brokebolt

NO SMOG!?!? Ok in that case I run a PCV valve from the stock block vent to the second cylinder, a vaccum line of the sixth cylinder for the brake boost. My 73 has a fuel tank vaper collection in the back so I only need to connect the vent hose from this device in the engine bay to one of the air cleaners. I had to drill a hole and use brass nipples and such to mount this hose. The valve cover has a slip on hose clamped K&N filter and the other vent hose for the vapor recovery connects to the stock block vent. I use no other smog devices on my ride. Oh I'm running a trippple Dellorto 40 DHLA set up with 3.5 in. tall oval K&N filters on all three carbs, with a TWM manifold and EMPI air horns. The popular Cannon manifold (TWM does as well) has a boss for the PCV valve and the vacuum port is predrilled and tapped. If you are using the Cannon or TWM I suggest drilling and tapping the unused boss before mounting, even if you don't use them now, you can block them off with a 3/8" NPT plug. Plan ahead I like to think. Mike

Buy a book or two to start. CB performance sells a weber tuning manual. I have the Dellorto tech book part number 101 and there is some good reference material in those books. Also check out speedpro's "How to build and power tune Weber & Dellorto DCOE and DHLA carburetors" by Des Hammill, Good side by side comparison on both carbs as well as information on specific parts and a "base line" tuning guide by component. It was the "How to..." book that sold me on the Dell's over Weber and Mikuni. HP Books aslo sells a weber book but that covers the whole Weber range, part number 774. Hayes aslo sells a Weber book but that too is full range book not DCOE specific. These carbs really are easy to tune once you know what each component does and how changing it changes the dynamics of the fuel/air ratios. As for what you can keep and what you can remove depends on what smog stuff you need to clear the smog police. Any mods to the fuel delivery system is not legal, at least here in California. Best of luck on the Trippple Weber's, Mike.

Ya my Z is an oven as well, especially with no interior to keep the hear off the floor boards from spillling in. I wrapped my 20 year old headers with 2 inch heat wrap. Made a big difference in both sound and heat. I then did the same to my bike as the right leg was always hotter the left one. Also big difference in sound and heat. On my car I'm running dual 2.5 inch from the headers to a 3.5 inch Y just behind the third member and end it with a 3.5 inch Supertrapp. I've considered Jet hot coatings but mild steel that old is like paper thin. Mike

I'll toss in my opinion. Yes engine dynamics does play a big roll in engine performance and fuel economy. If your looking for an easy to tune and reliable set up that provideds good fuel economy and reliable performance I always tell people to start with an early set of SU's (bell tops not the bucket tops). These carbs are relatively inexpensive, provide resonable power and good fuel economy. They still have parts readabily available so parts hunting for nozzles and needles isn't an issue. If your more leaning towards performance than a well tunes 4bbl is aslo good. Parts are cheap and avalibility is good. If your looking for maximum HP than tripple carbs are better. There is also the twin downdraft as an option and larger SU's can be adapted from a Jag. Price is also a factor as the performance level goes up so does the price tag. Fuel usage on the SU's was around 19 MPG on a 3.1L with headers and 298 duration cam 44mm intake valve 35 exh. BUT if you opened it up and drove like a owned stock in a large refinery than it went down to about 12 MPG The other inducitons I never drove them conservitely enough or used them as a daily driver long enough to get good MPG numbers, but with wide open throttle it was low like 7MPG. Mike

These look like a manifold and throttle body combo. TWM used to sell carb like throttle bodies that you could bolt on to a Cannon, Twm or Mikuni manifold. Looks like they are streamlining things a bit. Set up looks nice and I'm sure that performance is good. Been some discussion that six butterflies are not as good as one. Hey I say go what with ya like, if I had the cash maybe...well I'm not so None for me. Mike

I've run every N/A induction system on the Z car. The 4 barrel can run well if properly tuned. Manifold and parts are readily available for what ever avenue you go. Personnally I like the trippple sidedraft for performance but for economy nothing is better than a set of well tuned bell top SU's. I've even run the bucket top SU's with relatively good success, although they are a bit more to tinker with. The four barrel is a good choice for performance but I think that a stigma follows that type of carb. Remember Dyno numbers don't lie! Mike

If your really looking to save wieght don't install a exhaust system at all. Run the pipes so they dump just behind the front tire in the tire well area. One sharp 90 from the collector and than nothing. A bit loud but Performance vs. weight this is the best solution. I considered it but the noise was the limiting factor for me. A better solution would be building rectangle tube so they dumped just before the rear wheels and ran under the floor boards just behind the seats. This configeration would allow the use of mufflers and the thin profile of the pipe would allow the sleeper look most are looking for. Haven't found flat enough rectangle tubeing, so it would be real custom job. Just me $0.02. Mike

510six, Heard of a six in a 510 never seen one. Nice plumbing on the nitrous. As for this topic my advice is start small and work up. Buddy had nitrous on this ride and poped the head first shot. Little bit too much. Mike

JohnC is right, the original nuts are crimped on into the cut out area of the end of the shaft. So what to do if you don't have a set of 280zx Nuts on hand and Napa can't order them for you? Do this. First clean the shaft off the car with a good 4 inch hand grinder and a wire wheel or abrasive pad wheel to remove any bad areas on the shaft end. Next get a good rethread tool, M 20 X 1.50. I use one from my Snap-on set that I bought on-line RD-20. Next install the nut over the shaft and turn. I like to use tap-magic to help the tool glide over the threads. Unlike a die the rethread tool or thread restore tool will cram the remaining metal back into shape to help revitalize the old threads. If the metal will not comform back to shape the tool will remove it. A die will cut new threads in any metal that is there, their is a difference. This is only a fix to the issue of removing a nut that had not been properly preped before deinstallation. Am I am the worst person for not preparing the nut before removal. Best of luck. Mike

For those that have the Toyota caliper this might be a good idea to use a larger diameter vented rotor and the same calipers they have bolted on now. But for the new guy wanting to upgrade his stuff the cost of Wilwood calipers is just about the same as the Toyota calipers, 300zx rotors and spacers. As for the brackets to mount other calipers to large diameter aftermartket rotors it would be nice to see a front 300ZX four piston version adapted. They are aluminium and have the nice NISSAN stamped on the side. Oh rears would be nice too, aluminium, fit vented rotors, twin pistons and again NISSAN on the side. Mike

I think my logic went something like this; Engine big and heavy needs much help to keep it from sagging front. Nothing in rear, need soft to frimly plant power to road to make speed. I feel that the softer spring allows the rear to recover from bumps better that a stiffer rear; relative to the front ofcourse. Back country roads are full of this bump and pot hole business. As for the fronts, I was thinking that if I stiffened the front the less plow with a slightly softer rear. I'm running a stock 1973 7/8" rear sway bar and a big fat 1 1/8" front. All urethane with solid differential and transmission mounts. As soft as granit tile but fun on tight twisty motorways. Mike

I make them or I should say I have made a few in the past. Log onto my album I have a picture there of mine. There is more time than materials making these things. I start with a stock transverse link support and make a custom unit by cutting the stock one up and welding 1" square tubing together and then bracing it wtih 1/4" plate. Over kill I'm sure but I like a nice plateform that I can mount other stuff like fuel pump, fuel filter, and maybe someday a differential cooler and pump. I've sold them for $100.00 with a core, I use the core to make the unit I sell. Not hard to make just time. And yes they do hold more fluid. Mike

I'll add my $0.02. I like what John C. states about not mixing and matching. My brothers '75 280Z had this and the rear bounced something feirce on hard bumps (also stock shocks). I currently am using a soft 225 front and 200 rear on 5 way Tokico Illuminas. Ok for street on 1 and nice performance on 5. My tires are too splashy on 5 I really need a stiffer sidewall. To answer you last post higher spring rate in lbs means stiffer. 225 lbs. is softer than 400 lbs which is harder. A softer spring will offer a softer more forgiving ride while a harder spring will not be as "road freindly". I personally like the combo I'm running and I'm 99% on street, well really it's back hick country roads with lots of pot holes and road kill. See more old beat up farm trucks than sport cars on the back roads. What can I say I live in a cow town. Mike

I've heard talk but not heard of anyone that has done this type of mod. Yes when you get into this level of brake upgrade you do need to incorporate an aftermarket proportioning valve. ALso if your looking to keep your ebrake functional you'll need to adddress that as well. Seen a cool spot in Drive magazine that has a ebrake assembly on the drive line. That would be ideal for the Z differential in my opinion. I would suggest if your considering doing this type of mod looking into doing a full upgrade with a lighter and *cheaper* aluminum unit. Willwood has good stuff and many aftermarket suppliers (some post on this site) can provide help and parts. You can also get everything you need from sprint car supply places. Their are both pro's and con's to this route. But you can get a weld-on bracket for a Wilwood caliper and modify it to fit your rear hub bolt pattern with just about as much headache as doing a hub bracket from sctatch. The real reason for doing the Nissan stock parts rear disk conversion is cost. Most junk yards usually have a few donor cars (Nissan Maxima's and 280 ZX's, Toyota trucks, etc.) that you can get the hub brackets from relatively cheap and a few other cars you can get other goodies from. As far as performance on stock disk vs. stock drum, I don't see that much difference IF the drums are well maintained. If you compare stock disk to aftermarket disks; well that isn't even a far comparison, larger diameter rotors and monster calipers aren't even in the same ball park. Disks require less effort to maintain and that adds to the appeal. Remember I'm a cheap SOB so if I can get a set of junk yard calipers for $50.00, rotors for $40.00 and brackets, dust shields and misc hardware for another $40.00 I'm styling; vs. $100.00-$150.00 per caliper remanufactured or new aftermarket. Street machine with only a few hard stops in one day with $3500.00 worth of brakes-in my opionion not money well spent. For a weekend worrior racer-worth every penny. Mike

I think the last time I seen a set of aftermarket brackets they were in the $150.00 neighborhood. Occasionally I have seen them listed online on auciton sites but that is far away and rare. To make a set of custom brackets they should run about $80.00 to $100.00 if you pay someone else to do the work for you. I've seen pictures of a few garage aftermarket brackets on this site that were made solely of flat stock. Very inventive and looked real nice for a guy playing around with his shiny new welder. Which ever route you go you will need to get the measurements to the guy (or gal) that is doing the work for you. That really is the secret of the bracket. Unfortunity I don't recall off hand what and of the needed measurements are. I'll check my notes and see if I have anything I can pass along. Oh by the way my notes are written on a portable table with small sharpie marks. Not very efficient but maybe some day I'll get them all transposed on to paper!!! Still better than the guy I work with that uses his pant leg!!! Mike Poking around here I came accross this: http://www.hybridz.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=22923&highlight=rear+brakes

Yes look at the article, but to answer your question...Direct bolt on using vented rotors and rotor spacer. Same as S12W EXCEPT it is phisically larger, has larger pistons (1mm diameter if I recall) and uses similiar pad. If you use the S13WB pads you will need to grind off the inboard wear sensor. This sensor is nothing more than a section of steal that protruds out and has a rivited spring metal to touch the rotor when the pads wear down and make the noise we have all heard...SSQQQUUEEEEELLLL. If you use the S12W pads, they fit without mods. Mike

Your right on the post being clear as mud. Port C uses the Rear 240SX calipers, infact all the parts for this conversion are from the rear of each respective donor car. The port is truely custom. You need a stock Front Wheel Drive Maxima donor car (junk yards are filled with them), remove the rear disk and caliper assembly. Toss that junk aside, now you will see the stamped stock hub bracket and dust shield. You will need to bore them out to 89 mm (if I recall) and cut the dog ears off and have them rewelded for the correct offset. Might be easier and cheaper if you don't have equipment to do such work, to buy a set of aftermarket aluminum brackets. But when your a cheap SOB like me you find every way to save a nickel. I'm thnking about making my own socks but that is another story. Personnally I would suggest for the do-it-your-selfer weekend warrior to use the Maxima bracket from Port D or even Port E. Port D has better rear calipers and uses the EXACT same pads as Port C. Port E uses the bulky calipers also used on the 1979-81 280ZX with the smaller pads and large offset rotor. As for the e-brake extension, it is mealy a section of flat stock with two hole drilled in it. Get one stick of 36" X 1†X 5/32" mild steel flat stock at you local hardware store (1/8" may be easier to find), cut two sticks that measure 2" X 1" X 5/32†and drill two holes to accommodate the stock e-brake U-shaped bracket and pin. Add a second pin which is needed for the caliper. Holes may be about 1 1/2" apart or so. Not rocket science, simple fabricate that anyone with a small steel ruler, a hacksaw, a small grinder (bench or hand held) and a drill with bits can make in about an hour (if your slow at fabricating stuff). It is cheap enough so if you mess up the first pair, you still have 34" left to play with. Lots of info to take in. Keep the questions comming, I'll try to clarify. Mike

Wheel clearance it's easy to determine: First you need to measure the inset of the wheel caliper area (as I call it). This is the area of the wheel where the caliper exists when the wheel is bolted onto the hub. Using a small steel ruler, lay the ruler over the backside of the wheel on the hub area. Using a second steel ruler measure the distance from the first ruler to the wheel. Now use the Port listing you can see what depth over stock is required. (I've done the last step for you and you can now see the depth that would be required to run the specific caliper): S12W = 20 mm S13WB = 28 mm S12+8 solid rotor = 8 mm S12+8 vented rotor = 20 mm Wheel caliper area depth (the measurement you made on your wheels) minus caliper protrusion (the caliculated number I listed above) equals wheel to caliper clearance. I'm running older than dirt appliance wheels and they will not fit a S12W without modifying the caliper or wheel. S13WB is almost out of the question for my application but the solid rotor version of S12+8 almost fit with out modifying the wheel. Mike

One more bit of information that I need to add to my notes is the width of the rotor cut out in the caliper body. I have an extra set of S12+8's on the bench for solid rotors and the cut out measure 11mm or 7/16". Not seeing your caliper, but you described a 1/4" gap between the rotor face and the caliper body. Sounds like you have the vented rotor version of the S12+8. You may need to shim the pad that has the gap to keep the pistons from squishing out of the bore if that is the case. Or you could get the 1984-85 300ZX front vented rotor and aftermarket spacer and do a full upgrade. Mike

Here is more information from my notes. 4X4 and V6 DO play a factor but only on the 1975-85 and 1986-88 S12+8 caliper. Those years use either a vented or solid rotor so they have different dimentions for the rotor to fit though the caliper. As long as the rotor does not rub on the rotor I see no issues. By the way FIF is Female Inverted Flare and the other stuff is 10 mm shank with 1.0mm thread pitch. The protrusion over stock is the distance of stick out of the caliper from the stock mounting location. S12+8 Toyota 1979-85 Pickup 4X4, Solid cast rotor, infeed FIF 10X1.0 mm, protrusion over stock 96 mm. S12+8 Toyota 1986-88 Pickup 4X4, Vented cast rotor, infeed FIF 10X1.0 mm, protrusion over stock 108 mm. S12W Toyota 1988-92 Pickup 4X4 V6, Vented cast rotor, infeed FIF 10X1.0 mm, protrusion over stock 118 mm. S12+8 Toyota 1989-91 4-Runner 4X4, Vented cast rotor, infeed FIF 10X1.0 mm, protrusion over stock 108 mm. S12W Toyota 1992-95 4-Runner 4X4 V6, Vented cast rotor, infeed FIF 10X1.0 mm, protrusion over stock 118 mm. S13WB Toyota 1993-98 T-100 4X4, Vented cast rotor, infeed FIF 10X1.0 mm, protrusion over stock 116 mm. S13WB Toyota 1995-00 4-Runner 4X4 V6, Vented cast rotor, infeed FIF 10X1.0 mm, protrusion over stock 116 mm. Mike

Ya, I really should have addressed the sway bar issue. I didn't not have any issues with the sway bar clearing the new joints and companion flanges. My 1973 has sway bar mounts that go under the front side of the car, under the drive line but on top of the exhaust pipes. I've only seen in pictures the sway bar that goes to the rear of the differential. I don't see why there would be clearance issues but than again I haven't seen this type of mount in person. If clearance is an issue maybe using shorter rod end linkage on the sway bar to transverse links. This would shorted the distance from the sway bar end to the transverse link. Hopfully lowering the end enough to clear the CV assy. Again best of luck on this. Mike

I did the stock parts mod version. I had the same issue with the shaft not compressing enough to get them installed. Do this, unbolt the transverse link from the transverse link supports. You may need/want to do the front and rear this makes it a bit easier. Next install the correct shaft with the correst side. After everything is bolted together on the CV than bolt the transverse link supports back on to the bottom of the car. Best of luck on the conversion. Mike

Hey that looks pretty cool, A lot of work though. I removed the rubber and welded in solid plate (0.5" mild steel plate) to take up the space where the rubber used to be. Haven't had any issues yet, been running them for 10 years now. Did the same on the tranny. Mike

Ever consider selling your stuff, or do you already do this and I am just not "in the loop". Be nice to see some pics for others to drool over (well me), I too am a bit handy with a stinger, not so much on Aluminium as what I assume your creation would be made from. Mike

I've considered turboing my trippple Dellorto DHLA 40's. Where are you looking to get your plenum and tubo parts from? Might be better to use 44 Mikuni or 48 Dellortos but I got extra parts laying around so might make a turbo set up. Mike