Tony D

Define 'connector'. If it's 110V, then a block connector is the most logical iteration.

Oh, you bastard!

Well, that old airlift outfit that ran those white 707's out of Taiwan did OK some years back!

1962 VW Deluxe Microbus. I still own it, 26+ years later and a quarter of a million + miles down the road....

ooooh, nice paint, and even nicer Defi Gauge set!

Ghosttanker nails their function & issue, it's defrost and airflow. The relocation to the quarters was to give a place to allow for a larger vent without being obtrusive. The original small rectangular hatch placement vents on the early cars weren't functioning that well, and had issues with water leakage to the interior more than any perceived issue with 'fumes'. When new, 'fumes' was not really an issue with either position. Drive a Z without a rear hatch, and you will notice the defroster works really well, and there is no fume issue at all. With the 34 degree mornings finally getting me frost on the windshield, the lower vents blowing cold air onto my legs is kind of sucky, as the heater is on 'high, fan position 3' to keep the interior at 70mph whilst going 80mph down the 60 freeway in the morning. In the FSM the show the 'flow through' fucntion of design to the heater system, as well.

That point has long since past, Derek! Anything that anybody is going to mention at this point (as well as 2 years ago) will be nothing more than theoretical parsing of a proven concept. Something they think may be an issue. Frankly, having put as much time into EFI conversion of Triple Carburetted engines on both racing and street vehicles there is nothing of substance anybody can say to me to make me prefer a set of triple carbs over almost anything with EFI. If your rules dictate carburettors, that is what you run. And in most cases, that is why people see so many carburetted engines out there. Same with us at Bonneville with the 2+2---it's not some 'inherent advantage' given to us by the body style, it's what the rules say we have to run. To the casual observer who never questions what he sees and gets in to the 'inside story' they can draw all sorts of incorrect conclusions about what they are seeing. You are on the downhill slope. You are going to be amazed by the way these things run...even compared to the stock EFI the auditory reward will mask any drivability or small technical difficulties you will encounter along the way getting them to peak performance. Hell, if you run Alpha-N on the setup initially (or as some have mentioned MAP-Based Accel) I think out of the box the drivability and throttle response compared to just about any other Z---carburetted or fuel injected will be phenomenal. And fine-tuning the parameters will make it even better! Like Woldson mentions, it's in the execution that the proof will come. Theoreticians would never have come up with the tungsten filament light bulb---standard in the industry now for over 100 years. It took a guy in a workshop who didn't listen to what experts said couldn't be done to show them their assumptions were wrong. Of course, they claimed they were physical laws...but only from their way of thinking. This is nothing new, you have taken the steps to make the things work as best possible without actually runnning them. Just complete them, put them on a car and start working out the mechanical interface and tuning issues. There is where OEM's spend countless thousands of man hours making 'perfectly engineered systems' work in the real world. You can have everything right, and it can still not work. The best you cna hope for is nothing creeps up in incompatible metallurgy that causes irritating long-term usage issues that require you to pull them back off the car and rework some portion of the unit. I see them as totally workable, it's just how will the pivots hold up to 100K miles of beating in the dirty environment of the real world. And we won't know that till we get to that point. Till then, fretting about theoretical issues is counterproductive. The concept is great, just work the issues that now arise in funtional testing. The time to fret over theoretical issues is over by 700 days + of discussion!

IMO that concern is splitting hairs that won't easily be nailed down at best---totally unfounded at worst. This is a purely theoretical point to bring up. If you look at most Triple Manifolds, they have their own compromises that bring up their own theoretical issues. And using 'triple 40's' is definately not a gold standard for power production. A cobbled together set of Maxima 45mm ITB's ran better out the gate with MS driving the setup on a V8 Tuned Fuel Program than most 40's and 44's I've seen where people spent several hours trying to figure jetting out on their own! Not to mention, the EFI setup will start reliably in 35 degree weather and drive off with drivability that you would dream of using 45 Webers in that kind of cold! I wouldn't even briefly ponder it, given what I've seen in the difference between any 45 ITB's compared on the same engine with their former 45 DCOE's and PHH's and DHLA's....

Oooooh, the butterfly screws---yeah the standard there is brass. The tube will work on the injector screws to set the height...I used the nuts because I had several different injectors I was experimenting with, and they were of different heights...and found out used different size O-Rings as well, but that's another story. Just something to fix them in position so the injector can 'float' on it's O-Rings and you're set.

Brass Screws may stake nicely, but a button-headed Stainless Steel Screw won't discolor! Just thread a self-locking SS Nut and small washer underneath the flange on your injector 'fuel cap' and run it up close to the underside. Once you have it set to the height you want, run the nut up tightly against the bottom of that fuel cap while holding the screw secure. Can't turn, can't unscrew from the manifold, and the injector fuel cap is permanently fixed at a set height (which you can adjust at any time) by the jam nut. You really want the injector to be able to 'float' inside the base and cap so it can grow with thermal expansion. If you screw the things down tight, there will be a bind on the body when the injector and all the metal expands as they warm up. Why does this come to mind so quickly: Great Minds Think Alike. This is almost the identical method that I used on the SU Throttle Body Conversions I made, and that's how I set the fuel hat to proper height within the float bowl! Screw Brass and Staking them! Just put a nylock nut, or an internally toothed lockwasher and jam nut (they are 8mm in my application...) on there. I use Allen Headed Screws for the sanitary look, and because the button-headed ones are smoooth and polish out with jewler's rouge to look like chrome.

After looking up specs on the MP-7 it's obvious the person recommending it to me has never operated using one. I'll stick with the 9mm, I don't have need for body-armor piercing capability. If I want that, I can use my SKS with the old Chinese Surplus Ammo that was steel-core copper jacketed (which Wikipedia lauds as a great oddity in the 4.x mm MP7 round) I've worked with an MP5 before, and I like it. I see no need to go with an MP7 at this point, unless I get into sustained close-quarters combat with US Marines invading my compound. And then again, like I said, the SKS and AK would do just as well. Some claymores wouldn't hurt in that situation, either though. Back to filling the sandbags! ...

I like the tires as well. I want them on the 240...

You know, that is a damn good ploy, except that it's recently passed smog and has good registration for hte full year... But if there were no takers at the end of that time...pulling a couple of vacuum hoses to intentionally fail smog, then going in, having it tested (failing miserably) and then using the crusher rebate program to pay me $1000 for my efforts seems a laudabule way to milk the state of California out of a $1000 rebate of my tax dollars. It's all in the name of saving it for our kids, right??? I hadn't thought of that angle of attack to discard of the behemoth.... It meets all the criteria for the crusher programs: Currently Registered, Forced to be a Gross Polluter, everything there looks functional... Muahahahaha! The deviousness which it now incites goads me to persistence! LOL Only drawback is the sin of wasting a perfectly good rat motor that could well go into the Norskog just for S&G!

There are now plenty of aluminum block engines without sleeves... Kind of sad pushing technology to the failure point made GM so gunshy. If the Corvair didn't do that 10 years earlier...

If you have click on cold startup days that goes away, you are using the wrong weight oil for the temperature. If it is getting cold, you should be using a 10W or 5W30 oil. People put these ungawdly heavy weight oils into cars thinking it protects their bearings but that's the direct opposite effect it has, as during startup because it's so viscous and thick the pumping effort to get it circulating through all the components of the engine is phenomenal, and stuff simply runs dry till the molasses gets pumped up to properly lubricate it.

I'm with Z-Ya on the 'I want several, undrilled'! Set a price, and let me know where to sign up!

Yeah, that is my 'current' listing as well, not 'past ownership', nor did it include partial vehicles saved in 'clip form'. That would add 3 1/3 more, excluding roof sections and engines stored in the first storage continer.

Mmmmm, MP5, my favorite. Though I've been told of an MP7 and it's supposed to be much better. Now to read the blog to figure out who "T.I." is...

There was more there than simply an R1, if you think it was about the bike, you're woefully wrong. If your friend thinks it's about the bike, he's woefully wrong as well. As for Legends of the Fall, we watched that a week or so ago. I like Bradd Pitt in that movie, though not as much as Anthony Hopkin's character. Shohuld have checked back on Joe Greensleeves in Fontana...now I have an ace in the hole to go as a special surprise... I think she has preconceived notions about what the truck is... I really wasn't looking for a combination, and I wasn't looking for an enclosed trailer. BUT... Several times over the past year she has made the comment that "why don't you buy an enclosed trailer like Daves, so you could use it as a portable garage and store one of hte cars in it?" (Seriously...she has said that to my response of "Dave's trailer was $14,000 and I'm not paying 14K for a damned trailer!") I will need this trailer in the future for some stuff, so it's really a 'target of opportunity', and really the truck is coming along for the ride. I would 'fire sale it' for $1K to anybody who wanted it once the trailer was at the house. I will buy a smaller truck, but when will you find a set trailer with storage and the ability to pull and engine using the roof beams for under $5K??? It's not what I wanted, but the plans for the future, as well as convienence of transporting some of the cars to and from the painter's it would come in handy---and if need be I can borrow someone's F350 Diesel to tow it for that purpose. But it's getting the trailer. And having it at that price. The truck is her sticking point---she is convinced that another trailer will come up that is cheaper...or somehow 'a perfect match.' "But it's a dually" is her refrain. IMO, it's an overbuilt trailer and that's a good thing. If it sits for a comple of years, at least its enclosed storage for a car, or a nice easily heated with a space heater portable shop for the back yard (plus, I can store building materials inside it for the drywall I need to do... But we won't get into the selling of my Moby Van back in '01 because that phase of home improvements as done...bought it off-lease for $900 from the company, sold it three years later on Christmas Day for $3500!) Frankly, all I want and have a need for immediately is the TRAILER. I would sell the damn truck for whatever I could get for it and move on with my selection of an older Chevy C20 or C30 from 67-72 for a work truck (which I don't really need since I don't technically do any wrenching any more, but having a truck to pull up onto a jobsite is psychologically soothing for customers compared to a rat-trap Blue 260Z with a 'You are being Overtaken' flag painted across the hood.) I think I will mention the building materials storage angle. She seems to have a soft spot for the old White Chevy G30 Van I had, and she knows the only reason I bought it was to store drywall and building materials, because it was mobile, and cheaper than a Tuffshed at the time! Kinda the exact same situation now, in my mind at least. I think my holding on to vehicles once I get them (please see my list under the thread 'how many S30's do you own') makes her think I will keep this Dually around for a while. Other than an immediate couple of scrap runs (including some of the Z-s I'm willing to part with) if someone comes up with the cash---it's gone. So that's a non-starter in my mind. But not in hers. I think this afternoon I'm cashing a check for my offer, and will set up a viewing of the package tomorrow since we will be in the area for a party. MY CONCERN: I didn't inspect this truck, someone else FAR more finikey that I did, and by his description it's pretty nice. I am afraid once we take a look at it she will want me to KEEP the truck longer than I have any plans for it! This is kind of what happened with my Van. I wanted it gone. I hate big vehicles unless I have a constant need for them (er...like towing a 20 foot trailer). I usually go with the smallest vehicle that will do the job reliably. I just need to get her to go look at it. There, it's fleshed out some more. Space is not an issue. Money is not an issue. And as for giving her an equivalent ammount...christmas is two days away, and there aren't any visible presents under the tree from me to her... Lets say big $ can come in small packages. If not an equivalent ammount, it's far more than I would ever spend on such foolish baubles to ornament my body... Oh, and she knew about my car craze when we got married. She painted her Supra when we lived in Japan. I had headers hanging in the spare bedroom closet there! I had a house on a small lot and 6 Z Cars, her 1980 Suzuki Jeep, her 1980 Celica XX (Surpa) and my Yamaha XS650 Special on that little postage stamp lot...with a HiAce Van up at the hobby shop for Body and Paint Supply Storage! And I forgot to mention my last words on the subject to her on the 21st: "And don't think just because I don't buy it, that means it won't end up stored in our backyard anyway, honey!" The guy I sent it to for his purchase, doesn't have the space, so the bastard batted it back to my court! If I don't buy it, he's already lined up a buyer for the truck, and would end up storing the trailer at my place anyway (with the Lemons Car in it!) Oh Oh, now John C can deduce two of the players in this Shakesperian Drama... As for using sex as a tool against me...remember I am a Field Service Person. By nature, I have evolved into a Sexual Dromedary. One hump can last me for months through the drought!

Scenario: 1990 Chevy 3+3 Dually, 454 Big Block, new registration and smog current. Late 70's 22 Foot enclosed trailer, with rollaround box, workbench, dual lighting system (110 and 12V) This package has towed for the current owner for years, and he's lost storage so has to sell. Price is "Dutch Auction" due to possible tow/impound starting 1Jan (and the police have been cruising his place daily to monitor 'the disposal') Price was $6000 for the pair, now down to $5000 'Negotiable'. MUST BE BOUGHT TOGETHER WILL NOT SEPARATE! Besides my attempts, what on earth can convince my wife that 'Dually' is not a bad thing, and really, if I buy the package for $4000-4500 and sell the dually for $1K I'm still out ahead on the deal. Was a former Drag Racer's Pit Trailer, and because it was bought and paid for they never really considered selling it because they just parked it at their shop. Now, that is no longer possible, so 'fire sale' pricing. Nice trailer (though heavy) with 1.5" Box Tubing skeleton (including overhead) which you can attach a beam to the roof and pull a Big Block Engine inside the trailer if need be. How, gentlemen. How do I convince her that I need this. I have already offered up 7 Z's to the Crusher/Scrap man to clear more than enough space for this acquisition. Give me some ideas, men. I'm at a loss... Did I mention this is my 24th wedding anniversary today. So any of your suggestions has to be broached after today...

Check out what JeffP has done with his car, Art. He is currently running a VG30DE Box from a Maxima using a distributor...but firing individual coils. Having the OBD port on an 80-83 car would really send the SMOG people into fits! It would be clean, pass visual, but have an OBD which their system says is not supposed to be there! Muahahahaha!

Yep, the N42 for the Carburetted Saloons from mid 74 onwards, till some time in mid 75 had a carburetted bolt flange only. No injector ports. My bud has one in his 75 Fairlady Z Coupe.

To contribute to Z-Ya's self-jacking...er... It makes you think when those crybabies in car 929 protested our little L20A powered 280Z 2+2, huh? That Cosworth engine and EFI combination is worth 345HP at 12,000 rpms if they have the ability to tune it properly. They went out and bumped the record (I guess because we lit the fire under their butt...) But that protest...bad form! I think the Cosworth Vega is the only engine I've seen with an Emission Control Device that is so pretty, the engine looks WORSE (if not less intimidating) with it off, than with it on... That being the A.I.R. Injection Tubes across the top of the head. Nice big chrome things that scream 'KILLER TECHNOLOGY! DON'T MESS WITH ME! LOOK AT MY CHROME!!!' LOL

Just for the Record... There was a full bodied 280ZX featured in some hot Rod Magazine in the late 80's built by Richard's Z & ZX Service in L.A. that turned 11's on the L28 using a draw-through four barrel setup... Remember his location: SoCal... There will be smog compliance issues for the next few years on his setup if he wants to drive it on the street. Legally.

That pricing is only minimally increased over the prices from the 80's and early 90's. Considering the yen-dollar conversion rate, I'd say that's about right... If you guys think it's an inflated price now, what would you have thought of the price in 1986 dollars (about 3X less in dollar price, but exactly the same in Yen Price...around 250,000)