| Well, this certainly has been the summer for TT swaps - I hope you all have time to read about one more. After about a year and a half of owning my first Z I couldn't be more satisfied with the car. She is one of the cleanest NA's I have ever seen. However, like to most of us, the twin turbo power was calling. Often when I had posted photos of the car I would always here something to the effect of "that's the cleanest NA i've ever seen, only if it was a TT!" Well, yesterday your wish was granted. Background Story (skip if you have a short attention span): I had thought for quite some time I would attempt the swap myself, with the help of my Dad. But I decided against that for several reasons. One being the car is my Daily Driver (tough to call it that though, since I only drive it a couple times a week - most people bike around campus), and I didn’t want to, well, mess it up. Plus the down-time for me to do the swap myself would have been a long time. Back in Spring I saw the "TT Swap" video from Michael Smith at MWS. So I decided to get in contact with him and see how much he charges, what the process is, etc. From there we just stayed in contact while I figured out the funding issues. His shop is in San Jose, which is far from my university in Santa Barbara. However, the timing was perfect as I was just returning home to the Bay Area for summer break. A few weeks after being home we had worked out all the things we planned to do, and I dropped off the Z on July 11th. The Swap: MWS had his own source for the clip, and we happen to get a great one. Only about 24k miles, manual transmission, white pearl - but unfortunately the front fascia was beyond saving. We did all of the basics, 60k stuff, etc. But that's not really anything fun. Both JDM o2 sensors were shot and had to be replaced - other than that, no real issues with the clip. 
On to the fun stuff: For the drive train we went with a JWT Sport Street clutch, and the RPS Super Segmented flywheel. Also replaced my driveshaft with Michaels MWS driveshaft. The spark plugs were replaced with colder ones (PFR6B-11B) and the injectors were upgraded to the Nismo 555s.
Michael installed the SMZ Alcohol/Water Injection kit as well: 
HKS SSQVs: 
For the exhaust system, we went with Megan Racing DPs and TPs, and I bought a non-resonated X-Pipe from Specialty-Z to replace my resonated H-pipe (which is now for sale). Thanks to Greg and Seb for light speed shipping to get it up here in time. 
Here are some shots of the engine ready to go in: 
The pick-up and first drive:
So, now we come to yesterday. I was so excited I didn't even know what was going on. I couldn't believe it was really happening. Michael and I headed out to lunch (his treat!) and I got a chance to drive it for the first time... Michael just putting the under panels back on before we headed out: 
... I couldn't believe it. It is so solid, feels like the engine was meant to be in there. I took the first left turn out of his driveway in first, and proceeded to turn on to the main street in first as well. As I got straightened out I was grinning from ear to ear. 3k rpm, gave it a bit of throttle - boost gauge went up to 10psi.... "Holy shit!" (don't worry, he got all of this on camera, so should be a good video when he can get it all edited). I was having so much fun it seemed like I just blinked my eyes and we were already at our destination. On the way back we hit the freeway AND 18psi of boost. Well, all I can really say again is "holy shit." I was speechless - well, actually I was yelling I think (for joy). Right now the boost controller has two settings, 10psi and 18psi. The alcohol starts spraying when I pass 13psi. Seems to be a great setup so far, but is always able to be tweaked. I made the two hour trip back home flawlessly - the most fun drive of my life. The best part is, there will be more to come! Some of my shots when I got it home (you can barely see the alky control unit in the glove box in the first picture): 
(sorry for the dark/blurryness - better ones to come)
I took two short mpeg movies with my still camera, which look pretty good. The first one is a rear shot of the car, starting up and revving. The second is revving from inside the cabin while checking out the gauges! Video 1 (15.7MB) Video 2 (8.1MB) I could not be more satisfied with the work Michael has done, nor more impressed with how he has done it. Michael went above and beyond the 'call of duty' in many, many instances. He is a stand up guy who loves what he does, and he does it well. Z specialists with Michael’s expertise, commitment, and communication skills are few and far between. My car will never be worked on anywhere else. Thanks to tt.NET and all of you guys for making owning a Z32 such an amazing experience. Here’s to many more projects. Thanks to Guapo for answering all of my stupid questions; zfreak for being, well, a z freak, who gave a ton of support; and mousersix, just because he rocks. Time to make a new sig. Also, if anyone is really bored, you can browse the rest of the pictures that MWS uploaded here: http://www.mwsmotorsports.com/z32/BT More photos to come soon.
Z Photos 1
Z Photos 2
whitepearlz: pfft
whitepearlz: the TB water hose bypass is so 2002
|
if i were to die today, i would die a happy man. - 
