BLKMGK

Same here. My rear hoop is just behind the piece that has the dome light. The rear bars goto the strut towers and I've got a brace between the struts too. Pics on my site should show this I think but I've not got many good pics of it. I swear that when I have time I'll document every inch of the darned car and post pics of it to my site. Need to REALLY redo my site to make it easier to find things too. The Pics section was supposed to just be random pics but it's grown into the documentation for my car

I've got mixed eelings on this treatment but some racers swear by it and I'm no rocket scientist so I'll take their word for it. Guys that have done rotors report VERY reduced wear (shrug). Same with the vibration treatments, seems like voodoo to me but it supposedly works! Anyway, if I was going to do anything it would be the stubs. Forget the U's and go CVs. I'm noticing some clunks in my rear and I KNOW it's the U's lashing a little bit. When I swap to CVs (soon!) I expect lot's of the lashing to go away and it'll be stronger. I'm not worried about breaking the CVs but I AM worried about shearing the stubs.

I had 15inch Panasports - they looked great and the car sat really really low. I've now got Konig 5.0's in 17X8 and they ARE taller. In order to have decent sidewall you end up with the wheel package being taller. I don't think I mind it but honestly if a 15inch wheel works for you and you can get TIRES for them I think you'll be fine. 16inch is fine too but if you go 17 like I did be aware that ground clearance goes up a bit. Not a bad thing mind you but I'm still getting used to my spoiler being higher. I'll probably be dropping the front end a bit to compensate. I'll try to take some decent pics soon so that folks can see what I mean.

Xenon sells some of the MSA stuff. Try to find a Xenon sealer and check out their prices...

Especially if that was done at 5800FT above sea level!

Forged vs Hyper - I'll add my .04 Hyper pistons have more silicone in them and come from a different process - a casting that's struck if I recall correctly. As a result they end up being more "brittle" than a true forging - this is bad. They can run a tighter piston to bore clearance since they don't expand as much as forgings. This is a good thing! The brittleness means that they do not have the detonation tolerance and cannot withstand the higher cylinder pressures that a true forging can. If you're not going into that territory this is a "throw away". For these reasons these pistons are better for low to medium horsepower naturally aspirated engines. Medium being pretty high for a street car BTW so don't freak. Run NOS on them and you may find the ring lands in pieces - happened to somone I know running KB Hypers. Run a turbo or supercharger and if it detonates any you could again find pieces floating around. Also under very high cylinder pressures, even with correct mixtures, Hypers can have the silicone migrate out of the piston in what looks like blisters. This occured on a Turbo magazine project car and isn't something I'd expect from a modern Hyper piston to be honest. Hypers are as popular as they are because they're cheaper and because of the tighter clearances that can be run. OEMs have switched to them due to this but the OEM pistons are supposedly not as good as the aftermaket ones. Mustangs with Hyper pistons trash them somewhat regularly when certain HP bounds are crossed. Tigher clearances help with emissions and with cold startwarmup "piston slap" - this is what the OEMs are after. Lastly, note that some pretty fast turbo cars came with CAST pistons! The Buick GN is a good example and I'll bet the current Lightning has Hypers or cast pistons. Hyper pistons, so long as you know the limitations, are perfectly good. Having said that I ordered Forged for insurance. Watch the weight of whatever piston you order - some of the aftermarket forged ones weigh a ton

You shouln't have to change anything, should swap right in IMO. One R200 for another from a Z shouldn't be an issue. However, the 280ZXTs here did NOT have LSDs in them! The only American Zs that had LSD were the 87.5-89 300ZXT and the ratio was 3.7 not 3.9. I'd be asking about the ratio and the LSD - how did they determine that is was an LSD?

Umm, where did the 3.9 rear come from? Perhaps it's got a bad gear setup? [ September 20, 2001: Message edited by: BLKMGK ]

Looked over the Holley manual tonight. Overall it looks pretty impressive and they give some pretty good instructions for tuning. However I think their datalogging and monitoring leave a little bit to be desired from what I got out of the manual. I believe I like the new "dial style" or "dashboard" type data monitors that some software features. I'd like that option anyway. Their O2 monitoring looks good and they've got many of the features that my old DFI had in what looks like an easier to use package. The ability to monitor the base map and modify(?) it while monitoring looks good. Their graphing for the stored data would drive me crazy though! The TEC method which uses varying axis in multiple panes is great becasue your're not comparing small numbers like TPS or O2 voltage with things like engine RPM on th esame axis. The Holley system doesn't look liek it buys me much more than using Excel did on the older DFI. I'd like to see how the new Gen7 and WINTEC software handle this. SpeedPro too which I seem to recall has good data review tools. Dan, from what I've read I don't think the Holley system was a bad choice. I'd like to have seen some features for flagging bad sensors (trouble light etc.) and maybe some mention of how the ECU compensates for that though. Some of the new ones like the GEN7 can apparently do some of this. Slowly but surely the new ECUs are approaching some of the nice to haves that the OEMs have had to put in for reliability... Dan, if I've misunderstood any of the features by all means correct me, especially if the software offers data review options I didn't notice. Hrm, do they allow you to DL the software for review?

Before hunting around like that check that you've got voltage at the switch. Do you have any lights at all right now? If you've got say only one light then track backwards from the one that doesn't work. Better yet if you've got one light you've got enough to setup a relay for that beam (low or high). Do some hunting around with the inputs for the headlight switch using a volt meter. If you cannot figure out where you should have voltage I can try pulling my cover and noting which has power etc. but not tonight If you can find voltage going in then try the various settings and see what doesn't output correctly. Been awhile since I fiddled with mine but I seem to recall it was somewhat intuitive when I had it apart. Little seesaw looking deals with plastic nubssliders activating them I think. Make sure there's no burn marks on the brasscopper contact points too. Hrmph, my headlights are too high and the darned adjusting screws are frozen

Not sure this is much help but... I replaced the stock lines completely with braided line. Ran it down the passenger side under the car, up into the fender behind the front wheel, and then through a bulkhead fitting. Pics on my WEB site but it was really not a big deal - aluminum line could be used over braided if you wanted. I used -8 line and have no return, the regulator is a deadhead unit. When I goto EFI I'll run -6 to the back with a bypass regulator... I pretty much just didn't trust using the stock 20+ year old line. I wasn't sure it would supply enough fuel and knew it wouldn't when I went EFI. Braided line and AN fittings aren't cheap but it looks good and is solid once done. Just be careful when the car goes on a lift that it's not pinned by the lift pads.

Exhaust tubing bender? A commercial quality hydraulic bender (not mandrel!) is quite a bit of money - several thousand. My friend's shop bought one used for a couple grand and it needed repairs This isn't even a mandrel machine - ouch! I don't believe that pipe benders will do he job as well either - didn't someone recently try? Perhaps using one of those type benders and fill the pipe with sand? Hrm, my system was less than $500 installed. It's got a couple of mild press bends in it but really nothing special and I believe it flows well. Maybe I'm losing a few HP from the press bends but for the most part it's straight pipe. Is it really worth all of this effort to come up with a system that might hang lower, will certainly take more time, and could end up costing as much? Is it really that hard to find decent muffler shops around the country? I guess maybe this is just part of the fun of building the car for everyone (shrug).

It's a simple solenoid. Applying power to it retracts a pin and allows a MUCH weaker spring, not pictured, to be used instead. Honestly, I DID consider using it as it was supposed to be used. I considered using a momentary button and I considered wiring it to the brake light switch. In the end I decided that a momentary button would be a hassle and that wiring to the brake switch would both add load and force the solenoid to activate quite a bit. In a stock application I believe that it receives a signal that needs both brake pedal application and possibly the speed sensor telling the computer that the car isn't moving. Building a circuit to duplicate that was more complexity than I wished to pursue. No other vehicle I have EVER driven has had to have these sorts of measures in place to prevent me from shifting into reverse. If the spring were simply stiff enough but not too stiff like the T5 setup then I think it would work fine with no electrical mumbo jumbo (shrug).

Cerberus - those pumps are LOUD. I've got the Paxton (blue) version on my Mustang. If you think a Holley Blue is loud try one of those suckers How have you isolated yours to keep from being driven from the car?! Big pumps like that can sometimes overheat too. Many of them aren't rated for constant duty either so you've got to be caeful when selecting one. That's one of the advantages of an OEM style pump (shrug). Weldon and SX pumps are serious duty stuff...

Yeah, the TEC can use the MAF but I THINK I saw something about this for the SpeedPro or another system ($$!) - I'm NOT sure so double check, might have been Motec. I'm honestly not sure that the spark issue is a big dealshow stopper. How finite does it really need to be? They have a sophisticated knock sensor setup if I recall - more sophisticated than others in that you can modify more parameters (I think). I, like others, am really waiting for their next generation of equipment! As to the MAF vs MAP on the Mustangs - don't let that bother you too much. MAP systems infer the airflow using lookup tables bsed on known engine parameters, MAF sensor based systems are more flexible because they actually measure the airflow. IF you were to modify the lookup table that a Mustang MAP system was using it would run as well as the MAF on a modified motor. MAF sensors are expensive and can be a restriction - they can be fragile too. Having said that, I DO believe that MAF systems are superior since infering anything seems silly and more complicated to me (shrug). A correctly setup MAP sensed system should run just as well though so don't get too hung up on it IMO. Nice to have that option though! Now, their waste spark idea seems interesting to me! I'm not sure that it really does much but it can't hurt can it? Does the Buick also fire waste spark? Which system did they get EPA certified? Vector something or other or was it a Jeep or Neon system? Are they now giving away the DOS software too, anyone know? How well does some of their "self programming" stuff work. They've yet to send me ANYTHING on their new hardware despite my requests

If a Z motor can fit then the V8 ought to fit as well! http://www.bryanf.com/mycars/510L28.htm hat's an awesome site BTW, wish there was more info on some of the cars. Someday I'll own a 510, just haven't yet had the right opportunity yet...

Gen7 does have knock, looks to be an option. I cannot believe that voltage compensation isn't there too. Am trying to get the Holley PDF now...

1: Buy the Z V8 conversion book from JTR - www.jagsthatrun.com - read it several times. 2: Read the posts here concerning swapping in the SBC and the Ford V8. Your questions are FAQs and have been answered more than once. Not trying to be rude, everyone asks questions that are answered previously occasionally, but your questions are pretty broad. Short answer - build th emotor as strong as you want but hooking the power might be difficult. Ford motors are apparently lighter and can be swapped in just fine but you'll have to make the motor mounts. The SBC can be mounted more easily.

Depends on how much room is in the tunnel. In my case I might be able to get at it from the top and drop it down - there's only one bolt holding it in. However my exhaust goes under there and I've got little in the way of tunnel hammering... How much room have you got up near th eshifter? The piece is oging to have to come out in order to be modified, I'm not sure about the trans itself.....

Interesting information. Check out the data logging rate for the DFI and Speed Pro systems - also note the number of channels! DFI is still down so far as number of channels but their data rate is 100hz IF this is right. I question some of this info though. They list the GEN7 DFI as NOT having knock sensor input and NOT having voltage compensation. I know for a fact that the older system had it and would be surprised if DFI dropped either of those features - especially the voltage compensation. Anyone find DFI 7 stuff elsewhere to compare? Haltech came out looking decent here too IMO. [ September 19, 2001: Message edited by: BLKMGK ]

Clint, the TECII WINTEC is now free. However we've heard here previously that the WINTEC isn't as good - at least it's not a $K anymore Folks - post links if you've got them.. Holley Commander PDF manual -> http://www.holley.com/HiOctn/TechServ/TechInfo/R10149-5.pdf Additional info -> http://www.holley.com/HiOctn/ProdLine/Products/C950/C950.html DFI Gen 7 info -> http://www.mrgasket.com/dfinew.htm#DFI but no manual that I can find or decent screen shots Edelbrock -> http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive/mpfi_systems.html HalTech -> http://www.haltech.com.au/ SDS -> http://www.sdsefi.com/tech.html FelProSpeedPro (same? Not sure htis is th ecorporat page) -> http://www.fuelairspark.com/ Misc parts etc. -> http://members.aol.com/bigturbo1/index.html http://force-efi.com/ Hope that helps! I'm looking too... [ September 18, 2001: Message edited by: BLKMGK ]

Heh, I mentioned this when I did it and have had the pics on my site for at least a couple of weeks. Since I've now gone through 2 transmissions I've got a spare lockout hangin aound. If anyone needs clearer pics by all means let me know - pics are easy...

Your advice to get and read the tuning manuals for ECUs being considered is a good one. The Electromotive one was supposed to be really good I'd heard but I've not yet seen it. There's no electronic version available that I'm aware of and they used to charge a pretty penny for it if memory serves. I'll see if I can hunt up the Holly one as I too am in the market and that price isn't too bad. i'm tempted to go with "simple" over complicated and expensive this time around... Haltech, not sure I'd bash them really but they've alwasy seemed to lag behind some of the other companies so far as features go. For the longest time they didn't have spark control. Their software, way back when, was supposed ot be pretty simple as far as ECUs went though. There obviously comes a time when you've got an ECU that's "good enough" and trying to add more features adds more cost than it does real tuning options. SDS is apparently a good example of this. Is anyone using a SpeedPro, DFI 7, or TECII on a V8? Would love to hear experiences from folks using them like we have from Dan! Hey Randy, tell us about your Haltech experiences please. Trying to keep an open mind on this. Also, friend got his dyno running last night and I was there for the first pulls. LOT'S to learn about how to run the thing and the WINPEP software could be a little easier but we'll get it. I hope to get a quick pull on my motor to see how it's running. Perhaps tonight if I'm lucky - I'd love to know how the A/F is looking. Need to figure out which O2 to buy before I can hookup my gauge but the dyno has A/F ability. Not quite ready for customer cars yet.

Dan, isn't there two Holley systems? One an older one that was keypad only and now a newer one? Mike, I think it's the older one that's supposed to have had problems not the newer one. I've not hard much at all about the newer one. Dan tell us as much as you can

As I said - I really need to REDO mine. Currently my spring is too weak. "Specs"? I picked up my spring at the local hardware store and chose it from a rack of springs mounted on th ewall. I ended up trimming it's height some but otherwise it was out of the box. Pics on my site show the new spring as I recall. http://www.blkmgk.com/development/testweb.nsf/4691e0edd8a01bd6852569ae0075e9c4/96b3c6baa6476ba685256ac00004f8d6?OpenDocument The assembled spring there is the new one. WAY too weak nd I was in too much of a hurry to test it before bolting the trans in. Hopefully I can R&R it again without removing the trans - we'll see. You actually do NOT have to unscrew the brass piece BTW. Snapring is in the end of the aluminum piece and sticks a nub into the trans that slows the reverse actuation. Hope that helps...