thehelix112

Thanks guys, just ordered a welding helmet, found the speedglas 9100xx for under 400 online, so went with that. Pretty expensive I guess, but hopefully it'll be a long time before I need to replace it. The welder will be in the garage, the breaker is at the exact opposite end of the house, outside. I need to check if I have a 220V outlet for a dryer (we have a gas dryer atm), and whether or not the box even has 220V. If box has 220v but it doesn't run to the garage I guess I'll be getting a sparky to try and fix that. Thanks again for the help, Dave Kiwi303, lived in one for the first 25 years of my life, only a recent immigrant to this great lower voltage land. The stick my dad built was run from a holden grey motor thats 10 years older than I am, he used it to build our home out in the bush.

Blozup, thanks for the input and the links! Much obliged. One small hiccup is that it was just pointed out to me that the welder is 220v, and I don't think my house is wired for 220v. So I have two options: 1. Upgrade my service to 220v, no idea how much that will cost but I'll ring a sparky tomorrow. 2. Call the place I ordered from and try to get a 110v version. I'd hate to change stuff to get a 110v one that won't do what I want in the future, but if it costs too much to ugprade the service I won't be able to afford it for a while. Gunna go do some research, but in peoples experiences, is a 110v reasonable for basic automotive stuff, I guess the biggest thing I'd wanna do is a roll cage at some point in the future.. would it support that? Many thanks! Dave

Guys, I just ordered my first welder: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220855697208&ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:US:1123#ht_1693wt_1398 Hopefully this entry level Tig will give me something that I can learn with. The only welding I've done previously was with my father's 35yo engine-driven Lincoln stick welder. I suck at it, but I am willing to practice to improve. I'm very very open to advice on how best to get started. EMWHYR0HEN recommended airgas(.com) in LA to get the gas for it, and looks like they have all the filler material I will need and so on. So questions, does anyone have a recommendation for a good autodarkening helmet? I haven't even started research on them, so be gentle, but my budget is around the $400 mark. I don't need anything super fancy or professional, but I don't wanna buy a cheap POS that will break in 6 months either (ie, preferably Made in USA). Also, I've started reading through some Tig tutorials online, does anyone have a little cache of welding references they would care to share? I have limited spare time for things like welding classes, but virtually unlimited spare time for things like reading tutorials, so I'd like to read as much as possible. Looking forward to blowing holes in things and much swearing! Dave

Thanks man, I just figured if people were going to initiate a discussion about something it'd be nice to refer people to what they are talking about, and save others the energy involved in re-finding it all. Dave

Got a link to these brakes?

You are wrong. http://zforceproductions.com/product%20images/zgflares/IMG_3420.jpg They are a fair bit wider. Justin got that mould custom modified based on the stock ZG one. Dave

Np, talking to them now if you care to join, irc.austnet.org #ozdat. You wanna walk up to federation square, and hop on a tram headed to fitzroy st, go within a block and a half of the beach, and get off. There is a pizza shop there called La Porchetta. They'll be up the stairs towards the back sitting on the left if memory serves. Google maps doesn't appear to have public transport mapping in Melbs, which is pretty shizen, but the tram will basically follow this route: http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=La+Porchetta,+33+Fitzroy+Street,+St+Kilda+VIC,+Australia&daddr=Flinders+St,+Melbourne+Victoria,+Australia&hl=en&ll=-37.839953,144.972839&spn=0.073477,0.104456&sll=-37.840225,144.96769&sspn=0.073476,0.104456&geocode=FZlGvv0dsSKkCCH-fV9X51bqlymdco2jb2jWajG4gUWverKrkg%3BFU7uvv0d7_WjCCkplScNs0LWajEaCrWWRXNJSg&vpsrc=0&mra=ltm&t=m&z=14 Dave

Cross posting this here, which is your best bet if you're still in town Thursday: http://www.ozdat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=3540&p=214522#p214522 They're not zed people, but general datsun people. Zeds are damn expensive in Oz, so tend to attract the older purists who can afford it. Other datsun, 510s (Datsun 1600 in oz), 200Bs, 120Ys etc are typically favoured by people with less dosh and more interested in going quick. We (they) typically do Pizza down Fitzroy St in St Kilda, which is a ~20min tram ride from the city. I used to live on Flinders St. Dave

My bad on stating the bead width. Fair enough. Hard to argue against following manufacturer recommendations, and I agree with the spirit of your point that all tyres are subtlely different. However, my ``fuzzy'' maths would be something along the lines of 7.5 + 1 = 8.5 * 25.4 = (as you so correctly point out) 215. So following the very, very rough rule of thumb I understand, I'd recommend the 7.5" rim for a 215 tyre. The reason for this rule of thumb, again, just as I understand them are: * The section width of the tyre is measured sidewall to sidewall * For decent handling (optimal is clearly too strong a word), it is sometimes best to minimize tyre bulge, and keeping the sidewall flush with the lip is a reasonable way to do this. This tends to put a little less tyre on given rim than might be typical for tyre manufacturers and OEMs, whom I guess have to weigh other things like protection from curb rash, against handling. With the sidewall flush with the lip if you bump a gutter it tends to be all rim. Again, might be completely wrong with all of this, but it makes enough sense to me to be worth a mention. Dave

My understanding is that 215 is only ~10mm too narrow for optimal fitment on a x8 rim, which makes it ~35mm too narrow for optimal on a x9 rim. This is based on most actual rims being approximately 1" wider than their stated width. Thus a x8 is actually a x9 at the seal point for the bead. 9 x 25.4 to get it to mm is 228mm, so a 225 width tyre would be optimal (hence ~10mm too narrow), and you can elaborate from there. I imagine the tyres will fit just fine. Dave

Hehe.. I was thinking that. It has that unique factor, but I'm definitely not a fan. The lines from the guards to the door don't look to match up very well at all.. Dave

Driven5, Thanks! I'd been wondering what the exact stuff they use was called for ages. Dave

Thanks dude. I've been hunting on ebay and craigslist for 370z transmissions, one site I read indicated they're just like a 350z transmission but with more design iterations for strength and reliability. That kinda makes sense, and the price difference is not big enough to warrant not getting them. Unless one of the design iterations was `make this cheaper'.. but I hope not. Dave

Do tell.

Worth a shot I guess. No way I am paying that much, will look at getting one machined up I guess. After I have the box will have both sides to adapt so should go ok. Dave

Newton I think was more interested in apples. You mean Murphy? Dave

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2009-NISSAN-370Z-OEM-6-SPEED-MANUAL-TRANSMISSION-VQ37-/270808931418?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3f0d785c5a#ht_362 Is pretty reasonable, if I was in or close to Tampa. Will wait for something to pop up on the west coast I guess. Either that or do actual work and annoy wreckers. Dave

Thanks 75zcar. Yeah plans are a ZGR spoiler. Front airdam likely won't get painted for a while. The pics make the car look good, the paint is actually awful. Will be swapping it over to matte black piecemeal in the future as I replace parts with composite ones. Spoiler is pretty high up on the list though. Dave

Just finished putting the new wheels and flares on: Dave

Just shot you an email, though I think i mistakenly referred to a z33 conversion. I got a tad confused, investigating that option too. Thanks! Dave

Awesome, thanks dude. Much appreciated. Dave

Letitsnow, thanks for the link! Pretty expensive at this point. Force, oh awesome! 900 is pretty reasonable. If you see one for sale near socal please let me know! Do you just tend to check z forums classifieds or craigslist or what? Dave

Thanks dude, didn't know people were setting up with the later zed boxes. Will do some more digging into how much 370z boxes are worth.. Dave

Any movement on this? Pricng and availability please. Dave

Nevermind. I think i sufficiently calmed down and have decided to go the route that has at least some track record with other people. There are a couple of places that have already done the z32 gearbox onto VK56 engine so I guess I'll head down that route. Maybe put the extra monday I save on the box towards the clutch. Speaking of, do people have really strong opinions about different clutch manufacturers? Thinking brands in my price bracket would be the likes of Tilton and quarter master.. Any other brands or small places with great support in socal I should be considering? Thanks, Dave