Wagz

Teo - With the lower overall weight of the car after removing the top and replacing fenders with fiberglass, do you think that your car will sit low enough to look right in relation to the wheels? In talking with Nate (Nezzie76) I thought he told me his car didn't sit low enough and he ended-up having to section his struts to get the correct ride-height. Just curious. I'd like to know what John Washington's thoughts are on the need for sectioning. -Marc

Chis - In stock form the rear cartridges are about 1.5" longner than the fronts. When I bought my coilover kits and the cartridges, I told them how far I was planning on lowering the car and sectioning the struts. Basically, they just sent me cartridges 2" shorter than stock lengths. I got my stuff from Dave Turner Motorports in Cali. That was before I heard of Ross Corrigan and Mike G. (SCCA). I think their prices are better than Turner's and they both have excellent reps with the guys on this site. I've bought brake upgrades from Mike and I plan on purchasing some stub-axles from Ross. Thanks for the compliments on my site. About the only thing that gets less attention than my VR project these days is the website. One of these days I'll get both projects kicked into high gear.

I'm putting a VR kit on my '71 240. I am sectioning my struts 2" as well. The Tokico Illumna part # I have on the shelf are: BZ 3099 - Front BZ 3016 - Rear I am using 200# springs all the way around.

I own an Eddie Bauer Expedition. Yes, it can haul the whole Fam Damily, our luggage and half the neighborhood. It is convenient and comfortable, when you need it. My 5 foot nothing wife (who, by the way, is not a fat cow) loves it and is the main driver. But, honestly, we don't use it's capacity all that often. It is a waste of money in the long run. I could rent a vehicle for those times I need to haul the world with me and still save a ton of $ every year. The vast majority of SUV drivers do not take them off road, rarely encounter street driving conditions that require 4 wheel drive (although, our members in the northern regions may beg to differ), and almost never have them filled to capacity with people or gear. As far as I am concerned they are a complete PITA. They take up too much space, use too much gas and clutter the roads. You can't see around (or through) them and they blind you with ther lights from behind as their less than intelligent dirivers tail-gate you at 85mph on the freeway because they are convinced their big 'ol SUV "handles and stops like a 325i." I would gladly get rid of my SUV. So, why don't I? Please see above attitude of said wife. "Yes, dear. When we replace the @#$&! Expedition, you can have another SUV...." [/i]

MSA = Motorsport Auto Website = http://www.zcarparts.com/

Try here: Zedd Findings

I'm not sure about Pete's subframe connectors being "infamous." I think "famous" is the word. In any case, quite a few of us have followed Pete's plans. They aren't too tough to fabricate and install if you have access to the right tools. Here is a link to Pete's design: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/pparaska/structuralmods.htm

They have some very sweet wheels! I assume they can build pretty much to suit anyone's specs. Dare I as how much they set you back. Or, will it just depress me?

Welcome Patrick. We can always use more insight from guys who have done the conversions already. Can't wait to see some pics of your GTO.

That "While your at it" addiction is a killer! And there is no 12-step program to help you sober up. My VR project started out as a 'simple' rebody on my existing STOCK 240. Then came my intro to 'While your at it.' It started innocently enough: New bushing kit here, better struts there... Then I found HybridZ and the true addiction took over. Had to have a V8 and a 6-spd. Needed a better suspension and brakes to handle the increased HP/torque/speed. (coil-overs, big brake upgrade, 5 lug upgrade, Pete's subframe connectors). Of course that means I need a rotisserrie and a complete tear down of the car. New wiring harness, racing seats, fuel cell and the list goes on and on and on and... If my wife ever finds out how much I have spent and how much I still need to spend I will have to move to Mexico and change my name!

I hear you and I couldn't agree more. I'm in high-tech now (systems development), but I've held a series of sales/customer relations jobs since I was a kid. Nothing cheeses me off faster than poor (or non-existant) customer service. There is no reason anyone should put up with bad/no service these days. There is always another business in line waiting to take your $. I still have to order wheels for my ride and I have checked out the Compmotive site several times, but I will not tolerate a slow response when I have $ burning a hole in my pocket.

Do a search for a thread by Lone. I believe he did some research on swapping blower motors and may have swapped a blower from a Ford Ranger into his Z before he sold it. My memory is a little fuzzy on this one. Update: Here is the post I was looking for: Post Not a lot of info. But, it's a place to start. Good luck. Post anything you learn if you do the swap.

Larry - Can't tell you how sorry I am to read this. Nate and I will have to keep up the progress on our projects with a little less direct guidance and hands on help. Since, they've been turning people loose very early here around the Portland area, I hope you get the same benefit. Sometimes state budget shortfalls and over-crowding can work in your favor. I'll make a point of sending you some periodical updates on the project, just to feed that HybridZ appetite you have. If all goes well, when they turn you loose, I'll offer to drive you home in style in my Hybrid... Observing all of the posted legal speed limits, of course.

Hello Chris. I don't know off the top of my head what struts to use. I bought a package deal with coilover kits and Tokico Illuminas all setup for a 2" section. I know I have read about folks using either VW Rabbit or Golf struts up front and using their stock Z struts in the rear. A 1.5 to 2" section is sounds about par with what most other guys have done (if they section at all). It will depend on your intended final ride height among other factors. In any case, this subject has been covered A LOT in the past. Do a search and you should find tons of very specific information on the subject. Good luck.

I'll bet you think I mean Saab Sonnett. Nope, I mean 'Sauna.' Check out the pics on this conversion: Saab Sauna conversion

I know what you mean. I really wanted the 8 qt (#1090) but I was afraid of the kick-out for just that reason. I ended up ordering the 7qt. w/o the kick-out (pn#1086)

I just ordered a claimer pan from Kevko that is only 7 1/4" deep for $77. Take a look here

I sold most of my stock parts via ZCar.com. I got lots of responses. However, some parts basically, are worth nothing. I didn't bother posting here because of the nature of this site. Everybody here is doing the same thing we are and generally, (not always) have no use for the stock parts either. Good luck.

Nice! Very clean engine bay. Great looking ride!

After reading a few different debates on this board I decided to go with a Phantom Grip prepped, 3.54 ratio with my T56. I'll be running 17" wheels as well. At this point I don't have any hard data since, the car isn't done yet. LoneInAz had some info on this. Search through the archives. There was at least one long discussion on the best ratio.

It can be done. I did it with my '71 240. There are a few challenges you have to deal with. Here's a real high-level description of what I did: First, engine stands are not quite tall enough. Second, the upright on engine stands is not perpendicular to the ground, they angle backward. I took care of both problems by removing the wheels and using 3 ft. lengths of 4x6 or 4x4 to mount the engine stands to. The thicker pieces on the rear legs of the stand, so the uprights would be forced to be perpendicular with the ground. I checked the pivot point with a level to be sure. If you can, use two of the exact same stand. My stands were of different makes and slightly different sizes, so I had to place shims between the legs and 4x6 on one stand to make the pivot points on each stand the exact same height. Finally, you will have to fabricate your own attachment bars to mount up to the bumper attach points and to the pivot points on the engine stands. You will need a welder to do this. There are a bunch of threads in the archives if you search on archives if you search on 'rotisserrie' (sp?) Several guys have built some very nice, fully adjustable stands. I adopted parts of a few plans for my attachment bars. The engine stand solution is a poor-man's solution but it works. Unfortunately, I don't have any good pics of the stands or attachement bars, but here is what I have: Pic 1 Pic 2 Good luck.

I should be receiving my Weir setup any day now. The bellhousing, TOB and misc. parts rang up to about $575. I also ordered a Tilton clutch master. It's not cheap up front, but will be cheaper to maintain and give me more options on clutch parts. Besides, it was my Christmas present. I'll post a couple of pics when I unpack it. Here's a link to some Weir info for anyone interested.

I bought one during Mike's group purchase too. I'm still a long way off from installing it, but I would like to hear from the guys who have time to test it. There were a few updates a few months back, but the installations were too new to get much useful feedback at that time. Let's hear from the guys who've put a few miles on 'em.

Actually, you may be able to purchase a Subtle Z kit from John Washington fairly soon. In an earlier post post in this forum, he said he was close to settling his differences with the folks at Research Integreations and would have his molds back soon. There is a little information on the Subtle Z on his web page. It's worth an email to John. He's a great guy and his products are quality.

Terry was right. This is more entertaining than watching the Osbourne's. I wonder how many guys are 'watching' the progress on your garage. The only thing better would be a 'garage cam' that we could check for visual updates.