Pharaohabq

Why isn't this a sticky yet?

Well it really looks like the same Toyota Spectra Blue that Austin's (AHoke) 240Z is painted. there's a few cars on here that are painted the same way. I'd go for that, but I don't want to be a copy cat... hehe But really if that's the color you like, then go for it.

yeah that one looks better. I'd still be concerned about rust, so please search on here for the common rust locations. The Rims on that one look like the Sport rims from the 78' Black pearl. They're rare enough in anycase, so if you get that car hold on to the rims, or at least sell them to someone who knows what they are and will use them. If the car won't pass emmissions in his selling form then, you need to have him take it in to have it detuned, for sport, whatever that means. If the car is in decent shape, it should pass emmissions, tho since you're in Cali you might need to find an experienced shop to look it over BEFORE you buy it. the Seller should not have a problem with that unless he's hiding something.

it's probably going to be easier to just swap in a 74-78 booster. You won't lose anything on the booster that way. I would say you could get a 79-83 ZX MC though, since it's slightly larger it can handle bigger brakes. Toyota etc.

Sounds to me like you should talk to a different REPUTABLE mechanic. Get an estimate and pledge of warranty, then ask for your $ back from the 1st mechanic. They have no obligation to refund any of your $ unless it says so in your service agreement. If they haven't fixed your car how you've asked and understood they were going to fix it then it's your right to go somewhere else. As for the oilpan. unless they've damaged it, you should be able to have it cleaned off, unbent, and reinstalled with the appropriate gasket relatively cheaply. It is a good idea to do your mainseals at the same time since there's not that much to them. Though the rear main seal may entail removing the tranny. (Should be easy 1 or 2 hours for a good mechanic) Sometimes on the L2x series oilpans, if the 10mm bolts that hold it on are over tightened, they'll indent the rim of the pan and cause a weak seal between them Usually there's a set of metal reenforcement brackets to help stiffen the rim for the bolts particularly on the corners, but often that's missing. New ones can be easilly fashioned using 1/8" plumbers tape to spread the pressure evenly. it's also VERY important to follow the bolt tightening procedure listed in the manual especially when using a Cork gasket. Make sure the gasket sealer is made for oil, not water.

My thoughts exactly... They are wrong.. Also don't trust a recently painted car unless they had a reputable bodyshop and a paint warranty to go along with it. you don't know if it's been done right, or if they are covering inches of bondo. We've heard a lot of horrorstories.. The second car is apparently already gone so you're going to have to keep looking. Also consider looking through AZ and NM and TX lists as well since we've got a lot of low rust cars that have just been waiting for someone to buy them and it's only a few 100 bucks to ship to Cali...

Yeah, See having the windshield right and more slanted is much better. The profile of this one is much nicer. it almost doesn't look chopped, till you compare it to a stock one. I hope he's able to complete the project. Awefully nice LS7 he's putting in too.

Oh yeah, the brake and gas pedals part. I dunno why they didn't just hack that whole setup out of the left and weld it to the center. they would have only had to replace the linkage with adjustible threaded rod. It was a scary setup... The challengers were out of their element tooo much, esp since they didn't have an interior person... how smart is that? phar

Hmm looking at those picts it makes the hood look all funny, kinda xtra long for the car. I'm sure it looks a lot better in person, but judged just from the picts, I don't like it... Now if I was going to chop or slice a S30, I would much more be inclined to chop it down the center and make a wide body Z. Say add about 6 or 8 inches width to the whole thing. This is because I'm used to the roominess of my DD Z32. but the S30 is so nimble. I don't know if widening the body would change that. Some definite issues in doing so would be: 1. be the glass, it would need to be custom shaped. Unless another car came with something that might work and look the same only wider. This matters for both the front and the back 2. The Floor pans on either side of the tranny tunnel would need to be widened, or you'd have a huge tranny tunnel, but wider pans means wider seats more comfy is possible then, Of course looks would matter 3. the hood, Either you're cut it down the middle and make it wider or better widen it on either side of the hood hump to preserve the look. Tailight panels would merely need plastic or fibre glass to widen them. Widening the rest like the engine mounts and suspension mounts would be easy compared to the body work. Maybe if I get some Photoshop time I'll work on a rendering. Interresting idea, but likely way too much work. but I bet it would look cool. Phar

Well I don't know about ease, bt you will need to know how to weld, or at least have friends who can weld for you. I'm not sure anyone makes a kit to swap one in, but I know that McKinney motorsports makes a kit for the KA24, the VQ and the RB swap into an S30. The SR20 is a 4 cyl engine so you'll be happier on gas at least till your foot gets heavy. Non built it's only about 200 HP, but w/ turbos and all it could hit about 450 ish.. Really like I was saying before, if you're new to this, really, just get yourself the car and get the stock motor running. These are NOT new cars, they're not going to ride like new cars. Being 35 years old they're going to need a lot of TLC. They're mature, they're fussy, theyre crabby. You will learn to love them and their quirks. Just like we love Tony-D There's going to be a lot more than just engine to fix, even if you get one with a redone interior, likely you'll still need some work. All the seals, and rubber are common to be shot, so even if the interior looks okay, the suspension bushings could need to be replaced. The more restoration that's been done to the car, the higher the price will be. Keep that in mind. I'm not trying to talk you out of buying a Z, but just letting you know they're a handful. what I really don't want to see is another Z ripped apart and abandoned. I heard somewhere that 3 out of 5 restoration projects are never completed. Now I don't know if that's "completed" completed, or if that means put back together in running condition. Most hybrid'ers know their car is never "Completed", just that particular projects get finished.

Not Cancelled yet... I saw the first few min of the new VW one last night. The Challengers had a better design, but I dunno who won.

ahh, yeah, okay, the pict made it look like it was sticking out more than it was. If you're concerned about heat on the bay where that header is, maybe you should look into some heat shielding, or at least some high temp wrap. I'd hate for your pretty paint to get bubbled.

Sounds like a trip to the junkyard is in order, or at least a few calls to carpart.com members to find somone who'll take some measurments for you. The Z31 stuff is a possibility, but I'd want to look at them before trying them either. If you get into this, please post some picts and show us what you're thinking. I know you can buy rebuilt S30 switches. I was going to swap in a 78' switch for my 70 switch. dunno the difference tho.

Yeah the L28ET is about the easiest route to go, though the stock engine isn't exactly slow in itself it it's running well. I'd reccommend you get the car, and get it running well on the stock engine, then if you want more you could really look into a swap. The L28ET is easiest, but if you must swap something else, the SR20 isn't too hard, but would be about the same HP (but better gas mileage till you put the turbos on it). Going V8 or VQ is definitely an option but not an easy swap. Tougher I think are the RB engines. Some people have gone Toyota and put in the JZ engines. But really, just get the car first, make it go, then get into the idea of swapping later because it's not something (cept for the L28ET) that you can do in a weekend. Yeah Cheap,great & Fast, Just remeber this:

Hey That's looking really nice... The Dash came out really well... How durable is that texture coating? Where did you buy the Materials. It's good to let us know what you used to get such a nice result. Let us know how it holds up to wear and to the Sun. I'm impressed so far... That pain looks really nice especially in the dimmer light. In the sun, it's almost blinding. I believe the Stock Copper paint was probably similar way back when it was new. That Brake line, It's interresting you popped it through with a grommet, I like that idea, but I worry if your tire is ever too wide, and you turn right too sharp that it might grap it. I would have popped it through forward from there about 8 or so inches so it's in line with the Shock tower mostly. Looks like you sealed the grommet, that's a good idea. Other than that I think it's looking Sweet Phar

Yes they can be mounted in the stock location, but filling becomes an issue. The wall between the tank is supposed to be made of a non-flamable/non-porous material (read metal. In the event of a wreck it's to prevent splash and burns. On the subject of burns. Anyone see that "Skin Gun" for treating burns with skin stim cells. Like air brushing your own skin back on. no more horrible scars, Search you-tube for Skin gun. and keep your mind out of the gutter.

would a check valve on the overflow tube be a good idea?

By rotate, I'm talking about the part that's hanging lowest, Move that back about 2-3" leaving the upper portion in place so that it's mounted similar to a Z31 radiator, angled not quite at 45 degrees, but up an inch or so higher w/o having to cut and paste. Though to do it right pulling it off and remounting it higher is probably required. See how it fits w/ your MSA airdam before making any changes...

Yeah, I'm not real sure about Sealer and primer myself. Though the Seam sealer I was talking about is a caulk like stuff you can put over your seams just to ensure they're water tight. Particularly under the chassis. You do that, then prime paint and undercoat. Though depending on the undercoat you may not have to paint. I'm not a body guy so I don't know for sure. I only know what I've seen guys do and what came out looking really nice. Perhaps someone can chime in here with the proper methods and answers. Phar

It looks a little low to me too, but if you have the ducted MSA skirt it looks like it might be directing the brake cooling air on that side right through the cooler. I don't think it'll hang below the bottom of an MSA skirt tho. You might be able to just rotate the bottom back a little unless you don't have wheel clearance. (besure to check spacing lock to lock.)

Pretty cool, you've done quite a lot of work. Did you have much trouble welding next to the rusty painted areas? Usually I clean stuff up before trying to weld next to stuff like, that since you get less spatter, and a cleaner weld. Shielding gas helps quite a lot too. Yours doesn't look too bad at all though. You might want to wipe it down with some surface prep and hit it with seam sealer and a light coat of primer just to keep any rust from reforming. It's a lot of work replacing that much metal, but good job!

Pretty cool Vid. I really liked the artsy way it was put together, having the Z be the visual and the Violin being the audial focal points. The Z looks like it's fairly well built... Like to see it closer... More picts please

do a search on here, there's tons of threads about how people have replaced them with Walmart fuse holders.

Right.... Okay, I was wrong, The Cowel idea is a bad place to vent as Tony said. I have since read up on a lot of the aero on here about it. Hope Venting out the side works with those waterproof fans. Phar

I'm relative certain the rear (yellow wire) is the Reverse switch. the Middle is likely the neutral safety. I don't know the 3rd, as my tranny only has two.