calpoly-z

I just ordered the Lincoln calipers, but I think I can cancel if I do it tonight. If so then I'd be happy to trade. Shoot me a PM and we can work it out. Might want to measure your wheels first though...

Well, another lesson learned. When measurements are provided for wheel fitment, it best actually measure the wheel before ordering parts, and not just assume that since someone tested a similar wheel that it'll be alright. So far the kit is great and Install is going well, but the aluminum Jag calipers do NOT fit 16x8 XXR 002 wheels. At the plane of the wheel mounting surface there is only about 180mm of radius clearance. The wheel slopes inward at this point and clearance is lost. A half inch spacer would probably move the wheel out enough to work, but these wheels barely fit my non flared car as it is. Going to return the aluminum ones and order heavy steel ones .

Surprised me too. Seemed to be be last set they had left so that may explain the cheaper price. Paid about $215 including core charge for what I believe is a full rear set of calipers. The steel ones were $125 apiece. We'll see once everything arrives if I got the right thing. And to make matters even more fun, popped the hood to check a few things today after letting the car sit for many months and my brake master has leaked all out the back of it and ruined the fresh engine bay and booster paint in the area. So FYI to all, Eastwood's fancy 2k Engine Bay paint that is not particularly cheap and is supposed to be chemical resistant did not stand up in the least to brake fluid. This was a 2 part paint that I applied with an HVLP gun and it bubbled and peeled as bad as the spray paint I had previously applied in the engine bay. So now I have a Willwood 1" cylinder on the way as well. Let's hope I can avoid brake fluid leaks going forward....

Finally got around to ordering the parts I need to install this kit. Anybody who has completed this install have any hints or tricks? I ended up getting the jag aluminum calipers due them actually being cheaper from rock auto than the steel Lincoln ones. Went with cheap pads for now due running the non vented Toyota brakes up front.

I am looking for the spacer that mounts between the brake master cylinder and the booster for a 280z. I think this piece is the same for just about all s30 vehicles. I seem to have misplaced mine and am hoping that someone has an extra laying around they don't need. Let me know if you need a picture to clarify what I'm talking about. If you have one you can part with for a reasonable amount please let me know. Thanks Alec

I've had a wonderful experience with my Eastwood 135 (110v). Bought it over 3 years ago and feel like it has worked great for what I needed it for (sheet metal, misc. brackets, frame rails, exhaust, etc.) The gas solenoid went out about a year ago, but a quick call to Eastwood and I received a replacement for free a week later. Now I'm far from a pro, but I've been pleased with the weld quality and it definitely handles sheet metal better than the 220v Miller that I learned to weld on. Just wanted to put out a positive opinion of these welders. As a home hobbyist, I couldn't ask for more considering the price I paid. I don't doubt that the big name welders are better. When I have access to 220v in shop in the future, I will likely purchase a better quality welder, but for now I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Eastwood series to a fellow hobbyist that only needs a welder for small automotive projects.

If the car is clean and rust free then $6k seems perfectly fair regardless of the salvage title. Of course what you plan to do with the car really affects whether or not a clean title even matters. Are you keeping the car stock and hoping that the value will increase? Or do you plan to drive the car and modify it to make it faster, handle better, etc? If you're going to modify it anyway (and why are you on HybridZ if you're not?) then what difference does a salvage title make as long as the car is in good shape and not a rust bucket? A quality paint job costs near to $5k nowadays so to me the asking price seems more than fair. Plata brings up a good point too. What's really the difference between a salvaged car that has had a few body panels replaced/repaired and a clean titled car that has had a ton of rust repair done? Is the rusted out car that's been repaired in someone's garage really more valuable than the salvaged car that was fixed by a professional?

No worries Nigel. I'm thrilled that parts are so available and cheap for your kit. I found it a little hard to believe myself. Definitely a pleasant surprise. I will be waiting to see how the XXR wheels fit as I am currently rocking a set XXR 002s on my car. The Jag calipers were only marginally more expensive than the iron LS calipers.

I'm pretty sure the $125 apiece included the core charge. Granted these are remanufactured calipers, but rock auto has the A1 Cardone for $61.79 + $65 core for each. For my car, I'm fine with the cheaper parts. The car is not raced and only driven in the streets occasionally. I'm really only after rear disk brakes for the looks and ease of maintenance. I would probably be fine with a 240sx set up but don't see much point in deliberately screwing up brake bias when you're set up will cost about the same. Seems like win-win to me.

I went ahead and priced out the required parts to complete this kit assuming all parts are purchased from Rock Auto. I did not always choose the cheapest options so a few bucks could be shaved from the total. Rotors - $18 apiece Lincoln calipers -$125 apiece with $65 core charge each Pads - $10 - $60 depending on material and brand Hardware kit - $8 Altogether you will be looking at about another $325 plus shipping if you can't find cheap cores locally. Or $130 less if you can. Overall it looks like a great setup with reasonably cheap, available parts! Count me in for a set! With centering rings please.

Considering that there don't appear to be any sport struts available without going to coil overs, can the bilsteins be used in a non-sectioned strut housing? Maybe with a spacer on bottom to make up the difference? It looks like the gland nut issue can be handled with a little welding, which is not a problem for me. I currently have eibach stock replacement springs. I'm perfectly happy with the ride height of the car, but the kyb struts that I currently have need to go. Since the tokico struts seem to be NLA, I'm not sure that I have any stick replacement options other than to return to kyb. If these bilsteins can be made to work I might give them a try. Then if at a later date, I do decide to go coil over, I will already have decent struts. Thoughts?

Sounds like the PO didn't bother to get the proper spacer. There shouldn't be any washers spacing out the calipers. Surprised your calipers aren't dragging too. It is safe however to grind the lip of the control arm off where it's rubbing. This seems to be a requirement with the Arizona Z big brake kit too.

I second the Eastwood welder recommendation. I've had mine for over two years and been through a couple spools of wire without any major issues. The gas solenoid went out a couple months ago, but eastwood promptly sent one out free of charge. Oh and I bought the harbor freight welder first. It was Ok for welding up brackets but the welds were hideous and it was very difficult to use. Sheet metal was just about impossible to weld without burning through. I Wish the Eastwood one was available when I bought the HF one.

No tach adapter required with speedhut gauges. Just hook into the tach output on the MSD box.

Yeah the third turbine housing from the bottom should work fine for you. As far as compressor housings, I ended up going with the smaller T04B option for packaging issues when I ordered my GT3071. It's my understanding that the T04E housings require a spacer to clear the exhaust manifold. A lot of people use T04E housings though so I'm sure the default option would work fine as well, but you'll need a small spacer.

Check out this link that explains what the swap to an internally regulated alternator requires. Then check to make sure yours was done correctly. Not sure why a fuse was added. If that all checks out, then it's time to sit down with a service manual and go through the wiring diagram. http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/alternatorswap/index.html

Looking for 1 front and 1 rear strut mount isolators for my 280z. Willing to buy a full set if someone has some laying around. I keep having the bolts come loose and start spinning in the mount.

Vintage Air units are electronically controlled. All flaps are servo actuated and the HVAC unit itself is quite compact and fits in the dash quite nicely. My only problem with the VA unit I installed is that I don't really care for the appearance of the switches to control it. All the options seem to be made more for the muscle car crowd. The systems are not cheap, but if all you need is the underdash parts, then kits can be had for around $500. It seems we have similar goals for our cars. I too am trying to build a comfortable, fast sports car that is thoroughly modern on the inside yet retains the classic appeal of the S30. A modern HVAC system was a requirement for the car since I live in Texas.

Look for an Ishino head Gasket. These are basically OEM head gaskets from what I understand. Careful though because I ordered a turbo one recently that when it arrived was labeled Stone and was not anything like the Ishino one I had before.

But before all of that, get the car to idle and run somewhat decently before switching to a standalone. Otherwise you'll be chasing all kinds of ghosts because you won't know if your problems are with ecm settings or a mechanical issue with the engine itself.

Any reason you're going straight to the most expensive/complicated MS? MS2 or even MS1 will be way better than the stock system and be much more affordable to start with, not to mention easier to install and get up and running. Unless you're planning to utilize sequential injection or any of the other fancy things MS3 can do its probably just going to complicate matters for you and end up costing you more money/time. Plus you can always upgrade later since MS3 is a daughter board that plugs onto the main board. In my opinion, the latest and greatest is not always the best choice. Look at the features each offers and decide from there what you really need. The stock FI has stymied you so far, what happens when you have problems with a system that is 10 fold more complicated? Personally MS1 does almost everything I need and I have been very pleased with it, I may upgrade in the future because I want to play with some of the features, but I certainly don't need to in order to reach my goals. Good luck with whichever road you decide on.

I have eibach springs in my 280 and the ride height is about perfect as far as I'm concerned. Not sure if the 240z kit is any different. I don't notice the front to be any higher than the rear.

Your distributor does not need to be moved at all. In the spark settings in megasquirt there is an offset called spark trigger angle. If your distributor and shift are installed correctly, most people end up setting this somewhere between 40-60deg. You'll know you have it set right by using a timing light and verifying that your #1 cylinder is firing at the advance you have set in megasquirt. Adjust your trigger offset angle so that these values match.

Your distributor does not need to be moved at all. In the spark settings in megasquirt there is an offset called spark trigger angle. If your distributor and shift are installed correctly, most people end up setting this somewhere between 40-60deg. You'll know you have it set right by using a timing light and verifying that your #1 cylinder is firing at the advance you have set in megasquirt. Adjust your trigger offset angle so that these values match.

How committed are you to actually doing aero engineering? Considering you're multilingual, willing to live wherever and don't want some BS job with limited responsibility for the first several years then you should seriously look into working for an oil services company. Things are booming right now and big three companies in the field are desperate for decent engineers. Most hire right out of school because the lifestyle can be a bit tough and it better suited to the young, but it can also be extremely rewarding (both in pay and fringe benefits). It's also better suited to the engineers that do have some ability to work well with others because you will be managing your crew within 6-9 months. This includes being responsible for millions of dollars worth of equipment that you must learn to operate, maintain and repair. Now as I said before, the lifestyle can be rough (on locations for 48+hrs occasionally) but it often comes with a nice rotation. I'm currently working 10days on 5 off, but when I move offshore I should be switching to a 20-10 schedule. Some of the international guys work even longer rotations. Leaves plenty of time to travel/work on my Datsun during days off. Just a thought. I know I had never heard of this kind of work before randomly interviewing for this job. Ended up being a great choice for me. I am the type of engineer that can't stand the thought of working at a desk for 8 hrs a day designing door handles. I'm an ME by the way, but I know my company only cares that the applicant actually have an engineering degree, the discipline doesn't matter much.