Lewis Maudlin

Thanks for the answer, Alex.

Yes, the junk yard will weigh my car. However, it is apart this week putting in the Apexi standalone, the GT2871R, the 740 Nismo injectors, the Z32 MAF, and some new seats. I can weigh it next week. My car is fat. I have a big speaker box, amplifier, OE full size folding spare tire, 3"exhaust, FMIC, A/C components (not working yet), front and rear air dams, steel hood, etc. I have not attempted to lighten my car yet. I will wait until I see its speed in the 1/4 before I start trimming fat.

I also think you need a 3" downpipe and exhaust for 350whp.

It was enough for McGyver.

On my sbc, I did the engine, interior, suspension, brakes and everything before I did the paint. The first thing I did was take my car to a competent body shop and had new floor pans and frame rails installed. I had the body shop check out the car. Unfortunately, they did not tell me how bad the rust was. After I had spent so much money on my car, I found out that the rust was horrible. I got so mad at the amount of rust and the frame problems that I parted the car out. This time, I did the body first, then the engine. I have done the suspension and front brakes. Now I just need rear brakes, strut tower bars and interior.

That is one of the cleanest engine installs I have seen. No visible wiring. No unsightly cables. Congrats!

Thanks for the backup. Week after next when I have my GT2871R installed, I will go tune at the dyno shop and post some numbers too. Looks like good numbers. Have you weighed your car? I plan on doing that too.

I ended up opting for the FX45 for my wife. I had been looking at the FX35 and the Pathfinder. I got a 2003 with 30K miles for a reasonable price. Does anyone know anything good or bad about these vehicles?

I am running a recirculating BOV. I tried VTA, but with the stock computer it would not run correctly until I recirculated it. I think I will be able to switch to VTA once I put in my APEXi FC standalone fuel management.

Hey that is the color of my car. I went with 2005 Mazda RX-8 Titanium Gray. Here are pics. http://album.hybridz.org/showgallery.php?cat=618

I went with 215/55/15's or was it 215/60/15's. I was glad I didn't do the 225's. I am using the MSA Aero III front air dam. I had to trim it heavily to allow me to turn with the 215's. If I had 225's, I would have had to cut the corners out of the air dam. Here are my pics. http://album.hybridz.org/showgallery.php?cat=618

I sold my last project and regretted it. I would drive it and start another project from the stripped chassis up. If you have your driver, you can start with a bare bones chassis and do the things that you really want to do. If you sell yours, you won't have a comparison. Just my .02 cents.

The Nissans all shift from 1 on left to 5 on right. Yes, you are sitting on the opposite side, but the tranny does not know that. The only thing I had to put backward in my 280Z with Silvia engine was the gear shift had to be put in backward because it sat so far back. That only meant that instead of 1st being all the way forward and 2nd being close to the center, 1st was close to center and 2nd was farther back. The only reason I had to turn the gear shift lever around was that my engine sits so far back. If I had mounted it 1.5"s farther forward, I wouldn't have had to make that change.

I found my shipping company by doing an online search. I got quotes from 5 or more different companies. I then searched them on the web to figure out which one was best and cheapest. I would suggest you do the same since no one on this site will have the exact prices from CA to VA. Also, the following things figure into the price: 1. Is the vehicle running? Can it be driven under its own power onto a car carrier? 2. Are you shipping from terminal to terminal? 3. If not, how far is the car from the nearest terminal? 4. Are you using a closed carrier? I didn't and mine had every piece of road dirt between Oregon and Indiana. You did not include this info which would be necessary for an apple to apple comparison.

Even the best are not perfect. Let's examine this sentence: Examine the last sentence and you'll see what I mean. Shouldn't there be a . after "Examine the last sentence"? A comma-conjunction would do, however, the conjunction does not serve its function. Maybe just "Examine the last sentence, and you'll see what I mean".

I like my hood just fine. I would say it allows as much if not more air through its 82 louvers as a 4" cowl. Here is a pic: http://album.hybridz.org/showphoto.php?photo=5854&cat=618 I just got a junkyard hood and stripped the paint. Then I took it to a hot rod guy to punch the louvers. He charged $1/louver. Hood at the local pick and pull $20 82 louvers $82 Custom equipment Priceless

I paid $900 for one from Oregon to near Louisville, KY. The high price was due to the transport not being from terminal to terminal. I had it shipped door to door and the car was 2 hours from the terminal in Oregon and I was approximately 1 hour from the terminal in Indiana.

I will be in Indy Saturday. Want me to go knock on his door and ask if he really has an engine?

Does anyone know of a source for strut bars other than MSA? I need a set for my Z. I think almost any set will work since I have an SR20DET.

Sorry guys, but I am sold on the SR20DET. You can pick up a 240sx that has been converted for around $5000. That is a great place to start as long as it isn't a hatchet job. I expect next week, mine will be putting out around 375whp and getting close to 30 mpg on the highway. I was just getting 250 or so whp and 30 mpg's. New turbo, injectors and standalone.

The suggestion to work as a sub-contractor does not solve anything. You still have to pay higher taxes and most contractors do not pay their subs until they are paid. Same dilemma. Remember, anyone that has the money to pay you, has the money to buy the materials and pay at least half of your labor up front. Do not start a job with promise of payment. I do not know about Cleveland, but in many midwest states, no license or permit is required. Probably the best place to ask in Cleveland is at the Building commissioners office in City Government.

Oh, it is always good if you have assets to protect those assets by putting potential liability into an LLC/INC. This, however, costs money so those with few assets often opt to do without. If you are judgment proof anyway, what good does having an LLC or INC do?

If you do a good job and are reliable and dependable, typically you will have more business than you can handle. If you don't show up when you say or don't finish when you promise, you will get a bad reputation fast. Contractors work by their reputations. I know many that have had serious problems then want to talk about their family situation. The person who hires a tiler to put in a backsplash probably does not want to hear about their family situation or other excuses. The most important things to remember with a small business. 1. Do not price yourself too cheap. Pricing yourself too cheap may make people think you are an inferior tiler. Also, it is hard to raise your prices later. I would stay a lot closer to the going rate. 2. Remember that you have to pay Social Security or Self Employment tax on your earnings which would normally be paid by your employer. This is an extra 8% (rounded up) that you owe in taxes. 3. Keep your receipts. Anything that is done for your business or used strictly for your business is typically deductible. Let's say that you make $50,000 a year of taxable income. That puts your marginal tax dollar at roughly: 28% taxes 15.5% Social security and medicare 5% state and local taxes This means that your marginal tax dollar is being taxed at 48.5%. What this means in layman terms is that anything you can deduct was HALF paid for by Uncle Sam. Each receipt is worth half of its value to you in real cash which would have to be sent to uncle sam. 4. Reputation and word of mouth will usually do your advertising in a service trade.

The guy in the enzo must have been racing a Hybrid Z!!! That would explain everything and also explain why he pushed his car so hard he crashed then ran away. Losing to a Hybrid Z is nothing to be ashamed of. It happens all the time to some of the most expensive cars out there.

I put a three inch straight pipe on mine going to a Megan Racing 3" inlet 4" outlet straight through muffler. No restriction anywhere. This is best for my current turbo setup. http://album.hybridz.org/showgallery.php?cat=618 When I had a V-8, I had dual 2.5" exhausts all the way back with 4" blue turbo glasspacks. They are very similar to the $16.95 cherry bomb only a bigger inlet and through passage. You may want to check into one of them. They are blue not red and probably cost $19.95 instead of $16.95.