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my new 240sx build

9K views 31 replies 8 participants last post by  dash1 
#1 ·
Earlier this year I finally decided to my 240sx that I had own, modified, loved and hated for the past six years. As fun as the car was it was time to move on to something else.

20170719_101401[1] by sean phelps, on Flickr

I found this 06 Infiniti G35, and in a lot of ways it reminds me of my 240 but with zero rust!


g35 by sean phelps, on Flickr

This car is equipped with heated seats, navigation, 19" rays wheels, black interior, 6 speed cd009 trans, tein lowering springs, the smell of cigarette smoke and the vq35de rev up. So far the car has been great and has cleaned up nicely, but still has a long way to go before I'm satisfied with it.

Screenshot_20170719-224841[1] by sean phelps, on Flickr

Like I said earlier, this car isn't to far from the world of 240's. Like the 240sx this g35 is rwd, underpowered (by todays standards) from the factory, big after market support and has an unusable back seats. The only down side of the G35 is, she is a bit on the heavy side. About 3300lbs, but that's ok; just a little more cushion for the pushin! My plans for this car will mainly consist of daily driving, and hard parking. I am hoping next year to have it ready for some autocross, but we will see how that goes. That's all for now, questions, comments and suggestions are welcome, thanks.

Screenshot_20170719-225233[1] by sean phelps, on Flickr
 
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#3 ·
Not a 240sx. You are fake news.
 
#10 ·
The Z chassis was always 6 cylinder powered and mid priced. The S chassis was 4 cylinder and lower priced. Nissan (and the world, really) need a lower priced rwd sports coupe. Something to compete on par with say an ecoboost Mustang. Those are selling well enough. Hell if you're careful with the options you can get a Mustang GT for less than 30k (well, used to. prices for 2018 have gone up). Why can't other manufacturers follow suit? IMO the biggest problem with the FRS/BRZ wasn't the price or chassis, it's the engine. Strike 1: flat 4. Strike 2: severely underpowered. 200 hp is weak. Ecoboost Mustang is 330. If the FRS/BRZ was to weigh in closer to 300hp stock, I bet sales would have been better. Dear Subaru, slap a factory turbo on that bitch and send it, see what happens.
 
#12 ·
As I mentioned before, my g35 came equip with the gross smell of cigarette smoke; courtesy of the previous owner. The smell was the first thing that had to be addressed. Every time I used the ac/ heat I could smell the distinct odor of cigarette smoke so I knew the cabin filter was apart of the problem. Judging by the look of it, the old cabin filter hasn't been changed in at least a year, gross. Replacing the cabin filter helped but I could still smell the cigarette smoke. After pulling the ash tray to clean it, I found ashes behind the tray, and upon further inspection I discovered ashes under the center arm rest. I pulled the center console (which was not fun, and the gps/ cd player unit weighs a ton) and the arm rest to clean and vacuum it. After doing that I know enjoy a smoke free cabin!
FB_IMG_1508250998250 by sean phelps, on Flickr

Next thing on the list was another interior problem. The back seat had a huge tear in it, almost like someone's dog was back there and got hungry. This was an easy fix, and surprisingly it wasn't hard to find another to replace it with. After posting a "wtb" ad on Louisville imports facebook page (finding parts is about the only thing that page is useful for) I was able to source a back seat from a 502 local.

FB_IMG_1508251047388 by sean phelps, on Flickr

Can you spot the missing piece from the seat?

FB_IMG_1508251052615 by sean phelps, on Flickr

Removing the back seat was a breeze

FB_IMG_1508251060952 by sean phelps, on Flickr

Oh yea, I now enjoy a nice clean back seat... That never get used.

At this point the interior smells better and is starting to look nicer too, so it was time to reward myself for a job well done lol. I treated myself to a Nismo hour glass (aka butt plug) shift knob. Taking off the oem shifter was not a breeze but after I put my purse down and used my man hands I was able to get it off. I don't have any pictures of it but check it out here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UZL-56SToQ&t=41s if you would like to watch me struggle to get the old shifter off.

20170401_140450 by sean phelps, on Flickr

20170401_140419 by sean phelps, on Flickr

20171017_093421 by sean phelps, on Flickr

Nismo shift knob ftw!

I wanted to hold off on replacing the brake pads because I wanted to go in a different direction with them, but better safe than sorry. How people can just drive around ignoring basic maintenance on cars is beyond me. I installed a set of autozone's Duralast Gold max :naughty::cool: (comes a lifetime warrenty) to hold me over until I was ready to do what, what I wanted at first.

FB_IMG_1508250992183 by sean phelps, on Flickr

That's it for now, but I'll leave you with a few random pictures of me and a few of the local homies

20170522_204059 by sean phelps, on Flickr

20170604_151710 by sean phelps, on Flickr

Screenshot_20170719-225001[1] by sean phelps, on Flickr

Screenshot_20170719-225113[1] by sean phelps, on Flickr

20170402_043217 by sean phelps, on Flickr

20170825_191925 by sean phelps, on Flickr
 
#16 ·
Thanks!

Eric that car is super nice! How was it, did you line the mustang up with it?

G35's/ 350z are notorious for the axle click or popping noise, typically they just need to be greased on the splines but I think it was time to replace this one. Usually I would prefer to use oem Nissan parts but the dealer wanted $600 for one axle! So dura-last it is, I saved $520 and it has a life time warranty.

20171214_095501 by sean phelps, on Flickr
Dura-last ftw?:dunno:

20171214_092331 by sean phelps, on Flickr
Getting the axle nut off was the one thing I was worried about since I don't have power tools, but who ever did the job last definetly did not follow the torque spec. Long story short, it was wayyyy to easy to take off. I probably could have taken it off by hand #sketchy.

20171214_092406 by sean phelps, on Flickr
Yep, it was time for this one to rest on peace. I only had trouble getting one of the bolts off that connect the axle to the differential.

Well that's it for now, as I mentioned earlier Id like to have this ready to do some autocross next year so I'm one step closer!
 
#14 ·
My brother drove into town in this the other day. Took me for a spin. Get shooked.



Then my goofball son decided to pose with it.
 
#19 ·
I have been lazy and busy about working on my car lately but now that the autocross season has started it has put a little pep in my step. Also its not snowing any more and I have had a few nice days to work on my car.

I wanted to hold off on replacing the pads but ehh better safe than sorry so I got to work replacing the front brake pads. Has anyone ever heard of SPC? the car has these weird brackets/ spacers on the front brake calipers. The brake calipers seem stock but what would be the point of adding the spc bracket to a stock caliper. I'm wondering if the caliper is an "upgrade" from another car or if the bolts that mount the caliper is not factory hardware.
spc2 by sean phelps, on Flickr

On to the next item I had been putting off for a while, the wheel bearing. I know what a bad wheel bearing sounds like when they go bad but the noise I was hearing didn't quit fit the profile. The other way I know to check to see if the bearing was bad is to use an automotive stethoscope, but since I didn't have one laying around I did the next best thing and just took an "educated guess" and turns out I was right. after replacing the driver side wheel hub/ bearing the car is soooooo much quieter and feels wayyyyyy smoother!

wheel bearing by sean phelps, on Flickr
removing the hub was suprisinly easy, mainly because it had been removed previously. I know this becase I found another SPC spacer/ bracket thingy.

20180421_092205 by sean phelps, on Flickr

Now it was time to replace the control arm. I anticipated this being a 30 minute job, an hour at best but that could not have been further from the truth. I have this weird pride thing about working on my car, kind of a built not bought mentality but I'll die before I do the other control arm on this car. Thinking back it would have been an easy job if I had a lift and some power tools but fml working on the ground with nothing but hand tools was no Bueno, no Bueno at all...

20180426_115414 by sean phelps, on Flickr

I know its going to be a bad day when I have to use "Big Papi"

the bushing was so bad that it just fell out after removing the control arm and you can see where it "walked" back and forth for so long that it left a bit of a dent in the bushing housing.
20180427_134222 by sean phelps, on Flickr
20180427_134241 by sean phelps, on Flickr
20180427_134248 by sean phelps, on Flickr

20180427_134408 by sean phelps, on Flickr

old vs the new nismo control arm

I was unable to beat the old ball joint our myself so I decieded it would be faster and easier to just take it to a machine shop and have them do the work. BAM two hours later the new ball joint is pressed in and ready to install in reverse order
20180427_134031 by sean phelps, on Flickr

don't forget to reinstall this cone thing, I almost did.
20180427_140745 by sean phelps, on Flickr

after installing the outer tie rod this job was finally over
20180427_163925 by sean phelps, on Flickr
20180427_172824 by sean phelps, on Flickr


well that's it for now, after a good alignment I should be ready to drive in my first autocross event. I'm pretty excited too, wish me luck!
 
#21 ·
Somebody may have had a suspension on it before and tossed the stock stuff back on before selling it. And missed a couple little pieces. I hate pressing things out, i always had a machine shop do it but now that there's a press in my workshop I may do it myself next time. Just because I'm like you, I hate having other people do anything I know I can do myself.
 
#22 ·
A lot has happened since I lasted posted, not with the car really but I did get engaged so most of my time and money get spent on planning for the upcoming wedding. However I do find way to work on the car every now and then. If any of the married OG's have any advise on how to keep your better half happy while you spend money and time on your faster half I would be gratefully appreciative lol.

I want to get more involved with autocross so I decided that getting new tires would be the best place to start. It was time for new tires so it was easy to justify this purchase to my girlfriend. My excuse was "its a safety issue, I have to buy new tires lol." Since I only have one set of wheels I knew that the tires would have to be a compromise between performance, cost and longevity. I bought a set of Falken tires, the performance is ehhh ok, the cost wasn't bad and longevity.... welllll they should last a while so I'm satisfied with them. Eventually I want a wheel and tire set up like his (see pics below) Rays Gram lights 57dr wrapped in bridgestone re71r's
20180512_123024 by sean phelps, on Flickr
20180512_123008 by sean phelps, on Flickr
20180430_182407 by sean phelps, on Flickr
Screenshot_20180410-005007_Samsung Internet by sean phelps, on Flickr
Screenshot_20180410-004943_Samsung Internet by sean phelps, on Flickr

I stumbled on this next item, so far its the best mod ive have done. The Nismo 380rs gas pedal is awesome. If you enjoy a good driving feel; this is the part for you. The pedal is wider and has a lip on it making it easier to heel toe correctly.
20180723_110911 by sean phelps, on Flickr
20180723_111806 by sean phelps, on Flickr
20180723_112252 by sean phelps, on Flickr
20180723_112642 by sean phelps, on Flickr
20180723_112932 by sean phelps, on Flickr

I have been putting this next part off for a while and its gotten worse with each day that pasted, (either I'm getting old and lazy or more responsible with my money lol) The previous owner installed after market side makers. There are somethings that are ok when buying off Ebay, unfortunately car parts just aren't one of them. They would fill up with water when it rained, the LED light bulb would flicker on and off randomly making it seem like I was going to turn, urg so embarrassing. I order these oem side markers from nissanraceshop.com on Wednesday afternoon and received them Friday the same week, super fast standard shipping! Out with the old Chinese junk and in with the new Japanese oem parts.
20180714_140349 by sean phelps, on Flickr
20180715_115325 by sean phelps, on Flickr
20180715_115610 by sean phelps, on Flickr
20180714_140812 by sean phelps, on Flickr
20180715_115438 by sean phelps, on Flickr

That's all for now folks, well there is one small thing. The car rolled over to 200,000 miles on the odometer! So far the car has been super reliable; I haven't had many issues out of it other than the normal wear and tear parts that I consider regular maintenance. Its weird, after owning the 240sx for so long I thought id never want a car that I couldn't work on all the time. But not having to worry about the car is pretty nice, I'm definitely getting old lol. also being able to roll up the windows on a hot day and blast the A/C is also a nice "luxury" I didn't have in my 240sx.
20180723_115404 by sean phelps, on Flickr

I hope you enjoyed the small updates so far, any comments or suggestions are welcome. See you next time space cowboy!
 
#24 ·
Sean, all I can say is this little bit of advice that's kept me going for many years: It is better to ask forgiveness than permission.

That's it. I just do what I want most of the time. Then if she gets pissy, well, at least I have something else to keep me occupied while she gets over it. Also, I keep a little stash in a safe she can't get in. Whenever I make extra cash here and there, I stuff it away. She knows I hide it, she just doesn't know how much. A few grand stuffed away for a rainy day she doesn't know about isn't that big of a deal, is it?
 
#25 · (Edited)
lol Oldskool, thanks for the advice. Latley the clear coat on my roof has been peeling badly so I decieded to vinyl wrap it. I went with a dry carbon fiber design with a matte finish. it came out nicely and I like how it contrast the black paint on the car. wrapping stuff is addictive and fun.
20180609_192019 by sean phelps, on Flickr
20180609_204637 by sean phelps, on Flickr
20180729_163636 by sean phelps, on Flickr
20180729_164430 by sean phelps, on Flickr
20180729_182233 by sean phelps, on Flickr

I noticed this kouki driving home just sitting at a "mom & pop" car dealership and what a find! I think this may be my next new 240 project lol!!
20180804_085403 by sean phelps, on Flickr
20180804_085332 by sean phelps, on Flickr
 
#26 ·
Well not much has changed with the car lately, I have managed to do a few small things here and there. I have noticed that the car has started to develop a small case of 240 syndrome; Fix one thing and something else falls off, but with 205xxx miles what can I expect?

After replacing my front wheel bearing a while ago my rear driver wheel bearing decided that it was ready for retirement, so I replaced that.
 
#27 · (Edited)
As I mentioned earlier; the car has developed a case to 240 syndrome. Initially I thought that the car was feeling a little sluggish because of the bad rear wheel bearing but it turns out that the rear caliper is sticking. the caliper was sticking on the same side that I had earlier replaced the wheel bearing. When I come to a stop and the car is at an angle, it stays stationary, like I have the hand brake pulled. I'm not sure what causes the caliper to do it, but it happens sporadically. Eventually I'll get around to just replacing in, but I'm lazy and its cold outside.

I decided it was time for a pair of front tires, well... the car did on my way to church Sunday morning. I was holding off until it got closer to the upcoming auto ross season but oh well.


I ordered a pair of front tires and just like that BAM im back on the road. While having my tires replaced the advisor informs me that (240 syndrome) one of the wheels has a slight bend in it. If anyone has a 19" sport wheel laying around that need a good home let me know.

With autocross being not far away, next month actually and the weather was starting to warm up (so I thought, damn you Kentucky weather) it was time to come out of hibernation and get to work on this car.

I got the last pieces to the puzzle to make this work. Originally the plan was pretty basic; paint black, slap a Nismo sticker on it and call it a day, but I got a little spicy and went a different route...


After some sanding and a few coats of primer...










I am using the Z1 one piece bracket to install the akebono calipers and it was plug and play. You do have to cut the dust shield some but I didn't have to since earlier I had just removed mine in anticipation of this upgrade. I would highly recommend the z1 bracket to anyone thinking of doing this swap. Everything is straight forward and the instructions are solid.



 
#28 · (Edited)
My only complain with the Z1 kit was the weird size hex bolt size used to mount the bracket to the knuckle. I could not find it at any of the local automotive/ hardware stores. It is a 7/16th size and I finally found it after two days of searching and calling around
URL=https://s1380.photobucket.com/user/seanphelps/media/20190307_092147_zpsowbwyh4g.jpg.html]
[/URL]

My only warning about the upgrade as a whole is be carful with tighting the banjo bolt into the caliper. These aluminum calipers are soft and it wouldn't take much to either strip the threads or snap the head off of the bolt.

The finished product. Im glad I went with the burnt copper color instead of black; I think the color really pops against the black paint.

 
#29 ·
After installing the front sport breaks I started searching for the rear calipers to complete the set up. I found a guy parting out a g37, (one mans trash is another mans treasure lol) I got a great deal on a few parts, $200 for a complete set of calipers and $50 for the rear differential!

I sold the front calipers to a friend and kept the rears. If I didn't already paint the front calipers I would have just kept them the factory silver, as mush as it killed me to sand these rear calipers and paint them; they turned out nice. between work, wedding planning and the doctor appointments I haven't had much spare time to install these calipers but one day...
20190329_200607 by sean phelps, on Flickr

Im really excited to feel the difference between my factory (3.5) diff and they g37's (3.7) differential. From what I have read and heard the 3.7 differential is supposed to make the car accelerate faster giving it a more low end torque feel. Pulling the diff was a job from hell. Typically im up for a challenge but when it came to removing the diff I'll pass. On top of it being extremely hot outside, I barley had any room to work with since the car was sitting on cinder blocks. I wasnt leaving empty handed so after 3 hours under the car and a lot of curse words i was able to remove the diff from the g37 and i was on my way home. Here is a chart describing the different diffs in the G/ Z's
Screenshot_20190723-102503_Drive by sean phelps, on Flickr

I plan on replacing the diff bushings and at first i wasnt going to replace the diff cover, but after talking with a few people, the z1 diff cover seems to be a worthy replacement. since it out of the car there isnt much reason not to.
20190722_084042 by sean phelps, on Flickr

I hope you have enjoyed the "build" so far, questions, comments and suggestions are always welcome. thats all for now but i'll leave you with a few random picture of the car to hold you over until the next update lol..
Screenshot_20190723-102750_Gallery by sean phelps, on Flickr
Screenshot_20190723-102550_Gallery by sean phelps, on Flickr
20190712_144036 by sean phelps, on Flickr

oh yea, I almost forgot. I seen this car at infiniti of louisville. I love it, it would be the perfect daily driver for me!
Screenshot_20190723-102640_Gallery by sean phelps, on Flickr
Screenshot_20190723-102700_Gallery by sean phelps, on Flickr
 
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