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Pop N Wood

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Posts posted by Pop N Wood

  1. If you have the stainless steel brake lines on all 4 corners, then if you are like me you don't get more than about a half inch of movement in the brake pedal. It is the rubber brake lines expanding that let you get an extra couple of inches of travel out of the pedal even after the brakes are fully engaged. The stainless lines get rid of that and after the half inch or inch of travel it is like stepping on a brick.

     

    If you are getting that much movement then I would suspect you either have air in the lines or the pedal is not engaging until late and you need to adjust the connecting rod. I am not sure how a proportioning valve works nor what happens when they go bad so I personally can't rule out that possibility. But if everything is working correctly the stainless brake lines will put a very real limit on the amount of pedal travel you will see.

  2. Pete Paraska has often bragged that his 2 speed Mustang GT fan draws 35 amps at high speed. If you ran the relay and soldered the connections, then you have done about as well as you can do. I would try two things. First determine what size fuse Volvo used with these fans. Second try hooking an ampmeter up and measure the draw. Maybe you need a 35 or 40 amp circuit?

     

    You might try contacting Pete and see what he used in the way of fuses.

  3. I'm bored so I'll bite.

     

    You forgot a lot of reasons why marijuana is going to stay illegal:

     

    1 The majority of the people in this country simply don't care.

    2 The more expensive it is, the less available it will be and the less likely my children will come across it.

    3 Cigarettes will soon be illegal or so highly regulated that they might as well be.

    4 Who needs it? Why should we care?

    5 Few things are more annoying than trying to communicate with some burn out working behind the counter at a 7-Eleven.

    6 I have seen what it has done to my friends.

    7 Unlike the African American voting rights (which incidentially came before women's voting rights), marijuana was legal in this country before prohibition came into being. Alcohol is now legal, weed isn't. See #1 and #4 above.

    8 If it was legal, it wouldn't be cool anymore.

    9 Amsterdam has one of the highest suicide rates in the world (check it out, I didn't make this up)

    10 Arguging "marijuanna is less of an evil than (fill in the blank)" is like arguing "syphillus is less evil than AIDS". Who cares? I don't have a use for either. See #4 above.

    11 You don't go to prison for marijuana unless you are doing something else EXTREMELY stupid.

    12 The part of the plant you use to make rope is not the same part you use to get high. What does midwest ditch weed have to do with high grade dope?

    13 Did I mention most people don't care?

    14 Most pot heads hardly lead lives of "cooperation, tranquility and empathy". Most pot heads I have know lead lives full of ridiculous, self inflicted problems.

    15 Marijuana has more tar than tobacco.

    16 If you want "change", why can't you seek change that promotes, positive, more tangible benefits than "this stuff isn't that bad"?

     

    A message to decriminalize marijuana might be much more appealing to the mass of people in this country. I don't want it legal for reason #2 above. I know it doesn't help much, but the less prevalent and open it is in our society the better my children's chances are.

  4. But I like the electric set up...it never draws power from the motor.

     

    Not true. It draws power from the alternator which draws power from the engine. No such thing as free power.

     

    Where an electric fan can save HP is when it is not running. But if it is running and moving the same amount of air as the mechanical (meaning providing the same cooling power), then it is probably placing the same load on the engine.

  5. Sounds like a beautiful car! A true classic build up, one you could really brag up on zcar.com or here. It sounds like the build up was very deliberate, not just bolting on the deal of the month, so I would try to find out what type of racing the guy built it for and figure it was probably pretty successful at that.

     

     

    I would make up my mind what I wanted the car for before I looked at it. As someone said, it sounds like a race car. I think streetablility will be a valid concern. You really need to drive it and realize if it seems a little harsh on a short test drive, it might become unbearable on a 3 day road trip. If the engine is running bad because of bad gas, then god only knows what other problems could exist.

     

    Probably not a daily driver but might be OK for a weekend warrior. Sounds like an excellent Solo I racer. I would like it for that. The rear end ratio could have a lot to do with how streetable it is (not to mention gas mileage).

     

    BTW. Not to be labeled a purist, but if you are thinking V8 transplant I would look for a more torn up car. If for no other reason than you won't be throwing away as many high dollar parts.

  6. You could rebuild the drum brake wheel cylinder. I would drop the $54 to replace it, though.

     

    Ross at Modern Motorsport has complete rear brake set ups with on line instructions. He also sells front disk upgrades. Mike SCCA sells brake kit also. His stage 1 set up is the Toyota 4x4 calipers with I think 300 Z vented rotors. If you want, you can use just the 4x4 calipers with the stock, non-vented rotors up front. But I don't know of any swap that lets you move the front rotors to the rear. A quick search should give you the links to Mike and Ross.

     

    I bought a complete set of Ross's rear disks and Mike's vented 4x4 fronts, complete with all calipers, SS lines, front wheel spacers, new MC and proportioning vavle for $750 from another member.

     

    As for replacing the brake lines, get a tubing bender, flaring tool and maybe 20 or 30 feet of hardline and have a nice weekend :-D

  7. jeromio, you da man with the answers!!

     

    . Very cutting edge. I think BMW uses this in their latest gas engines.

     

    I know BMW also did this on their WWII radial engines they put in the FW190 fighter planes. The engines were half the size of our Pratt and Whitney R2800 yet produced 3/4th the horsepower.

  8. Somewhat off topic but Hooker makes a dual 2 1/2 inch inlet with single 3 inch outlet muff for $64. Seems like the hot ticket to run duals on a Z without cutting anything. Why don't you try that set up and let me know how it works out :D:D

     

    Hooker HOO21510 dual 2-1/2" in, 3" center out in 4-3/4"x10-1/4"x22" for $64.98

  9. Are you sure the brake pedal is even engaging the MC during the first part of the travel? There is an adjustable length rod going from the brake lever to the back of the booster. When I upgraded my 70 240 to a larger MC I had to lengthen this rod by over an inch. The brakes were somewhat like you said. Only spring tension for the first 80% of the pedal travel then BOOM! All the brakes came in with the last inch or so. I had upgraded to stainless steal lines with otherwise stock brakes so a inch of travel is all I really needed.

     

    As for stink and squeal, did you get brake fluid or caliper lube on the pads or rotors? Like off your hands? Get the brakes working then see if some of the lube burns off and the squeal dies down as the pads get broken in.

  10. That car is was built the same month as mine. Same color too. I even have hood louvers (although the plastic insert kind from I think a 78 Z). Makes me wish my Z wasn't a garage orphan.

     

    Don't be too quick to upgrade the cooling system until you know you have a problem. That radiator looks substantial!

     

    The rear end looks like it is riding high. What has been done to the rear suspension? BTW, our early cars were the ones with the diff mounted a few inches too far forward. Upgrading to the correct geometry will smooth out your ride and does make a difference in handling. Not a "must do" mod but is a definite benefit of an R200 swap.

  11. Maybe you have a queer electron running around blowing fuses.

     

    Hate to say it but you could also have a wire with cracked or chaffed insulation that is shorting out to the sheet metal. Probably already guessed that though. Such intermittant problems are hard to find other than by tracing wires and inspecting every inch closely (especially the grommets where the wires to through sheetmetal). The only other suggestion would be to take apart and clean up the switches (and the bulb sockets), but looks like you are on top of that idea.

  12. I have the MSA Euro springs with KYB struts and full urethane treatment on my 1970 240. It was my daily driver in CA for about 8 years. With MSA sway bars and 60 series tires the car cornered very flat yet had a livable ride which handled the speed bumps.

     

    I have no experience with Eibach springs or even coilovers. I do remember guys in my LA based Z car club complaining that their cars were so stiff that they were uncomfortable on long trips (more than a few hours). For a car that gets driven a lot the softer springs may be the better choice.

     

    There has been a LOT of talk in past threads about coil overs. In fact, the talk is so prevalent that at one point I thought I had to put in coil overs, that they were the only way to go. But if you look at all the threads you will see the big advantage of coil overs is the ability to lower the car, a wider selection of spring rates, and some additional clearance for fatter tires/rims. If you want a daily driver, especially in a snow state when the pot holes start to bloom in the spring, then you probably don't want to lower your car anymore than the Euro springs will and you certainly don't want a super stiff spring. In fact, I have seen at least one post by a very respected HybridZ member who thinks coil overs are not necessary for a street driven car.

     

    The Euro springs came up in another, very recent thread on coilovers. I think Phantom mentioned he is keeping the euro springs on his LS1 conversion because he, too, likes the ride. And from the money and effort he is investing into his LS1 swap, he certainly isn't doing it to cut corners!

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