labrat

Okay, if the tilton 13/16 MC is going to be too big, would the stock datsun unit work properly without blowing out the T/O bearing or causing excessive pedal pressure? I don't know if I can swap out the MC by the time I need to get this running with shipping both ways to summit, but I can pick up a datsun MC fairly easily. Anyone know? Thanks Bill

Thanks terry, I appreciate the input! The master cylinder was originally purchased to work with a camaro slave, but then I changed my plans and ordered the hydraulic T/O bearing thinking it would be easier all around than drilling and tapping the slave, buying a clutch fork, etc. Might have to return it for the smaller bore. The problem is, the engine is both coming out and going back in on thursday and all this has to be assembled, so I'm trying to gather all the parts i'll need before then. I am looking for the lines and fittings I'll need to have by then. And, the parts won't even be here till wednesday... Anyway, thanks, I appreciate it! Bill

ok, I ordered the hydraulic throwout bearing here: http://store.summitracing.com/default.asp?target=search.asp&type=bykeyword&searchtype=both&part=hydraulic+throwout+bearing (the top one) What I was wondering was if anyone knows what kind of hydraulic line and fittings I will need to plumb it to a tilton 13/16" master cylinder? I asked the customer service guy at summit, but he didn't know. Oh, and does anyone happen to know the size and pitch of the bellhousing bolts for a T5 from an 84 camaro? Any insights are appreciated! Bill

thx for the replies. Time to whip out the old credit card...

Does anyone know anyone that has a copy of the hybridZ video I made a couple years ago? It had stony's Z, darius (of course) and scottyGNZ's car, plus a couple more. It was done to the song Dirty Minds by Jeff Beck. That was a rocking video, but i lost it when I formatted my machine. If anyone has it, I would be endlessly grateful if you could send it to me, it was about 6 MB or so if I recall correctly. I was working on a part2, got it about halfway done, but work and school got in the way. It was done to Dragula by Rob Zombie.... and had parts of his actual music video edited in. Anyhowz... Thanks, if you got it. Bill

Okay, I have an early block (2 piece main) with a T5 from an 84 camaro. The question I have is what flywheel/clutch combo should I use? 168 tooth flywheel or 153? 10 inch, 10.4 in, or 11 in clutch? I would like to use a lightweight flywheel for this application, as the accelleration will be TONS better. I could tell a huge difference in my miata when I replaced the flywheel with a lighter one, and I wanna take care of this at the same time as I install the tranny. So which one should I go for? Bill

You'll definitely need to change the imput shaft, as the spines are incorrect for a chevy clutch. Other than that, i'm not sure about he bellhousing. I think lakewood or someone makes one, but a simple adapter plate may be your best bet, dollar wise.

I just took my car to a friend of a friend who owns a shop in mesquite. He gave me a sticker for my carbed 81ZX with no cats, but I had to let him test drive it. He boiled the cheapo tires I had on it for almost 2 blocks.

I don't know how well this will work for you or in your area, and I didn't do it for this reason, but here goes... I'm really bad about paying my tickets. I never do. And I get a lot of them. Anyway, I have had a bunch of them turn into warrants (and have been subsequently arrested for non-payment 5 times) but anyway, whenever I let a ticket turn into a warrant for my arrest, get arrested, and pay the ticket to get out of jail, they somehow never show up on my driving record. As far as progressive knows, I've only had 2 my entire life (and i had more than that the first week I bought my car). Anyway, YMMV! Bill

Here's my funny story... I bought me a brand spanking new arc welder (one of the little jobs for light work) and decided to test it out. In shorts and a t-shirt. Went to welding on an old flexplate I had, and by the time i had the hang of running a bead fairly well, I had went through about 12~15 of the little rods. Woke up the next day with the nastiest sunburn on the insides of my legs. As I was squatting the entire time, my shorts rode up a little. That sunburn was awfully close to something very tender!

I had the exact same problem in my 81 280ZX/ sbc swap. Turns out the upper radiator hose is higher than the filler lid in the radiator, and I had a huge air pocket in the cooling system. Under serious rpms, the air pocket moves to the radiator, but while idling stays mostly in the hose. It idled fine all day long at ~210 degrees, but highway would leave her smokin... In line filler cap in upper rad hose solved the problem.

78 pinto with a 2.3L turbo motor from a thunderbird. That's 300 for the car and 500 for the motor swap, and you're in low 14's...

Also remember that a used th350 trans goes for somewhere aroung 100 bux... So that had better be a good engine.

I agree. The manual is definitely helpful, even if you have a 280ZX, as long as you know the differences between the new and old chassis. I just converted my 81 ZX, and actually getting the motor in the car was very simple. Getting the bugs worked out of the swap has taken me 2 years... Anyway, the motor mounts will be simple, just about 3" of spacers between the mount and the block if you use the truck style mounts in the JTR manual, and you might have to slot the crossmember hole a little. I oblonged mine out with a hand file to get the fine adjustment down.

I've thought about this myself, and the best solution I could come up with (provided teh Z already has AC) is to modify the lines on a GM compressor to match up with the datsun lines. You should prolly use a gm dryer too, as the new ones are better than the old style ones. Just what I'm thinking of doing... Bill

I hate to say this, but I got ya all beat. Besides a dremel tool (from my GF) a 57" widescreen HDTV (from me...) I got the lady of my dreams to somehow agree to marry me at an as yet undetermined date in the future. Then yesterday, she pulled the heads off my Z for me! Again! This is the second time she's really pitched in to help me working on my Z. Guess the sparkle from the diamond went to her head... Btw guys, in case you didn't know already, diamonds are a wonderful aphrodesiac...

If you're going to be driving this car more than 5 miles per trip, the TH350 tranny will have to go. Trust me on this one. I had an el camino with a th350 and it didn't seem that bad, so I put one in my 280zx too. Big mistake. Which will be rectified shortly with my new-to-me T5

We stopped at a 7-11 in northside Ft. Worth one night to get some smokes on the way back from the shooting range. I had a 12 guage and a mini-14 in the back seat of my friend's camaro. All of a sudden, these 3 young guys started circling the car and eyeing my girlfriend who was sitting in the passenger seat and making lewd comments. The windows were blacked out so they couldn't see me in the back seat, just this young blonde sitting up front with the window down. I'll tell ya, nothing beats the look on their faces when I racked the bolt on that mini-14. Didn't lift it high enough to see, didn't brandish it, just the metal-on-metal *snick* of the bolt slamming home on an assault rifle was enough to let them know they didn't want none...

I'm running the pertronix ignitor 2 in my old points dizzy, and it works great. The only thing I'm not sure about is whether it can take triggering a CD type ignition box like an MSD-6A. Anyone got any experience with this? I think the higher current draw burns them up, but I'm not sure... Bill

Another advantage of the whole double clutching thing is right before you go into a turn. You are already in the gear you need to be in to accellerate smoothly out of the turn, and it makes your entry into the turn much smoother if your engine and tranny are already synched up RPM wise when you release the clutch. I do it on every downshift of my Miata just to save a little clutch wear.

Okay, I ordered a header kit from them, and the quality is terrific! The flanges are the heaviest I have ever seen on any header (3/8' steel) and the j tubes are bent very will, with no noticeable crimping at all. The only concern at this point is trying to seal up the collector where they meet the pipes. Anyone have any tips on this? Thanks. Btw, 1 5/8' kit delivered to my door for $215.00 Bill

And take my word for it, the pamela/tommy video isn't that great either. While yes, you get to see a side of pammy that you only dreamed about, that side also doesn't wear makeup. She's looking mighty rough in her old age... Kinda like some old biker chick.

It must suck for you guys to have to put your projects away for the winter. Here in Tejas, it's just getting cool enough to actually work on mine without dieing of heatstroke...

HIGHLY modified chrysler slant six at 7000 rpm with pipes running just above the hood.

I found a new place to get a customer header kit other than Hooker or headers by ed, who both tend to be REAL pricey. It's amazing that the components to build a pair of headers are more expensive than finished headers. Heck, the flanges alone are about the price of some of the cheaper ones. Anyway, if anyone's interested, it's: http://cachassisworks.com/header.htm The stepped header kits at the bottom look like they might be just the ticket, and much cheaper than buying the bends, collectors, and flanges separately. Bill