Pop N Wood

Actually this thread is a good one for all of you road warriors and street racers out there. Driving while stupid is driving while stupid, whether there is alcohol or testosterone involved.

Several years back Bill Gates, Paul Allen and one other Microsoft honco tried to import matching Porsche 959's into the US. Customs seized them and would not release them. Apparantly you have to crash test something like 3 or 4 of them to satisfy the "safety" aspect. Gates had to send them back. He couldn't even bring them in as off road vehicles. This was some years ago. Maybe the laws have changed and maybe Skylines have already been adequately crash tested.

Sounds like low output voltage. Hook up a voltmeter across the battery terminals. With the engine off you should read about 12 volts. With the engine running it should read 14-15 volts. The voltage shouldn't vary much between idle and say 2500-3000 RPM. My guess when the alternator light is on, you only have 10 volts or less. That could cause the blinkers to not work. Recheck all of the connections to the alternator and fuseable link. Make sure your ground straps are on tight. Good luck.

Or faulty master cylinder. A little bit of rust, dirt or old rubber seals will require the occasional double pump to get the brakes to catch.

All of the books I am reading say to have a hammer and dolly at the ready, weld an inch or two, then immediately hammer the weld flat. In the books they do this and with one or two passes with the grinder have a weld that doesn't need any bondo.

First off, you sound like an emotionally mature person. I am sure if you follow your heart you will do the right thing. Second, I have been where you are. I have been married for 10 years now (my anniversary is next week) to a woman I love beyond anything that is reasonable. We have 2 kids and a life together that most people can’t even conceive of let alone obtain. When I first met my wife it was on the rebound of my first serious love. The previous relationship was incredibly intense, but no matter how hard we tried we flat drove each other crazy. I guess like you we knew it would never work out and finally had to split. With all that I still have very strong memories of my previous flame. I think once feelings like that happen you can never really make them go away again. I guess what I am saying is your feelings are normal and shouldn’t prevent you from having a happy future with your new wife. But, what you need to do is distinguish whether what you are feeling is just fond memories or truly a desire to be with the Ex again. Don’t confuse the two and don’t cheat your new wife if you can’t make an honest commitment to her. Two last suggestions: don’t EVER EVER EVER tell your new fiancée about this “empty space”. Mixed feelings doesn't even begin to describing what she will read into your statements. And second, quit listening to Mariah Carey. Try some AC/DC at top volume to blast that nonsense out of your brain.

Hell, I'd rather get caught watching it at work than at home

Datsun uses the size of the diff ring gear to name their diffs. They made R160, R180, R200 and R230's. Generally the larger the ring, the larger, heavier and stronger the diff. Most Z's came with either the R180 or R200. Most guys would highly recommend the R200 for a V8, but LSD is hard and expensive to find. But you might want to search on "R160". There are a number of guys that use them because they are a cheap source of LSD. I guess Subaru's use them so there is a good supply and low demand. Not for everybody but some guys like them.

No flames. Matter of fact, I've got one I will sell. I paid $79 but I'll let it go for $60.

If you were not at fault then your rates shouldn't go up. I have a 98 Tacoma PU that has been involved in 7 metal benders, 3 that went against insurance. In the first wreck I failed to get the names of any witnesses so the claim went against my insurance (probably 8 grand in damages). GEICO didn't seem to care who was at fault, they just paid it. In the other two cases involving insurance claims the other person was at fault and fessed up (total of 2-3 grand in damage). But funny thing they both had GEICO insurance so the checks came from the same place. With all of that they have not raised my rates.

Excuse my ignorance, but from the detailed write ups I have seen on this site $1200 for a Quaiffe looks like a bargain. The Vette installation has quite of few positive going for it, but cost and ease of installation don't seem to be among them. Keep in mind the Quaiffes are automatic torque biasing. It puts the torque to the wheel that can best handle it (rather than just minimizing the slippage in the one that can't). And no clutches to wear out so it is maintanence free. The vette installs really tears up your car (IMO).

Typing "crate motor" into the search engine and searching the Chevy V8 forum will return plenty of reading matierial. Lots of good advice.

Do a search on "fuel cells" and you should see some good implementations. My personal favorite was the guy who hinged his rear license plate and put a filler tube into his fuel cell from there. This allows dual exhaust running out each rear corner. Also NAPA sells fuel filler tubing, both flexible and rigid.

Have to agree with Tomahawk. Drove a Z for 8 years in the Z capital of the US (Southern Cal), was a member of a Z club and raced SOLOII and in all that time the first V8Z I have knowingly looked at was Pete P's right here in Maryland. And I met him off this board!

What's the quote? "Experience is the name people give to their past mistakes.."

With that many miles I would dump it. The only real question is whether to fix it first. Since you will probably increase the resale more that $600 by fixing the trans, I would pay what the shop is asking then get rid of it. Check the blue book value and see if this makes sense. As for the shop, it sucks but they did exactly what they promised: 12000 miles. I think AAMCO still gives lifetime warranties. That is the only way I would ever get an auto trans fixed. have know several people who have gone to AAMCO and they all have been treated right (flame suit on). One thing I would check into is the local lemon laws. Rumor has it if you have to have the same problem fixed on the same car 3 times, then the manufacturer has to replace the vehicle. Don't know what the limits are. One other thing. Carmax is notorious for selling used rental cars. Might run the VIN number through one of the online VIN trackers and see who owned the car before you.

Rolling the windows down 2 inches will suck air out of the passangers compartment, not blow it in. Use to put the windows at that height when I smoked cigars to draw out the smoke. Any farther down and the turbulence kinda blows it back in. Must be like a venturi. But if the windows are drawing out air, then it has to be replaced from somewhere. This might suck in the exhaust from leaks in the rear of the car. One other thing. On zcar.com there is an excellent write up about Z car aerodynamics. This ariticle claims the smooth rear hatch allows the air to flow so fast it actually creates a few hundred pounds of lift off the rear wheels. This could easily pull open the seams of the rear hatch. Perhaps the answer to excessive exhaust fumes lies in managing the airflow over the top of the car and not underneath??? Maybe some type of spoiler/bump at the top of the hatch? And Scott T: Instead of incense, just invite a couple of buds over and turn the Z into a giant bong

That Cheby 4.2 has been discussed several time on this site. You are going to have bigger problems then engine height should you try to use it. (Like no manual tranmission, computer controlled variable valve timing, a front oil sump and the front transaxel having something to do with the oil pan). Besides, the engine hasn't been around that long so I would be suprised if the boneyards were full of cheap engines. Much better off with a SBC

If he made them right there is no reason you couldn't use mulitple gages in parrallel. Think of a high quality gage as a single christmas tree light and a cheap one as a set of 500 watt off road driving lights. Do you really think you will see a load on your battery from a single christmas tree light?

Hey livewire23. LA County has Sherrif's! Don't you every watch COPS or read the LA Times? At one point they kept getting into shoot outs with the LA Cops.

Would have to agree with Greimann. Looks like the meter is loading down the circuit. That is why you need a quality digital multimeter to work with these devices. If it takes too much current to run the meter, then the voltage output will not be accurate. You could probably run a gauge in parrallel with the computer if it has a high enough input impedance. Could try a higher quality meter or if you have an electronics bud around have them build an op-amp driver circuit to isolate your existing meter from from the O2 sensor.

See my post on this thread for some other links that should answer all you questions (and stir up some new ones). http://www.hybridz.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=001996

Don't know of any links off hand but find this book a very easy read and quite informative: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0831131519/qid=1043242786/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-3844026-2852730?v=glance&s=books

The MSA strut bar did NOT clear my stock 240Z engine. I don't think this is typical, but it does happen. Some engines ride higher than others. I just cut it down and put it on my rear struts. A very high quality piece either way. Also I think one of the bigger advantages of coil overs is the availability of different spring rates. With such wide tire and 50 series (or lower) profile tires you going to have a stiff ride that will be uncomfortable on long drives no matter what you do. Might as well go all out and gain the adjustablity of coil overs. Also for "cheap" brakes here are some of my favorite HybridZ threads on the topic http://www.hybridz.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=001514 http://www.hybridz.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=001298 http://www.zhome.com/rnt/FordPower/BrakeUpdate.html http://www.zhome.com/ZCMnL/tech/Calipers/toyotaCalipers.html I ended up with a set of Ross's 240 SX disks for the rear and Mike SCCA's Toyota 4x4 calipers and vented 300 ZX rotors for the front. The only reason I went this way is I got a fair deal on a complete set up from another member. I haven't installed them yet but man, the 4x4 calipers are HEAVY!

I was going to say the same thing, but in a car I guess compromises must be made. You want something that doesn't resonate (definitely not fiberglass). The best material for a speaker box is medium density fiber board (i.e. particle board). But not always easy to do in the back of a car.