Building a 240sx- Couple of questions (Page 1 of 2)

You don't need to swap the hubs to use the Z32 brakes.  They bolt right on.

I actually have a complete F&R Z32 brake package for sale, PM if interested

^ that's exactly my plan Loren.  I knew this day would come, so my bill of sale lists the trans, short shifter, exhaust, braces, all of that stuff.  I plan to fab a replacement lower brace, we won't need the upper rear one, and I'll probably fab the front one or not worry about it. 

ecugrad-  Is someone making 4 lug 300zx rotors?  My understanding was that getting 4 lug stuff(or drilling) was the biggest issue.   I'll hit ya up about that swap.

1984 Z31 non-turbo rotors are 4 lug.  No need for any drilling.

I think we're going to go 300zx all around(if not all around, just up front since thats a wayyy easier way to go and still makes a big difference).  I actually did some more searching and found some nice rotors that are predrilled for 4 lug. 

The second set of wheels that came with the car are enkei 16" which I think will clear the z32 brakes.  I'm currently running a 205/50/zr16 on them, but I think they'll run a 225 which opens up the options even more.  I'm not too concerned with tire choices.   

Can I get a definitive answer from jay or someone about selling old brakes/other stuff that does not count to the $500 limit please?  I don't want to get myself one million penalty laps for having sold my stupid ricer exhaust, brakes, etc.

Troy, what do you mean about the head gasket +die grinder stuff?  I'm not sure what you're getting at there.  As cheap as they are it will get a new pump, belts, and hoses before the race.  If I can I will probably replace the fuel pump(its started buzzing sometimes...)

We plan to go wayyy overboard on the cage, so there won't be any need for a rear strut bar at all. 

Any other words of wisdom?

Thanks for the help guys.  If time permits I would love to have er' ready for the spring race!

oh gotcha.  I was hitting a brick wall regarding what I would be hitting with a grinder.  talk about a brain fart moment.  Once I check the compression I will know if I intend to pull the head, if I do I will definitely port and polish.  The only other major motor thing I intend to do is the 248/248 cam swap.  12 bucks from the scrap yard will net me more low/mid or mid/high power depending on how I retard the cam. 

Sounds like my wheels should clear fine.  My understanding is that the proportioning isn't thrown off much with just a front swap, but a bigger mc or an auto 240 booster is recommended to improve pedal feel.  What I will probably do is tackle the fronts first then hit the rear later(if I have time) since that part of the swap is more involved due to the e-brake hardware.

Hand ported heads.. gotta love it...

over size brakes on a 240 provide nothing but more expensive brake changes man...no bullshit when I finally started laying down 350+ hp in a completely stripped 240 with a full competition suspension setup I finally put on larger brakes. Good rotors, braided brake lines and dot4 fluid are just fine on that thing.

HP+ and HPS are great pads but what you need to look at primarily is wear, they dont last as long as good ceramics usually and you are going to be running this car for 12-24 hours longevity is far more important then HP in this deal man you will lose a lot more laps swapping out pads halfway through then just staying out there and not having fancy race pads

Also keep a spare MAF around, they have a tendency to go out for no reason.

and our ceramics ran the whole time and used well less then half of the front pads.  I am still certain we could have made the nelson ledges race on one set of pads, provided of course that my team did not nuke the engine

If I was you:

sell off the ricer bits. the exhaust you might as well leave as-is unless you can sell it for more than the cost of getting a near-oem setup welded in.

Junkyard fab upper and lower front strut tower braces. box them up nicely. Rear tower strut brace I'm not positive is as relevant, but an extra bit of cage steel between them works nice as a replacement to the sellable stuff.

Troy's right about the motor. water pump and rubber bits should really be your "must replace" list. if you're getting compression issues then hey, what can i say? Airflow is nice, but a spicy cam isn't a necessity. make sure you vigorously document stuff like that. because you've already admitted in here you plan on doing it.

Brakes: good fluid, SS brake lines, reman'd calipers, and Hawk Blues will all do plenty. your primary concern with CMP is that they have several heavy braking zones, so you really want to time your brake wear to just past the end of day one, bring a spare set for both ends of the car and swap'em when they cool off. A good-quality ceramic set will definitely last, but may not be in the right operating temperature range for a race application.

CMP 1/2 seems alot like 3/4 at Rockingham.

adding a baffle in the oil pan seems to be a popular band-aid for Lemons. doesn't completely cure the problem though. I could go into oils and about choosing one with a robust additive package. Another idea that a few have tried simply seems to be overfilling the crankcase slightly. all have their advantages and weaknesses.

I was thinking a baffle too. I've never had a ka apart, I am wondering if there is an easy way to mod the pickup to improve the situation. I'll probably couple a baffle with a really good quality oil and call it good. 

Oh yeah fyi, I also got the car for Lemons money because the owner had an encounter with a mailbox...  bald tires + light rain + dipshit = skkrrrrtttt mailbox...