Pop N Wood

Not to mention passing someone and slamming on your brakes is a good way to either get arrrested or risk having the accident declared your fault (which it is). God help you if you hurt someone that way. I had a guy in an RX7 do that to me before. I didn't really do anything wrong. We were both coming up on slower traffic, I was going a little faster then him so I took the fast lane before he did. Man did he get pissed. I use to scream and yell alot when I drove. Would blame people for things that obviously were not their fault, just bad coincidence. Got to wonder why. Finally realized that we tend to forget there are actually people in the other cars. That tends to dehumanize it. Sort of like saying things on the internet that they would never say to another person. I finally changed my reactions after having screamed at or cut off another driver only to find out it was someone I know. Particularly bad when you do it to someone then both end up parking next to each other at work. But two years ago I changed jobs and now have a relatively easy commute to work on a two lane surface street. Something about the lack of passing opportunities that has dramatically reduced driving stress. I am a lot more layed back if I am just not in a hurry to get anywhere.

Impossible to say. Every state is different anymore. Some states even vary by county. The killer for you will most likely be the visual inspection part. You need to have all of the OEM smog stuff installed. Your car may pass the tailpipe test, but without the correct breather tubes or gas cap you will fail. Maryland is one of the few states that actually put cars on an engine dyno to test under load. A few years ago they changed the test for OBDII cars (1996 and later) to just reading the engine diagnostic info. The only other thing they do is hook an air hose to the gas cap and do a leak down test. Takes all of 8 minutes with my bone stock Tacoma. The pre 96 cars will still get the load test. But like I say, the visual inspection test gets a lot of people. Watch the paper or check to see what your state has posted (on line or otherwise) to learn what your specific rules will be.

Boy. I could just imagine the look on the homeowner's association guy's face if he saw THAT contraption in my back yard!

Ahhh. Knowledge is power. JohnC has said before how much heat the Quaiffe generates. Heat means friction, thus something has to be wearing. All good info. The point about the Quaiffe directing all torque to the unloaded wheel is true. The Quaiffe site itself mentions how Hummer drivers have to use the brake should they get in a situation where one wheel is off the ground. Would only make sense that boucing through a rough corner will duplicate this problem. Guess there ain't no free lunch.

I'd dispute that. Details, man! I'm here to learn...

Out of curiosity what kind of interest did you get trying to sell it? Looked like a hell of a bargain at the price you were asking.

The R200 I got out of a JY has noticeable backlash. With the car in gear and the back wheels off the ground, I can move one of the wheels a degree or so before I hear a light clunk and see the other wheel move. Don't know what is excessive, but mine has held up well. To get around the clunk on mine I just turn up the radio. Maybe someone else knows the correct answer.

Your absolute cheapest option is a welded diff. But make sure this is what you want because it has some issues on the street. Do a search. Lots of good info on this here. Next step would be an LSD R160 out of a Subaru. Cheap because no one thinks they want them. Do a search. Some people have good luck with them. The turbo diff is what everyone thinks they want because in theory it is the cheapest option. But unfortunately they are not all that common and the people who have them know what they are worth. Plus they usually need rebuilding. Mo $$ Last there is the phantom grip. A poor man's LSD to be sure, but once again opinions vary. Do a search and see what I mean. The undisputed champion is the Quaiffe. It has several advantages over either the viscous or clutch type LSD's. It may seem like a lot of money, but from what those in the know say it is money so well spent it is arguably the cheapest option in the long run. Once again, do a search.

Does it do it when you lightly get on and off the throttle? If yes then drivetrain and suspension checks are in order. First place to check is always the front diff mount. Need a jack to really check that correctly. Have known guys who got clunks from loose suspension bushings. After that I would check the strut bolts, both the isolator and strut rod nut. My Z had such a clunk. Turned out the D shaped hole in the isolator had rounded out allowing the strut rod to wobble (very dangerous. It almost wore through the rod.). Also check the gland nut for play. I also had clunks comming from loose bolts attaching the diff to the mustache bar. Finnaly check all the drive and half shaft bolts are tight. Basically torque every nut and bolt in the rear end. Another possiblity is excessive backlash in the diff. If it does it going up hill at a steady speed, drivetrain/suspension slop is probably not it. Look for things like exhaust pipes hitting the floor boards, loose parking brake cables, loose fuel lines. Good luck.

Sounds perfect to me. All a matter of perspective I guess.

58 Vettes came with an optional mechanical fuel injection. Definitely pretty cool. Also pretty rare and I would imagine worth some money if it works. I agree hood clearance might be an issue. That FI unit didn't last many years. Have to wonder how difficult it would be to tune and maintain. I recognize the car in the pics, but I can't remember who. Big fat rear wheels and flat black paint. You might want to look at Pete Paraska's site. http://mywebpages.comcast.net/pparaska/index.html He originally had a 327 that was pretty old school I originally wanted the big air cleaner look of a carbed small block. But decided I don't want to give up the advantages of a nice, modern fuel injected engine with aluminum heads. But that 64 vette engine does sound like a steal.

One word guys: Internet. Who knows if the person who posted that is even female.

I have a can. I just dip the end of torch handle in the goo (preferrably when the MIG head is hot). It coats all the copper parts and makes the welding splatter less likely to stick. I am not as experienced as many guys on this site, but it does work.

That's an excellent site! A good read, even if you aren't into hot rodding an F'ing minivan.

That much steel would be pretty expensive and probably not last 10 years before rusting through. Also 11 guage doesn't seem that thick to me. With proper footers I can't imagine you having any trouble with a slab that size. Might be a little more difficult to dig footers with the pole barn already in place. Minor cracks are no big deal. Your local building codes are more than likely sufficient. If you are really worried about it, double up on the rebar and pour a thicker slab. I couldn't imagine working on a car on a steel deck. Better hope it doesn't get cold where you live.

Guess I really don't understand the point of that diatribe. I spent 6 years in the peace time Navy (1976-1982). All we really did was drive around buying stereo equipment. I personally, and not many fellow shipmates, thought about it in terms of defending our nation. We had a job running the reactor plant (made with asbestos and radioactive, lead based paint). Sort of allows you a different perspective than some grunt constantly on field maneuvers. 20 years later I am now old enough to see the big picture. Or at least more of it. I think military service has a much greater sense of purpose today than it did during my term of enlistment, cold war or not. I don't know how much closer to "my front porch" the attacks have to get then the 9/11 attacks. I would imagine there was more than one Frenchman saying the same thing up to the point of the Paris invasion. The crisis seems pretty real to me, especially when I ride Amtrak between DC and NYC. As for DU rounds and long deployments in war zones, there is an old saying that courage is not the absence of fear but the realization that there is something more important. I personally applaud those who are doing their part and like Wheelman wish I could do more to help.

Mini Cooper

He sure didn’t seem to mind all those Russian surface to air missiles' date=' anti-air craft guns and Russian intel on where the next B52 strike was going to occur. Maybe you aren’t aware of why we went to Somalia in the first place. We were there on a humanitarian mission, trying to feed starving people because a corrupt bunch of criminals in the cities were high jacking the UN food meant for the rural areas. When your mission changes from feeding starving victims of a lawless society to machine gunning “cowboys†in an urban area, then you pretty much have to rethink why you are there. If anything it points out what the Rhodes scholar hadn’t learned, that you don’t put troops in harms way without adequate support and a commitment to a well defined set of goals. I think you are also vastly overstating the impact of the videos. The dead Americans were page 3 news because of something else (I forget exactly what) that happened on the same day. I would be willing to bet if the movie “Black Hawk Down†had never been made Somalia would have as much significance to the average American as the war cry “Remember the Maine!†Also, last I heard Adid was killed some years ago, victim of his own ways. I guess you could look upon him as some great tactician. Kind of a David and Goliath type. I see him as just another criminal who “escaped†justice by having little to no regard for human life. Maybe the truth is somewhere between those two extremes. The history channel has done some incredibility informative biographies of Saddam’s life. It is hard to imagine what an iron hand Saddam used to rule Iraq. Thousands pledged to defend Saddam to the death simply because that is what they' date=' and their entire families, would have been subjected to had they not. Our whole invasions was predicated on the hunch that the Iraqi troops would cut and run like they did. No one would over extend their supply lines and leave their flanks as exposed as we did otherwise. I also think you are over romanticizing the notion that the Iraqi army faded into the background to wage a guerrilla war. The average Iraqi soldier is just some poor conscript who has spent years being jerked around by a one manipulative regime after another. IMO the average Iraqi has no more desire for world domination than the average American. All they really want to do is to be left in peace to live their lives and raise their children. Maybe watch a little MTV. Who knows? And who are the “insurgents†in Iraq? The interim Iraqi president said it himself. We roll into Iraq, disband the army and fail to secure the borders. Now Iraq is full of foreigners who are hell bent on causing us to fail. They have absolutely no regard for Iraq or it’s people. They just want to wage war on Americans. Give the Iraqi government some time to get established and THEY will be the ones to deal with the insurgents. Surely your parallels to the Vietnam war will help you see the validity of that plan. People have a right to self determination. That is what George W is hoping for. You use the word “we†rather loosely. Don’t include me in your plans. But you are right. If enough Americans get “tired†of it and that causes us to cut and run, then I don’t know if they will so much have won as we will have failed. But while the average American may or may not believe we should be in Iraq, I am reasonably certain the majority of Americans think we should finish what we started. Sorry to look like I was picking out your statements above all others. I have read quite a number of you posts and respect your opinions. But any posting calling Giap the “greatest general of the last century†is bound to illicit a response from somebody.

They are interchangable as long as you reroute the brake lines front to back. Just make sure the front brakes go to the end of the MC with the larger resivour. I have had a 79 ZX MC on my 70 for the last 15 years. Arizonia Z car use to have a directions page on their web site explaining this swap.

I hate to say it but you could have a bad MC. If you are bottoming out the MC then it is not the rod, and it sounds like you should have the bleed process down by now. The only other possibility is a leaky fitting, but I assume you checked all connections for leaking fluid. Also the rod I was talking about goes between the booster and MC.

Good info from JohnC. I'll use this post in future arguments. I can tell you from my ABS testing on rental cars that some of the cheaper ABS units simply alternate which wheel they want to lock up. I use to get cavaliers up to about 50-60 mph then stand on the brakes. The car would lurch and studder, and in the rear view I would see an alternating stitch work of skid marks where it alternated locking up the right and left tires. Heavier cars tended to work a little more smoothly, but the brakes still noticably pulsated left to right (causing steering instabilities) under full braking. I have never driven a BMW or NSX so I can't comment on those units. Also you do know on gravel or snow covered roads, a car that can lock up the wheels will stop shorter than a car with ABS. Something about plowing a small pile of gravel/snow in front of the tires. I personally don't see the need for ABS on a street car. Just another expensive thing to break. The way most people drive I would think you could add more safety with automatic tire inflators.

I can't believe you did anything more than just eye-ball it. Sounds dang near perfect to me.

I spend a lot of time on this board. I have read several times about people with 4 row radiators who have cooling problems. I know a Griffin radiator is not an inexpensive option, but guys who run them with a Taurus fan don't have cooling problems. Don't know what it is about the 4 row cores, but they don't cool as well as even the 3 rows. And like someone said, the aluminum units are much lighter. Also I would think a 100 amp alternator would be a necessity with the Taurus fan.

Just to jump in and ask a question. All of the theory about shear and threaded rods, don't you think the fact the Arizona Z car arms have been around for 20 years answers any question you might have about their durability? I have never read a single post about their failing. That speaks volumes to me.

I did the upgrade probably 14 years ago now on my 1970. I had to adjust the rod to get the brakes to engage properly. It should be simple to tell. If the rod is too short the brake pedal will move without any backpressure. When I first did it I got 2 or 3 inches of pedal movement before the brakes came in with the last inch of travel. Adjusting the rod was simple on a 240. The rod is threaded and adjustable. I adjusted it out a couple of times until I got maybe 1/2 inch of free travel before backpressure. I did it with the stock 1970 booster ( the really small one). Two other things. I had to swap the brake lines front to back on my 240. Make sure the front brake line goes to the end of the MC with the larger reserviour. Might already be that way with a 77. Second I upgraded to stainless steel brake lines. Makes a huge difference in pedal feel. Now once the pedal engages the MC, the brakes come on right now with very little additional pedal travel.