dsommer

Off topic. Bill, Mad Mike might be coming to town this weekend for BransonZfest.... Uh oh the hater (Mike) of Bastardized Z's is a comin' my way. I'll meet him head on with the Scarab a-packin' the power:wink:

I've got the entire JDMWerks tokico Illuminal kit w/springs on the Scarab and am happy with the price and parts. No issues what so ever.

Austin, What is the backspacing on your wheels in inches? IE what does -19 equate to in inches? Anybody else?

Uh wouldn't the oils from his hand contaminate the wax? Sorry, nope!

What is a "decent" price? One thing you'll find is the word "budget". A v-8 swap WILL nickel and dime you, not to death, but it will creep into your back pocket and puck a 10 here a 20 there add that to several Benjamins that you'll be dropping for JTR conversion kit, engine+tranny. I would recomend picking up an abandoned project, you'll be miles ahead (90% of the time) avoid rusty cars (I assume you're in CA) and keep emissions in mind. As far as a decent tranny for a decent price. I just picked up another T-5 with a fresh rebuild (no bellhousing etc) for a song <$300. Just keep your ears and eyes open and follow up on old posts if somebody is selling, that's how I found this tranny. The tranny in my car I found used in the classified ads in my local paper. Good luck!!!

Congrats to both!!!! Pics, pics, pics....please.

You read my mind on that one except I'm considering a gray on top with silver sides or vice versa then ghost in the BRE stripes. cool!!! Anybody want to try and photo shop that for me?

Note the wheels above are five lug (but you already knew that). Check out Team3 wheels. Custom offsets without the "custom" price tag ($2000+ is a custom price tag to me) http://www.team3wheels.com/ac/

One Scarab valve cover DONE special thanks to ZFAN for not tossing these old VC's in the trash!!! Before/After Close up

Is it "drivable" now ie finished? Man I remember when we got together in 2002 (?) and compared cars, you were going turbo I went v-8, my car now sits, I've remaried and had twins. You're going to paint. Hmmmm I suck Well this is an example of how long it takes to build a v-8 car. Bryan=4+years David=4+years+++++ (holds his head in shame) Well I better get my rear in gear and get my 240 over to the house and start spinning wrenches, uh oh yeah the Scarab still nees some more work. Headers are leaking, one VC still needs paint and sanding, stereo needs to be installed, new plug wires and dividers need to be installed and that nice radiator you sold me needs to be installed. Time....I have none. I'm in NJ right now for a week, uggh.

Have somebody do it for you or do it yourself? If paying somebody else I'd guess around $5000 + easy. Rearend is an R-200 you'll be fine. You may want to start seaching and doing a LOT of reading around here. The RB swap is not one of the more popular ones albeit one of the more interesting ones. I get the feeling you're trying to have a car built for you because you got a "bug" to have a fast Z. I can tell you it's not going to be cheap and my 5K estimate may be a bit on the LOW side. Also read the Hybirdz rules http://forums.hybridz.org/announcement.php?f=58&a=2 Read this: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=111526

You ran off and LEFT his a$$ for sure!!!

Economy lift, I didn't have the garage height to go with a post lift.

My 240z8 The Scarab

That was and interesting read. Thanks again!!!! I'm going to do that this week!!! David

Just got mine via FEDEX. Thanks!!!

I had the chance to meet and visit with Eric last August and then again in October when he was here in town (Bentonville, AR). He drove for John Force who Castrol sponsors (I work for Castrol), Eric was an awsome guy!!! I feel so empty today after hearing of his death. This sucks I am so upset right now.

Sounds like you have your work cut out for you. If I may suggest on your brake upgrade if you going through all this work you should consider the AZ-Zcar brake conversion. Dollar for dollar it is the best money I’ve spent on an upgrade so far. I’ve got 4pt 3” harnesses in my hybrid car and when you stomp those brakes… well you’re happy to be strapped in securely by the harness or you’d be kissing the windshield! Under coating removal; I would recommend the dry ice approach and a needle scaler. I did not remove undercoating on the car pictured above but did on my hybrid car. Heat works too but in all actuality I wouldn’t get too carried away with removing the undercoating unless you’re trying to repair rust. POR-15; do a web search, if you’re repairing any rust you’ll want some of this product. The chassis coat I mention is not a rust inhibitor just a tough coating and it is brushed on with a foam brush in light coats. The steering rack was degreased and then coated with POR-15 metal mask, as were the tie rod ends and brake calipers. It gives them an original raw metal look, neat stuff. I soak everything with oven cleaner to get the initial gunk off then scrub with a stiff bristled brush and warm water, then follow up with SuperClean or Orange blast then a final nook and cranny cleaning with lacquer thinner to remove any remaining oils then coat with POR-15 products. Thoroughly cleaning your parts will yield you the best finish, be anal about the cleanliness of your parts and take your time. You only want to do the job once. Again reconsider the brakes even if you only go front brakes for now, they’re worth it. Good luck and keep us posted.

If possible get a helper. (real advice) Are you doing bushings too? If so go ahead and buy new spindle pins, locks and nuts. Save your energy by having the old spindle pins pressed out by a 4x4 shop (they have BIG presses) Get a pint of POR-15 Chassis Coat to coat the parts as they are cleaned and ready for reassembly. Here is a pic of the work I just completed on my car. (not coil overs but suspension rebuild) Go here for more pics. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=117311

So let's talk about best practice driving then. You bring up one point that I truly believe in, the polarized sunglasses. You can see SOOOO much better, in the rain, fog etc. with polarized glasses, I would recomend everybody pick a pair up and give them a try, you'll be amazed at how much more you can see.

I've got a 4 speed in the Scarab with a 3.36 geared rear end. In my JTR car I have a WC T-5 and 3.70 LSD rear end. A lot of it depends on the rear gears. With that being said, the JTR car (approx 400 hp est) is very quick, first gear goes by in the blink of an eye and you'd better be grabbing second or you're going to red line the engine every time (at full throttle). Even with a 5th gear the engine still spins around 2K+ at reasonable freeway speeds. I do not know what the top end of the car is. The Scarab with the 4 speed, 3.36 gears makes it a bit of a dog stop light to stop light and at freeway speeds the engine turns 2.5K+. But it is in its power band at those RPMs however top end is limited to max RPMs in 4th gear. So as the old addage goes around here, what are you trying to do with the car? Personally I prefer the 5 speed over the 4. Going down the freeway spinng close to 3K RPM just doesn't sit too well with me. If you choose the 4 speed be sure to build your engine to withstand the higher RPM's it will experience on a regular basis. Why the high price on the T-5? I picked mine up for $250, added a hurst shifter $125 clutch,PP, throw out bearing $150ish(?) custom clutch line $50.<$600.

Is it out on video?

update

Man you guy and these spindle pins. The EASIEST method is to take them to a shop that specializes in off road 4X4's and have them pressed out. They have the BIG equipment/presses to do this job quickly and inexpensivly. Even if it costs 15-50 dollars what is your time worth? Also many times the strut cartridge is "stuck" in the strut tube, they can remove these quickly too. On average it looks like it's taking folks 3 to 8 hours to removed the spindle pins with cussing, sweating, and possible cuts, burns and bruises. Just my .02 worth. I'd rather be working on the car than beating the crap out of a spindle pin. Work smarter not harder.

True moral of the story... Don't F*%& around!