BLKMGK

It's mocked up on the car right now. Needs a long body file taken to the sides of it and possibly to th eback to give it some room. Have pics already taken and just need to juggle the shims a touch to get it just right. Paint will be next week perhaps, chassis guys get the car this coming Friday for a rework of the main hoop. May hold off on reinstalling the interior until the bumpers and hood are done. I'll try to write it up this week.

I second the motion! While I do NOT think the T56 is too high a gear in this case a T5 makes sense. Not too much HP for it, light weight, and there's a performance application that already uses it. What's to not like? Do pay attention to your rear ratio and the overdrive gearing. The upside of the T56 is it's .5 gear - with short 25inch tires and a 3.90 or 3.70 gear I'll be able to cruise along nicely on the highway. The downside is the weight and expense of the T56 but for the level of power I desire it's strength is needed (shrug). Sounds like you've got a plan! P.S. You can mix and match some gears inthe T5. You may even be abel to get a steeper OD gearing. The Ford guys juggle the gears a good bit - lookup Hanlon Motorsports, he's a great guy and I've met him. He'll know what to do if you need to juggle or rebuild a T5 or Tremec (he did my Tremec).

Yeah, Mike is telling me it's easy and not to buy a spare set of struts. Okay, I'm convinced then! He says to run 225# springs in front though - wowza! Mike's prices are reasonable and he was REAL good about answering my questions (many!) and shipping last time. Now if I could just pull it out of the box an dinstall it Mr. Kelly when I find the time and have wheels (may run the Mustang's wheels for a bit) would you be interested in an assist? I wonder what camber plates Mike's using? I hadn't planned on doing this but perhaps it's worth looking into. Ground Control has them but perhaps Mike has begun doing those as well? Hmmm! P.S. Seems Mike just won several regional races out West. Sears point and two others were mentioned to me. Sweet! He was selling a REAL nice Z awhile back but alas it was cross country and not a street car at the time (sob).

Okay - anyone interested in pics and a tech article on this puppy? It's bolted on but required a bit of work and I've got more work to do. No paint yet but I can give you some ideas as to what needs to be done and some close ups of the hood. I can also provide info on issues I've run into but I think it's goingto turn out VERY nice. Anyone interested in this? We got room for another tech article P.S. No latch. Mikelly is suggesting Dsuz and I'm considering it. I think it's a fine idea anyway. Pins would be cake. Guess I've not got a latch mount to worry about down the road huh? Anyone got some ZX hood vents for sale?

I thought I'd seen something about a thinner bezel being introduced and sure enough it's Phantom only! Happy to hear at least one person has been able to do the pedestal mount in the dash. Naturally the pedestal mount with the features I want is offered in Ultra but NOT Phantom! Small shift lite and peak hold - it figures. It would seem that the Phantom series is more street oriented while the Ultra is more track oriented (duh). The Ultra Night series looked neat but sans a speedo and I can't tell if it's even equipped with a light for night driving or if the phosphor is supposed to be it. It's supposedly a sealed unit (shrug) Still pondering but I need at least oil pressure, water temp, and fuel level now! I'm thinking Phantom and just add a pencil shift lite andor Summt peakhold box later. I'll probably hold off on the speedo until they release the LCD equipped versions anyway.

Neat stuff but pricey! Silly server is like 23+ hops away too over in Japan. I see some prices in US Dollars but do they even sell here? A HUD would be cool but not if I have to leave a chunk of plastic on the dash - I'd get pulled over by troopers thinking it was a radar detector I'm sure! Their serial guage setup is interesting but also pricey as heck. $250 per guage?! Intellitronix.com has some similiar electric guages. Nicely backlit with LEDs I believe, they store peaks, and they have warning lites. A shame their tach and speedo look like crap! Check them oout - I think they're an extension of Cyberdyne..

Good powdercoating DOES protect. It's so tough that the only way it comes off is with serious abrasion or by a hard impact striking the item. I've got a powdercoasting shop near me and am intending to get a bunch of stuff done at once for the Z. Did some stuff for the Mustang and it was sealed up tight - much better than paint. Eastwood also sells a powdercoating kit. It stinks if you bake it in the oven though but since I need to replace my oven anyway and rewire the garage it may end up a fixture out there The woman will be happy with a new oven I'm sure! This 70's crap sux...

I started to post about this last night but chose not to throw stones at Turbo I too used to be a subscriber to Turbo until they turned to crap. I had their subscription for like 5 years and kept hoping they'd finally tell us what the heck happened to the turbo Mustang! Alas, it turned into TurboHonda and I now only buy it when I see something really interesting in a newsstand issue. They never did finish sending me all of my backissues of the Turbo Club newsletter (grr). Got a cheesy plate, okay sticker, and a hat that the dog attacked As for that car - massive camber! Didn't want to throw rocks at that either but it was pointed out on Zcar.com when it came out. I'd love to know why he did it that way and why only 5-6lbs of boost? Overall the car looked damned nasty though - I'd love to hear from the guy who's driving it and those who built it!

Thanks Mike! I tracked down a roundy round parts place and got one for all of $6! Figured out how that vapor canister works I think any may use it too. As an aside - took the car to the chassis shop to talk about getting the main hoop moved - they'll do it. Ran out of gas on the way over but had carried a can with 2 gallons in it with me (whew). After I got a date from them to get the car done I hit the gas station for a full fill since the chassis guys said it didn't have to be empty this time. My "10 gallon" Triangle tank - with close to 2 gallons already in it - took nearly 10gallons and I didn't even have gas up over the foam! This puppy can probably hold like 12+gallons, maybe more if I yanked some of the foam out. This is a big relief for me as I was worried it would be too small at only 10gallons...

Have you considered just converting it to 5lug and going 4wheel disc at the same time? That's what I'm doing for better wheel selection. I'm told the later 300ZX NA wheels will bolt up afterwards if I desire.. http://www.fonebooth.com/brakes.html

Consider a polishing wheel on the end of a drill using white rouge. I've polished more aluminum than I'd care to admit to and have a nice dual wheel in the garage just for this. Aluminum is real soft so afterwards you'll want to coat the polished parts if you can with clear. Try to get one of those buffs that doesn't have a big nut on the end, these are usually used just for wheels and crevices I think. If you can't get one of these put layers of masking or duct tape on the nut and cut it down as far as possible. If you don't and that sucker hits the metal it'll gouge - been there! On my buffer I've got tape on the shafts and on the nuts I'd not even consider a Dremel BTW - too small a polishing area to get a smooth finish on that large a piece. you'd wind up with divots most likely. For sanding I use flapper wheels on a drill but you sound like you may be past that stage. Wet sanding with fine grit later on is a good idea - when you get real close to done add dish soap to slick it up. After all that I too use Mothers... BTW - you're a better man than I - that's a bitch of a job and my setup wouldn't make it any easier I don't think! Sears sells compound in small sticks last I looked.

Aw shoot - now you've done gone and made it harder for me to choose again! I like the Ultra 4494 tach for it's recall function. The Phantom series has no such deal. Summit sells a recall box that you can remotely mount so... Yeah, broken record here! I've got Phantoms in my Mustang - like 6 of them. Phantoms are cake to read night or day and what the tech told me had pushed me towards Phantoms (sigh). How hard is the Ultra to read in daylight? How thick is the bezel (sp?) compared to the Phantom? I prefer the thing Phantom style over the thicker style... Has anyone tried mounting a pedastal mount tach into the Z dash? Looks deep enough! Again - broken record but I'd liek to not be the pioneer on this if I can help it. If I am and I do it I'll write it up tho' Thanks!

Yeah, but the central question is - was I full of crap when I told him it probably wasn't a one piece seal crank? Somebody school us here - when did Chevy make the switchover and would an 87 Monte have the seal he's looking for? BTW - speaking of bellhousing explosions. The ITS car that I almost bought had a very neat idea done to it. In the area of the flywheel, welded to the body of the car, was some pretty thick steel plates! Obviously for flywheel protection, these suckers were BEEFY. This might be an option for those of us who've not found a blowshield yet. Blankets make me a bit nervous as they absorb oil if you aren't careful... [This message has been edited by BLKMGK (edited September 01, 2000).]

Much clearer now thank you! Although it'll be a cold day in hell before I run any of MSDs analog junk again since it was a cold day in hell when my last 6AL broke down on me. Can you say well below zero at 2AM in the middle of nowhere? Make sure you've got a backup system of some sort just in case - that's how I got home that night. (shiver) Accel has never had a great rep in my mind but I talked to one of the guys who designed their digital stuff. He doesn't work for Accel - they outsourced it to another company - and it appears to be a damned good equipment. The new MSD stuff is probably good too but as you might imagine I'm a bit nervous about it That was nearly a very bad night! Appreciate the tip on the ignition module too - I knew the stock HEIs signed off early and am not sure what the builder will send me along those lines. Wish it would get here already! (smile)

Yeah - yoke (duh - I knew that!). Thanks for the tip on th eyoke - MUCH appreciated! Morgan nice prices. Ask them how much it costs with a bellhousing, shifter, flywheel, slave cylinder, and yoke. I'm betting you're seeing bare trannys at those prices. Don't forget shipping either - those mothers are heavy! As for the option codes - there are two, maybe three, different T56s. The oldest ones have a lower 6th gear - .8 I think. The next youngest has a .5 6th, and the very latest is LS1 specific. If I had to guess you're seeing the earlier two transmissions. I've got a .5 overdrive as the .8 seems kind of useless to me

"All cages shown with optional helmet bar" I'm betting that's what you're seeing. Since you've got to assemble the thing you could always consider leaving it out if it's not the "optional" piece. Do find out what sort of tubing they're using. DOM mild steel or welded steel. DOM is better but NOT required. I'm pretty sure Alston Chassis knows better than to ship bad metal

Umm a couple of points to toss out... Slick 50 - used it and religiously changed my oil in that motor. When it came time for a rebuild the crank was "grooved". I mentioned the Slick 50 and th eengine builder looked at me and asked "Why would you want to put an oil shedder (teflon) into something that required oil for lube?". Oops, okay no more Slick 50 - I stick to synthetics. Note too that Dupont, makers of Teflon, advise against putting it into engines etc. - "not made for that". Beta vs VHS. This is a little easier. Sony owned the Beta format and refused to license it to anyone else to manufacture - VHS did. As a result VHS players popped up everywhere from multiple manufacturers at cheaper prices. In the end I believe Beta was licensed but it was too late. Sony's greed killed them - they wanted to own the market lock stock and barrel. /topic on As for the big car manufactuers and new ideas. The Govt. is squeezing them with lower and lower emissions regulations and higher and higher expected average MPGs for CAFE. They have no choice but to look into more radical ideas - we now have at least one vehicle on the market that uses both gas and electric motors to get stellar MPG and decent acceleration. Expect to see more of this - especially if gas prices continue to climb. SUVs - IMO - aren't helping matters. I love Ford but who the hell thought of the Expedition and Excursion?! If this sucker is that small, makes that much power, and has emissions that low someone will pick it up. If not the big American companies than some forward thinker at Honda or another company will see it and put it into something where gas costs $6 a gallon. If it's as good as it says it'll sell like hotcakes! Time will tell but I'm not holding my breathe. We still haven't seen any of the fabled ceramic motors or motors made with plastic impregnated with lubricants have we? P.S. Side note on wear protectors. Had a chat online with a guy who participated in one of those "tests" you read about. They drove these Mustangs around in circles forever - one with goop, one without. In the end after a zillion miles and regular oil changes the results were inconclusive! Wear appeared to be about the same across the board which is to say it wasn't worn much at all. Regular oil changes are a good thing I guess. They did learn that when driving a stock car on a banked oval that you should switch directions every now and again - if you don't the axle bearing on the "high side" fails after awhile (snicker). [This message has been edited by BLKMGK (edited August 31, 2000).]

I don't THINK it's got a one piece seal. The flywheel for it if I'm right would be the flywheel sold by Centerforce for about $200 if memmory serves. I'm not sure a 305 would be my first choice but the accessories and brackets alone would be worth the asking price. I'd make sure that the power steering pump, AIR pump, and maybe the A/C compressor could be yanked and you still be able to run a belt if the accessories and brackets are a big attraction. That's a computer controlled carb too so don't count on using it unless he's yanked it for say a Holly carb. hope that helps some. HP on those from the factory was below 200 I think - Mustangs used to walk all over them but I think the Monte weighed a bit more too.

quote: Originally posted by Fast Frog: There are 2 types of Hei Dist. A larger size-used on later model Vettes (and others I'm sure). This type has the coil as part of the dist. The "F" body type was used on '88 to '92 Camaro/Firebirds (and probably others) and is smaller and uses a remote coil. You can get it thru a GM dealer or thru JEGS-Accel, MSD, Mallory, are some of the aftermarket manufacturers. The "F" body dist is slightly larger than the standard (?) dist usually associated with a older carburated engine; therefore, not allowing you to set the engine back, per JTR, to the fullest extent possible-by about 1/4"-1/2". Umm, so which is it? bigger or smaller for the F body? Remote coil isn't a biggie for me but I won't run a Mallory dist and I'm hesitant to run an Accel. I've seen folks get stranded with the Mallory on a Ford because it used parts that weren't interchangable with "factory" and had to be ordered. Accel I've seen bad out of the box - again with Ford. I guess I just figure that if Factory stuff will work that's the way to go. Performance Distributor makes a nice HEI but it's coil in cap design - at least the one pictured. Do trust me though, I'm not "married" with what the engine builder sends me but I also am not hot on throwing away parts that work that are recomended by professionals. We'll see - motor isn't here yet and I've got other stuff to deal with right now on the car (sigh). I would like to only have to mount the motor once when it shows up

I need the shaft that cgoes from the tranny to the driveshaft too. All in all I don't think you did too badly. Sure the other place could've sold you one more complete for not much more but then they didn't actually ship one did they? Hell, free would've been nice but if it never shipped it wouldn't matter much (shrug). Ya' got one, be happy! You paid close to the going rate and need a few parts - par for the course it seems. I got lucky and got nearly everything except the piece out of the trans tailshaft but then I paid more than you did too. Congrats on a good purchase!

Check out the stuff AutoPower puts out. I've got an AutoPower cage in my parts car with an SCCA inspection sticker glued to it (hrm, guess it did see the track!). In my case it wasn't anything to support a bridge with but they may sell more complete cages. Worth checking out at least. P.S. My custom cage is going to be fixed in about 2 weeks. Whew! Rear bar is in the wrong place darn it!

Uh boy. So is this 3/4 of an inch worth much in the grand scheme of things? That will shorten the driveshaft that much more - won't it be that much more sensitive to vibration and balance issues? I've got no problem using an F-Body distributor if it's worth it even if I must pitch a perfectly good regular HEI (sigh).

Mike - Demon now has a tuning video out for their carb that might benefit you - spotted it in my Mustang mag tonight. http://www.demoncarbs.com/index_copy.htm is their site or call (706)864-4712 to ask about it. I'll be damned if I could find the silly thing on their site (grr). P.S. folks - I know so little about carbs it's not funny. I'm learning lot's here! Wish I wasn't going to have to fool with one at all....

Got some additional info from the tech. He mentioned that the Phantoms are easier to read at night - I hadn't though t of this! Anyone running the Ultras that can comment? I had bitched to him about no trip meter onthe electronic tachs - surprise they intend to revamp that whole line of speedos to provide LCDs trip and possibly odometers - cool! This is supposed to occur at the end of the year so if this interests you try to hold off. The Carbon Fiber line of guages already have this. I've yet to see one of these in person (pictures look cheesy IMO) but the silver pointers really turn me off. Has anyone seen one of these in person? I may buy one Ultra and one Carbon Fiber to look at - I need a fuel guage now anyway. I may end up trying to put one of their standard mount tachs into my dash - has anyone done this? I want both shift lite and recall - possibly playback (I'm greedy). I can add on crap to do this but all in one is more attractive to me (sigh).

Honestly, I wish I'd asked some of these questions myself One other thing that should be kept in mind though - emissions. In my case a '72 doesn't need emissions and is exempt. Since it's registered as a classic with "permanent tags" it also doesn't require an inspection - I can "self inspect" it. Make sure you check the laws in your area else you could be in for a rude shock. Given the comments here and barring emissions concerns I'd go for a 280Z myself. Take a look at a couple and remember that you don't have to buy the first one you see, they're out there if you look. I found mine on the WEB only a few hours drive away.. Oh yeah FWIW - neither of my 72s have anything but the barest of side impact protection. There's a skinny bar in there made of sheet metal and if you remove the guts from the door it weighs nothing and rings like a bell when struck. It's got the thng bumpers too and I'll be replacing them with fiberglass (shiver). Yeah, it's light and that's nice but I worry about getting hit in it. Nobody plans an accident but I try to plan for it just in case! There are large numbers of fools out there who could kill you for the sake of getting through that stale yellowred light a second before you. I hope that a full cage will be enough to protect me and mine...