attworth

So I finally got the head off. Wood didn't work. Rubber mallet didn't work. Heat didn't help. Finally, after about an hour with a 10lb sledge, and lots of aluminum chunks missing later.... Needless to say, the head is ruined. It'll be a good learning example. I'll take it apart and put it back together. It's a pretty paper weight. The good news is, using vice grips and a hammer, the broken head bolts came out pretty easily. My bores look beautiful. Piston rings were in great shape. Crank looks great (no plastigauge, but there weren't any scuffs or odd anomalies.)

While that's appealing, I can't afford the parts to do it myself let alone to pay somebody else to do it. Being fresh out of the chute is not easy. Maybe some day. I need to come see your shop and meet you.

Hey Josh, You're on the right track, and like everybody else has said, just be patient with things. I started detailing cars professionally about a year and a half ago, and have only done about 10 cars for cash - all of them for way less than I should have charged. It takes me about 10 hours to do a full detail. I've been getting about 100$ for a car, about 150$ for a truck. Do the math. Subtract my product costs (roughly 10-20% of the total price I charge.) Hopefully some day I'll have built a name well enough to charge what it's truly worth - and get it!

Welcome to the site. Have you changed the diff. fluid yet? Sometimes doing that will make the whine go away considerably. Plan on replacing the differential mount. It's a rubber piece at the back. Also not a bad idea to replace the isolator bushings in the rear cross-member since you're back there. I think the hardest part to removing the diff. is getting the CV shafts disconnected from their hubs. 14mm bolts I believe. Best to jack up the rear, not using the diff as a jack point. Put some stands under it, remove all the bolts you need to (in the FSM,) and use a jack to help wiggle and lower the diff down. As for the manifold gaskets - may want to purchase some new studs. Be very careful and soak them with penetrating oil a few days before starting. If you break some, you'll be down for a while.

This is what they're referring to, sort of. This is a SBC piston. You basically want to copy the combustion chamber into the piston. If you haven't read this, do. It's a good thread that gets pretty in depth with squish. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=129940&highlight=squish

TBO lip is definitely beautiful. Sort of similar to the SS lip. I seem to remember contacting the guy who made a mold for the TBO lip and remember it being fairly reasonably priced compared to the SS. Here's some info. http://www.garymolitor.com/300zx/ss_tbo/TBOspoilerref.htm I miss my Z31 I'm pretty sure you can still buy the SS spoiler from Nissan for around 5-600$

Awesome! I've always liked your car. Kudos man, you deserve it.

I suppose playing games is probably better than reading nerdy books in the bath-tub after work. I usually work on the car to release stress. Sitting on my butt all day typing, answering phones, designing silly things and drawing pretty pictures is down-right demeaning sometimes.

My wife took this really cool picture today at work. Her new Birk's

Thank you.

I always have something plugged into my lighter socket, so I just make sure I've got a Bic handy.

I need a good Z31 motor in DFW. Pretty much just need a new short block with heads. Looking to spend around 150$, but I'm flexible. Doesn't matter if it's turbo or not. Please send me a message with what you have. Thank you, Tony

Started a new project today. Before I begin, let me give some background information. Bought my first Z31 back in October of 2006. It was a white turbo 5speed car in EXCELLENT shape. I intended to make a daily screamer. About a month after I bought the car, it was totaled by an S10 pickup. I was understandably upset. Sometime in November, I decided to find a cheap NA car to swap the good parts to. I found one, a black 5spd car. I began swapping all of the parts, starting from the back and working my way forward. I put in the Z31T rear end, the BW tranny, and finally the motor. I swapped all of the necessary parts to make the Turbo work, i.e., ECU, AFM, fuel pump, etc. Before I got the motor in, I decided I better get the t-belt replaced. I took it to Nissan since I didn't wanna screw it up. I also put in a Jim Wolf light-weight flywheel and a stage 2 Centerforce clutch. Turns out they installed the belt wrong. First start-up resulted in some weird noises and overall crappy running. I'm assuming the valves are bent and carnage is within. To top it off, the passenger side valve cover was bent upon impact, along with the passenger side exhaust manifold (unknown to me at the time, being younger and dumber.) Thoroughly discouraged by this situation, roughly 6 months after the initial purchase of the white car, I decided it was time to sell it. I bought myself an 06 F150 for transportation and started trying to sell the car, sort of. I didn't advertise it anywhere, but those who knew me, knew it was for sale. I ended up selling it to my brother for around 2800$. (Lots less than I had in it.) He drove it as it was for a while, with it's crappy performance and fuel economy. Finally, the alternator wiring decided to burn itself up some how. At this point, he parked it. That was roughly a year ago. The car has sat ever since. My wife and I currently share one car. She's started a new job where she needs to be there about an hour earlier than I have to be at work. It's become slightly inconvenient to carpool. With this in mind, I decided it was a good time to talk to my brother about fixing that car of his and talk him into letting me drive it for a few months. So, today I began another long trek to get a car on the road. With my project sitting idly until I get some money, I have plenty of time to get this thing going. A local guy has a few turbo motors that he'd sell for 350 a piece. The car is nearly perfect in every other way, as I replaced nearly everything the last go around. This should be a pretty cheap project. *crosses fingers* Pulled the motor today in about 3 hours (I'm getting good at this...) More to come!

I agree with Woldson, might as well just get a 240mm combo if you plan on putting more power down eventually. I had a Fidanza and Centerforce Stage II in my Z31, which was 99% stock otherwise. It was a nice combo.

Used to play, but found that the devotion required wasn't worth it. I have a friend who got laid off. He spends his days and nights playing that stupid game instead of searching for a new job. There's also my brother who plays it in between fixing jets and spending time with his wife. He's got some pretty good control, and yet has some pretty sweet characters in the game. I think I made it to level 50 or something. Highest is 80 now? Love the TMNT reference though.

I wouldn't say obsessed. Maybe a little. It's a very fine line I walk, talking car talk to my wife and listening to her talk about the wonderful cake she made yesterday. (I do enjoy hearing about her work and how great it is.) I used to have Saturdays to spend entirely with the Z. Now she doesn't work Saturdays so I gotta sneak in time when I can. She's pretty understanding, and wants me to finish my car just as much as I do. (Maybe more.) I've tried explaining that it'll never be done, but we'll deal with that later. Edit: Just remembered that I had a girlfriend in high school who told me if I got my Z fixed before Christmas we'd have some fun with it. If you know what I mean... I never ended up finishing it though.

My wife went to see a movie with her brother's family yesterday before I got off work. So, I had a little time to play around with the Z. Decided the most productive thing I could do is continue stripping the car. Removed the entire front cross-member and everything attached to it.

I'm just having a hard time convincing myself to even get a first home loan with my wife. Everybody keeps saying NOW is the time. Sure doesn't feel like it to me. I know if I owned my own home, and refinancing was an option - I definitely wouldn't go for it right now.

Cheers to you. Cheers to your father. I can definitely appreciate the bright side of remembering those lost.

Exactly! Not saying I'm one of them, but they're out there. I like KTM's solution. Dude driving a Prius throws me a kiss - I might go home and reconsider my life.

I had some fool in a brand new Cadillac ride my bumper getting on to the freeway one day. I was going a respectable 55mph on the service road and onto the ramp, where I began to pick up speed to the posted 60mph. He felt the need to ride me all the way up the ramp. Once on the freeway, he proceeded to pass on the left, roll down his window, flip the bird and scream some obscenities that I couldn't hear behind my closed window (it was roughly 30* outside.) After that, he proceeded to speed off in front of me and slam on his brakes. Ended up making me slow to a near crawl. At this point he pulls over and starts to open his door, assuming I've become enraged enough to join him for some road-side illegalities. Had my wife not been with me, things may have been different - but I tend to take the high-road with people like that and just go on my merry way. Another incident (same highway.) The highway necks down from 4-3 with an exit only on the left - which is usually packed back at least 1/2 mile. Generally, people are pretty good about it, and only marginally slow down the 3rd lane (left side,) by merging quickly in front of some of the slower cars. This particular day, the far left was backed up about a mile, moving 5-10mph. My wife and I were in the 3rd lane cruising around 60mph. Two, not one, trucks decide they want to take the exit about 250' from where it disconnects from the freeway. They did so by cramming two trucks into a spot fit for a small car. The process involved both of the trucks slamming on their brakes with smoke-a-flyin', and the second truck ending up with the back half of his truck hanging in the 3rd lane. Traffic was clearly stopped completely in the left lane at this point. My wife was driving, and luckily for us, she was paying enough attention to stop completely without impaling the front of our car under-neath this truck, while simultaneously somehow managing to not get hit from behind by another truck. I really hate it when people do things which could bring harm to my family. Myself, not so much a big deal - but my wife? I nearly got out and beat the life out of the combined ten teenagers in the two trucks. Luckily my wife was driving and had enough sense to speed away after showing her unappreciation with an upraised hand (very unlike her.) This, youngsters, is why you shouldn't be brake checking, flashing your lights excessively, or driving like a complete moron. There's always the quiet man and his wife who can only take so much. (I'm in my 20s by the way....)

People here tend to not pay too much attention on the freeway, so I try and stay as far away as possible from anybody and everybody.

Thanks again Grumpy. You're surely a wonderful source of information (and probably a really nice guy too.)

Grumpy - When milling a head, how is the slack taken up in the push rods? Are custom rods necessary? How much milling is safe with whichever rods are recommended by a cam manufacturer?

Ever used Xtreem Final Detail? I'm addicted. It's "supposedly" an old Meg's formula that was discontinued and Xtreem picked it up. I thought I was the only person who used this stuff.