BlackdogNY

Heard Back from AM.: Having trouble downloading actual quote but there are the high points; Center section is a Strange Engineering Dana 60, (Not spindles) but the knuckle is a modified 2010 and up Camaro, The axles are from The Drive Shaft Shop, 1000 HP units Prices: basic irs- 10,416 jri alu. non adj. coilovers- 280/side, 560 total 2.5" by 10", 400lb spr.- 55/side, 110 total gm 12.4" calipers/rotors- 400 gear ratios 3.54 to 4.56- included Wilwood 14.25 brakes w4a- 1755 Basically 11500 without the wildwood upgrade. It is still very expensive. Something to consider if looking for a replacement IRS, if not, talk to mr. wizard and try to get a group buy on a Factory Five car... B&G

It was not taken as a negative remark. You are coming from a fabricator's pov, most of us are wan-a-be's. I completely agree that 14k is to expensive for that. Still will wait for final judgment until Morrison gets back to me with a solid price. There are a few options I am looking at so we will see what happens. One of the main issues I have found with changing the suspension is the narrow track of the car. Modern cars all seem to have a much wider one and a cut/paste replacement is not out there. I do not mind cutting the whole floor out of the car, just do not like the look of bolt on flares to cover fat tires. A big plus for the Morrison's stuff....it is made of mainly production parts that are easy to replace(as needed). Thanks for the offer, it has been very hard to find a shop interested/capable in working on the old girl. Ya, I can here people saying 'just put a narrowed 8.8 solid axle in there, it's cheap/easy'....that would be one of the options.

A bit of a update, did some searching....price....hold on.....13,800. DOOOOAHHH. That is not from Art Morrison so it may even be higher. Sorry to all those who where interested. That is verrrry pricy. Hay, the '1' may be a typo....

I am going to totally disagree with your logic. As far as being better than stock for street use, come on, being adjustable and stronger is a HUGE improvement. Off the shelf parts from Corvette(I think it is Corvette based), tons of options on brakes(even a e-brake, go figure),gears, axles... how is that not good. Ya, the price is probable going to be steep(have not heard back yet), but go ask 'SUNNY' or anybody else going at it on their own how much they spent. You might be able to produce a good IRS on your own 'for fun', but unless you have the tools/time/brains, this could be a option for someone. For me, paying a shop 100+/hr to modify something is money I would rather spend on other projects. Don't get me wrong having a one-off custom IRS is totally cool, but very few of us have the capabilities to do it. I am hoping this will allow for the suspension upgrade/fat tires I want without the mandatory flairs.

Just looked at Art Morrison site, have a new multi link IRS in various widths. Have not received a response as far as price, hoping for the best. Might be a good substitute for trying to modify a Cobra or Corvette setup. http://artmorrison.com/homepage2.php If link does not work, goggle it.

I have heard the theory of coating s/s pipe, keeps the heat inside the exhaust. Just doing the inside in the case of 321 or 304. 409 will rust so you would do both, the outside for appearance. In a n/a application, headers and complete exhaust can be done. My personal opinion on a turbo would be a coating from the DP back, just in case something flakes off in the headers. Most people put the coatings on because they look good. Not sure of a hp gain, but unless the costs have come down a lot, it is not cheap to do a complete system inside and out. Last time, it turn out to be almost as much as having it 304 ss. As a added kick in the nuts it rusted very quickly. Most companies will recoat a rust issue, but who has time to remove a exhaust, send it back, wait 2 weeks and hope it works. After going that route once, every exhaust system I buy or make will be ss. If you have a heat issue...wrap it or as mentioned, make a shield. (Above experience were from HPC and Jet Hot).

It is nice to see your garage above polar temps, so we can assume you were snowblowing outside and not a path around the car. Anyway, not being a turbo expert but have done a fair share of research for my build and have seen some common themes. First is, the bigger is better theory on DPs. Helps build boost earlier. If you don't drive on the street, a simple fender exit out front is very popular/simple. As far as the wastegate plumbing, if it goes in the DP it should be as far back as possible. If the noise is a problem I have seen a few builds with a muffler on that part if the exhaust. There are a TON of technical reasons for both of these. If you care to read I have found a lot of info on various turbo forums. Yellow Bullet is a good one. Lots of drag racers with LS turbo power. I am sure a turbo expert here will chime in if the above info is incorrect. Good luck and start shooting flames.

Don't get me wrong, I agree you should sell them. I have no idea how much they are worth to someone in the business(or to a private party). My point was that I find it hard to believe you are willing to toss them in the dumpster(which costs $) then sell/give away for pennies. If it is a time issue to get them removed, I am sure the Datsun community would come and get whatever you have. I definitely would not be interested, my suggestion of TonyD, to add to his parts collection still stands. A Craigslist ad for free shit always cleans-up 'one mans garbage'. Maybe your thinking is that 'I have 'x' dollars in these mold and there is no way in hell I will give them away'.

Why would you scrape the Datsun molds?? How much room could they possible be taking? If you can not sell them to somebody who still deals with s30 parts, do the right thing and donate them to someone who likes to 'hoard' Datsun stuff...anybody come to mind.

If you add the cost of a 9 inch third member...1100-1400, axles...1000+ and a driveshaft you still end up around 4-5000. It does not seem to matter who fabricates the housing. There are a few others out there, simple search. I would imagine if you want/need to change gearing often, the 9" is the one to have. BTW, DSS website shows they make CF drive shafts...they look verrrry cool.

DSS also makes a IRS 9 inch kit for a few cars...no Datsun. $5-7000, complete bolt in.

Currie housing, just add third member/axles Part #: CE-4305B Our Price: $1,429.95 Description: For buggy, race car, and hot rod builders we now offer an independent housing for front or rearend use! Housing uses a modified version of our F9 Fabricated housing and includes 3rd. member studs, fill cap, drain plug, and vent installed. The 35 spline axles accept 934 CV's, are constructed of 4340 material and are machined and heat treated. Axle bearings and retaining hardware is included. Specify when ordering if this unit will be used standard or upside down! Housings can accept 10" ring gears with some minor trimming to the 3rd. Member mounting face. Unit width is 14 1/2" from axle face to axle face, and just the bare housing is 11 3/8".

Just looked for the Dynatrac pro 60....complete kit with axles $7000!!!! Can only hope it was a misprint

Their website says a complete unit is almost $4000.

I believe that Nissan's NPTI program(vg) engines where built/developed by John Caldwell at Caldwell Development(Vista, CA). When Nissan left sports car racing, I think he developed Viper motors for Dodge's racing program. Last I heard he had closed shop. I would think that he had some former Nissan guys who worked for him, you may try to track some of them down. Very nice guy to deal with, sorry to see him go. B&G

So you are not going to use Robbie?? Can those other engines be purchased/serviced in the US? Drivability/torque/reliability are my wish list. I want to buy (1) bullet and not have to worry about it. Main uses for my car are occasional cruise, track day/drag race, and making lots of noise to annoy my cranky neighbors. If you are ever able to get a positive reason for your failure please post it, no matter who/what is to blame. May save other people from making the same mistake. Good luck. B&G

Going to make the leap here....guessin' many people who have followed your build are thinking about using Robbie for their bullet. The main reason that holds me back is just a issue like this. What do you do if your engine builder is on the other side of the planet and you have a problem?? If memory serves me, you bought a RIPS shortblock and built your own head and did all of the assembly. Now part failure happens.....have you come up with a solid answer as to what and who is to blame??? Last time I was in contact with Robbie he said he had no plans for a US distributor. If you are to go RB again would you buy a complete, dyno broke-in, and ready to go package?? It will cost more, but how much?? and with the peace of mind a tested engine gives, it maybe worth it. Again, sorry for your loss. B&G

Ben's Z, good for you. Hope you get the car running. I personally like to read most of Tony's posts for its general, solid info. The 'they will only learn if the teacher belittles them' is BS. Either help or keep it to yourself.

I think what I was trying to point out is it is impossible to keep this site for 'experienced z owners'. If you wanted that you should have kept it between the few worthy 'overseer's'. Complaining that you have to deal/answer/smack a 'little nipper' is silly. It is like spraying for mosquitoes, you may get a lot, never get them all. It only takes a few to be a pain in the ass(if you let them bother you). I choose to ignore and move on. Not much of the 'grumpy oldtimer' type. Is it impossible to 'teach' a student without corporal punishment? Tony, do you ever make it way over here to the N'east for any events?

I first must say that I really like Mustangs, my brother had a '90 LX 5.0 hatchback, a really fun car....but if you ever get snow or rain in your neck of the woods, AWD is a much better choice for daily use. The Mustang will be useless if not dangerous in the slick stuff. If you like Ford stuff how about a Taurus SHO. Fast, AWD, turbos and room for kids/puppies.

Well, this search has produced zero results, besides a geography lesson. One shop was not interested, three others have not even bothered to respond. I did get one guy to answer and we will see what happens, not expecting much. Looks like I will be spending most of my summer working on this car instead of driving it. Hard to believe there is nobody between Michigan and the Atlantic ocean who wants to work on this car..... B&G

Please don't ask a bad question then get MAD when people IGNORE you! Forever. THINK about what you're going to post. THAT IS ALL THAT WE ARE ASKING! How hard is that? The problem is, if I am not smart enough for find the answer on my own what makes you think that I will know if I am asking a stupid question?? Ignore/delete I said that about 50 posts ago. Why get your draws in a bunch about someones inexperience. Spend your time helping people you feel are worthy. Is prof. Rudy in, should I duck for cover now.... B&G

They are not going to just give you a rental. It is ususally a per diem allowance, mine was $35/day. I had to use my ins. to cover the rental agreement. They will give you a check if you don't take the rental, of little use if your boss pissed at you for being late. The rental was only authorize for the actual repair time. So lets say they will give four days for repair, you get the car four days. My question was what if parts are not on hand, or the shop is backed up. Sorry, that is your problem. BTW, I did not want to give the impression that Progressive was any way unprofessional or rude(They got less happy to talk to me after losing in court). It takes a special kind of a-hole to be polite and still f-you over. I guess I was very luck, I had the ability to still drive my car, so being dicked around was only a aggravation. A customer of mine was in a accident on vacation, their personal car, not their fault and they got screwed. They could not afford to stay around to fight the ins. co. and had to pay for the repairs themselves. Now I don't know if submitting the claim to their ins. would of helped. Maybe... Also, you don't have to go to Enterprise try another rental co, again they allow x dollars/day wherever you go. A license and proof of basic ins. should be enough. B&G

I would think they might fight if it was some kinda accident that multiple parties are at fault. That way they are fighting to cover their own pocketbook. This seems that the truck was 100% responsible. You will have to talk to the agent to get your car looked at. That is the part where they will start to bend you over(the bumper in this case). Make sure to get the accident report, see your dr., cover you ass as much as possible, literally. Remember they are in busness to take your premiums, not give it back and when they have to, as little as possible. Your local adjuster, let call them "dick wad" is looking to make their monthly quota of f-ing people over. The waste of dna that looked at my car offered a check after they finished looking at the car. I think this is a Progressive thing, people take money in-hand and move on. I said bite me and ripped it in half. Are ya feelin' my love of all things insurance. B&G

I had the pleasure of dealing with Progressive a few years ago. A car never looked a 2 way stop sign and I tried to miss them and ended up hitting their rear quarter. I had no stop sign and since I did the hitting, the Progressive leach said the accident was 15% my fault. A very long story short, I won in court. Since my car was still useable it was just very aggravating. I had no recourse but court, they say what they are willing to pay and if you don't like it sue us. Even if they lose 99% of the cases it is a good business model, personally I think a shity way to treat people. My favorite line was...'If you don't agree with what we are proposing, you can submit the claim to your ins. carrier'. Really a-hole, now I should get my rates raised because your company won't pay on a claim. Piss off. Even if I had collision on my DD, why would I do that. My opinion would be to f-them for every penny you can get. Go to the dr., get repair costs, whatever you can so when you end up going to court you get the maximum possible. Once they think you are physically not hurt, let the games begin. A police report saying they were 100% at fault should help. Hope it is not to late, good luck.