jeromio

Yeah, and I'm pretty sure that parachute is gonna make a big mess in the grocery store parking lot (I'm pretty sure Ron's car is only ever driven on the 1/4 mile track))

So, did you drill out the conical-ness of the steering knuckle hole? Or did you find some kind of insert? If the former, was that hard to get right? Would you use an endmill or a drill bit for that job?

I have failed to remove windshields twice. So, maybe you can at least learn from my mistakes. You're supposed to be able to use like a string a cable, dragged thru the stripping to both unseat it and plornk it to the outside. I have used this technique to successfully wedge lots of pieces of string, wire and cable into the windshield frame. You can try prying the stripping from inside to outside. This is an excellent way to chip the outer edge of the windshield or even crack the whole thing altogether. You can try pressing outwards on the glass as you pry with screwdrivers or whatever. But you may as well just smash the glass because it'll be a much quicker and less frustrating way to achieve the exact same result. The technique that I have yet to try is to use a really sharp knife to cut the inner lip of the stripping completely off. In theory, this should work. But then, my track record on this is not so good, so.... I think both MSA and VB have replacement stripping.

From what I've read (here and elsewhere), performance of drums vs. discs on the lightweight little Z is pretty much a wash. The main reason I switched over was that my drums needed replacing - I couldn't justify spending that time/money on new drums. Discs are sooooooo much easier to maintain and work on. My advice is that if you're not doing anything else to the rear end (switching to CVs or changing bearings or anything) and the drums and shoes are in good shape, then just leave it alone. But when the drums or shoes wear out, that's a good time to weigh your options.

Be aware that those benders are not going to bend beyond about 30 degrees or so. For a cage (or rollbar) you're going to want 90s and 45s, so, the bender ain't gonna cut it (I speak from experience here).

On the other side of the trans, the driver's side, there should be a reverse lockout thingie. It's like a flat piece of metal with 2 screws in it. If you take that out, you can fill the trans thru there. Just be sure to not the position of the thing - maybe mark it with paint, so that you don't put it back in backwards. Also, you'll have to put in the correct amount of fluid (good luck finding the trans capacity in a Haynes manual) since if you fill it to the top of that hole, it'll be too full.

When replacing bushings in the Z Car, ALL of the bushing sleeves have to be removed, Except for the big mustache bar bushings. I don't have a press and couldn't get any machine shop's to do the deed for me (bastards). So, What I did was to use a sawzall and carefully cut the sleeve most of the way (hacksaw works too). Then I hammered at that cut part, bending the sleeve in on itself. Eventually it comes out. The trick is to not damage the control arm.

When I did this I searched all over and found some people saying to move the pivot point up by 3/4 inch and others saying 1 inch. So I did mine at 15/16. I think 3/4 would be fine though. You also have to modify the control arm. Its "corner" will have to be knocked off so it won't interfere with the cross member. I cut little pie sections out of it and hammered the corner down so it kind of curves downward. I also moved my pivot OUT about 1/4 inch to increase negative camber. But I don't recommend this for a daily driver. Makes the car really darty and very quick steering. Probably excellent for the track (at this point, I wouldn't know ), but not so good for the road. Also, be sure and spot weld in some new washers to the inside of the crossmember. I don't personally see the need for the "bump steer spacers" if you're moving the pivot point.

Cool. I like this one alot:

I successfully used a pipe wrench on all 4 of mine.

You might just be able to buy a long length of bike brake/derailer cable. Tough routing it though.

Oh yeah. I am highly interested in some details on that Miata filler. Looks good in the pictures - hopefully it looks and feels as good in person. I'm trying to figure out if I need to have the filler on the driver's side. If I use this Camaro tank that I have, I may need to flip it (to the standard FBody orientation) in order to gain some exhaust clearance. In which case, the filler will need to be on the driver's side and I'll need to patch the passenger hole (easy enough) and create a driver's hole. Using one of these caps would make that lots easier. It would actually be nice to have it on the driver's side - much more convenient. Plus, if I do flip the tank, it can sit farther forward whichis better.

It definately looks like the Miata one is a door. So, the Bullit one is a door/cap? I guess that would help to justify the additional $50. It's a tough call because I like the idea of a remote/lockable setup. But the chrome might verge on the geech a bit.

On the FBody (Camaro/TransAm)? I'm pretty sure it's 3/8. The stock line on the 240 may be 5/16.....

Still trying to settle on the fuel lines. I'm going to be using all the stock components from the FBody: fuel pump, regulator, rail - probably even the tank. So, it makes sense to go with the stock fuel line size, 3/8 feed and 5/16 return, right? I don't want to move to the next size up, 1/2 inch, and risk having a pressure drop (need 56psi). The problem is that although I can source 3/8 and 5/16 hardline, no one (that I've found) stocks -5 AN fittings or lines. SO, here's my question: can anybody see a problem with running the same size return as feed, eg 3/8? The other bonus to doing this is that the hardline comes in 25 foot lengths (20 for stainless), and the braided seems to come in 3ft, so I could save myself some dollars and a whole bunch of extra tubing that I wouldn't need (since I only need like 10ft hardline and 18in soft).

I'm going nowhere with my project. Ripped out the old fuel lines and the tank yesterday. I really should've just kept the old fuel lines - it was a huge pain removing them and now I have to buy and install new ones. Anyspank, I'm buying 3/8 inch stainless supply line and 5/16 inch regular steel return line (Summit is out of 5/16 stainless). So, while I'm at it (God, this is just the source of all project doom "While I'm at it" %*@#$!!!), I've decided to replace the brake lines. Is that brake line going to the rear 1/4 or 3/16? I'm thinking it must be 3/16, but I need to be sure before I blow $25. I'm also ordering stainless for this as they are out of 3/16 regular steel also. But, I have in the very back of my mind some nagging suspicion that you're not supposed to use stainless for brake fluid due to some chemical reaction?? Is my brain playing tricks, or is there something to this? Oh, also, looking at the existing setup for the front brake lines, I'm thinking that rather than have the lines go around the frame, I'm gonna drill a hole thru the inner fender the size of the hose end. Then I'll use the C clip to secure it and thread the hard line on the engine bay side. This is the way most other cars I've worked on route the lines - cleaner IMO. Also gets the lines that much further from hot exhaust tubes.

I was able to remove the wiring harness by pulling it thru to the engine compartment. You just have to push each individual connector thru one at a time, they do fit. Not a problem reconnecting either, since I think there are only 2 pairs of connectors that are similar and confusible, so, just mark one of those pairs with paint or something. I've been contemplating re-doing that front harness. Waytek has some really nice water proof automotive connectors. Problem is that I'd like to get multiple different kinds to duplicate that "can't make a mistaken connection" system, but they have pretty hefty minimum quantities. It'd be key if we could maybe arrange a group purchase or something.

JCWhitney has some stuff that is very cheap. I got the idea from someone who posted it here. I think it was like $20 for a roll of stuff that worked for both doors. Haven't done the hatch yet. The doors were hard to shut for the first few weeks. Worked itself out after awhile though. Very tight seal. No more wind noise.

I used Tokico Performas, part number HZ1083. I think they were for an 85 GTI. They're working fine. The issues I had that were discussed at length here (years ago), were that the Rabbit cart was not supposed to require modification to the isolator, which is not true, and that some felt the valving was not appropriate. MikeG (SCCA) for instance, felt that the rear MR2 cart would be better due to valving and a slightly larger diatmeter shaft. I've found the Rabbit carts to be plenty stiff though. It turns out I'm glad I didn't get the MR2 units. Not sure about the length of those, but the GTI carts are very short. I had to cut a section of pipe to use as a spacer (details at my site). Other than arriving at the correct length for that (15/16 inch), and the hassle of milling down that nylon spacer, it was fairly straight forward. One helpful tip: I found a piece of exhaust tubing that had pretty much the perfect OD to fit inside the strut tube. Must've been 2 inch tubing. This really helped to get the strut tube perfectly straight for welding. The gland nut - that's a wierd name for sure. It's not even really a nut since the threads are on the outside of it. It's the thing that tightens down on, and keeps in place, the cartridge inside the strut tube. I used a big pipe ("monkey") wrench on mine to get the old one off. The people at Tokico were very nice and sent me a new pair to use on the front since I obviously couldn't use the Rabbit ones. I don't know what the MR2 ones might look like. I suppose if you're carts have been replaced at some point, you could re-use the gland nut. Up front, mine were all OEM, if you can believe it. Totally shot of course. The rears had some equally destroyed Sears carts, but the gland nuts were mangled. And the flat part of the isolator hole had to be drilled out. I used a grinding stone. I actually very much prefer the Rabbit style mounting which uses a hex key to keep the shaft from turning (while tightening the upper nut) rather than just a flat spot. I stripped out one rear cart which did not make me happy. Had to weld in more of flat on the one rear isolator to keep the new cart from getting hosed.

You can't put the ZX calipers on the Maxima brackets on the back side because the strut tube is in the way. So the calipers are mounted forward. Therefore the calipers have to be switched side to side so that the bleeder screws point up. I actually forgot about this myself: when I discovered that my passenger side caliper was leaking, I ordered a new passenger side caliper. Doh! Parts counter guy was not too happy having to send it back and order a drivers side - what kind of an idiot could get it wrong, eh?

I'll add my flava to this thread: Bracket cost - I made my own brackets from steel - pain in the ass. I'm poor, but looking back on my ordeal, $175 might've been worthwhile. Definately $150 would be easier to choke up. As to the "15-20 minutes" comment, well, let's just remember that CNC machines are not free (at my old job I had a tiny mini-CNC that might've been big enough for this job and it cost the company $25K), nor is the skill and training that is required to use one. Bracket design - looks very nice. I agree it would be key to make it attach with 3 bolts for assembly ease. That aluminum looks mighty nice. I certainly don't see a problem with using Al and there were some vendors who produced a very similar piece in the past. 280ZX calipers - these are somewhat expensive - moreso than I would've thought. As Terry has pointed out (and I confirmed), the doubled piston is a weak point. Tends to freeze up making used calipers useless as far as ebrake auto-adjustment goes. Also, as Ross points out, the cable does have to be convoluted to hook up. It's solvable, but less than ideal. Better than a separate spot caliper (IMO), but if the calipers could go more towards the backside (top I suppose), the cable could be relieved of some stress. At any rate, I recommend getting some junk calipers from a yard, but only to use as a core. I tried rebuilding and basically wasted time and money. But, most places I've checked have a HUGE core deposit. Get either NA or Turbo 82 rear calipers. But be sneaky and use them as cores for the Turbo units - according to Terry these have a slightly larger piston. They look identical though, so, I seriously doubt anyone will notice. AdvancedAuto had the best price (about $80+core), But I keep getting leaky calipers from them. Remember to put the "L" caliper on the passenger side and the "R" on the drivers. I welded washers near the midpoint of the each axle on the front bulkhead, pretty much in the center, to hook the ebrake cable retaining springs too. I moved these springs over about a foot further up the length of the cable as well. Keeps them from interfering. I also created some spacers by cutting slots in some 1/2 inch washers to space the cable end mechanism on the mounting arm of the caliper. The caliper seems to require more pull than the drum did to actuate the brake, so you have to "tune" the cable with washer spacers to get the operation in the sweet spot. I believe this is why proper functioning of that double cylinder auto-adjustment mechanism is so critical. Oh, I also cut out 2-3 coils of the spring on the end of the cable to gain some more pull.

Hrm. Kind of a hack. You could just mount a poly or rubber bump stop above the diff nose for the same results but much cleaner.

That looks alot like a modded Nissan VG30. Narfty intake. I have seen pics of a 302 installed in a 510 though.

There's bound to be some sort of sheet metal fab shop in your area, if not, try a commercial roofing company - those guys usually have sheetmetal and forming tools. I had a local place cut and fold me up some pieces of 14 ga for my floors and rails (and some assorted other stuff) for very little dough. Easily a tenth of the cost of MSA or any other pre-fab floors. IMO, unless you are going to be either re-enforcing it or folding in some structural deformations (like the original floors had), I would recommend something thicker, like 14ga steel sheet. 18ga is still probably better than the stock stuff (which seems amazingly thin to me - 20-22ga?).

I'm the odd man out with "soft" springs - 150/175. I marvel at those running stiffer springs. This is with an L28, but I believe my LS1 will weigh slightly less. My car is crazy, punishing stiff. No track for me yet. Handles great IMO, but I do wish it wasn't so rough over expansion joints, etc.