z-ya

You need to do a little more reading, and less flaming. Strut tower bars a used mainly to prevent strut tower flexing under heavy cornering forces. This has absolutely noting to do with how much torque/power you engine makes.

I have an S30 aluminum rear louver in good shape if anyone is interested.

You can't use the turbo distributor with the NA ECU. You need to get yourself a turbo ECU and harness. Or run standalone. Also, the NA dished pitons are not the same as the turbo ones. I do know people that have run them in turbo applications without problems, but other I know have had problems. Run it for as long as it lasts, then find an F54 turbo block and pistons in good shape.

I just might. Payment sent....

It is real for sure. From the convention:

Not yet, but hopefully by this weekend as I am finishing up the gelcoat Sunday.

1972 240Z time trial racer: Fiberglass hood, front fenders modified 6 point cage 12 gal aluminum fuel cell (1/4 full) no interior full glass Fiberglass air dam and rear spoiler no bumpers L28 with header, EFI ZX 5-speed Nismo R200 CLSD coil overs 1" front sway bar, none rear vented 4x4 brakes front,stock rear rear mounted battery two seats working wipers stock dash and gauges ZX radiator electric fan 15x7 Panasports 2250lbs

It looked better BEFORE he started working on it:

I've got the center section, and I'm looking for the two ends pieces.

Are they 17x7?

Those are good numbers for an NA 8.5:1 L28. Nice work!

Very sharp. Nice paint scheme. Are those ARE wheels? What size? I like em'.

Not a 78' but other Zs. It is the same on any L-series, except that the turbo motors already have the turbo disty and the matching oil pump shaft.

Thanks Chris, I got a set from another HybridZ member. I should have them next week.

When we have some parts made, I will post photos of them mounted on a car. Not sure when this will happen. I'm looking for a set of 280Z front lower valances if anyone has a set I could borrow for making molds from. These usually get replaced when an after market air dam is installed.

Use cheap sprayers. We had one that had a smaller nozzle than the other, so we used that one for the fine first layer. We then used the one with the bigger nozzle build it up. Keeping them clean, and functioning is the hard part. You need to constant.y rotate them to keep the gelcoat from hardening in the gun. You need to spray acetone through it to keep it clean.

Nice work!

If you have an 82-83 turbo distributor (and oil pump shaft), I would go that route so you have timing control too. The MS1 can drive you MSD unit. If you want to do fuel only, get it running with the MSD first. You can then take the tach output from the MSD and see if it will trigger the MS1. You can't take the coil - terminal as a trigger source for the MS1 when an MSD is driving the coil.

Thanks for the write up, sounds like you have done this before. Spraying the gelcoat is way easier than brushing it. The gelcoat is red, because this is what we had. You want it a different color than the part (typically white), so that you can see when you have enough gelcoat when making the mold, and also when you are making the part. We finished one half of the mold completely before starting the second. After popping the 1st half, and removing the cardboard barrier, I then wet sanded the 1st half. We will then reattach the 1st half to the fender (after lots of wax), and then lay up the 2nd half of the mold. When that is complete, you 1/4-20 bolt holes in the mating flange ever 6 inches. This will insure that the two mold halves will mate properly when making fenders. We are using steel conduit for making stands for the molds. Some stands we will make from wood (the smaller parts). You can probably do the first gelcoat layer with 3 people. We had 5, and stood around a lot when the gelcaot when going on, and curing.

Yes it is taller than the BRE or the 3 piece ones I've seen.

We had an opportunity to make molds of these "special" parts, and learn how to make molds and parts from someone that has made three complete Cobra bodies. It's his shop. Except for the fumes, it's kind of fun.

Basically it is there to create a dividing line between the two pieces of the mold. The photo shows just one half of the final mold. We will put the mold back on the fender, and then create the second half next. When the second half of the mold is done, we will drill holes for bolts before popping the part out of the two halves.

The gel coat is a special resin that has a lot of pigment (red), and filler in it. It is what gives you the smooth finish. The gelcoat is allowed to just get tacky, then the first layer of glass and epoxy is applied. If the gelcoat was left to dry, it would shrink and pop off the part you are trying to make a mold of. The first layer of cloth and resin keep this from happening.

Here is what myself, Roostmonkey, and Gnosez (Baddog) have been up to. Wax on.... Wax off.... Making a separating line for the two piece fender mold: Separating barrier complete: Parts ready for gelcoat: Getting suited up: Spraying gelcoat: Gelcoat complete: Laying first layer of glass after gelcoat tacked up: First layer complete on fender: Adding additional layers of glass and resin: What epoxy resin and hardener will do to you: Additional layers complete: Air dam popped from mold: Trimmed air dam mold: Fender mold after popping fender out: Wet sanding mold: More to come.....

It locks up very fast. I got to drive it m ore to really get a feel for it. Got another 4" of snow today...