jt1

Welcome to Hybrid Z. That's an interesting story, be sure and post some pics and more details when you can. John

Bravo, welcome to Hybrid Z, the premier source on the internet for modifying Zcars. Congrats on your new project. You're going to need a motor and trans of your choice; motor and trans mounts; custom driveshaft; custom exhaust; and an upgraded radiator. The rear will stand a lot, though you might want to upgrade ujoints or stub axles at some point. You don't need a 9". The 1st gen SBC swap is easiest, there is a company that makes a lot of the mounts and parts required. Check out http://www.jagsthatrun.com and get their book on the swap, it has lots of info you will need. Some guys have got a swap done for a couple thousand dollars, and some of us have spent tens of thousands and aren't done yet. Most of these questions and a lot more have been discussed before, so you can learn a lot just by reading in the forums, or doing some searches on what interests you at the time. I love doing a search cause I always learn more than my original question. If you have specific questions post them up and somebody will help out. Thank you for your service to our country. John

My thoughts and prayers go out to her family and loved ones. We should always honor those who defend our freedoms. John

Some tire stuff is voodoo, and this may be. But here's my understanding of spraying a tire. When you heat cycle a tire, it gets harder. Sometimes that's desirable, for instance if a track is chewing up a soft tire and you want to get a tire to last the whole race. Then you can scuff a new tire, bringing it up to temp, and wet it down when you come in. This cools the tire quicker and makes it a little harder than letting it cool naturally, and you get the benefit of the heat cycle right away instead of waiting 24 hrs. A tire gets harder and slower every time it's heat cycled. The best way to get long life is to not overheat the tire when it's new. Whether or not it lasts a season just depends on how much you run it. jt

You can drive them around some on the street, but they're going to wear quickly and they really don't have good grip untill you get some heat in the tires, which is going to be hard to do on the street. To go back and forth to an AX is fine, but I don't think you'll like them much for general driving. Once they get a little heat they are a great tire for track day events, good grip and good life. Those don't appear to be worn even 50%. They don't have much tread even when new. jt

Dude!!!! They match the coil!!!!!! jt

It sounds to me like the spacer is too long. Does the spacer match the spindle? You could try another spacer or have that one shortened. Problem is, how much? Maybe 0.010" at a time. jt

The area where I have clumsily drawn the red line is the metal part of the old seal. Remove it with a seal puller, pry bar, or big screwdriver, then install the new seal with a big socket. Like Warren says, it only goes flush with the side of the housing, not in as far as it will go. jt

I used the N3100 seal on my R200 without a problem. Remove the old seal from the diff and compare the OD to the new one. It looks pretty good in the pic. Edit: Did you remove the metal part of the seal before you tried to install the new one? In the pic the outer metal ring of the old seal is still there. jt

You can change the timing chain, but it's a fairly big job. Before you start changing parts, you need to find the problem. Go over the entire enigine and trans and make sure everything is hooked up and tight. In particular check the water pump and alternator. Take the fan belt off and crank the motor, see if the noise is there without the water pump and alternator turning. Don't let it run over a minute with the water pump not turning. Pull the valve covers and check out the rockers. Try to diagnose the problem without throwing parts at it. You'll learn a lot, save money, and get to know your car better. jt

283's are cool, nothing wrong with that. The T bolts on the valve covers should be about as tight as you can turn them with your hands, say 10 or 15 ft-#. They make it easy to pull a valve cover, but they are mostly for looks. Overtightening them can cause leaks. Does it have a hydraulic or solid cam? jt

I agree with Mike, valves could be a possibility. If adjusting them doesn't help, look & listen to all the stuff on the front of the motor, water pump, alternator, timing chain, etc. Check for any loose sparkplugs also, they can make a weird noise. jt

Removing weight from the front of the car is always a good thing, and the bunper is as far away from the CG as you can get, so it's even better. In the case of a 280, you're removing quite a bit of weight. However, the optimum solution would be a very lightweight bumper that would help direct air over the car, if the rules allowed it. jt

There were two main differences I recall. The test mule had larger tires and wheels than the stock 240Z, but I'm not certain what the exact sizes were. Probably the main difference was that the test mule didn't have a front bumper on it, just an open grill area. So, there was likely a much larger ball of stagnant air in front of the mule, without the bumper helping to divert air over the car, which increased drag some and front lift a lot. John

I would have to dig out some notes to be certain, but I'm pretty sure there are at least 6 booster variations on 1st gen Z's. A search might find more info, we've discussed it before. jt

Wow..500 amps at 100% duty is a heck of a welder. jt

I've been using Superlites for several years, and haven't seen any reason to change. jt

When we hooked it up at the UTCC, we wired a cig lighter to your battery, and plugged the power cord into the lighter socket. We can do that again, I still have the socket. All we need is 12V. It's just tough to get to your battery. Did I email you that data? jt

...ouch....that really hurt.... jt

No. Spring rates are somewhat subjective as to how stiff you can tolerate on the street. I've got 250F/275R like Jeff, and with the shocks set to 5 you don't want to ride around in it for long. With them backed off to about 2, it's better but still quite firm. When my Z becomes a street car again, I will use something like 175F/200R, or maybe 150F/175R, with the Illuminas. Do you know anyone with a modded Z? Bum a ride, see how their car feels, and ask questions. jt

Gary helps me with the G2X!!! jt Edit: You can run mine next week if you will rig up a 12V power supply so I don't have to crawl my fat ass behind your passenger seat.

Do you have sufficent gas pedal travel? With a fairly high hp car, I think it's important to roll in and out of the throttle smoothly. This is a lot easier if you have as much pedal travel as possible. The stock pedal has a pretty high ratio, and if the engine linkage isn't compatible you can wind up with some pretty quick transitions. jt

Did you have rings on the piston? Just the piston by itself won't tell you much. You will have to go to a machine shop to have it magnafluxed. jt

Why don't you take one of your old pistons, with the rings on it, and pull or push it thru the bore. See if there are any tight spots where the rings pass over the light areas. If you have, or can borrow, some suitable scales, you can measure the force required to pull a piston thru, and see if there's an increase. Wipe a light coat of oil on the bore first. Some engine builders do this to measure ring drag, and it will help tell if you have a problem. Can you run your finger over it and feel a dimple? jt