Danno74Z

Morgan, I don't know where you are on your rear brakes but I got the Z32 brakes to work with the bolt on bracket - almost (again no drum parking brake). I mentioned last week that I had one bracket that I made and had it welded on. That turned out just fine but some effort involved. I have a complete spare rear suspension (never really gave up on the bolt on bracket idea) that I experiment on. I just acquired 2 1987 300ZX rear vented rotors. These rotors are 5 lug, just a hair over 11" in diameter, ¾" thick or there abouts and the offset is almost perfect to use with the bolt on bracket (BOB) - key. When I say almost perfect, it barely touches the inside edge of caliper mounting holes. All that one needs to do (and I'm going to do this on Sunday at my friends house - he also has a milling machine) is to remove about 3/32" from the outside face of BOB at the ears. This will provide enough clearance to give the caliper a hair more offset to the inside of the car. Also, the rotor is a tad (30 thousands at the most) too big in diameter as it rubs the top of inside of the caliper ever so slightly. I have two choices here. I could take the rotor to a machine shop and have some material removed or since the caliper is aluminum just use my drimmell tool and remove a little material from it. This might be a better solution because most rotors ware out faster then calipers and it's less expensive process. For the parking brake I'm using the Wilwood spot calipers. I might fabricate a flat bracket and have it welded to the bottom of BOB. Tomorrow I should receive the spots and look into it in depth. This is by far the best fit using the Z32 caliper ('94) and the (Z31?) '87 rotor. I'm certain it will fly all it requires is very minor machining. 11" vented rotor in the rear - yes! Danno74Z

Darius Here is a website for you to purchase the clutches mentioned above and a third you might also find interesting. http://www.performancess.com/clutches.html As you know, this HP costs $$ achieving it and applying to the ground. Don't be shocked at the prices but I hope this helps. Danno74Z

I know there is a big interest for this transmission and here is one on Ebay for sale. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=552244398&r=0&t=0 Sounds like a good one but like anything buyer beware. Danno74Z

Chris, Good to see you back. Thanks for the update on the arms. In the JTR book its recommended to drill new mounting attachment holes for the arms on lowered cars. Do you or Mike still agree that this is ok to do with these new adjustable arms? Danno74Z

Mike, You mentioned you called Midway Eng. did they give you some HP figures for their clutches and out of curiosity why the hatred for the Centerforce product that is a strong word. (not you hating it) Danno

Room to grow! sounds like at least 2 members are going to have over 600HP V8Zs. The car I mentioned above was highly modified LT1. The list of what the guy had done to the engine is too long to list here. But lets just say he has well over 10k in the engine. As you mentioned, "completely overkill for my stock". The McLeod twin plate, to me is a waste of money on a stock motor or one that is mildly modified. But this is just my 2 cents worth on clutches. Peace and may the Centerforce be with you. Danno74Z

MistaFosta, You are correct in that high horsepower range. From an article I read in GM HTP magazine, "One of the things that's quite fantastic is the McLeod dual disk clutch that they put in it. When I switched from 470 Hp. To 600, we had a clutch that go overpowered". This particular car has 680hp at the rear wheels running BFG Drag Radial (315/35-17) that is a big tire! The article did not mention the first clutch that was in the car. I'm assuming it was the OEM and he just trashed it. But 470HP is a lot to ask from an OEM clutch if you ask me. Darius, never said what HP range he is running so it's hard to suggest a clutch -OEM, Centerforce or McLeod. Trying to extrapolate (very subjective) what I've read I think the OEM clutch can probably handle a 20% increase in HP without too much trouble. This would put it around 350-375HP. Centerforce dual clutch up into the mid 500HP (swag) and anything over this and I would go with the Mcleod dual disk setup. Perhaps a poll is in order of the HybridZ members and the type of clutch people are running and the HP of their engines. With over 500 members some good statistics could be compiled. As a side note this '95 Firehawk uses the Stock T-56 transmission! Talk about a good tranny. The article did not mention torque but it has to be up there if he is running mid 10's in the quarter. Danno [This message has been edited by Danno74Z (edited January 31, 2001).]

I purchased my LT1 & T56 tranny from High Performance Salvage in TX and asked this very same questions about the clutch. Mike, at HPS said the stock clutch works just fine in a stock 3,500 lb. Camaro or Firebird and did not see any problems using it in my conversion. He also pointed out that my car is at least 800lbs lighter and using smaller tires then a Camaro so this is also a plus. I asked about the Centerforce clutch and he said most definitely this is a huge upgrade from the stock unit but is an expense he did not feel was necessary for "me". Rob, who is a member here at HybridZ (and a good friend) runs a ZZ4 /T56 combo with the Duel Centerforce clutch for about 3 years now with no problems whatsoever and he does not baby his car if you know what I mean. McLeod or Centerforce, I don't think it matters up to say 500 hp IMHO. You have a great clutch and I think the suggestions mentioned already hold your answer. Danno74Z

Mike and spotfitz, I found this site a while back and it explains how to use the rear 200SX brakes in a 510. Mike, you might want to check this out for the bracket part and how to convert the brakes to disks. http://www.510again.com/articles/4wheel/4disk.html "The car parts that you need are all found on the '82-'83 200SX lift-back (solid axle car). The calipers are different on this car vs. the other years/styles of 200SX. The visual giveaway is when viewing the calipers(where the brake line connects to the caliper), you do not want the one that screws into the caliper directly - you want the one that uses a banjo bolt." Above was a small part from a detailed description of the conversion. I don't know if this helps in the quest for a bolt on bracket. Danno74Z

Out of curiosity, how much play should a LSD R200 have if you turn the pinion flange by hand. I have one ready to put in my car (with no lube in it but ends sealed up) and I can turn the pinion back and forth and there is a slight give and tick noise. Any thoughts?

A = Diameter B = Original Height C = Original Thickness D = Min. Thickness, i.e. Replacement E = Center Hole F = No. of Bolt Holes I did a little research on the rear rotors for the ZX cars and below are the dimensions (all converted to inches). I thought this my help in the search for rotors. Number 2 below is a definite possibility using the bolt on Maxima bracket or the bolt on flat bracket. For folks that want to use a flat bracket just accommodate the increased rotor diameter by making your bracket a little longer. People using the Maxima offset bracket and depending on which caliper they use have a little more work but not insurmountable. The only real downside is #2 is a solid rotor not vented. But is this bad? Totally up to the end user. 1) 280ZX 81-84 (Z31) solid rotor A=10.1 B=1.85 C=.39 E=2.67 F=4 2) 300ZX 85-89 (Z31) solid rotor A=11.41 B=1.85 C=.39 E=2.67 F=5 3) 300ZX 89-94 (Z32) vented rotor A=11.69 B=2.51 C=.71 E=2.67 F=5 I'm trying to insert a picture I have so this is a test. Well the picture did not show up - HELP I just figured out one needs a web page to insert a picture and link to it. A = overall diameter of rotor B = overall height from outside edge to outside edge (including hat) C = thickness of wear surface D = omit E = Pilot opening F = number of lugs Danno74Z [This message has been edited by Danno74Z (edited January 25, 2001).] [This message has been edited by Danno74Z (edited January 25, 2001).]

Morgan, No, the flat bracket must be welded to the side of stub axle housing (in-between the inner and outer wheel bearing location). Measure from the face of the hub (pardon my oversimplification) where the wheel bolt to and go in 3" toward the center of the car. This is where the caliper bracket face needs to be welded when using the Z32 rotor. The reason for this location of the bracket is because the hat of the rotor has a high offset to accommodate the parking brake drums. The z32 drum is almost even with the existing backing plate flange area so trying to bolt it up in the backside area as you suggest just doesn't give you enough room. Again, this is with the Z32 rotor. If you could find a rotor that has the same backspacing as the ZX rotor but was 11.25" " in diameter then you would be home free and you could use the bolt on bracket. I just gave up looking for a OEM rotor. I have these (spent the money) so I felt somewhat pressured to use them. I just can afford custom hats made like the Wilwood 2 piece units. Wilwood does sell the parts but I basically gave up putting the piece parts together. If you still have questions fire away. Danno74Z

Hi Morgan, I posted this on one of the other links but in a nut shell the rear parking brake mechanism will not fit on our early Z cars. The "stand off" which is the distance from the axle housing flange outer face to the hub face is too short. This is just a guess, but it looks like we need 2.5" to make this work and we just don't have it. Putting on the bolt on bracket just makes the situation worse. The good news. Without the backing plate the rotor will fit over the axle flange just fine. (Removed the lug studs except for one and having a machinist drill the four other holes.) I took the lower member to the welding shop and explained what I needed and he said - no problem at all, just give me the brackets to be welded. Over the weekend, I made a template out of wood to simulate the ¼" steel plate I'm using for the brackets. This took a little time do but I put in some cheap pads into the caliper and applied a little compressed air to force the pads against the rotor. This allowed me to position the pads/caliper over the rotor wear surface and get measurements for the bracket. As it turned out the new bracket can/needs to be 3" back from the hub face and was welded onto the flat side of the bearing housing with no problem. The welder used a TIG process to join the materials. I have one done and I can tell you it ain't coming off. I know you don't want to weld a bracket on but I didn't see any other way and still use the Z32 parts. As you know the vented rotor is .81" thick and over 11" in diameter which I think is good for my application. I also just plain like the caliper because with a little effort I can polish the aluminum up and they should look good behind my 5 spoke wheels which are on order. I also ordered 2 Wilwood spot mechanical calipers from http://www.ryanemotorsports.com/ and I should get them this Friday. I most likely will mount them in the same fashion as Pete did (you're a huge help Pete - THANK YOU) on his car. In my case I may have to have another much smaller bracket TIG'ed on. I splurged and ordered the polished mechanical calipers, only $20 more - don't tell the wife. Danno74Z Danno74Z [This message has been edited by Danno74Z (edited January 24, 2001).]

Sundance, I was just toying with the idea as you are and here is a site that has a MII frontend. There are LOTS of places that have what you want it just takes $$$. Good Luck. Danno74Z http://www.artmorrison.com/ Go to the frontend products selection on the left side of the page. [This message has been edited by Danno74Z (edited January 22, 2001).]

I think my other replay to the Z32 brakes got buried in the Z32 thread but just to let SCCA and Morgan know that the bracket was very easy to make and cost me $12.00 for the steel. I have one welded on and Monday, the other will be done. With a little black paint and I'm set. I used my new Maxima bracket as a template/ guide and my friend with a plasma cutter just zipped it out - follow the dots as they say. Naturally, I used my wood template to scribe the base of the bracket (the part that is welded the lower control arm) and I soon will have rear disks brakes. Danno74Z

Good news on welding the new brackets to the lower rear crossmember. I brought one lower rear member to the welding shop and it's a go on being able to weld a caliper bracket to the strut housing, no problem. He said " When I'm done it won't come off - ever" that made my day! This weekend I will mockup a bracket out of wood and give it a shot. I just wanted to pass that news along. Danno74Z

Mike, A couple of questions for you. 1. Are you sectioning your strut tubes. 2. If the front suspension has a bumpsteer issue does the rear suspension of the Z have this problem? Danno74Z

Morgan, I had to abandon the Z32 parking brake idea because of the lack of room. However, I think I have found a way to use the caliper and rotor in conjunction with a spot mechanical caliper. I'm in the process of designing a bracket that is welded onto the side of the stub axle housing and behind where the drum setup would normally bolt up to. I went to a wreaking yard and measured the mounting bracket on a late 300ZX car. This is a flat bracket that is exactly 3" or 76mm back from the face of the hub. I was toying with the idea of having those brackets torched off but I think it would be easier just to design my own out of stock material. I'm taking one lower control arm to work and at lunch talking to my weldor. If it can be done he can do it - safety is paramount. This is really no different than aftermarket brackets that one can buy and weld onto the axle housing of an early muscle car. I saw some ready-made brackets in the Coleman racing catalog so that got me thinking. I called Coleman and the brackets are just flat ¼" stock steel in different widths and lengths to accommodate many caliper sizes. I'm going to make a template first out of thin plywood and then make the steel ones using the template as a guide. A friend at work offered to cut them for me because his wife bought him a plasma cutter for Christmas and he loves using it. Having a tool like that would be so cool! I ordered the Wilwood spot mechanical calipers today for $55.00 each so I now have spent approximately $260.00 to convert the rears over. I figure about another $150 for miscellaneous stuff so for about $400 I should have the rears converted to disk. That is not too bad a price. The rear rotors are vented and .81" thick, so I picked up that size spot caliper. Danno74Z [This message has been edited by Danno74Z (edited January 18, 2001).]

Morgan, To make use of the Z32 caliper and the Maxima bracket ( I assume this is what you would like to use) the inside offset of the rotor needs to be no more then 1.5 inches. Just so we are talking about the same thing, flip the rotor over and measure the inside dimension from the mating surface of the hub up to the top surface of the rotor. Like I mentioned in a previous email we only have approximately 2.25" of room to work with so this is the dilemma. A very similar one to finding the correct rims! The whole reason for the funky bracket - to get the caliper in towards the differential by ½". I'm rambling, sorry, you already know all this. If you make your own flat bolt on bracket out of ¼" steel the offset for the hat perhaps shrinks to 1.25". A rotor with 5 lugs on 4.5" bolt spacing, no more than 1.5" offset and between 10.75" and 11.25" diameter should work using the Maxima offset bracket. Don't forget the inside diameter of the hat has to fit over the flange and the pilot guide (whatever that thing is with the little nubs on the outside part of the flange). The 300ZX rotor diameter is 11.625" for reference. Danno

Rob and I worked on the 300ZX rear brake setup yesterday and it was our conclusion that the 300ZX rotor is just too big to work. The overall diameter is too great by 1 inch and the hat offset by ½ inch. The 300ZX hat parking brake will not work on the older Z's - not enough room to accommodate the mechanism. The caliper will fit on the Maxima bracket just fine however the 280ZX 10.156' dia. rotor is a little low to fully engage with the 300ZX caliper. Conclusion: One still does not have a parking brake with the 300ZX caliper so a spot caliper will still have to be used. If one wanted to use the 300ZX caliper the Maxima bracket would have to be altered some to get the correct depth and centering when using the 280ZX rotor. Danno74Z

SpotfitZ, I too went to a wrecking yard that specializes in foreign cars and came up empty handed on the bolt on brackets. I never came across a '81 Maxima only a 83 and 84 and both were welded on. I'm with you on this on and I believe just the 81 that had the bolt on with the offset bracket. Perhaps it was a midyear change in 1982 to the welded bracket. This was 20 years ago! The reason for the offset in the bracket in the first place is to get the caliper centered over the rotor. To my knowledge the standard offset for the 280ZX rotor is 1.5" measured from the inside mounting surface to the edge or the rotor. ( some people call this the hat of the rotor) In order to use a flat bolt on bracket ( much easier for the backyard fabricator to make) you need a bracket which is much thinner or a rotor whose hat has a much narrower inside side dimension to get everything centered - caliper to rotor interface. Who out there other than Pete is using a flat bolt on bracket and what rotors are people using? Also, what is the OD of the 280ZX rotor? The bolt on bracket put the mating surface of the caliper in line with the old backing plate. Thanks, Danno74Z

SpotfitZ, I too went to a wrecking yard that specializes in foreign cars and came up empty handed on the bolt on brackets. I never came across a '81 Maxima only a 83 and 84 and both were welded on. I'm with you on this on and I believe just the 81 that had the bolt on with the offset bracket. Perhaps it was a midyear change in 1982 to the welded bracket. This was 20 years ago! The reason for the offset in the bracket in the first place is to get the caliper centered over the rotor. To my knowledge the standard offset for the 280ZX rotor is 1.5" measured from the inside mounting surface to the edge or the rotor. ( some people call this the hat of the rotor) In order to use a flat bolt on bracket ( much easier for the backyard fabricator to make) you need a bracket which is much thinner or a rotor whose hat has a much narrower inside side dimension to get everything centered - caliper to rotor interface. Who out there other than Pete is using a flat bolt on bracket and what rotors are people using? Also, what is the OD of the 280ZX rotor? The bolt on bracket put the mating surface of the caliper in line with the old backing plate. Thanks, Danno74Z

Dan, I second Kevin's opinion on the factory shop manual. I got mine through Ebay and here is a link for you - hope you win! At any one time you can find a lot of good things. http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1402629215 Danno74Z

Jeromio, I went back to the Nissan dealer that I purchased the brackets from and the picture you posted is indeed part or the caliper. From the picture the parts guy had it should have two springs attached to it - not quite sure what that piece does. My guess it works in conjunction with the sliding caliper. The piece you want is what the caliper is bolted to. Go to this site: http://www.zdriver.com/22000/rear-disc-install.html The first picture shows the Maxima bracket installed on the car (the piece of steel with the "ears") this is the part you need! Pictures 2 & 3 shows (look close) the piece you have. I don't have these calipers to verify but SCCA or Pete can help you out here. I hope this helps a picture in this case is worth a thousand words. The Nissan dealer copied this info. for me and along the top of the page it says MAKE=N YEAR=1981 MODEL=910 title: 03 (441F) REAR BRAKE(SEDAN) FROM JULY'81) Goodluck, Danno74Z

Mike, Through my research on wheels I found this site http://www.jdwheels.com/mustang.htm They have wheels for the Mustang and in the needed bolt pattern. I went to a different wheel style but these guys are OK. Danno74z