240hoke

Dave is right on the cold cut saws, They have a high torque lower rpm motor. The carbide blade actually creates chips like a end mill instead of grinding the metal. Therefore there are no sparks and no dust...it also cuts very fast. The pipe never gets hot and the finished cut needs almost no further prep work, I usually just hit it with a file real quick so I don't cut myself. The saws are around 400 dollars and the blades are 150 each, the blades provide thousands of cuts per sharpening (so ive been told and read) and can be sharpened several times. The lack of spark and dust was enough for me to buy one, you can use it right next to your car and not worry about where the sparks are going and no need for a mask. When your done just sweep up the chips. I use it for cutting stock and SS exhaust tubing. I use an old horizontal single speed wood bandsaw with a metal blade for aluminum just because I got it for free. The only problem with these type saw IMO is you get one chance with the cut on mandrel bent pipes, after that you usually cant get the bend back in the vise...you are also limited to how accurate you can be with the angles...compound angles cant really be done either (not that they should ever be but sometimes the need arises). I have my trusty hack saw and 4" grinder and hose clamps for tight or awkward cuts, just have to go slow. Also adding to this, I have build many exhaust with my 4" grinder with cut off discs. I just used a hose clamp to get a good perpendicular line around the pipe and then mark it. This is usually more then accurate enough for MIG welding and is fast and easy. The only reason I bought the Milwaukee was for TIG welding my Stainless exhaust,it has come in handy for lots of other things too though...

Grumpy can you elaborate on your experience with that tool? Everything I have had made by KD has been absolute junk. Will it cut ss? 18ga mild?

Hey, I just got a Milwaukee Dry Cut 14" saw when I built my SS exhaust. What an awesome tool! Cuts perfect, NO SPARKS, NO DUST, very very little burring...works great for cutting stock as well and it cuts through it like butter (I still get a kick out of it it works so fast). Made it a lot easier to make nice joints for TIG welding. I contemplated alot between a cheap abrasive saw and this one and I am glad I bought the dry cut...I know its something I will have for forever and not dealing with the mess of abrasive blades was worth it. The carbide blades last a looonnggg time but are really expensive. I have one for SS and one for aluminum. I had to make a little jig to allow it to safely clamp tubing as well. I really like Milwaukee quality, however the only issue I have with this saw is the clamping system isn't the best in the world but it works.

Ive been working just about not stop on the car for the past week and its pretty much ready for the road. Im taking my time and finishing up little details, I should have it on the road next week. Really the only things I have left are to add some mounting tabs to the intake and install my front bumper/hood. The hood will be latched with locking aerocatch hood pins. I plan on driving it for a while to shake everything down then The engine will be removed for painting of the engine compartment and lots of powercoating on the engine. I also will be working on installing all the interior vinyal and making some doors panels as well. I didn't take a lot of pictures while I was working but here are a few pictures of the progress. I dont think I had posted this before, but I installed this a long time ago. I'm running the 350z clutch master. I had to drop the pedal box and modify it for everything to work but it turned out nice. The clutch feels exactly like a 350z, which I think has a nice feel...not to light but not to stiff. I cut the top of the transmission tunnel out and patched it back to fit the new shifter location, leaving a shifter mount access panel. After that I layed down a second layer of fat mat in the passenger compartment w/ Lcomp on the floors. I really like the shifter location, it is perfect for me..right next to the steering wheel. fat mat w/ L-comp on the floors: The access panel not only allows me to remove the shifter easily but gives me a easy way to fill the transmission with oil too as I can slid a hose down through the top: All the wiring is complete, once everything works for a while Ill loom it up a little nicer. I also need to add some more sound deadening to the firewall. Here you can see the connectors going to the dash: Engine management wiring completed, here again once everything works for a while it will be cleaned up some more as well: Suspension back in a ready to go. I had the differential checked out while I had everything down since I was having some noise from it earlier. Turned out one of the bearings was cocked a little but no damage had been done..came form installing the pinion flange to tight. I also installed a Turck induction proximity sensor on the diff mount so that it picks up the back of the drive shaft mounting bolts, this will serve as my speedo sensor for my Autometer electrical speedo..four equal pulses per revolution with the square patterned 300zxt flange. I forgot to take a picture of it before I installed it, super easy to setup though. Radiator installed with the Jeg's overflow tank: Engine complete and ready to go...just need to add some tabs on the intake. These were waiting for me under the tree, cant wait to install em, kinda hard to roll windows down when your strapped in with racing harnesses: Hope Yall enjoy...Hopefully Ill have some video next week. Im taking a break for the weekend to hang out at school then Ill be back on it.

EZ Wiring Tech Support is worthless, Im not a huge fan of there wiring either, but I finished my car over his past week and I cant complain too much about anything. I had to add a fuel pump and reverse light wire to the rear harness as well as a dash light wire.

My first car was a White 1974 260z I got a little before I turned 15 as a father and son project my dad helped me clean it up and get it running, I then restored the suspension and eventually finished an L28et swap a week or so after I got my license at 16.

That is a ridiculously vague question, however Tires are usually heavier then your wheels...unless you have steel wheels or some blinging chrome 22's. I took a quick look on Kuhmo's website at tire weights and a 17" tire of the same overall diameter is going to weight several pounds less then a 16" tire since you are losing sidewall. Then I took a look at a wheels specifically Kosei K1's, 16" weighs 15lb, while the 17" weighs 16.8. The total combo is actually going to be lighter in a 17 then a 16". Im going to guess the MOI may be very close to the same if not lower for the larger wheels....but I think is a moot point anyway.

Whoooo hoooooooo!!! Congratulations As for the alternator, Im sure you prolly have it hooked up but there is a wire there goes from one of the engine harness connectors to the alternator that should be ign on power. I believe it serves as the exciter wire. Might want to make sure there is power there. I haven't tested mine yet but I hope it works. Ill know in the next couple days. Im right behind you I think ill be driving mine on xmas eve. I cant wait. Sounds like you happy about the difference from the rb.

The shifter does not come through the factory hole, so transmission tunnel mods will e nessecary regardless, it comes out right in front of the ash tray. The transmission is about .6" from the top of the tunnel. I will take a measurement for you though.

Cool, Looks like there is more interest then I thought. Im working on a even better design, since they are getting CNC'd I can be a good bit more creative. I designed my first one like that since I was making it myself on a lathe and mill. Ill keep everybody updated as things get closer.

Well the carbon driveshaft has two steel yokes on the ends that are PRESSED on (This still amazes me that a pressed steel-carbon joint is so strong). So as long as you dont cut into that your fine...sounds to me like they were just tyring to give you a hard time... cant argue with 200 bucks though. BTW myron was the oil pressure port BSPT or NPT?

Good to hear you got the driveshaft figured out Myron. FYI for other swappers out there I had no issue getting my driveshaft made. I took the 350z yoke to my local driveshaft shop and they didn't think twice about it. I dont really understand why it would be benificial for you to leave the carbon on the shaft, I just sawed mine off about 8 inches from the yoke and they did the rest, it can be easily turned down for a 3" tube. I thnk the total damage was 280 bucks. I also thought I would add the tach adapter wire is located in pin #5 of the E12 connector of the engine bay harness and as Myron mentioned earlier is W/L... Im in the middle of hooking mine up. I finished my speedo sensor as well, I used a Turck Inductive Switch (NPN-Sinking, 8mm). I have it so it reads the differential flange bolts where they come through the nut on the back of the flange. Ill post some pictures of it tomorrow, I am using 300zxt flange with the square bolt pattern to the signals are equal. I have tested it just with a battery hooked up on the workbench and it works perfect. The Autometer tach pretty much can be calibrated for any signal, from 500-400,000 pulses per miles so it should work good. Turck Website: http://www.turck-usa.com

Wow that looks really really nice. Love the rear flares and the color.

Service Manuals, free and for every year: http://www.350z-tech.com/zwiki/Service:Index Doesn't matter what BCM you have it can be reset to work with any key or ECU at the dealership. I doont know about BCM variations between the years though. I have a spare one if you need one, its from a 04 though I think.

Hey, Im using the factory DBW pedal. Those look like they would do the trick. However I was trying to get away from splicing. I really don't like to do that and buying the proper terminals and crimper was well worth the money in my book. Not to mention its 10x easier then soldering in weird angles inside the car. Thats a sweet site though, they have tons of stuff. The vintage connectors run from 2-4 bucks so they are to bad price wise and I believe connectors from Waytek are even cheaper, they just aren't oem style.

EXAMS ARE OVER!!!!!!! I needed to vent so I decided to do it there. What a semester its been, and I get to do it all over again in a few short weeks. Going home today to hopefully finish up the VQ swap over break. Ill be posting alot of updates hopefully

S4 Avant, enough said

Looks good with a hood on it Whats your impressions on the Haltech?.... Looks like you have a bad idle issue or a long way to go with cold start tuning.

You might want to read the specs on those drop in anchors before you bash them without any knowledge. You might be surprised what some concrete anchors can hold. A lot of industrial anchors are actually epoxy'd in a drilled hole after the concrete has set. If you guys took the time to read before posting you might surprise yourself: From the website: Do the math. Fore and aft bracing wont do much for you, the load should be centered on the lift... Furthermore for most people a 4 post lift is VERY impractical. They are mainly used as alignment racks and at greese n go places. A 4 post lift doesnt allow the easy service of suspension/brake components. And is very annoying to work under.... not to mention hard to get on and off of with a lowered car. Im also not saying this is the lift for you. I found it and thought it was neat, thought I would share...a lot of us don't have high ceilings and the ease of transport in the event of a move or just because is a huge plus.

Thats pretty impressive, point taken. How much power were you putting down? Ive had a 93 325is and a 01 330ci, both with stock engines and both which I drove wayy to hard. The only problems I had were those stupid guibo's, I absolutely shredded one in my 325is. I still don't think mounting it would be an issue at all though as the single bolt design is built into the side bracket, so a new bracket could be made if need be. And just for clarification here I'm not thinking about doing this swap I just had these things and thought I would through the idea out there for others.

Hey Guys, I found this and thought it was pretty dern cool. Relatively easy to move if needed and gets the job done for garages with low ceiling heights. http://www.maxjaxusa.com/index.html I think they run around 1800 bucks. Might consider one when I have the money, would be really nice to move it from bay to bay and be able to install it yourself. The only real downside I see the that you can only lift it so high. Still way better then jack stands though.

I need to do some more digging but I believe they are available from the 2.9ish range all the way to 4.2ish. Technical I know, Ill post more info as I do research.

Has anyone giving much thought into using a BMW differential? One of my buddies is into BMW's and we have pulled several units from the junkyard. These things come in lots of ratios and the are not hard to find. They are VLSD and come in 188 and 210mm. They have 32 spline stub axles that are very beefy, the cv joints are flange type both inboard and outboard. Another neat thing is a single bolt mounting system in the front making for a super easy front mount. They also have as a hall effect speed sensor built into them so electronic tach hookup would be a snap. It probably is less practical then the short nose r200 since there are lots of gear sets available for those diff's but this could be a more economical approach. Here are a couple pictures of the e34 3.9 188mm unit I have in my garage, I picked it up for 60 bucks, they go for 300-400 cleaned up online but are plentiful in the junkyard. I also have a 3.15 210mm unit Im just about done cleaning up. Anyhow Ive got these things here I can take some measurements and whatnot for the curious. Or yall can just tell me Im stupid..

Im very jealous, looks awesome! But yea you gotta ditch those gauges or mount them in pods or something.

Great! I took a beak from finals and came home to work on the car a bit and grab the shifter so Ill be finishing my models this week and they will be out to the machine shop ASAP.