Mike Mileski

I think that its officially not acceptable (unlawful) in most states to have a hydraulic emergency brake mostly because the pressure could bleed off over time, depending on how "good" your seals are. Personally, I wouldn't have confidence in a hydraulic emergency brake over an extended period of time. Mechanically actuated is the way to go. Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ

Just pick up a factory bellhousing for an '84-92 Camaro, or Firebird, V-8 5 speed car, with fork, and you should be all set. This bellhousing has a built in mount for the slave cylinder, unlike the 1983 bellhousing. I bought one at a junkyard for $50. Lakewood also offers a scattershield for this application, but its $300+. Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ

Boy, I kinda hate to chime in here because I haven't progressed much on my R230 swap lately, but why hasn't anyone, at least that I'm aware of, pursued the route I'm taking? Which is, to modify the R230 outer axle flange so it mates to the Z car companion flange? That way, all you need is a shorter, stock configured, axle, which is retained in the outer CV joint and slides in and out of the inner CV joint, just like the Nissan engineers designed it to do. It would essentially be a shortened stock R230 shaft with an adapter on the outer side that mates to the Z car companion flange. That way, you retain the configuration that Nissan engineered and "walking" problems are eliminated. I know that my method will require that the adaptor be welded to the modified outer axle flange, but, if done correctly, I end up with a factory stock shaft that's several inches shorter. Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ

Dave, how are the differential mounting holes in the R230 bar located, compared to your R200 bar? Higher, lower or at the same level? I know the R230 is larger in size and haven't gotten far enough along in my swap to see if they need to be raised slightly, lowered or can remain at the same level. If you've taken this into account, I may be your next customer for one of these. Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ

Dave wrote: "the front also have track adjustment plus on the car caster adj." And, as I mentioned to Dave a few weeks ago, if he went to a left hand thread on the inner rod end, he would also have on the car camber adjustment. Are you still thinking of going that route on your next run Dave? Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ

I live in Tucson, Arizona and I bought my 1971 240 in 1990 from the original owner, a lady from Missouri who received it as a high school graduation present in the summer of 1971. She drove it to Tucson at the end of that summer to attend the University of Arizona and it never left the state after that, until I bought if from her. It truely is a rust-free Z. Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ

Personally, and I know a lot of others on this site agree, when you take into consideration the development costs, dealing with your own vendors, making a profit, etc., a pair of adjustable arms for under $400 really isn't that bad of a deal. The fact that two different manufacturers have almost the same price probably means that that's what they're worth. Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ

Juan, will the rear 5 lug setup be made to work with a 1.25" thick rotor, to match the front 5 lug setup you currently offer? That way you could use a caliper with 1.75" diameter pistons on the front and 1.38" diameter pistons on the rear and your rotors would be the same front and back. Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ

The tube diameter is slightly larger on the later (280Z) strut housings. The "gap" is there so you can fill it up about 2/3s full with oil, which is a medium for conducting heat away from the strut cartridge. I'm not real sure where you buy the oil that goes in there but its not just motor oil, I know that much. Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ

Is an October 1974 260Z still considered an early version? October seems pretty late in the year to still be considered early, but then I never was sure what the exact time was they started making the big bumper cars. Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ

Auto flywheels are called flexplates. They have a "thick sheetmetal" body, as opposed to the thick metal of a flywheel and are much lighter. They do have the same outer diameters and number of teeth as flywheels do. I think most of us V8 Zers use smaller diameter, 153 tooth flywheels/flexplates. Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ

IF you have a T-5 five speed, pick up a stock chevy bellhousing from an 84-92 Z-28 five speed car and you can utilize the stock slave cylinder. Its external and, in the slight chance you would have a leak, its right out there and easily accessible, unlike the "ton-of-work-to-get-to" hydraulic throw out bearing. Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ

I initially installed brand new performance springs that were supposed to lower the front a full inch. I installed the springs and the Chevy motor at the same time. After everything was done, my front end sat higher too. It was a combination of two things. 1) As already stated, the small amount of extra weight added is offset by the entire mass being back farther and 2) the stock springs, over the previous 30 years, had sagged so much that the new "lowering" springs actually made it sit higher than the sagged ones I was used to looking at. Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ

Z-Dreamer wrote: "So, are the stub axles the only weak link left?" I would have to say yes. I know that there's been very few stub axle failures ever discussed in the forum, but it would be nice if a stonger stub axle could somehow be adapted into the stock rear housing. Its been mentioned that Jim Biondo (past list member?) converted some Corvette stub axles to work but Pete Paraska has been unable to find any documentation on this swap. Has anyone else ever ventured into this little known area of adapting different axles, other than the 27 spline (I think)280Z ones? Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ

I would go to a machine shop as opposed to a driveline shop. The adaptors will probably require machining operations (milling) that are probably beyond what most driveline shops are capable of. Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ

Here's my $.02 worth. If you have room for a slave cylinder, go that route. Its sure a lot easier to work on if you have any problems as opposed to pulling the tranny all the time, which you'd need to do if you have a hydraulic throwout bearing. If I were to use a hydraulic throwout bearing, I'd get the best available ($150 ain't so cheap if you're always pulling your tranny to fix something). Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ

Bill, AZ actually had a House Bill this year that would have instituted a 25 year rolling rule that would have exempted cars older than 25 years from going through emissions. I read about it in Street Rodder Magazine in March and looked it up online. Unfortunately, it never made it through all of the committees. I called one of the sponsers of the bill and talked to his secretary and she said he planned on reintroducing it in Feb. 2004 when they start next year's session. Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ 1971 V8 240Z

Dale, I started having the same problem on my car recently. I'd push in the pedal and it wouldn't fully disengage the clutch. I checked for leaking fluid and found none. Turned out to be I hadn't tightened the jam nut on the adjustment shaft that goes from the pedal into the master cylinder. The threaded shaft was slowly backing off, becoming shorter. Once I readjusted the length and TIGHTENED THE NUT, everything was fine. Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ

I just picked up a set from Zbarn a couple of months ago for $35 each. Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ

With a stock Chevy bellhousing for a T-5, JTR recommends a 7/8"Tilton, which I am using, but I think that's the bare minimum. They make a 15/16" and a 1" and I think I'll switch to a 15/16" down the road sometime, just to make sure I have enough travel. Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ

I'm bleeding it the same as I did before, the same way I've bled other systems. Bleed the master cylinder first and then the slave. How do you do it from the slave up? Mike Mileski Tucson, AA

I have a T-5 with a stock slave cylinder and the 7/8" Tilton master cylinder. I had the clutch system totally set up for several years before I finally got my car running about 5 months ago. When I first started driving it, the clutch worked perfectly. Just recently, it felt like it wasn't fully disengaging. I'd press the pedal in all the way but it was very difficult to get it in gear. Twice, at a stop light, I had to turn it off, put it in gear, and then start the car, just to get it going. The reservoir was still full and there were no leaks. Last night, I rebled both the clutch master cylinder and slave cylinder but nothing changed, I could hardly get it to go in gear. I'm wondering if all those years it sat, with hardly any use (I only worked the clutch pedal every few months) if it could have caused the seals to go bad, and its only showing up now. Any ideas what I need to do, short of replacing both the master and the slave? Can the seals stop functioning without causing any leaks? Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ

zbarn.com Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ

I would definitely want one and prepay IF I could order it in a 5 lug. Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ

This is the order they should be made in. Fronts for Zs, rears for Zs, fronts for ZXs, rears for ZXs. I want a front AND rear set. Mike Mileski Tucson, AZ 1971 Z