Jesse OBrien

Looks like a great starting point! What are your plans, as it stands?

I'm next in line.

I am absolutely in love with those flares. Perhaps once I've fixed up the Z I just purchased today, and get it to make some power, I'll do the same. They look amazing!

I vote that you leave the front fenders off altogether and turn this thing into a rat rod. Chop top and all (if you fit, you're not exactly a little dude).

So THAT's what an orgasm feels like. It all makes sense now. I um... want that car. Now, as far as brakes/wheels/tires go, I'd go with 15's if I could find 315-series tires. Unfortunately, 255 is the best I can find on any reasonable sort of budget (275 is available, but expensive). I'd really like 275 fronts on 15's and 315 rears on 15's. Obviously, overkill brakes fit inside 15" wheels as long as the wheels are properly manufactured with real brakes in mind, and 17's just look too ... tall, I guess is the word I'm looking for. I don't like them, really. The problem always comes back to available tire sizes. I think for awhile, I'll just be running 8" wides with cheap $75/corner (new) tires.

Same here, and that's what made me fall in love with it. Say hello to my new wallpaper. If any more pics of this car get posted, they're getting framed and put up in my garage.

I actually have a super-secret source for some Z parts in New Hampshire. I believe he has two pristine dashes. PM me if you're interested. Both have rotted bodies, and don't run. As far as the l6 vs v8, I completely understand. I've just found that American motors tend to be readily available (in the US), and easy to work on (although that statement is VERY relative to what you're familiar with), and just sound great (of course, that statement is ENTIRELY relative to tastes, so you can ignore that one). You had been having a tough time finding a fun engine at a decent price, so I just tossed my .02 in (even if they were a bit late). Your reasons are sound, and I certainly don't disagree. I think this go-around I'm doing the silly thing and NOT going with a Chevy engine, but a Ford 5.0. I have an l28et now, and need a decent s30 shell to put it in, then I'll start sourcing v8 parts, and I guess I'll sell the et when the time comes. You've reminded me of the Z itch that I had been ignoring, and as much as I hate you for it (it's incredibly itchy now), I'm happy to have this as a project again. Looking forward to more updates!

Oddmanout84, I hate you. Let me explain. I recently sold my s30 and bought a sweet old rwd Celica, and have been very happy with that decision ever since (the s30 required gobs of work, and the Celica is a great dd). Then you went and ruined that by having this thread. I'm going down the street to make an offer on a few Z's that haven't moved in a few months. You bastard. Oh, and I'd have suggested a v8 if you weren't already pot-committed to a Nissan engine. They're simple, easy to diagnose, easy to tune, cheap, available everywhere, and relatively easy to install into an s30 (you'd spend about as much time installing as you've spent diagnosing here). Also, I just wanted to follow your build thread. It looks kind of awesome. I'm excited to see it, and more excited to HEAR it (you should get video once it runs on its own steam).

Undercoating/chip guard work as a sealant, and merely prevent salt and water from collecting on steel. In that basic respect, they both help prevent rust. The zinc coating is a great idea, but sounds like it'd be very expensive. I've used sacrificial zinc several times on several projects, but hadn't considered it on the underbody.

If you're looking for a good seal for ~5 years against salt and regular road wear (don't go running over lava or anything) I'd put money down on it. Any undercoating will need to be redone every few years, just from dust and debris from the road kicking up. I suggest that you get something inexpensive that will adhere well and seals completely (3m is my weapon of choice). I've had consistently good results with it; I just need to find a way to seal rocker panels and fenders effectively on a CRX. Undercoating really doesn't cover those areas very well.

I'm back to looking for an s30 to build, so if there are any inexpensive shells in the SF Bay Area, let me know! I took the dash apart because the gauges had stopped working, and installed my new Tach and voltmeter. I have some sort of ambient drain that I haven't been able to pinpoint yet, and the only gauge that currently works is the voltmeter. I did a pretty snazzy job wiring up the voltmeter, in the stock clock housing. I'll have to dig up the pictures I took and post them later. I also took the hideous wood-grain finish off the dash, leaving the bare black plastic that looks worlds better. Have a look for yourself!

That's what I used for the interior and exterior of my project CRX. It goes on very smooth, and really helps with sound deadening in addition to rust prevention. Just make sure the paint beneath it isn't flaking, or the underbody coating will come off as well.

Pull the head, replace the valve, slap on a new head gasket, and sell it!

Well, I've gone and bought another car to replace the 240z. Here's my 76 RA29 Celica Fastback.

Hey man, I'm going to use these newer pics to give the flare mock-ups some more tries. The last few just didn't work at all. It's looking great, but won't you have binding on the front suspension? Are you going to add wheels spacers or something on the fronts?

Don't get me wrong, I'm normally a salvage yard lover. In NH, you could often go to any junkyard, make an offer on a part, and walk away smiling while the guys behind the counter smiled right back. Just for the sake of comparison, I picked up some knuckles in NH from a DA Integra for $100/pair. They actually pulled them for me at no charge. That means they were going to detach as little as possible while getting the knuckles out, and I ended up with a set of calipers, rotors, and ball joints included. Here at pick 'n pull (that's a specific COMPANY of salvage yards, by the way) I took the same setup to the front counter and it was rung up as $475. That's more than they are from the dealership. I have yet to find a deal through this company that doesn't involve slipping parts into my pockets.

Actually, I was ready to just walk out and leave the trans blocking the counter. Gollumthesage was kind enough to move it aside. I was not in a mood to be polite.

Well, I just went to the local pick 'n pull in Richmond, and found an 84 Celica GT with a manual transmission. It happens to be 10% off transmission days, and I took a look at transmission's normal prices on the way in ($99). I confirmed this with a nice guy at the front desk, and grabbed my tools. An $89 transmission sounded just peachy, so a a few friends and I pulled it (~3 hours, all told) and wheeled it up to the front victoriously. We had a Toyota w58 trans for my Celica for $90! Woohoo! Apparently there's some magic to their math, because it came up as a $260 part... after 10% off. What a ... deal? A used w58 with a starter motor of dubious integrity for $260. I have never mentioned my first experience with a pick 'n pull before, as I was hoping it was a uniquely bad experience. I bought a pair of $30 knuckles for a grand total of $320 (with a few other miscellaneous parts). I was also expected to pay $120 for an injector resister. The little lump of metal that sells for $27 from the Honda Catalog, including shipping, was $120 at pick 'n pull. I can honestly say that I will never support this organization again. Consider this your own warning.

Any pictures yet? I'm interested to see this beast.

Woohoo, congratulations man! Get it on the road!

I do like that idea. I like the round tails as well, and I just tossed this idea together.

I don't think I'm going to be able to use stock lights. I might end up with old Mustang lights, or just make a light panel and use trailer lights (or similar) in the rear. I'm open to suggestions, though. I haven't quite finished my wiring diagram, so I haven't decided how my lights are going to be segregated. I can use virtually anything, at this point.

I tore off the very hacked tail light housing this weekend. It turned out worse than I had imagined. A strip of aluminum had been riveted around the stock steel, then covered over with bondo. The problem is that he didn't seal the inside and every one of the rivet holes started to rust. I took as good a picture as I could to show what I mean. I'm definitely taking suggestions for tail lights.

You assume correctly. Forgive me, I have a tendency to use the wrong terms when I really don't know what I'm talking about. I have a buddy with a nice snap-on electric impact gun that he'll lend to me for this project. I'm planning to get a compressor sometime down the line, so buying an electric impact gun doesn't make a whole lot of sense at this point (also, I don't have many other uses for it currently). I don't have a printer, but I drew up a couple copies. Just so we're clear: you're saying that a torch is a bad idea for loosening the head bolts? I was going to heat them a little (I've had good results heating stuck bolts before to loosen them up) then impact wrench them. I've removed two sets of heads so far (from the 327 that didn't pan out and the 350 that's going to be the block for this build) but these heads seem to be on much tighter. I didn't have any kind of problems with the others, I just yanked on a ratchet and they came loose (some took more persuasion than others, but they all came off by hand). I'm also wondering how much these might be worth. The casting # says they're from a 68-69 High Output Corvette motor, so maybe it'd be better to try to find a collector/restorer to sell them to and get some nice shiny new heads (or an LT1 or LSX).

Thanks guys, I've gone through so much pb-blaster on this that there's no sludge/oil left to muck around in. I've been going through the GM service manual, and it seems like I have everything right, the head studs just won't budge. I may just have to buy an impact gun instead of a ratchet and hammer. That doesn't sound like an awful idea, actually. Since they're iron heads I don't need to worry much about them cracking. I'd be worried about the valve guides more than anything. I let it soak overnight, so hopefully I'll have some better results today.