Pop N Wood

I guess I have always had a problem of letting logic get in the way of rhetoric.

Sounds like good advice.. don't ya think? You do, of course, realize that all you are doing by signing the ticket is acknowledging that you will either pay the ticket or show up in court to contest it. It is really a very simple process. You either sign the ticket so you can't later argue you never got it, or you go to a police station to post a dollar bond guarenteeing your appearance. The cop didn't set up this system, we the "Kings" did. So why give the poor cop a hard time? All of your theatrics amounted to nothing more than simply not paying the ticket. And I am sure there is more than one person on this board who will tell you the cops don't stake out your house simply because you failed to pay one ticket. You will get away with it for a while, maybe forever if a clerk loses the record, but eventually you will get stopped for something unrealated and then you will REALLY have something to rant about. I guess anyone looking to follow your advice will have to ask themselve what they hope to accomplish by copping such an attitude. I rather doubt it will intimidate the system into letting you go. But it does seem like an excellent way to invite additional tickets or even a Rodney King size can of Whoop Ass. And even if you write Top Dead Center on the ticket, I can't imagine there are many judges that would humor such an argument for long. Besides, I really don't follow your logic viewing speeding tickets as a perversion of your "Natural Rights". If you don't want a ticket, don't speed.

Can't we all just get along? A little off base on Japan. Japan makes licensees hard to get simply because they want to limit the number of people driving. Don't try and attach any altruistic motives. I have heard (but don't know for sure) it is common for Japanese tourist to get a license in Hawaii because having an international license makes it easier to get one back in Japan. Besides, if you’re not racing and driving like they teach you in driver's training, then what difference does it make if you know what an apex is?

Robert, what did your fuel pressure gage read when the car was bucking? Can you recreate the problem on the side of the road where you can get a visual on the gage? If your pressure at the engine is 30+ when the problem is happening (doubtful given the symptoms) then you don't have a fuel problem.

Baking soda is one option, but not the concensus #1. Here is the link http://www.hybridz.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=9;t=000782 Here is another link talking about baking soda and pressure washers http://www.hybridz.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=9;t=000403 The car show I saw detailed some company that would baking soda strip your car right in your own driveway. The bigger question is whether you should strip or not. I have read previous posts saying stripping to bare metal is not always a good idea since the surface will be rougher than a good sanding. However at some point you have to remove the paint if the car has been repainted either poorly or too many times.

Hard to diagnose over the board. You need to do a general front end check before looking for specific causes. Check all the front end components for play. Tie rod ends, ball joints strut mounting bolts and gland nuts, wheel bearings and steering rack bushings. Check to see that the struts are still working properly. While your at it, check for play in the steering rack itself and/or the steering column U joints and coupler. Next check your tires. Any uneven wear? If they are new tires could they be out of round? Check the tire pressure. Check the rims to see if you might have bent one on a curb or pothole. Are the lug nuts tight? Finally, rotate and balance the wheels. When was your last alignment? A good alignment shop will double check all of the things above. Another thing to check is the brake rotor run out. Z cars with the unvented rotors are notorious for “warping†the rotors. This causes the steering wheel to vibrate, especially under heaving braking from speed. This happened to my Z and I just replaced the rotors rather than having them turned. Good luck and happy hunting.

You might try taking it apart and cleaning up the contacts. Pete Paraska has some info on his site concerning the poor design of the turn signal set up on the 240's http://mywebpages.comcast.net/pparaska/turnsgn1.htm I assume it is a similar problem on the later models. Anyway the link diagrams how to add headlight relays to reduce the current flow through the switch. If your current switch is corroded and/or dirty then you will still need to overhaul it to make it work with the relays.

There are several guys on this board who are much more knowledgeable than I, but I will take a first stab at this one. If the rust is truely very light and confined to the surface (not rusted through) then try a bottle of metal prep. I got one at an auto paint store. Basically just phosphoric acid. Used it on some sheet metal that had been sitting exposed in the metal yard for too long. The metal prep removed all the surface rust and left a clean, paintable surface. Hopefully someone will back me up or tell me there is a better way.

I can't imagine a bike like that would be rideable. I may be speaking from total ignorance but turbo lag/lack of throttle response when letting off would require a very deft touch in the turns. That thing has a torque peak that looks like the Matterhorn.

I carry a small tool box intended for the back of a pick up. It is the same one I use to work on my cars. Full set of 3/8 and 1/4 metric sockets, ratchets, extensions, adapters and 1/2 drive breaker bar. I also carry a 21 MM socket for the breaker bar in place of a lug wrench. The breaker bar doubles as a hammer. Beyond that, channel lock, needle nose, diagonal cutter and lineman pliers, 12 inch cresent wrench, 12 volt test light, assorted hose clamps, 2 or 3 screw drivers and a battery terminal cleaner. The battery post cleaner is probably the most used item since my coworkers are all pretty car illiterate. Sounds like a lot but it all fits in the small tool box. I use to carry a separate volt meter until I burned it up. Fuses, tire gage and flashlight are standard glove box items in all my cars. In my older cars I use to wedge a quart of oil under the hood somewhere. The other thing that is extremely usefull is a tube of hand cleaner and roll of paper towels stuffed under a seat. Kids make having paper towels in easy reach an absolute necessity. Good idea about the wire. Spare belts and hoses are probably not a bad idea, but if you replace them at the first sign of wear then trouble with them is really kinda rare. (Watch me get stranded with a broken belt this weekend.)

For about $1500 US you can get a complete LT1 engine and automatic trans from a 95-99 Camaro/Firebird/Caprice. This will give you 320 fuel injected HP (some had different HP ratings?). This set up works well with the JTR kit. Look at Ron Tyler's web site for details. I would think the remaining $1500 should finish off the swap. Trick is to not get too fancy. Since you looked at previous postings about manual transmission and HP ratings, then you realize most people on this site will tell you 300+ HP is too much for a T5. Higher HP needs a T56 6 speed. Complete T56 and clutch assembly on ebay will easily hit $1500 by themselves. The auto will save you quite a bit. If you are OK with 250 HP and had your heart set on the T5 manual, then I thought the F bodies GM cars just prior to the LT1's were exactly what you are asking for. Just make sure you get a 350 and not a 305.

MSA carries used steering shafts. I replaced mine probably 12+ years ago and even then you could not buy a new one. Maybe someone has more current info?

Whew! Looks like I get to keep my left nut for a few more years anyway. FI cleaner could very well have broken enough crud loose to clog multiple filters. I have heard of the same thing when a car that is use to plain old gas gets a tank of ethonal blend. The alcohol is a very good solvent. My buddy had to change his filter several times before it finally stopped clogging. BTW, a fuel pressure gage makes a pretty good back up gas gage. As your tank gets low, so will the fuel pressure.

You guys don't give much hope to us guys who have to spray in the same garage as the wood shop. Guess this is why I will never do anything but prep work in the garage and leave the finish coats for the pros.

Inertia and size affect turbo spool up time, but so does the design of the impeller. The exhaust turbine is definitely built with a certain exhaust flow in mind. Thus a turo for a Kenworth may produce nothing in the way of boost for an idling Z car engine. Similarly, a Z turbo may be maxed out by an idling Kenworth.

No real reason to flame. Turbo's come in all different sizes. Obviously one BIG turbo should spool up faster than 2 BIG turbos. But the same cannot be said for 1 BIG turbo vs. 2 small turbo's. The early turbo Porsche 911's had a large turbo taht was set up for max top end power. That also meant you really had to get some exhaust flowing to generate boost. Massive turbo lag. From what I have read (since I have yet to own such a car) the early turbo 911's took a definite touch to drive well. Letting off the gas mid turn would put you in the ditch because the turbo would still be kicking out max boost. If you have two smaller turbos set up in a progressive arrangement, then you can have one pumping up max boost in the mid RPM band and a second open up for the upper RPM's.

As a former Southern Californian all I can say is count your blessings. Since moving to the other coast I have learned the joys of the "Maryland Merge". In Maryland, people drive all the way to the end of the merge lane, come to a complete stop, then turn their head to look for an opening. I mean they don't even make an attempt to look for an opening until they have come to a complete stop with no merge lane left. This is the only place I have seen this. It happened to me once in California, and myself and everyone else trying to merge had the good sense to pass the idiot with horns blaring.

Looks like a Grumpyvette question. I guess my limited experience question is who did the porting?

Be careful how you measure slop. Z's are notorious for having too much rubber mounting the steering pieces. If you hold one tire steady and can move the other tire back and forth, then you have some life threatening slop that has to be taken care of. Tire rod ends (inner and outer), steering rack, ball joints and even strut mounts all need to be checked. If you have a lot of slop in the steering wheel, then steering rack mounts (rubber), steering coupler (rubber) and steering column U joints all need to be checked or upgraded with urethane.

My Toyota minivan uses welded stainless manifolds coupled to an all stainless exhuast. Nice engine. Had the same thing on my Geo which went 110K miles with zero maintenance before being sold.

General tune up before emissions testing is always a good idea. Also check the air filters and change the oil/PCV valve. I would also replace the O2 sensor since they are 20,000 mile replacement items anyway. I have also heard running a tank of ethanol gas though will help clean out the injectors. Whatever you do, save the receipts for what you have just done. If you fail again, you may have spent enough to qualify for a waver.

That is a beautiful car. Note no roll cage and yet a full racing harness. Strapped to the strut tower? Note that the L&R Racing site does have an 800 HP Supra with "stock" internals.

I am interested in an LT1 for my Z but would like to avoid the opticrap (oops, brand-bashing censor alert) optispark problems. Electromotive makes their coil pack set up specifically for optispark. Says it uses the stock trigger wheel and nothing else. Is anyone using this set up and how well does it work? Does it interface with the computer properly or is the ignition control all in the Electromitive box?

Will second what Lone says. I have seen Pete's up close and all I can say is everything fits so well it looks as if it belongs there. No coat hanger braces, nothing hanging 6 inches below the car. Mr K. himself could not have done better.

The book I was looking at, "The Z-Seris Datsuns", gives 3.36 for the final drive ratio, but nothing for transmission gear ratios. There is a very easy way to check the rear end ratio. Jack up the rear end leaving one wheel on the ground. Put it in neutral and place a piece of tape on the driveshaft and a second on the tire that is off the ground. Then count how many times you need to turn the driveshft to get the tire to turn two full turns. If it is just under 3 and a half, then you have a 3.36. Just over and it is a 3.54.