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rejracer

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Everything posted by rejracer

  1. If you care about street manners go with the 3k. Also just as important is to specify the STR (Stall Torque Ratio). Basically Stall is the low end efficiency. Stall Torque Ratio is the ratio of input torque to output torque, and is mostly noticeable in higher rpms as efficiency is reduced up there. An all out drag car with a high stall high STR converter is not drivable or safe on the street. My analogy above is not perfect, so take it with a grain of salt. My suggestion is to read up and of course call Edge, PI, and or Yank and ask them so you can know what to expect and order the right converter the first time. Just bear in mind when getting into the world of slush box racing, it's even more important to match engine power band, to the converter, to the trans gearing, to the rear end gearing. PI and Yank converters are very good, but only necessary if you are running in excess of 400 or higher HP. The Edge converters are cheaper because they run a lighter housing, so if you don't have monster hp/torque it may be a better choice.
  2. key words: "race shop". You use a ported vacuum source for the distributor so you get consistent timing which produces a smoother idle. It also allows for a tad bit more power at tip in as when you crack the throttle plates it adds timing. It's a street driveability thing. If this is a street car you want both mechanical and vacuum advance. Mechanical advance compensates for RPM fluctuations which prevents low rpm detonation while under a heavy (low vacuum) load. In reality there is no "mechanical advance", rather it's low rpm retard. Vacuum advance compensates for engine load, which greatly improves fuel economy, throttle response and smoothness. Match your advance curve to your engine setup. Open chamber heads require a more timing. If you have an open chamber head get the distributors with more mechanical advance if a closed chamber head and matching pistons get a distributor with less mechanical advance. Concerning the triples and vacuum, they really need a vacuum manifold to work properly. Once you get to the point of using triples, it's not really a street car imho. Sure lots of people use them on the street, but there are compromises to be made when going that route. For instance there is no ported vacuum source on them, as a result either smoothness is sacrificed when using manifold for vacuum advance or fuel economy suffers due to no vacuum advance. With that said, use what works for what you are using your car for.
  3. Front lower control arms still use ball joints. Don't replace the wheel bearings if they are still in good shape, just clean and repack them. Regardless yes they come in inner and outers. Unless your castle lock nut is damaged, don't bother replacing it. Rears: Use your rear wheel bearings if there is life left in them. My experience with rear wheel bearings is they can fail at 50k, but might go 300k as well. If they are in good shape, don't replace, just clean and repack. The rears are significantly more difficult to r&r as you must pull the rear stub axle. These are not typically done with brakes. You will need a 27mm socket and a impact gun slide hammer, punch and hammer to get them removed. If the wheel bearings are in good shape, at the most repack them and a new inner seal. The common wear items on our cars are the outer tie rods, ball joints, and TC rod bushings The rears are pretty much bullet proof.
  4. I'm going to say the stall is too low for your application. V8 converters measured stall based on an engine that is approx 300hp street build, in other words a torquey 300hp. From the converter guys I have talked to this is a very subjective measurement. I don't know your level of converter knowledge, so I'll explain, forgive me if this is basics for you. If you have a 2000 rpm stall converter and put it behind a 150 hp engine and a 400 hp engine then the engine will stall out at different rpm's The purpose of the stall on a converter is to allow the engine to rev so it can get in it's powerband. 2000 stall is considered a low stall for V8's Your 6cyl turbo sounds like it could use a higher stall. If you can put the car in drive and floor it where do the rpm's level off at? If you are below 2000 stall then you have less torque at low rpm's than that converter was tested with. Use this offset when ordering your next converter. For example if your engine stalls out at 1600 rpm you now have a 400 rpm offset. If your turbo spools at 2500 rpm then I would go with a 2500+400=2900 rpm stall converter. If you end up buying a new converter, you might check out edge converters. Fill out one of their forms with your vehicles info and they will make suggestions. I am currently running one of their converters in a 94 impala, and I love the responsiveness, but don't really care for how loose it is on the low end. The folks at edge can help you through the decision making process. Hope that helps.
  5. It can be done, but our local drive line shop prefers to just buy the right slip yolk due to the labor cost involved in converting a new style slip yolk to accept the old U-joints. I'm curious to hear what your shop says.
  6. I was in the process of selling my 72 bus and had wanted a Z car for some time. I did not know much about them back then, (1994) I wanted a ZX but they were out of my price range. I had looked at several Z's, many of them were just worn out. It just so happened that a co-worker was selling his at the same time, and for the amount that I was selling the bus for. This car happened to be tuned right, already had the 2.8 in it, was running 3.54's and I think a 260z 4 speed. I was working at Salerno Motorsports at the time, and one of the selling points for me was "it's faster than a 348". Faster than a Ferrari! I was sold. A few weeks later I found a buyer for the bus, and then the gradual process of improving, breaking, repairing modifying began. I've driven it countless times to LA, San Diego, Oregon, and Reno. 1st mod: Headlight relay 2nd mod: Electronic ignition. 3nd mod: 5spd after 4 speed lost the counter shaft bearing. 4th mod: get 280z tach so it will work with the ZX distributor. 6th mod: get new wiring harness after battery slid and positive terminal hit chassis and let all the smoke out of every harness in the car. 7th mod: Momo steering wheel after I bent the stocker, I also replaced a the front bumper, headlight bucket and fender as a result of that incident I could continue on and on, but lets just put it this way. I've not replaced the long block, steering column, doors, and tail lights. Every other part has been replaced at least once. Car now has 350k on it. 2 clutches, 1 set of clutch hydraulics, 3 transmissions, 3 differentials, 2 drivelines, 2 sets of halfshafts, 1 set of wheel bearings, 1 exhaust system, 3 sets of headlights, 2 master cylinders, 1 set of front calipers, All gauges. What's up next: 16x8 Rota RB-R's, L28ET and 71c swap, volt meter mod, stereo. Distant future: EMS, inter cooler, custom intake, injectors, LSD. edit: In spite of all the things that have failed and been upgraded over the years, it's still been the cheapest car per mile that I've ever owned.
  7. Mickinney Motorsports only offers Poly. Rick Wong mounts use Supra isolators, which prob have the option of poly, but does not offer a trans mount. What isolators will this setup utilize? it's the details that will make this a worthwhile endeavor for both you and the customer. If you can incorporate the following features into the design you will have a very good product that will sell well. 1. Isolators that have different durometers for both engine and transmission. 2. Engine and trans mounts are from a readily available production vehicle (and you disclose the information) 3. Offers good exhaust and steering clearance. 4. Locate the engine as far back and as low as possible. (sounds like you have this one nailed) 5. Allow the transmission vertical adjustment to set drive line angles. 6. Can withstand high hp/torque 7. Can be used with either early or late style transmission crossmember to body mounts. 8. Offer an optional drive line, or at a minimum, post specs if others want to build their own. 9. Don't force powder coating. Have it as an additional extra. My suggestion is to post pics of the proposed kit as laid out on the table and installed. Don't worry about the bling factor at this point, and offer a bare metal option, some folks want custom colors, and others like me would rather have a part that you don't care if you scratch it, as you can rattle can fix it later. And for the record, i'm not going RB, just staying L series, so don't view my input as a potential sale. I think all of the gripes I've read of and seen can be addressed by one of the above points. I think if the new design addresses a number of the above, then others could more confidently express interest. Regardless of how much input you receive, if you offer the best product on the market at a reasonable price, it will sell. Both of the current offerings have serious limitations. Just my .02 (or is that 20.)
  8. define "It has 2 flywheels now lol" You didn't bolt the converter to the flywheel did you? What diameter converter are you running? A good 9" or smaller will really wake it up. What are you using the car for? What cam are you running and where does the power come on with your setup? What RPM's are you running, and what do you want your top speed to be? All of the above are factors in converter selection. With the above it's possible to suggest possible diameter, stall and STR for a converter. -Robert
  9. Both Spicer and neapco are good. Most critical is the installation and lube in the joint. I rebuilt my driveline in 98 and used spicers, it's still holding up. I've daily driven it since.
  10. Each trans has it's advantages. With a T5 you can go with WC box or there are aftermarket upgrades. If you stay with a 71B it opens up the option of upgrading it with the 300zx or 240sx internals later. T5's are cheaper to rebuild and have the later option of a G-force upgrade. 71B, 71C (300zx), and 71H(240sx) transmissions are cheap and plentiful in the junkyards, and have a smoother shift feel to me. My opinion: Out of the box the 71B/C/H transmissions are a better choice. Upgraded the nod goes to the T5.
  11. I added the MM6 and M12 transmissions. Just apply a filter on the transmission column to eliminate all others from the view. Hope it helps. edit to the edit: I updated the max rpm to 6600, tire size to 24.5, and MPH to 80 for the M12 lines. I found these numbers in this thread, update as necessary, it's just a copy. edit 3.0: 80mph in 2nd is possible with the MM6 gear set and 3.364 diff @6600 rpm. 82mph in 3nd is possible with the M12 gear set and 4.11 diff @6600 rpm. I don't know how physically different the MM6 and M12 T56's are, but some of the internals are swappable. In this t56 doc it's states there outside dimensions are identical, but that's just the interweb, i've not seen it for myself.
  12. Rejracers Speed - RPM Calculator. feel free to update, PM me when you want me to refresh it. I see some have updated a few cells.
  13. Stock uses a standard 1157 and 1156 bulbs which are twist lock bayonet mount type socket. I think there are replacement sockets that have the same lock pattern that our cars have. I've been contemplating replacing mine as the fiber insulators are getting distorted and breaking down. There are also repair kits available for the socket innards, but I think the wedge is a better design. Anyhow I found this website which shows a "type 1" socket that looks very much like the Z car tail light socket, but not sure it's the same.
  14. I've assembeled the Fs5w71C, I have all the parts except the tailshaft seal. One thing I noticed about all of these boxes is that they have a lot of "vertical" play in the shifter. Vertical as in you can press the shifter straight up and down about 1mm. I wanted to get rid of this play, so I found 3 shims in my collection of misc shims that were close to the right diameter. I put these shims above the shifter socket and below the 2nd snap ring that holds the mechanism to the housing. When I was reassembling the shifter assembly I realized that I was missing the neutral detent ball and spring, so I had to make a run to the junk yard. I found an 85 300zx that had the part, and the shifter had already been cut down by removing the upper portion of the shifter and rubber that is used to attach it to the shifter rod. I noticed a difference in between the 85 and 87 shifters in that the 85 uses a coil spring below the shifter cup vs the 87 which uses a warpy shim style spring. The second difference is that the 85 uses a real snap ring with eyelets on the upper snap ring position vs the 87 which uses a snap ring with no eyelets, making it very difficult to remove. the last difference I notices is that the shifter housings are different, with the 85 having a deeper spring pocket to accommodate the coil spring. So i ended up using the 87 housing with warpy spring, the 87 upper and lower shifter ball cups, the shortened shifter from the 85, the 85 snap rings, and some custom shims to assemble the shifter mech. It was a bit tight when putting in the 2nd snap ring but the end result was zero up an down movement from the shifter. Me feeling all proud of the afternoons accomplishments then had the thought: "wonder if the manufacturer had that vertical play in there for a reason?". So my question to the forum is: Did I do something I ought not? With that said, the shifter has zero play, and I mean zero. The only play I can feel is in the shift arms themselves, which is internal to the transmission itself. I'm very happy with the bench test so far. Real test will be when it's installed. Next up on the project is to install the trans on the existing N/A engine. I think I'm going to use the Z31 shift boots as i have 2 sets of them. For the time being, here are the pics: shifter installed, notice how short the shifter is. I actually prefer a cut down shifter, versus a short throw shifter. The reason is that it preserves the balance of vertical and horizontal throw. Actually the balance bit is only relevant to the 71b boxes, but still, I like the feel of a shorter shifter in a S30. The look it improved as well. Here it is with the shift knob installed. That is a leather momo shift knob. Believe it or not, I got this from a local part out for 5 bucks. Any who, the total length should put this shifter about 6" above the tunnel, perfect for how I sit in the car. I'm 5'6 and 1/2 ahem, so this works for me. When I get my final configuration done, the engine will be sitting back 2.75" this should be perfect for this transmission. If I have to, I will disassemble the shifter, heat it and straighten the shifter arm so it clears the tunnel and center console as well as lengthen it to gain any height i need, but I don't expect that will be necessary. As far as the writeup for assembling the Fs5w71C, there are 2 really good write-ups already on hybrid Z, Nigel is one of them, so I won't bother duplicating his writeup. Please note, Nigel used a 240sx trans and I am using a 300zx trans, they are not exactly the same. I'll post more when I pull my existing trans and compare the 300zx and 280zx transmissions. And lastly since we are on the topic of shifters, don't cheap out and get a plastic screw on shift knob. Get leather as it's what you touch. You will know why come summer. 'Nuff said.
  15. Vang, I believe the cog info above is applicable to L series transmissions. I don't know if it applies to RB's. Regardless, you need the right cog if you want the odometer to work correctly. If you don't have an odometer, then perhaps the speedo can be adjusted for whatever cog you have in your transmissions. Take a look at the autometer to determine how adjustable it is. In the thread you mention, it says you can use a 300zx VSS. If that's the case then get a 300zx VSS that comes from a 300zx equipped with the FS5r30a transmission as it's the same as your RB25 transmission (not identical but very close). An early 300zx that has the FS5w71C transmission has a different transmission cog. As I recall from WRCBONK's VSS, it's a different body diameter. Because there are 2 different style of VSS's I don't know if the color of the cogs is the same. But since you have a RB25 transmission, I believe the VSS's will interchange between the two. The 300zx's that came with the Fs5r30A transmission are the 87-89 turbos and all from 90-96 NA and turbo. Since almost all 300zx's came with 3.70s, it's the easiest cog to find. I would hit the yards near sacramento to find the VSS your looking for.
  16. One thing you will need is to get the RB25 VSS that is matched to the rear gears in your car. I don't know how to interface it to the RB25, for example I don't know if the 25 ECU's have a speed out circuit or of you have to grab the speed signal directly from the VSS.
  17. the JTR kit is nearly as bolt on as your going to get without going custom. The radiator is from a 86 camaro. I'm running one in my 240z, but think I may go back to stock for mounting fans. -Robert
  18. What's this? An update! Last fall we pulled the engine and trans from the doner car, and parted out the rest. The engine still sits on the rolling engine cradle that Bonk will kind enough to modify for me. Rforrest did most of the manual work of pulling the car apart as partial payment for my other zx, which he has now taken possession of. So in my garage is sitting a bone stock L28et. In the mean time I've also purchased a set of yukon coils, the one's with the integrated heat sink. I bought aftermarket replacements on Ebay, the quality looks good, but i've not tested them. The cost was 180 or so for a set of 8. The mounting is completely different than the other truck coils I have. There are 2 major componets I am missing for a really good stock long block build. 1. Aftermarket ECU. 2. high flowing intake manifold. When it goes in, it will be stock, and I will incrementally improve it as time and funding allows. Concerning mounting the coils, I still waffle between mounting them up high or low, and whether to use a bracket or do like Pete did and just bolt them to the valve cover. As far as using a sealed connector, I am going to be using the metripak 150 series. They are rated up to 15amps, plenty for what the coils will draw. I actually bought an assortment for other wiring projects I plan to be doing as time and inspiration allow. other updates: I'm pulling together parts to install the FS5W71C in the car before I do the turbo swap. For those considering the swap, here are the measurements of the 87 FS5W71C 300zx transmission: 300zx Bell housing length: 350mm Center section width: 20mm Tail housing length: 475mm Total length from bell housing to tail housing: 845mm Total length from bell housing to tail shaft: 842mm Total length from bell housing to center line of shifter: 800mm The one measurement I did not get is the total length from bell housing to center line of transmission mount. I will try and get that posted up when I get the parts back. I also did not measure the L series bell housing length, it should be the same per previous measurements, but I did not write it down. The transmission cases are currently at the machine shop being glass beaded, and some parts are on their way from MSA and the local dealership. For those that have not heard of this swap, you take the L series bell housing and have it machined to accept the larger bearing and shift rod of the 300zx NA transmission. You then use the rest of the 300zx parts to button it up. When I get them back, WRCBONK and I will be painting the cases, thoroughly cleaning them, and then doing the final assembly of the transmission. -Robert
  19. Tim and I traded speedo cogs for a cluster, clusters were half the cost of what they were out here, and our yards had quite a few manual transmission cars to pull COG's from. I got the black faced gauges. Tim and I did very similar things on the mounting, but I opted to use the backing plate from the maxima cluster, I cut it out with a dremel tool and screwed it to the 240z tachometer cup. I may end up pulling a 300zx cluster to see if I can do this without a divider circuit.
  20. The Pennzoil variant is less than 10 bucks a quart at any auto parts store.
  21. I've had the 280zx rear brakes on my car for 10 years, and I've always gone through pads on the rear. I bet I've had the same probllem and just never knew it. Thanks for posting this.
  22. I have the 280z tach in my 240z. I only did the upgrade because I upgraded to the ZX distributor. As far as accuracy, it's off at idle, accurate at 2500 and off anything above 3k. In other words, it's not accurate. I think it's adjustable with the potentiometers on the back, but have not bothered. IMO don't upgrade to a 280z tach unless you need to, it's not really an improvement over the 240z tach.
  23. +1 to what Leon said, fix it right, get the car solid, then make it blingy. With that said the black epoxy primer has a good look for low bucks.
  24. It depends on what the block is blocked with. If it's rust, find a product called evap-o-rust. It sounds cheesy, but it works great at dissolving rust in the entire cooling system. If it's just a neglected cooling system flush it with prestone cooling system cleaner. if the block is clogged with bits of silicone and/or old gasket material your best bet is to reverse flush the system with a hose and lots of water.
  25. Under load the car was running great! Lots of torque in the mid range, power tapers off in the higher revs due to the T3, but no misfires. Mebby some BOV funkyness, but I don't know how that part is supposed to behave. The car never skipped a beat during the entire drive. Much better! I was thinking for a while that my 240 would stand a chance against it, after this last drive, methinks not. Regardless the theory is in need of testing.
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