Derek

Well since we're talking castings, patterns and production I feel qualified to weigh in on this one. I usually agree with Tony on stuff as he seems to have a firm handle on this kind of thing. This time he has a death grip. bringing a head like this into production is incredibly costly. The last head pattern I bid on was hitting $25,000.00 and they had all the 3D modeling done. Anything over $200.00 and your market dies right off with most Z owners. At least in the kind of numbers you need to get to justify bringing an item into production. The only thing I've made that has paid off the development costs are the speaker panels I sell. That's why I have to want what ever it is I'm developing. I seriously have well over $25,000.00 in R&D and production on my manifold. When I finally came up with a price on them ( I think it was around $3500.00) I didn't get a single nibble. Which is ok because I did it to get the attention of future pattern customers. And it has more than paid off for that. Now having said that I'm working with a product that is going to change everything. Seriously. I've been too lazy to post about this but this is probably a good time. There is a company in Texas that has equipment that 3D prints bonded foundry sand right from a 3D model. I'm currently working on a few projects with it and it's AMAZING. No patterns. Although this will make me irrelevant in some jobs I'm learning and using the technology so I don't get run over by it. Here is a link to the web site. printed sand It's expensive and you only get one shot with the sand but it's still way cheaper than doing patterns.And you're not tied to a design. I'll be putting together a separate post in a few days with my thoughts on this stuff and a few pics and how I think it's going to change everything. OK I admit it I'm a fan boi but it's just so freaking cool. I never would have done patterns for my manifold I just would have printed the sand and poured it. Derek

Hi Bill Looks great! I think just about everyone (including me) found it easier to cut the tops off. Derek

Personally I don't care for the look. Plus since it's mostly popular with the younger crowd it's done on a shoe string budget. As a fabricator I always enjoy looking at good fab work but that's not always the case. It's more like how fast and cheap can I get this done because I have to drive it to work on Monday style of fabrication. My gut feeling is they would be more comfortable on a site that is dedicated to stance type cars. I can take nuggets of knowledge from any forum on Hybridz and apply it to my car. I'm not sure what I would apply from a stance topic. Just hold fast to the "no texting" style of posting and any problem child will just fade away Derek Get off my yard you punks (said in my best geezer impression)

That's the stuff. Great work on your car. Looks awesome. Derek

The 3M grey acrylic double stick tape is the stuff. It's a little pricy but well worth it. Make sure you get it right the first time because there is no repositioning! Derek

That assumes I know that a 280 is wired differently than a 73 240. I put out what I knew and qualified it with a year and application. But I do apologize if it lead you astray. Derek

Hence my qualifier "The route on the factory wiring on my 73".

One thing I just ran into. I put a 90 amp maxima alternator in a couple of years ago. My charging during the summer was always marginal. I'd have to thow a charger on it at least once a week. This summer I decided to do some checking. To make a long story short you cant run 90 amps of power through a system built for 45 amps. The route on the factory wiring on my 73 is alternator, amp gauge, fuse box, Fusable link, starter, battery. I added an extra 10 gauge wire from the alternator to the battery and the problem has gone away. Obviously the amp gauge isn't accurate anymore and at some point soon I'll be doing a major rewire job. Derek

And that fixed it. Thanks Daniel you may have saved my life I guess I should get off of my but and do a proper tune. Thanks again everyone for the help Derek

Thanks for the info guys. I'll check it out tomorrow and post back. Derek

Simultaneous 2 squirt. Map based fuel. TPS based acceleration. I think I'll start data logging and then go out in the parking lot and keep trying to make it happen. I was kind of hoping that someone would be like "yep had the same thing happen to me try XXX" Hey a guy can dream right! I'll post the log when I get something worth looking at. Derek

Ok Maybe it's not that dramatic. I've had this problem since I first set up my megasquirt. My car is a little touchy rolling off of idle. If I release the clutch a little to aggressively the car starts to die and then goes into a full lean condition. Pressing the throttle makes no difference. the only recovery is to restart if it died or shut it down and restart. It has only happened 4 or 5 times but it could be really a problem if I jump out a little to quickly into traffic and the car dies. It seems like it jumps into flood clear mode. Unfortunately it never happens when I'm logging. Has anyone got any ideas on this? Thanks Derek

Not on the radar right now as I have a bunch of pattern commitments. Derek

I think the only lead is the seam between the roof and 1/4 panel and the roof and A pillar. Derek

Crap you beat me to it Foiled again

That must be some kind of magnet!

Zcorp does have a very cool plaster material that works in their machines. You can print a plaster investment mold including cores. Pour in the aluminum and you have a usable part. Derek

I have a stepper IAC on my rig and it's the way to go. It's quite civilized! Running MS2 extra. Derek

You won't regret a trip to Z Mecca!

Don't forget "look cool, Look really cool, actually runs" That was my design criteria on my manifold! The one thing I would change at this point on my project was to run some CFD software on it. I wasn't looking for performance but it would have been nice to have the opportunity to tweak the design a bit. Derek

You really should check out paragon drive backup.

I use paragon drive backup and periodically roll my windows machines back to a known uncluttered state. Makes a huge difference in performance. My macbook pro not so much of a problem but I still use time machine as a backup in case of a drive failure. Most computers built in the last few years will do fine except for the clutter that windoz seems to accumulate. People think their computer is bad and all it needs is a clean restore. Of course thats fine with microsoft as they move more units! Derek

I second that! Derek

PM sent

Yes I am and I have them in stock. Shoot me a PM if your interested. Derek