maichor

I used '00 miata seats but made my own mounts and used the miata sliders, I like them.

You don't have to use stock manifolds, or stock cats. You just have to use smog legal equip. Now that may be more expensive, but you can do it. Even custom headers could be used. I grew up in So. Cal and we swapped a 302 into my brothers 4 banger Mustang. What we did was find a smog referee and asked. Tell him you are putting a cleaner burning, more fuel efficient motor in your car. Then ask what is essential for him to pass the car. I would as around until you find one that adheres to the spirit and not the letter of the law. Once the referee has given you your sticker, anyone smogging your car can't complain about missing equipment because you have already passed it with a referree.

I had a set on my Galant. I loved them for that car. They lasted nearly 3 years on a daily freeway driver. I'm saving up for a set of these for the Velo Rossa project.

I'm back on LIVE. My gamertag is: a SLOW OLD DUDE I got tired of everybody thinking I'm Japanese with Maichor. By the way, what Maichor really means is Michael, it is just that my niece could not pronounce Michael, so I became Maichor. Last weekend we had a great system link party that I hosted at my house for some of the youth 12-18 from church. It was awesome! We had two projectors and 3 TV's and 5 XBOXes. Only 4 XBOXes (16 people) can hook up on system link, we had an "on deck box" because we had 18 people. My favorite variation of the night was rockets and snipers on Headlong!

No, not yet. I may, but I kind of like the look now. What I will probably do is line it with some door edge protector stuff from Autozone and then lay fiberglass over that and wrap it around to the inside. That will give the cutouts a nice 3D molded appearance. Because the cutouts are on compound curves, they are an unusual shape and a trim ring may look funny. However, I am open to suggestions. For now I am working on other things (wiring, trunk hinges and latch etc.) As soon everthing is rewired with the new harness, I will get back to the body work an then paint. Yippie! Its coming but it will probably be another year before paint and completion. Time and money. I'm just glad I get to drive it around now!

Nothing if your modem has more ethernet ports, like a hub. If not you will need a hub to play neXBconnect. http://www.xbconnect.com. That service is free and you can download the software free. However, I recommend LIVE. It is so much better. If you want to do live, all you need is a subcription code, you should have gotten a 2 month trial with Halo2. If so, unplug your computer from the DSL modem (assuming it is ethernet and not USB) and plug it into the XBOX. Turn on the XBOX without a game in it. Go to LIVE and follow the instructions. You will need a credit card. It's easy. You can be up an gaming in 10 minutes.

I have been disappointed that I won't be to the interior before we move from Harlingen back to DFW. I know a guy here that does good work for next to nothing. It sounds like I will have options in DFW. How expensive is your guy on labor etc. How does he bill his work? I hope it is not hourly. Sounds like your interior is going to be sweet!

The GTO idea may work, but the LS2 in the GTO for 2005 I believe has a larger throttle body.

I used to play about 1-2 hours per night, (read addiction) but did not renew after the trial period because I figured I was too old to spend that much time on video games. I just recently played a few times on XBconnect. It just isn't the same. Live does such a good job with the ranking etc. Plus, nobody can use mod chips etc. It is a lot more fun when it is fair. We too have system link nights at my house and the local kids think I am the coolest parent around for doing it. Between the people that come we have to projectors and 2 decent sized TV's. I love it. My gamertag is MAICHOR. Maybe I will get back on live seeing as how I have 2 more free trail coupons.

Keep in mind also that a 14 or 15" wheel cannot handle as much back spacing as a 17" wheel. The wheel and strut move away from each other the higher up they meet. I am running 9.5" wheels in the front of my VR kit with ~6.9" backspacing, but I am also running Z31 hubs that move the wheel outward about 1.25". I am not sure, but I think the YZ fronts from John Washington are a bid wider than the Velo Rossa. I am not sure though.

My Sport has a tach. I imagine they don't make 2 harnesses for the different models. So, I would bet that if you checked into getting a junkyard cluster with a tach it would be plug and play. I could be totally wrong, but maybe you could check it out on one of the Jeep forums. And, you may not be getting run over anymore, but it may take a while to learn how large the blind spot is below the passenger door!

Mmmmmm . . . nothing like the smell and feel of new leather! You have got to quit Bill, you are making us all look bad. We are moving back to the Dallas area in early May. I'll have to come by and take another look at your car. I may join the club, but we will be in Rockwall, which would be quite a drive to go to any meetings.

Cangrats and welcome to the Jeep family. Some Jeep rules if you have never had one. If you see another Jeep, you should politely wave. If you see another Jeep upside down, you should help flip them over. If you see someone stuck, you should pull them out. Again, welcome! Wow, you got a manual 4.0, those are nearly impossible to find? Cherokee's didn't really come with the 4.0 and manual after '97. I have had one Wrangler and 2 Cherokee Sports. "It's a Jeep thing, you wouldn't understand." We have lifted all of them. The MAD MAX thing presets lots of problems and be prepared for a few surprises and some decent $ to do it right. That being said, it is tough to beat a Jeep off road. They have excellent approach and departure angles absent in most luxury SUV's. If you get some lockers you can go just about anywhere. The YJ had an ARB in the rear only. Open diffs in both the Cherokees. All of them have been a lot of fun. We just have the '01 Cherokee now with a Rusty's Off road long arm kt ~5" lift with 325/60/15 BFG AT KO's. We had the same tires son the YJ with a 4" lift. They fit with very little lift and I slid that thing sideways under acceleration a few times under heavy acceleration and the wide tires really make it more streetable, but be prepared to throw mud everywhere. Have fun an be safe.

Oops double post, I'll fix this one. Here's mine, see post below for details. The tires are about equivalent to a 31 X 13.50/15. They don't mess up the speedo very much and gearing remains fine. You can get a wheel with .75" more backspacing to tuck them under if you like the look.

How about 160 or 180? The fan will not really help before the thermostat opens. I would set it at 160. If you don't want it to run constantly, do 180. Try it there for a while, you can always change it again.

The Betamax VCR kind of tells the whole story!

The best I have ever heard of was 30mpg in my buddy's 400rwhp Vette on a long trip from Oklahoma to deep South texas. He gets about 25 during his daily driving and less if he is lead footing it.

Another vote for LS1. I'm with Mikelly, not just for tunability, but a master jet kit won't solve problems like going from sea level up into the Rockies, poor fuel economy etc. Build what you know is good advice, but this particular thread is for a guy just starting out. In his case, I would say don't dismiss the LS1. Cost is not so bad. I have posted this before in defense of the LS1. I bought a 2001 wrecked WS6 Trans Am for $4500. I sold the rear end, bumper, t-top, leather interior, wheels etc. All in all for an LS1/T56, ECU, with 10K miles it was $2000. That was a couple of years ago. I have about $4000 in the motor, by the time you add all accessories, computer reprogram, ceramic coated headers, intake tubing, fuel lines, etc. I haven't dynoed yet, but should be around 300-320 at the wheels. I think that is very reasonable for getting 26mph, a redline of 6200, and a very, very drivable motor. You are bouncing off the rev limiter before you feel like you have to shift because the motor keeps pulling. I won't go back either! (EDIT) Oh, I also used the fuel tank and pump, gauges, brake booster and master cylinder.

I have zip ties on my car. Heck, I've even got an gallon Minute Maid orange juice container for my overflow right now. I won't take a side on this one, it just makes me glad that I have done the work myself. If it is sub-par, who am I going to complain to about it! Wow, the hours that guy must have spent putting his rant website together!

Same here. I have and '01 as well and it kicks in at 225. For a while, I thought they weren't working because it ran at 220 fine and never seemed to get above that until I drove it hard for an extended period. I am going to reprogram them when I get some tuning done.

Hey! Congrats! You probably will have less Z money with all the spoiling you are gonna do! Very cool.

Hehe, careful there, my wife wants a minivan, don't give her any more ammo! We have a Mitsubishi Galant 4 airbags side impact beams 4 wheel antilock brakes. And, we have a Jeep Cherokee Sport. It does have a unibody as well, not a frame/truck construction. I don't consider it an SUV because it predates SUV's. I learned to work on cars with my first Jeep. Large engine bay and easy to work on. Parts are cheap and easy to find. Still not very safe though. Maybe someday we can afford a car designed to be safe! My wife wants a Volvo, I think she said XC70.

Good article there. Thanks for pointing that out. I agree that not all cars are created equally in terms of crash safey. Shop around for a safe car. Still, notice the first paragraph with bolded type. They allude to the fact that the mass of the truck would surely cause greater problems for the smaller car. The testing was against a stationary barrier. They also say the majority of accidents are single car. I don't know about you, but I don't plan on pushing it so that I end up as a single car statistic. Single car accidents mean the driver blew it. That is why I said, in general. When making a generality there will always be specifics to contradict. However, in general means that a car with larger mass, hitting a smaller car, not a barrier, is much worse than say a Z on Z collision. With eveyone driving bigger and bigger SUV's, the chances of getting nailed like we did (his was a full size truck and my bro's was a Toyota) are getting higher all the time. By the way, the lug nut rule came from a guy that does car on car low speed crash testing with human subjects. He drives a big SUV.

This is an interesting thread. The best advise is, don't get into an accident. But, accidents are accidents because somebody makes a mistake, it may not be you and you may not be able to avoid it. I'm going give my opinion, take it for what it is worth. It seems like most are assuming you will go liability only. While that is definitely cheaper, I carry full coverage for our cars. By full coverage I mean personal injury protection for you and your passengers. I was riding as a passenger in my brother's truck and there were two guys in the back. On the way back from a little four wheeling in the middle of the day we were taking a gentle curve at about 30mph when this other truck comes at us and doesn't make the corner. He just goes straight, crosses the line and nails us on the front left quarter. He hit us so hard that he knocked us off the road and we rolled over down an embankment. Everyone was unconscious except for me. Long story short, one of the guys in the back needed major facial reconstruction and both legs broken. The other has permanent brain damage, and my brother needed something like 100 stitches for various cuts on his head, shoulder, and arm. I got a scrape on the knee. The point is, when something like that happens, the last thing you worry about is the car. One trip to the hospital will take months to years to pay off if the other driver doesn't have coverage. And, believe me, they treat you a lot different if they know there is not insurance. My point is, be responsible. Even if that means driving a slow turdmobile, or full coverage or anything else that is needed to keep you, friends, and family safe. I would say that you can do it in a Z, but there are a lot of other cars out there that will brake better and do better in a crash. Z's are small and light. Generally speaking the lugnut rule applies in accidents: The car with the most lugnuts wins! Hit a Hyundai Spec with a Mack truck and see who gets injured. Sorry about the long soap box speech there. Best of luck!

This is a street setup. I have no track days on the car. I'm running Toyota 4X4 calipers up front with Ross spacers for Z31 hubs. vente Z31 Brembo replacement rotors and Precision Friction pads (Autozone lifetime warranty). In the rear I have Nissan Z32 2 piston aluminum calipers with Porterfield R4S pads and Motul fluid. Wilwood proportioning valve, all stainless lines and a 2001 Firebird master cylinder. Stops on a dime on the street and pads seem to be lasting well. However, I have only been for short drives. No fade issues etc. so far.