Leon

I should be checking out "a car" today! I'm ready to take the plunge...

Of course! I'm supposed to meet rejracer sometime (trade parts), maybe the three of us can meet at your place since you're kind of in between us!

It is very much a matter of torque to yield. When you torque down the bolt, it does stretch. However, if you don't reach the yield point of the material, then it returns to the same state when loosened. The bolt stretches and then goes back to its original length, as long as you stay within the elastic limit of the material. Another consideration I've mentioned is bolt fatigue. If the OP plans to reuse the bolts, then a close visual inspection must be done paying special attention to local cross-section diameters. Like I said, I would rather just buy new studs and be done, however, if done right then the old ones may possibly be reused.

Same here. I need to pull my door card and adjust the window regulator as well, locks will be inspected at the same time.

Exactly. These are not "torque-to-yield" fasteners. They are reusable if you have not over-torqued, and if they haven't fatigued. Would you rather quantify these, or just buy new ones? I'd get new ones.

The E31 was in '71 240Zs as well, up to a certain point (6/71 maybe?).

Spot on with the resistor comment. Bringing up the timing curve is a good point. One of the reasons I wanted to get rid of the 260Z distributor was because the timing curve does not match my setup. It has a lot of mechanical advance (26deg!) and I'm running triples Webers, which means there is no vac advance. The result is that my base timing can't be more than 10BTDC and there is no load sensing advance to boost fuel economy, therefore the spark timing is far from optimized for the operating range of the engine.

Wow, stupidity at its finest... I'm worried about my keys as well, moreso because the driver's side lock is very tight. I need to get on that, good call on checking the key for cracks.

The FSM has been instrumental in helping me deal with my early 260Z. I suggest you first reference the FSM (hint-hint: the wiring diagram and ignition sections) and then try the archives for some of your questions. I will say that I stayed with the 260Z's stock ignition versus a ZX distributor because I did not see much to be gained (and rebuilding the ZX unit didn't seem worthwhile). If you plan to run the ZX unit, I would at the very least take it apart and regrease. I found that my unit had a broken ball bearing carrier on the breaker/advance plate (typical problem), and then found that a new breaker plate is about $75 shipped while a refurb'd ZX distributor is about $100. I decided not to spend any money on it and am now going to fully programmable EDIS, as it is a truly worthwhile upgrade over any distributor ignition system, for the Z anyway. I saw no reason to get fancy coils and distributors when I could have a rock-solid, crank-triggered ignition system that I can completely tune with the press of a key for a few hundred bucks.

The half-shaft in a C4 Corvette does act as an upper control arm (or more accurately, an upper suspension link which helps form a virtual control arm). He is talking about the axles' ability to compress and extend, which the Corvette axles do not do because of the necessity for them to be stiff suspension links!

This man speaks the truth!!! I love how my fiancee gets excited about seeing them now and tries to differentiate between the different models! She took a picture of an orange Fairlady a few weeks ago because she "knew I would be excited." BTW, do jackstands wear out?

Hey, thanks! A couple of days ago, my fiancee asks, "what percentage of the car do you think you've worked on and/or changed?" My first thought was, "not really that much." But then I started really thinking about it: the entire suspension is either new or cleaned up and painted, the entire cooling system is new (hoses, water pump, radiator, thermostat housing, pump inlet), I added the triples and header with a new exhaust, put in new seats and console, bunch of gaskets, and a different diff. That feels like the majority of the car! These old Zs are so simple that you can revamp the entire car and not notice! Pretty soon, I'll be putting in the flywheel/clutch, ZX tranny, LSD, new carpet, and finally finishing up the EDIS wiring. A rebuilt L28 will make it in there eventually. I hadn't even realized it...

Read the exhaust sticky. Diameter and length depends on your goals, along with your cam profile.

Yeah, not a good idea...

This is why John Coffey makes axles which snap into the Subaru R180 and accept the stock half-shafts! BTW, MM makes the adapters for 300ZX CVs, not Subaru ones.

10 mpg? Mine get double that, running pig rich.

Very nice!

I like the clean silver look, but then again, I'm a bit partial! My early 260Z with silver Panasports (Rota RB is similarly styled):

You know you own a Datsun when you switch back to your Accord and feel like you're in a Mercedes!

"Budget stroker" is an oxymoron. You can to 180whp with an L28 without much trouble, and it'll be even cheaper with an L28ET. As far as bang for the buck is concerned, the turbo swap is your answer. Heck, a stock L28ET will probably be about 180whp.

I would tend to think the same, especially since the M Coupe and Roadster (E36/4) had both an S52 and S54 during their production run.

When you need to work on your DD, but both of your sets of jackstands are in use! When you have a squeegee the inside of your windshield because you don't have a heater! When kids yell "nice car" even though you're missing parts and there's more rust than metal in the rocker panels!

Looking forward to it! If S54 mounts are similar enough to the S52, then you can use the members that have already done the S52 swap (e.g. RTz) as an example! Good luck.

Pierce Manifolds in Gilroy, CA You can even stop by their shop, Mike's a cool guy!

Which part do you need from MM for installing the LSD? Is it an R200?