Soundmasterg

Check with Steve Epperly yet? I would think he would have some given the amount of stuff he has there. Or maybe Hugh has one off his 240Z if he still has parts around? Greg

Diesels have so much low-end torque you can lug them all day in 4th or 5th and they're not bothered by it at all. No need to shift a lot in a diesel. Greg

All that weather you guys are getting we had it a couple weeks back, and it was worse than that. I told a friend in Virginia that she would get it in a week and a half and sure enough, here it is. Enjoy! BWAHAHAHA Greg

Yah I'm curious too.....too bad they don't have a build date there too because my door plate was missing on my '72. Greg

Yah I 'd like to see this too. I may have to buy a magazine. Wanna go halfsies Skib? Greg

I changed my fuse block to the MSA one, and the cover doesn't fit on it, so I've got my cover around here somewhere. If you're interested in it, then PM me and we can work something out. Its off a '72. Greg

A friend of mine used to have a Datsun B210 back in the day and he never had keys for it. He would use the oil dipstick and it worked just fine. Greg

Derek, Hope you can video it and you tube it when you run it the first time with that manifold on there. Its gonna be sweet! Greg

The president of the local Z club runs gear oil in his too, and his shifts stiffly compared to one with ATF in it. I'd put the ATF in myself and maybe change it a couple times after use to flush the old stuff out. Greg

Hey Congrats! Thats a great school....I've got several cousins who went there. The engineering tech degree is more hands on and can be more useful in some ways. You don't want to be an engineer who is book smart but can't do anything hands on when you get out of school, so see if you can find a way to get the ME degree and still have some good hands on knowledge. I'd like to get back in school and get my EE, but no money right now....grrrr. Greg

I got the cable swap thing from the instructions that were on his site and what also came with the kit. It works fine swapped, and before I did the swap under the car, I tried it normally, though I forget right now why it wouldn't work that way. Greg

With the MM setup the only thing that swaps from side to side are the e-brake cables themselves. They stay attached where they are normally under the car, but the end that goes to the wheels gets swapped so that the cables cross each other under the car, and the former driver's side cable now goes to the passenger side wheel and vice versa. I've got the MM setup on my 240A and am running Eibachs and there are not issues with anything on the brake system hitting anywhere, so you must be going really low.... Greg

I've got the Summit shifter for my T5 that will go into my 240Z, and it shifts very nicely indeed, has shift stops, and is adjustable, etc. I considered getting the close ratio Nissan trans but went with the T5 because I plan to turbo and wanted the extra torque capability. I've driven both, and the stock T5 does not shift as nice as the Nissan trans. With an aftermarket shifter, the T5 shifts just fine. The ratios on the T5 are very close to the B series 4 speed too, so it will keep a similar setup to what I have now with the 4 speed. In your situation with the 280ZX, I think it should work fine. The president of the Northwest Z club has a 280ZX with a T5 in it. He's pretty happy with it. PM me if you want his contact info and you can ask him what he thinks of it. I've also read and heard that the input shaft on the T5 Nissan used was different than the Mustang sourced ones, I don't know if thats correct or not. Greg

Skib, Sounds like you're making good progress! You're ahead of me....I just got my turbo engine a month ago and have no money to do anything else except take the unneccessary stuff off of it and (hopefully) sell it. I plan to build mine up as time goes on to where I can swap it in at a later date, get all the bugs worked out and holes drilled for whatever I add, then yanking it out and restoring the car and putting it all back in. I'd love to see your setup, especially the 240sx throttle body and what not. I need to get one of those for myself, but haven't seen one yet. I plan much the same as what you're doing for mine. Since Chris in Texas gets around 400hp at the rear wheels, I'm figuring 300hp - 400hp would be just fine and dandy for myself. With Hugh blazing a local trail for us, we should be able to learn from what he does. We should hook up some time. Greg

I disagree....if the T5 wasn't any good, they wouldn't have used it for 20 years in so many vehicles. It can be made to shift just fine with aftermarket or Mustang shifters. The main problem was the stock Nissan shifter. Greg

Make sure the engine turns over by hand before you try to do it with the starter. I'd spray some oil in the spark plug holes and let it sit for a little while, then turn it over by hand and make sure you can do a complete revolution. Other than that and what everyone else said, you should be covered. My '72 sat for 20 years and ran and drove when it was parked. I put some oil in the cylinders, let it sit while I adjusted the valves, and did a complete tune up, then turned the engine over by hand with no problems. Then I put a battery in, drained the gas and put new gas in, sprayed starter fluid in the carbs, and started cranking. It took a coupl eminutes and belched out some really black exhaust, but it fired up and ran ok. I had to overhaul the carbs, which were VERY carboned up and dirty, and I had to replace the fuse block, the alternator, the starter, the clutch master, the clutch slave, the brake master and all the calipers, I swapped to disc brakes in the rear, and it runs and drives quite well. It leaks oil from the front and rear main and the pan gasket pretty badly, but those will be replaced soon when I upgrade to a 5 speed T5. So you get an idea of the type of things that might need to be done to yours, though since it wasn't sitting as long as mine, you may get away easier. Greg

No prob Skib! What are you planning to do with your L28ET for mods? I've got one too for my '72 but don't plan to do anything yet since my 2.4L still runs great and I don't have money to do anything right now. Greg

Forgot to mention that the guy at SH Racing (Steve Householder) has a Z himself (his wife's car) and he's built many Z engines over the last 20 years. I've had a lot of work done there myself and he's good, if you can handle slow. Greg

You guys are lucky you can even consider something like LASIK. I've had keratoconous and severe dry eye since I was 16, and can't do things like LASIK. I need a cornea transplant in my left eye because I'm legally blind in it, but the tear production isn't good enough, so I'm SOL. Eventually the cornea will burst I suppose. Poor vision really affects what you can and can't do. Greg

I've had great luck with SH Racing at Hillsboro Airport. I've also had good experiences with Bearing Services in downtown portland a couple blocks from Powell's books. Greg

That Valeo one is about 23.5 pounds. I got one of those and got it lightened to around 18 pounds. The machine shop I took it to is quite good, and they wouldn't go any further because they said these are made in China and the metallurgy isn't as good as the original ones. It should be fine for me for now though. Greg

Let me know if you guys are gonna do this and I'll join you! Sounds like fun. Stickers look cool....I might be into a couple too Skib. Greg

So it sounds like you're saying the Z started out in one class in 1970 and keeps getting bumped down over the years to slower classes so it can still be competitive? Guess it happens to the best of us...haha. Greg

I wonder if you could get some ideas or make something work from this setup that a Volvo racer does/did back east? Greg http://www.v-performance.com/pr_super.html

I would think that a full belly pan could work around the exhaust being there. The had a full belly pan on some of the Mercedes 300SL Gullwings and it really increased their top speed.....and those had exhaust under the car too. Maybe I'm totally ignorant on this subject, but I would think that it could be figured out to where it would work? Greg