AKWIKZ

Exactly how did the Pats finish the season again? Oh yeah, 18-1, with that 1 being the only game that really counts. So, in essence they were no different than the Dolphins. Remember, 2nd place is just first looser. But the Celtics did put the wood to the Lakers. The word impressive is an understatement for last nights game. Brian

I actually live in Maricopa. The best two places are El Paso BBQ, and Famous Daves. I personally prefer El Paso. There is one 20 minutes from here right off the 10 at Ray Rd. Also, if you are in toen all weekend, you can catch the weekly car show at the Pavilions. Feel free to e-mail me if you'd like to and I'll give you my phone number. Brian

Any one for meeting up at the car show Sat. night? I'm planning to head up after work. Brian

Looking for a little help here. The auto on my '92 Hardbody is acting up. The last few days is has been sticky upon start up. When I put it in drive it tries to stall the engine. This lasts about 3 minutes and then works fine. So today, after I get to work I put it into reverse and get nothing. I had some help pushing it out of the parking spot and it will go forward just fine. It shifts normally with no slippage. But no matter what, it will not go into reverse. I've checked the fluid and all seems to be right. My concern is that chances are the tranny fluid is the original stuff still. The truck only had 60k miles on it when I bought it two years ago and it has been sitting for nearly a decade with little use. I know I'm reaching here, but is there a chance that a simple flush and fill might solve this? Or am I looking at a new tranny? Brian

If you donate it, be sure to pull the swasticas off. I'm sure you already thought of this, but those wheels in decent shape alone could bring you $300. As for the tax situation, check on the allowable donation deductions. I know for regular donations there is a max allowed. Be sure you don't hit that mark before as then you'd be SOL by donating it. Brian

Sorry, but no chance what so ever. These days you will be lucky to find any running 510 for under $2k. And definately not a 2 door. You might get a project with no drivetrain and in need of bodywork for a grand, but that is about the best you might get. As mentioned earlier, if you can find a friend of a friend or can track one down word of mouth you might get a break. Brian

The mark up is a non issue. I have been saying this since day one. Of course they will be commanding far more than the MSRP at their release. All highly anticipated cars do. The original C5 Z06 sold for $100k when first released. Even the original Miata all the way back in 1989 sold for $25k. That was almost $7k more than MSRP. Like all of these examples, it will take a year or so for the price to level off. That is when a fair comparison can be made. Any talk of "I can make X car do X for less" will need to wait till then. There is always someone, somewhere, that can make a cheaper faster car. But again they are not new, off the showroom floor production cars with warranty either. The comparisons coming out in the mags now are the only ones that are at all fair. Factory equipped cars in competition. What I find interesting is the persistant comment all of the reviews have made. That the weight of the GT-R is not the factor all of the critics said it would be. Technology has made another leap, and while not able to break the laws of physics, it has found a way to bend them, heavily. I understand why there is such surprise. We have all been raised with the idea that there is no replacement for light weight. Well, just like the old addage "there's no replacement for displacement" has fallen by the wayside with forced induction, we find that there is indeed a replacement for light weight. And it's called ATTESA. As for the power numbers, again I find it a bit funny. Every GT-R has had it's numbers watered down. This goes all the way back to the PGC10 in '69. The '89 R32 was labeled with 287hp. The reality was closer the 330. It was no surprise that they dyno'd with higher numbers. But let's not pretend that this is why the car is so fast around the track. Even at 550hp, the GT-R has a lower power to weight ratio than the 911 or Z06. The power helps, no doubt, but it's the superb balance and awesome traction that smokes the competition. As for the looks, it's subjective. There is no argument that the 911 is gorgeous. Pretty much has been all it's life. Until the GT-R is seen in person you can't make an informed choice. It is so unique that no pictures really do it justice. I can't explain it. For that matter neither can any of the reviewers who say the same thing. In person the car just works. But if looks are what will solely dictate how I spend $120k, it would not be on a Porsche either. The best looking car(s) on the road right now are the M3, Exige, and G37. But none of them can touch a 911, or a GT-R for that matter. It comes down to what is more important I guess. Brian

A friend of mine has one in LA. He's looking for $800 for it. Brian

I am aware of this. But the question was whether it would bolt in. Which it will not. At least not without other mods. On a personal note, I would never feel comfortable with spacers in a diff. It may very well work fine, but the diff is quite possibly the hardest hit component in the drivetrain. The last thing I would want to do is insert another part that might fail. Again, I'm not making a judgement call here, just stating that it is nothing I would ever suggest to another. Brian

Guys, Unfortunately it won't work. None of them will. While you guys are correct in the spline count and such for the non-vlsd unit, the ring gear bolt holes are not the same. The S130 uses the 10mm bolt. Nissan did not start using the 12mm bolt gears until late '85. You will need to find an R200 from a later 200SX or Z31 300ZX and then you can use the Kaaz unit. That is what I did and it worked perfectly. Brian

I have been a long time member of the Bluebirds mailing list and have actually been browsing DimeQuarterly all these years even though I did not have a 510 at the time. My plans for the car are rather modest. The motor going in is the often over-looked sibling of the SR20. The mighty CA18det!! Okay, okay, that might be a bit of a stretch. At least in stock form. Now, you may be wondering why I chose this drivetrain. I'm glad you ask. While the CA18 is overshadowed by it's glitsy sister the SR, it is actually a superior motor in many ways. Even though the SR is an aluminum block compared to the iron block of the CA, the SR is around 50 pounds heavier. When set beside one another, the CA is shorter both in height and in length as well. The CA also has a better valvetrain. It uses a cam on bucket design instead of the rocker arm of the SR. The CA is essentially a four cylinder RB. They love to rev. And even though parts are not a readily available as an SR, they are still plentiful. My plans of road racing the car all favor this motor. I intend to install the motor in it's stock form and modify, and document, it in phases. Here is the short list: Tomei Poncams, 450cc injectors, Tomei metal head set, GT28RS turbo, and Z32 mass sensor. I'm looking for 300hp at the wheels. As I said, not that spectacular a number around here, but more than enough to scare the local Porsches and Vettes at the track. I am also toying with the idea of a 100 shot on top of that for the drags. The suspension up front will be all Datsport with sectioned ZX turbo struts and coilovers. The rear will also be mostly Datsport components. I have spoken at length with them, to the chagrin of my phone bill, and I am very impressed with the thought that went into the design. For brakes, I'm lucky enough to have Arizona Z Car only 45 minutes away and expect Daves products to be more than enough for my needs. First step is wiring though. I ordered a universal harness and will re-wire the entire car along with the factory CA harness. I really don't need over half of the stock wiring so this step will really help clean up the car as well as improve the reliability. 36 year old wires tend to be problematic at times. All in all, I hope to have it running by mid summer. Brian

Like most of you, I've had numerous toy cars over the years. Some of them quite memorable, a few others not so much. I can't speak for anyone else, but there was always that one car that I regretted selling. My 510. But as luck would have it, she's back in my life. I built this car over 8 years ago. I never got her running. I simply had all of the body work and paint done and then sold her. I never heard about it after that until 2 years ago. Another member here, Zhadman, ended up buying her from the guy I sold her to. He did not get very far on the project and last month after some discussion I bought her back. I have a bunch of pics from when I first got her all through the body work process. I will scan them in and post if you guys are interested. She started out as a primered, stripped shell in need of a new core support. It was a long process of almost a year at my friends body shop back in San Diego. It has Classic Datsun Motorsports fiberglass fenders, trunk, hood, spoiler, and rear flares. I had a friend in Australia send me the parts and I converted it to RHD. I also sourced some Bluebird Coupe sequential taillights. The color is Porsche Guards Red. And after 7 years of sitting in the So Cal sun I think she's held up pretty well. I just got her back home last weekend and have only gotten as far as removing all of the old wiring harness and interior. The L20B will be coming out as well. If you look at one of the pics you can barely see the new drivetrain sitting on the floor. I will be rewiring the entire car and building the suspension next. I expect a curb weight of around 2100 pounds when I'm finished. She will not be a firebreather compared to my Skylines, but it won't take much to make her move well. My plan is to make it into a track car for local events. Nothing more grand than weekend warrior stuff. Anyhow, I'm pretty excited about getting it going. Brian

Nissan will be releasing the Evo version next year. Basically it will have a modest weight reduction of around 200 pounds and a bump in power to a "claimed" 550hp. As for a "real" supercar. Nissan already did it. They built the R390 almost 10 years ago. Mid engine twin turbo V8 putting out 700hp. Twenty or so were built for racing, and one was built as a street car. For a mere $1m it could be yours. Brian

Now can I say "Told ya so"? Brian

I'm set. Just need to know what time and what section you guys want to meet up. Brian

I'm glad someone else posted this. I saw it a while back and this is one of my favorite comparisons. I really like the commentary. He says the GT-R "defies the laws of physics". That pretty much sums it up. For all of the talk about it's weight and size, it should not be able to perform this way. But it does. And now it is no longer being compared to just the 911 Turbo, but to the GT-3. Pretty cool. Brian