capt_furious

When the first one come out (holy crap, it was close to 10 years ago!), I took my '68 440-powered Plymouth Fury to opening night and carted some friends along. The parking lot was a madhouse, and abuzz with fartcans. The Fury stood out like the proverbial sore thumb, but it didn't get any guff. Fishtailing and tire smoke was the order of the night after the movie ended. One friend enjoyed sliding across the back seat through the turns, and hearing him say 'Wheeeeee!' as his grinning face flew by in the rear view mirror was hilarious. ...I DO NOT condone such behavior now. It's the reason that car is now rusting all over the world in the form of cheap razor blades. The Mazda 626 that it impaled itself upon added insult to fatal injury by DRIVING AWAY with nothing more than a couple of messed up bumpers and a leaking radiator.

Probably for an SX, and the seller doesn't know the difference. Looking at the 'Extreme Dimensions' site, they list no products for the S30 chassis, but plenty for the S13.

A simple extruded aluminum L-angle piece with the forward edge ground to a knife point, then flush-riveted with countersunk holes to the trailing edge of that wing would probably be fairly inexpensive - about 30 minutes worth of work at a sheet metal shop. There's enough 'meat' at the trailing edge to drill and countersink the required holes(underside on the wing, topside on the angle), having them flush riveted and the forward edge of the angle ground down would likely give you the cleanest installation possible. Granted, you'd have to drill it out to remove it, so you'd want the proper height of the angle calculated beforehand. Edit: Forego the rivets and countersinking on the wing itself. Have the angle countersunk and the holes drilled in the wing threaded, and use countersunk screws. Easy to change the flap height if needed. The Gurney flap, from the source.

No kidding. Failure on two counts: One, it's not hooked up, two, that's the WRONG place for an oil cooler. VERY prone to damage, which puts the engine at risk and any other vehicle behind you at risk. Mount it behind the grille!

Indeed! It's how Mario Andretti started off, but he didn't stay there. He kept going, to Indy Car, F1, LeMans and other series, where driving skill keeping traction - not getting sideways - is key. I think a lot of what we're seeing isn't so much automotive enthusiasts as it is auto culture enthusiasts...and there's a very blurred line between the two. Most of us start out culture enthusiasts and many cross over, but few go beyond to full-time racing and careers.

That's part of what's always bugged me about it. It's the automotive equivalent of ice dancing. Sure, it takes tremendous skill and talent, but what for? Style points? Lots of smoke and noise and not much else. It's a skill a good driver should be able to master...but it should be treated as a tool in the bag of tricks - something to use when you've buggered up a corner. There's more to driving than just being able to go sideways.

Didn't have a chance to get the camera in there, unfortunately. The install pretty much looks just like Joe's. No interference with the ebrake, either.

Got it in, the car really puts the power down now without any feeling of slop. The fuel lines had to be moved up the tunnel a bit, but otherwise, it went in with minimal fuss, and the lower mount bolted right back in, as well. The nose of that diff isn't going anywhere!

Score one for the citizen! It's good to see the system kept in check.

...kinda hard to chase a victim down a long, dark industrial hallway while trailing an air hose behind you...

Thanks, Joe! The mount is going in today. That's reassuring.

That's brilliant! I've got an extra pad lying around somewhere, I should try my hand at this...I like the epoxy idea, too.

That's the last time I put my '71 Roadrunner through the dryer when I wash it...

Yeah, they seem to be pretty close in weight. The composite ones are fairly thick and heavy, the steel may actually have a slight advantage.

Can't...look...away...

Thank you, and you're welcome! Lots of fellow airmen here!

Anyone have an answer to TR's question? I'm having mine mounted tomorrow (yeah, I'm checkbooking it, that's the problem with having only one car, no garage and driving it all the time) and I'm wondering about the possibility of using both the RT mount and the stock lower mount in conjunction with each other. It looks as if Joe (240ztt) was successful in this. How much thread is available on the stock bolts? Can you fit the ES poly mount on there and still have enough thread to get the lower mount on, or does the RT mount make this a non-issue by lowering the pinion in relation to the chassis and leaving no room for the lower mount? Car in question is a early 260 with an R200. The idea of one short bolt holding the nose of the diff in place during downshift / reverse bugs me. Just how strong is the bolt that comes with the ES poly mount? I'd rather not find out.

Bahahahahahaaa! Keep 'em coming, guys!

...ditto just about any lowrider on reverse triple-plate Dayton wire wheels. It pretty much comes down to form over function, and stretching a tire is very much about form while ignoring function. Stretching was popular in Europe(specifically Germany) in the '80s when regulations prevented tire widths beyond a certain point, so to get the look of a wide rim, the tire was left the stock width in order to keep the tread within the fenders. The narrow tire was mounted on a wider wheel, and viola, plenty of flashy rim lip while staying within regs. Not sure how it started with Bosozoku in Japan, but it might have migrated over from Europe. The negatives outweigh the positives with regard to performance and safety. Otherwise, we'd be seeing this on performance vehicles from the factory or in racing environments. I seriously doubt you'd be able to pass tech with stretched tires in most sanctioned groups.

From one caliber to another, or from one slide / barrel length to another? If I can make a 9x19 Witness PS a .45 ACP Witness PS with just a slide / barrel assembly and a few mags, that's impressive!

I take the coil-to-distributor wire with me when I'm concerned about it. Let 'em figure that one out. If a thief can't get it started, they'll move on to easier prey unless they REALLY want the car. In that case, there's nothing stopping them. ...and may the brazen, self-indulget *expletive deleted* that took your baby have the same done to him...by the police!

A.J. Hunt. '74 Datsun 260 Z Rohnert Park, CA

That is, without a doubt, artistry. That sort of craftsmanship is very difficult to find. The new car should be left in raw aluminum and polished. Be a shame to cover all that up with paint.

I always wonder why people leave the boat anchor bumpers on when they've done so much other work...they're about the worst thing styling-wise on the '74 and up S30s. Thousands of dollars on body kits and paint and no time spent unbolting those things and saving not only some weight, but your eyes, as well. That kit wouldn't look so bad if it actually flowed a bit better with the lines of the car, but it's a geometric look on a chassis that's mostly curves. Completely incongruous. Maybe on a S31 it would work better.

*swings in the breeze from the tree of angst*