Z32 Something different

Discussion in 'Member's Garage' started by ivan129, Aug 16, 2020.

  1. ivan129

    ivan129 Active Member

    Hi to everyone., I been a member of this forum for quite a few year and generally kept a pretty low profile due to being bagged for fitting a Toyota Engine to my 300. However given this forum is so quiet I thought I'd give you guys something to talk about. This is an Australian delivered 89 car which I purchased so long ago that I can't remember. It came with a dead engine and an auto that was shot too.
    I've built a number of 1UZ's over the years for other projects so it felt like an obvious combination.

    So I built a blown 1UZFE (Toyota 4L V8, all the good gear in the engine) with A341E trans (shift kit with tipronic) and did the engine swap.
    The car has been like this for the past 2 -3 years and only gets out to club meets or when I feel like lighting up the tires for a little sideways motion and adrenalin rush. I often describe it to my friends as a living project as you always find something to do to it. See some pics.
     

    Attached Files:

    lemmiwinks, Veem, beaver and 2 others like this.
  2. jellybeans

    jellybeans Active Member

    hi ivan
    There probably isn't a single best engine for the ZX under all conditions. It looks like a very neat conversion and if that's your own work then i wouldn't be too concerned with what other people thought. I'd just open the bonnet and admire the workmanship once a week. It would be a boring world if everyone thought the same.
     
  3. ivan129

    ivan129 Active Member

    Hi jellybeans, Thanks.
    Yes, all my own work accept for the machining on the engine.
    Any Zed owner out there will know they s are a time and money pit.
    Most are customized in some way.
     
  4. jellybeans

    jellybeans Active Member

    Well you've done a great job but i want better pictures of the engine bay. whats going into the air cleaner?
     
  5. ivan129

    ivan129 Active Member

    Ok, will upload some more pics later today. The hose you see entering the air filter is for water methanol injection. The small white lump is a one way valve which has to be located as close as possible to the jet. ECU starts the water meth about 3 -4 lb boost. Makes a big difference once intake temps start to climb.
     
  6. jellybeans

    jellybeans Active Member

    Yes yes, thats what i was thinking i'm interested in this topic. Who wouldn't like a 32 valve blown water meth injected zx?
    When you have time can you run through the whole engine conversion setup? or have you already posted this?
     
  7. ivan129

    ivan129 Active Member

    Water injection has been around for years. The great thing about water injection is that if you ever get the chance to tear down an engine that has been run for some time with water inj, you will find it to look like new inside. Water blasts the carbon from the valves, combustion chambers and tops of the pistons leaving them looking like new. May sound hard to believe however I have seen this on engines I’ve torn down. The idea of cleaning the carbon deposits from the inside of an engine is sometimes shot down by those who argue the carbon deposits are essential for good combustion. One of my engine builder / dyno mates tells me his story of why he believes that a new engine usually doesn’t make good power on their first dyno pull. His argument is that an engine needs to build a layer of carbon on the top of the piston to aid combustion. There are many theories behind the pro and cons of water and how / where it works. I can only share my experience.

    The system I’m using is a Cooling Mist 250psi pump (mounted in front of the radiator), PWM switched by a solid-state relay controlled from an output from the ECU. I run a blue nozzle. Looked at the mapping again, its programmed to come on at 5% about +5 psi, at IAT’s above 70 degrees and not at cruise, ramps up with boost, rpm and IAT. You will see a red screw cap in front of the radiator which is the filler for the 2.5L reservoir. A float in the bottom of the reservoir tank tells the ECU its low (about .1/2L left) and will allow a safe guard, ECU pulls timing out at higher revs and higher IAT. We found little difference in gains with / without boost juice at the manifold pressure I’m running (just under 1bar or about 13.5 psi). Boost juice (blend of water meth, the pink stuff) is just too costly, about $120 for 4 x 1 Gal bottles. Went through a bottle on the dyno and then switched over to water.

    Adding methanol which mixes with water is supposed to slow the combustion cycle down even more than just straight using water reducing the tendency of detonation and we see that as we can add a more timing into the engine however straight water does a very good job too. The other thing we found on the dyno which others have refuted is that we found a small gain in boost can be achieved, we picked up almost 1/2lb of boost. It would seem the water vapor makes the air cooler, denser and helps seal up the blower. The down side is that it will eventually wear away at the coating on the rotors. I don’t have any figures for the gain the stuff made as so many changes were made during the last passes, however we know the gains are there. What does it make? More than I can handle.

    I’ll leave it here for now. If your still keen for more I can give you more details later. See some more pics.
     

    Attached Files:

    lemmiwinks, beaver and jellybeans like this.
  8. jellybeans

    jellybeans Active Member

    thanks Ivan, my mate had water injection on a 351 back in the eighties but these newer systems are much more advanced. i have no doubt water would clean or keep an engine clean. most blown head gaskets ive seen end up cleaning the deposits from the effected cylinders and spark plugs. Im mainly interested in it as a safe guard not really chasing more power just perhaps maintaining the power on hot days. engine is noticeable better at 1C than at 30C
     
  9. IB

    IB ?????

    Good looking conversion. Well done.
     
  10. Boll!

    Boll! Well-Known Member

    This thing is absolutely awesome man!
    Brilliant looking job, well done!
    It’s great to see someone going against the grain
     
  11. beaver

    beaver southern zeds

    Great job man, attention to detail looks first class, wicked machine.
     
  12. ivan129

    ivan129 Active Member

    Thanks. A modified zed is never finished.
     
  13. lemmiwinks

    lemmiwinks Member

    That's amazing, I love it! The Skid Factory are always mucking around with 1UZ's, heaps of potential. You should be proud.
     
  14. ivan129

    ivan129 Active Member

    Thanks. I've always loved the shape of these things. Most zed owner will personalize their car to their liking.
    Bought mine with a dead engine, trany was some what sus too. So I set about rebuilding mine with the bits I had and made it a combination of old school and jap crap.
     
  15. ivan129

    ivan129 Active Member

    Been driving with my new paddle shifts for a few months now and they are fantastic.
    They are a pair of Golf GTI die cast paddles fitted to the rear of the steering wheel. Transmission controller runs in auto mode until one of the paddles is operated which switches from auto to manual mode. The transmission controller reverts back to auto mode once it detects zero speed (car stopped)
    Mounted in between the speedo and tach is a LED display that shows the the current. Display in the consul where the clock was displays shift position and diagnostic info.
    Digital speedo just about finished too. Fits under analogue speedo in place of my redundant oil pressure gauge.
     

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  16. Harts

    Harts Active Member

    Awesome concept, would make the auto box a little more engaging I imagine.
     
  17. rob260

    rob260 Administrator Staff Member

    Hi @ivan129 I have merged your paddle shift thread into your existing project thread for continuity. Shoot me a PM if any problems.
     

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