Derek

Well as anyone knows that lives in a hot climate the 240 air blows. Well actually it sucks and that's the problem. The blower motor sucking through the evaporator is not a very good arrangement. After doing a bit of research I opted to go with the Vintage Air unit. The tipping point for me was the fact that they use servo motors to control the flaps and this will work out better for me in the future. After you get rid of all of the old heater and ac unit there is a ton of room back there. The first picture is of my old unit which this being a Z car forum you all have seen before. This is the GEN II Mini with the brackets I fabbed up for mounting. With this bracket arrangement I was able to utilize the old heater mounting holes. Notice the masking tape on the squirrel cage inlet. This will help avoid removing the unit to get the last screw out of the fan when you drop it. How do I know this!!! The three vents in the front are for the A/C outlets and the two in the rear are for the defrost. The passenger side duct plugged right on with no mods. The divers side needed to be taken apart at the first joint and a small piece of the supplied hose spliced in. The supplied defroster hose was the same size as the factory hose so that was a piece of cake. Here's a shot of the back side with the brackets. I used 3/16†x 1†aluminum flat bar for the rigidity. When I slid the unit in for a test fit I noticed this hole in the dash bracket lined up nicely with the front mounting hole on the unit. I designed the rest of the mounts around this point. This is all that sticks out from under the dash. Much better than the old unit. I'm using their rotary switch plate assembly. This center plate is just my test mule until I can get every thing sorted out. Now isn't this better? Here's some info about the rest of the setup. I ordered The soft aluminum A/C lines from Vintage Air as well. This made for a much cleaner install. I then used custom made hoses to connect everything. I'm using a SD 508 series compressor with 134 freon. Fortunately It hasn't been too hot in my part of Florida yet but I can already tell it's doing a much better job that the old unit. The only thing I'll say bad about the unit is it's a little noisy when it's on high. But it does move a ton of air. I'll update this in August when it will really be getting a workout. Derek

I used stuff from SPAL http://www.spalusa.com/ I have their power window kit Their central locking system with alarm and one of their auxiliary fans. I'm really happy with the quality of their stuff. I plan on incorporating one of their door poppers into my hatch release. I did away with my door lock cylinders but kept my door handles. Derek

You could buy the SEM paint listed in this post http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23919&highlight=dash+repair Then it would be the same texture and color. I did my dash with this stuff and it looks like the factory texture when your done. The trick is to make it happen in one try. going back in and trying to spot a section is so so. Derek

I hear ya. I think I drove a total of 50 miles all last week. I could probably get by with a lot less batteries. Great now I have to finish my EFI intake manifold and build an electric Z Derek

Congratulations Six_Shooter! I just got my 73 on the road after a 12 year or more hiatus. The ride was harsher than I remember and it's a little slower than I hoped for but it's still a gas to drive. Enjoy Derek

Well like so many threads that I see on HybridZ This has turned into one person trying to actually accomplish something and 5 guys trying to see how witty they can be without actually adding any content. I'm done. If anyones interested in the data I've collected you can send me a PM and I'll be glad to keep you informed. Derek

I always do better when someone tells me it can't work! As far as a remote start I can only say you guy's must not drive early Z cars with SU carbs. Starting one cold is not exactly like EFI. We have a thing called a "choke". I hear ya! When it started heating up the first time I thought I'll look pretty dumb if I crack the head without the car running. And yes I am CRAZY. I felt that by introducing the hot water into the inlet It would make a more natural progression through the motor. I need to change the water outlet so I'm going to just remove the thermostat and run the heater. If I get water flow then I'll drill the hole in the thermostat and button it up. If not I'll reroute the hoses into the heater. Derek

Ok I got the heater in today and it looks pretty cool. It's about 7" tall and about 3" in diameter. It fits very well directly behind the alternator. The inlet is in the bottom and the outlet is in the top. I decided to pull cold water from the drain plug on the radiator and feed it back into the 3/4" nipple coming off of the water inlet on the block. I filled the radiator back up with water and plugged the unit in. It started getting hot right away. I let it run for about 10 min and started checking for heat. The lower radiator hose was getting warm but the rest of the motor was still cool. It was apparent that it was taking the path of least resistance and reentering the radiator through the lower hose. I didn't have time to do any re-plumbing so I just let it cook. After about 45 min the radiator water was a piping hot 160 degrees! I was quite impressed. I think whats happening is the thermostat is keeping the hot water from circulating. My plan is to drill a small hole in the thermostat. I'm thinking along the lines of 1/8" or 3/16". When I get it all figured out I'll post some pictures. Derek

Happy birthday Big-Phil. I know what you mean about people believing you as I also was born on April fools day. Wow two hybrid members born on April 1. How about that. Derek

Well I just turned 49 today and my main ride is a F250 4wd Diesel. I'll certainly take this info seriously!!! I really didn't want the car apart for too long in the shop so I was trying to get a handle on what I have. I'm going to drive it like it is for a few weeks so I can get a little road time in. 10 or 12 years out of my Z is just too long. I'm looking for all kinds of errands to run. Thanks Derek

If only I could remember!! I think they were Bosch but i'm not sure. I'm not even sure if Bosch made shocks for the Z. I got them from one of my customers who had a Z car specialty shop in Fort Lauderdale. I was going to go with KYBs but he talked me out of them. At this point I think I'm going to have to tear it apart and see what I have. I have access to a press and a 400 lb digital scale so I can measure the rates. At that point I'll figure what I'm going to do. Thanks Derek

The first two shots are "lost foam casting". In the head picture you can see the different EPS foam pieces assembled. The picture of the block has already been dipped in slurry and ready to be backed up with dry sand. I do a fair amount of lost foam casting. It's really a very cool technique. Derek

Yes I'm hoping I don't need to run it all night. It says it has a thermostat for over heat protection. the company that makes this also make standard block heaters for just about everything imaginable. They offer a 35MM heater but it's only 400 watts. If this actually works I'll buy a couple of the core plug style and loose the tank. The tank was the quickest way to find out if it's worth the bother. I'm running a 192 degree thermostat now but I don't think that makes it heat up that much faster derek

Alright. Here's what I plan to do. I ordered this heater from JC Whitney ZX540691A http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Search?catalogId=10101&storeId=10101&sku=ZX540691A&searchbtn.x=0&searchbtn.y=0 It's a tank type 1000 watt heater with 5/8'" nipples. According to the Zerostart literature it will cost 6 cents an hour to run. I can afford this. I'll post some test data as soon as I get the heater installed. An early Z with carbs is not going to work well with a remote start system. For me this is the best solution. At least for now that is. Derek

I really think too much sometimes. But it's fun Derek

Or perhaps Great idea avenue. Here's what I want. I want to have my car at operating temp when I get in it. I don't happen to think this is a bad idea. Here's what I know. When the temp is around 30f and I don't plug in my truck the temp gauge never moves by the time I get to the shop and you can forget about heat. When I plug the truck in over night The truck starts better and the heat is noticeable. The temp gauge doesn't make it up to operating temp but does move pretty far. Ok here's what I've found out so far from a single source on the web. This means I'm right and your wrong. (do iI really need a smiley face here?) this is from a forum on dodge trucks http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/dev/showthread.php?t=193010 They were experiencing engine temps of 130 to 140 or so on tucks that most certainly have more mass than my Z. Tomorrow I'm going to plug in my truck and measure the amp draw and do a cost calculation.I'll also measure the temperature rise. Then we'll see who's laughing then!!! Derek

Yes but multiples might make the difference. Derek

Yes but the car runs much better at 190 than it does at 80. So my theory is if I can maintain the coolant as close to operating temp as possible, every time I jump in the car for a short trip it would be warmed up. I live in theoryville In the winters even though it rarely gets below freezing I use the block heater in my Diesel for the same reason. Derek

So Here's the deal. I live 5 minutes from my shop. It's 5 minutes to the hardware store. 5 minutes to everywhere I seem to go. The car only reaches operating temp by the time I finish my trip. Here's my thought. I'll install a block heater or two and leave the car plugged in when I'm not driving it. At least it should be better than it being stone cold. Any thoughts or suggestions on this? Thanks Derek

Ok Here's the story. I purchased a set of front and rear coil springs out the Nissan competition catalog in probably 1990 or so. I put them on the car and drove it for a short amount of time then the car was parked since then. I just got the car back on the street and I'm not happy at all with the harshness of the ride. It handles like a dream but I'm making this my daily driver so I need something a little more forgiving. Does anyone have any direct experience with these springs and can maybe help me establish a benchmark as to how stiff they really are. I want to buy a new set of springs but I don't want to end up with the same ride as I have now. Thanks Derek

Yes I'm just an old "normally aspirated' kind of guy! Well I was going to call you today and get the lowdown on what my options are. I have an extra drive shaft and 4 speed transmission so I could have all of the machine work prepped beforehand. I can fit the drive shaft in the big lathe but I'll probably sub it out to a local shop. I really just want to drive it a little bit before I go swapping out a tranny. Derek

Thanks for the words of encouragement but that cylindrical shape in the foreground turned out to be a needle bearing. It was also a quart and a half low on gear lube. I threw in some new gear lube and I'll drive it for a while like it is. I don't plan on rebuilding it so I'm not worried about doing any damage to the tranny. Now I have to figure out what direction to go for a transmission replacement. Derek

I'm changing the lube in my manual trans and this is what I found Is my transmission angry? This can't be normal can it? It's got a noisy bearing so I think I see an upgrade in my future. Any thoughts Derek

I too hate participating in dreams but I'm trying to get my post count up so I'll just jump in.! The head idea is in my opinion a much better idea. I would think that casting more of a blank as far as the combustion chamber is concerned and plan on having it machined on a 5 axis CNC mill would be a better way to go. Trying to get people to agree on a standard size and design might be problematic. I also agree that basing it on existing manifold designs would make things easier as well. If it had the stock port spacing but was a cross flow design then theoretically after market headers and intakes would bolt up to the head. Now the problem is the tilt of the engine reduces the room you have for intake system on the passengers side of the car. On the drivers side you have 15" from the head to the shock tower. on the passengers side you only have 10". For a NA motor this may be tight. This kind of stuff costs big money and for what you would have to plunk down to make this work you could install a RB motor and still have some left over. Just my opinion! Derek

Keep us posted on that if you can. I have the same idea but I'm probably a few months away from doing it. thanks derek