raising a zx?
Thread Starter
Ruff Ryder
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 6,140
From: palm desert
raising a zx?
it has come to point in my rally zx that i must rais the car up a few inches and get some more ground clearence, i have been looking at longer adjustable shocks and i think i may have found them, if its needed i can cut the top off the strut tower and weld a mount on the roll cage, but not yet.
item #8031612551
item #8031612551
Thread Starter
Ruff Ryder
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 6,140
From: palm desert
its just RWD (for now) theres nothing really special about it except the full tubed chassis and high C/R engine, link to the pics are in my sig, thos pics are old though, imagine it about 4" higher with some more aggressive looking tires. if i did go AWD i would use a RB20DET, its a driect fit with no mods needed, plus i can propably just mod the front a-arms of the R33 to fit. ebay item #8031778796
Last edited by hoov100; Jan 24, 2006 at 02:12 PM.
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 5,485
From: Temecula, CA
It's a little more complicated than that. I mean technically speaking that is all it would take to make it happen but you would be miserable. First of all, theres the new found torque steer that the Z is not set up to handle. Then there's the fact that the front suspension would have to be reinforced to handle the new loads imparted by making the front wheels distribute torque. Then of course you've got to get all the geometry right when fabricating and mounting new suspension components or you will destroy the way the car handles. An ideal way of going about it would be to graft the entire front suspension and steering system of an AWD car onto the Z. That still means a lot of precision measuring but atleast you'd know you've got all the right parts. A Skyline GTR front clip can be had for a few thousand dollars and with it you can get the engine, differential and the entire front suspension, brakes, and steering system. Leaving you only the need to make it all fit the Z. Novice welders need not even attempt to hone their skills on a project like this as a poor craftsmanship here could likely result in death or serious injury (especially doing something like rallying).
Sure you COULD just slap on some FWD control arms with hubs but you might not like the results. I wouldn't advise ANYONE who doesnt have complete confidence in their welding and fabrication skills take on a project like that. It's not as hard as most people think. It's a lot harder. If you want to do it right anyways. We're talking life and death here when you're sliding around a gravel turn inches from a 100' drop. I'm not saying you dont have the skills to do a project like this, but I think the general public should know that it's a whole lot easier to get that RB in there than it is to make the car AWD.
Sure you COULD just slap on some FWD control arms with hubs but you might not like the results. I wouldn't advise ANYONE who doesnt have complete confidence in their welding and fabrication skills take on a project like that. It's not as hard as most people think. It's a lot harder. If you want to do it right anyways. We're talking life and death here when you're sliding around a gravel turn inches from a 100' drop. I'm not saying you dont have the skills to do a project like this, but I think the general public should know that it's a whole lot easier to get that RB in there than it is to make the car AWD.
Thread Starter
Ruff Ryder
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 6,140
From: palm desert
i wasnt talking about just slapping on some FWD arms, i was going to go all out, re-do the suspension, arms, i wouldnt try and do this over a weekend, maybe about 2-3 years before i would consider driving it, just to make sure.
The Good Twin
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 20,639
From: Wild Wild West, UTAH!
The following comment is in no way meant to be rude:
Your idea sounds awesome, but an absolute nightmare of a project. To do it correctly (not a half-*** "well... it looks good" project), you will need to redesign the entire suspension & in some cases, fab your own parts from scratch. I understand that you might want to be the "first" to accomplish this undertaking, but have you thought about this?:
Maybe not so extreme, but there are quite a few guys that have taken a Z body & placed it on a Datsun truck frame.... instant 4x4.
Your idea sounds awesome, but an absolute nightmare of a project. To do it correctly (not a half-*** "well... it looks good" project), you will need to redesign the entire suspension & in some cases, fab your own parts from scratch. I understand that you might want to be the "first" to accomplish this undertaking, but have you thought about this?:
Maybe not so extreme, but there are quite a few guys that have taken a Z body & placed it on a Datsun truck frame.... instant 4x4.
Doesn't post much...
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 3,617
From: Escondido (San Diego) California
Why not just buy a farging, damned nissan truck then?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?! ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! ?!?!?!?!?!?!? I JUST DON'T GET IT 
Rod
Rod
Thread Starter
Ruff Ryder
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 6,140
From: palm desert
well time seems to be the one thing i have and lots of it, plus i have a zx shell sitting under a tarp in my garage, i have full access to a complete machine shop that i can use any day of the week (except sunday) i might have to tube it out completely and do all my mounting on it.
The Good Twin
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 20,639
From: Wild Wild West, UTAH!
Originally Posted by hoov100zx
well time seems to be the one thing i have and lots of it, plus i have a zx shell sitting under a tarp in my garage, i have full access to a complete machine shop that i can use any day of the week (except sunday) i might have to tube it out completely and do all my mounting on it.
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 324
From: Hayward,CA
Why even bother with stock sheet metal when J can just make a complete body shell from scratch? I love volunteering people for crazy missions. I think I might make some panels this summer if I can get my other projects done, or sold.
Thread Starter
Ruff Ryder
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 6,140
From: palm desert
good news, i got a new simpson 4 point harness at a garage sale for $20 that has an unbroken seal. also got my self a rack and pinion steering setup from a 72 240z and im still working on that AWD setup though, it apears to me that i would have to get and AWD car that was wrecked or make one bad *** 2wd rally car. i could easily dominate my local rally racers.
Euro Z King
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 387
From: Utrecht The Netherlands where owning a car is a CRIME!!
Time original rally s130's !
Well ther have been several given japanese rally zx's and i have been looking into this pretty seriously aswel... like for a project in the year 3000 when im done with my other projects 
here are some sourced pictures
rally in Portugal in 1982 driven by Motoaki Kawahara
Like the works s30's the clearance is that much higher ... they where just stiffer !
here are some sourced pictures
rally in Portugal in 1982 driven by Motoaki Kawahara
Like the works s30's the clearance is that much higher ... they where just stiffer !
Espcially the tarmac races.
Thread Starter
Ruff Ryder
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 6,140
From: palm desert
*update* my freinds who recently wrecked his STI didnt want the measly $5k insurance offerd him, so we pulled off the rear suspension and set it under my 240z, holy crap did that thing look good under there, anyway all i would have to do to mount it would be to weld in some under car supports to bolt it to, so now that i have the back figured out where going to see about the front, if that works and the motor will fit in the engine bay i might just have an AWD z after all.
