Tim240z

You know what they say:"Charity starts at home" Maybe the lil' woman will sponsor these for me Fat chance , maybe if it was a pair of shoes or something! Tim

Omar, Here's some pics of my new floors and connectors: web page Sorry, they're not very detailed, but should give U an idea. Or check out Pete's site: web page. (hope U don't mind Pete?) Tim ps. Sorry you couldn't make it on Sunday. [ October 23, 2001: Message edited by: Tim240Z ]

quote: Quote from Pete: Tim, you just described my tool kit for fabbing things. Other than files, a dremel, vice grips, hammers!, and a vice and a bunch of tubing and steel plate scrap, that's exactly how I go about making brackets and stuff. Pete, how utilitarian are those little Dremel jobbies? I have a pneumatic die grinder, with a bit for slotting holes etc, but it really sucks air and the compressor has a hard time keeping up. I've wondering about those dremels (many a late night watching infomercial ).Can they be used for head porting? Tim

This looks like a nice unit for a decent price? I'm wondering if there are any advantages between using 115V or 230V? My el' Cheepo uses 230V, and can really pump out some amps for thick stuff. here's the link for that hobart with specs and price. Can weld pretty thin stuff!! Tim

Either way you will need to strip out most of the interior. Unless you want to do this twice, put them both in at the same time. Tim

Andrew, I wondered about this exact subject, but in speaking with my Dad, who runs a solid roller in the race car. He checks at every race, and has not have to reset the tappets for almost a season now. Tim

This is out of Lingenfelter's book: P.glide 1st 1.76|1.82 2nd ** 3rd 1.00 4th ** 350 1st 2.52 2nd 1.52 3rd 1.00 4th ** 400 1st 2.48 2nd 1.48 3rd 1.00 4th ** 700R4 1st 3.06 2nd 1.63 3rd 1.00 4th 0.70 2004R 1st 2.74 2nd 1.57 3rd 1.00 4th 0.67 4L80E 1st 2.48 2nd 1.48 3rd 1.00 4th 0.75 Here you can see that the 4L80E is just a TH400 with an overdrive. You can also see the different gaps between the gears of the 200 and the 700. All else being equal, this would make the 200 the better choince, for drags anyway. Tim

Ross, One day when I'm big, I'll buy a drill press, oxy acet torch, lathe, cut off wheel etc., but for now all I have is a hand drill, wire feed welder and 4" grinder. I'm sure that with the right equipment I could do this stuff much quicer and neater (it took me the better part of a day just to finish this sodding trans mount) But that's half the fun, or so I keep telling myself Tim

James, I don't think it is physically longer than the 350, just has the mounting point further back. I have a 700 empty casing in the garage at home, I can measure if no-one else pipes in here. I know that the yolk splines are the same as the 350 though Tim

John, Being a teenager, he's going to think he's indestructable anyway , so that's a moot point IMO. The cage will afford some protection and will also stiffen the chassis drastically. I am busy putting my 8 point cage from S & W. They are not a perfect fit, but for the price it's unbeatable. They are having a $40 off sale now too . If you are loaded with cash, then you can always have one custom made. I have been quoted anything from $850 to $1800 US. Too rich for my blood. If you are patient and have the tools, then the S & W unit is the way to go. Tim

TV cable, and the trans mounting point is further back, but if you havent put the trans mount in the Z yet, then that is moot. Also the shifter needs to be able to shift to 4 forward gears, not three. I think that's it? Tim

James, Not only will you get much better gas mileage, but with the motor revving lower, there will be less stress on it (read lower maintenance and better reliability)and also the car will be smoother (running at lower revs) and quieter on the freeway. If you go on a long drive, you will be gratefull . You WILL wish you had put in an OD unit if you don't now, so do it now and save some money and time. I can appreciate wanting to get the car running ASAP, but it will be a shortcut you will regret. When my daily driver 240 had the 4 speed manual in it, I kept trying to grab 5th gear because the engine was trying to climb out of the bay. With the 5 speed it is MUCH better. Tim

Ross, I don't really know about the amperage ranges. Usually the specs on the welder will give range of material thickness welding ability. IMO if one was going to weld material thinner than 20 gauge, then a oxyAcetylene torch would be better. The mig welders that can weld the very thin stuff (22-25 gauge) are usually VERY expensive (like $1500+). Since it is rare that I will weld even 20gauge, it's a waste. The only significant advantage to having the shield gas (argon etc) instead of flux core, is the lack of 'slag' on the weld which needs to be chipped off. That's why I have never bothered getting a bottle of argon. Although, with shield gas and aluminum wire, my welder can weld ally, which is cool. I know that's an art in of itself, but that's my next schooling experience...I'd like to make up a custom airbox for the carb. out of ally, so.... Tim This is what mine looks like, but doesn't have the spot weld timer This has the same options as mine (&price), but no picture [ October 22, 2001: Message edited by: Tim240Z ]

Ross, Yes I cut it with my little Makita grinder with a 4"cutting disk. That lil' ol grinder has been such a pleasant work horse. I bought my welder from Harbor freight about 2 years ago. It's a Chicago Electric 230volt gas/gasless unit. I bought a factory reconditioned unit (about $300 or so). I have been very happy with it (except very thin material, cannot adjust it low enough to prevent blow through, so it's very slow going).Anything thicker than 20 gauge is fine. When I was welding in the new chassis legs and using max amps, the wire feed quit working. I overheated the IC board. This is where it gets interesting: NO-ONE wanted to even look at this thing (off brand, made in Italy).So not knowing what was wrong, I ordered a motor and IC board for the wire feed from Harbor Freight. Installed the IC and all is well. Anyway, long story shorter...I'm happy with the unit, and as long as parts remain available it's OK. If you can afford it, go with a name brand like Lincoln or Hobart just for the warm and fuzzy feeling that if it goes wrong, someone locally can repair it, but like I said I have ZERO complaints on my el' cheapo welder. Tim ....sorry to ramble on

32 valve heads on e-bat That's more than my whole car...hell more than probably both of my Zs together But sure looks nice!! Tim

A couple of guys had asked to see the trans mounts I made up. I decided not to use the JTR one, if for no other reason than feeling that if I didn't make it myself, it was a copout, nothing wrong with the JTR unit . If you want to see it mounted in place:see here Tim Thanks Andrew, this worked: [ October 22, 2001: Message edited by: Tim240Z ]

Take the plunge now and get an overdrive tranny. I picked my 2004R up at a JY for $50. It needs to be rebuilt 'cause it slips a little, but if you are going to rebuild anyway..... The 2004R is the same dimensions as the TH350, except the mounting is further back (ala TH400). Otherwise if you can find one, get a 700R4, from the newest car possible. Around here they are pretty scarce because all the taxis and hotrod guys snatch them up quickly. Tim

Dang, I wish I had known about this one!! I would certainly have come down. Nion, is this an annual thing, or kinda ad hoc? Tim

Ztard, If you want to have a look at an example of a fuel cell mount, Here's mine. It is also a 16gallon summit unit. Tim BTW, turn off the caps lock. It looks like you're shouting.

quote Overkill Tim

Try Holley, I think they bought out the blower line. Tim

Jumbo...I always find it easier to cough up dough for tools, rather than parts etc, because they're an investment, which if you buy quality stuff (remember, it only hurts once, buy crap and it hurts again and again), it will be a one time investment in something you will use over and over. Tim

Regardless of the color, that Eleanor is one bad @$$ Pony . I am a Bowtie Boy through and through, but GM has produced nothing (except of course for the 'Vette ) that looks as good as those Mustangs. Tim

Owen, No pitures on your site yet....quit slacking and get some up there . Question: By mounting the cross bar in the hoop as per S&W instructions, does that interfere with the seats? Mike is that why you spaced it back? I want to connect my harness to that cross bar, so I don't want it too far back With the standard location of the cross bar, how far forward is the seat? I don't have my seats yet (still looking for a good deal), so I dont know. I also have zero interior, so even with a seat in place, I wouldn't be able to accurately judge steering location, unless I mounted the seat in my stock daily driver first. BTW, I have a contact at Simpson, so the harnesses are going to be a DEAL. Tim

This is used ALOT on racing cars, for weight distribution reasons and less drag on the engine. The major drawback, as far as I'm concerned, is when and if you get stuck in traffic (SoCal perspective). The alternator won't be charging, and if you have an electric fan running and fuel injection and lights etc (which if you're in traffic, the fan will probably be running) the battery will go flat pretty quickly, unless of course lay into it and smoke the tires . I think maybe a better (unfortunately more expensive) solution would be to get the water pump alternator (alternator housed in the pulley of the waterpump with a single wire coming out the back). That makes for a nice neat assembly, but is about $500., which isn't that bad, I suppose, since you're getting a high quality aluminum H2O pump and high quality alternator in one unit. Tim Here's the link for the waterpump/alternator setup [ October 17, 2001: Message edited by: Tim240Z ]