RPMS

When we painted my car, my buddy (who knows what he's doing, unlike me!) shot the car in the following order: Right front fender right door right rear fender right sail panel right roof left roof left sail panel left rear fender left door left front fender The hatch, and hood were off the car, and were painted separately. The door jambs were all painted previously, and were masked off for final painting. I asked my friend what his rationale was, and he said that he wanted to paint so that he always had a wet edge to blend the next pass into. Makes sense to me. Like RacerX advises, he varied his pattern slightly from coat to coat to reduce the chance of missing anything.

I've got nothing against creature comforts in a car like the Z. Adding power window lifts, locks, and an alarm won't add but maybe 20 lbs, but will give a lot of convenience. I just started adding power locks to my 260 (with the early, 240-style doors) and managed to get the driver's door hooked up with not much problem, except for the shallow door depth. The window regulator only allows for about an inch of clearance, so you need to get lock motors that are fairly skinny. There's a bunch of space in the driver's kick panel to mount the control boxes up and out of sight, so at least that's not an issue. Look for more in the next week or so, as I complete the project and post pictures.

I've had fairly extensive experience with both BMW's and Z's (I've had 5 Bimmers and 4 Z's) The reason I got into BMW's in the first place was that I needed a back seat, and the BMW was the only brand that put a grin on my face like my Z did. Can you make a Z handle and ride and perform like a BMW? Sure, you can get close. Just dump a bunch of money into the Z stiffening the body and tuning the suspension, and you can do just about anything. Actually, the M Roadster is the benchmark I'm aiming for with my V8 Z. If I can have a firm, supple ride, razor sharp handling, and pull a modest 5-second 0-60 time I'll be a happy camper. Even without pumping money into a Z, they're still incredibly fun cars. You can buy a reasonably clean Z for about $1,500, and with another $500 in minor upgrades (like urethane bushings and good wheels/tires) you'll end up with a reliable daily driver that will turn heads and paint a ridiculous grin on your face every time you take an off ramp. For twice as much money, you can buy an older 3-series BMW which will do pretty much the same thing but will have a useable back seat and will be much more refined. The real question is, where is your bliss? Do you favor the unquestionable refinement of a BMW, or the excitement of a pure sports car? You may find (as I did) that you need one of both. *WARNING!* Z's are addictive! Drive one in good condition, and you'll be hooked for life. I went 6 years between Z's before I bought my current 260, and by the end of the 6th year I thought I was going to go crazy if I didn't get another Z soon. I used to get up late at night when everyone else in the house was sleeping, and log onto the computer to... look at porn? No, look at 240Z websites! At work, I'd sneak over to Z sites and take peeks into the image galleries when nobody was looking. I felt like a junkie, hiding his habit. Anyway, I'd advise you to drive one, get bitten by the bug, and spend the rest of your life understanding what the rest of us are talking about. There are worse things to spend your money on. Scott Ferguson 1985 BMW 535i 1974 Datsun 260-Z 1984 Honda CB700SC

I'm continually amazed at the amount of electrical crap I can pull out of my car without the slightest negative change in performance. Buzzers, bells, ignition amps, wiring for seatbelt warning lights, bypasses for the seatbelt ignition interlock, etc. All unnecessary CRAP, and all gone! And does the car seem to miss it? Nope. I'm sure I'll end up pulling fifty pounds of the stuff before I'm done. Oh, I replaced my old 260 distributor with a 280Z unit, and was amazed at the difference it made! Good job, replacing yours.

It took me a long time to get used to wire welding, because the only thing I'd done for ten years prior was stick welding. I kept on wanting to let the wire get an inch or two long. Keeping it short (Guycali is probably right - 1/2" sounds good) made the biggest difference to the quality of my welding.

You're craaaaaaazy!

Nathan's right. Look at the fusebox cover, and find the fuse that supplied the original ignition system with power (you may have to pull the negative battery cable off and unbolt the fuse block from the sheetmetal to see what color the wire you need is) If the SDS system pulls a lot of power, then use that original ignition power wire to activate a relay running directly off the battery. That's how I wired up my MSD box.

Okay, sports fans. In a previous post I told you I was going to attempt to graft the central locking system of a BMW into my Z, and I'm here to tell ya that it was a pain in the keester, but it works. While I was fooling around with the locks, I figured that would be the best time to put in the security system as well, and between that and fiddling with the window mechanism for two hours, I didn't finish the whole job. I got the brain boxes and the driver's side lock motor installed though, and now I can unlock the car from a good distance. Next weekend I'll try to install the passenger side and hatch lock motor, and take pictures of the process in case anyone wants to duplicate my folley. One of the features the BMW system has that other systems lack is a nifty little sensor that automatically unlocks all of the doors after a crash. That way if you're unconscious, rescue workers can get to you without resorting to breaking the glass. Anyway, it was a success, and I'm pleased that the job went relatively smoothly. Adding the remote locks and alarm system probably added five pounds to the weight of the car, but that five pounds bought me a lot of convenience and peace of mind. Well worth it, in my opinion.

I put power 300ZX seats in mine, but I had to give up some legroom. The seats are wide enought that they don't QUITE go back far enough. The pivot of the seatback interferes with the wheel well housing and the transmission tunnel. I'm seriously considering doing some "clearancing" with a big meaty hammer back there...

Be sure to turn up the music, too. It's a hoot! Thanks for the link, perfesser!

Ray, you da man! I'm trying to get down to Houston anyway to visit some other friends, so keep that puppy safe until I get there. Over the weekend I got bored and pulled the broken mount loose. For those of you who have never seen one, a cross section of the two halves of the mount fit together like two large iron C's with rubber between the two parts. The inside part has a stud pressed into it and bolts to the differential support. The outside part bolts to the differential itself. As you can tell, if there's a lot of stress put on the differential, the rubber in the mount will rip apart. What I did was to press out the threaded stud from the inside piece, and run a bolt through the two pieces. The outer piece already has a hole in the appropriate location, so no drilling was necessary. If you're feeling spunky, you can tack weld the bolt in place so it won't rotate when you try to affix the mount to the support. The toughest part of the whole operation was getting the thing back on the car! There's VERY little room on the top of the diff to get the nuts started onto the bolts. My fingertips could juuuuust touch the nuts and washers enough to push them into place (with a lot of colorful language!) but spinning them onto the threads was an adventure! I'm not sure how I did it. I think fervent prayer won out... So what difference did it make? For the first time since I got the car, the clunk is GONE! Shifting is now smooth and positive, with no kick in the butt accompanying each shift. Yes, it's noisier under hard acceleration, but not intolerably so. Not something I'd be happy to live with long term in a daily driver, but acceptable until I can get to Houston and pick up the replacement from Ray. It doesn't seem to whine, but I've only had it up to about 40mph, and that might change once I get it on the freeway. Maybe tonight will be dry enough to try! Thanks for the ideas, thanks for the support, and most of all, thanks, Ray, for the replacement mount!

One word...

If you were in a stock Prelude, then there probably WAS something wrong. Either they had airheaded drivers who didn't know how to use what they had, or you weren't racing real Type R Integras. Less weight than your Prelude with the same horsepower, IIRC, and geared lower. Just a thought.

It worked for me. Try it again.

Good news on the progress, Mike! I'm going about the process backwards. We're going to build a HUGE garage (big enough for a semi truck, 3 cars, 2 motorcycles, and a woodworking shop) and build our living quarters up front. I'm figuring 100' x 80' should do it.

This is the kind of guy who picks up dumb blondes in smokey bars. "Hey there, ever ride in a Ferrari?"

It shouldn't be hard, since there's plenty of room in the doors. Systems which don't use external switches would be easiest - they take the signal from the lock motor itself. Pull up one knob, and everything unlocks. I'll let you know for sure on Monday. My project this weekend is to graft a BMW locking system into my Z. Wish me luck!

Wow! I once got 28mpg in my stock 240, but that was while falling down an elevator shaft...

Okay, here's the poop. If your battery goes dead and you were shortsighted enough to fill in your keyholes (it don't look so cool NOW, does it???) you can supply enough power to unlock your car by unscrewing the turn signal lights and hooking up a battery charger to the positive lead, and grounding the negative terminal to the bumper. This will work on all cars that activate their lights by switching to ground.

Originally posted by ON3GO: Thing is what should i get? mechanical or electrical... Electrical can use your stock wiring, and are fairly easy to calibrate. Mechanical are usually more accurate, but some have the potential to squirt funny things behind the dashboard if the connecting tube breaks. Personally, I went with electrical because for what I'm doing they're accurate enough, and they're easy. This goes for New Speedo, Tach, A/F raito gauge, Fuel level gauge A/F ratio gauges are all electric, and the only mechanical fuel gauge I know of is a wooden stick. You probably already know that to have a manual tachometer, you'll need a special distributor to drive it. , and im trying to thing of another gauge to get. I already have Blitz BL Boost, PSI, and Temp gauges. How about a voltmeter? Ammeter? If you're running boost, I think one of the most valuable gauges you can have is a pyrometer so you can tell when you're about to toast your pistons. also how much of a size differnece is 2 1/16 and 2 5/8? I have it on good authority that the difference between 2 1/16" and 2 5/8" is precisely 9/16". If you're asking whether you can fit a 2 1/16 diameter gauge into a 2 5/8" hole, the answer is no, unless you want it to look cobbled together. Have fun, and be sure to show us what you get when you decide!

Nope. No way, no how would any self-respecting homosexual have those on his/her car. Trust me.

Wow, Brian. It sounds like you got an expensive education! I know this will probably make me sound like an ass, but I'll say it anyway because it might help you in the future. Don't waste time wishing that people didn't lie. Instead, spend your time educating yourself about what you're purchasing! If you EVER spend more than a week's income on ANYTHING, make sure of what you're getting. Research it, check it out, and if you don't know what to look for, consult someone who does know! A blown clutch slave can happen to anyone, but the bad paint, the cobbled- together exhaust, the JB Weld, should have made every alarm bell in your head ring. I'd say that the lack of an education cost you about $2,000 on that transaction, and you were just as much at fault for buying it as he was for selling it. Let the Buyer Beware. I can't believe how most men will shell out three or four thousand dollars on a diamond ring for their brides without knowing the first thing about precious stones. Or will get a thousand dollars in engine work done by a shop they know nothing about. You worked HARD to make that cash, why make it easy for someone to take it away from you? *sigh* Okay, okay, I'm off my soapbox now. I'm honestly sorry that you got taken for a ride, and I know that the disappointment is a bitter pill in your mouth. But like Mike said, at least next time you'll know what to look out for.

As far as I know, there is no maximum size limitation on FedEx shipments, but bend over when you get the oversize price.

Oh, no. That is SO wrong. Even worse than the Ronal Teddy Bears... Someone a few weeks ago wrote about a set of "Pornstar" wheels. That's what these should be called.

Jared, you DEFINITELY need to worry about the furnace, especially if it's gas powered. Look inside when these puppies start up, and you'll see sheets of fire blazing over the heating elements. WHOOSH! If you're going to make an airtight paint booth, that should minimize the hazard. You'll need an to make an air inlet, though. That shouldn't be too hard to do, using a couple of furnace filters taped over large holes in the plastic. Also keep in mind that when you exhaust the paint fumes, you'll be running the flamable vapors over a fan motor which probably will be throwing sparks from the armature. Fun stuff, huh? Myself, I just covered everything with plastic sheeting, sprayed the cement floor down with water, and shot the car in my garage using two large air moving fans for exhaust. It worked amazingly well, keeping the air clear and getting a minimum of dust on the wet car. I figured it was better to get a small amount of crap in the paint than to blow myself up. Particles you can wet sand out. Exploding yourself is forever. I waited until the spring to paint my car. Don't rush paint unless you have absolutely no other choice.