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Pop N Wood

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Posts posted by Pop N Wood

    anyone run 302 or 327 chevys?

    in Gen I & II Chevy V8 Tech Board

    Posted

    Scat sells complete 302 rotating assemblies. If you want to wind it out best to have a good forged bottem end.

     

    A 302 was my dream engine for a Z. I knew a couple of guys who claimed the lack of low end was more compatible with a light weight Z with limited traction. But guys on this site convinced me that I could easily, and much more cheaply, build a 350 and trade low RPM torque for high RPM horsepower. Throw out the car craft and hot rod magazine builds designed for 3600# chevelles and put in a single plane intake, big cam and oversided heads. The end result is an engine that has the same power band as the old 302's, but with 50 to 75 more HP. Building an engine that "revs" is more a function of a stong bottem end and valve float than stroke.

    Differential

    in Drivetrain

    Posted

    It must depend heavily on the condition of the rear diff. When I put one on my Z it was so loud at highway speeds I literally felt sick afterwards. It was unbelievable. Had it on a total of 15 minutes before it came off again. Quite a few other guys have had a less extreme experience. But there must be a reason there are so many modified diff mounts being made, otherwise everyone would run a solid mount.

     

    If the guy at Arizona Z says a rubber hose will work, then he would know better than I do. But I would think the bolts would transfer the sound right around the rubber. There is still steel on steel contact there.

    Welding Helmet Close Outs

    in Non Tech Board

    Posted

    Check John's link again. 0.4 ms switch time. Not that it matters much.

     

    I think one of the big differences is the changeability of the lens and the good ones have a glass cover, cheapos have a plastic cover over the lens itself. I'm now also remembering that the HF ones have a very small lens, so that could be a problem when you're in a tight spot, where the more expensive ones have a larger viewable area. I'm sure John will tell us all what is what.

     

    Well guess we heard from John.

     

    The Optrel has a viewing port of 3.85 in. x 1.5 in. while the Harbor freight unit has 3-3/4'' x 1-1/2''. So yes the $270 helmet is a tenth of an inch wider than the HF. The lens covers are all standard size and replaceable. Don't know what I had on the HF one when I got it, but I have a set glass cheaters in their now.

     

    And you are right, the HF switching times are only 8 and 10 times faster. Guess all the flash burns have degraded the old eyes since I didn't see the decimal. :)

     

    Not trying to bust anyones chops. I just think the HF unit was a hell of a deal at only $69 and would like someone to explain to me how I went wrong with the cheaper one. If I welded 10 hours a day for the last 40 years like my brother has then I guess I would want a quality helmet. But come to think of it, he doesn't like autodarkening units. Guess when people are given the correct information they figure out what works for them.

     

    And I would be willing to bet that the helmet manufactures buy their electronics from the same place. So the $100 HF might very well have the same lens as the $300 unit with the flame paint job.

    Welding Helmet Close Outs

    in Non Tech Board

    Posted

    This helmet at Harbor Freight

     

    http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=46092

     

    claims a switching time of 1/20000 of a second. The helmets on John's link which post a switching time claim 4 milliseconds. Means the HF units are 80 times faster. Who to believe?

     

    I wish there was some way of knowing for sure whether HF helmets are bad or not. People constantly dis them, but from what I can tell it is based upon their price compared to the price of units in a welding supply shop. Are the HF units poor quality junk, or are the welding supply shop helmets overpriced?

     

    I have this HF helmet

     

    http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=47277

     

    which

     

    Meets ANSI Z87.1-1989 standards

     

    And is 100 times faster than the $200 close out helmets listed above. The electronics have performed fine, nothing has broken and I sure as hell don't notice a flash of any type. My only real complaint was the head band kept coming loose. But for $18 I bought a replacement head band that snapped right in. It was also so light and flimsy that when I first got it I figured I would be lucky to get a years use out of it. 3 years later it is still working. Now I realize how much more comfortable a light helmet is.

     

    As for trusting tools from China, all I can say is welcome to the new millennium. Good luck trying to get by NOT using goods from China.

     

    I have a Chinese made pistol I bought 15 years ago for less than half the price of a Springfield Armory unit. Several thousand rounds later it is still going strong. I appreciate good craftsmanship, but some things are such a bargain it is hard to justify the extra cost.

    Alternator Mischarge

    in Ignition and Electrical

    Posted

    The old Z's had external voltage regulators. Mechanical ones at that. If that is bad or sticking, then it would cause your problems. If you have a newer one the regulator will be in the alternator. But you still have a voltage sensing wire that tells the internal regulator what the system voltage is.

     

    Either way, a corroded connector or if the sensing wire is chaffed and grounding out somewhere, then that could cause your problem. A bad engine ground is another thing to look for. Any electrical gremlin like that could be fixed by a strong mechanical "jolt".

     

    And with any electrical problem the first thing you do is clean your battery posts whether you think they need it or not.

    Red Light Cameras and Virginia

    in Non Tech Board

    Posted

    or you could just not go through the red light

     

    Man, those cameras have no mercy and no sense of judgement. Miss a light by even a fraction of a second and you see the "pop pop" of camera flashes. Drive an unloaded pickup truck in the rain. If the yellow is quick and your timing off you don't have a chance. A cop sitting on the side of the road could make a judgement call. The camera just spits a ticket into the mail.

     

    I don't have a death wish when it comes to red lights but I have to drive in fear of the hand full of intersections that have those damn things.

    Gas mileage theory question

    in Miscellaneous Tech

    Posted

    There is less internal friction with a smaller number of cylinders. More valves also equals more power to drive them. Finally tuning has a huge impact on overall efficiency. That is why fuel injected engines generally get better mileage than carbed. A high compression ratio will take more power on the compression stroke, but should yield more power on the burn stroke.

     

    Trying to build a 4 cylinder to have the "same power output" as a V8 generally means engine components will be geared toward high RPM operation. Add a big enough cam and the engine will scream at high RPM but run like crap at low RPM's. That "running like crap" usually mean it will waste a lot of fuel just trying to turn over.

    Red Light Cameras and Virginia

    in Non Tech Board

    Posted

    Never heard about being able to ignore tickets received in the mail. Anyone know if that is true for Maryland? Doubtful. This state is practically communist compared to Virginia.

     

    Just paint your plates with the reflective paint so the camera flash wipes out the plate number.

    Welders

    in Non Tech Board

    Posted

    Guess I am in the minority because if I could only have one welder it would be a torch. There are a lot of things you can do with a torch that you can't do with a MIG. Like cutting off stuck bolts and heating up pieces to put them together or take them apart. Red hot metal bends awfully easy. A torch can be used to soften metal for drilling and shaping, but then heat it up and quickly cool it to make it hard again. You can weld chrome moly with a torch, but not a mig. A torch is also useful for annealing and welding aluminum. Put a layer of soot on the aluminum and when it is hot enough to burn off the soot, it will cool to a super soft malleable state. Jessie James uses a torch to weld his aluminum gas tanks. A torch will weld about anything you need to weld on a Z car. A gas outfit is also more portable than an electric

     

    Here is a good site which likes torches. There is another link I like better but it is on my work computer

     

    http://www.tinmantech.com/index.html

     

    Two opinions of gas vs. mig

     

    http://www.fournierenterprises.com/MetalQA.html#Q6

    http://metalshapers.org/101/jkelly/index.html

     

    As for ease of use I find it the other way around. I grew up with a torch because our old house couldn't support an arc welder (gas was the only option) Using a torch is a lot more like using a TIG welder. One hand controls the heat and the other controls the rate at which filler metal is added. This is what I like about it. If you need to weld a thin piece of metal to a thick one, just angle the torch toward the thicker piece and put the heat where it is needed. Try that with a MIG. When welding thin metal I find it a huge advantage to be able to back out the torch or the filler rod to better manage the heat and the size of the weld pool. That is one of the hardest adjustments I have had to make to MIG welding. The heat setting and metal fill rate have to move together.

     

    As for pretty welds, pretty welds are not necessarily strong welds. I have watched people lay down pretty welds that only penetrated one of the pieces of steel. I have also seen metal working sites that flat out claim gas torches are the superior way to weld chrome moly. Usually get better penetration and the excess heat keeps the welds from becoming brittle. As for welding car body panels, you are going to hammer down and fill those welds anyway, so no points to the mig there.

     

    But like the guys say, MIG is typically easier for the novice welder. It also does a much better job controling heat warpage. With clean metal I find it a quicker way to lay down a decent weld. There are a million reasons why professional shops all go with MIG and TIG. But for the at home shop that can't afford every tool imaginable, a torch is a good first choice.

    California veichle laws and out of state cars on vacation

    in Non Tech Board

    Posted

    Just stay off Hollywood Blvd on weekend nights. I have watched cops stake out the boulevard and ticket anyone they don't like the looks of. I am sure there are other cruise hot spots as well.

     

    Your car doesn't sound too radical by CA standards. I don't think there is a law about lowering. Loud mufflers, burnouts, excessive lane changes, triple digit speeds. Those are all things that are in your control that can get you noticed. I have spent enough time in CA traffic court to know that hispanics with tinted windows can be a problem too. But for the most part I imagine the laws (and enforcement of those laws) is not much different between CA and Washington State.

     

    I have lived in both places (Bremerton no less), but my WA car was a POS enconobox. Don't drive around drunk near any CA Navy bases either. I can tell you THAT one from personal experience. Cops sit and wait for that low hanging fruit.

    Barn Find Z on eBay

    in Non Tech Board

    Posted

    Yeah, the rear hatch logo is suppose to be angled but it would interfere with the spoiler. I will have to move mine to fit the BRE spoiler. Of course, then you do have to repaint to properly fill the holes. Now that I think about it doesn't the rear hatch logo have the word DATSUN in it? Will have to go peak at mine.

     

    There are little traces of rust along the leading edge of the hood. Maybe they just did a good job buffing out the old paint. Maybe nothing but it just seems like the guy is trying too hard to make this thing look like a jewel in the rough. Rings warning bells to me. I would rather see the paint as faded as the valve cover and a half inch of dust in the spare tire well. That is what I would expect from a 100K mile car that has been in "a barn" for 10+ years. I agree aluminum will pit quicker than paint, but the rest of the engine bay and the tail pipe looks pretty nasty as well. There are a few dents in the thing, so the "original paint" is not much of a selling point since the rust and dent repair will most likely require a repaint. The underside is clean (at least on the side he showed). Still need to check the battery tray.

     

    Nothing a half hour of up close inspection won't answer.

    Barn Find Z on eBay

    in Non Tech Board

    Posted

    Something doesn't look right with that car. Don't know exactly what. Maybe just the hard sell. Maybe the corroded engine and rusted out radiator support yet shiny paint. The ricer DATSUN on the rear spoiler makes me think it has been driven recently. Also the worn, mismatched tires.

     

    Would have to check it out in person. Was made in the same month as mine. The VIN is within 800 units of mine.

    DUI question

    in Non Tech Board

    Posted

    I don't think anyone was raping you. Sorry if you thought I was. I wasn't even questioning what you said, just seeking clarification of things I have read earlier. Some of us just like to argue more than others.

     

    Also want to say welcome back. Funny but when this thread first showed up I got to thinking about how long it has been since I have seen one of your posts. I wondered if someone like you would chime in.

     

    I think I know what you are saying about the answer "a couple of beers". Every drunk, no matter how hammered, is going to say the same thing. I am not sure why cops even ask the question other than to just start the conversation rolling.

     

    As for how much it takes to get imparied, IMO there is really no accurate way to know. I don't trust the tables and drinks can really vary in potency. And even if you are under the legal limit, if you get in an accident where someone gets hurt you are in for a world of legal problems. This is true whether the accident was your fault or not. It is really not worth taking the risk so what is the point of even arguing about it?

    DUI question

    in Non Tech Board

    Posted

    This is the type of table I was talking about.

     

    http://www.factsontap.org/yourbody/BALtable.htm

     

    If I am reading it right, a 100# woman has two drinks in an hour and she will have a 0.1 BAC. A 250# man can have 5 to 6 beers an hour before he hits the same level? "I haven't had too much to drink, officer, I just don't weigh enough."

     

    Also burp before you blow in the machine and you will peg it out. The breath machines are not 100% perfect. They also read high if the person has just had a drink. Need to wait for the alcohol to make it into the blood.

    DUI question

    in Non Tech Board

    Posted

    A lot of groups are screaming for zero tolerance. Any BAC and you get ticketed. Period. Might be revenue enhancement, but might just be political.

     

    That is why I simply do not drink and drive. Too many people on a crusade and too damn expensive if you get caught. And I don't believe the allowable consumption tables. I think most of the tables say if a 120# woman has 2 beers in an hour they will blow the .08 or .1. But a 250# man can have 5 to 6 beers an hour. No way! Two or three hours of that I would be blowing chunks, let alone a 0.1!

     

    But depending on state I think there is still something they can charge you for even if you are under the limit but non-zero.

     

    As for your brother, might try for probation before judgement. Basically it would then be dropped from his record if he doesn't get a ticket during the probation period. First offense, 0.05, hopefully they video taped the sobriety test and he did well. All of that could work toward some type of lienency. Might want to talk to a lawyer who works in you area about it. Can vary from judge to judge. Definitely want to avoid anything on your record related to alcohol.

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