I have to admit that moving from the nimble and athletic S14 chassis to a heavy pig like the Z30 ( or Soarer if you are in Japan ), hasn’t been an easy transition for me.
It’s taken some time, but the comfort of the SC300 and overall finish make for an excellent street car and comfortable cruiser. However the issue of curb weight / power to the wheels is still undeniably present, but nothing a 2JZGTE swap won’t fix.
First however, I’ve got to ditch the belt driven fan assembly, because…. well…. it’s stupid. Not only does it constantly spin and create a drag on the rotating assembly, but its freakishly huge and bulky, taking away precious engine compartment space.
Upgrading to a slimline fan assembly
We’ll be using a Mishimoto fan shroud, and 2 12 inch dual speed fans for A/C connectivity ( California is hot! ) as well as a fan controller for maximum reliability.
This will be replacing this honking huge piece of crap.
For a fan controller, I personally love the Derale lineup of controllers which feature a safety bypass, dual speed control as well as your choice of probes and temp senders.
For this install, I have opted for the push in style of connector for ease of install. Why? well the 2JZGTE is a very high temp motor, and given the turbocharged nature of this motor cooling is of the utmost importance, especially on a daily driver.
However a true 3 core radiator is not in stock currently from Mishimoto or Fluidyne, two of my favorite radiator companies. So for the meantime, we’ll be rocking this push in style sender until our permanent radiator arrives.
First we crack the 12mm nuts on the fan assembly, while keeping the tensioner tight on the belt itself. There are 4 10 mm bolts that hold the shroud in place, you may or may not need to remove your factory battery to remove the shroud.
Once these have been loosened, then undo the tension by turning the belt tensioner clockwise. Slip the accessory belt over the pulley and then proceed to carefully remove your factory fan and shroud.
Install of the new assembly is very straightforward, outside of a fabricated driver side mount.
After wiring in the ground to the Derale relay, we start up the SC and get it to operating temps very quickly. The slimline fan not only makes the engine bay look more clean and organized, but gives me at least 5 more inches to move and wiggle when the GTE motor is ready to go in.
I also ditched my Stern ST7’s for another set of Stern wheels, this time in 19 inch and ST11. With 19×8.5 in front and a 25 offset with 19×9.5 in rear with a 30 offset gives me a good stance and is cheap enough so that I won’t cry when a rim bends due to California highways.
Not really looking to change much more of the looks about the car until after my motor swap is completed. Lots of work on that front so I’ll be busy no doubt there.
First however, I’ve got to prep the wiring for the GTE swap, which means lots of wires and a lot of cursing. Fun.
Next up : Wiring up the 2JZ engine harness and combining with the SC300 body plug for a true plug and play installation.
Happy boosting!
