defrag010

Again, you're looking through tunnel vision goggles.. Different types of motors and racing use different types of engine combinations. circle track, drag racing, street motors, etc. It's not just about max airflow in CFM through the motor, it's about powerband, the affects stroke and bore have on things like ignition timing/detonation, and the characteristics of the car and how it will be raced. You don't want to put a 4.25" stroke 434 smallblock torque monster in your 1800lb road race/autocross car just the same as you don't want to put a high winding 283 behind a glide in your 3200lb camaro drag car. Absolutely, by quite a bit. De-stroked engines have been used successfully in all forms of racing, from pro stock to nascar for years and years. 331's were BIG back in the 80's, and even the nascar engines of today use very short stroke/big bore engines suited for sustained high revs. What about F1 motors with their 1.5" stroke and 20k+ rpm? Not only do they make more power than 99% of the cars you see on the street, but a purpose built F1 car even with its short stroke will dominate most any non-purpose built car you can throw at it at drag racing, road racing, autocross, and probably most any other type of race. The kind of logic you're using on the importance of displacement only applies to a small section on the Pie chart of racing.

I was up under the back of my 300zx doing some stuff to the rearend, and kind of made a note in the back of my head about what the stock swaybar looks like. Well, later on, I bent down and looked under the back of my 280zx to see if it had CV or u-joint rear, and by glancing at it, the 280zx rear sway looked almost just like the 300zx sway... except smaller. I didn't crawl under the 280 to measure, but does anyone know if a stock z31 rear sway bar can be an upgrade to a 280zx?

nothing wrong with de-stroking, it all depends on the purpose of the motor..

I wouldn't Ever base a machine shop on how pretty it is inside, how good you paint blocks, how talkative the machinists are, or how many CNC machines you have. Machines and neat shops don't mean anything without good operators. Just because a machine looks old, doesn't mean it won't work any better than a new machine. Most machines you buy for automotive machine work will last you 50+ years if you maintain them. Also, most machine shops won't use a torque plate or do anything special if you don't tell them what you want to do. I don't see how you could be mad at that. There are many methods and processes to honing, and there isn't one "correct" textbook way.... each person and shop will do things differently. Some shops might have great results while not using a torque plate so they don't use them, while others say you need them and hone everything with one. You could say that since the shop you used didn't seal off your block and put 210 degree water in and hone it at temp, that they didn't do it the "right" way... not trying to argue, just saying that your rant leaves alot open.... and this is from the point of view from a machinist - who deals with a bunch of customers and rants about what people think we should do

400 crank in a 305 will make a 330-ish ci stroker, but it's not an ideal power combo due to the bore being so small with that big of a stroke. also, fyi, it was said above.. a 377 is a 400 with a 350 crank. All you need are special bearings, and you can do it with stock parts.

4 cylinder camaro ??

well, i saved the r200/axles, all four corners of the suspension, the ecu, maf, and the engine.

Does a VG30DE have the same mounts as a VG30E ? Can a VG30DE bolt into where a VG30E originally sat? I noticed that grannysspeedshop.com sells RX7--->VG30 mount kits, but they don't mention any differences between the dohc and sohc vg30's..

The MSA type 2 bumper is the bumper that's on the one in your sig.. In the first post in this thread I linked to the MSA airdam that looks similar to the one on the ZX I posted the picture of.

Got me a GOOD deal on two '86 Z31's.. one is a complete car that just needs some underhood re-wiring to run, and the other is a parts car that has most of the fronend chopped off. I'm going to get the good Z31 running and probably drive it for a while, but what I was wondering is what all parts are good to take off of the parts Z31 before I have the scrap yard haul it off? What parts can I use on my 280ZX? I already snagged the R200 and axles for the 280zx, would the 5 lug suspension be worth snagging for use on my 280zx? I took all the black interior out, and I took the engine/tranny out. The car's a 5 speed.. would the clutch pedal assembly and master cylinder work on my 280zx (converting to 5 spd from auto) ? What else should I save off of this parts car before I send it off?

dang, I'm late on this one... but another +1 for having leaky caps in my ecu and a bad PTU. Had a guy rebuild my ecu for 150$, and a new PTU from the junkyard and my old sputtery talon ran like new!

I just got a Z31 and this sounds interesting to do... is the stock Z31 climate control stuff cable activated or electric w/ motors ?

a 351 will take as much power as you can realistically put at it. 1/2" headbolts, and buy some splayed 4-bolt main caps for it w/ a girdle and you will be set to rock and roll!

sweet!! you used the MSA air dam?

I'd pay 150$ for them (but take that w/ a grain of salt because I'm a cheapass in general), assuming there would be no problems with them and that they position the engine/tranny precisely. I take it that they are offset to allow header clearance on the drivers side?