Jay Hitchcock

I can only make a guess so here it goes. Found the Z from original owner..needed work 1700.00 Grabbed the motor from buddy (had 15k on it) 1000.00 TK0 600 Trans and clutch from Keisler eng. 1900.00 Chromoly tubing, aluminum and steel sheet 2500.00 Engine acc(W.pump, alt, pulleys, dist, covers) 1500.00 Radiator and twin Spal fan assembly 600.00 Brake and suspension upgrades 3500.00 Custom axels and half-shafts 1100.00 Wheel and tire package 3000.00 Wide body kit and fiberglass supplies 1500.00 Sparco racing buckets..on sale 960.00 Sparco harness(2), pedal and steering wheel 800.00 Power steering rack, pump, canister, pulley 1000.00 Kaas LSD R200 with 3.70 gears 1200.00 Chromoly rear control arms 650.00 Replacement front glass and Lexan 480.00 Interior material and work 520.00 Fuel pump, filter, plumbing, etc. 475.00 Misc, bolts, harware, and whatever else 1000.00 This keep in mind is an approximation over the course of five years..but don't tell my wife 25,385.00

No, I checked that when I sealed and installed the diff. With these shafts I can leave both the inboard and outboard couplers, and just pull the shafts out. I'm tearing everything out now..I should know more by tomorrow. Talk to you later. jh

I just got the new boot and straps in the mail. I plan on pulling both sides and re-checking them...it could be as simple as having them swaped. The builder said that should be the first thing to check. The driver side is shorter, so since he left no marking or reference on either of the shafts I might have them backwards. As far as the over agressive angle that will have to be figured out next. I will post some more pics when it is back together. Thanks Jon. jh

Here is a shot of the driver side. The car had to be raised to drive it since the half-shaft was resting on the frame.

This is a pic from under the car. It looks like it was just over articulated and popped out. The shafts are completely custom as are the stub axels and companion flanges. This makes the length of the shaft itself very short. Short middle shaft, wider couplers on both ends, end result is too steep of a shaft angle. I was told not to exceed 20 degree...when I measured the shaft it was at 16 degrees already! WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK? I hope that I'm approaching this problem correctly as the parts on this car aren't cheap. Thanks. jh

Well it was about 3:30 in the am this last Sunday morning when something went bad. I got the brake lines plumbed and bled, fixed the power steering leak, adjusted the suspension, mounted the half-shafts and did a full once over on every bolt and system. I strapped in, and my buddies started to push the Z outside so I could break in the diff. Just as we hit the tarmac there was a loud thud from under the car. It sounded like an inpact or something. We got the car back inside to find the passenger cv had punched out of the boot and spilled grease all over. The angle seems to radical so the knuckle popped out. I have a new boot and straps on the way but it looks like I have to raise the entire diff up in the chassis about 1.5 inches...so maybe I will have it running this weekend. Learn from my mistakes, it is better to walk away and come at the project with fresh eyes than to press the issue and break something. Talk to you all later. jh

Thanks so much everyone! The car has most certainly been a love and hate relationship. I love building, modifying ,and working on it and yet hate that I can't drive it. I plan on having it drivable this Sunday for a huge Nissan meet in my home town...I think a few purists might be upset. I have to break in the diff and then it's time for a smoke-show! I will post some pics of the event. jh

The scarab kit had the motor not only in front of spindle center-line, but so far forward that the balancer was in front of the sway bar. It was serious crap! I cut most of the firewall and a fair amount of the trans tunnel out. I set the motor as far back as I could and then built around it. As I recall it was about 9 inches from original location and since the crossmember no longer hit the pan I dropped it down for better a center of gravity. The wheel tubs were also hand built and had their own set of problems due to the strut perches. Talk to you all later. jh

Yea 335's. They were a son of a bitch to fit back there. Z's aren't very big cars then I put in a 22 gal cell and 2.5 dual exhaust...started running out of room quick!

Thanks again everyone. The video has really taken off. My buddy even started a thread on TwinTurbo.net. I have been getting a lot of great feedback. I'm going to push hard to finish her off for ThunderHill...talk to you all soon! jh

Hey John, thanks alot! I want to also thank you for all of your advise about the LSD rear section. I got it in and everything fit real good. The clutch pack was nasty looking..it should work great. As for the rear foil I'm still going to use it we just took it off for safety reasons while firing the Z. Good news about that was the shop just worked on a new Bell Turbine helo that had the exact same shape foils for tail stabilizers...My little foil should make some nice downdorce! I do need to seal off the front air damn like you mentioned, but I think driving the monster takes priority. take it easy. jh

Holy crap! Thanks for all the posts. Well first of all this car ran for about a year with this motor in there. I bought a "scarab" mount kit, modified the wiring harness, threw in a Richmond five speed and it ran. I hated how nose heavy it became, and how it handled. After the diff blew, I parked the car, yanked the motor and cut the fire wall and trans tunnel out. The motor went back 9 inches and down 1.5inches. As for this motor it is only a test mule. I have a 377ci new Dart Little M, 12.5 to 1 comp, 18 degree heads, solid roller cam, and some nasty internals. My engine builder claims an easy 600hp and around 500ft lbs. That will be going in before next race season. The car is only 2390 lbs at full static but the new motor has aluminum heads, twin disk racing clutch, and magnesium scattershield. This should lose me about 110 lbs. The exhaust is 2.5 inch, 304 stainless steel mandrel formed and tig welded with Magnaflow 2.5 center 6 inch cans. I'm signing off now guys..thanks again.

Thanks everybody!! It really means alot. I know you all have your own babies in the garage... it's good to hear feedback from guys who know what it is like. As soon as the Z is painted and running I will post some more pics.

Thanks man. It is looking mean. I just need to finish the body work, spay the flat black primer, brakes, install half-shafts, adjust the suspension, then run her. It is all insured and registered. I'm shooting for ThunderHill on the 19th and 20th of October to make a track running video.

Hey all my fellow Z freaks. I made a video yesterday that I wanted to share with you all. It was a good day. Check it out.

HEY! You guys are like loins circling a carcass. Give me a shot. I work out in a hangar I can't be by the computer very much. Akwikz...that sounds like a great deal. My current gear is already 3.9 so that would work. Email me so we can talk... jayshotrods@yahoo.com. Thanks alot guys for your help! I've got to get this car on the road.

Man, that is alot of info to sift through. So basically I can buy the knock-off with substandard metal that may or may not fuse to my axels, will most likely work fine IF it even works with my early housing, and all of which is not under warranty. Or I can go with the Quaife unit which seems to be almost bullet proof. I'm not exactly buildind a 200 hp, riced out, drag race on the weekend Honda! I called my local Nissan dealer and it turns out that main bearings and seals can't even be ordered for the diff. So if I went directly through the company to save some cash I won't be able to install it properly. Modern Motorsports sells a complete install for about 2 grand..it seems a bit pricey, but they install new bearings and seals and stand behind the work. Has anybody tried this option? I need help..big time!