think part of the engine block was damaged possibly. But regardless, the miles are high so that brings me to my next point.




At this point of the build, I believe it's due to go ahead and swap in a low-mileage HR engine, while switching all mods over (motor mounts/cover/ etc) and a M/T conversion swap done.
With everything out, I may look into new test pipes and possibly headers? I am not sure if the headers are worth the investment? 100% do ATI damper on the pulley and finally do the E85 fuel conversion as well. (1050X ID injectors, AEM fuel pumps etc).

I'm still looking to sit on a 1GZ-FE engine for the time-being.

 

Damn dude! Sorry to hear about the SECOND vehicle fire you've experienced. Most importantly, I'm glad you're safe. Good for you for sticking with her and bringing her back to glory.

 

Thank you, and I did not anticipate to be involved in another car fire but l'd like to think that my first one, Panamera 4 (AWD V6), was there to teach me to prepare for it as I lost the entire car. However as a result of the first fire, it led me to finding an amazing spec'd out Panamera GTS (amped up V8, AWD, with every feature offered) and protecting my Z. In fact, I have three fire extinguishers in the Z, and one fire extinguisher in the GTS. Based on this statement, I think you know which I hold more dear to me.

I can't help but feel emotions toward machines. I am still looking around for a HR/MT combo for this Z. I haven't been able to tear down the blown broken pieces out since it is lodged in there, think I need to removed the front chassis subframe to give it room to pull it out to really see what happened. I'l post later with photos.

 

Your experience truly does seem to be lightning striking twice. Valuable lesson you learned after the first time and to be prepared. Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't been ready. Respect.

The emotional attachment. I totally understand. It's real for us car guys.

 

I am about two weeks out or sooner to pick up a HR/VHR 6MT (78k miles) for $1,500
Along with a fully rebuilt HR block (new main, new rod bearings, new head gasket, new gallery gasket) with used heads for $2,000 from the same guy.

I am hoping this whole process can be done smoothly in the course of 3-days. Now I need some inputs... this combo will not come a clutch.
Since I am doing an AT to MT swap, I have gathered two options here.

CZP Action Clutch Kit (Street Clutch, Chromoly Flywheel 17lb)
Option 1: https://conceptzperformance.com/czp-...43.php#options

Z1 Clutch Kit (Perf. Street, Unsprung Full Face, Z1 Flywheel is 13.8lb)
Option 2: https://www.z1motorsports.com/z1-pro...it-p-5384.html

Option 2 is much cheaper... half the cost. So I thought with that saving, I should also do those CSC Elimination Kit.
Which I still don't fully understand the purpose behind other than I know I won't have to drop the MT to repair it. So if you guys were to tell me that it's not needed, then I suppose I do not.

So please give me your input. I'll have to get the Z up and running since I was contacted by the shop regarding the cage and the kit and decided I wanted the Z completely ready for Weakest this year in Los Angeles. I'll quietly build the V12 engine in the living room as a fancy decor.

 

As far as option 2, my only feedback would be to know what you're getting into with the unsprung hub and clutch engagement feel. If you're cool with that, then go for it.

As far as the CSC, I think that type of slave is possibly more prone to failure than the external slave found on the DE models. I know they make beefier, upgraded CSCs if you want to go that route, but I think most just change over to the external slave based on ease of future replacement (which you already recognized).

Looking forward to seeing pics with progress!

 

Thank you for your feedback. I've decided on option 2 with sprung full face along with the MTEC shifter spring and Z1 solid bushings for the trans bracket. I am looking at short shifter and it seems Z1's getting the best feedback. I thought about coolerworks too, but it's almost a grand. S1 Sequential is shy over two grand. Leaning on Z1. Anyone want to sell me a cool shifter **** that is a Tommykira Hebi in silver.

I have the VHR 6MT secured, along with a new Z1 CSC V2 kit, and a pristine 6MT engine harness for $2,400. I have been in the talk for a little bit and have agreed on getting an engine built for my Z with a 37VHR machined stock block (new GG, new water-pump) with 35HR heads for $2,800.

Once I have everything in the garage, I will have to gather the little pieces like clutch pedal etc. I am eyeing the Wilwood master cylinder. Skipping the RJM clutch pedal, too much for me, I'll go OEM. Just little bits. Then it should be running by then.

Thoughts on ported lower/upper manifolds? or just do bigger 75mm twin throttle bodies? I read it doesn't provide much gains, at most a few to several HP but not enough to justify the money... (could save that money toward the 1GZ-FE engine or put in my order for a P90) Perhaps I will do an E85 conversion instead since my fuel pump is OEM which has 202K miles...

 

Good luck with this entire project! It will be some work, but you have some great possibilities ahead of you.

 

Sorry, I haven't read the entire thread, and kudos to you, but are you saying you want to bore/stroke the VQ35 to 3.7, or maybe just swap in the crankshaft, or change the entire bottom end to a VQ37?? That sound like a monumental task. I know there are 4.0 and 4.2 stroker kits out there, but this sounds different. I would be very interested to know how you plan to do this. Please elaborate..

 

Hey, how are you doing? You're correct on some parts. So I'll be using a VQ37VHR block that will be machined, while keeping the VHR stock bottom internals (which is stronger than the HR) with new gallery gasket and water pump. Then it will have the VQ35HR heads bolt on top of the VHR block. This is plug-n-pay or direct bolt-on with no modification to do. I will use the HR manifolds and use what I bought a 6MT HR engine harness without having to do any tuning (I will anyway to get a baseline number and have the tuner fine-tune it).

Based on my research, this is a strong setup. This is more common with 370Z owners who swap in the HR heads on their VHR to delete the VVEL system on the 370Z, run more aggressive cams and the VVEL assembly prone to cracking at very high RPM. It's also a better value for your money as opposed to those expensive stroker kit. I want to say I'm going all out and run cams and run beefier internals while I'm in there, but I am planning on staying N/A and run E85. I am not going to spend that kind of money on the internals as we all know that building a V6 is very expensive for not so much gains.

It's really because I rather allocate the money to eventually securing a V12 engine and finishing off this Z build so I can get out of this money pit.

 

Holy somkes bro, that's quite a mod list. Much kudos to you for your high aspirations. I'm really glad that someone here has the brass b**** to take on a project like this. Looking forward to seeing the progress. What V12 were you thinking of? BMW, Merc??

Apologies, I've been out of the game for quite some time, since I sold my old Z, and am just getting back in and obviously I've missed out quite a bit. Back in '03-09 era I used to know about every possible mod, from drive train to suspension to interior. But now I'm pretty rusty and I'm just trying to catch up, so please forgive my ignorance. I didn't know you could bolt on VQ35 heads to a VQ37 short block, not without machining, ECU, harness, injectors, etc. Anyway, thanks for the edification.

I sold my old '03 Track back around 2010 and afterwards regretted selling her and had been looking for a clean replacement for a very long time. Recently, somehow miraculously I found and acquired an '04 Track, the twin sister of my old Z, with only 2,500 mi. Before that happened, my plan was to find the cleanest Z I could and completely revamp the internals, including custom Ti con rods, forged pistons, forged knife's edge crank, Ti valves, beehive valve springs, JWT cams, dry sump and electric exhaust vac and PWS treat everything. I am not a fan of boost, so my plan was to stay NA and raise the RPM limit and air flow for gains in the upper revs. I figured if the GT3 can extract 500+ hp from 4.0 liters, why shouldn't I be able to get low 400's from 3.5. But this new (to me) Z is so damn showroom clean that now I'm hesitant to do too much to it. For now, I'm satisfied with just doing the steering wheel, seats and shift **** because those parts wear out fast and can easily be switched back. I'll keep the OEM parts in vacuum sealed bags just in case.

OK, OK, done hijacking your thread.

 

I was in an earlier position where I thought about listing the Z for sale, but had so much time invested in the time I worked on it. The Z is a clean example. Before I was deciding on listing it, I looked around in the market and just couldn't find too many clean examples. I found too much bad examples or poorly tasted Z. Furthermore, I had trouble even find much HR. There were here and there clean HR but the price was a little high and I figured I don't want to solve's someone's hidden problem. I know my Z's entire history so I felt more at peace with that so I kept it while I undergo career growth into working for the state now. Now making six-figures, I felt more more comfortable in finishing this build.

I been researching into the 1GZ-FE V12, 5.0L from Toyota in their Century models. I have spoken with someone who dropped one in their Z in South Africa. I have lost contact afterwards, but mentioned it's been running. I didn't want to reveal too much about this stage yet, but you seem like a good fella so I'll include pictures below.

If I actually do go down this hole, I will be using Hartley engine parts for this engine coming from New Zealand. They have numerous engine builds pushing 700 HP N/A at 10K RPM (video on YouTube). They have slim billet valves covers, rods and pistons, ITBs, soon a carbon fiber intake manifold. Then Collins makes bell housing adapters to run the Z's 6MT mated to the V12.

You can finds more info at hartleyengines.co.nz
Now here's some pictures.

Stock-factory, bulky ugly 90s tech.



Here's the general dimension with their parts. This engine weighs less than a 2JZ-GTE engine.






Here's the stock engine without the ugly manifold in a 350Z engine bay. Looking closely, I believe using Hartley's part. will help slim down this engine size to make it more appealing and ease of working. There's still head room to fit a proper intake manifold on top without raising the hood. This is the goal.



Here's you can see it looks more more cleaned up and nicer. It even looks easier to service. One of my biggest worries about this project is the custom headers. I am concerned and most likely that it will not fit in the engine bay. However, the stock looks like it will. But ideally, a proper header would be perfect.



I'm not going to do a turbo setup, because I don't think there's any possible room but I wanted to show you this carbon fiber manifold from Hartley who still has It under R&D as my plan to run. Lower profile, and comes forward, probably have to run a long tube intake setup to feed the air. Shown in the general dimension, I need to run a dry-sump set-up because the factory oil pan is massive. It will most likely be in the way of the sway bar, and ideally, the lower the engine can sit, the better the handling will be as well as giving me more room up on top to fit a nicer intake system like the CF manifold, because the OEM one is awful.



Anyway, if you have any insight or feedback, please share. I have been studying this for a few years. hence I have gather lots of info. The engine uses 2 ECU for each 6-cylinder banks so it'll shut down one bank if there's any issue. But that means I need to run x2 aftermarket ECU or run a drive-by wire for the throttle body which is what a lot guys do. Anyway, I think I shared enough. I need to go out there and just take my shot and secure one already.

 

I have the Cube shifter, and previously Stillen. The Cube beats the Z1 and Stillen in configuration and feels amazing.

 

You've got a ton going on and I hope it all goes well for you! While you are at this point I'd recommend also adding a new oil pump (there are ones upgraded from oem) and consider a full timing chain kit. Just take advantage of doing things like that while it's easy to access.