primadonna z

If those are true 3 piece wheels it may be possible to re-barrel the wheels to 17".

Sorry, I get the giggles when I hear about moving dressers on the roof of a Z. Reminds me of the Home Depot car. That said....the rain gutters look great. Since this is sort of an aerodynamics thread, it appears that substantial rear down force can be achieved with the proper load.

Do you have photo's?

Wow Terry! I really Look the look. The 8 degree tilt really adds to the exotic appearance of the package. What is your intent for filters? I think if it was me, I would probably just run the domed screens. I'm sure like me you're not driving alot of dirt roads. If you don't already have an on-board halon system, I'd add one. Their cheap insurance, functional, and add to the business look of the car. I'll be following your progress closely...good luck. PS.- Congrats for representing the Z crowd nicely in the 50th Anniversary Auto Week. I wish the picture was bigger! A buddy of mine called me and asked if i knew of the Z that was in the issue. Good Job! Roger

A buddy of mine has a salvage yard, and he has many large electric motors. I was going to go over and dig around trying to find a canidate. I guess I'll look for a DC in the 144V range like the one that you used. Really your thread inspired me to change the car over to electric, but more for the novelty than anything else. The 50 mile range is ok, and I would really put it together to run around town. It would certainly be unusual. I'll see what he has for motors, make some notes, and report back. Thanks

I am very interested in this project...but not for my z cars. I have a Manta Mirage similar to this one that is my next project. After seeing this thread I am thinking about pulling the small block and going electric. The car is well under 2000 lbs. with a 4 speed manual. After reading this, the conversion seems fairly straight forward. However I have some questions. I have been told that I really need to be using an AC motor. If using an AC motor, do you use an inverter? How big an AC motor should me used?

Here's a link to the oval exhaust system that I built for Zwolf. You will need to scroll down to the 6th post. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=117195&highlight=primadonna+exhaust&page=2 Workks great, sounds a little different, and it's Hot. The oval tubing increases the concentration point of heat on the floor boards so it tends to be hotter inside. Oh...get your pocketbook out.

I'm with Sho-Z I think that your running constant 12V to a coil that does not have an internal resistor.

Took the Primadonna to Bill Coffey's Garage party, and got this. Very cool trophy, and a great time.

Because of time constraints, and to ultimately reduce my cost of ownership I do things a little differently. I search out a car that will make for a good platform for full restoration. I look for a vehicle that is ulitimately what I would want to own finished. One that someone has spent the time, and money adding the expensive features that I would spend a fortune on if I was to start from scratch. Properly researched, and the willingness to wait for the right car to become available, outstanding cars exibiting these qualitys can be bought for a fraction of their original build cost. Now you have a solid foundation to rebuild the car with your own personal touches, and additions to make it yours. This concept allows you to do the rebuild in substancially less time, and $$. No waiting for the money to come in for the big ticket items, properly selected most of the goodies should already be on the car. This allows you some time to spend the time on detailing aspects of the build to fit your personality. In the end I know every nut and bolt on the car. and have the satisfaction of the build. I'm enjoying the car from behind the wheel, trust me it's a lot more fun. To make a point, in the last three years I have completely rebuilt 2 cars. Both cars were heavily modified when I bought them and were great platforms for me to take them to the next level. I am in awe at the years of work that went into these cars prior to my ownership, but I have brought them to the next level. There will always be new things that I want to do, or change. But isn't that always the case with long term ownership? Even today 1 car is always apart having changes made to this or that. The beauty is 1 car is always together so I can still get my fix.

I got up the other day with the hankering to get a Dune Buggy. Searched everywhere and ended up finding just what i was looking for about an hour from where I live. Living on the beach somehow makes the most impractical vehicle in the world ...seem practical. Anybody else fall victim to one of these toys?

The wheels on the charger I'm 99.9 sure are "Vectors" by American Racing.

I think that the car will do the number. It may not have the Bird, and the Alloy's (both options). But it does have t-tops, low miles, and the 6.6/4 speed option (Very desirable!). These cars are appreciating rapidly. I have a 1974 455 Super Duty car with 18,000 miles that's worth a ton. In this picture I have an old school set of American Racing 200S's on it, But I have the original poly cast honeycombs as well. I hope he gets it.

http://www.turbobuicks.com/members/scottiegnz/vette-irs-swap.htm