Z-TARD

Pretty sure that the 300zx's never had the R-230V. The R-200V is found in a bunch of Nissan products: 300zx(Z32), 240sx, Infiniti J-30, M-30 (I think). The VLSD version from the J-30 is a 3.90 ratio, not sure about the others. Outdrives on the Z32, J-30, and M-30 should all be the five bolt flange, vice the 6 bolt for the R-230V, although apparently 5 bolt versions of the R230 do exist I think the R-200V is as good a cantidate for swapping into a Z as any other rear end, perhaps even more than the R-230 because it is more available. The only problem is than nobody has paved the way for this conversion, as Tim has done with the R-230. The process should be identical to the R-230 swap, with the exception of having smaller diameter, 27 spline shafts made instead of the 28 spline R-230 shafts, and using a 5 blot adapter for the 280Z companion flange instead of the 6 bolt adapter for the R230 shafts. At this point I'm also considering a bastardized, total redesign for the rear suspension that would allow the use of stock length 200V shafts by placing the hub carriers further outboard (longer A arms) and using a modified version of the 300ZX (Z32) rear hub carrier (integral parking break ) Lots of options available, but as a welder I have a hard time sending out work for someone else to do, and the thought of using custom made shafts is kind of a turnoff as well. Granted, the R-230 shafts by moser would no doubt survive WWIII, but I still dont like the idea of ever having to replace one, plus I like building everything myself. Stuborn, proud, mildly retarded, etc. I'm gonna stop typing now and go find a hard object to beat my head against for a while...... Mike

Some kind of T55 turbine engine AWD Hybrid?

Is it contacting any battery cables? A short through the braided stainless could cause it to get hot.

Tim, how much does an R-230 and 4 shafts go for from your source?

Hmmmmm, still posting on the Chevy board, so perhaps switching to another chevy engine, or at least chevy based engine: Gonna keep guessing and being generally annoying until you spill everything. "Vee have vays of making you talk....." Mike

I'm in about the same boat you are. My Infiniti rear end has the 5 bolt outdrives. As far as I know, all the Z-32's had the R-200 rear end. I'd go with an R-230 if I could aquire one, but they seem to be kinda scarce in the junkyards out here.

Maybe something like this? Fine. You win. Now your car is faster than EVERYONE elses. Happy? Mike

Getting warmer?

Sounds like a good deal for everything that it comes with. I'd definitely go for the balance job and forged connecting rods though, even then the price is still really good. Hopefully the other components are not imported overseas crap, you have to be carefull of that stuff on ebay. If the crank is indeed made by Scat, it should be okay. Maybe see if you can get the pistons upgraded as well to some hyperutectic or forged aluminum ones, they'll probably last longer in a street driven engine. Mike

I actually bought my Z in Los Alamos, NM when I was working there a few years back. It ran for a while, then I put it into storage until I had the time to bring it out here to work on. I knew the floorboards were gonners shortly after I aquired the car, and I thought that was the extent of the damage. I continued doing suspension and drivetrain mods once I got it to San Diego, and only recently discovered all the hidden rust when I started on the body work for the project. The rear under hatch trim was pretty bad, in another year or so it would have been huge gaping holes. Also the lower frame rails near the rear of each front wheel well. For some reason, Nissan decided to place a reinforcement patch on the side of the frame there, without bothering to seal it up properly. Moisture gets behind it and erodes the side of the rail away. I can stick a screwdriver wayyyyyyyy into my car there . At this point I almost consider all the flaws in my car a positive thing. I'd hate to tear up a Z in good condition for a project like this. Sure, it would make things easier, but then there would be one less original Z on the road. I think I'll have more pride in this car due to the problems that I'll have to overcome to complete it, and I'll learn a lot more about building cars along the way. The buildup is really the fun part for me I think. When I finally do get the car finished, I'll probably wander around, lost and confused because I wont have anything to wrench on Seeing all the awsome hybridZ at the MSA show this year really lit a fire under my ass, so to speak. Hopefully I'll be able to make the show next year, even if the car is still wearing primer and bondo. Speaking of long winded..... My fingers hurt now. No more poking at keyboard Mike

Are the Z32 hub carriers cast or forged? Mike

Yeah, I think that crunching sound of rust is one of the most horrible sounds ever, especially if you find it by accident. I was just picking away at what I thought was some light surface rust, and it suddenly made that crunchy corn flake sound and erupted into a large rust hole. Same thing on my floor boards as I was scraping off the tar sheet undercoating thats under the carpet. "Scrape, scrape, scrape, crunch..........crap " Mike

Two Taurus SHO V6's joined at the crank to make a V-12, running 4 turbos? I can keep guessing like this forever Mike

Looked around for repair panels, everything I found was over $100. Seems a bit much for a small chunk of metal like that. A few months ago I rescued some industrial shelving from the metal dumpster at work, and coincidentally it is pretty close to the original thickness of the Datsun sheetmetal, the gears in my head began turning over at once. There appears to be an automotive application for nearly everything if you look hard enough, even shelf material. I initially tried cutting out the shape of the panel using a large floor mounted sheetmetal shear, but eventually ended up using hand held tin snips for the entire panel because the chinese made shear is not nearly as usefull as it looks Anyway, since all the bends in the peice are over a gradual radius to match the contour of the rear hatch, I couldn't use the large metal break to make them either, and ended up using a combination of crescent wrenches and duckbill vice-grips (wide, flat jaws) for making the bends. It's not perfect, but it does look better than the rusted chunck of fecal material that was there before, and if installed right should be less likely to harbor hidden rust spots. The area under the panel after several coats of Stop Rust. Rust was "all up in this mutha". Old and new panels. Old panel is in much worse shape than it looks like, underside is covered with rust which has eaten through in a few spots New panel in place ready for welding. Total cost of project: $4.90 for can of paint stripper to clean gray paint off the new metal Mike

So far I've had pretty good luck just using brute force to get the nut off the back. Set up a big breaker bar with a socket on the stub axle nut so that the breaker bar will be forced against the rear suspesion arm when you twist on the stub axle. I have a flange that bolts to the wheel side of the stub axle, it has an arch of 1/2" steel rod welded to its face that I can run a pry bar through for leverage. I think you might be able to do this by passing the pry bar between the wheel studs, maybe thread some lug nuts on them to act as stops to prevent the pry bar from slipping out. Anyway.... Once you have the pry bar set up along with the breaker bar on the opposite side to hold the nut in place, just yank on it until the nut breaks loose. Every one that I've taken off has broken off at the staked portion of the nut, without damaging the threads to any significant degree. An impact gun would be nice too, but in most junkyards one tends to be limited to hand tools only. Here's a picture of my setup for pulling stubs, if you need more details I can email the larger pictures to you. Hope this helps, Mike

Lemme figure out how much it will be to ship them. PM me with address, etc. I don't have any use for them now, so all I need from you is the cost of shipping. Mike

Project "Closed casket funeral" is also kinda catchy

I still have my original 240 front calipers if you want them, they were working well when I removed them about a year ago. Mike

Note the Nissan factory original insurance augmentation device at lower left of photo..... Wheel Chocks, don't leave home without them. Mike

It's No. 4 Mk 1. I was trying to replicate the original No. 4 Mk T sniper rifle that the British used in WWII. It kinda worked. Had to make my own scope mount and cheekpiece, although now they are available from different sources on ebay. Mike

I think that only applies if it is just surface hardened, where the hardened area is only a few thousandths of an inch thick. I'm pretty sure that CV shafts are hardened all the way through like knife blades, so I should be ok to machine on it as long as I go slowly and use coolant to keep everything cool. As long as it never gets above about 400 F while machining it shouldn't affect the heat treatment. Mike

I think Mat's plan looks pretty solid.....

I have a lathe at work, I'm pretty sure I could modify the moser shafts to work with these joints. Maybe. The race on the R-230 shaft looks a little different than mine. Mine doesnt have the turned down portion on the internal splines to fully seat on the shaft so the c clip can go on. It appears that the shaft is releived on mine instead.

I used linseed oil on my enfield 303 pictured below. For what its worth, I dont think theres any better way of finishing an old military bolt action.

Find the hole that they're using to get into the wall, and drop some M-80's in that sucker. Might want to stand back a bit as some of them will no doubt come flying out of the hole at hypersonic velocity..... Plan B: Find above mentioned hole, and duct tape a 12 volt taurus radiator fan across it and wire it into your cars cigarette lighter. Now grab a cold one a sit back and enjoy the show as anything that enters or exits from the hole is sliced, diced, and chopped turbo Ginzu style. PlanC: Ensuring that the hole is left open, run large beads of caulking around all other seems and crevices in the wall, allow time to cure. Now grab a garden hose and stuff it in the hole with the water on full blast. Let that run for at least 4 hours to ensure that all bees are getting the full "Posiedon Adventure" experience. And if you remember before adding the water, maybe shut off the electricity to that part of the building.... Plan D: Follow all steps outlined in plan C with the exception of adding water. Instead, route flexible tubing from your Z's exhaust into the wall. Allow car to run for an hour or so, occasionally gunning the throttle to ensure complete carbon monoxide saturation of the hive. If none of these work, might i suggest looking for ex russian military tactical nuclear devices on ebay....... Mike