#ZedShed Dino’s Track toy 2.8 (6-Speed Gearbox Conversion)

[Lee]

She’s back! @Dino D 6 years ago we first saw this Zed, back then though we only replaced bushes and never did any powder coating or bearing removals. So now she’s back for a total nut n bolt overhaul with all the shinny black bits.

It’s worth mentioning this car has become a very track focused 2.8.We’ve also done track days together and she’s amazing. Some of the mods include bucket seats, s50 manifolds along with M50 inlet manifold. Raised rev limiter and welded oil pump nut. Increased rear diff ratio from 3.15 to 3.38. These are just the mods that come to mind.

So again assuming the position with the bum in and getting her in the air.

high enough to slide the gearbox out.

I can confirm these seats are very comfy.

with the wheels off we can see how she’s faired over the last 6 years.... not great.

BC coilovers still in great condition, we fitted these 6 years ago. I love Dino’s home made brake ducts that actually make a huge difference on track.

All this hardware will be removed and replaced

Looking pretty rough.

not sure these swing arms have much life left in them. Luckily Dino provided a spare set just in case.

We are also replacing the sills compliments of @Sean d old ones are pretty good shape just with a few dings.

and the sills themselves are in good shape considering the age and miles.

this is the worst one. Not to shabby.

First large bit of hardware to remove was the exhaust, Dino tells me this has only just been fitted, the finish is lovely, one of the best sounding 2.8’s I’ve ever heard.

paired up with a set of S50 manifolds from the Z3M boy she’s loud!

Think this rear roll bar is beyond powder coating. Luckily we have plenty of pre coated roll bars in stock.

Photo limit reached.

 

[Lee]

She put up a fight, removing the subframe we had to cut the beam plates because the bolts were all seized. 4/5 hours in and she’s all apart.

this is what’s left of the beam plates. Luckily I managed to get all 4 bolts out once the beam was down. Combination of an angle grinder and hammer.

thought while I was under her I would remove the old straps.

so two people and 5 hours in were at this stage. Not to bad for the first day.

 

[Tom Holland]

Green with envy, good luck with all the work you are undertaking. If you should be wanting to sell those sills.... Great stuff

 

[Lee]

Green with envy, good luck with all the work you are undertaking. If you should be wanting to sell those sills.... Great stuff

I have new sills to fit so @Dino D might not have any need for the old ones.

 

[Dino D]

So crusty and crispy all at the same time.
My palpitations have calmed down a bit now after seeing those pics

Not a moment overdue by the looks of it.

 

[Tom Holland]

I have new sills to fit so @Dino D might not have any need for the old ones.

My ones have the natural ventilation features brought on by age. Let me know, cheers

 

[Zag2]

Nice to see the internal moterwerx upgrades on the gear knob and handbrake, same as mine! Love the feel of them (on a warm day )

I'm also wondering where you got the manifolds done?

Also what engine brace is that? I've been looking for a shiny one for a while!

Great work as always Lee.

 

[Lee]

Another mega day today. Started off stripping down the rear end assembly then moved up to the front.

Rear trailing arms in poor condition, wonder why it’s always the drivers side that takes the most battering.

it was clear these wheel bearings had been played with before, all the bearings fell out when we removed the hub.

we came across some interesting fixes. Metal cable tie’ing a brake line to the abs sensor.

Both half shafts looking sorry for themselves. Diff end joint on both feeling very slack.

I also noticed Dino has a like for unique brands and track focused parts, the rear pads on the calliper side have no retaining clip, this is causing the rear pad to wear unevenly.

The old diff bush looked a little sorry for itself, this is being replaced anyway due to the retaining plates rotting away. Everything is looking like it’s suffering from a very damp climate, look between the bush Ali diff ring.

After the tear down we looked at the new arms we pre powder coated ready for Dinos build, he got these arms from a written off figi. These have come up really nice.

Now moving up to the front, things got interesting. Dino must have a very friendly MOT tester.

Front brake cooling ducts, personally really like these and they work very well.

front Drop links way past it.

Also the front calliper dust shields appear to have been melted, think this must be from Dino chasing me at Brands

Again Dino loves a mod, brass bushings for the sliders.

Toe rod ends also removed alone with wishbones. All those ball joints I could spin by hand, crazy.

Must say the front coilovers although on the wrong sides are in great condition still.

So this just leaves the subframe to come off. Ran out of time today.

both sides now clear.

We are doing some sneaky little extras. The Diff is being re built professionally by a local Transmission company, were planning to set up a deal between the Zedshed and them for continued business going forward.

We have a 6 speed gearbox going in aswell. Most of the RnD for this has been done behind the scenes so fingers crossed were nearly there.

 

[Tom Holland]

Very interesting, I shall look forward to your next update.

 

[Dino D]

Silly question incoming but does the extra cog really make the box so much bigger than the 5sp?

 

[Lee]

Little update today.

finished off removing the rest of the hardware so everything could be dropped off at the coaters today.

The underside looking crazy without the subframe.

I also got a few photos showing the S50 manifolds in place on this M52 engine. plenty of clearance.

We also started stripping down the front knuckles/hubs so they can be painted. Had to get some serious tools out. 46mm socket for the bearing.

hour later both stripped and slightly less rusty.

Shocks got a partial strip down and re grease so hopefully they’ll last a few more years.

We also unwrapped the new subframe beam. Looking pretty compliments of Traceys Feji.

Then finally a drop off at the powder coaters. There’s all Dinos parts and a Z4 going through the same process. Plus @Althulas is having his M springs changed from yellow to red. On our way back we dropped the Diff into BK transmissions who are rebuilding it, this diff really clonks, he said it will likely need a new crush sleeve and bearing set. Looking forward to hearing the outcome and what price he’s going to do for us going forward.

so Dinos car is left looking like this...

 

[Dino D]

^That song ‘levitating’ comes to mind seeing it ‘floating’ in space like this.

This must be record time to strip a Z3 of ALL it’s rubbing gear!

 

[Lee]

^That song ‘levitating’ comes to mind seeing it ‘floating’ in space like this.

This must be record time to strip a Z3 of ALL it’s rubbing gear!

You might be right. 2 blokes at 14 hours to get to this stage.

 

[pgunter]

Silly question incoming but does the extra cog really make the box so much bigger than the 5sp?

because it’s a truck gearbox designed to withstand your driving Dino

 

[D0nni]

Serious work lads. definately showing your trade here. I'm still working on one while you've have pushed 5 or 6 cars through in the same space of time

 

[Bazza]

Wow got your work cut out with Dino's machine, he will be flying round the track after the Zed shed has worked there magic

 

[Lee]

Wow got your work cut out with Dino's machine, he will be flying round the track after the Zed shed has worked there magic

Long as he’s not coming past me we know he can’t at the moment we can see all his brakes have been on fire at some point.

 

[Mazza]

I’m sure Lee will be installing a remote control speed limiter

 

[Bazza]

I’m sure Lee will be installing a remote control speed limiter

Mazza you know him so well

 

[Lee]

Only a little update tonight. It’s been a day of collecting powder coated items and lots of de rusting.

I’m amazed in less than 24/h they’ve done all the coating. So today we de rusted the chassis and sealed everything in.

Before

After

and some other shots after the flappy wheel treatment. All still very solid.

then a treatment of under seal.

All the main areas covered.

while under the car I noticed the reason why the Speedo kept intermittently cutting out in the wet. So tomorrow I’ll solder and heat shrink a fix.

Another really pants job was removing two snapped bolts. Both swing arms were on a car that left the road and snapped off both shock bolts. If I had a pound for every bolt I’ve drilled out in the last few weeks. Nice M12x1.5 to drill.

took me a good hour to fix this.

no pressure as this could write the arm off...

only one more to do tomorrow

We also collected the springs for Althulas and these look amazing. Really pleased how red powder coat came out also the cost was £30 for all four springs, think we might start doing more colours. Dino we could try a pink subframe