DennisK

Are you looking for a finished car, or to build yourself? I have an unfinished project with about 98% of the parts accumulated, but not put together. It has the Stable Auto body, a 1964 327, Edelbrock Aluminum heads, a T5 W transmission, 1972 240Z. 4 wheel disc setup, coil-over setup, R200 with mustache bar, etc. Full urethane suspension kit. Full GTO dash, gages , Dayton genuine knock-off wire wheels including hubs. So much more. All the books. I'm in the Chicago suburbs. Looking to get $10,000 for all of it.

No, but I'm gonna look at that one. The pinion flange from my open R200 should just bolt up, right?

I have access to a R200 LSD out of an 88' Turbo and want to know if the stub axles and shafts from an open R200 will fit it for my 71' Z. I have the moustache bar, etc., and will be just street driving. I know the CV is stronger but cash and ease of installation are the priorities. Any advice is appreciated.

In Chicago we have a few small shops that do caliper rebuilding and supply Auto Parts stores and fleets, and do custom rebuilds too. Try the phone book to see if there is a shop near you, maybe listed under 'wholesale, caliper rebuild' or 'wholesale auto parts rebuilding'. The guys I hooked up with here are nice, made a good relationship and the care is better, and price were about half of at the A/P store.

Hi guys, long time, no see! I've had some personal issues keep me away, and though they are still not resolved, I'll try to visit when I can. In regards to oil filters, and lubrication in general. I have been in the automotive aftermarket for over 30 years now, and a good portion of that time was spent with the Quaker State Corp. I started there as a sales rep, and eventually rose to Regional Manager. Upon leaving QS, I went to Pennzoil as a Fleet/Commercial Manager for a short time. What I am about to say will be quite controversial, as I have argued this point with Fram reps for years. First, Lube oils have additive packages you should all be familiar with. The 'SH', 'SJ' etc. ratings of the oil. the latest supercedes all previous ratings. Those specs tell you that the oil is designed to be anti-oxidant, rust and oxidation preventaive , or a detergent oil. The oil is designed to SUSPEND dirt, and keep it away from the engine bearings. Each rating since 'SE' has been asked to do more of the 'keeping the dirt suspended' job. If your oil does NOT get almost black shortly after an oil change, it is not working! Oil filters were introduced on cars in the fifties. They used a filter that was inline, with steel lines similar to brake lines in and out. As recently as 1961, on the old 235 6 cylinder Chevy engine, oil filters were an OPTION. With 'SC' oils, at the time, recommended changes were at 1000 miles. Those who have older small blocks with the cartridge type filter have probably converted them to the spin-on type. The cartridge, and 'toilet paper' type are similar. You'll always find someone who swears these were fantastic filters. NOT TRUE. The truth is that NO company has invented a filtering media that will allow the oil to pass through it fast enough to avoid oil starvation to the bearings. ALL spin on filters have a by pass valve. Look up the specs yourselves, and you will see the by pass valve operates at between 7 ans 15 lbs pressure. On a summer day, with your a/c on, sitting in traffic, on the verge of overheating, your oil pressure is STILL at15 lbs of pressure! That means the by pass valve is by passing!. NO FILTERING!. The filtering ONLY takes place during startup and shut down, and by leakage past the by pass. To bust the Fram reps' chops, I always told them their product only filters 'by accident'. That always got a great reaction! Mike said he cut a filter open and was surprised to see the cardboard and such used in filters. As a salesman, I cut open many filters for Fleet accounts(mostly big diesel units). Many, many times we found shredded paper, string, paper clips, sawdust, and other stuff that looked like a rat's nest inside. I sold a lot of filters doing that. I cannot speak on today's racing teams, as I've been away from that end for 11 years. However, when QS sponsored Winston Cup and Indy Car Racing, if they ran a filter at all, it was a 'gutted' one. just the shell, nothing inside. Indy cars ran NO filter. Again, oil starvation to the bearings was the result of a filter in those applications. The most important filter on an engine is the AIR filter. Think about it. It is (at least SHOULD be) the the ONLY way dirt can get into your engine. The fuel filter is important to your fuel system, but most dirt is burned in combustion, so it is the second most important filter. Spend your money wisely. Buy the best air filter you can, and by the cheapest oil filter. It don't work anyway!!

If I'm not mistaken, the foam from Reaction(Velo Rossa) is for attaching & insulating the rear tub to the body. It is an aircraft quality product. He's never mentioned using it to strengthen chassis/frame to my knowledge, just used to make a sandwich effect similar to aircraft bodies/fuselage.

Does anyone know how much a T56 weighs?

I guess they've gone regionalized, as I went to Yahoo, punched in "momo" and got several sites. In California they list: http://www.venturablvd.com/momo/index.html This looks just like the one I used several months ago.

I went to MOMO.com, they gave me a source near me. The hub adapter from momo is about $45, where the Grant is $15, and you can find it anywhere. [This message has been edited by DennisK (edited August 03, 2000).]

The only self adjusting one as of last February(last I checked) is McLeod's. All the rest, Howe, Tilton use washers to adjust.

The "HELP" line of auto parts, available almost everywhere have the stackable fuse blocks. Pro quality, and guaranteed. You slide the boxes together to get as many circuits as you wish.

MOMO makes a hub adapter for the Z, and of course all their wheels would then fit.

Pete, if I'm not mistaken, McLeod's original design used the bearing retainer plate replacement set up. They should still have this style.

Pete, George at McLeod told me to use a 7/8" mcyl. The Howe unit adjusts with washers, and the circle track guy says he's using a 5/8" with this. What bore master are you using?

Brad, at this point I'm PLANNING on using a hydraulic bearing either from McLeod(self adjusting, but expensive) or the Howe unit shown in Jeg's. I was introduced to this set-up by two customers of mine that use them in circle track racing. They both claim excellent performance, and ease of installation. The one guy works for a performance warehouse and uses a 5/8 bore master. This would be perfect, as that's the stock Z bore. Both are using small block Chevies with muncie 4 spds. If anyone here is using one, we'd both benefit from feedback.

Has anyone had to rebuild their rack & pinion? Is it recommended? Are there any adjustments to it at all? I've not driven my car, so I don't know if it has a problem, but it seems smooth.

You may want to explore further. The 350's are certainly plentiful, large journal and 4 bolt mains are great. However, if you have a forged crank in the 283, you might consider de-stroking a 327. The old dirt trackers did that and Chevy got wind of it, and came out in 67' with the Z28 DZ motor, 302 cu in. It was actuall 301.something, and GM rounded UP! Hi rev, solids etc., and the sound is great. The 283 cannot be bored out to 4in, and 327s are plentiful and parts are very much available. Just another option! [This message has been edited by DennisK (edited July 16, 2000).]

My intent (if I EVER get there!) is to use the JTR setup. I've been reading this string with great interest, with JuJu's car as good news. This raises 2 questions in my mind, does the build (horses, torque etc.) call for a Griiffin, where a more mild build, say under 400HP works just fine with the Camaro unit? JTR says a "late Ford 2 spd cooling fan", but no specifics, like part# or at least a year and model-anybody know for sure?

Locutus is absolutely right, as are the rest of the members' posts. First, you need to decide EXACTLY what you want, then go get it! It's not difficult to order a crate motor, just more expensive than building yourself. If the knowledge and expertise and time are there, it's almost no contest. If the desire is there to learn things you don't know or never have done, it's a great opportunity. The expertise is available right here on this site and not only no charge, but more than one way to do things! Everyone has their own interest and agenda. I love shopping for bargains, and get picked on for it! When I'm out and about I'll stop at almost anyplace that looks like they might have something I can use. Net shopping is another great source for stuff. An example; I ran into a ZF Vette trans, basket case-but all there-for $150, and eventually FREE! Can't use it in a Z, but those deals are there, it's just a matter of if you want to take the time to look. It's a thought, and not everyone has the time, or enjoys shopping as I do!

Thanks, Frank. It sounds more complicated than the Muncie, and I use the KISS method of auto building out of necessity!

I too plan on using a Muncie(so far!), and will be using a Hydraulic Through-out bearing, from McCleod. Theirs is self adjusting, although more expensive than the Howe unit in Jegs. A Circle Track Racing customer showed this setup to me and it's worth the extra, as I see it. One line to the bearing, and a bleeder line out of the fork opening-no brackets or mods. I think some others here are using this set-up already, any insight from them would help.

If you go to "Links", then "Transmission/Rear en Ratio Design studio" you can plug in specs and see what Top end is in theory, on paper. However, reality is pretty much what Drax covered.

Does anyone know if the ZF trans will work in a Z? I know nothing about it other than I can have it for free!

There are 3 basic types of crude-napthatic, mid-contonent and Penngrade. Penngrade comes only from the Pennsylvania region(part of W Va, Ny, Oh)and gives the best yield of lube per gal. Napthatic yields more light end fuels per gal. Penngrade is also known as parraffinic, which refers to the wax in the oil. This wax is used to line food containers like milk cartons(no, they NEVER put my pic on one, that was just a rumor!) Our entire annual company overhead was paid by the wax sold alone! There wasn't a speck left in it, but the competition used to like to say those things. It's all changed now as they are not using penngrade any longer except for special customers(racing!). When I was there we were the only oil company that gave a no charge, lifetime warranty, free to anyone who used QS from their first change. It covered everything the oil touched. We even paid a few claims on the sbc cam problem, and that was Chevy's fault. It truly WAS the best. [This message has been edited by DennisK (edited July 05, 2000).]

Castrol is a good product, as are any name brand you readily recognize. [This message has been edited by DennisK (edited July 05, 2000).]