BLKMGK

FWIW, I sandblasted parts of my first Z. Done carefully you can strip the paint layer by layer without damaging th emetal too badly. However I noticed that if the air had ANY water in it the car would surface rust as fast as I blasted it! Use a good etching primer, I used a 2part product from PPG that was awesome! Why do you feel you need to take it this far down? Unless it's got tons of paint I'd not do it - rust can get in there too easily and it's a huge job you're setting yourself up for. You should've seen the way sand got into EVERYTHING on the car I did and I only did the fenderwells and underfender areas up front. Oh yeah, engine bay and cowl too. I had a beach in my driveway inches deep. Used play sand - Sakcrete actually has more trash in it than generic sand

WOW, good job! Heh, any idea what an R230 would've gone for?

What's different about the gaskets? I noted some oil on my block while pulling the $%#! T56 and while I'm pretty sure it's the valve covers I'm curious. If "marine grade" is better it might be worth the money. BTW - who was the dim bulb who thought only 4 valve cover bolts was enough? C'mon that's silly...

Okay, THAT sucked! Clearance is TIGHT and while I did it exactly the way Mike did there ws one bolt I could only see by looking through th eshifter hole. Some gorilla also wrenched these puppies really tight. Getting an impact in there was a bear. I didn't realize for awhile that there was even a bolt left! The one that holds down that plastic vent tube was what hung me up. I finally got it by blind luck. So, trans is out. I wasn't too gentle there at the end but I dragged the body out of there and it'll goto my friend's shop tomorrow or more likely Monday. Whew! Putting it back in will be VERY interesting. I WILL get some help and I might even try to get it over to my friend's shop when the time comes. That puppy is really heavy to manuever in such tight quarters - putting it in will be a real bear without a lift. I'm beat

There's also a company selling a cooling system replacement product. It requires an upgraded water pump I think but I don't recall the name. Sounded pretty hi-tech but it wasn't cheap and I didn't wish to risk my motor using it. Apparently you can run hotter engine temps using it.

Pros - clean slate. cons - th edip can stay in little corners and ruin a new paint job when it comes out. You'll lose any and all rust protection as well as all sealing in the seams. The car will rust quickly afterwards if it's not dipped in a solution to halt the rust - phosphate I think is what they use I think. There's a shop near me that does this, I'd suggest only doing it on an old car that couldn't be stripped any other way.

Heh, Davy I'd be happy to help if I knew the answer. Heck, I didn't even notice the sig Give it some time, I'm sure someone will pop up with an answer... Personally I wouldn't sweat 1/4inch so long as the tip wasn't shoruded fomrth eair flow and there was no danger of th etip not sealing correctly. Heck, so long as it sealed etc. I'd try it and be prepared to do some work if it did't run right just so long as there was no danger of fuel leakage. Fire not cool when it's NOT inside the engine...

Ditto th eSplitfire issues on Mustangs. Stock cars aren't as bad but blown cars come in with missing problems. Swapping out to a set of Champions has fixed at least three cars that I'm personally aware of. I actually stodd there one day while my friend did this on a customer's car hot. The customer took it right back out and returned with a smile on his face! I ran them in my car with turbos and had no issues but it seems that some people DO have problems with them... (shrug)

Along those same lines - if anyone has a burning urge to do this swap and wants some real life physical measurements let me know. The shop always has a couple of 4.6 motors sitting around and I keep meaning to take measurements of one of them...

Yeah, it would be a Federal Offense to remove the cat - that's likely true in any state BTW since it's a Federal law not a local one. It's not often enforced but it's something over a grand for EACH emissions device. On a Mustang that's between 4 and 6 (!) cats BTW. I've met one person who got nailed for this - he mouthed off to the cop it seems and had straight pipes I'm honestly not worried about being tossed in jail but this is a hi-flow cat and it seems to be flowing MUCH better than the stock one. The precat has already been replaced with a stainless downpipe My car is no longer running quite so rich I'm pretty sure. I've got an airbox, intercooler, DP, cat, catback - no computer This is a MAP sensed system guys so you can imagine that's slowly but surely been eating up it's safety margin. I've got a purple PMS to go in but it's present programming is suspect and Peter the Pirate wants $350 to update it's PROM to the latest and put in good settings. Kripes, it's just a PROM! I'll do it as soon as the trans issue is resolved on the Z and I know what money I've got. I'd have done it already otherwise but the trans thing came up. I have no keypad for the PMS so I'm looking for the laptop software - InterACQ I think it's called. Anyway, 13B, 20B - I don't really know the difference to be honest. I don't know rotaries very well and lost the mechanic I was using too (sigh). I've been told that TurboII's can be made just as fast if not faster than FD3s. A single turbo probably makes it easier and if I found one in good shape I'd be interested in playing with it. The car I've got now is a blast and when the second turbo hits it's like Kirk just ordered up warp speed! Right to redline it screams - what a rush. I don't know how this would work out in a Z but I'd certainly do it in a 510. Unfortunatly my number of cars is quite high enough right now and another project would send the woman into fits. someday I'll have an emisisons free 510 and maybe a rotary to go with it. Heck, an RX3 would be really cool too bu tI've only ever seen one. Scottie, if that puppy ever goes up for sale let me know ASAP! Would love to get together locally with folks who know rotaries and learn more. One of these days when I've got time anyway. Love reading up on them but they're a bit unknown to me and I worry I'll blow mine up.

Nah, the black comes from the polishing compound and dust. Even if it starts out as a white compound as soon as the meal hits the wheel it goes black pretty quickly. trust me, my garage is covered in the stuff and I've got strings from the buffs hanging all over the place. Assembling an engine in my "cleanroom" would be a joke.

Ah, okay thanks on that removal procedure. It'll take me more than an hour I'm sure but I'll get it out. One of these days I'll but a tranny jack but I'd like to think this isn't going to be a regular thing (ahem). Check out this page from D&D -> http://www.ddperformance.com/driveline.htm Something smells here. How is it that Ford converted T56 cost LESS than GM T56?! They don't appear to sell any GM tranny's either - argh! I may shoot them a note or call them up. For $2K I'd consider a new one. For $3K GM can bite me

I've not looked closely at a Nisan valve cover bu tif it's not got a lot of detail areas it can be done somewhat easily. If it's got grooves and whatnot it could be more difficult. Having said that... Get yourself some good wetdry sandpaper in a variety of grits. 400, 800, maybe 1200. Consider getting so flapper wheels for the drill too. Goto town until it's nice and smooth. Use water to lubricate it when handsanding and use the flapper with the drill clamped into a vise for bigger areas and deep scratches. Do NOT use a rough flapper wheel! Aluminum is soft... when it's looking pretty good with just sanding scratches get a bugging wheel that can be bolted into the drill and again clamp it in a vice. Goto town all over again. Use some fine compound at first and see how it goes. If this doesn't bring it righ tup switch to a rougher compound but realize that yo'll have to clean ALL of it off and use a seperate wheel when you switch to the fine stuff. Having used fine sandpaper before this point will pay off. when that's finally done use Wenol or Mothers aluminum polish on it. Finally, find a good heat resistant clearcoat or have it clear powdercoated 'cause it WILL oxidizerust and show spots etc. It will be a constant source of maintenance if you don't coat it - trust me! Yes, I've used the above methods before and did an entire Mustang upper intake using them. I now have a full sized Baldor buffer complete with a nice high speed flapper wheel and things go MUCH faster! Oh, wear a dust mask, a GOOD ONE, not those crap paper things whenyou use the drill. If you don't do this you'll have black boogies afterwards and it's going into your lungs too. Wear goggles when using the flapper and buffer too. Dust will go everywhere, I have a PILE on my workbench and it's all over my rafters too! I'd suggest you consider starting on something small liek th bells first as you'll quickly figure out this can be a ton of work to do right depending on the subject matter. I doubt I'll ever do another Mustang manifold having done two in the past. You should be aware that some aluminum contains junk in them *Mustang manifolds!* that will come out when you polish. This forces you to sand further to get past it and can be a losing battle. I found air pockets and other junk in the Mustang manifolds. You might want to check MSA's price on their already done valve covers before you begin too

I'm not sweating it at this point Pete. I had more than a 1 foot moment arm too probably. It was in the air, I was on my back, I grabbed the tires and pushed on them a bit is all. Unless I spin one wheel on the street I'll not worry. The viscous LSD just sounds so nice not having to have clutches. Plus you can swap to different fluids to change the effect too I think. At this point if it's not broke it's not being "fixed", unfortunatly I've got some broke stuff

Oh cute! So, if I swapped to the CHEAPER T5 flywheel etc. I could use the straight up T56. Hrm, the shifter seems to sit fine now, how would it be using that box? I think the flywheel swap would hose the deal since 've got so much invested in this SFI flywheel but others considering the T56 who might be horrified by the prices out there could find this attractive. Note the ratios - different than all of the previous T56. No torque rating given either that I see. I'll peruse the Tremec WEB site next when I get a chance... I think I'll be ordering that manual BTW P.S. Looks like it uses a mechanical speedo but might also be able to take the electronic one. The shifter position is moved and th ebellhousing is a different depth. It may use a cable clutch, I'm not sure but I thought their T5s sed a hydraulic one. Tremec doesn't list a trans with those ratios which is weird but I'd say the torque rating is lower than the 94+ T56s but possibly not as low as the 93s. It's hard to tell - it's got a weird mix of ratios! [ August 17, 2001: Message edited by: BLKMGK ]

Okay, since I do computer security for a living... Check out Tiny Personal Firewall from Tiny Software. It's a VERY easy to setup (free)personal firewall that works great on NT etc. but it does require some knowledge of firewalls. It guides you some but it helps to understand networking and firewalls. Network Ice is also good and makes for a nice IDS - I ran it at DEFCON and had a blast watching the junk bounce off. It's not free though and tey offer NO trial last I looked, that's stupid for a company making such wild claims! I've worked with it for customers that have it licensed but don't own it myself. You might want to look at some of the 3rd party tools that have been written to write reports from it's data etc. I've been told that some of them are pretty good. Note that since Network ICe uses the Jet (Access) database engine that IT has been subject to at least one exploit that I'm aware of TPF works best for securing something you're not going to spend a ton of time monitoring - like my WEB server A scan on that puppy won't return much at all - or certainly shouldn't anyway. I run @Guard on my primary machine for it's ad blocking abilities, cookie management (WEB Bugs!), and ActiveXJava protection if I desire. It'll also kill those damned X10 ads if I so desire. Unfortunatly Symantec bought the technology, gives no upgrade path to prior users, and screwed up some features (sigh). TPF has some advantages over both Network Ice and @Guard in that it CRCs executables to prevent spoofing by trojans. Network Ice MAY have this now but didn't last I looked. Steve Gibson's "Shields Up!" test is a good one to check out especially for those of you running NO protection at all. You'd be horrrified to see the junk WINx barfs up by default! Zone alarm is another popular IDS that's also free but I hear mixed reports on it's ability to screw up the host machine I've never used it (shrug). Do realize that most of these tools won't do squat if there's a problem with an app you run that looks like normal traffic to the IDS or firewall - they might even introduce their own vulnerabilities to your system! The Code Red thing is a perfect example - it comes in Port 80 and looks like a weird HTTP request (buffer overflow attack) that will go right past most firewalls. There are several exploits on IIS that do this Those that get cute with my WEB server will find that it's software has been patched and that it's NOT IIS. I'd not run that software if could help it. With over 75 exploits out there for it vs about 15 for Apache and a number somewhere in-between for Netscape's junk I'd say IIS is a bad idea. Note that MSFT has just released an Uber Patch to fix all known vulnerabilities in IIS and 5 they didn't mention (ahem). They've also released a tool to check NT systems for needed patches, I'd suggest everyone look it up if they're running NT, IIS, MS SQL, etc. etc. They really ARE out to get you! Hrm, Dan what software is this server hosted on? I've NOT scanned it or looked at any headers but could take a cursory look if I was given some sort of letter of permission by someone responsible. I'd be really pissed if someone hacked this sucker since we've go so much good helpful information here that might be lost (shiver). Lemme' know! P.S. Gee Pete, what's wrong with a little friendly Port Scan? You don't mind people knocking on your door at home do you? I'd say most ISP don't care about reports of scans, they're usually pretty busy with other things and more serious hacks. My luck getting results on scans has been pretty poor unless it's an honest to gosh documented hack attack. It really shocks them when you can provide full details of the attempt too!

Weedeater on crack? Maybe unmuffled but with a turbo or two and a somwhat decent exhaust the sound is incredible. I'm not talking really loud just weird. I actually sounds a little like a baby crying from inside my car - a weird WHAAAAA sound. Before the stock catalytic was swapped out tunnels were incredible and anytime I raced someone thye always commented on the truly bizarre sounds. Now with the aftermarket cat I can hardly wait to hit a tunnel - underpasses are pretty wild (lol). I passed a friend on the road going the other way just last weekend. I was hammer down probably doing a good 75+ WOT. He said he heard this wild sound like a Learjet, looked around, and saw a flash of yellow on th eother side of the road over the jersey barrier. He actually called me up to ask if it was me - said it sounded like a Learjet! I'm going to have a friend zip by me one time so I can stand on the side of the road and listen to it. The sounds from inside are pretty wild and I cannot imagine what it must sound like form outside. Side note - if you remove ALL cats on an RX7 it's really loud and sounds like a motorboat at idle (IMO). On WOT shifts it will actually blow flame out the back of the car ! I've seen videos of that and heard several RX7 folks comment on it. Pretty wild but I don't see my car going that route. I AM pretty tempted to find an RX7 TurboII to play with. They can be made as fast or faster than the later twin turbo FD3s I'm told. Like I need another toy...

Huh?! That's not true! Water Wetter breaks down surface tension at all temps. This allows the heat to better transfer to the coolant from the metal in the engine. I've used it in a stock Mustang with a 190 thermostat and seen NOTICABLE changes in temp even looking at the crappy stock gauge. The stuff works and doesn't require high temps or pressures to do it's job. Mind you if the cooling system is able to do it's job well you probably won't notice a temp change but it WILL be working and helping to keep bad things from occuring. If you've got a cooling system that can't keep up or a weak fan the Water Wetter may be enough to keep things under control - in this case you would certainly notice a difference on the temp gauge. As a side note, people who overclock computers and cool them with water (yes, I've done this) have also noted diferences using Water Wetter. They've also found that the additive used to remove spots in the dishwasher worked just as well for less money. However that chemicals effects on the water pumps etc. are unknown so beware if you choose to do this - I'd use it in an intercooler setup before I'd use it in an engine. ANY chemical that breaks surface tension and doesn't lower the boiling temp should work and there are probably other common household chemicals that have this effect. Side note: The old pelletized Water Wetter was best IMO since it had anti-freezeanti-corrosive additives in it but it would turn nasty colors while sitting on the shelf and was dropped (apparently). They claimed lack of demand, I claim the retailers didn't like the way it looked after it sat and that no one would buy something that looked that ugly [ August 17, 2001: Message edited by: BLKMGK ]

Eh, T56 is a strong trans IMO. Since mine came from a wrecking yard we surmise that it was in gear and in an accident. My mechanic says this frequently breaks a gear when it occurs. (shrug) I've seen folks put insane amounts of power through T56 transmissions and while th y DO break and twist it's usually taking a great deal of abuse or poor maintenence to do it... Somewhere I've got an URL for a Camaro guy who's making obscene amounts of power - he broke a few T56 and finally had to go TH400. His biggest issues seemed to be input shafts and clutches as I recall...

Humph, under the car tonight pulling the driveshaft bolts I noticed that the LSD I've got may be a bit weak. I could somewhat easily turn one wheel while holding the opther - this is a clutch LSD too. I heard some clunking on my few drives, found a suspension part a tad loose but the clunk sounded more like the diff - we'll see. The R230's LSD is pretty bulletproof, if a kit is developed I may be pretty interested. With the premium the R200 brings I could probably recoup a decent amount. That's down the road though, have to see if she'll spin both tires before I get real concerned

Actually Sallee charges $2995 - my friend with his connections can get me one new for about $2800. http://www.sallee-chevrolet.com/ChevyTransmissions/gmt56.html Plan is this: Pull trans, have my friend check it out (free). If it's going to need more work than I'm willing to invest or he can do it'll be closed up and sold as-is. At that point I'd buy the $600 trans I know about (hopefully for less) and have the reverse gear checked out. That trans was a dealer pull under warranty so it shouldn't be too bad. Money from the sale of the first trans would offset the second one somewhat. I've pulled th eexhaust already (pics to follow I swear). Driveshaft bolts in back have been pulled. Trans drained - it looked like silver Tester's paint. Sort of silver mixed with clearred(ish). NO chunks, nothing stuck to the drain plug. Trans had about 10miles on it tops. I'll be VERY interested to see what it looks like inside! Pulling this beast, on my back in the garage by myself, is going to be a bear. I'm gone this weekend so tomorrow I'll be humpin' and will try to have it to my friend's shop by Monday or Tuesday - I just don't think I can move quicker than that (sigh). My chances of driving it again next weekend grow ever dimmer

Eh, that gy's car has been aorun a bit and I've seen it in at least one Mustang mag - however it's never been finished to the best of my knowledge. I know at least one person who's considered the 5.4 V8 but finally rejected it. When you can get 700+ hp out of a 4.6 I'm not sure you really need the headaches of the V10 or of the 5.4. I actually think the 5.4 or 4.6 would be an AWESOME Z swap. It revs to like 7K easily, makes smooth power, and the accesories are pretty compact. Pretty wide though but if big blocks fit it should fit too! Headers are tucked up nicely too... Perhaps one of these days when the motors ae a little more common - they're pretty pricey now...

Am getting quotes form a shop now on cracking mine open and on a refurb trans. I'll post them here ASAP. They've already told me that the place they normally goto doesn't carry them (shiver). We'll see - another friend is hunting hem down too. If I could get out of this for $800 I'd be pretty pleased actually. Hrm, did th e$800 include R&R'ing the tranny? I'm almost to the point where I odn't want to do that myself but I guess if I pull the trans first THEN the bellhousing it might not be too bad [uPDATE]: SQUEEEL! Can you say $2495 +$500 core from the transmission shop for a reman?! Kripes, I don't think NEW ones cost that much if you shop around. Will be getting a quote to crack it open in the morning and see what it will cost to estimate the repair. Whoof, I certainly won't be getting a reman trans from them unless it's a last resort. I'd buy the 27K one I found for $1500 first. Ouch! LOL, they called again! Tearing it down is $150. IF I buy a new tras I'll have his one repaired anyway (most likely) so $150 to find out what's wrong isn't too bad. Looks like I'll be working on it tonight and tomorrow night to take in early next week. Fun fun! [ August 16, 2001: Message edited by: BLKMGK ]

Agreed! only had antifreeze in mine at all because I believed that the motor would be fine since it had been built by a pro - duh! At least it wasn't a full "normal" waterantifreeze mix and was mostly water. I'd say leave it in there long enough to get the motor fully warm and broken in, then drain and replace with the correct solution. It'll still rust some but not much (shrug).

LOL, I KNEW it! I've had this happen myself (V8 Vega) and the noise it made was trly scary Glad it was somehting simple!