Modern Motorsports Ltd

BLKMGK, your 'roof' idea works v. good, I have those on my front exhaust pipes where they're within 1.5" of my steering rack boots...boots would last a few months tops and since the new roof they still look brand new, mine are more of a small flat plate with the 4 corners bent down and tacked to the exhaust....fancier ones can drill small holes in the right spot so more airflow passes thru but mine are working fine as is....I wish someone would donate a digital camera to me, so much to say

Hay yerself I've taken the measurements needed but time is non-existant right now as I plug thru my EFI install.....buying and using used parts is always a little more interesting than complete brand new setups Anyhow, I'll get a drawing done and a prototype set made up for test fitment ASAP but timeline is not concrete as of yet. Spent 2.5 hrs today JUST to get a M12.5 male to 3/8's flare to use the Bosch fuel pump I have.......1.5 hrs doing hall effect dizzy install not counting disassembling the dizzy sent to me with it already installed (his dizzy was BAD, so yanked it all from his 'old style' to put in my own....) enuf babbling thanks for the input and committments, it'll definitely be going ahead

http://www.rewarderheaders.com/ 1-3/4s block huggers $310US coated, you can testfit/alter before coating and send them back for coating if you wish.....have to measure mine up shortly for my set

Great looking stuff Jim! What's your clearance to your coilovers inside front and rear and to outer fenderwells? I'd assumed more tire could fit in their?? You just chose a 'reasonable' width I assume rather than maxing out? What was the rim size/offset you got? Don't sweat the ARP shoulder, easy enough to regrind on their. That's gotta be sweet having 2 bays to work on one ride....I'm sweating in my 9' wide garage now doing my EFI

The heat shield certainly can't hurt. Simplest by far IMO (as none of the metal shields that leave huge gaps fit my location) is a single piece of heat resistant fire wrap (same as heat shield wrap kit) with large hose clamps to secure it to the starter. I used two large ducting hose clamps I had and wrapped each twice around to do the job. Worth mentioning just so you're aware is if this ever got soaked with oil it would be a fire risk with electrical right their..not a concern of mine till I notice that monster leak I know air gap type heat shields are preferred but wrapping your starter can't really seal any heat in as it is NOT a source of heat at all and is only remotely connected to your hot engine. In my case and I'm sure others I have the engine above/beside and frame rail beside and then exhaust below with firewall behind so no airflow their...I can't blame it for rebelling at all.

Well it does help if you have a heat soak problem reducing the current/shot to the bendix/etc. Gm being on the starter it can heatsoak and that greatly increases the ee requirements to pull activate the starter. Ford solenoid isn't hot and can put thru current more efficiently in simple terms. http://www.chevelles.com/techref/tecref4.html I had serious troubles and it cured it, a heat blanket on my starter helped a little but the solenoid was the main ticket for me.

I had some rather repetitive dieseling this past summer.....will likely run some ATF thru my fuel rail to clean it all like one cleans injectors easily. Hadn't thought of it earlier....valve seals etc were all new/replaced when I did springs etc a year ago.

Well I'm glad I got my EFI install started. About 3 wks late as I got sick/post degree completion etc. But on the mend and gotta get this wrapped up by Friday as I start my new job on Monday and don't want ANY big hiccups! Intake/headers all removed (victor jr and performer 600 FS) and surfaces cleaned up... Edelbrock manual says to use edelbrock gasgacinch on both intake and head surfaces and gasket surfaces....sounds like it might make any re and re in the future a huge pain in the ass?? Old gaskets I removed looked like they were well sealed and working fine..I was just going to use a few spots of felpro proline cobond (crazy glue for tacking gaskets in place basically) and then the typical loctite 598 ultrablack silicone for end seals (O2 sensor safe). As well edelbrock specified NO permatorque gaskets and to use printoseal1205 or equivalent.....quite sure I had permatorque on previously but I do have a set of 1205's here now for the install.....would the permatorque's (1204) have done any damage?. can't see any 'imprints' on the heads around any intake ports, coolant ports have a dirty ring around the collar even once cleaned/flat (razor blade smooth) so not too concerned but had to mention it... I'm familiar with the 1204/1205 specs etc and looking for some realworld experiences with them and gasgacinch.....thanks!

intake removed and gasket surfaces all cleaned up, then took a flashlight to peek at intake valves..yikes! a few look like a silvery tinfoil crumpled surface on their backside and others are like a much bumpier blackish 'moonsurface' coating......that can't help airflow at all!! I assume gummed up from old dieselling issues I'd dealt with on the previous carb/intake setup?? Any way to safely clean these up?? I couldnt' help myself and scraped one valve lightly on the backside with a screwdriver tip and the carbon(I assume it's carbon/non metallic) 'crunched' off in some pieces....will vaccuum that out (this valve wasn't open....) should one spray anything in particular at these valves to help loosen that crap? carb cleaner or brake cleaner?? or........ thanks.....I was about to install the new intake and this has me sidetracked...should've ran carbcleaner through it before this , now I won't want it to kill my O2 sensor

If your header ports don't match your heads, the simplest way to improve this is to have the headers welded up (match to gasket that matches your heads) and then dremel that surface smooth so you have an improved flow. This is needed on many sbc conversions where roundport headers or square port headers are put on D port heads.....(many don't know it and wonder why exhaust gaskets won't stay sealed)While ports often benefit from opening them up, there is usually typical areas one should target and I'm not sure if that edge you're looking at is one of them. PS I'm not sure if JB weld could be an even cheaper suitable fix or not.....

Hop on some 4th gen lists. They've tried and dynoed all the combos and have eliminated a lot of guesswork....HOT cam is NOT the true ticket...drop me a line personally and I'll hook you up with an Lt1 fiend with a box of dyno slips.

quote: Originally posted by jeromio: Not sure what you mean by torching/grinding off the backing plate. We'd prefer to avoid removal of the stub axle and consequently grind/cut the backing plate off. This attracts a lot more as it's easier done by a shadetree is the feedback I have. Avoids slide hammer/machine shop to press bearings etc. Doesn't mean you can't do that maintenance obviously but doesn't make it mandatory and an extra expense as you noted.

Thanks for the input guys. The brackets themselves are bolt on and yes they can take the place of Mike's weld on pieces mentioned on his website. The rear backing plate does have to be torched off (or a sizeable grinding effort) initially to allow the full access. Mike and I hooked up last week a couple times to discuss details and compare ideers on the parts involved etc. We tried to get a detailed 'update' together but it didn't happen with other constraints so here's my brief summary of options: First choice: -240sx caliper, production covers 10 yrs or so to quite recent (88-98?)pad size same as late 280zx, obviously far easier to get good used ones...installs around 10 o'clock and appears an obvious simpler choice to me/ebrake cable comes in straight/perpendicular to longitudinal axis of car (parallel with halfshaft axis) cable approaches quite easily , some mod is required no matter what caliper is used to hook up the cables but seems fairly straightfwd for anyone taking a bit of time to do it..., ebrake arm doesn't clear halfshaft outer U joints by much BUT it does clear enough which is all that really counts (not sure how it would clear CV retrofits??), only real downside here IMO is two different brackets are needed as they're not symmetrical (only a 90 degree bracket would be symmetrical/ 3/6/9/12 o'clock etc) so costs are a bit higher but we still aim to hit the $150 mark Second choice: -late 280ZX caliper......installs at 9 o'clock, ebrake cable does not approach near as well, it has to come parallel with halfshafts and then make a near 90 degree turn forward to use the ebrake arm....been done by many I guess but I didn't really like that, arm needs to be heated and bent to clear properly as well, calipers are in yards but not as available I suppose.......do many already have the 280zx calipers who've been wanting to do this swap so will want this bracket either way?.....I'm leaning more towards 200sx only, if anything as our 1st CNC venture as more would (I'm guessing) prefer the newer caliper that could still be found functional in the yards Feedback welcome. I have my preliminary measurements done for the 240sx caliper/bracket. Just need to sketch up what I want made for the 1st 'one-off' non CNC prototype to verify it all checks out. Then have it made and we'll test it out. PS the bracket and caliper etc are bolt on/but all entertaining the idea should be prepared for the mods for the ebrake hookup/not drastic efforts by any means and we'll provide the detail needed. For the CV retrofitters I'll take a measurement to see how far the 240sx ebrake 'arm' extends past the inner hub flange/housing for a reference. Then we can compare this with clearances on Scottie's CV 'system' and it might not be an issue..or we may find out offsetting the caliper .1 or more of an inch outside the rotor would allow it to clear......losing a little pad contact might be tolerable for them in that instance

With a decent bottom rad mount (which is essential) a single centre 2" wide padded crossover mount is just fine. No need to fully cover and do a repeat of the JTR bottom style mount up top.

quote: Originally posted by BLKMGK: Don't use a generator, use an alternator. Jegs sells a 100amp chrome unit from ProForm for about $100. It's what I ended up with but have yet to use it so I can't speak to it's reliability. It's a "one wire" hookup. Anyone else using this unit? (shrug) Yeah, I've been thru 2 of those alt's (headers were close ) Had one tested and it was only low 70's in amperage brand new rebuild shop could tell in a wink looking at it that it wasn't 100Amps..... as for alternator mounts transdapt makes a neat one to put it beside harmonic balancer (uses engine block holes down at base by oilpan) and I have a corvette '82 aluminum bracket I used that worked great/bolts on front of head I'm no longer using

Was the EXACT same dizzy in the motor no troubles before?? I had this exact thing happen...turned out when I swapped my dizzy gear for the roller motor I put it on 'upside' down/not much difference but enough to sit 'above' the intake as you describe. Measure that difference and then check if your reversed the bottom gear on your dizzy/roll pin etc.... I was on the phone trying to discern if '98 blocks had different deck heights etc you name it argg..........that was a long week for me putting that '98 block etc together. Hopefully that's all yours is.

search the archives on bump steer, might be enough matches to burn out a monitor

Ford HD remote solenoids available at any local auto parts place. Have them look up the one used for the biggest 80's ford truck or similar....Mine was <$10 AIR, and is working fine 4 years later. I placed it on pass. side fender well where my 000 batt. lead comes thru my firewall and just angle up slightly for the large soldered lug to bolt on it without any twist etc. OOO leads don't bend too sharply. Spend some dough on O or OO welding leads for battery cable and solder on end lugs IMO. Then on the 'burned' edges use dielectric silicona and wrap with ee tape and it'll NEVER corrode or cause a trouble. That's one thing I didn't want to have to doubt or correct later on. If only the whole car I'd built like that

quote: Originally posted by DavyZ: Check your email. David Pipelines slow.....no mail yet but exchanging instant with some others. Kinda surprised at slow response but maybe I'm anxious. Getting good feedback/initial commitments in other arenas. Looking to bump numbers high enough to streamline the costing to meet goals without sweating.

As some know I've been working with a CNC shop on the potential to do this disc brake bracket. Mike Gibson and I are coordinating our efforts in making this happen. To summarize, the bracket will be completely CNC'd from steel. It will allow the owner to bolt on 82-83 280zx calipers with OE rear discs onto a 70-78 Z car and retain ebrake function. I'm still working with the machinist on nailing down the cost, by end of this week Mike and I should have drawings finalized or close enough for a very accurate cost to be known. We estimate this to be $150-160US per pair with $150US being our goal. Being CNC the greater the interest the more likely we can achieve our cost goal. This bracket setup this will also be interchangeable with the 5 lug conversion rotor Mike currently has, his setups at this URL www.outlaw-brakes.com Please drop a note here to confirm your interest or email us at 280zx@home.com mike@fonebooth.com All comments welcome here. As well if you have other CNC ideas please drop me a line at 280zx@home.com and they may prove viable. We feel our proposed bracket appeals to most as it uses the preferred later 280zx caliper with 25% more pad area and better appearance relative to the early caliper. By pure coincidence their is an ebay 'dutch' auction underway by a completly unrelated individual at http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=589723018&r=0&t=0 for a bracket using the early caliper. We wanted to voice our intents quickly to make everyone aware of our proposed 'option'. Don't be alarmed by the ebay minimum of 50 units stipulated by the unrelated 'option'. We can work with smaller numbers if need be. We'd like to see this bracket succeed and fuel our interest to pursue other CNC efforts to improve our Z parts choices so please follow through with helpful communication to either of us. Thanks

Thanks for the pic, are the main two bolts so small that you can use holes 1-1 or 1-2? we know diagonal is longer than the straight shot so...... For class rules I can see that as popular/could be made for $200 for sure. I prefer keeping camber and caster as separate adjustments whether a 3rd plate or TC rod. Isn't it easier to setup suspension by doing one setting and then the other? Doing my setup as is the strut tower braces would be retained as those mounting bolts stay in stock location. It's the inner 2 slots (picture 2 slots alongside the centre strut hole on EMI's plate) for camber and a centre slot allowing the strut hole/bottom plate to travel. Machined slot tolerance keeps the strut in position casterwise/ie. bolt strength is not relied upon. Only in camber direction is bolt strength for retaining the setting. a digital camera would sure be handy!

Do your homework on which one you pick. Some allow easy valve cover access and some do NOT. Ebay pricing AIR when I was looking at them was $2-$300US/ on older designs. I did find some v. helpful websites documenting these intakes/preferences but no bookmarks, sorry.

Nion, any pics of that setup? Multiple holes on straight lines for camber instead of slots? and same for caster? why not slotted or they wouldn't stay with his setup?? I'd thought of various radial 'slots' to achieve camber and caster but then adjustments wouldn't have been independent (with only two plates) which I though would be no good.

The only CV axles are in 280ZXT cars IME unless an altered install. To install them in non CV 280ZX's you can just(yeah/bit of work) swap rear stubs and then install CV"s. Control arms may be different but it worked fine for me. If anything I'd guess ZXT control arms might be futher out as mine are fairly compressed on full bump.

quote: Originally posted by jpd280z: Ross wrote: - if they make it TO the track event, they'll make it THROUGH the track event. Hmm, I always assume the inverse. If it survives track use then street use is no worry. Just keep everything torqued down. There's never a guarantee in roadracing (even just lapping days/not neck/neck racing) you won't go farming/offcourse or have to nail an FIA curb at a good/high clip to avoid something either. If that bump were a coon or porcupine/rock on a highway you'd experience more than some new hood contours in my guesstimate. 280ZX towers allow a lot more room and the caster limit is probably part of the fact a few reccomend using the TC rod to adjust this. An autox 240z champ maximized the length on his tc rods/opened up the two main holes somewhat to allow for the new geometry as well. along with other tweaks but it was useful knowing how he liked things done.