Phantom

Heck - I was thrilled the night I broke into the 12's with mine.

There is a huge Z car enthusiast club in the Atlanta area. Google them and then hook up with them. They will know where the good places in that area are for work on your classic. You'll also be able to look at dozens of other cars and see what their owners have done with them. Good resource.

Mike. I've been running the first set of john's cars engine mounts since 2003 and about 37,000 miles. I can only speak to my specific mounts and they have given me no issues. My car hasn't been driven as hard as a lot of guys here that are serious competitors but they have been subjected to some time road racing at Texas Motor Speedway, some quarter mile work at various tracks, some hill climbing, and a few trips to do some autocross work - not to mention the gentle thrashing I give the car nearly every time I drive it. Looking back I think the only two things I wish I hadn't gotten of the Johns Cars components were the headers and the CableX box. I didn't know that the tailshaft of the T56 could be modified for a mechanical output to go with my stock speedo and there weren't any other aftermarket headers available when the JCI headers were developed. Bill

Nooooooo - I'd never do that.

When my '77 was stolen years ago USAA asked if I had any photos of the car and could document any work I'd done on it since I purchased it. I had one photo that showed that I'd repainted it and I created a list with best guesstimate values of the other things I'd done to the car. I had purchased the car for $3,200 and sunk about $800 into it over 3 years. They gave me $3,200. I figured I was willing to part with $800 for three years of enjoyment. If you have repair records, lists of parts you purchased and their values and good photos get all that together. Then a visit to crags list and Ebay for cars in similar condition/configuration and you should have a good case.

So, which is faster - a manual typewriter or a laser printer? Pretty much the same question, correct?

So, the heater control valve checked out good. That saves me about $170 but still had to spend $40+ for the three stupid little preformed hoses that are needed for it to go together right. Dash is out with actual work being done on the cracks. Once the hoses get here things will start going back together. Thought while everything was apart I'd pick up a remanufactured clock so everything would be working but the $312 price tag changed that plan. Have a local clock repair shop looking at it. Not sure if the last thing will be the adjustable proportioning valve on the brakes or the lights getting reinstalled. Going to have an additional electrical connection that I can set up a relay on to turn on a set of LED DRL's whenever the key is on. Figure if I'm redoing all the lights i need to do all the lights.

Sooo -Supercharged LS3 backed by a 6L80E, R230 LSD with cryogenically hardened halfshafts. Fully adjustable coiler suspension all the way around, Big Wilwood brakes all the way around, new 17" wheels sporting 305/35-17 tires in the rear and 245's in the front, Full leather interior with a 1,000 watt 10 speaker sound system. Is that what scary sounds like?

I sort of understand your frustration but I've seen so many projects on this forum to take 3+ years to get as far as you've gotten in the past few weeks - only to have to start over again because they made some noob decisions. It's a 40 year old piece of machinery - stuff happens.

Actually the e-brake cable is an extra cost option that you have to request if you want it. Anyway, that's the way I read the website info on it. The calipers don't work with the stock e-brake cable.

Dang - fortunately my '77 has been garage kept it's entire life but I'm still always on the lookout for any sign of rust.

Picked up the heater control valve at the shop today and took it to a radiator shop to get it checked out and repaired if necessary. These things are like $270 now with a $200 core charge - depending on where you shop and if you can even find them. Same with the custom formed hoses that are needed to go with it. It looks like the coolant leak under the dash was the hoses on the valve but better safe than sorry. Dash is out at an automotive "cosmetologist" getting some hairline cracks taken care of. The dash went 37 years without a crack but in the last 6 months I've had several little ones appear. Getting them taken care of now before they get worse.

So I'm driving down the street in my wife Z32 convertible with the top down and soaking up the sun on a beautiful 65 degree day - listening to the clickety-clack of the studded snow tires on the vehicle next to me. Yup, it's not April 1st yet when they all have to come off and we're still in a season where we could get 6" of snow with little warning.

Why don't you call or email them with your questions. They'll know more than we do. That's what I did with my questions.

The lights finally made it to Zledslights in Texas. Weather delayed them getting there 5 days. Samuel thinks he can have them back to me by the end of the month. He's moving into a new shop so business appears to be good. It's funny, I've had my car 23 years now and it wasn't until the gauges got their white faces that I realized there are green covers over the dash lights. Couldn't tell with the stock black gauges. Really like the new look and the fighter bulbs.

Well - darn - I guess I won't get many bids!

The kind of sad thing about the Z is that 4 days later i sold tricycle (3-wheel bicycle) for more than I sold the Z for. The good news, though, is that the trike went to a very good home. It will be used by a mentally challenged young man. He was really excited to get it.

OK - I have the o-ring for the 280Z sending unit. It is still in the original plastic bag with Part# 17342-18000 that i got from Don Davis Nissan about 15 years ago. It appears to be in great shape - no cracking and still fexable. Since it may be the only one left in existence bids will start at $1,000.

Savage42 (Gary) is the son of Swede Savage of the 1970's time-frame. Swede ran with the greats, Mario Andretti, Mickey Thompson, Dan gurney, etc. until his untimely death in 1973. Gary started out up in Eugene, Oregon with his 280Z06 build which he is now close to finishing. Gary has obviously been involved in the motor racing scene since he was a kid. He did a lot of 510 performance stuff and also some vintage 'Cuda racing. He's also the one who has the replacement friction pads for the R200 LSD's. If you haven't seen his car you should look him up on this website and spend a bit of time drooling over it. Gary is a great guy and almost for that reason alone when it comes time I'll replace my Optima redtop with a Braille.

Hmmm - so I guess if you never get "promoted" you don't have to worry about getting "demoted"?

Wow - and I sold mine for $800.

Freak - big question on the V8 swap is how much HP do you want to develop? If you put in a regular SBC then you'll probably be fine with either car. If you put something in putting over 400 HP to the rear wheels then both will need reenforcing. My 280Z with a 325 RWHP LS1 has front and rear strut tower supports and a 4-pt roll bar. It still flexes a bit. My son has a 240Z with Bad Dog frame rails and a 380 RWHP LS1. His car flexes like crazy. He's planning on the strut tower supports and a roll bar/cage in the future.

HOOVER - Things have changed hugely in the Z world in the past 10 years. I was on the leading edge with the LS1 conversion back in 2003 but what we did then is almost dark ages now. Huge - I mean huge - improvements in the areas of the drivetrain, braking, and suspension systems. You could easily spend hours on this site searching out all the new stuff available. If you have the shop and the $$$ then an S30 can be changed into a phenomenal vehicle. Have fun

Hmm - I have an old sender in a box in the garage. I could look and see if it has an o-ring on it if you can't find one.

I was just reading a discussion of Braille vs other batteries and it got me curious. I went to the good ol' inter web and looked them both up. Bottom line is that for the LS1 in my Z the two different batteries are within about $10 of each other. At Summit Racing a Braille B2317R is $200 and an Optima 8004-003 34/78 REDTOP is $215. Not going to get into how long they last. I have the Redtop Optima in my Z and it has been performing wonderfully for me for about 10 years now. I throw it on a battery tender in the fall and then just fire it up and drive it once the snows are over. This year I haven't even done that due to the mild winter. I put 1,500-2,500 miles per year on the car now vs the 8,000 I used to put on it but time is more of an enemy to the battery than miles. Yes, I know you can get a great lead-acid battery for half the price of these batteries but when was the last time you had a battery last 10 years? When it finally does die I'm going to opt for the Braille. Price will be close to the optima and I'm always up for losing a little weight. Just thought I'd throw some thoughts out.