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This will be the build thread for my SC400. I'm working towards 500+ Whp, with a goal of hitting 200 mph in the standing mile. This is my second serious car build, my first was a 280Z modified with a turbo. The Datsun is scary fast due to its light weight, but un-stable at high speeds (On the track only of course!) https://www.ontariozcar.com/ozc/acti...0z-turbo-build
I bought this car in October 2016. Some how the previous owner got it running long enough for me to take a test drive, but when I went to drive it home it died 500ft from the parking lot. The alternator would only work over 1500 rpm, and the battery was toast. The solution to make it home was to space the throttle cable out with ~10 zip ties, to raise the idle to >1500 rpm and keep the power on. The car has 0 rust on the underbody, every bolt and nut is as shiny as the day it left the factory, and I got the car for a steal - so overall I'm not too upset about the seller deceiving me claiming it was a "runner".
Next up, making the manifolds. This took roughly 100-150 hours, partially because I was new to TIG and fabricating on this level, partially because I checked fitment with every cut/tack. The system was very complicated, the two manifolds each have a waste gate infront of the crank pulley, and merge into 1 turbo. The turbo dump goes under the passenger side manifold in a very tight space.
Custom purge block/heat sink to try and minimize warpage. There are close-able valves to where each runner will be, to conserve argon:
The manifolds warped badly from the heat, aprox 0.040". I made a ridiculous set up on the mill to face them smooth. Blocks were welded to the back of the flange for clamping, then cut off afterwards. I don't recommend this type of cutter, I broke multiple cutting tools, a face mill would be much better.
The manifolds continued to grow
Twin wastegate setup, I don't want to over-boost with this huge turbo, and its divided which should have a dual setup.
Downpipe:
Looking up at installed system from under the engine, cardboard is protecting the rad:
While working on the car I noticed both the engine mounts were broken. Made new ones with inspiration from a forum member here. The steel blocks were CNC'd to the right profile to make life easier.
Dump back exhaust. The cat joins to the factory rear y-pipe and goes out the stock exhuast, its got a nice quiet tone to it. The flange is a 3" cut out for drag racing, this way I can be environmentally friendly most of the time
ECU Wiring!!! This was a lot of fun, but very time consuming. I made a wiring diagram showing how the stand alone ECU would tie in to the factory harness. Doing this allows me to control the engine, the factory ECU to control the transmission, and keeps the cruise control working . After sorting out some issues with the standalone and factory ECU sharing the crank angle signal, it started right up!
The fluid turned a burnt brown color. Rather than remove and rebuild the trans from the car, I bought one at a junk yard. I figured it would take a few months to do, this way the car could still move if needed. I rebuilt the whole thing and added a trans-go shift kit. I also built a custom cradle to lift the from the angled pan and keep it level for installation/removal. It bolted to my floor jack, and allowed the transmission to pivot around on the jack too.
Dyno round #2, 3 months later... The torque converter was slipping on the dyno. I was worried this might happen, i brought the wires for the lock up into the car, and also made a switch that would lock the transmission in 3rd gear for the pull. We made pulls in 3rd with the locked converter to tune the car. In the end I got 374 whp @12 psi which is ~470 crank if you're generous. There is no room left for more, adding boost or timing makes no extra power over this number. The small cams and poor factory head porting are the limiting factors now.
12-22-17, 05:33 PM
Kyles SC400T Build
. After sorting out some issues with the standalone and factory ECU sharing the crank angle signal, it started right up!
