Doug71zt

Guess you're looking for opinions - so here's my .02. I put Ground Control coilovers with Illuminas in my car last spring. 200F/225R. IMO they are too stiff for the street. I would say 175/200 would be better - I'll let you know next spring.(snow is flying here no more Z for me).I run the struts on 2 or 3. The strut housings are sectioned 1.5" front and rear. Bars are 1 1/8 front and 7/8 rear. Car has small push off of the power and healthy oversteer on the boost but the LSD may have something to do with that. Wheels are 17x7 and 225/45/17. I'll be getting track tires and rims next year in 16" 225/50/16. Second your opinion on 17" wheels - too big for the Z.(Look pretty great though) . Hope this helps - Doug

Scottie - you've got mail

Has anyone heard of this guy? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1871217048 Seems like a good deal to me.

Thanks again guys. I talked to Bell today and they think that the vertical core is the best way. Looks be damned - I'll go for more power any day. I think it will be a 3x22x8 core for me. Flows enough for 500 hp at 1 PSI drop and the piping won't be that bad. Scottie - they promised to do a better job on my IC than they did on yours. Just have to wait 2 wks till they get there new business up and running. I didn't price a Spearco yet. Good people to talk to at Bell though. Thanks - Doug

My club(Ontario Zcar) in Canada has a member which has a JCR on his 240Z. It's running Electramotive Tec-2 and has had extensive tuning and lots of $$ invested. I have an L28 turbo in my 240 with a small IC and SDS efi and IMO I have more power at 8 psi than that supercharger will ever make. It generates a LOT of intake heat and is a little on the small side for the 2.8L. A stock turbo makes full boost at 2.5-2.8K and enough torque to move the car out smartly. That kit was not a big seller for some good reasons. If you want his email - I can look it up for you. Cheers - Doug

I haven't got a quote yet. They are setting up an IC only business that opens in mid-Nov. I'm going to call for pricing on just a core and a complete assy in a couple weeks. They said that the demand is there for the product and as an earlier post said - spearco's pricing just went thru the roof. Later - Doug

Thanks for the input guys - I was also wondering if you had done any inlet/outlet temp or pressure measurements on your ic's after installation? I like the look of Stoney's IC for its lack of sharp piping bends and was thinking of a set-up similar to that but I understand that there will be more restriction in a long core like that.

Just to follow up on an earlier post - How much is an original LT-1 worth these days? I just took one out of my parents's neigbours '72 3500 GMC. It was taken out of a Camaro in the late 70's and installed in that truck by my uncle. I've always kept an eye on it and it was retired last year. The engine was a freebee for getting rid of the truck. Do I have a goldmine or what? Thanks - Doug

Its time to upgrade my supra ic. I'm looking at a corky bell or spearco core but I'm wondering what size to run. Scottie? or anyone else out there with a fabbed up IC. I'm currently running a L28ET but want to be able to use this IC for a RB26 conversion in the future. I'm going to run the tubing through the vent holes in the rad saddle so I think I have about 20" of core width available. Also - if you know the rated flow and pressure drop through your core that would be good to know. Thanks - Doug

Not a Buick x-pert by any means but I think Scottie-GNZ had a leaking head stud problem on his motor. Might want to send him a PM as he is the source for GN tech here. Doug

So - following that logic - I'm curious as to what engine the GN gets when the Z gets stuffed full of Buick power? Cheers - Doug

Thanks for the info. I'm going to have to scare up some L24 rods when I get home. Thinking about this last night - If I'm going to do a new bottom end - why don't I get the LD crank and I'm sure you know the rest of this story. Anyway - what CR do you figure that you are running now? If you wouldn't mind could get the job # for your pistons.That would give me a starting point. Is there a specific person that you deal with at Ross? Thanks - Doug

Were they off the shelf or a custom job? How much did you pay for the set?

I'm considering putting flattop forged pistons in my Turbo F54/P90 combo. I'm going to unshroud the valves so that will increase the head volume. I did a search but didn't find anyone that said they were running this combo. Math works out to 8.5-8.8 to 1 CR. Any comments before I spend the money and get the die grinder out? Thanks - Doug

Oh ya - do you ever come across stuff to use on your car! Think aluminum and all the wonderful things you can build with it. Seriously - what you gain from a job in aerospace is the skills and confidence to tackle any upgrade you want on your ride. Also - most shops have a selection of machine tools and lots of guys who are gearheads.One of the guys I work with runs a monster Brodex in a Nova w/ juice/ladder bars/full cage on the street - you should hear it - sounds like the end of the world! It also pins you to the seat like nothing I've ever been in. The sky is the limit on what you can do. My 240 runs z32 brakes/z31 lsd and CV's/5 bolt hubs and Turbo EFI - All done with my two hands(and some cake - but a fraction of what a shop would soak you for one-off mods). IMO - seriously think about the job. Good luck - Doug

Hum - Low cost - I may be the wrong guy to ask about that as it seems every time I start an upgrade to the Z - it ends up costing about twice what I thought it would when I started. On second thought - maybe more than 2x the cost. If you are looking budget - forget the AN fitting and swap over the stock fitting from you turbo pan. I've forgotten that most of the world doesn't have used AN stuff kicking around like I do(Aircraft mechanic) - Sorry Doug

The only problem I've had with the Nissan unit is shearing off the roll pins between the shift fork and the shaft. Happened going into 3rd one of my first times at the strip (I was a little hyped-up). Cost me a climate control panel and 10 stitches in my knuckles. Now I rivet the forks to the shafts with monel rivets.(And relax a little at the track). The T5's in the Mustangs used to spread the case in the front of the tranny and take the teeth off of the input gears. There's not much good left after that happens. Word is that they've got a lot better since then. Doug

Makes you wonder if it's meant as a joke or if there really are people out there that are that far out there, if you get my drift. BTW - Do you think the front tires hit the fenders before or after the suspension hits the bump stops? Doug

Just to stray a little farther off topic - I'm involved in a stroker 440 mopar build-up which is getting a pair of t04's and SDS EFI. It's going in a poor little 66 Valiant 2door. It made just over 500HP NA with a 2x4 tunnel ram. Any guesses what it will make with two turbos at 10 pounds? Big V8 + Boost = BIG DIRTY FUN. BTW - Welcome back to the land of the living! Hope your Z hits the street soon! Doug

Bulletproof? T5 - strange finding those two words used together. IMO - stick with the NA Nissan transmission. I've found them more reliable than the T5. I've changed a truckload of T5's from 80's Camaro and Mustang and even V6 S10 trucks. Sounds like the tips came off of the 1st/2nd shift fork or it broke in half. Do you shift it hard sometimes?(Don't we all?) Not sure about the clutch problem. The input bearing may have gone out of it but that results in no drive at all . Sell the D/S and Bellhousing and drop in a FS5W71B But that's just my opinion. Good Luck - Doug

IMHO - I'd use the stock NA pan and cut a return hole instead of cutting the pickup. Or you could get an AN bulkhead fitting for the return line. Just drill a hole in the pan and slip the fitting through. There is a nut on the outside and it seals with an Oring. Quick and easy - no welding req'd. But - locktite the nut. The cut/reweld pickup method has more potential for problems Doug

Oh No - Another wiring harness screwed up by a previous owner The worst is when they screw the headlight wiring. One power wire/switched grounds do it to most backyard mechanics. Sounds like you have a problem in the voltage reg or wiring to it. I have seen some jobber v regs with the wiring messed up right out of the box. I'm at work right now and don't have wiring diagrams (I have a 280zx manual with me but no early Z) so I can't be much use to you. Sounds like you have it narrowed down though. Hope some of the gurus can step in with some wire colors to check. Tony? Good Luck - Doug

Regarding the aerodynamic q. That's a really great answer Michael! I'm an A&P guy who works on helicopters and I've noticed this on Boeing 767 a number of times. If you sit in row 18 or 19 (exit row) it is visible in some sunlight conditions. I always assumed it was a mach wave as it tends to move around as the airflow changes over the wing. Guess I spend too much time on the airplane and not enough at home with my family and Z(in that order, of course). Cheers, Doug

Another thought - If your alt has an external regulator on the fender still - It could be screwed up or the wiring to it could be screwed. This could feed power back through the ign circuit Doug

This problem seems familiar. I put an internally regulated 280z alternator in my 240 years ago and had the same problem. What happened was the alternator was feeding back power through the field curcuit when I shut the car off - so it would keep running. If you stalled the engine, there was no power anywhere. I don't know what alt you have on your 260. I solved the problem with a field relay that cut off the field when you shut the ign off. An easy way to check if this is the problem is to unplug the field connector on the alt(small white plug) when the car is running with the ign off. If the car stalls - problem found. Other than that, it could be the ign switch. (shrug) Other electrical gurus?? Hope this helps - Doug