Caleb's Turbo Conversion 85' Nissan 300zx Build

Caleb’s Z31 build is a testament to finding the perfect balance between OEM fit and finish, and tasteful modifications. Ideally that balance is not upset when making modifications, however more often than not, modifications can cause cause the car to shift away from it’s original character. Caleb has a great attention to detail for these things, and being an employee at GRW brings a whole new meaning to the idea that practice makes perfect.

Caleb takes this approach with every build he touches at GRW, and as a fabricator and technician, he is a direct beneficiary to all of the practice he gets on client builds. The end result is a carefully thought out, tastefully modified 300zx that stays true to it’s original character, but seamlessly aligns with the intended build vision.

When Caleb first came to work for us, his only focus at the time was a 5.0L V8 Swapped, Slammed flare-side Ford Ranger, which checks a ton of boxes for the unique daily driven project. Over time, working on Z cars and building products for them slowly influenced him, and eventually he picked up a 1985 naturally aspirated 300zx. The car is high mileage, having almost 300,000 on the clock, but judging by the paint, body, and interior, you would never know. Furthermore, it was a slick top, which are very rare in the ZX lineage. It truly was a diamond in the rough.

Eventually the parts accumulation began. The first initial stage of mods included a set of Powertrix coilovers, a 5-lug conversion, Z32 front brake calipers, and a set of Volk Challenge F-Zero Wheels. Caleb spent an entire weekend working with the coilovers, stripping the calipers down for a sleek gloss white powdercoat with black embossed letters, and a set of new piston seals and dust boots. He finalized the fitment with a set of 30mm spacers all the way around.

Once that first round of mods were completed, Caleb started seeking out turbo conversion parts for a N/A-T swap. Caleb split a Z31 Turbo part-out car with another co-worker here and stripped out everything he needed for the turbo conversion. Initially the plan was to do a complete VG30ET swap, however the engine sourced out of the donor car had some cylinder head damage, and no compression on one cylinder, so the plan shifted to turbocharging his existing VG30E engine.

After the turbo conversion was complete, Caleb sourced a JDM rear hatch badge, helped Vertex Decals fitment test their reproduction turbo side decals, as well as sourced an OEM turbo hood scoop. He paint matched the hood scoop himself, and templated off of another turbo model to get the exact measurements, and cut a hole in his hood. Since he was so meticulous in ensuring he had correct measurements, he truly only had to measure twice and cut once. At some point before the next stage of mods, a Fidanza flywheel, and Southbend Stage 3 Daily clutch were sourced to fix a slipping clutch after the turbo parts were installed.

Finally, the latest round of mods for this car. Caleb ordered a Pucker Factory Fabrication S14 rear subframe swap kit over 2 years ago, and after waiting through several rounds of development hell, received his kit. Caleb spent this most recent Christmas and New Year break swapping over the rear subframe to the S14 subframe, GKTech adjustable arms, a G37 rear differential with a helical limited slip differential, a set of matching Z32 rear calipers, and a JDM sourced 30A transmission that came with a VG30DET engine he purchased.

This car will be continually improved upon for years to come, and we will update this build blog as more stages materialize, but coming down the pike for the future will certainly include a JDM sourced VG30DET Swap [Nissan 300ZR], along with a stand alone EFI system to control it [to be determined]