Anthony’s 300TT modifications:

• Engine swap now under way to replace the tired motor, stage one of removal now complete.
• New engine being rebuilt and colour coded to take it's place.

Progress update - Feb 2008

The blown engine has finally been removed and examined. We found one melted piston and three broken valves so we decided to refit a temporary engine to keep the car mobile while we rebuild the new engine. News of the new parts we have to fit to follow soon...

Progress update - Mar 2008

We've been very busy this month with the build, there has been a delivery of tyres so we can get the new wheels on. The new loom has arrived and has been fitted, we have even started the polishing of the alloy bits in the engine bay and have some pistons on the way.

Wheels and Tyres: Thanks to Marangoni for supply us with some excellent tyres - we are using the Mythos range of tyre they produce - Combined with the ADR wheels the car is transformed. You can view the full Marangoni website at www.marangonityre.co.uk.

Loom: The looms are notorious on the 300ZX for becoming brittle and failing over time so we sourced a new genuine Nissan loom from the U.S. Fitting it was no easy task but 5 hours later we were done, so no need to worry about wiring failure.

Next Month: The engine build begins with new pistons and we start to fabricate the custom exhaust manifolds…

Progress update - Apr 2008

We've been busy again this month getting the car ready for the coming show season. We have some of the polished alloy parts back, the fabricating of the templates for the custom turbo set up is done, the pistons have arrived as well as the turbo. We'll also be starting on the interior and exterior styling next month.

Polished Bits: We sent the front water pipes off to Bailey Motorsport for a spot of polishing, not normally a service they offer but as a favour they helped us out as well as returning them with a pair off dump valves for the project. You can see their range at www.baileymotorsport.co.uk

Fabricating Work: With the arrival of the T-70 turbo it was time to start fabricating the templates for the exhaust manifolds. The 1st job was to work out the route and the position to mount the turbo converting a twin turbo to a single in the cramped 300's engine is not easy but we managed a route we were happy with on the 2nd attempt. As these are only templates just tacking the tube together was ok so after 4-5 days the set up was complete although we had to sacrifice the aircon to make it fit! The template have been sent off to Janspeed to be copied so we will see some nice new ones soon, catch Janspeed at www.janspeed.com

Engine Parts: With all this work going we need to get the engine build underway soon so we have have been busy sourcing some new parts including some amazing new psitons from Wiseco Europe. Running the sort of power we need we wanted to ensure the internals were up to the job so choose Wiseco for their reputation for quality and reliability. More details at www.wiseco-europe.com

Progress update - Jun 2008

For the last few weeks the engine build has been going on and will be complete soon. Until then we have turned out attention to some more under bonnet detailing, interior and exterior touches in time for some shows.

Interior: The 300zx only came with a drab tweed interior which was dull to say the least. We decided to fit some Corbeau seats and decided on the Forza range, we also got several metres of matching material to retrim the interior and set to work. You can see Corbeau's full range at www.corbeau-seats.co.uk

Engine Detail: We added some more polished bits this month to brighten the engine a bit more. We had some of the steel components chromed as well as fitting some stainless steel panels to cover the air intake and headlights.

Exterior: With the engine bay and interior looking good we got started on the exterior, so we headed to Cheltenham Vinyl Graphics and place the car in the capable hands of Adam. After many hours of creative work and some input from us he came up with this fantastic design. He does work for many top name Motorsport companies as well as some top Football teams. Have a look at www.cvgwrapping.com to see his handy work.

Progress update - July 2008

The engine build is nearing completion now and will be complete very soon. The cams are in and the heads are fitted to the complete bottom end so just a few more bit to add.

Engine: The old block has has had some machining done to reseat the valves and increase the cylinder bore be a few mm to fit the slightly bigger Wiseco pistons. The heads are now bolted to the completed bottom end but to seal the two together we needed something a little bit special to cope with the extra power. There is only one choice when it comes to headgaskets Cometic are the clear choice, their triple steel layer gaskets will be more than capable to handle the pressure. View their full product range at www.cometiceurope.com

With all the extra power and boost we are running then we need to get more fuel into the engine so we need bigger injectors. There are many make available but we went to the US to source some Venom Injectors. These are 800cc so are capable of flowing enough fuel for 800bhp!. The company is owned by the injection speciallists Python Injection.Their full range can be seen at www.venom-performance.com

Next on the list is the clutch to complete the build. As we speak the old engine is coming out!

Progress Update - August 2009

The new engine is finished apart from a few small jobs and the manual gearbox is fitted so we need to give the engine bay the minimalist look.

Engine: The build is fully complete in terms of the block and heads with just some finishing touches to be added once we collect it. The cam belt covers are being smoothed and colour coded match the rest of the engine hoses. The new injectors need to be secured into place with the fuel rail once the new seals arrive from Nissan, once we get the inlet manifold re-polished it can be refitted over the top of the injectors to complete the look of the engine. The engine is then ready to have the clutch fitted and dropped into place to make sure the clearance for the manifolds is ok.

Clutch and gearbox: With the amount of power we aim for with the engine the standard auto box would never stand upto that let alone the fact who wants to drive an auto! We sourced a manual gearbox from www.300zx.co.uk where you can find most parts and a huge amount of advice and knowledge for 300ZX’s from the UK’s biggest 300 club. The fitting is reasonably straight forward, with the auto box dropped out and the prop changed for the shorter manual one we lifted the manual box into position and bolted it in. Next we have to change some of the wiring harness and bridge some of the connectors to make the car think park is engaged to over ride the auto box system that would normally prevent the engine starting in gear. The clutch pedal and hydraulics for the clutch were then fitted for obvious reasons, these jobs are much easier with the engine out. The last job is to fit the manual gearstick along with the new centre console surround as it is different to the autos. Now we have a gearbox that can handle the engine power we need a clutch to join the two, there are lots of companies offering clutches but we need something reliable. We decided on one of the biggest names available which is Advanced Clutch Technology, ACT have been making top quality clutches for many years. We have gone for a 6 Pad Spring Centered race disc that can handle the power and offers good durability but quiet operating. Check out their products at www.advancedclutch.com

Engine Bay: The 300ZX engine bay is notorious for being over complicated and very busy so we decided to strip it out. As we are running a single turbo then the stock twin turbo set up is no longer needed so was removed, also the big turbo is sat where the aircon pump is so that system can be binned. Also you can’t drift with the Nissan Hicas system (rear wheel steering) so that has been stripped out. As you can see by the picture it has made a lot of room at the front for the intercooler and turbo as well as a significant weight reduction. The Hicas has also emptied the drivers side inner wing of clutter so to even it up we have relocated the fuse box from the other inner wing to balance it out. We have several other things to move or take off to make it cleaner looking but more on that next month.