Hotrodpez

Well, the seller in question would be me. I suspected something was amiss, but after getting a certified vin check by Denver PD, they said the VINs checked out, and i got it registered. I didn't think anything of it. I was rather surprised when I got the call a few weeks after selling it, and, as the reason for selling was that I was moving and wouldn't have a garage anymore, was happy to agree to repayment of half and have everybody cut their losses. I hate it as much as the next guy when a deal goes sour, and hope everybody's happy.

I noticed something in one of the photos. You have what looks like carpet padding covering the dizzy hole. Now I saw your coilpack, so no need for a dizzy, but what is that material? Is it temporary?

I think what most need is a combo boost / AF gauge to take the place of that worthless clock.

As far as I know, the S30 did not come factory with a sunroof. That means that the hackjob looking hole in the roof of one I'm looking to buy is most likely that, a hack. Does anybody make a good sunroof I could install? Or patch the hole? Or try to find another car?

I've got a spare head I could sell you.

Well one way to do it is with foam. When I was building my hovercraft (yes, i built a hovercraft) I decided to do it mainly out of fiberglass to keep weight down. I used urethane foam (sold in 2" thick sheets at Home Depot for insulation) Sandwich the sheets together with adhesive and then use shaping tools of your choice (start with a drywall saw, to a Hot Knife, to a drywall file, to an orbit sander) and shape the foam how you want it to look. Then lay several layers of fiberglass cloth, let it cure, and then carve the foam out (or leave the foam and fiberglass all the way around, if you prefer a solid and more rigid structure, which would work for making brake ducts and grill opening duct) P.S. Anybody notice how short the girl is in the first pic? I'm pretty sure that Z is lowered and it only comes up to her neck!

kudos to you on the trans build. I will do just about anything mechanical, but I refuse to touch the inside of a transmission. They scare me.

Yes, I've seen this happen on VW bugs when the trans-to-pan ground strap fails. Its a good way to go through clutch and throttle cables really fast.

I've been considering relocating my battery to the trunk area. Why? Because it would be different (read: cool) and also give me a place to put my coilpacks. I've done some searching and the main drawback I find is that most recommend running a separate heavy gauge ground wire from the negative terminal to the engine block. Why is this? I know many cars (e.g. Mazda Miata, BMW 325i) that have the battery mounted in the trunk and they only ground to the body / frame. Is this a Z specific recommendation? Or is it even necessary? I can't see that the body / frame rails could have so much impedance that it would cause problems.

I'll let the motor go for 150 and the trans for 250 i live in Westminster right off the 36 if you're interested. I actually was looking at that car on Craigslist a while ago... my indecision is your car i guess lol. I picked up one I thought was better because it actually ran... but in the end, I say you're better off paying less for a non-runner because you will end up replacing everything anyway.

Actually just worked on an F-350 today that had a very similar problem. My shop's several-thousand dollar test equipment said there were no problems with vacuum or crankcase pressure, but there was still smoke in the exhaust. Turns out the oil drain line from the turbo had gotten blocked due to oil coking because of the high temps caused by an aftermarket chip controller, and wasn't letting the oil out of the turbo... just an idea.

I got a good L28 motor i can sell you. I pulled the head off so you will need to put it back on and get a new head gasket, but it ran. And I got a 4 speed manual trans I might be willing to sell too.

Well, I did... until I needed emissions and suddenly tuning the carbs turned into tearing out the motor and trans and rear end and....

SWEET JESUS thats ugly!!!!!! It looks like its made of plastic, like those "Little Tykes" cars for kids! I'll hand it to the guy... he knows mechanical... but he needs to have somebody else do the body work.

So, Tony, as long as I plan to keep the RPM below 8000 (which I do, and I'm sure most other street-driven Zs do as well) then a distributor-gear driven pickup would be OK for both fuel and spark? And in this case, IF I were to try to make a few of these (or at least a few machined bodies, to help offset cost out of my pocket) I would have to try to find a place to do it cheap enough that someone could justify buying one for a street build. Otherwise, if I really want one bad enough, I'll just make it myself on my lathe out of some spare aluminum billet I have laying around.

If you are no longer using any of the original fuel or spark, then tear it all out. just disconnect that battery first... lol

I've never been a big fan of 2+2s, but that purple one looks good.

LOL that is a really cool looking snail

Doesn't SDS now come with a logging capability? I believe it is more limited than MS though.

This is what I was considering, and why I started thinking about making a fully custom unit with no advance or other mechanicals.

Its basically the ultimate sleeper... even looks stock when you open the hood.

LOL So what color should I paint my MSD box?? *sarcasm* (I'm not THAT interested in stock colors) But really good info!

Thanks guys, I appreciate the input. Some of the things I need because my 280 was converted to carbs and no longer has ANY of the original fuel injection stuff. I priced that all off websites, so its good to know I can do it for cheaper. And regarding SDS... I might go MS if I do some more reading up on it... but as of right now it kinda scares me and SDS seems alot, well, simpler.

I know it can be done for cheaper... that estimate is WAYYY over budgeted, (I rounded up by the tens) I just wanted to see, if money was no worry, how much one could spend... And that setup above would easily make 450+ HP, but that would take a little work on the longblock itself. Plus... I'm tired of under-budgeting everything and then coming up short.

This is to show that a turbo swap can be a very cost effective path to decent horsepower... or as I have discovered in budgeting my turbo build... a fast road to bankruptcy. Your choice... how fast do you want to spend?? EFI Turbo Swap - Complete L28ET with harness 350.00 - Fuel Pump 100.00 - Misc Hoses and electrical 100.00 - Total $550.00 -- 175 - 180HP That is about the same power I'd be making if I spent twice that on a N/A motor that would have very little potential left without major modifications. Immediate Upgrades - MSA Downpipe 100.00 - Intercooler and piping 300.00 - Total $400.00 With about a weekend's worth of work, I am now easily in the 200+ HP range. Future Upgrades - SDS EM-4 6F 1700.00 - 2 Bar MAP 80.00 - TPS 90.00 - Fuel Pump relay 30.00 - 60mm TB 50.00 - Taylor 10.4mm plug wires 130.00 - Fuel Injectors 200.00 (estimate - haven't decided) - Fuel 120.00 - T3/T4 turbo (ebay) 200.00 - Harmonic damper 90.00 - Aluminum radiator 460.00 - Electric fan 150.00 - Fan relay 30.00 - Centerforce II clutch 295.00 - Oil cooler 200.00 - Total $3825.00 and round it up for those random little parts I didn't think of... $4000.00 and 300+ HP So, in total, I am left with a screaming 300+ HP motor for under $5000 EDIT: You will also want to save money for things like boost gauges, AFR meters, etc... they are quite useful... lol