ARZ_

Here it is, if you guys didn't see it already. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=124131

I made a soft top for it. It is a convertible!!! It works very nice, we got rained on when we delivered it, it didn't leak a drop. I drove mine when I went to college in Flagstaff, got snowed on and everything. Yea I had visions of a clean top like a Miata top, but when all was said and done, it didn't look like I expected. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't as nice or clean as a Miata hard or soft top or anything either. If you made the trunk MUCH shorter it could be done. Either way it was functional stationary or at speed. He only drives his in the Summer on nice days, but I think he keeps the top in the trunk. Sho: there is a Fiberglass top already made for these, yours is from the same molds as mine. Who did you buy your car from? I made the first one in AZ and my best friend made the molds for the rear deck lid and top and all. AZC bought the molds and sold them quite a few years ago. I don't think that the owner of the molds is having any luck with selling parts. I don't think he anticipated how difficult it would be.

It happens to be an L26 with 72 dual SU's, HKS flywheel, ZX 5 speed, headers, MSA coil springs, and I think thats about it. Nothing too crazy fast, but lots of fun and very light.

No, I cut the window frames off where they came out of the door. Then I took the leading edge of the window frame and cut the outside edge off of it and riveted it to the inside of the A pillar, and then put pinch mounding on it and it seals the leading edge of the window. They still roll up nice even with the top up. He almost never puts the top on though. Its really a summer ONLY car in Michigan. It was an original Arizona car its whole life, and it has been garaged in the winters ever since its been in MI. about 1990 or so. Yea its a 1 piece front end, with closed in headlights and square headlights in the grill. My Dad gets tons of looks, people always ask what year it is. They never believe its over 30 years old or that its a Datsun.

Heres a photo of a car I made for my Dad back in the early 90's it still looks pretty good, thats the Macinaw bridge in the back ground of some of these.

Yea I would have killed him, read the scroiling text carefully. I missed second gear when I was behind him, and I didnt hammer the gears when I was next to him because I didnt want to miss a shift. I would guess low 400's (RWHP) its only at 18 psi.

Thanks for the confirmation, I thought I was a little off. There you have it 7.25 sounds like the magic number. But remember we have a slightly different Camber plate design that would let the strut body be engaged about .75 inches deeper than the average Joe. I still need to climb under mine and let you guys know how deep the strut is inside the threaded tube. Sorry to add confusion to everyone out there but I will clear it up later. It really is very simple.

The reason I said that is because I had prototype (threaded collars) parts that were only 4~5 inches tall and with the measurement I gave you it would always be the same. Not for racing, Im sorry, I only Autocross and street (hoodlum) race with this car. Im sorry I dont even remember what rate springs I have in there. My other car is reserved for the track but its been a number of years since I had it on the track and I really need to upgrade quite a few things before I take it out again.

NO!!! Its 7.5 from the top of the new AZC supplied (internally threaded) tube, to the TOP of the cast portion of the rear strut. Dont cut anything until I or JIM73240Z can confirm. Notice there is at least 2 inches of unthreaded tube I would overlap that at least 1.5-2.0 inches. Remember all these numbers are for 17 inch wheels. 15's and 16's will be different (for anybody else listening). I think that AZC tube is 6 inches long and only threaded for 3 inches inside, so if you slide it over the tube 1.5 inches you will be able to plunge your strut 1.5 (or so) past (lower) the end of the threads. Does this make sense? You would have 2.5 inches of travel to nail down your bump height, and a ton more to nail down your ride height. Also remember that my main goal was to make sure my strut lock nut didn't hit the inside of the wheel, it is shockingly close. With a wide body kit you might have more room to move the wheel outboard, or you could fit wider wheels. What were your issues on the front? See the photo of my car? Im on the gas in that corner, and my front isnt low enough for you? I really do beat the hell out of my car, if anyone was going to break this stuff it would have been me. In this image that measurement looks incredibly tall, considering that the AZC supplied piece is 6 inches long. That car would end up looking like a hot wheels car. From the top of this tube to the top of that cast part (should be) 7.5-7.25 (remember I need to confirm this still).

I have a bit of experience with these, I have had them on my car since 2005. If I am not mistaken, I think mine were the first set to be installed. These went on my 7MGTE powered 240Z. I have done numerous autocrosses, and probably put more than 3000 miles on these and most of them VERY hard. My car has well over 400rwhp in its current state, I have had very close to 500rwhp for awhile as well. Please don't weld anything to the knobs. It will make the shocks not rebuildable. If your not driving the car yet you might want to wait until the car is running before you bother with modifying the tube. I took a piece of fuel line and a Nissan EFI fuel line clamp and that worked great, anything stronger than that and you might damage the knob or mechanism. I have done several of the strut tube sections for AZC customers too. On the Jamb nut I only have 1 at the top of the strut tube and 2 at the bottom of the spring. I cant imagine needing to cut down the front inner tube any more than what is advised. The major diameter of the strut body is just barely smaller than the outside diameter of the stock 240 strut tube, that way when you don't bottom the threads out inside the AZC supplied threaded tube, you can thread beyond the threads because there is nothing to hit inside the AZC supplied tubes. Also the AZC struts have an internal damper for bottoming out. I used this to lower the car as much as possible and keep the tires from touching any part of the car. There is internal valving that causes the strut body to hydro lock and build pressure very rapidly. It does a very good job of resisting bottoming. There really is no real estate to install a conventional bump stop. Here is a decent shot of my car completely loaded in the rear and the tires dont rub anywhere. Yes I had to roll the front and rear fenders, but those are 17x8 with 245-45-17's in front and 17x9 with 275-40-17's in the rear. notice the rear tire. The magic number is how far that tube gets welded from the cast portion of the rear bearing housing. Its different for different diameter wheels. I believe 7.5 (from the top of the casting) to be the magic number for 17's. Im pretty sure JIM73240Z has it as he was over at my house to make sure just a couple of weeks ago. Heres a photo of them installed. Sorry I dont have any better ones at the moment. rear suspension

I told the camera man I was throwin him under the bus, in the narrative on this one. LOL.

This entire event was video edited, no illegal acts were performed here! No speed limits were exceeded. No Ferrari owners were harmed. All events were staged in the making of this film. I couldnt find exactly where this should go, if the mods need to move it feel free. Click here to watch video

Looks great I did the same thing with a bunch of my engine and chassis parts, I will edit this post with a few photo links when I have time to find them. It makes all the difference in the world when you can find a polisher that dosent ream you.

Yea Cliftons RA1's were way stickier than my Azinis, I couldnt believe the difference. I had a little too much negative camber based on Cliftons Pyrometer readings but not enough to mess with it (I was kinda lazy) since we slammed a bunch of negative camber in just for this event and I was getting tired of messing with it, I just wanted to enjoy the day.

I agree about the photo, this isn't the best shot but I am fully loaded in this corner and hard on the gas, this is the time (or maybe just before) that you want to snap the shot. Also it would be nice if the camera man was directly in front of or behind the vehicle for the proper photo to witness the maximum "body roll" (not lean). Also I too should entertain smaller wheels but I love how the car goes down the road and my selection for tires is much greater. In this photo I do not have the strut spacers and my sway bar was also binding on the frame. I welded a (needed because my frame was cracking out around the swaybar mounts) spacer/doubler on the frame and installed my swanky CNC swaybar mount along with the rest of my new suspension.

Do a search on Ebay for a GM solenoid controller, they are crazy precise and the same type of thing and lots cheaper. A pressure regulator will do the exact same thing, or even a Manual boost controller

I skimmed quickly, so forgive me if I missed it, but you should NEVER EVER tune without a Wideband O2 sensor. You cant do anything but GUESS whether your lean or rich at a particular (RPM, load, boost, throttle position). Using an SAFC to tune without using a WB is a sure way to burn down your motor. GET a Wideband asap, you will need it for your mega squirt also. BTW lots of Toyota Supra and MR2 guys (also Mitsubishi eclipse guys) use these to tune, look for one of their forum sites and post them for sale in their classifieds sections. BTW how much are you asking for it?

No the single 3 inch would be better for less back pressure. one, two inch tube with a wall thickness of .040" has an inside area of 2.89in/sq X 2 equals 5.78 in/sq one three inch tube with a wall thickness of .040" has an inside area of 6.69in/sq I guess I shouldnt knee jerk this response (because I didnt read the whole article yet) but, if more flow is the goal then 1 three inch diameter exhaust tube would flow more than 2 two inch tubes.

Yes 2+2 doors are entirely different. The door panels are not interchangable between a 2+2 and a 2 seater.

The APEX-I AVC-R This boost controller has the ability to control your boost per every 200 RPM increments AND (get this) per gear. I dont know about you but 20+ psi is a total waste in first and second gear in my car (even with sticky tires). I bought this controller and have yet to install it but plan to limit boost to 14-16 in first, to 17-19 in second and 23-25 in third and see if my Turbo is worth any more than 28 psi in 4th and 5th. This boost controller can tell you what your duty cycle is, tach, boost, and a ton of other functions. You hook the EBC up to the tach and the speedo output and then program what gear your in and then it knows what boost you will be looking for in each gear. Remember my toyota trans has a digital speed sensor on top of the speedo cable, this is what I plan to use. You might need to use the little ZX adapter wheel to get an electronic signal out of your speedo. IIRC this is a little short stub of speedo with a speedo output. If that doesn't work you you can alway use a metal ring around the input shaft of the drive shaft. Hell some s13/14/15 diffs came with a speed sensor in the diff housing. There would be many ways to accomplish the speed trigger.

If your going to qualify the question like that, then my hat is off to Z-gad but if you want to further qualify it by saying that a street driven car is a vehicle with a completely finished interior and working A/C and drives smooth, quiet, and has excellent street, Auto-X, and road course and road trip manors then I would have to give the nod to Clifton. You need to see it and go for a spin in it to really appreciate it. The A/C blows COLD, the paint looks really good, the interior is finished except for a cracked dash (in AZ who's isn't) it rides and drives straight and smooth and quiet. It gets +24MPG and for the last 3-4 years has made the trip to and from AZ to Anaheim for the MSA show. He drives it almost (if not)every weekend and it seems that it is never off the road for more than a week at a time. He is almost always tinkering with it and always making improvements. On top of that he Auto X's it at least 4-6 times a year. I find it truly amazing that this car can go from a mild mannered street car to a violent beast by just staying into the throttle. Anybody could drive this car as long as they stayed out of the boost, stay in the throttle while on the boost and you have no time at all to look at the gauges, the planet rushes by in a blur. Its shocking how fast you can collect (reel people in) in traffic. So for a street legal, daily driven, all around, road trip (not a one trick pony) excellent driving car. This car is smooth, quiet, clean and finished (by our standards, not his)! I would again give Clifton the nod. I do hope to see Z-gad's car in person one day though 8's are amazing, I never thought it was possible with the independent rear suspension. .:icon14:Double thumbs up for showing us all it can be done.

Im anxiously watching this thread for the answer. I too have an LM-1 with the RPM harness and will be down loading and logging data too to see where I should be adding or removing fuel with my fuel controller. Since Im running the 7MGTE ECU Im not sure the answer will help but I can hope.

I think I spent like $130 for all the Aluminum 3" tubes I spent $160+ on silicone hose and couplers and more than $80 bucks on all the T-bolt clamps then I spent like 5 bucks per end of each tube to have a bead rolled into them, probably 40-50 bucks. Then I spent countless hours making it as perfect as I could. 6 months later I came across a sale on a huge Greddy BOV for $170. So lets add it up. 130+160+80+40+170=580 I was at $410 before I bought the BOV, how much do you expect this shop to make on the job? I would say $450 sounds like a deal lf the quality is good. But if you want it done right sometimes you gotta do it yourself. Make sure to look at some of their other work before you put your money down, IN PERSON, not in a photo. Heres a photo of mine from the show

Thanks!!!! Yea Im never buying a Ferrari or any crazy expensive car like that so I never keep up on their names I just know my car is faster than all of them, and they cost more than $150K more than my Z does. It looked like this until I passed him, I guess it was an F430.

I have a set for 240 Z's that the look OK the Medite is perfect on them. They are out of an Arizona car that started life in California. Thats the exact shape I want the shape of the medite with the vinyl removed. You didnt mention Carbon fiber. CAN you do Carbon fiber? Hey no one here expects you to do it for free. I understand exactly how composites work. The better your plug the better your mold the better the parts are. The less work it will be to ship a part. I understand 100%. Thanks for considering it.