Eric JB

Glad to hear you got it worked out. Post up some pics if you get the chance.

81 and later trucks had the nap Z engine. It was slanted the opposite direction in the engine compartment. It's pretty common to have to swap bellhousings to put it behind an L motor. Also be aware that the truck transmissions had a lower 1st gear, so there will be a broader gap between 1st and 2nd. That is a 71B, since the shifter is different on the 71C.

Here is an OE bus joint. notice that it is heat treated. http://www.autohausaz.com/search/product.aspx?sid=en0wyf45idbrq145embfxj45&makeid=800026@VW&modelid=1285826@BUS, CAMP, TRANSPORT &year=1971&cid=17@Drivetrain Parts&gid=2292@CV Joint And here is an OE Porsche 930 (911 turbo) joint. Also, heat treated.http://www.autohausaz.com/search/product.aspx?sid=en0wyf45idbrq145embfxj45&makeid=800019@Porsche&modelid=1262629@911 TURBO&year=1981&cid=17@Drivetrain Parts&gid=2292@CV Joint Also notice how much thicker the outer body of the 930 is than the bus. The Bus can take 17 degrees of constant angle, and 19 intermittently. The 930 joint can take 19 degrees constant, and 21 intermittently. That is why they are preferred by the off road guys.

Thank you for the clarification. This topic has bothered me for a long time, and this discussion needs to be had. Being an old VW guy since the 70's, as soon as I saw the $1000 kit that is offered by some, I recognized it. As I said, your stuff looks very nice, actually the only kit I would consider if I had the $$$. I might be able to pull the trigger on a pair of stubs, someday. The main reason people step up to the real 930 cv's, is because they will survive with more angle than the bus cv. Not something we would be concerned with. Nothing wrong with a bus cv. But I wish people would call it what it is.

Well at least you didn’t get the silver , made in Taiwan shafts that many other vendors sell. The Cv joints are stock VW bus. They already come with heat treated internals but the vendors like to take credit for it. They are plenty strong enough for the task. Just sad that the vendors can’t be honest about what they are selling, and hide behind the Porsche 930 “style” description. The axles are most likely a VW bus trans to a beetle chassis conversion axle(15.625). Silver zinc is cheap EMPI crap. Powder coated white or red is usually Sway Away. Made in USA. Black I’m not sure but they look to be a stout piece. I would like to find the source of those. The MM stuff looks really good, but way too rich for this old tight ass. I will be buying my pieces separately and making the rest myself. Good luck. BTW the $1000 kits that many sell, can be bought on EBay for $480 without the adapters.

TrackZpeed, sorry to hear about your problems with your CV axle kit. And sorry for the people on here, who take sides with the vendor to the point of insulting your ability. Much like yourself, I am an old gearhead wrench spinner, and If they only knew what I know about these "Porsche 930 style" kits, they wouldn't be on the vendor's side. But please indulge me for a moment, and give me some info. What is the OAL of the axle shaft? 16.250, or 15.625? Is it silver zinc plated? or powder coated? And if so, what color? Did the CV joints come in a box wrapped in a greasy brown paper? Does the box reveal where they were made? Is there a 9 digit number on the box or part itself? Does it start with a 931 or a 211? JMO, for $2600, they should practically install themselves.

Hey Racerteck, So are you running the same 35 count, 30 degree pressure angle splines on the outer stubs and flanges as well?

Most of them sell 930 "style" cv's. What they really are is VW bus cv's. The original German cv's used, will be better than new Chinese ones. I drag raced and sand duned for years with those joints and broke a LOT of parts. Never a bus CV. Off road racers prefer the 930 cv's because they will worker at steeper angles than the bus cv's.

A part number for those bearings would be helpful.

I would agree that even real NHRA inspectors are very much on the honor system. I have been asked if I have a driveshaft loop, and saying yes was good enough. Even when they find something they don't like, they usually let you run, but ask you to change it for next time. But I have also seen where they will give you warnings about approaching a milestone ET and not being equipped for it. .

Way pro active. I'm just thinking about where I want to go with my racing. Right now I am in Sportsman. (12.00 and slower) but the car will go 11.8x. So I spent the last year trying to slow it down to stay in the class. Not much fun. I could move up to Pro, but I really don't like racing from the rear view mirror. Which leads me to making the car go faster. (way more fun) I like racing the Z, and have done pretty well with it. It works well and runs the number, but I know there will come a time when I have to do something about the ass end. It might be due to breakage. But it might be due to rules. I don't care much for the big tire solid axle thing. I like the way it looks, and drives right now. The easiest thing to do is add weight, choke it off and stay in Sportsman. Not my style. So as you can see, I'm waffling back and forth.

I have found that mine has way cooler engine compartment temps with lots of initial timing. What dist does it have? Do you have a vac can? If so, try setting it at 34 degrees full advance without the can, and the hook the can to manifold vacuum, instead of ported vacuum.

The driveshaft loop I built for my truck was a 1/4" wall piece of pipe cut 2" long, and then welded to a bracket. The one on the Z is two pieces of strap bolted together. Since the Z isn't a swingaxle design, I am thinking a couple of clam shells bolted to the transverse arm might appease them. Kinda surprised no one else has run into this issue.

right out of the rulebook. "Cars running 10.99 (*6.99)or quicker that weigh more than 2,000 pounds with independent rear suspension without upper and lower (both) control arms must replace swing axle differential with conventional differential housing assembly (Example 1963-1982 Corvette). Cars with independent rear suspension with upper and lower (both) control arms may retain swing axle assembly regardless of weight or e. t. " Yes, sorry for the confusion. The point I was trying to make was, since the Z only has one trailing arm, transverse arm, control arm, (you choose) there is no way to mount halfshaft loops between the upper and lower, since the upper doesn't exist.

I am 76 280z. mild 408sbc/700r.

Some pics of your progress would be helpful.

It appears I am at the crossroads, between sinking $$ into the IRS, or going to a solid. ( I really don't want to cut my car up) I am still .8 seconds away from trouble, but my car is stock back there, except for the ZXT axles. Not sure if I want to commit to making the IRS live, when the rest of the car is already legal to 10.00. I have motor upgrades sitting in the shop, but the car is already too fast for Sportsman (footbrake) and if I jump to the next class, I want to make the car run 10.90's, so I can run it in the Lucas series, in S/ST. If upper control arms were fabbed up, with halfshaft loops, and a set of wolfcreek style axles were used, I wonder if they would let me slide to 10.90. WHOLE lot less work than going solid.

I know there is a lot of fast Z's on here that run down the 1320. (or 660) But with the single trailing arm rear suspension, we are only legal to 10.99. I am wondering if anyone has built an upper trailing arm set up (even mock) with halfshaft loops to get past the rule. I see a lot of you guys spending time and $$ to make them live. How do you get past tech? Thanks.

While I'm not sure what the Pegasus bar looks like, (the website pic looks generic and not application specific) I can give my input on a couple others. The autopower bar with the diagonal brace limits the travel of the seats, even though MSA says it doesn't. I am only 6.0, and with stock seats it would have been too cramped for me. The base plates were not formed or welded to the bar properly. There would have been gaps. (useless) Or it would have tried to pierce the fender well when sandwiched together. In hindsight, the car is too small to need a 2" bar anyways. I was pretty disappointed with it and just sold it at a loss. Next I ordered a Chris Alston rollbar kit. (probably very similar to the S@W) The main hoop fit the roofline very well. but the bases were directly in front of the seatbelt pockets, and to get it back far enough for me to fit, I had to build up the floor so the hoop could attach to something somewhat flat. The rest of the kit was literally a box of tubing. Everything had to be cut and notched to fit. It was a lot of work, but I am happy with the results. The car is street legal (ish), but only sees 1/4 mile duty since I don't trust all the distracted drivers these days. I did run the door bars and while it really stiffened the old flexible flyer up, it is a pain in the ass the get in and out of. Not for daily use, or maybe I'm just old. If you are concerned with seat travel, or seatbelt location, you might want to ask questions before pulling the trigger. And MSA will lie. Just my .02.

I saw one at the Porsche / Audi / Aston Martin dealership I was working at in about 1979-1980. More than likely a real Scarab, but I was 19 at the time and had no idea what a Scarab was. But I knew 2 things. I wanted one, and it would more than likely kill me, in my reckless toxic youth. It stayed in my mind until 1999, when I broke down and bought a dead 280Z to build for myself. I was on this website very early on, but left for several years, and when I came back my user name was gone. (Berzerker) So I started this one.

I searched high and low for a pair of rebuilt 280zxt axles to replace my cores with ripped boots. No luck Then I searched for boot kits. I finally found them at Amazon.

Bringing this thread back from the dead to answer year old questions. Yes, I made some 280zxt adapters based on the drawing. I found 1.100 to be a bit thick, so I cut them down to 1.00. I then bolted them to the flanges and welded them together. No problems to date, but I have an auto and preload before matting it.

Yes, footbraking, With no idea on HP. Really mild 408sbc/700r w 2500 non lockup converter. I leave at 1500rpm. 3.54 r200, 280ZXT axles w/ homemade adapters, Chevette springs. 235/60r15 MT drag radials. Best 60ft is 1.65, but it has slowed a bit since I bought new tires mid season. To keep it in the class I run a holley 600vac secondary, and a single exhaust that is pretty quiet. TimO, Thanks for the input. I have spent too much time and $$ to have something come loose and do damage.

Thanks for the responses. Looks like either way, the wheel and tire are going to do some damage to the fender well. Or walk out and exit the vehicle. Not good. The bad thing about doing CNC turning for 25 yrs+, Is justifying $750.00 for something I could knock out in 4 to 6 hrs.(not including splines and heat treatment) But where does one find the time. Seems like the MM/ Checkered flag stubs are good insurance. I run the car in NHRA div 6 in sportsman. The cutoff is 12.00 flat, so if I do any upgrades to it, it will be too fast for the class. So I'm at the crossroads on whether to touch it or not.

Where did it break? I have read many threads on doing the swap. But I haven't seen what part breaks on the stock ones. Really wanted to know how much they will take. And how brave some have been with the stock ones. OK, and I just like a good drag race discussion.