Been long time between updates. So here is the latest.

All the panels are on including alloy hood.






Got the door trims done too




Front end upgrade including

Steel front hubs to replace the weak alloy units that grow under extreme heat cycling causing the front wheels bearing to loosen


Front hub bearing spacers to allow proper bearing pre load


Front brake upgrade. Involves machining front hub down to accept Brembo 324mm rotors off a 350Z on the front as well as spacing the calliper to fit over the thicker rotor and move it out 1" radially for larger diameter rotor.


Rear brake upgrade is Supernow FD 315mm rear rotor conversion. Decent size upgrade.





The plan is to increase the thermal efficiency of the system with larger rotors. I will run Hawk Blue pads to start but the whole idea is to keep the look period correct, cost effective and subtle. It also works with the standard brake master cylinder bore to keep the pedal feel right like factory. Just going to fit a bias valve to fine tune it but should be pretty close and help dial out the tendency to lock the rears first under hard braking.

Finally scored an awesome find on Gumtree - A RE AMEMIYA COMPLETE SERIES 4 DASH!!! guy was wrecking an FC out in QLD so I grabbed it.


Also scored 2 more sets of the same Work Rezax Roar wheels. Painting them up now bringing the total number of sets to 4 which is plenty for track days.

 

Here is the brake system all installed on the front








All fits under 17" rim. I will run a 5mm spacer but I needed that anyway to clear the front rims to the struts. Uses all OEM rotors and pads. Pads are stock FC. Rotor is stock Brembo 350Z and we utilised longer pad pins from a Toyota Landcruiser. Once it is dialled in, I will switch across to a 2 piece rotor on the front as well as the FD rotor on the rear. A good balance size of rotors at 324mm front and 315mm rear. Looks stock too!

Here is the pretty plain looking fuel system. All Aeroflow with the fuel reg and in line filter. Stock hardline is used with a fitting to connect to the push on fittings.


If you have an FC you may know the whole issue of swapping a factory auto transmission car to a manual with the transmission cross member being different................problem solved. (I was waiting on a custom bolt hence the drill bit lol!!!).


The car is now back in the shop having the intercooler, exhaust system and some other minor fabrication work finished up then it's back to my home workshop to wire it up and hopefully fire it up!

Thanks for checking out my build,

James.

 

I thought it was beautiful a year and a half ago and still do.

 

Awesome build! Exactly how I want to do my interior. Jealous of the RE-A cluster!

 

On the home stretch but yeah been a little longer than I originally thought but I have always wanted to do my own car from a shell to finish doing all the little things the way I always wanted.

 

This is really an inspiration. I'm with clokker on this one, with the exception of the front bumper

 

You won't be disappointed with those Ronin brakes

Best. Upgrade. Ever.

 

About your Ronin-ed calipers...
Were they bondoed before paint?
I don't see any part lines in the center where the halves meet the spacer.

 

Looks pretty neat don't you think? No bondo, I doubt it would survive the immense temps anyway! The Ronin kit was a cool concept - we just refined it a little. A few things we did were...

#Clearance the calipers on a mill rather than die grind it out making it quick and easy
#When we joined the calipers we linished down the caliper for a smooth OEM look and just painted them gloss black
#We ordered longer caliper pins to suit from a Toyota Landcruiser rather than counter sink/reuse the stock FC pins

Also for some reason we did not require the spacer to go behind the 350Z Rotor. I did however upgrade to a steel front hub from KSP Attain in Japan. This allowed me to machine down the stronger steel hub with heaps more material on it where it counts to suit a stock 350Z Brembo rotor no machining of the centre bore needed. Perhaps this all had something to do with it.

Anyway after good reviews on your site I decided to go for it. Looks stock but should hold up under race conditions. If I am pleased I will go 2 piece front and rear but machining the front hub to suit 350Z stock and the rear to FD RZ spec stock means it's always off the shelf parts for Rotors and hats in the future.

For me this car has been all about an unremarkable looking car that can punch above it's weight on a track. These brakes fit the requirement to a tee!

James.

 

sweet car!

 

The car looks great would love to see some updates! So clean and well thought out.

Are you running quick releases on your front bumper?

 

Very cool build and nice garage. Do you still happen to have the original steering wheel? I'd be interested in picking that up from you if shipping to the states isn't too expensive.

 

great build. cant wait to see action shots.

 

Your build is truly inspiring brotha . One of the few builds I've seen done very clean , simple , and in my eyes very elegant and yet rough . The white on black , you can't go wrong with for sure . Subscribed for updates and pics

 

Wow. That undertray.... WOW. You should measure that and have a few made. probably make some decent profit... profit means parts... parts mean more smiles per gallon!. Do you have a write up of those door panels? I have a couple of extra pairs I would love to replicate with different material. Top notch!

 

I had never seen the front hub bearing spacers before... they look pretty cool. I assume they let you tighten down the hub really tight without crushing the bearing? Do you know anyone who has used them? Do they actually work well?

I assume you got them from MSF?

 

Please please please- get live action footage, thanks in advance.=)

 

 

 

 

Excellent build thread. That car looks like it belongs in Gran Turismo. Some seriously well executed mods and rare parts. Absolute legend!

 

Wow looks amazing. And love the understated setup but big benefits.

 

Hey man, have just read the whole thread, absolutley awesome build mate. Loving the pink wheels too, such a nice contrast!

 

best use of those front fender flares, car looks good