Leon

Eibach/Tokico combo on my 260Z:

Yeah... not a good thing to put out into public domain.

Double-exactly! I just wanted to emphasize the importance of these statements. 50-50 distribution is not magical and will not all of a sudden double your lateral-G's. Factors like tires, roll stiffness distribution, CG location, etc. have much more to do with "handling" than weight distribution.

I don't know about that, I think my Z can run off the fumes it gives off.

This is true for cars that originally came with smog equipment. Cars before smog regulations are completely exempt (think early '60s and older).

BTW, there are plenty of V2 and V4 engines in existence! Of course the V-twin comes to mind with the V2, anybody want to try that swap? As for V4, many classic (can I call them that?) Russian vehicles used V4 engines, namely ZAZ (Zaporozhets). Here's a cool article I dug up: http://www.carthrottle.com/obsolete-engines-101-the-mythical-v4/ Let's see those V4 swaps guys. Who wants to be the first one? I think I'm going with the big, 1.2L aircooled ZAZ. 42HP!

The big deal isn't really the bias, but more-so the location of that weight. The more centralized the weight, the smaller the polar moment of inertia. This means the car can change direction easier. This is most beneficial in autoX situations, where you have many quick transitions, slaloms, etc. However, since it makes it easier for the car to change direction, it also has a destabilizing effect. The vehicle will be more "twitchy" and prone to spin in the hands of a novice driver. Wheelbase is also a factor in this, a longer one will provide more stability (tires have a bigger lever arm on CG).

Good info posted by John and Jon. I'll just emphasize that there is an interaction of roll center placement and CG height, as JC alludes to. Your roll center is the theoretical point where all lateral forces are resolved at. Therefore, the roll center is a virtual lever against the CG height (fulcrum) when experiencing lateral forces. You probably already knew this since you're playing with roll centers, but just keep that in mind. As JC also points out, high-speed stability has more to do with aero and the combination of your suspension setup. Roll center height is not the sole factor in stability, it's a combination of things.

Yes, this is what I was referring to. Emissions don't matter if the engine was never approved for sale within the US. I don't know where you pulled the EFI-to-carb comparison from...

I see lots of Zs on SF CL that I really want to get, and would probably have if I had the space. They're in your price range and need much less work than that 280Z. Plus, 280Zs are really cheap in CA because '76 and later require smog checks. Consider buying in CA or AZ and shipping to Utah. Or, find a drivable one and book a one-way flight after getting lots of good pictures and having a local Z person inspect the car. My 2 cents...

That's just how I feel about my 260Z! I found it browsing Craigslist and bought it to just drive around, but then proceeded to do way more work to it than originally planned. Lots of sweat and blood has gone into it and I don't know if I could ever get rid of it. However, my 260Z already has a salvaged title from superficial rear-end damage! Unfortunately, I can't help much with the insurance issue, but if it does get totaled and you need an inspection, then you can always temporarily drop in an L-gata. I doubt there's any way to get an RB to pass, even with emissions intact.

It's a completely stock 2004 S2000 (AP2) with 66k well-maintained miles. The car was advertised for $16k but we ended up settling at $13.9k. It was the upper reaches of my budget, but I thought it was a good price and the car is in great shape so I decided to finally pull the trigger. I've been driving it for a few days and it is an exceptionally quick, tight, nimble and well-balanced car. The only drawbacks are that it's somewhat noisy on the freeway (although the Z still makes this thing feel like a luxury car) and limited storage space, but I didn't buy this thing for its cargo volume! It feels like a civil yet pure, no-fluff sports car. I'm loving it!

And it is amazing!!! Thank you very much for all your help guys! I considered every option and it definitely made me think hard about what I really want. I'm very happy with the purchase and hopefully the S and the Z will play nice!

Their neighbor seemed to have that trouble.

I was just about to suggest looking up the running costs for these things. If it will be hard to spend the money to buy one, then you do not want to know what it costs to own one. Keep the Z, and get something fun and reliable if you want to have a sporty DD. No doubt, the GTR is cool and a lot of car, but you can have something that costs magnitudes less and is just as fun (if not moreso), IMHO.

Jeebus, man! I have to say though, the image of a keyboard trying to eat my hands is pretty damn funny!

Damn... at least the water wasn't too deep.

Not a problem, but here is some more info. The S30 and S31 have the same body, or at least superficially so. The analogy is akin to that of a 240Z versus a 280Z. The rest of the world never got the 280Z, but instead had the 260Z from '74 up until '77. The VIN prefix for the updated model had S31 instead of S30, and its frame and interior updates were similar to the 260Z. I'm not sure whether it changed to S31 in '74 or '75. I'm not an expert in the field, but have managed to gather this much. Someone correct me if necessary. The front end of that car, not just the light buckets, is a "G-nose" conversion. It did not come from the factory that way.

Download the FSM at xenons30.com, take a look at the wiring diagram and take note (write it down) of what's gone and what's still there. That will give you a good idea of what the car will need. Building wiring harnesses is not difficult, just time consuming.

Holy :shock: !!!

True, I guess I don't think from the dedicated drag-strip perspective.

That's a $500-600 car, if there are no rust cancer problems.

I'm curious as to why you would choose this over, say, an OBX LSD which is the same price, if not cheaper?

I agree with the first three, but I have to say that I enjoyed torching out the old rubber! However, I was outside so the fumes didn't pose a threat. What I did was light it, and then poke at it with a cheap screwdriver to quicken the process. On topic, atlanticz has exactly what OP is asking for. Many, many common Z jobs are documented very well there.

Yep, you can tell by the pictures that most of MSA's radiators are Champion brand. I'm using a 2-row, "ebay-special" Champion that I got for $140 new and it works great. My only complaints are that the mounting flanges were slightly bent when I received it (it's soft Al, easy to fix) and that the drain plug will drip a little while after draining and refilling.