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maichor

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Posts posted by maichor

  1. I hate to point this out, but isn't RICE just something to eat? You know, not too tasty unless you add lots of butter, salt, pepper, etc. or stir fry it with veggies and serve it in a buffet. :wink:

     

    It is amazing how much the topic of rice arouses so much emotion. Personally, I like fried rice, or Lipton packets. Now that is rice that I can stomach.

     

    So, in conclusion, I like rice ONLY if it is prepared the way I like it. Therefore, I think we can discuss rice forever and still disagree. However, rice will never be as good as real food. You know, steak, or eggs, or ice cream, or cheese . . . mmmmmmm. The power of cheese. I have to go eat lunch! :D

  2. 1) Yes, compromise is a necessity. I can't talk though, my wife is AWESOME! She loves cars and has a list of her own that she wants. In my opinion, honesty is the best policy, especially with the wife. I never try to hide money from her, except around XMAS. She pays the bills and knows the account. At Christmas, I will use a credit card for her gifts, at least that way, she won't find out how much I have spent until she has her gifts and is enjoying them.

     

    2) Fair is fair. Your wife may not have passions of her own, but you must make sure she does. If you are putting money away for your stuff, you should put some away for her. So far, my car project has cost me, a treadmill, 2 cats, a nice set of ceramic cannisters, a gold watch and a few other things over 3 years. But, I have spent nearly 10X that on the car. It will take you longer to get the money, but it is the way you need to go.

     

    Good luck! :D

  3. Sounds very cool! :2thumbs: I can't believe you are probably going to finish two cars before I finish one! Hey, I'm curious, what made you go Supra before fine tuning your LS1? Won't you still run into the same smog issues as before? Traction has been the nemesis of the super high hp Supras. I would guess the Viper stuff would be a little better setup for launching, but it may take too much to fit it under the car. I'm sure you will work it all out.

     

    As far as I'm concerned, you are a genius. You pulled off a difficult swap in almost no time at all. Good luck with this next one!

  4. Thanks, everbody. I do plan on doing a writeup. A lot of thinking and measuring and thinking and measuring and . . . went into this swap. The writeup has been on hold for a while because I have been busy and the small amount of time I have had for the car has been used to prep the body. :wink:

     

    When will it be driving? My goal is to have it done by Xmas! By done I mean running/driving. Interior will be rough but that can wait.

     

    Oh, and Phantom, not to worry, as soon as it is driveable I will be wanting excuses to give rides etc. I want to get the feel of it an go with you guys down to Ennis and see what it will do. Will they let me run without a top? I will add roll hoops eventually, but it will probably remain a roadster. It is so close I can almost taste it! :2thumbs::burnout:

  5. I put some more pics in my album. Some of you guys have been following this. It is now all done.

    album_pic.php?pic_id=1841

     

    335/35/17 and 275/40/17 tires on Cobra R wheels, no spacers needed.

    Five lug setup with big Toyota Brakes up front and 11" J30 brakes in rear.

    Small drum mechanical e-brake

    Adjustable rear toe and camber with cool 240SX multilink

    Stock 240SX springs, pics show ride height without fuel tank or driver

     

    It has been a long road. Thanks for all the encouragement! Celebrate with me! :2thumbs:

     

    http://www.hybridz.org/phpBB2/album_personal.php?user_id=2109

    photos.yahoo.com/maichor75104

  6. :D Well, I flew my two brothers and my Dad in to help me mount the VR kit. We spent ~10 hours a day in the garage for a week and got a lot done.

     

    1) Front and rear suspension all done!

    2) Front coil overs with Z31 hubs, 4X4 brakes and 275/40/17's

    3) Rear 240SX suspension w/ R230 VLSD and 335/35/17's :D

    4) Floor pans & subframes buttoned up and painted with POR15

    5) Velo Rossa Kit installed but rough

    6) LS1 LIVES! -But, I will finish body work and paint before I reinstall it.

     

    I have to say, all of the work/bonding was great but nothing compared to the thrill of that thing firing up. It was beautiful. Cranked, but would not fire. . . Fired with ether. . . We checked injectors that were not working before. . . Got them all working with the fuel rail off, installed it and the video you see is the first run after sitting for almost 2 years. It runs like new, no smoke, no tuning required! :rockon:

     

    http://www.screenblast.com/Maichor/VeloRossa

     

    If the above link doesn't work for you, go here: http://briefcase.yahoo.com/maichor75104

    Look under kit install. The link will probably only work for a few weeks since the sharing service will change soon.

     

     

    Since the car was not drivable, we went to Speedzone to celebrate. It must have been quite a sight to see a three 30+ brothers and 60 year old Dad in the Mini Dragsters and Grand Prix cars. What a great week! :2thumbs:

  7. Obviously, this does require extensive modifications, I made a few mistakes, actually cut out too much of the unibody etc., but it is all working out. I didn't have to backhalve the car for the suspension points. . . but, that would probably have been easier! To position the subframe, I made a plate that bolts up to the mustache bar mouning points and has the subframe mounting points drilled on center to those holes. That put the subframe square and centered.

     

    As far as mounting the subrame, new reinforced areas had to be welded in for all 4 mounting points and the bottom of the tool carrier cubby holes had to be removed. Then, the unibody needed to be reinforced because I cut most of the original rear portions of it out.

     

    As someone mentioned, the best view will be from underneath. I do not have any pics of that. The car is my homemade rotisserie right now, so maybe this weekend I can flip the car up on its side and take some pics. Check back on this post after the weekend and I should have them up. I hope! :wink:

  8. Thanks for the compliments and encouragement guys. :-D

     

    Yes, I do have more pictures, lots of them, but I am very pressed for time and so I haven't uploaded too many yet. Things will calm down in a few weeks and I will be able to spend more time on the computer.

     

    Front suspension? Well, I am doing my best to fit the Cobra R 17 X 9's on with Z31 hubs. It will be close since I have about 2" of flare up there. The front tires are 275/40/17's, also from a Viper. I picked up the set of Michellin XGT's, used but not dead, on ebay for $50. Gotta love ebay! Factory specs say you should have 11 inch wheels for 335's I may move down to 315's until a rich uncle dies and leaves me $ for CCW's or some other custom wheels. Cobra wheels are the perfect offset to give max back spacing.

     

    As far as the diff handling the power. I don't know, but I have Q45 shafts which are larger diameter and the diff is not from the SX it is from the Q45, R230. If it breaks, I did my best. I may have to learn how to control that right foot! :flamedevil:

  9. :D Well, I am almost done with the suspension. So, here is what I've got: 5 lugs, big disc brakes with e-brake, tough axles and VLSD diff. with monster 335/35/17 tires. I am using Cobra R wheels, Viper tires, 240SX subframe and suspension arms, 11+" vented rotors with calipers from an Infiniti J30 (bolt-on), and R230 VLSD Infiniti Q45 diff. (3.54). I wanted the 3.7 300ZTT but I picked up this diff for $100. Total cost I think has been relatively low.

     

    My two brothers, both mechanical engineering guys and my Dad are coming next week to help me mount my VR kit and to finish up all the odds and ends. So, hopefully, by September I will have a running, driving LS1 powered Velo Rossa. I will take time then to sort through all of my pictures and do a write up on the LS1, Suspension etc. Wish me luck!

     

    I only have a few pics up now but here they are. :burnout:

    http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/maichor75104/lst?.dir=/Velo+Rossa-Zcar&.view=t

     

    You may have to cut and paste this link of old pics of my LS1 mounted.

    http://www.geocities.com/maichor75104/

  10. :?: Where should I post info on my VR project? The kit car forum is gone. I am doing some things that I think will be valuable to others. Such as 240SX suspension with 335/35/17's, LS1 swap, subframes etc. The LS1 stuff goes in the Chevy forum. Suspension in suspension, but what I am doing in the rear will only work on something with ~6" flares, so it is kind of kit specific.

     

    Thanks.

  11. True, true. However, here is where I stand so far: :D

     

    $250-Complete rear suspension and subframe from 240sx but using Q45 hubs and bigger J30 vented rotors.

    $100-R230 and CV axles.

    $320-shortened shafts from Moser

    $80-Metal to reinforce after cutting out some of the Z stuff.

    -------

    $750

     

    Not to bad for a multilink setup if I ever go sub 11's. Yeah right! :lol:

  12. Here is the whole story. I have 5 lug hubs which push the tire out ~1 3/4. I have 17X9 Cobra R wheels and 275/40/17's on the front. The coilovers may fit as is, but I would like to decrease BS by 1/2 and I know that won't work even with the coil overs. I just wanted to know where the spring perch would be with 8" springs. But, from what Terry said, you would have to use a 6" which is just too short I think. By the way I used your info, Terry to do my PS. I read once where you posted that the Ford rack is ? shorter than the Z. I am looking to redrill my cross member for the lower control arms, how much should I move them in?

  13. If so, what rates, is your car lowered, how much, did you section the struts and does the spring perch rest above the tire. Oh yeah, what size tire? I am running a fairly tall tire and I would like to see if I can get the spring perch above the tire. 6" are very short and would not reach the strut tube and therefore the spring perch at my estimated ride height. I am about to buy coilovers and I need to know what is possible, I asked Ross about why sectioning is necessary with the coil overs but still haven't heard back. It seems to me that by sectioning the struts you lose the possibility of having the spring perch above the tire. Right now I only have 2" of strut above the tire, if I section 2" even if the perch is still above the tire, I have no adjustability. Got any answers for me? :?

  14. Check out fonebooth.com At the bottom is a link for Z stuff. He explains the 5 lug options. You have to use a spacer in the rear to get the same offset as the fronts when you use the ZX hubs. He sells the ZX hubs for $100. And, yes, if you change to a 5 lug you have to change your brakes. I have a set with vented disc brakes and calipers that I will sell for $100 for the whole setup if you want. The rears need to be redrilled. to 5 on 4.5 which is the same for Nissan, Lexus, Toyota, Ford, etc. Chevy is 5 on 4.75 centers. As far as tire size goes, there is always a thread on it. Just do a search. You should find what you need.

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