Michael

Traffic laws, like all laws, are written to further the interests of those who influence the writers of said laws. The connection with morality, decency, justice, and safety is purely incidental. That might explain our predicament with weighing stations, speed traps and the like. Last year, on a long-distance road-trip, my daily-driver suffered a serious failure. Fortunately I had the gold-plated version of AAA membership, good for a 200 mile tow. Some 150 miles into the two, the tow truck driver was pulled over, for failing to stop at a weigh station. He didn't have a log book. He didn't have a fire-extinguisher or other safety gear. The fine was something approaching $1000... I was worried that the police would impound his truck, with my poor dilapidated vehicle strapped to the flat-bed. As for the issue of this discussion not being appropriate to HybridZ, I would like to repeat a snippet from one of my posts last week: "Unfortunately this forum is becoming a victim of its own success. Now it is more of a library, an archive or repository, than a discussion group. It used to be a bunch of guys yakking at each other trying to figure things out. Internet forums used to be the nerdy man’s alternative to the biker bar or the downtown club… it’s a place to relax, to trade gabs and jabs with one’s buddies, and maybe to pick up the occasional technical nugget of wisdom. Now it’s a kind of medieval monastery, the hallowed keeper of knowledge of antiquity, lovingly preserving fine learning while being surrounded by illiterate peasants and idle lords. "

Right, and if one already had... - a well-sorted S30 with no rust and the good suspension bits already installed - the new engine, all dressed and complete - the new transmission, mated to the new engine, with the correct clutch and hydraulics - a shop with a lift, metal-working tools, pneumatics, and welding equipment - shelves stocked with scrap metal in various grades and sizes - cabinets with bolts, clamps, tubing and the like - decades of experience - a network of friends, suppliers and craftsmen in the automotive business - a thorough plan for exactly what one wants to achieve, and how to achieve it - business-savvy, knowing how to work the junkyards, E-bay, RacingJunk and Craigslist Then the cost would actually be negative... because your to-be-installed parts are free, and you can sell the parts that are to be removed during the build!

Your ideas are persuasive, and certainly you have a reasonable plan. The point is not to disparage the concept of refreshing a tired engine, but rather, that your engine is probably not all that tired. How can one be sure that even a freshly-built "performance" engine won't exude a rainbow of colors from its exhaust system, burn oil, backfire or foul plugs? My point is that either by luck or by skill, you've already hit upon a very elusive animal: a relatively inexpensive engine with a proven track-record, a modest set of modifications, and good all-around performance. A full rebuild would compromise many of these advantages and would return you to an earlier stage, with more uncertainties, more risks, more cost and possibly only incremental gain. So would it not be preferable to limp along with your current engine, performing sound maintenance but eschewing tantalizing new upgrades, until finally the old girl can breathe no more? If you insist on yielding to the siren song of progress, pick up a second engine (junkyard or whatnot) and treat that one as your research project, while retaining your current engine as back-up. A bird in the hand....

You make a valid point. While many members are tired of repeatedly having to answer the same question – especially elementary questions – the flip side is a snarky indifference to the innocent newcomers who want friendly encouragement and a sounding board to echo their ideas, as much as they want technical advice. Unfortunately this forum is becoming a victim of its own success. Now it is more of a library, an archive or repository, than a discussion group. It used to be a bunch of guys yakking at each other trying to figure things out. Internet forums used to be the nerdy man’s alternative to the biker bar or the downtown club… it’s a place to relax, to trade gabs and jabs with one’s buddies, and maybe to pick up the occasional technical nugget of wisdom. Now it’s a kind of medieval monastery, the hallowed keeper of knowledge of antiquity, lovingly preserving fine learning while being surrounded by illiterate peasants and idle lords.

Mike, you know that I respect your views and achievements. My post is a counterpoint to the tenacious but sometime Pollyanna-ish exhortation of “go for it!â€, that so permeates the American spirit. There is a time and a place for such spirit, but when a man loses his job, we should commiserate – not extol the virtues of entrepreneurial enterprise. It’s true that one shall never taste failure or success until one works up the courage for the undertaking. I’ll never know if I suck at being a professional cricket player, a male prostitute, a Sufi mystic, or an Elvis impersonator, until I try. But does that mean that I should try? I worked in industry briefly, before my government stint. It was a defense contractor. You want waste, wanton ineptitude, misallocation of resources, parsimonious remuneration of employees, myopic failure to think ahead – try industry. These days, I interact quite regularly with the “big 3†defense contractors, along with small businesses that leach from the SBIR program (government welfare for “entrepreneursâ€). They don’t have quarterly Threatcon elevations for “training†like we do, but in terms of ostrich head-in-sand solipsism – no difference! A ghastly ruse plaguing our economy now is the belief that the private-sector is efficient, while the public-sectors is wasteful. They are all wasteful. It’s just that one is more honest about it than the other – and guess which is which? If Owen wishes to try business-ownership, I sincerely wish him the best – as I have always wished Mikelly the best. And I wholeheartedly applaud success wherever I find it. But bear this in mind: it is a rare thing for an employee to be fired for incompetence, but an even rarer thing for a start-up business to succeed. Does one feel lucky?

If your engine already produces this level of performance, then perhaps a rebuild is not justified? You will be spending lots of money and time to achieve another 100 hp. While that may sound tantalizing, the investment to achieve this increment of performance will be far higher than your initial investment in doing the original swap and engine hop-up. In other words, it's the law of diminishing returns. If you yearn to achieve an altogether higher level of performance, would it not be worth considering an entirely new engine, either with many more cubic inches or from a different generation of engines, while leaving your current engine in operable condition?

Spending 12 years building your "dream car", only to realize that it's not the car that you actually wanted.

All good points, but it should be kept in mind that not all people are natural businessmen with untapped talent just waiting to be unleashed. We can't all be a nation of shopkeepers or free-lance contractors. We can't all follow Horatio Alger rags-to-riches stories of the plucky fellow who turned lemons into lemonade, or whatever, becoming a titan of industry after getting turned out by a myopic boss eager to cut costs. But neither can we depend on the good graces of a wise small-business owner as employer. For some people, a corporate job isn't merely a paycheck; it's a community. If ejected from the community (laid off), the most natural impulse becomes finding a new community. So here's an alternative suggestion: look for a job in the public sector. The happiest welders/machinists that I have known, worked in university machine shops, building lab equipment for engineering departmental researchers.

So now the tables are turned, so to speak.... You bought a white NA Miata, and later I bought a white NA Miata. But last year I bought a silver E36 M3 coupe, and now you bought a silver E36 M3 coupe! The "Shark" software is not highly regarded. Stock M3 exhaust is reputed to be quite efficient, but heavy (especially the rear muffler assembly). It gets replaced for "throaty noise" or weight-loss reasons. The main known restriction is in the intake manifold runners. Mine had a 3.7 LSD differential (vs. the stock 3.15?), a "coilover" kit from one of the German suppliers, and various other bits. Coilovers on a M3 are a debatable upgrade. Typical E36 M3 issues, besides the cooling system, are suspension bushings and the VANOS seal failure. These are good cars and an excellent value... but don't expect anywhere near the performance of your Porsche. With the usual array of bolt-on mods, expect a quarter-mile time of around 14.0. Will you be doing the LS2 swap???

The universal engine-swap rule of thumb applies: if you know your way around the candidate engine, then probably the swap is tractable and worthwhile. And it sounds like you're an old hand at this sort of thing. Personally I just would not obtain much satisfaction from a Z31 chassis, even if lovingly modded/restored. This is no slight against that model series! Rather, the car falls into an "age bucket": old enough to be troublesome and temperamental as a daily-driver, but modern enough to be complicated and not yet a classic. By this thinking, it would make more sense to stick with an S30, or go with something much more modern (a 370Z, or a Porsche). But again, if you're tooled-up for doing this sort of swap, and are familiar with the engine, and are getting what sounds like an excellent deal, then the reasons for not doing the swap melt away.

After many years of flailing around with a V8 Z build, I can attest that the "purpose" is less to produce a wondrous vehicle, than to garner experience of "building it yourself". Few other vehicles are as amenable to such an extensive a modification... and yet, few other vehicles so desperately need such a modification. I can't speak about spec Miatas, but Miatas as fun daily-drivers are difficult to beat. Though woefully underpowered, they exude a special charm that larger cars simply don't have, and yet they don't suffer from elfin kit-car roughness or fragility. If I ever got the urge to race something competitively, it would likely be in a Miata... maybe stock, maybe with a simple bolt-on Roots blower (Jackson Racing). Mike - though it won't directly replace the Porsche, what about a Caterham or an Ariel Atom?

The trouble with living in a place where you can "sling arms and return fire with anything I can pick up on my own, without restriction", is that other guys will do precisely the same thing. And no matter how skilled or motivated you are, there will ALWAYS be some one who's faster on the draw, who has better aim, and more ammo.

Check the arithmetic. To calculate installed-height, take half of the crankshaft's stroke, add the connecting rod length, and distance between the centerline of the piston's wrist pin and the piston's crown. Your approach might work, depending on the piston geometry.

Good luck, of course - and here's hoping that all works out in your favor. But... why? If the Porsche attends to your needs as a commuter-car and as a pleasure/stress-relief vehicle, why spoil a good thing?

Cheap parts of the world (and the country) are cheap for a reason. But I can relate to the NE cost of living.... just drove from Ohio to NJ and up the various "highways" into Rhode Island. $12 to cross the GW bridge into Manhattan; I mean, 12 bucks for a BRIDGE TOLL??? For that kind of money, they should have ripped off one of girders and offered it to me as a souvenir.

Frankly I am astonished that some one would recommend the Dayton (Ohio) area as a worthwhile consideration. Having lived there for the better part of 2 decades, I have ZERO positive to say about the area... so I'll desist from saying anything. Being a professional, almost-married to a professional, you may wish to consider a nation-wide job search first, and then relocate to where the two of you can find most commodious employment. Let the job search drive the location, and not vice versa. The more formal education you have, the more difficult it would be in this economy to find employment matching your qualifications. As for specific recommendations... Northern Virginia has reasonable taxes and a superb school system. The downside is horrendous traffic and relatively high real estate prices. But the thing with expensive real estate markets is that they tend to hold their value, whereas the more "affordable" places are more affordable for a reason: houses don't really appreciate even during booms, but they severely fall during busts.

All sorts of potential opinions on this topic.... my preference would be for an aftermarket upgrade to the T5, if your current gear set is to your liking. But that's a $2500 adventure. There are cheaper options, but they might require modifications to the clutch/hydraulics. A new blowproof bellhousing, clutch pressplate/disk, throwout bearing and plumbing --> another $1000; but you might be able to recycle most of these components with an upgraded T5.

Off topic, but it's been almost exactly 5 years since JMortensen's statement that it would take "5 years to sort out" his car. Any updates? And speaking of 5 years ago, back then the "traditional" small block vs. LS-series was still somewhat of a serious debate. Today that hardly seems to be the case. Where has all the time gone?

1/2" x 1" piece of office printer paper, folded to form a 1/4" x 1" strip. The carb is a Holley 4160-style vacuum secondary, 750 CFM, bought new from Summit Racing in 1998. "Mods" are removal of the choke plate and filing of the throttle blade shafts/screws for some nominal increase in flow. I am now contemplating a Race Demon 750 or 850. The intake manifold, by the way, is an Edelbrock Performer RPM oval-port, stock except for minor port-matching to the heads.

As with nearly every other activity, the 20/80 rule applies: 20% of the club membership do 80% of the work. That means, for all of you math enthusiasts, that some people are 16X busier than others.... which explains why some feel overburdened, while others feel ignored. The main benefit of a club is social interaction outside of work. You college guys might find this to be odd, but in the so-called "real world", it is comparatively rare for adults unrelated to each other to gather outside of work, except for church, golf, or babysitting each others' children. So a car club is an excellent venue for guys to just interact with like-minded persons. Unfortunately, as with nearly every other leisure activity, people tend to disappear during the family-formation phase of life (age 25 or so), not to reappear until their kids are grown and launched from the house - meaning, not until they (the parents) are over 50. Ergo, the usual car club friction: the "kids" (<25) vs. the "geezers" (>50, and often >65). The generation gap is enough to defeat any impetus towards camaraderie, and unless those special 20% of the club can continue holding it together, the club dies. And it's especially tough to maintain a pricey leisure activity in this economy. Check the stock market lately? Tony - WTF happened in Europe today, and are the "tiger countries" of Asia next... or are they immune?

Did the paper-test... Drove the car at moderate speeds (up to 50 mph), mostly doing burnouts in various gears (first through fourth), up to 5500 rpm or so. Result: wad of paper stuffed adjacent to one of the secondary throttle blades is completely intact. One other result: with the secondary thus (slightly) open, idle jumped from it usual ~1000 rpm to 1300 rpm. I now have around 12 miles on the odometer since my most recent rebuild. These are mostly burnouts in my driveway. Today I drove around the neighborhood, venturing onto public roads. The car is uncomfortably loud, but is otherwise fairly settled and responsive (and that's driving on only the primaries, ha ha!). It still spews oil past the timing cover - likely culprit is the front crank oil seal. As a bonus, the bouts of sporadic hard braking seems to have loosened the front-right caliper, so that now the car brakes evenly, without dragging severely to the left. More observations on the Doug Nash 5-speed: aggressive upshifts with clutch-dumps are actually pretty smooth, as if the transmission were built specifically for such driving in mind. Intentionally brutal driving results in smoother response than if one tries to drive this like a normal street car; that is to say, leisurely shifts cause bogging and requires the operator to "hunt" for the proper gear, while wantonly abusive gear-banging is rewarded with crisp, precise engagement. Reverse is still a problem - the shifter loves to pop out of reverse, especially if blipping the throttle.

Is the hypothesis that oil is being driven up through the non-baffle in the valve cover, through the PCV valve and, well, somewhere else (not back into the intake manifold?)? Could there be another source of oil leak, too small to notice as a loss of oil volume in the sump, but large enough to splatter onto something hot (headers, for example), resulting in fumes?

I recommend trusting your local engine builder, sourcing another used block, going through the various machining steps, and reinstalling your components. All other options will be more expensive. That said, prepping a used block will likely require... - wash/clean $50 - crack-check (pressurize) $50 - bore/hone $200 - decking $150 - align-bore mains $200 - cam bearings $50 - freeze plugs $50 - ARP mains $100 Total is $850. These are rough numbers, and are likely to be low. I'm assuming that the main caps can be reused, and the lifter bores are fine (in the new block). Then there are the main/rod bearings, polishing the crank, maybe new rod bolts and resizing, maybe new balancing. After a decade, it is quite easy to have $10K "invested" in a $5K engine. Ask me how I know....

A hybrid swap (cross-manufacturer) is NEVER the economical route to getting a wounded project car back on the street. Do a swap to increase performance, at your leisure, when everything else is settled and you have acquired the time, the tools, the skills and the contacts. Best option would be to park the thing while you mull over your options, and look for closer Craigslist deals. Second best option would be to have a shop rebuild your engine. There is no shame in having a professional do a job that you are presently just not equipped to readily do. Just make sure that the professional is trustworthy.

For a while there I was wavering, but now I've mustered resolve: I'm going to convert my Z to FWD. I'll use the reverse of the JTR mounts to position the engine maximally forward, for better loading of the front tires.