Mike C

Can't argue with that. For the $2149 I paid for the Ready-to-weld pak with cart, torch & cooler, I'd say I'm more than excited.

The case is most familiar to a Ford and it uses a Ford compatible shifter. The output shaft is a goofy 27 spline with 1.5" diameter seal. The gear ratio is the same as an SVO Mustang but the input is Nissan clutch spline sized.

The one wheel peel is what is tearing up your diffs. When just one spins, the side gear on that side is flying while the other one is sitting still. This causes the spider gears to spin. They were never designed for that. It wears and heats the crossshaft and before long...pop. And back to the boneyard. Suck it up and get a limited slip, in the end your wallet will thank you, the car will be quicker, and much more fun to drive IMO.

You will. My PT275 rocks.

Cool Tim. Much better than the stupid mini van for a family car! (No offense to mini van fans...)

You want to extend the big red power wire as little as possible on an MSD box per their instructions. If your battery is still in the engine compartment, under the dash on the passenger footwell would be great, but behind the seat a little far IMO. If you do lengthen it, read for minimum wire sizes (I think 10ga) and ground the MSD wire to the chassis and I would also run another ground from the attachment point of the MS's ground to the battery or engine block.

Whatever path you choose, more important than the trigger is total advance. You need at least 34 degrees total spark advance, however you get there. You can modify the stock distributor for more advance especially if you eliminate the vacuum advance. I elected to go with a Mallory distributor without vacuum for my triple setup. Triples really don't pull enough vacuum from a single runner/carburetor throat to be effective. Currently I am running the dual points with 38 degrees advance. I have not played with it to see if this is optimum or not. I ordered the Unilite conversion but it has been back ordered since February? I have bought a 6A which I most likely will trigger one way or the other with the Mallory distrbutor, but the fully adjustable advance curve is great.

After reading this, I googled on Griffin radiator construction (I have 2 of these). Best I can tell, they are 100% furnace brazed cores then TIG and MIG welded. The expoy is added as additional safeguard against vibration failure. I would assume the Ron Davis was similar, just the initial mounting led to the failure? As soon as I replace the outlet on my radiator I will be mounting it in my Z. I have already TIG welded brackets to the 24x19 Griffin in the OEM Nissan locations, but I see some sort of rubber donut type insulators in my future...

Not the '73. They have the same style mount as the 26z/280z that hangs from brackets on the car. May have been a running change on end of '72 model?

Diff or trans? I was talking about the trans. My car was built January of 72.

I read how Rick did his install, but the 72 and earlier cars use a different style trans mount that bolts to the body and not the bushed crossmember that hangs from the bolts like the 73 and up. I drilled the spot welds from a 71 mount and separated it. Moved it back the right amount and filled it in. Welded it back together. Both body bolts had stripped out on my car. I drilled them oversize and tapped them. Screwed fine thread studs in and locktited them. Now I can remove it infinite times without further damage to the car. (and I know I need it out at least one more time to change clutch collar and throwout fork.)

The ZXT shaft was not going to work in my late 240 which should have been in the same spot as the aforementioned 75. I had a shaft made for mine and I had WENCO build it with a brand new Nissan yoke and used the Neapco adapter with 1310 U-joint in the rear and it worked fine with the '78 R200 pinion flange (which did have to be swapped onto the 85 12mm R200). If you are planning a big power motor, they can take a Mopar 27 spline yoke and reduce the seal diameter so you can use it on the T5 with 1310 joint in the front.

You need to use the the collar for whichever clutch you use. Which clutch was in your car? Where did your donor parts come from?

I have a Milwaukee shear ($20-gott'a love garage slaes with tools!) and it rocks. I have contemplated a nibbler, but chose a plasma cutter first....

My problem too. I bought a trans from Tony Fruza and he shipped it (thanks Tony, works great!). It was bent up when it arrived. First auto parts store seal I got was WAY too big. Second was slightly small. I put GM gasket sealer on it and pushed it in. Hoping for the best. I have ~300 miles on mine and the only leak is the stupid speedo cable.

How much do you want to spend? If I was looking for a sporty, relibale, economical car, I'd get an E36 318is (92-98). Actually I would do the 325is (Hey, we have one!) but not only is the 318 more economical they are cheaper. And if you are doing real estate, why not just look at a 4 door 325i? Clean 10 year old cars bring between $4500-$8500 depending on condition and mileage. Front engine, rear drive, IRS, revvin' inline6 (or 4), 4 wheel discs. Hey this thing is pretty much a Z with a backseat!

People give 305's away. NOBODY (at least not on something) gives away the TPI stuff. But if they do, give me their number please. Personally, I think the 92 235 hp 5 speed TPI 305 is an ideal swap for a Z if you can find the complete setup cheap and not worn out. Your Z should be fast and reliable and reasonably inexpensive as far as swaps go. Coincidentally why I like my Z so much to begin with. The example I always use is my buddy's '74 'vette convertible that weighs 3800# and ran 13.97 with a 86 TPI 305 with an SLP flat tappet cam, Blackjack headers and Edelbrock intake base. (The original was warped in a 6000 mile car back in 87!) That's with a TH700R4 with stock converter and 3.07 gears. A 1000# lighter Z should run low 12's with that setup.

Here are two shots of seats in my car. Striped ones are from a 90 Eagle Talon and two tone is from a 90 Eclipse. Both drivers seats have adjustable lumbar (mechanical) and the Talon seat has adjustable thigh support as well. Talon seats have a little more bolster also. I went with the Eclipse seats because I thought they went better with rest of interior in my car. Talon seats are for sale FWIW if anyone is interested and will pick up. $100 gets you two new seats for your car!

Turbo and 2+2 use the same size clutch, and (as usual) I learned the hard way that the T5 also uses a different release fork. I also learned that an '89 240sx 11/16" slave works also to get a little more throw...

We have an E36 325IS and it has been a great car. Ours is a '95 that we purchased as a lease return in '98 with 34k on it. It now has 112k. My wife likes the mini as well and we have talked about it as a possible replacement. But I work on these things since we keep cars so long, and I REALLY don't enjoy the thought of the mini's absolutely tiny engine compartment. Also, the little gerbil that resides under the mini's hood will be stressed significantly more than the much higher torque output 6 cylinder. Especially compared to the super charged S version you are considering IMO. Foced induction units don't seem to last as long as the rest of teh car, so a supercharger replacement could be a significant expense. Personally, as much as I like the Mini, the Bimmer makes a LOT more sense if you keep cars for a long time like we do. Smoother, quieter, more room than the mini with proven longevity. But as you can tell, my choices are based on LONG term ownership.

Try this for adjusting current: http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2006050206351896&item=2263&catname=electric They sell surplus generators that you can use to make a pretty trick welder with serious output. How about this one? 400 amps at 30v! http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2006050206351896&item=6-936&catname=electric

I think some polished tubes with silicone connectors ala intercooler piping would look cool. Mostly you see poly type expansion hoses. Somebody in the back of Hot Rod type mags has a complete setup that uses 4" or 5" ducting. Looks super cool.

Once you have a shop, you can really knock out some projects! Oh, and the house? 1800 sq ft is more than enough and 40 x 60 on the shop! Trust me, you can have too much house, but NEVER too much garage.

How does it run with the gas cap off or open?

The base John is talking about is common for a lot of GM Muscle cars that came with Holley's, but the 67-69 Z/28 is easiest way to get it and as he noted, you can get the base by itself. This drop base is the same as the 67-69 Cowl Induction air cleaner if you are contemplating a cold air hood, and I THINK the 70-72 Z/28 dual snorkel air cleaner also uses this base. The 70-72 setup would be trick for doing a ram-air type setup to the vents on either side of radiator.