Phantom

Man - my LS1 cost me a 5 carat diamond ring and a Z32 convertible - and she still wants me to sell it and get a 350Z!

I served 23 years combined active duty Navy and reserves. This dude is a "volunteeer". He wasn't drafted like back during the Vietnam era. I fully understood and supported true conscientious objectors back then even though my own butt was on the line to go in harms way. I do not, however, support someone who volunteered to be a member of the military and then thinks he can pick and choose his duty based on his personal belief. He needs to spend some time in the brig contemplating what his beliefs really are.

Are you boosting a Chevy V8 or the Nissan L28? If the straight six then you need to ask this under the turbo / supercharger forum.

It's nice to hear about projects that are actually progressing. You notice I didn't say 'completed'. Mine's been a daily driver for 12 of the last 13 years, the last 18 months with the LS1 in it and it has never been completed. I may get one phase done but then there is always another. The only thing that has been consistent throughout is, that except for the engine conversion, it was never down for more than 5 weeks and generally not more than a few days. I'm a Z junkie and a few days without puts me into withdrawals. I think I've finally identified the source of the windshield leak. If I'm right then I should be starting on the interior and sound system upgrade in the next couple months. Anyone need a set of stock S30 seats that are covered in brown leather with black piping?

Took me five years to decide what color to paint the car and what aero kit I wanted to put on it. It took me another five years to decide what drivetrain upgrade to do. I got better, though. It only took me a year to decide what I wanted to do for new brakes. Now I've been about 8 months in planning for new interior and sound system - all rain delayed because the %*&^(*^* car leaks like a sieve and I haven't yet found for sure where it's coming in.

Mike, Cowtown is a very friendly club. It's all about the car and our love for them. I've even had my car on display at a local Nissan dealer. It may not have a Nissan drivetrain but everyone identifies it as a Datsun and it really draws the crowd. One guy in the club is a real purist but even he admitted that mine was "ok" because of how clean the conversion is. Bill

6th gear is .50:1

FWIW - I'm from Arlington and have just become President of the Cowtown Z Club which meets the second Thursday of each month. The next meeting is at the Mercado Juarez Restaurant at I-20 & Matlock in Arlington on January 13th at 7:30. Be there earlier if you plan to eat. Obviously this club will be receptive to Hybrid Z's!! BTW - I didn't hear anything about the MSA meet being in Texas in '05 but I do know that the ZCCA National Convention will be hosted by Z Club of Texas and Cowtown Z Club in June of '06 in the DFW area. i've beeninvolved in some of the initial planning and so far it looks like it will be a blast - y'all come now!

David, 6th gear is definitely NOT a waste. With my 3.70:1 R200 I'm turning right at 1,500 rpm in 6th at 60 mph. The LS1 will 'cruise' at rpms as low as around 1,200 rpm. I normally start in 2nd gear when just cruising around town because the LS1's torque will start it off ok in 3rd. The big challenge with 1st is to not totally fry the tires when the hammer goes down. It can be controlled pretty consistantly with a little practice. With over 13,000 miles on my LS1 / T56 combo I'm going to claim the "most experienced" title. I considered going with either a 3.54 or 3.36 ratio in the R200 for more usefulness of 1st but that would make 6th borderline at 60 where it is very happy right now. Since my car is really a daily driver I think I'll stay right where I am and just slowly evolve the suspension so I can eventually run some slightly wider tires - 225/50-16's are the widest I can run now without coil-overs. Bill

A normal inspection station will just give you a safety inspection and pass you on. I made a huge mistake when I first got my LS1 powered Z inspected by going to a shop where the owner had a Stage 3 Z32tt and everyone thought they knew all about Z cars. They insisted that my car was a "remanufactured" car and had to be emissions tested and then, even though it actually passed the test, they failed me because I didn't have catalytic converters. It took me two weeks and finally having a Texas State Inspections Agent for this area call them and tell them to lay off and just give me a regular inspection. Needless to say I've never been back to that shop and my car passed inpsedtion at a regular inspection station last time without even a second glance.

Interesting comment about a procharged V8 in a Z. I've already been quoted an install for a procharger on my LS1 powered 280Z. The technician didn't think it would be all that much trouble - avout 8 hours for the install. I do love the LS1.

We've really had it tough this winter. This past weekend is a perfect example. My wife and I were out Christmas shopping in the Z32 convertible - with the top down of course because we'd been cursed with yet another cloudless day in the 60's. Today started out much the same but kind of degenerated during the late afternoon when it actually started getting kind of hot and I started thinking about having to turn the AC on.

My car is my daily driver so I register it as just a plain old car. Regular tags but only a safety inspection, no emissions. I'm not yet willing to pay extra for "antique" tags.

My suggestion comes from the way the manufacturers of sport compacts have started providing options for those vehicles to compete with the aftermarket. An example would be D-C with their Stage 3 kit for the SRT-4 which is a factory kit that takes the car to 355 hp & 365 ft-lbs. of torque. HybridZ'ers tend to do things that take the cars to the extreme whether it be with a super boosted 280ZXT motor or an American V8. Anyway you look at it that requires a certain amount of engineering and the factory could benefit from just the ideas people are working on.

ProZac, It's not quite as simple as just changing bumpers. Do you have some 240Z bumpers already? You wil find they mount differently than the 280 bumper. You will also find them to be fairly expensive to buy good used or remanufactured. Are you specifically wanting the 240Z look or just wanting to get rid of the ugly 280Z crash bumpers? If the latter you need to investigate your options before just going for the 240Z look. By the way, the 240Z and 280Z front turn signals are in different locations so you'll have more changes to make to get the 240 look.

Sulla, I live in Tarrant county where things are much stricter and it is the same with my 77 280z with a 98 Camaro LS1. $12.50 for safety inspection and that's. I even go the local regional emmissions agent to verify that was correct. Johnson county - that's close - you should come to one of the Cowtwon Z Club meetings in Arlington. Email me direct if interested.

Anyone trying to sell a vehicle and posts photos of it absolutely filthy makes a statement. Let's see - Maybe he maintained it as well as he cleaned it? He'll be lucky to get $3,500.

Welcome to my world. I can deal with ignorance to a point but seldom arrogance and/or stupidity. As an engineering manager I encounter situations almost daily where I'm left wondering how the individual is still alive since they obviously are missing critical instincts/abilities. I've trained my department that whenever I say I'm "Having a Red moment" they think of Red off "That 70's Show" and know I'm dealing with another dumb---!!

Here's a thought - I'm sure there are several folks on here that are members of Z Car clubs in their local areas - right? If each of us would approach our local Nissan dealerships through either the sales or parts departments - especially if you have a dealership that sponsors your club - then the National Nissan Organization could end up getting feeler inquiries from local dealerships all over the country. I'm going to start with mine in the next week.