Phantom

Got an email from him today. Evidently he's back.

Wow - I just realized that I can sort of read Swedish - or was it Danish? Anyway, at least I got the gist of it! 280-Monzie - how did you get stuck in Sparks, NV? That is like in the middle of nowhere! - and not a bit like home.

A while back I posted a thread "It's a Conspiracy!" complaining about how all the toys disappeared when I got the LS1 280Z on the road. Put it back in the shop last night for additional work and drove the NA '83Zx this morning. Guess what - a WS-6 and two GT's within 15 minutes of leaving the house! I'm sure glad I took it to the track last weekend and had some fun so I can endure the flaunting I'm getting.

Mike, Have you done anything special with your half-shaft u-joints? I've heard Spicer makes a heavy duty version that will carry more torque. Have you heard that rumor? Why put loops on half shafts - or will they beat the car to death if they break at the wheel end?

Guys, Mike's getting nervous because Gary is smoking him with his stock LS1 240 and I'm going to start nipping at his heels with my LS1 280. Mike -just bite the bullet and drop an LS6 in. Nothing like 365 RWHP to put us back in our places!!! Hmm, I wonder what a 150 shot would do in my LS1?! Bill

Mike, Notice that one of the items I've included in the list is a drive shaft loop. Bet you can guess why that's being included. Can't remember - at what speed/time do I have to add a scattershield?

Just did a few minutes of research on those BFG's. OD=26.1" while my Yoko's have an OD=24.9". That's the equivalent of dropping my 3.70 down to a 3.43. It just keeps getting better! Now I just need to get the right wheels to mount them on. 15" ZX wheels work?

Car is going back into the shop tonight and will get completely torn down. Headers going back to mfg. for some modifications and jet coating Exhaust being opened up to 3-3.5" New Expansion valve in AC along with other actuators to get it working right. New Urethane bushings and boots in steering rack, front suspension and rear suspension New seals gong into doors,quarter panel windows, and hatch. Three point front strut tower brace & three point rear strut tower brace Drive shaft loop Miscellaneous other minor things. I expect it to be there for 4-6 weeks. Back to the brown 83ZX.

Benjiv - Nope -no spider-webbing anywhere yet. See Update #27 just for you. Scotty - Focus? I thought that was a Ford?! Thanks for the words of wisdom. I wa already coming to the same conclusion but you've cemented it for me. For what it's worth at least I wsn't reving the engine and dumping the clutch. This thing has so much power all I have to do is let the clutch out and stab the throttle and it lights the tires up. YOu're absolutely right about ignoring the lights. I'm going to start my run on the second yellow from now on and focus on clutch and throttle control. 235/60-15's? I think I'll look and see if they maybe have something a bit taller. With a 3.70 R200 and a 2.66:1 first gear I can use the tallest tire I can fit. If not, Ill get those 15's and and focus on getting the most out of them. Which wheels are you running with them? I need to fit the tire into a standard wheel well with a standard suspension, no coil overs yet. Thanks again.

The turbos aren't going to fit in a Z. Take a look at the LS1 fit photos in my album. There is no room on the sides. A supercharger or a belt driven procharger could probably be done but there is no space for the turbos on a 240-280 without some serious underbody modifications.

Mike - contact John Radevich at: John@johnscars.com. He will sell you the motor mounts for the LS1 and, if you are running a T56 he'll have the transmission mounts. Lone Star 1 can tell you what he did for tranny mounts on his LS1 / 4L60E 240Z. Tom - The ZX puts you into unknown territory. The LS1 experience so far is in the Gen 1 bodies.

Jeromio, Yes - car has 3.70:1 LSD. I've got the MSA Aero II ground effects kit on my car which helps. Lone Star 1 just has a front air dam on his 240 LS1. I ran mine to redline in 4th (120mph) on the first run and car was solid all the way. I could tell that the exhaust was hurting me in the higher rpm's in 3rd & 4th, though, and will have to get that fixed. 60 ft's were a function of time spent just spinning and hopping the rear tires. Know what I need to do there too, just not too sure how long it will take me to settle down and control the car. I think just the time I spent in the rev limiter in 1st & 2nd cost me enough to keep me out of the twelves this past Friday. Got to go on the second yellow an dthen concentrate on the tach. Car will take care of the rest. Another thing that hurts me too is that car and driver are about 450 lbs. heavier than Lone Star 1's. That isn't going to change. I might drop 20 lbs personally but, if anything, the car is going to get heavier as I add the strut tower braces, etc. I'm keeping it as a relatively comfortable daily driver that will have the ability to spank a stock Z06. That will include a good AC and custom interior and sound system along with some more suspension and drivetrain upgrades.

I know this probably belongs on another board but it ties in with the LS1 development in my car. Friday night I was down at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis. Texas and made two trips down the quarter mile. Car is much faster than I am. Here are the numbers: Reaction Time: .659 60': 2.129 330': 5.694 1/8 : 8.662 & 84.41 MPH 1,000: 11.174 1/4: 13.274 & 107.81 The first car I ran had a reaction time of .027 sec. If I had gotten that I would have had a 12.6 quarter. Weak links in the car: 1) The driver - slow reaction time and in the rev limiter twice 2) Exhaust 3) Tires All fixable but the latter two will be the easiest to remedy. OH yes - I was so squirrely that I even made this run with the AC on!

Well, actually it's a wall plaque. After a great time down at Texas Motorplex last night my wife, Chris, and I showed up at the Christian Classic Cruisers car show in NE Fort Worth along with 5 other zcars. Felt a bit strange around all that Detroit iron but then what's new? Bottom line, I actually won an award in the "All foreign cars & trucks" category. First one. Hope there will be more.

I have always liked BMW's but have stayed away from them because of the high cost of parts & maintenance. My "daily drivers" have been other Z-cars, a Toyota Corolla, a Nissan Sentra, a Ford Pinto, and an old Volkswagen beetle.

That's kind of what I thought you'd say. It comes back to the build-up of acids I was talking about which is as much a time issue as mileage. I guess since I actually run about 10K/year I could change filter at 5k/6months and both at 10K/12 months. Darn filters sure are expensive but I'm not going to skimp there on this engine. I've got K&N air filter so I'll keep it fresh. Clean ai, clean oil, clean gas.

I feel like Rodney Dangerfield - ignored by a Saleen Mustang yesterday and challenged by a Civic today. Educated both.

I know the thrill of the first drive. Isn't it wonderful?!? Just know that you will become addicted to that extra power and you're going to want more. I thought I had enough with the stock LS1 but now I'm starting to have thoughts of more. Oh Lord, save me from myself!

I was over on FastLS1.com and commented on one thread that I had really good results from they guy at http://www.ChipsByAl.com on my PCM programming on my LS1. I got a PM from the site moderator informing me that it was against the rules to put a link to a vendor on the site unless they had paid $200 for advertising and that he had deleted the link from my message. I sent him back an email saying that I preferred an enthusiast site that promoted the exchange of information among the site members so that I had deleted the link to his site from my computer. Thanks HybridZ for your love of the car and providing such a great site!

Went to my local Chrysler dealership and looked at the Crossfire and the Pacifica. Was already disappointed in the Crossfire before I got there thinking about the anemic 215 HP V-6 in a $36,000 car vs 287 HP in the $27,000+ 350Z but wanted to get a good look at it. Problem is I had to grease up the interior just to squeeze in. Then my head was in the roof and knees against the dash with the seat all the way back. I'm 6'4" so that explains some of it but, oh wait, I fit in the Z's! Then my wife & I went & looked at the Pacifica. Except for the HP, better off buying the mini-van. Much less efficient utilization of space. Third row seats look very light duty. 6" of storage space behind the third row seats when they are up so no way vehicle would be good for six on a trip unless you plan to pull a trailer for the luggage or everyone just has a spare thong. Will give a general thumbs up on craftsmanship & design but neither are for me.

Thanks Doug. Since I have two now, the 280Z28 lives inside or behind a security fence but the NA 83ZX is still relegated to the driveway. Poser for you on the oil. If I only drive my car 5,000 miles per year what is my filter and oil change frequency?

Doug, Took a look at your photos and it brought back some memories. My first 280Z was that same bronze color and I bonded the same 3-piece spoiler on the back. I ended up painting it a red very close to the red on your hood. Then 3 months later it got stolen.

I graduated from U of I and was in their sports car club for a few years. We use to set up a 4.5 mile paved road hill climb on Cabbage Hill (Winchester Hill) on old I-95 south of Lewiston. It was bypassed by a long grade back in the late 50's. Best I ever ran was first in class and third overall behind a 911 Porsche and a Shelby Mustang. My favorite trick when commuting was to watch the oncoming taffic closely and determine where there was a good gap and then pass on a blind corner and watch my passengers fill their drawers. Once passed over 60 cars on a 40 mile stretch of 95 with a 37 HP Morris Minor sedan that way. By the way - I DO NOT recommend that anyone else subscribe to that kind of insanity.

My LS1/T56 280Z is running the 3.70:1 R200 LSD out of the '87-89 300ZX turbo. Problem is finding them. Option is to get any R200 you want and put a Quaife in but that is very expensive. Other option is to just run any R200 pegleg with the ratio you want (3.36,3.54.3.90)and consider the LSD option later.

Geez guys, I was able to mount my AC with a $35 fabricated steel bracket and keep the stock serpentine belt on my LS1. Guess not everything on an LS1 is more expensive!