Jay Hitchcock

Hey Justin. I forgot to check the track when I was at the shop this weekend but I'll get it soon. The car is about 44 inches from top of the roof to the deck and as for the tires I'm thinking R6's. I just have to have an identical set if rims built.

Yea from the pic it looks like they can be swapped, but they have larger custom inner flanges so I can't screw that up. Good news though. The guy at the shop is going to build custom outboards as well so hopefully this will no longer be an issue. On a different note I wanted some feedback from you all on my spring rates. I was thinking of running some 425 fr/ 375 r instead of the 550/500 combo. The present rate is just too high and too stiff. The springs almost total the vehicles present weight. What do you think?

I removed the pass side and noticed something interesting. When this all began and I first got the shafts they were built using the factory outer hubs. I cleaned out the excess grease and saw that the stock retaining nubs are almost wore down. Now regardless of the overall length of the cv's once the vehicle builds up enough rotational speed the inner tripod bearings are just walking past these nubs. This in turn is causing the shaft to break apart. I do think the car must be raised up but the diff has been raised in the chassis and centered with the outer hub. I feel the only way to fix this problem is to have custom outer hubs built that have some sort of retaining housing or clip. I've added a few pics so you all can see what I mean.

The diff is a R200 with a Kaaz two way center section. The cv shafts are custom from "the driveshaft shop". They are based on the 280ZXT style with 300M shafts and custom inboard cups. To tell the truth I have had nothing but problems with this mod. I should have just run a Subaru, Jag, or Chevy system. I talked to the guy who built the shafts today. I sent him some pics and discussed the issues. He still swears that I have too much travel, bad geometry, or misalignment. I have checked everything more than twice and the shafts have got to be short. Quite a few of you guys have some high output road and race cars and I'm wondering what is the standard set-up to run on these cars? If I don't get some seat time in this car this coming season...I will loose it. Help me out if you all have any answers. Thanks

Thanks a lot. The mirrors are from HRP world, they are small and shaped much like a motorcycle mirror. The body kit is a Reaction Research 280YZ that I changed a little. I have a write up and pics on cardomain if you want to check it out. As for the shafts they did the exact same thing as before. I took some time off from the build and neglected to test fit the repaired shafts untill a month ago. They were too long and would not even mount in place. I just got them back a week ago and checked everything before installation. The compressed length looked good but they must still be too short. I've got some issues to address but reguardless of these I consider the day a success.

Hey Jon. Good to hear from you. Well, the spring rates (550fr/500 rear)are too stiff after driving it for sure. The ride height will also need to be raised up a touch. As for the CV's they worked great on the dyno run and for the three quick little test spins untill this afternoon. The right side broke once again. I'm at a loss. I don't know how to proceed. The shop that build them has got to have an answer.

I thought the Scarab kit was the way to go until I first drove my car with that heavy V8 hanging way over the crossmember. A lot of these worries about cooling, transmission fit, and header clearance are just not that important. If you want to build a fun street car and not an all out drag racer move the engine back as far as you can. Use aluminum heads, intake, and electric fans. It is lighter than the stock staight six. Take my word for it you will regret not doing so because it will sacrifice the balance of this car. You don't have to go as nutty with your build as some of us but do move the engine back. Good luck bro. Things look really good so far.

Hey all. I haven't been keeping up with my fellow Z heads in a while. I started my own shop and things have been going real good. Super busy you know. I've been talking to a NASA rep that lives in my town and he is very impressed with my work. I hope to get on as a designated build station in northern Ca. Anyway I just wanted to catch you all up with the build. The race engine is complete, I took a little more weight out, built a new splitter and air damn, and added some custom headers. My buddy took this vid of the dyno run on Friday. I was very happy with the result. Check it out.

Top notch man! The car turned out great. Good job

Yes, the wrong length. I'm not going to bad mouth the quality of their product, I just wanted to now if this was a common error. I did check out that post. Man, what a beefy looking set-up. I heard the stock 230 diff and shafts can handle well over 450+ from the factory.

So Mark, Stony neither of you guys had problems with your half-shafts? I questioned being able to recommend these guys to anyone else after my run in.

The shafts were built by the DriveShaft Shop. I was told that they are the guys to go with for custom stuff. I'm sure they usually do great work, but not this time around. The shafts are approx 15 inch long with stock outer cups(reconditioned), center shaft is 300M, and the inboard has custom slipers that allow track adjustment for slicks. I chose the Stage 2 upgrade which rates these around 600bhp/torque. They are originally from a 81 280ZX Turbo with the R200 diff. The outer stub-axels are custom built from Moser Engineering via Modern Motorsports. As for lowering, the Z has been dumped down to a 3.875 inch ground clearance ...which isn't alot but it seems to clear ok.

Thanks guys. Now that the shaft problem seems to be sorted out I feel a little more energized about getting back on it. This should be enough time to finish up the Z and get it more streetable before the weather goes completely south. I will post some pics and a full run down of the car when it's done. jh

Yes sir, the same car.

Yea it's the GT240 in black primer. It is still runs...but at present no half shafts due to breakage. My buddy caught it on video and posted it online.

Hey all. I just received a call from the guys who built my shafts. All this worry about articulation, geometry, and installation was for nothing. My problem was due to the shafts being made 1.5 too short! The tech told me how sorry he was for the mix-up and that " I rarely make mistakes " ... in his words not mine. What a joke. I hope he pulls his head out of his rear long enough to fix the issue and not make excuses for it. He promised that I would have them before the years end. I will keep you guys posted. jh

Darius, nice work man. I know the feeling...it is just like a big freakin go kart!! As for your lack of power steering try running an aftermarket set-up like I did on my Z. It is an Appleton power rack, not too expensive, easy to mount, and a bunch of ratios to chose. I went with the 2.0 lock to lock and I'm running 305's in the front and it works great. Anyway, impressive work dude.

Yea Mark your spot on about the shafts. They do have a lip on the inner egde to keep them inside. What I didn't show in the pics is the damage to inboard cv cup. The knuckle hit the back of it so hard that it punched about a one inch impression in the steel. The entire assembly will have to be rebuilt. The builder will have to asses the scope of the damage...but that is too soon to tell. I think my length was closer to 15 inches and yet it is still not right. I hope they get on it quickly. Take it easy. jh

Thanks for all the info guys. First of all I checked out the thread on Blue Ovals' Z (nasty car) and I can definately see a need to fix the roll center in the rear. I have since raised the Z because it was so low that the car drug over the 3.0 inch exit ramp to the street. Not Good. The pivot is only a little over an inch now from the hub. I'm running high spring rates, I have hand built both front and rear sway bars, custom 1.25/ 0.83 wall chromoly front arms, bump-steer spacers, and Arizona Z car rear contol arms. I can honesty say the car is INCREDIBLY stiff and the suspension articulation is minimal. I'm going to run this set up and see how it acts, but if it needs to be fixed Jon and Terry are going to be on my speed dial. As for the vents, they are only a piece of the entire aero package on the Z. I do plan on running my rear foil, in conjuction with a diffuser, and a front splitter. Not much on my car is not purpose built. I'll keep you all informed about the shafts. Wish I had a longer drive. Thanks again for all the useful pics and info... I couldn't have done it without you. jh 'm

Here is the video of the carnage...you can hear it clunking as it goes by. P.S. the lighting sucks. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=lrN1zBYucuw

Thanks Jon. Minus the shaft mishap, I'm definately pleased with the Z. My buddy Chris was with me before it failed. I found an open S-turn and I took it flat out in second gear. It's a sharp left followed by a sweepng right and I couldn't believe how it stuck to the road. Chris looked over at me and said "Jesus Jay, this thing is nasty". This coming from a guy who is building a 95 240SX full chassis car, 600hp inline turbo. I can't wait to get the monster on the open track. As for the shaft I did end up swapping the sides but they were only 1/2 inch difference. I measured the total length and they are for sure too short. They will both have to be rebuilt. I have a quick video of the drive that I'll post tomorrow. Talk to you later. jh

Well the build up was long but she didn't disappoint. I broke in the diff on Sunday..figure 8's for over an half hour. I was so excited I barely slept. Got back on it Tuesday night to adjust the suspension, change the rear end fluid and to raise the coil-overs a touch. A couple of buddies came by to go for a spin the next evening before the Holloween festivities. I took it around the airport, found some nice corners and a few open areas to stand on it. The car is incredible!! It is like a big freakin go cart. It pulls like crazy and the tires have so much grip not to mention the braking. Just when I was getting warmed up the unspeakable happened. You won't believe this, but the HALF-SHAFT POPPED OUT AGAIN!!!! I got the car stopped quickly...no damage but the shaft. I don't think that I have ever been soo angry. My wife might have been in the Z and got hurt, the car could have wrecked, or spun out, or any number of things. Anyway I cooled off and contacted the A-holes that built them for me and it looks like it is going to get handled. I built every inch of the car and not one thing broke, or didn't hold up, or leak, fail etc.. When you put trust into a thing or worse somebody that doesn't know what the hell their doing, YOU better make sure that it's right. I'll keep you guys posted. Take it easy. jh