RPMS

Well, I finally got to meet Mike and Terry (MAICHOR and CorZette) today. As many of you know, Mike was picking up his Z from the shipping company in Denton and trailering it back home, and he took time out to have lunch with Mike and I. I'm here to tell you folks, his car sounds MEAN! It's not overly loud, but it definitely means business. I can't wait to see what kind of times he puts down in the 1/4 mile. Mike's working on a convertible with a body kit, and he's got ALL the right pieces in his garage! It's going to be one heck of a sweet ride when he's finished. It's going to be absolutely amazing, and I can't wait to see it. Both Mike and Terry are great guys, and it was really good to finally meet them. OH, CRAP! In an e-mail I offered to buy Terry's lunch, then I completely forgot! Terry, I reimbursed you via your paypal account. I feel like a real ass!!! Anyway, just wanted to tell the rest of y'all that it's always good to meet one another.

Second option: Get one of the integrated knob/boots from a BMW M3. The numbers on the top light up, and you can get an insert that matches you shift patterns. Iv'e got one in my 535i, and I love it! You'd have to modify it to fit your lever, but that shouldn't be too hard.

If you really want to be different, go to Home Depot and get one of those spherical spun-aluminum doorknobs - the sort that don't have a keyhole in them. Then stick the shift lever in there and fill it with molten lead. When it solidifies, you'll have a cool knob that damps vibrations and will *snick* *snick* smoothly through the gears. Perfect size, inexpensive, unique, and functional. How can you get any better?

I think I'd just take it for what it is - a massive complement. I do hope he's giving credit to you as the creater/owner, though.

Since you've already got holes in the door panels, go ahead and enlarge them for 6 1/2" speakers. Be careful of two things though - how you place them, and how deep the magnets are. I had one set of Yamaha speakers that didn't look particularly deep, but they prevented the window from completely rolling down unless you knew just how to wiggle the glass. Also, if you don't place the speakers carefully, or if they have large grilles, they can interfere with the window crank - or your knuckles. I have 6x9's in the fronts of the storage compartments facing the seats. They weren't supposed to handle anything but the low notes, so I didn't think the mounting direction really mattered. They don't sound bad, but they need heavy active equalization to sound right. There are a lot of airholes to plug to keep them from whistling, and the air volume that's behind them is pretty small so they tend to honk. I think the same would be true of MSA's system. I think it's too small a volume to sound good. I ended up strapping a fairly large sub box onto the back deck. When I need more carge room I take out the sub and hook up the 6x9's.

Wow, I can learn so much by reading this forum!!! Nic, I don't know what you were planning, but you can have all sorts of neat stuff done at engraving shops. "Things Remembered" at the mall has engraved some pretty wierd things for me in the past. I've even had them engrave a Stanley box knife before. I didn't even think about what Trevor advised, but he's right. The chrome plating is thin, and would crack and rust through. You'd probably have much better results with plain aluminum covers. Since you would have to get a metal stamp CNC milled anyway, why not just cut your costs and have the covers milled instead? I'd imagine it would be MUCH cheaper to have the covers milled than it would to have a set of tool-steel stamps made up.

"Meatholster"? Cusp, you get the "slam master of the day" award! Although some of his clothes look nice and are seemingly well made, I would never buy anything that turns me into a walking billboard for someone else. "Oh, look everybody, I'm wearing TOMMY! I can be just like everyone else! Look at ME! Look at ME!" *retch* The one thing I admire about the man is that he has the balls to tell the truth on TV. Baggy pants are an infantile trend, right up there with polyester leisure suits and swinging gold medallions. Personally, I try not to dress in anything that people will see me wearing in pictures in 20 years and laugh. I think I dislike "fashion" so intensely just because every brainless twit seems to covet it so. I want to distance myself from the moronic masses at every opportunity. God forbid a 240Z show up on a future installment of "Fast and Furious". Generally speaking, if "everyone is doing it", it's probably something that will send me screaming into the woods. And by the way - since Ms. Hilton does not want you to see that videotape, isn't watching it uncomfortably close to rape? At very least it's disrespectful. Not to mention the fact that it's probably very poorly made, and wouldn't even stimulate a goat. Just my opinion - I could be wrong.

No kidding! I didn't realize there was another Hybrid anywhere near me. We've got lots of places to eat around here. Just name your poison, and lunch is on me. There's even a new chinese food place that opened up near my house. Of course, you've probably had your fill of oriental food for a while, haven't you?

Nic, I like the idea of lowering the front valence a bit, but there's space between the wheelwell and the turn signal that needs to be filled in. That might be tough to match the contours so it doesn't look cobbled together. About the side skirts... I know you didn't ask my opinion, so please feel free to disregard me completely. I wouldn't do it. Your car has absolutely fantastic lines. The shaved door handlles, the lack of side trim, make your car look absolutely sanitary. Putting such tall side skirts on it, especially BLACK ones, is heresy! "I could be wrong."

I sent Mike an e-mail. I think it would rock for us all to meet up at around noon for lunch. Call me on my cell if you have time - 214-924-5722. Have a good flight!

Jim, Breathe in... Breathe out... Man, you're going to last very long if something this minor riles you up! You're new here, so you probably have no idea how many folks come onto this board who are all hat and no cattle. "Yeah, I got a 700 horsepower engine that gets 40 mpg and turns an 8 second quarter mile. Can I show timeslips? Uh...." You just inadvertently stepped into a big pile of crap left behind by your predecessors. Don't take it personally, just realize that most folks that claim a 9 second quarter are lying. Welcome to the board!

Wait a minute - Why shouldn't he get the cashier's check from the guy before doing anything else? Once the check is in his hands, it's a simple matter for Gabe's bank to check whether or not it's real or not before cashing it. If it's valid, the bank can cash it out to him, and the transaction goes along normally. If it's fake, he turns the matter over to the D.A. Gabe, tell the guy to send the check to your business address, and tell him to put HIS OWN phone number on the FedEx envelope. Better yet, have him send it via Registered Mail. Until you receive his cashier's check, there is no actual evidence against this guy. If he's a scammer he should be tracked down and caught, and that will be easier to do with physical evidence in hand. That's my thought on matters. Does anyone see a gaping hole in my logic?

Keep it down. I'm busy whacking off.

Wow Nic, I'm sorry. Amazing how fast your day can turn sour, isn't it. I hope you can get your car back on the road quickly - it's a beautiful example of tasteful customization.

I have a highly trained professional eye, and I can tell you from years of experience that this block is cracked! I think it can be saved, though. It looks like nothing "Rings in a Can" and a pint of Marvel Mystery Oil won't cure.

Howdy, Matt, and welcome to the group! I have to give you a warning here, in the interest of full disclosure. It'a a dirty little secret in the Z community that we don't let get out. Z's are a highly addictive substance. Once you get in, it's tough to get out. Some folks escape for a year or two, but they usually get sucked back in. It's easier to escape if you're not a "car guy" to begin with, but you sound pretty serious. Just be sure it's what you really want before you go jabbing that Z needle into your veins! Okay, on to your question. The answer is... Nobody knows. IF you knew about both Z's and Chevys, you could probably do a darned good job for $2,500. When I started mine I had an extensive knowledge of Z cars, and knew nothing about American V8's. Through the extensive help of this site I didn't make many completely wrong turns, but I did go down a few unnecessary bunny trails that cost me a bit of money in the long run. I THINK I've spent around $3,000 on mine, but I'm afraid to total up the receipts. IMHO, I think I've got one of the nicer Z's for the money I've spent, but then again I haven't spent a single penny for someone to do anything I could have done myself. If you can teach yourself bodywork and basic welding and can read an electrical diagram well enough to do wiring repairs yourself you can save a buttload of money right there. Your parents, by funding your car, are giving you a tremendous opportunity to learn many valuable skills, as well as innovative problem-solving, budgeting, reinforcing math skills, etc. The swap itself is pretty much like following the recipe out of a cookbook, and though time consuming (plan on 40 hours to do the actual swap and you won't be far off) - the difficult parts are the same as you will encounter when getting any 30 year old car back into shape. For the record, you might be surprised how quick a stock Z is right out of the box. Even though it only has 150 HP from the factory, their light weight makes them pretty fast. To put it into perspective, with a strong running stock motor they are as fast as the first three or four years of Mustang GT's with the 5.0 liter. 0-60 in eight seconds isn't anything to sneeze at, especially when you're just learning to drive. That's not a slam, and I don't want to discourage you from the idea of doing a V8 Z. What I do want you to realize though, is that there's a three-sided triangle composed of speed, quality, and expense. You can have two of the three elements, but usually not all three. You'll pay through the nose and soon exceed your budget if you want high quality done quickly. If you want cheap and high quality (and I think that's what I infer from your post) it will take a while. Drive your stock-engined Z for a few months (or even a few years, like many of us here have) while you accumulate high quality parts for your car at sale prices. Then you get the best of all worlds - you get to know your car in its stock form before you juice it up, you save money by buying parts on sale, and you end up with a quality product. That's just my two cents - feel free to disagree!

WAIT! You might not want to do that. When the booster in my 260 went tits-up (due to a leaky master cylinder) I replaced them with parts from an early ZX - a 1979, I think. That way I got the larger diameter brake cylinder (15/16", I think?) needed to push brake fluid through the Toyota calipers I'm going to install soon, and I got the extra power assist. It was also about 1/4 the price of the original part! The problem is that the boost is too great. When I hit the brakes, it REALLY hits the brakes. When I apply the same amount of pressure that stops my BMW in a safe and sane manner, I just about fly through the windshield. If you go with a larger diameter booster, you'll have to be mindful of your pedal pressure. Also, I distinctly remember there being a few different bolt patterns out there. They used style A for the first few years, then they went to B, then back to A, then to style C. If you're not going to get a direct replacement, be sure to take your old booster in to get the correct fit. If you decide to try it, here's a few hints. After bench bleeding the master cylinder, vacuum bleed it. I had a mushy pedal that no amount of brake bleeding would cure until I did this. Also note that the booster has an adjustable um... nipple on the end that screws in and out depending on how cold it is... NO, wait, that's not right. It screws in and out to adjust how much slack there is in the brake pedal before the assist hits. If it's too far out, your brakes will stick. If it's too far in, your pedal will have an inch or so of slack before the brakes hit. I found that tremendously annoying, so I spent a couple of hours fiddling with my nipple until the problem resolved itself. Now my brakes are very firm. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably do the same thing just because of the big price difference between the 260 booster and the 280 one, but I don't really like it this way. The booster on my last 280 was completely ineffective, and I enjoyed the feel of manual brakes. I've got squatter's thighs to begin with, so it wasn't any trouble to lock up the wheels if I wanted to. Maybe I'll go back to that, come to think of it...

THAT's a McLaren??? The silver one I see in all the video reviews and magazine articles looked huge. That thing looks hardly bigger than a 240! Beautiful lines on that car...

I thought that was what we were discussing? Unless the engineer is a complete boob (or has other factors to work around) the intake tubes in a multiple TB setup are much closer to equal length than the tubes in a single-TB system. On the other hand, if you had one large volume airbox between the TB and the intake port, you could make the resonant differences small percentage-wise. I guess this is what you're saying, John? A difference that makes no difference IS no difference? And I believe you're right, Xero. When you throw a turbo into the mix, these issues become pretty much pointless and you get to pick up other ones.

I'm in the market for a set of fiberglass bumpers and side skirts like that. You've got mail!

Heya, Yo. The Qjet was just rebuilt so the accel pump is new, but I guess that really doesn't answer your question, does it? I guess the walls of the resevoir could be corroded and not holding pressure, or something. How can I tell that the pump is delivering the full shot?

You mean that pink (excuse me - Coral) Z with the tubbed rear end and Ford 9", full roll cage, and wheelie bars? I've seen pics of that one, and it was indeed fearsome, even if it looked like a Mary Kay car gone wrong.

Hey, guys. Thanks for the replies! I chose the Qjet not because it was simple to set up, but because it has a reputation for both excellent driveability when you set it up right, and for staying in calibration once adjusted. No offense, but the word I hear is that if you're not smart enough to adjust your Qjet you can just slap on a Holley instead. You'll be running again, but it won't be as smooth or as streetable, and you'll have to tinker with it to keep it running right. Kinda like the Webber conversion from a SU carb. Now, this isn't gospel, it's just what I've heard. I've got a Holley DP in the garage waiting to be rebuilt. If someone can show me with dyno runs that the Holley makes more HP over more RPM's, I'll rebuild it and put it on instead. As a side note, I didn't have any beer to drink with my pizza, so I made myself a rum and coke instead. Man, that stuff is stronger than I remember. Please excuse any misspellings from here on in! Perry, it doesn't happen unless the accelerator is floored, and then it seems to happen at any RPM. I can punch it at either 10mph or 60 and it will do the same thing. What I have NOT tried is keeping it in second gear up to 3000 RPM then flooring it. I'll try that tomorrow morning and I'll let you know what happens. Maybe it will behave if the RPM's are up. Man - is it hot in here, or is it just me? Denny, I don't think it's quite the same problem as the secondaries taking a second to open. I'm not mashing the throttle to the floor, I'm gradually opening it over a 1 1/2 to 2 second period. The accelerator pump SHOULD compensate for the lack of vacuum (and I'm sure it's pumping gas out the orifice - I can hear it squirting in there when the engine is off), shouldn't it? And shouldn't the vacuum remain fairly high, since the air horn plates don't begin to open until airflow demands them to? I don't know - like I said, I'm ignorant of these babies. I think I'm going to lay down for a while. If you have any thoughts, please, share them! And if I start to dance around with a lampshade on my head, please shoot me.