Z-TARD

I've only been on there for a few weeks now. Pretty good forum, kind of like HybridZ but for guns. The Mods run a pretty tight ship over there as well I post as FMJBT on there. I've started bringing back some of my evil "Assault " rifles back to CA after researching legal ways to make them conform to current state laws on that site. Mike

+1 Dude, you need to quit screwing around, and just go out and get a No.4 Mk.1 There are ways around the retarded California gun laws concerning assualt weapons if you are interested: http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/index.php Mike

Search for "300zx hub" and you shall find answers. In short, the 300zx hub will bolt right up, even uses the same bearings. They will space your wheels further out by approx. 3/4" per side. Mike

Danzig replaced as supreme ruler of the underworld:

I'd agree that a large percentage of todays mainstream music is crap, but at least the videos have better coreography. This video looks like they just grabbed some random people off the street, fed them a tray full of "special" brownies, stuffed them into matching T-shirts and told them to dance. As bad as it is though, there are equally nausiating videos currently being produced in the middle east and India.

Good lord, I haven't eaten carrots in days. How were those still in my stomach? Good job Pete

Falconer V-12. Based on the SBC:

I'm pretty sure the high HC means running rich. I'd guess that your CAT may not be working as well as it could, as it should be able to burn off extra hydrocarbons that dont get burned in the combustion chamber. Mike

It gets even better: http://cgi.ebay.com/70-mage-and-61-druid_W0QQitemZ130082902567QQihZ003QQcategoryZ4596QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem You can sell your video game character on Ebay. Not cheap either. (Shakes head and mutters "WTF?") Mike

Maybe the tech was thinking of AZ smog laws. In Tucson and Phoenix it is required for 65 and newer. Found this out after the fact when I tried to register "The Turd" in Tucson. Maybe CA isn't that bad after all..... Nah. Mike

I haven't seen any of the new season yet. Rich is still hosting you say? Hmmmm..... Yeahhhhhhh...... I'm gonna go ahead and pass on that. Thanks Mike (I also hear that the Hummer H6 is no longer making appearances on the show. Sadly, I had nothing to do with this....)

The steps for swapping an SBC into either the 280z or the 240z will be pretty much identical. You'll probably want to swap out the differential on the 240z (R-180) for one out of a 280z (R-200) if you plan on doing many 1/4 mile runs. Before tackling a project like this I suggest you spend a few months just searching on this site for information, along with purchasing the JTR engine swap manual for the Z https://shell7.tdl.com/~jags/OrderingBooks.html Mike

If you can find a running 280zxt for cheap, definitely go with it rather than a junkyard motor. The non turbo L28 engine that comes in the 280Z can be made to produce pretty good power, but it will never be as streetable as a turbo motor of the same power level. The cam profile required to make an NA L28 get decent power often make it nearly un drivable on the street due to the rough or non existent idle. Turbo L28 or larger engine (V8 etc.) conversion is the way to go for daily driver in my opinion. Check out this thread to see an awesome V8 swap done on a budget: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=118146 Mike

A 280Z will probably be a little easier to obtain in a straight and relatively rust free condition .The myth of a rust free Z has pretty much been busted, but a 280 is less likely to be completely rusted out than a 240 due to age and slightly better efforts from the factory towards corrosion prevention. The cosmetic bits that make a 240 look like a 240 can be bolted on to the 280 if you really need the look. A healthy weight reduction plan can get the 280 down to nearly the weight of the 240. Deleting the A/C and most of the extra crap in the rear cargo area will shave off close to 100 pounds if not more. Any extra weight over the 240Z at this point will be wiring and structural. Structural is good. The 280 tends to be a little stiffer than the 240, and is probably a better platform to build on if going for moderate power levels (under 300 horsepower). More power than that requires some added structural support such as subframe connectors and strut tower bars if you want to be able to open and close your doors a year from now. The manual transmission versions of the 280 will also come with the R-200 differential (The 240Z came stock with an R-180). The general consensus is that the R-200 is good for around 500 horsepower, the R-180 for somewhat less than that. The exact amount one will hold is open to debate, but again the general consensus is that it's probably better just to use the R-200 and not worry about it. The quick and easy way to get into low 13's or high 12's is to swap in a junkyard 280zxt motor, turbo, and ecu. This requires little fabrication and makes a pretty decent daily driver. The down side is that you will ALWAYS have V8 envy Mike

I'm going for the vintage/modern carbon fiber with rust theme: I used to think my dash was cool until Lunar240z posted up pictures of his Mike

Thanks John! The only part I didn't do myself was the lathe work for crowning the end of the barrel (11 degree target crown), and the finish reaming of the chamber. The bottom metal is still kind of rough right now until I get a chance to bead blast it and paint it. I also need to add the latch mechanism for the magazine, which will consist of a spring loaded lever that will engage the catch near the top of the magazine. The other end of the lever will be in the trigger guard area, with the fulcrum somewhere in the middle, so pushing forward on the lower half of the lever will pull the upper end out of the mag catch. I'm waiting until that is done to do the stock inletting for it, along with the trigger at the same time, hence the lack of trigger for now. The bolt handle and knob are made for a 5/16" allen wrench welded to a 1" steel ball bearing. I chopped off the existing bolt handle leaving about 1/4" protruding from the bolt body, and TIG welded the allen wrench to that nub. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably have it a little closer to the bolt body. The way it sits now requires the scope to be mounted pretty high to clear it when cycling the bolt. The extra weight seems to help smooth out the otherwise chunky bolt throw of the Mauser, and now it feels like sealing up a bank vault when closing the action Here's a pic showing the basic component breakdown (minus the mag release and trigger): Mike

Thanks! Match grade 308 can be found for pretty resonable prices. I'm not sure if it counts as match grade, but Ultramax remanufactured 308 with 168 HPBT goes for about about $12 to $13 for a box of 20 at Sportsmans Guide. http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=92048 Not as cheap as surplus, but sure shoots a lot better. Most of it is loaded in military Lake City arsenal brass, which has a pretty long life for reloading. My eyes aren't that great anymore either, hence the scope. The only non scoped rifles I can shoot well are the ones with peep sights like AR-15's and Enfield No. 4's. With other open sights, I can either focus on the target, or on the sights, but not both at the same time Mike

Made some significant progress over the weekend on my latest excuse for not finishing the Z: I still have a little work left before it's finally finished, but I couldn't wait to post pics. It started life as a VZ-24, better known as Mauser 98. It's been an ongoing project now for about 3 years. At this point, the only original parts left are the receiver, bolt, and bolt stop/ejector. The receiver has been rienforced by welding a full length weaver scope mount rail across the top. I converted it to fire 308/ 7.62 nato instead of the original 8mm by installing a heavy 26" Shilen match grade barrel. Inside of the stock is a full length aluminum bedding block that runs all the way out to the fore end. Eventually I"ll epoxy this in place, but for now it's just screwed in. The stock is made from walnut, and is a hybrid of several different military sniper rifle designs that I liked. Without going into too much detail, I'll just say that it was a royal PITA to build. The gun is fed from a standard Remington 7400/7600 series 10 round aftermarket magazine. This was the only affordable 10 round magazine I could find that was narrow enough to fit into the base of the Mauser receiver without having to do much milling. I also had to make a new trigger guard assembly with integral magazine well. This is the part that still needs a little work. It has proven to be even more of a PITA than the stock was (I didn't think it was possible....) I pulled an all nighter last night to get it ready for test firing today, and awoke this morning to the sound of heavy rain So it looks like it will have to wait till next weekend. The gun consistently shot 1" at 100 yards when I had it in a crappy plastic stock, I'm hoping for 1/2" or less groups with the current configuration once I get it tuned. Mike

To the inventor of suspenders, I say: Thank you.