Here comes trouble

Dave .. the best of luck...don't fret over a never finished bad Z ...One z is more trouble than a red headed step child ....Tomahawk Z aka Larry Johnson in Fall Creek, Oregon

9-1-2005 update...12 new progress pictures..http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/larryjohnson97438/album?.dir=8223&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos................................ I have cut off approximately half of the original warped rear inner fenders and then added all that back just to cover a 4 inch gap between the outer fender and the wheelwell. I did not want to vent the rear tire area to the outside rear vent because it would be just a nasty mess to clean up in the vent recess and the original GTO apparently dod not have this wheel well venting but provided the rear vent to pass air from the area behind the diff to the outside. I blocked off the inner fender surround and extended the surround for proper fit to the outside vent which will allow a one inch slot to be made to exit air from the the area behind the differential (and I am still not finished with this modification).......I have all the coilover parts except one adustable sleeve to complete the 2 inch sectioned struts.............Complete energy suspension bushing set.......JSK TB adapter and fuel rail, 240 SX Throttle Body..polished FI manifold and valve cover, QA1 progressive 12 inch coilovers 130/250 front and 175/350 rear. I have not a clue how they will perform but very interesting combo and then I am fool enuff to team the progressive coilover springs to KYB GR2 strut cartridges instead of adjustable Illuminas (go figure)... The frustration and problems with the PITA rear inner fenders slowed down the progress of the project...very depressing.and I quit working on it steadily for a few weeks.. and the front inner fenders are even worse. crap)(*^%$#@!#^*&*%##^%(*(*&^%$$ I found it was helpful to go to another task like polishing but eBay is not a recomended diversion.

A lot of body work on this one. tilt frontend http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/260-Z-V8-project-Kit-car-Datsun-roadster-not-240-280_W0QQitemZ4572223923QQcategoryZ6187QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

A police officer's job is dangerous enough without an officer who failed to recognize and retain enough of the police training to keep her finger off the trigger to intensify the danger of the situation. We ask the police to do an incredible job of dealing with the most dreadful situations known to man. There are some crazies out here that are so brain damaged that they are unpredictable. I say more training and better pay and weed out the ones who cannot follow basic proceedure or wet their pants under stress. Most police are incredible people placed in difficult stressful life and death situations who go to work and can find themselves in a dangerous stressful predictaments at a moment's notice and then are expected go home to a family enviroment in the off hours

LOL... I had to go look at that mount since I made it without a tape measure using the Griffin radiator as the guide. I determined by eye ball and hand placement where the radiator should be placed to get full benefit of the opening in the radiator support with my Moroso inline radiator hose filler (can be seen in photo) above the thermostat housing (very important location since you do not want the radiator cap below the thermostat housing when adding coolant. My radiator cap is slightly below thermostat but the inline hose radiator cap is not and the Tomahawk hood placement would make coolant refill at the radiator cap and adventure for only the most daring. I used !/8 onch angle iron and strap. My lower mounts that connect to the frame rails are bedframe angle iron (don't laugh this is high grade weldable spring steel ) two pieces welded together like this "Z" but straighter ...gave me enough to bolt the top ends to the frame rails and connect the bottom to the angle iron frame 3/4 X 3/4... I spaced the angle iron frame to the top and bottom edges of the radiator core which is a non critical two ribbed area that sticks out about 1/2 inch on the top and bottom that holds no water..... and welded the straps to the angle iron frames so the frame would just slip over the edge of the radiator core rails. The top and bottom core rails were designed to be the radiator mounting points for all modern radiators I went to a rubber supply house and obtained a scrap piece of rubber about 1/2 inch thick that I cut on my band saw to fit inside the angle iron frames which actualy gave about 1/4 inch "slip" contact between the angle iron frame and the top and bottom of the Radiator core rails which is now supported top and bottom by the rubber. I made one strap in the top middle of the angle iron frame to connect to the Z car metal radiator support and when the bent strap is snugged down with a single bolt the tension against the rubber from radiator core rails provides a solid rubber cushion support which would take a sledge hammer to dislodge. I also made two fiber glass shrouds as seen by photo to force all air comimg thru the grill to pass thru the radiator

Go for it D L ! Your first benefit will be immediate gas savings while the car is idle while you are working on it. (LOL) Somthing like this modification is beyond my understanding but your posts indicate that you can make this a reality.

Get the JTR Mamual.. It is essential anf if you are serious about a Hybrid Z it will be your most important expenditure . I have milled flanges cast iron GM "Rams Horns" which are now more expensive and harder to find than Summitts cheapo block huggers

Sell now... there ia a good chance this market is going to belly flop since lenders are approving mortages in amounts the buyer cannot afford

LOL.. Take it easy the first few times out. You were pretty rough on it the last time...do 30 push-ups and take five deep breaths before you strap your self in and it wouldn't hurt to sweet talk the little woman the night before

Mount the radiator on rubber with no aluminum to steel contact. Use a Taurus electric fan. Here is a picture of my Tomahawk project's Griffin aluminum radiator mounted io a steel frame I constructed with both upper and lower core sections cushioned by 1/2 inch thick rubber strips. A very solid mount with no metal to metal contact and hopefully less vibration which is the leading cause of aluminum radiator failure http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/larryjohnson97438/detail?.dir=/392a&.dnm=e0eb.jpg&.src=ph

Research.... 240 SX throttle body as a modification. You are going to get a lot of opinions on carb vs FI which all are correct. I wanted the equal length manifold Arizona Z 390 CFM Holley set-up and the dual Weber DGV downdraft set-up,the modified round top SU set-up. triple side draft Webers and the ZX turbo set up which are all premium priced, sought after aggressively and the Webers require a second mortgage due to supply and excessive demand. I decided to upgrade to a larger 240 SX throttle body and adapter, custom fuel rail with pressure gauge,free flow exhaust with late model cast manifold, polished aluminum FI manifold with pollution control removed and holes filled for the simple reason I have a stockpile of used EFI parts to interchange to reduce costs. A stand alone EFI would be about the best choice. Lot of members using Mega Squirt of which I know little but accordingly very efficent with power. Look to diff gearing, tranny ratios and tire size for increased power. I am considering a ZX 3.7 differential to equal performance lost from my oversized 15 inch tires on a 250 GTO project. gas prices will certainly be a blow to performance mods and a realoity factor in any modifications http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/larryjohnson97438/album?.dir=8223&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

M 16 and the 223 inhuman bullet. Stoner designed this combination to maim and cripple before the eventual death. The bullet tends to tumble a few times after striking human flesh causing a severe wound despite the full metal jacket.The 30 caliber 7.62 X 39 full metal jacket will go striaght thru a human body and if the victim is lucky enough to be shot in a non vital area, there is a good chance for survival. Most European countries will not use a 223 round and is known and called by them as the inhuman bullet. If I am caught with a mere 22 cartridge the federal government will subject me to a mandetory 5 year prison sentence. I also suspect that this thread has caught the attention of some govt. monitoring computer for later use. Paranoid....no...I read the discovery evidence the govt. had on me. This thread should have voluntary deletions for your own safety and peace of mind in the 21st century. I had an AK 47 chambered for a 223 cartridge and SKS's milled for AK 47 magazines and drums. 120 round drum magazines for the M16. 33 month's of my time lost.

IMO there is not much you can do to the engine without sacrificing the 20 + mileage. I am going to a 240 sx throttle body and less restricted muffler and hoping this mod maintains the fuel mileage status quo..You may try an earlier tranny and a 4.11 diff out of 240 SX but in the long run this modification may require more fuel unless you put a restraining block under the gas pedal. Vehicle power appears to be a luxury in the future.My prediction gas prices will never go down unless we take over the oil fieds for our own use. I went to a car cruise a couple weeks back. A number of the cars appeared to have been trailered in and then cruised for a few hours. It has been a number of years since a Z car was my daily driver and every day I see less and less used daily in my area..

Danny's Datsuns is in Sutherlin just off I 5 where I visited 2 weeks ago.. I am about 80 miles north of there. I have a 240 or 260 manifold but it appears to have more pollution gizmos than Mark's photo indicates. I have the DGV Weber downdraft set-up but no Webers. I know of a wrecking yard where I have credit that has the SU setup with one round top and other one missing. I do not know what year manifold but on a 280 block.

Aux.. I thought your post was about an electric fire swatter... The SKS to have is one with the reciever milled to accept AK 47 magazines and/or drums (75 or 100 round).

Charlie... I never lost faith in you. You will find that stop sign or curve will arrive a lot sooner..... which will require better brakes and suspension LOL congratulations. Wish I had been there to see the look on your face when it came to life.

To clean an engine.. I drain oil pan and put in a gallon + of diesel fuel...run for 10 minutes and let set over night. Run engine for 10 mintes and drain oil pan. Engine vital signs should be monitored closely with this country boy method. Replace oil filter and fill with 5 qts Chevron Dello 400- 30 WT. It usually takes a week for the new oil to be dark enough to be easily seen on a dipstick.

If absolutely no smoke at start-up.. I will go along with Jon on oil rings.. I have had engines that would smoke intermittenly on start-up since just one or two valve seals were bad draining oil past an open valve to cylinder.. Valve seals are easy to change and relatively cheap. I would look for wet plugs and do a compression test...16 inches of vaccum is not that high (20 would be great) but a good acceptable vaccum. .........slight vibration at 16 is not an indicator of a valve train problem ......dramatic fluctuations of vaccum would indicate a valve train problem. add two cans of STP and see what happens. (plenty of rest stops and a good night's sleep)

Take care...and be safe

consider 68-73 Datsun 510's

Rick ....Please answer my e-mail about shipping costs on KYB struts. great idea on cross grooving threads on gland nut....also a strut cartridge can be installed in strut tube so strut shaft can "center" modified gland nut for re-threading. One of the real problems of the damaged strut tube is so thin there is not much meat to work with in restoring threads.... another last step on the modified gland nut after grooving and heat treating, is to heat the gland nut slightly to a "straw" color with torch and then turnig off oxygen allowing the acetylene to blacken the gland nut with black soot which will anneal the gland nut to make it tougher and less brittle .. Actually if you turn off the oxygen when the gland nut is cherry red hot and allow the acetylene black soot to contact the red hot gland nut....you will introduce carbon to the steel of the gland nut making it even stronger but will have to immerse it immediately in preferrably in an oil bath while still red hot . Dirty black engine crank case oil will also introduce more carbon to the gland nut...........ie..high carbon steel.

At my last removal.. I got three off without taking off the stock fuel rail but still had to remove the rail to get the other 3 off and cracked two of those injector hoses. I have about 10 spares now and found a fellow who would check them for 5 bucks a piece with me paying for the only the good ones... Every one I cracked was because I twisted too hard placing the hose on a bind. One solution is to tape up the jaws of pliers preventing a bite on the rubber hose and rotate and turn the hose with the "safety jawed" pliers at the fuel rail connection until it breaks free and then pull the hose off the fuel rail connection all with a liberal pre dose of WD 40 during and after

Dr. Hunt sounds like you had the "luck" of the gamble draw on that auction without a snipe program which makes a fellow somewhat indignant being accused of something he did not do. There is some jealousy in the hearts of others when another fellow obtains a "smoking deal"

I whined for a while when I found out about "snipe' programs".....after getting feedback on this forum.. I realized that the item was worth only what I was willing to pay..... eBay has changed in the last 3 years with less bargains replaced by "Buy IT Now" merchandise offered by professional dealers who obtain their income as retailers on eBay....Do not confuse whining with complaining. If you could get an assistant federal prosecutor motivated, I am certain that a federal statute under unfair trade practices could be found to prosecute everyone offering or using snipe programs. A ham sandwich can be indicted under federal conspiracy laws for connecting up with white dough.LOL

I had much the same reaction as Terry, when I saw this colorful generic adapter on eBay. To do this modification, I would research the Racing parts houses for the quick release adapter... the eBay adapter wil cost about $40 bucks time you take delivery