BLKMGK

Ummm yeah - I've mentioned this four or five times actually. The 240Z I've got is scary thin. I've got a spare set of doors that have been gutted and they darn near ring like a crystal bell if you tap them! My solution was side bars on th ecage. I'm 6foot 2 inches and trying like heck to get under 200lbs. Dragging my butt across those bars and into those buckets is a SERIOUS pain the rear but worth it in an accident. The woman is going to HATE those bars too but I don't care - our lives are worth it. Anything you do inside those doors is going to be worthless IMO. Later model cars have stronger latches and whatnot to go along with those impact beams. It's not just a matter of adding metal to the doors, you've got to make it such that the metal is locked into place on the door frame else the entire door ends up in your lap. I specifically decided against swing out bars because I felt that they were weaker and because the temptation to remove them for daily driving would be so high. I'll pad my side bars and deal with it Heh, glad to see I'm not the only one scared by those doors!

Quill - did you use the subframe spacers up front per JTR or not? I'm getting close to bolting mine in and am going to try leaving the spacers out the first go around. I've done the moustache bar mod...

Right now it looks like both of my brake setups are sold. I'm waiting on cash before shipping my solid rotor 4lug stuff but right now it's spoken for. 5lug stuff has been shipped to Miami already IMO the solid rotor stuff worked okay. I never got it hot enough to fade but since I'm upgrading I'm going to go with th egood stuff. Yeah, I could probably get away with a lesser upgrade and I even had the parts here ready to mount but... I guess partly due to the looks and the knowledge that the bigger stuff will stop that puppy like RIGHT NOW swayed me to the Outlaw stuff. I'll go with as big a tire as I can too in order to take advantage of that leverage too. (shrug) Whatever you do - upgrade the stock stuff! Heck, I'm selling off my solid rotor setup - pads, rotors, and hubs, for only $150 +shipping. For double the pad size and 4 pistons that's not too shabby! Rear disks aren't really needed but I'll be darned if I wanted to tinker with drums ever again - ick!

Well, sounds like my fears on 17X8 are baseless considering Pete's experience. However I'm still not crystall on the needed offset. I don't mind a spacer if that's what's needed but if I go too far the other way I'm hosed ! I'm going to test fit the wheels aroound the house, measure quite a few times, hold my breathe, and order. Gimme' a little while to get brakes done first though. I WILL report my findings as I test fit stuff though just to help others out... [This message has been edited by BLKMGK (edited March 16, 2001).]

Dan my E-mail back to you bounced - doh! Lemme' know how those rims work out

Well, if anyone gets REAL desperate... I've got an NEC 286 with a whopping 1MEG of RAM! B&W LCD screen and it must be run from the lighter as the battery is toast. Uses standard MFM drives too. Hell, I'm not even sure it will even power up anymore (lol). It has a built in 1200 baud modem or maybe even a 2400 (snicker). This is EXACTLY what I used on my old DFI. My new laptop is light years ahead of that one and I'm SO happy I finally found a deal I could live with. We do have an older IBM here too but it's a work computer with a whopping 386 in it. Works though so I can't bitch too much about it...

My '72 also matched the JTR manual just fine. Only weirdo thing is that JTR talks about the passenger side - pics and all - but that some of my wires were on the driver's side. THAT drove me crazy for a few minutes

I may have a solution! One of my industrial supply catalogs has button head stainless in quantities of 100 for a pretty reasonable price. I'm not yet sure on size and may be forced to take one of the ones I've still got to the store to find a match but it looks like 100 bolts may cost as little as $20 or less. Not bad!

One other caveat - if you use a stroker crank you may be shocked to find that it uses the "old style" flywheel mount and you'll be forced to grab a CenterForce flywheel like I was. Grr! Anyone need an LT1 flywheel?

Hrm, very weird. I can hit it from work or here no problems. Anyone else having trouble? It's not a super fast connection (144K) but still it ought to work... This is probably one of the better pics showing ride height ->

Drawing on my Mustang experience here... Mustangs coe from the factory with two mufflers and a true dual exhaust. Look closely at the stock mufflers - they're different sizes! IF you use two mufflers of the same size the droning at cruise will drive you mad. It's a roar that goes from the front of the car to the back in endless cycles of highway driving - you'll know the true meaning of headache if you run a pair of old style two chambers with this setup like I did! So, if running dual exhaust try running a different muffler on each side to help cancel out the sound. I ended up putting turbnos on that car which killed the noise perfectly with those same mufflers. Now without turbos I've got Dynomax mufflers on there and the noise is perfect IMO with no drone that I've noticed. Probably sacrificed some sound but hell I'll gladly give up 10hp to gain that much comfort!

Umm Pete - I think it is a solenoid. When I had starting problems in the Mustang once I had occasion to pull one apart. It had gotten a hairline crack in it allowing what looked like a piston to get light rust on it and sieze up when cold. It would jump start fine with the added amps from another battery but couldn't start on it's own. Guts looked like a giant electromagnetcoil with a ferrous core that appeared to slide up and down inside...

I thought the whole reason for the fuel pump switch on the oil pressure was to let th emotor spin up some oil pressure before starting the car and to kill the fuel pump in the event of a stall. On a carb car there ought to be enough gas in the bowls for initial start and quick restarts - yes? Having seen what happens to cars whose fuel pumps are left running after shutdown this seemed like a good idea - no? For those that haven't seen it - the car I saw had the entire tank worth of gas run into the crankcase - several gallons. Car started and ran but when we checked the dipstick the oil ran off of it like WD40!

What size primaries? I ordered straight plugs for my RPM heads as I was told headers would be an easier fit - sounds like that might be true! $197 isn't too hateful, how well has the coating held up? I was looking at the Hooker toobs too - wonder if they would work with these headers....

Supplies? Aircraft Spruce and Specialty Company They have a WEB site and will send you as GIANT catalog for free. They cater to aircraft hobbyists and have all of the Carbon Fiber type materials you could ask for as well as some nice heim joints and EGT gauges

Sorry guys - no go. I looked into this in the back of some of my Chevy mags. We're converting to a 5 on 4.5 patern, that's Ford and a dew others but NOT GM. Too bad, there's some decent GM wheels out there....

Okay... so far as I know all had power brakes. In order of "upgrades" here's how I see it based o nthe research I've done: 1) Stock everything with upgraded pads. Okay performance but watch your speed and following distance 2) Toyota calipers with good pads using stock solid rotors. Better but not super duper. I had these on my car until recently and I thought they worked well. The pad size is about twice sttock and you'll have 4 pistons on each side for even pressure. 3) Toyota calipers with vented rotors. Damned nice with the same size pad as #2 but with better fade resistance due to superior cooling. Can be done 4 or 5 lug. 4) Outlaw calipers with 12+ inch rotors up front on aluminum hats. Sprung weight plummets, you get 4 pistons at each corner (SCCA is working up a rear disk setup for me using this), looks awesome! Only downside I'm aware of is lack of dust seals on the calipers. Tire traction will be your biggest problem here as I expect this to stop to the limits of your tires I'm going Outlaw all th eway aorund. My 5lug Toyots setup shipped th eother day and I've got a 4lug solid rotor setup on hold for another member here. Rear disks have been the biggest problem as 240SX calipers require welding and are ugly iron single piston. Outlaws out back will require a custom bracket, MikeSCCA is making one of these for me but it will require Wilwood spot calipers for an E-brake in addition to the $80+ dollar Outlaw rear calipers. IMO this is an awesome setup once you've found out how much those 240SX calipers cost (cough). If this is interesting to you get with SCCA please. I'd like to see lot's of folks try this so he won't have spent a ton of time in development for just one sale... I'll document it when I set it up, Mikelly has already documented the front setup.

Hrm, you don't think 17X8 will work up front? I was going to go 17X8 all the way around but with TSW Trophies instead. Would really liek to keep the same size wheel on both ends but if it won't fit someone please tell us I've got Konig Tantrums on the RX7 I'll test fit asap so if you're not in too big a hurry that might help...

Heh, I documented my struggles with this awhile ago except mine was even harder. Seems I sent the parts to the powdercoating shop before realizing my error - doh! Cut them with a sawzall then use an AIR chisel to remove. Out like butter

Yes plz - I'd love to hear this answer myself I've got a set of TSW Trophies in my sights and am a bit unsure as to what tire size and offset I'll need. Offset in the 34mm range I think will do but I'm nervous

Laptop? Try this -> http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?cat=3951&dept=3944&product_id=932331 I printed out the "Out of Stock" ad, took it to the local WalMart, and got the "$198" laptop for the listed $750 price. "Only" 64meg of RAM so I bought an additional 128meg for $50 Note that it's got a DVD player, sound, TFT screen, and other goodies like a built-in modem. It's not perfect but for the price it rox!

Well, I've not YET taken one of the few bolts I DO have to the hardware store. Generally the hardware places don't sell capscrews in stainless or button or anything except hex (sigh). We'll see, for now I'm working on getting the motor in the car. I DID manage to find some decent bolts for that project but the dorks didn't have things fully stocked so some of the bolts will be grade 5 instead of eight and the motor mount bolts might end up a hair short - we'll see. We used to have a good place for stainless here but they went out of business years ago - I miss them a great deal!

Peter?! Oh man - hide your wallet before calling! Peter is a bit infamous in the RX7 world. He's right up the street from me, as is Electromotive, and I'd only goto him as a last resort. There are several shops doing the 3rotor work including at least one I've run across in the MidWest. Peter did it first (that I know of) this is true but if you talk to somone involved closely with that first one it was a bit of a hack. The second he did was MUCH better as they learned from previous problems. IMO - it would be neat but I'm not real sure this is a swap I'd pursue. As an RX7 owner i can tell you that finding qualified mechanics to work on these engines is tough. Get spark knock just once and you can conceivably kiss apex seals goodbye - can you say rebuild?! Learn lot's about this before you plunge in. Get on the RX7 mailing list (mention Peter, watch the firefight) and join the WEB Board for the RX7s before you get too serious about this. Those motors aren't cheap either so beware.... http://www.rx7club.com/cgi-bin//Ultimate.cgi?action=intro&BypassCookie=true

Umm guys - don't do it. The 4.6 is WIDE - as wide as a 460big block. The 5.4 Triton has a taller deck height - can you say wider?! Heavier too and you've got a blower to worry about on top of everything else. The OLDER Lightnings had 351W in them - more cubes and they all but fall out of trees. In fact I've got a block and crank for one in my garage. Blowers for these are easy to find too. Much better choice IMO but 5.4 Tritons are already showing up secondhand - I know someone who comtemplated putting one in a Cobra but changed his mind and decided to build up the 4.6instead. The 4.6's can make BIG HP but you'll pay for it...

MAF actually started in '88 but only for California cars. The rest got them in '89. Forged pistons were used from 87-sometime in I think 92. If you read the general Ford books they peg a date for the Hypereutectic pistons - subtract about a year from that. My friend's shop pulls motors apart all the time and he's seen the hyper pistons in years prior to when Ford announced the switch (ahem). As for wiring, one of the aftermarket guys just came out with a standalone harness Lastly, yeah the 302 is a good motor but between a 302 and a SBC I'd go SBC - and I'm a Ford guy. My reasoning is simple - it's documented, the mounts are readily available, and it's easier to get the HP I wanted from a SBC than it is from a 302. 302s can make up to about 400HP pretty easily NA, after that it's blower time and you've got bottom end worries. The 351W on the other hand is an even better motor! You can stroke that puppy and make as much as 650HP with a blower before you've got bottom end worries. If you're going to do a Ford, do a 351W. It should still fit and injecting them is as easy as swapping to a different intake and injectors...