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Tony D

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Posts posted by Tony D

    Florida Consumer Complaint

    in Non Tech Board

    Posted · Edited by Tony D

    You have to have unbroken fingers and unbloodied eyes to be able to call the cops to report the 'trespassing'... B)

     

    Cricket bat...I like that, little fire on the beach later in the evening, all traces of the evidence up in smoke along with the tyvek suit, splash goggles, and boot pullovers (though the impulse to use the boot makes one want to just burn those as well.) I'm not a "Cricket Bat and Boot Lad" but I suppose I could grow into it! :P

     

    "Yo, Tony, dis is a funny lookin' pizza spatula..." ;)

     

    "Never cross a man who raises Pigs!"

    Bricktop

     

    :D

    Good Story Lesson learned

    in Fuel Delivery

    Posted

    NewZed has a nice stealth issue that is common in places where heat-related component failure is commong (southwest)...

     

    The 'white wires' are indeed fusible links, and if you notice they are idiot proof (as I recall)---most people simply remove them...and then you have two RED WIRES for the ECU power. No less than 6 cars I have bought because it was sitting for a time with the battery disconnected and didn't run were because people swapped the ECU power wires because both the leads to the battery are RED!!!

     

    A check to ground quickly reveals which is which, and some people aren't too happy when I put a battery into their bargian basement car, and fire it up to drive it on the trailer "required to move it out of here"... :P

    HP rating for a stock Z 5 speed?

    in S30 Series - 240z, 260z, 280z

    Posted

    I'll add the bearing condition is CRITICAL in the earlier trannies. I have snapped teeth off them when a bearing was "noisy"---that means the countershaft can get misaligned---not paralell with the main and this misalignment of the gears causes massive loads that can shear the oil film leading to fretting and wear on the gears if you aren't shock loading it...up to teeth fracture if you do a 3500 clutch dump with 175's on the back to do a donut under the 'if it's making noise I better wring it out better for it to break here than break 3000 miles from home!' Man, I was lucky to get that one home the 3 miles from my favorite 'burnout box'! (Google Earth: 33° 48.957'N 117° 14.377'W) :P

    Florida Consumer Complaint

    in Non Tech Board

    Posted

    The BBB is basically a House of Cards, you pay for the rating you get. If someone complains, they basically discuss it with you and say 'for this higher level of donation this will all go away'--for the guys who say 'screw you' they get the complaints lodged. Some very good businesses with eccentric personalities running them get screwed by this system.

     

    Sure, you can say 'keep everyone happy and you won't get a complaint'--and I could say 'you have never dealt with Z Car owners!' I have seen instances where guys were offered total refunds, allowed to keep the parts and because they were PO&B over having to pay the shipping they put out the word on what kind of A-hole the business owner was.

     

    You can try the BBB, but I wouldn't hold much hope. A long distance call to a local police department and their internet fraud detail may yield some interesting results. If the guy is doing it wholesale, across state lines, and accepting payment through the mail you got allll sorts of interesting possibilities. Problem is, as you said, you are there and he is here. A recovery agent would take a cut, and might be successful. But in the end even if you get a court judgement in small claims court scammers will simply shutter the doors on Friday after declaring insolvency, and reopen with a different DBA on Monday free and clear of any liability for their past misdeeds.

     

    And pursuing THAT claim will cost more than 50 forged piston sets. Maybe 100...

     

    Not to PP on the parade of righteous injustice, it sucks. But realiztically unless you find an 'enthusiastic local advocate' this will be almost impossible to pursue.

     

    As an alternate you could go on some local 4X4/Guns websites and befried locals there in the local area. After about two years of intense interaction and networking over the internet and maybe working up to weekly Skype conversations you could have your new friends go pay him a visit for a friendly 'tune up'...

     

    What can I say, my latent Italian Genes say some revenge delayed is just as sweet as doing something where financial records for the transaction still exist. What's a set of pistons worth? A broken leg...two? Maybe a nail gun through the hands into his desk? B)

     

    I'm a bad person for even suggesting that and it's up to you to keep it from germination and evolution into the sweetest fruits of revenge! :D

     

    Seriously though, good luck. I wish I was on that end of the country to give you a hand. Getting crap in the mail is never any fun, no matter how far or close the vendor is from you geographically! :(

    DGV MPG'S

    in Nissan L6 Forum

    Posted

    Curiously your numbers coincide with the Mikuini Trials I did on the way to Phoenix in 91/92!

     

    You can get over 30 with a turbo, JeffP was getting close to 32.5mpg at steady state 65mph in the old days of the 55mph speed limit. Since it's raised to 70 in most places, the speeds have risen and those numbers have not been revisited in some time.

     

    You didn't mislead us Nigel, I knew exactly what you meant! I'm odd that way furinners are always asking me "K or M--ph?" I am so used to the conversions they come as second nature.

     

    We had the same problem with Canadians, when you grow up as a 12 year old kid listening to adults without enough brains to figure out Canada used Imperial gallons talking about how there is a conspiracy in manufacturing gasoline at the Mobil Refinery in Detroit because 'that canadian gas does 4mpg better than our US gas' and realizing then that 'adult' doesn't necessarily coincide with 'smarter'... Conspiracy theory, mind you! Evil corporate conspiracy with the fuel so you buy more in the USA. (Remember this is in the state where Michael Moore was born!) When as a kid asks, 'doesn't canada use Imperial Gallons, aren't they bigger than US Gallons' and is pish-poshed as 'bean ignint' you get the idea I guess... :rolleyes:

    HP rating for a stock Z 5 speed?

    in S30 Series - 240z, 260z, 280z

    Posted

    Yep, that is the progression.

    I have run 350 in mine since 1988, and never had an issue. For a while I attributed it to the fact the tranny only had 24K km on it when I got it...but generally people say below 400 they are good for quite a while. The shear pins tend to go more than gearing.Gearing damage like TimZ saw can be either horsepower, or poor lubrication on the gear so people may think they are encounterin horspower induce lubrication shear at a much lower level if they aren't using a good film-strength synthetic lubricant (and in some cases of endurance applications, a COOLER.)

     

    AFter that, consensus in Japan is the 240SX tranny is good for 'more power, 450 no problem', if you physically measure the gears they are wider, or have hardened spacers to widen the gear engagement widths which means more load carrying capability. The same thing goes for lubrication in this tranny. Upgrading the internals to the OS Gikken straight cut gears, or alternate gearset raises the power capability a bit, but at quite some cost. A sequential shifter is available.

     

    In this same class is the BW T5 Tranny. JeffP had his survive at 450 real rear wheel HP for a while but as he said "it was really screaming"... The G-Force internal modifications will make it survive to 600 for a reasonable cost if you need to keep a specific case in the car. The G-Force modification is less than an OS Upgrade on the T5. A sequential shifter is available.

     

    Then ultimately in the Nissan Built Tranny selection is the 300ZX tranny which stock is supposedly good to 750 and that kind of upsets JeffP since he spent around $3400 for his Tremec because neither of the two prior options were available when he was making his 450+ to the rear wheels. A sequential shifter is available for this tranny as well as an array of alternate gearsets from various manuifacturers. Stock, it's probably the cheapest reliable tranny but it's a bit more work to get it in compared to either of the two prior cases. If you are below 500HP, the 240SX box is a good option which fits in the tunnel of earlier cars far easier than the Z32 Tranny.

    DGV MPG'S

    in Nissan L6 Forum

    Posted

    Since Noddle brought it up, I'd have to agree with him. I'm able to get high 20's out of my car, with a nice lean cruise on the freeway.

     

    O.K., Noddle, Me, CamH, that's three of us. It is now incontravertable internet fact to be trotted out in future arguments and debate. :P

     

    Personally, I feel my proclamation was enough:

     

    "Point Blank: If you aren't breaking 21-22mpg when you are on the freeway with a STEADY AND CONSISTENT THROTTLE FOOT running anywhere between 2500 and 3500 rpms, there is something SERIOUSLY wrong with your fuel delivery mechanisims."

     

    In some Southeast Asian Countries, I am a minor diety... B)

    Easy and cheap way to drill 1" hole into metal

    in Fabrication / Welding

    Posted

    Looks good! My question (much belated) would have been "how 'round' does it need to be?"

     

    A series of chain-drilled holes that you nibble/snip/grind out to the 1" round circle drawn on the back of the bucket probably could have been done by you with nothing bought. But what fun is not having an extra tool laying around to impress drinking friends when the go out to The Shed?

     

    If there is going to be a rubber grommit on the hole, the real 'finish' and exact 'roundness' of the hole is not really that critical.

     

    I would think being in the UK this choice would have been some sort of Ingrained Instinct. There, buying a new body panel is just not proper. Everybody knows you have to make it from flat sheet! In that same vein, chain-drilling a hole would seem natural! :D

    DGV MPG'S

    in Nissan L6 Forum

    Posted

    I ran an L24 with Solex/Mikuini Triple 40PHH's and a three speed autobox, running the 4.11 rearend in the car from LA to Phoenix some years back, and returned 28mpg.

     

    You are way under the curve as far as mileage goes only getting 16 on the freeway at that speed.

     

    I had a typo as well, I meant to say "2500 to 3500" --- really cruising at 50-75 it doesn't seem to make much difference in mileage running in that range. Even up to almost 4000 like with the 4.11 and Autobox! :blink:

    Project Land Speed Record Z

    in S30 Series - 240z, 260z, 280z

    Posted · Edited by Tony D

    If you're F/MS with the L28 you can aerodynamically do a LOT more than you can in /GT. Go ahead and alter the car for aero as best you can. Have you seen the #286 car? Check out the Aero Thread, I've posted photos of it, he's running a 380 Chevy in it, chopped and has a very unique nose. Seems pretty stable at speed.

     

    You won't be limited to running the G-Nose, you can do almost anything you want in /MS! Far more aero cars are possible when not restricted to the /PRO or /GT rules!

     

    For /MS, I believe EITHER coupe or 2+2 are eligible, but the rule change this year may have separated that once and for all.

    DGV MPG'S

    in Nissan L6 Forum

    Posted · Edited by Tony D

    The 4-speed autobox has a.67 overdrive, if you are still running the 3.36 rear gear, and not something like a 4.11 you're waaaaaaaay overgeared with a non-turbo car with no bottom end torque. You might pass with better mileage if your car was a 3.0 high compression stroker N/A, but with a stock L24 or even L28 only running 65mph you are lugging the hell out of the engine, which will result in some terrible fuel economy.

     

    Point Blank: If you aren't breaking 21-22mpg when you are on the freeway with a STEADY AND CONSISTENT THROTTLE FOOT running anywhere between 2500 and 3500 rpms, there is something SERIOUSLY wrong with your fuel delivery mechanisims.

     

    I didn't break 20mpg with a Stock SU'd L26, Centerforce Lightened Flywheel, 82ZX Five Speed, and 3.7 gearset until I AVERAGED over 100mph. Under 100 mph, I STILL averaged 20+ mpg in steady-state interstate driving.

     

    And that 19mpg? That was in 103F heat blasting across Nebraska and Iowa...with the A/C on and an interior temperature of 70F! Anybody who says Z's with A/C overheat and won't cool the cabin may want to rethink their skills when it comes to diagnosing root causes...that gauge didn't budge over 190F the entire trip! ;)

    Skyline Tailights

    in Body Kits & Paint

    Posted

    Go to Japan.

    I've seen three sets of these lights in SoCal since 1989.

    One set on a 71 Fairlady Z in a junkyard outside Norton AFB. I put a deposit on it to hold for 90 days so I could get storage arranged (deposit as it 'paid him what he wanted for it') and when I came back it was gone. Whereabouts unknown.

     

    The other two sets were on Kenmary Skylines people were driving.

     

    73-77 as I recall...

     

    I have seen several sets in Japan, including the 'crystal' lenses which were popular in Japan in the 80's (yeah, crystal lights are a new fad, huh?)

    Project Land Speed Record Z

    in S30 Series - 240z, 260z, 280z

    Posted

    You should probably post this in the S30 board.

    What class do you plan on running F/GT? You will need aero, and over 400HP.

    Currently the record in F/GT is by an S30 (240Z), and the discussion over putting an RB30 in there with the DOCH Head (which is legal in GT Class) would make this some stiff competition.

     

    The aero loads go up considerably, F/GT car was running an honest 400HP to get his record at 172.940 mph, compared to our F/PRO record of only 167.XXX. Our terminal speed was in F/ALT at 173.325 was acoomplished with a full belly pan, G-Nose, no spoiler, and around 267-320 RWHP.

     

    The overbore will aid in breathing unshrouded valves... but displacement/torque help pull the gears. You will end up likely running a close ratio comp box.

     

    Our L20A powered G/PRO car (same car, different engine) makes peak power at 8750 rpms, and has run RPM's were you talk about oging during testing, but you will have to get some big ports and valves to let the cylinders fill at 4K feet.

     

    PM me if you want any more details, Burton would likely help out a bit, he runs the Red #7770 240 you've seen at Maxton. We haven't made it out there yet, only running at El Mirage and Bonneville, Car #220, 1976 280Z 2+2.

    Sealed Beam Conversion

    in S130 Series - 280ZX

    Posted

    What you think is a 'projector' is merely the shade cap on the H4 capsule in the reflector.

    Personally, I pull them out as it interferes with light transfer by about 30%. You do get the 'dazzle' bright spot in the center of the lens afterwards, but on E-Codes with their defined cutoff it's only really an issue on high-beam. And then there shouldn't be oncoming traffic to bother!

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