maichor

Yup, very cool. But even more cool to build a car yourself and beat up on the AWD higher $ cars. Some great kills there. Congrats!

Cool. 240SX subframe and parts are much cheaper and virtually the same. You should swap out the diff axles and hubs for Q45 or 300ZXTT parts. And here's one of my build pics getting ready to weld the mounts in for the 300ZXTT R230. Q45 R200 bolts right in, but I wanted to use this diff. Low miles and very beefy. In fact, IMO this will be much tougher than the Skyline setup with larger CV shafts brakes etc.

Sorry to hear it. Maybe your Z has some sort of virus and gave it to you. The "No Boost Virus" has been going around lately.

Hey, I know you want to keep the stock gauges, but I still think an electronic speedo is a great solution.

C4 Vette gives you gear choices and easy to find parts. It will be plenty stout. Supra setup will not be as tough and parts may be more $$. I have 240SX suspension with an R230 inserted where the 200 used to be. The ring gear is larger than a Ford 9". I never plan on breaking it, but if I do . . . $$$. My biggest complaint has been that I didn't get all the little pieces (rear suspension was totally disassembled, no bolts etc.). I have probably spent $100 on hardware. Axle nuts were $25 for both from the dealer. Whichever way you go, get it all! Judging by how fast you knocked out the LS1, you should be fine. I ended cutting out a lot of the old Datsun unibody and made new mounting points. Despite being a rookie fabricator, I was able to do the swap. http://photos.yahoo.com/maichor75104

Congrats! Sometimes you just gotta feed a little speed to your ride!

Astin Martins are beautiful, but they are not mass produced and as I understand it, they are hand built. So, if you throw in that car, you have to include some car builders in the US that do it by hand. Shelby Series 1, Panoz, which is Ford powered, Saleen. They imply that the Corvette is the best the US has ever produced. The goal of the Vette was never to be the finest sportscar in the world. The goal has been to produce an affordable fun machine that kicks some tail. To me, it is a success. And, although I may never be able to afford one of the more exotic sports cars, I could own a Vette. Growing up, my Dad had two Rover cars and two land rovers. All of them were in and out of the shop constantly. Just one experience. But, it is my experience. As far as car shows that critique, Car and Driver has a TV show. For the most part, they are unbiased and tell it like it is. They very much take into account prices and what the car was designed to do. I did not get that feeling from these guys. But, did you notice that the one who drove the Vette had to admit it was a lot of fun to drive!

It is so much fun to tip a car up on its side. Nice job! You probably already have the Rhino lining stuff, but if you don't I would go with POR-15. It is expensive, but you can do the undercarriage, the whole inside of the car and the engine bay for about $150 all told (metal ready etc.) I was so impressed with that stuff. WOW, Bullet proof. Just do it all at once because it is activated by oxygen. Rhino lining will be awesome too, but I don't believe that it reacts with rust like POR-15. Isn't it just a sealer to keep O2 out to prevent rust? I am not sure about that one, but POR-15 actually eats the rust, so to speak.

Sorry to chime in, but I have to. My little rant belongs in non-tech, but I have to complain a little about this. Autozone does have the part also. At least the one by my house did. However, I had to jump behind the counter and read a few labels to find it. I have built a decent relationship with the guys here and so they let me do stuff like that. COMPUTER MONKEY! That is the title that my brother, who is a night manager at an Autozone, gives to the guys that learn how to enter year make and model to find a part. They refuse to use their brains, so if you don't know what it came from, you are out of luck and they don't have it. You can know everything about the part itself, but that doesn't always help. Many guys do not even know how to search for part numbers. When I was in D/FW (Cedar Hill) before our move to Harlingen, it was a nightmare. On one visit, where they didn't have that part, "maybe try a dealership," my brother was with me an actually looked up the tie rod end by thread pitch, taper, and length out of their own manual to tell them a car that used it. Then, magically, "oh, here it is, in fact we have 3." My brother- not a computer monkey. Ok, almost done. Here is the kicker, the same guy gets a phone call when we are looking for a part # for him. It went something like this: "OK, what car is it for?" "A'96 Prelude, un huh, what kind of car?" "Yeah, I know it's a Prelude, but what KIND of car?" "Yeah, that's what I mean, who makes it?" "Honda, thank you. Just a second" COMPUTER MONKEY started typing. I kid you not. It was very sad. I just wish the Computer Monkey wasn't so prevalent. I love it when I run into a guy that has cars on the brain, in the blood, and knows enough to help. Sorry about that. I'm really not a negative guy. Really!

Yummy! Glad you cot rid of the small projector style lights. It looks so great with the 7" lights. Now you are ready for another magazine article. Simply beautiful.

Look at his signature. He has pics there. A lot of them! Have fun!

I used the mounts I came up with a long time ago. I have since added a plate that runs along the frame rails runder the stock cross member and mine. It is all one piece and absolutely bullet proof. It is too bad I won't be driving this off road! I know I said it last weekend, but I only got about an hour to work on it. Hopefully, this weekend will be the test drive.

Nice! Man, I love your car! The only problem with your car Terry, is that it looks wicked fast standing still, even in all its primered glory. I'd be afraid to race you! Case in point, I have a buddy that used to have a pretty quick Camaro and everybody wanted to race. He surprised a lot of people. He now has C5 Vette FRC. It has Z06 Wheels etc. Not as many people mess around with him as he would like. Nice Kill!

15" will be worse because a shorter wheel will ride closer to the spring and perch because they angle away from the tire as they go up. I didn't explain it well, but I think you know what I am getting at. Also, Those wheels probably have a FWD offset, so they will have a large backspace. Again, you have to compare the wheels you are looking at to stock and others that have done this. You should be able to find tons of threads on wheel fitment. It is all here, just keep digging.

My wife has been waiting for to park the car in the garage for 3 years due to my project mess. Now I have a lift kit coming for our Jeep Cherokee and need to get the rear suspension bolted back in for the Velo Rossa to install the lift. And, I also am supposed to build a bed for my son. All of this is going to hit on the same weekend, (this one) and I have to work half-day Saturday. Needless to say, this will probably stretch out for a long time. The good news is, the Velo Rossa should be drivable this weekend! The bad news is, it is far from "done!"

Thanks, and yes, I know what he meant. I said that about the motor tongue and cheek. The water pump does run off the back of the belt and the ribbed side is on the crank pulley. That is definitely not the problem. There is a plug by the starter and the TB gets coolant from the heads, I did a bypass, but maybe I could use one of those to bleed the system. About the heater. I did not know it would cause a problem. I'll have to sort that out or cap it off for now.

Wow, thanks for the great posts, I guess I will try the purge procedure and see what happens. I guess I was giving up too early. As for the thermostat, I will try that next. And no, there is no way that my belt is running backward (unless the whole motor is running backwards!) Thanks again guys.

Well, I finally got my driveshaft. I have been waiting for months for the 300ZXtt one piece driveshaft conversion flange to have it made. Hopefully, next week you will be reading about my first drive. That is not my problem. Most of you LS1 guys know about my project. The motor has 10K miles on it but has been sitting for more than a year. I have had the motor running for some time, but the coolant is not circulating. I pulled the water pump, it appeared to be fine. Pulled the thermostat, still no go. When the motor was out of the car, I tried to blast the coolant passages with a hose and water did come out the other side. So, I replaced the pump anyway. So, now the motor is back in the car and still no go. I have a hose circulating the feed and return for the heater. I also have and ASP underdrive pulley. I have had the motor up to 220 degrees. I dare not go any further until I figure out what is wrong. HELP ME PLEASE! Could I have blockage? How hot is too hot (where I am risking damage to the motor). What would you do? Phantom, I read a post where you said it took a while to blow the crud out of your block. How long and what temp? Thanks

Sorry, part # was only on the invoice which has long been buried. Here is what you need to know. If your tranny is from an F-body (Camaro etc.) ask for that one. The Mustang version uses a different lower plate. You can order through Jegs and that part # is: 813-P3000 1993-02 Camaro/Firebird T-56 $199.99 I paid less from a speed shop in Florida, but that was kind of a wierd deal. Ebay. Pro50.com sells them with a straight handle for $209

PRO 5.0 also makes a very, very stout shifter. Adjustable etc. I am very happy with mine. I think the B&M and the PRO-5.0 are the most popular after market shifters. (edit: here is a pic of the pro 5.0 with a swept handle.)

All I know is that I bought a '92 Q45 diff out of the car at the same time and in the same yard with my rear suspension stuff from the 240SX for my swap. It looked very tired and I ran across a 300ZXTT diff and it definitely bigger. I reworked my mounting points to accomodate it. Regardless, has anyone ever broken the Q45VLSD. If not, its all good.

Mmmmmmmmm..... Can you feel it? I sent the driveshaft off on Saturday to get it shortened/fitted withe 300ZXTT flange. When it shows up. Test drive! I still have open headers, but I will get that fixed when I can drive to the muffler shop. Man I'm close now. After that, its body and paint!

Ask Phantom how he feels about the 3.7. Also, there is a pic from behind that shows the differences in the covers here: http://photos.yahoo.com/maichor75104 Click on the pic of the diffs and look at the other view.

Yes, the shifter is just tall enought to clear it and it makes a nice arm rest, or will once the upholstry is done. I have subframe connectors, the braces above the tunnel you referred to and 1X2's welded into the inside rockers just below the doors. Without a roof, you need some extra strength longitudinally. It is a lot of extra metal, but remember, I don't have a roof or rear hatch and I have a fiberglass hood. Weight wise I think it is a wash. The tunnel braces also attatch up to the firewall and up to ther rear strut tower brace. All in all it is working out well.

I have a set of plain steel 3.5" OD 180 U bends that I have mocked up on the car. They look too big so I am going to return them, but it means I have to get a custom set. So, I want it right. Which style do you like best. The classic U or less than 180 bend. Or This last one is the style I have now but 1" diameter larger. What do you guys think?