boodlefoof

Ford axle, GM axle, it isn't going to be any different to put into your Z. I went with a Satchell link rear suspension (a variety of 4 link). It packages very well and allows the geometry I wanted. With a link suspension in the Z though, you will have to build some sort of frame to accommodate it. I built a full spaceframe, but you could more easily back-half the car as suggested above.

Dizzam! I'm sorry to say, but I think you're getting ripped off on some of those prices! With how much you've stated in labor costs, you could have bought your own tubing bender and still had some change left over. The JD2 Model 3 manual bender is a great bang for the buck at around $500 with one die set. If you buy the tubing through a mail order place like lefthanderchassis.com or colemanracing.com you can get it in 8' sections for around $20 each with pretty cheap shipping. That's how I bought the tubing for my spaceframe project. Total for metal came to around $400 after shipping. Not trying to be a downer, just trying to help save a buck if I can.

Don't know about Nissan JDM engine swaps, but my father-in-law and I recently completed our second JDM Honda engine/trans replacement recently. We replaced the engines in two of the family's cars which had finally died after putting about 180k on the ticker. With the Hondas, if you're not going for the higher output engines, you can get a whole new engine and trans combo shipped to your door for around $1,200. You could just swap in a lo-po replacement into your Sentra. May not be fun, but would be pretty inexpensive I'd guess.

Happy birthday a day late Terry!

Dave, you skipped the '63-'67 body style in your list of picks. Those are personally my favorites!

Ah well. The only time I have used the method is for joining things like 1/4'' to .065'' or larger. Yeah, with something more like 24ga. it would probably be a pain in the butt.

Also search the forums on www.corner-carvers.com. I believe there may be one or two people over there who have built pushrod systems.

Yup, it is basically always a tradeoff - downforce v. drag. Higher downforce is going to produce more drag.

I had always read that when welding dissimilar guage materials, you want to up the amperage to that suggested for the thicker material, then lay the puddle on the thicker section and push or pull it into the thinner stuff.

I'm kind of curious, why did you put the door bar down by the rocker? Do you plan to add a diagonal door bar (shoulder to toe)?

Yikes!

Don't street race = don't get beat by RX8. IMO you should keep it on the track as it is better for all of us and the hobby as a whole.

He didn't say it had to be cheap...

Check this guy out... and only 160 pounds to boot! It'll buzz really high... but not much torque though. http://www.brammo.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=40&Itemid=116 On the other hand... http://www.brammo.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=102

Roll center height is the imaginary point about which the body tries to roll. Raising the roll center height reduces the angle the body will roll in a corner. Sort of like adding a larger sway bar. Except that raising the roll center height too much can cause sudden jerking motions as the suspension handles a turn. I'm not as up on strut suspensions as SLA suspensions, but I think you measure RCH in a strut suspension as follows: Draw out a line parallel to the lower control arm towards the center of the car. Then, draw a line at a 90* angle from the top of your strut towards the center of the car. These two lines will intersect somewhere... Then draw a line from that intersection point to the ground at the center of the tire. The point at which this line crosses the car's centerline is the RCH.

You should also considerater aerodynamics. With no other changes at all you could gain significant mpg by reducing drag. I know of a guy with a Cavalier who is undertaking this experiment right now. With nothing but modifications to reduce drag, he claims to have picked up about 8mpg on the highway.

Very cool car, but remind me to stay off the curb lest I get run over when he loses it on the street. It is bad enough when the local yokels hot-dog it on the streets here in their 150hp Civics. Things get hairier a lot faster with over a thousand on tap...

Yes, I did forget to mention that one.

Solid axle advantages: 1. Suspension designs allow more anti-squat = more traction out of a turn = can get on the gas more quickly. You can build some anti-squat with an IRS setup, but you will run into brake hop before you can get much. 2. More durable. 3. Less overall weight (due to extra frame bracing required for IRS). Solid axle disadvantages: 1. More unsprung weight. - in a very light car, a higher proportion of total weight will be unsprung. 2. With a short wheelbase car like the Z, one needs to pay more attention to driveshaft angularity. 3. Not much (if any) camber - about 1* max. = less contact patch on uneven surfaces. Anecdotally, aren't most of the cars winning auto-X events solid-axle cars? I've even heard of people making the switch to IRS when it became legal in their class and then switching back because they thought they did better with the stick axle.

veritech-z - I haven't quite figured it out yet. I'll certainly have info on my website once I get to that point, but for now work has picked up and I haven't been able to put much time into the Z.

My grandparents had somebody coming and stealing gas from their cars awhile back. Just started parking them really close to each other with the fuel doors facing one another such that you couldn't open them. I do like the diesel idea though!

Cool car! Sounds like fun! I drove a car with a shift pattern like you are describing once. For my senior prom in high school many years ago I didn't go with the limo. Rather, I hired a guy with a '53 Bentley. It was an RHD car and the shifter was actually between the driver's seat and the driver's door! Every time you put it in second you would bang your hand on the door! Nifty car though. I certainly got a lot of comments from my classmates who were disappointed at the plainness of their stretched limos.

The pinion bearing is actually inside the differential housing. Unless you have the appropriate tools and know-how to set up the differential it isn't an easy DIY job.

There are several companies that make bolt-in replacement hinges to convert many cars' doors into something like a scissor door (lambo door). Because of the shape of the Z door (and most car doors) though, it can't simply swing straight up/forward. It would bind in the door opening. Rather, these hinges allow the door to swing out a few inches and then swing up. The kits I've seen are really expensive (a grand for a pair of door hinges!) and aren't particularly stable... when the door is completely up a stiff breeze will blow it around a bit. I thought about lambo doors for awhile and designed my own hinge design that I thought might be more durable (and I could fab it myself for much less than those kits), but I've decided to go gull-wing instead. It is just much easier and gives a larger opening for access, which is important for me since I lowered the roof and raised the rockers.

I'm not particularly familiar with the R200, but in my experience when a differential starts whining in the manner you have described the pinion bearing has gotten buggered up. Certainly look at other areas for a potential cause first so you don't pull apart the center section for nothing.