Pharaohabq

Hehe I got a kick outta your pict w/ your sunburn.. Back to Heat shields. Yeah I think that stuff you found should work just fine. maybe more than is needed, but way better than melting something. So any idea on the moulds for the rear 3? You said to watch out for guys who just melt down aluminum cans and scrap... Are the pours really that much worse in a case like that?

Awe c'mon, you're making it very hard to play devil's advocate... Phar

yeah go read the back pages, so you can see the picts. this is looking really awesome... Phar

Ahh yeah, stainless. Well it does hold up very well for most purposes, but Heat + moisture + dirt/salt/anything will really mess up stainless. I'm not saying it won't be good, not that the reflective side won't be practical, but just that heat + moisture can cause pitting/surface rust. Ideally, you could take your Stainless Steel shield, and have it ceramic (glass) coated. Nothing would get through that. though how well the glass would stick is another question. not to mention the heat might mess up the steel too. But on the look really cool side, Stainless would fit right in. Maybe mirror chrome the top side, so that looking at the manifolds, the heat shield would act like a mirror so you can see the 360 degree on the intake. wouldn't that be sweet?? The exhaust doesn't get that hot that you really need a sandwich, but functionality dictates you have to have something. I'd say maybe a mirror top and a ceramic bottom on the heat shield should be more than enough... You're not going to see the bottom anyway. Phar

Nice, so you're well ahead on that part. I think the stock heat shield is just aluminum. Though it doesn't do so great a job, as was remedied by the "over the top" injector cooling fans on the 80-83 ZX's. An aluminum sandwich might be a really "cool" idea. Does anyone know how to get hold of and machine Shuttle heat shield "visions" material? hehe wouldn't that be nifty... Phar

Sucks to have to move... Tho maybe you'll get your Z running. I can't imagine how bad a wiring issue would be to fix on the scale you've got. My Z has a slow voltage leak I haven't found yet, so I just disconnect the battery when I'm not going to be driving. You've got me worried about my fusible links and fuseblock now tho... Maybe I'll swap mine out. It'd be easier to find fuses that way too. Seems like a lot of work to fix something that ain't broke... yet. Phar

Nope, No problems here. Thanks for letting us help! I don't think the plug on the TPS will be a big deal in anycase since it'll be on the back end tward the firewall right? That TPS looks like an excellent choice, turns the correct direction, and it's small. GM IAC is a good one. When I did the EFI swap on my 87 jeep, I used a lot of 4.0 parts. Well maybe there might be one issue I can think of that might be a problem there. Heat... The underside of the intake is just above the exhaust. I don't know how much heat the plastic of the TPS could take. You might need to include some heat shield between the exhaust and the intake. It may or may not be needed, but you might consider that... It's always awesome to see the CAD files, then to see the actual pour. I'm still in awe over the work you've done so far. Phar

YAY! Dude, I'm so glad you got your Z back. It really sucks to lose a baby even just for a few days. I hope the police catch the bad guys! Did they Dust for prints? (Not that that helps if a window was down...) So how'd they Get her started? Flatblade screwdriver and a hammer? It's ridiculus how easy it is to get into these cars, and get them going. I wonder if anyone's looked into ignition swaps, or for those mega-squirters, if there's some way to prevent ignition... I bet if any of you still have the ignition interlock still wired under the seat, that you could put a switch in there then it wouldn't start w/o the switch turned on, but not all S30's had that. 1 Vote for a Vehicle Security thread/sticky et al. Phar

looks nice, are those Z31 or Z32 front hubs, and were they a straight swap, or did you have to modify? phar

yeah don't think that the no gas part will work, when i was in school, I had my first 280Z stolen w/ a flat blade. as a college student i was always running on farts. well when they recovered it 3 weeks later dumped in a parking lot, the thieves had left it with 1/2 a tank of gas in it. fortunately there wasn't much damage other than scars on the fender and about 200 miles on the odo. I know because that's how close i was always cutting things. when your needle is always on E you start going by miles or you

Okay, so vaccuum and MAP shouldn't be a problem. So back to Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) What are you thinking for that? is there a specific type/maker that you'll be looking to use? Does MegaSquirt require a TPS? Phar

I imaging the Balance tube would actually be a really good place to put the MAP sensor since it would then read BOTH the manifolds. A larger diameter tube would probably read best. I'm not super familar with the Mega squirt setups, but I'm pretty good at ODB1&II GM fuel injection. From What I've read it's pretty similar. I don't know if Megasquirt would also require a MAT sensor, but I'm pretty sure you'll need a TPS, (throttle position sensor) so I was thinking maybe you could extend one of your throttle shafts out the bottom and key it for a TPS. Though I'm uncertain the directonality. You might look at that before you pour your 2nd Manifold. Wow, that's some pretty expensive castings. $10K each! I wouldn't be able to afford it, until you got it into production, but they do really look awesome. This Milling Machine you've been using looks really cool too. What is it that you mill? is it some type of plastic? I hope you're getting a good discount on the pours?. I hope you can get back to your own project again soon. I'm still really excited to see it and hear it run. You'll truely have a 1 or a kind... Phar

I noted you looked like you were having a lot of fun degreasing everything. Well you'd have to be careful with it as it's flamable, but I've used brake parts cleaner to degrease things and it works REALLY well, dries out the greasy dirt, and makes it easy to wash off with a little soap or just wipe away. I was lad you got the engine stand, that helps HUGE amounts, and it's safer, my uncle dislocated a shoulder while trying to catch an engine that was falling off his bench. A stand makes it so much easier, especially if you're going to rebuild... Phar

so hey any news on this, I know it's a project, but it's been a While, I hope you haven't dropped it. it's pretty awesome! So how were you going to measure airflow, obviously not by AFM, really MAP is the only way, but where will you sample from? I didn't see a boss for a nipple anywhere. I imagine You'll have a balancing port between the manifolds. Phar

first, again your z looks amazing! I want to know though how you did the paint, Did you spray it yourself, in your garage too, or did you take it to a paint booth, or had somone else paint it? How many coats did you use? Did you use a paint system? did you use a clear coating after the color? how long between coats? I know it's a lot of questions, but I'm getting ready to do a very similar job on my Z. Phar

Man, I really feel for ya. Getting my 280, was as easy as seeing the ad on craigslist, calling, going about 1 mile from my house, checking it out, then coming back the next day after offering $400 bucks, and picking it up. Tho my brakes were the same as yours. (Master cylinder needs replaced/rebuild) so the 1 mile tow home was a little sketchy, but made it w/ no damage. Maybe we can help ya out.. What color interior is your 240z? I'll have a few leftover parts since I'm changing my int from white to black. I've found a lot of parts on Ebay, in fact there's one seller up in Canada that has a ton of stuff cheap. I also know a couple guys here that are parting out 2 - 240z's right now, cheap too... I can't really help in the $ dept, but if you give a paypal address, I can send you a few $ to help w/ your Z next week. I hope you won't let your bad experiences w/ our authorities and all make you think the US is a bad place. There's a lot of really great people here, and especially in the Car Club communities... I'm sure you'll see that. Good luck, and keep us apprised of what happens next. it's a hell of a story... literally Phar

ooh I might need those pieces too, please Thanks! you rock!

Yeah I dunno, it's working for me now too... That should be a really good color for your Z. it's kinda similar to the Stock S130 Burgundy maroon ish color... My wreaked 86' Z31 is also that maroon, but I think your black Cherry is a darker color.. very nice. Phar

And that's correct, The Trim from the rear quarterglass comprises the "B" pillar which it's really a pillar since it doesn't support any weight. The tabs I'm talking about for the 2+2 I think clip to the frame where the "B" pillare would be, but only on the top and bottom... Challenger: PM sent. Phar

So how does the latch on a 2+2 work, it mounts to the body with 4 screws right? , and on the front edge it mounts with a pair of tabs? Anyone got a 2+2 they can take a couple picts for me? I was thinking I should be able to drill the coupe quarterglass to take the mount for the latch, but I'm not sure the difference on how the front would mount, or how the weatherstripping is any diferent. I seem to remember the 2+2 had a different type of interior weatherstripping for the window. Phar

ahh yeah I didn't see that... It woulda been a nifty idea. I would wonder how long it would take to fog up, and I'd imagine synthetic oil wouldn't fog it as quickly. not that it'd be for anything but show. (it would also mean we'd have to chrome the rocker arms and interior bolts) Phar

that sounds really cool, Have you done anything farther on it? Phar

Linkee is farked... Got another one? Oh and Definitely go with the painting everything, it looks much more classy. Great job on the Rust repair on the hatch. it looked really good, did you weld the patch in place? before the bondo? Phar

I dunno, you'll have to shop around. You can use a little permatex to hold the gasket in place it's usually really easy to do. You can use a couple studs to help align the gasket during installation, even temporarilly might help, but, no you don't have to go with studs the entire pan. Use a straight-edge to check if your pan got bolt demples. it shouldn't be hard to spot. Yes you can get the oil pan out w/o jacking up the engine, but it's a pain since you'll likely have trouble with the oil sump and the crossmember. Phar

Okay, Well where that leak was next to that pan bolt is likely where your leak is, it does sound like a pan leak. I've heard two schools of thought on Pan Gaskets, one says use a cork gasket, with no gasket maket permatex, and another says use lots of permatex on any gasket. idea being that the cork will absorb some oil and expand, making the seal, where anyother type would not expand and would be harder to seal... Which type of gasket did you get? Cork or other? You may need to buy a new gasket, and try to replace it again. If you take off the pan, you'll need to inspect it especially around where that bolt hole was, make sure it's flat. Sometimes old pans will develop a "wave" in them where the bolts put pressure on the pan, especially if the pan bolts are over-tightened. you can hammer it back flat and likely get a better seal. May not be the case... I've used a drill w/ a 10 mil adapter to put my pan bolts off and on, it works really well, saves ears, and knuckles. Follow it up w/ a torque wrench. I don't think you need studs, but use the right torque on the bolts, because snapping on off is a pain in the ass to fix. (been there) Phar