thrustnut

I'm a pretty big NASCAR fan. I agree though, it was more fun when the cars where more different. It seems like any more, a car gets out front and sits there...no one can catch it (aero?). I guess you could call that "buildt in nap time". I also love the road courses and wish there where more of them, but the ovals are challenging in there own right. I cant imagine driving into a corner at 180+ and trying to set the car down between two other cars and knowing if you blip the throttle wrong the back end will break loose and wreck everyone. Definitely takes more skill then I (or my turds) have.

I replaced my stock ignition and coil with a Crane Cams unit, fired the car up and it ran great. For some stupid reason I thought I would grab the coil power wires and wiggle them to make sure they wouldn't pull out of the plug I made. I actually felt the ignition fire three times before I could let go of the wires. I shut the car off and went inside for the rest of the day.

That's weird...the same thing happened to my Dad, Brother and me when we where loading his 67 Mustang on a trailer a couple weeks ago. Somehow when we hooked the trailer to his Explorer (which he bought less then a month ago) the ball did not get set into the hitch correctly, so when it was tightened down, the trailer was sitting on top of the ball. We started loading the car and had it about halfway before my Dad noticed the trailer about a foot off the ball. We had him back down a little and between my Dad, my Wife and myself we had enough weight to sit the trailer back down on the ball and get it installed. If the wheels on the trailer weren't chocked i'm pretty sure we would have creamed the back of the Explorer.

The old MSA header gasket I had on my N47 head had a anti-seize soft material on the outside an it actually came apart when I removed the header. The new ones are kinda cruddy, nothing special. Im gonna try the stock fel-pro (your right 2eightT, the gaskets are one size fits all now) coated with roofing tar. My Dad said thats what they did to there American cars back in the day when they blew header gaskets out.

You use fel-pro gaskets with headers? I had a fel-pro I put on with my engine build because I had to move my car and hadden't got my MSA gasket in the mail yet and I blew it out in like four places driving from one side of town to the other. I have always been under the impression that you only want to use header gaskets with a header. I guess I can give it a try with some sealent and see how it goes. Cheep exparament anyway.

It blew out on the exhaust side on number 5 cyliner, yes the surfaces are flat. The head is a fresh O/H and looks to be flat. I did not use any sealent on the gasket, I never needed it before. The header flange is pretty thin, and after talking to my Dad im planing to run a sealent on the next gasket. All I wanted to know is what gasket would have the intake bolt holes at the top of the gasket required to install the carborated manafold. As I said before, I drilled the last gasket I got from MSA, and would like to have the correct one before installing it. I dont know about everyone else, but theres a point where I just get sick of making somthing else work.

I did that too and it blew out again. I dont was to "make somthing work". Im looking for the right part.

Im pretty sure a good run or two wont fix the problem. I would think if it was a bearing, you oil press would be high or not there at all. I would pull the chain and rocker arms, yank the cam and inspect, and rotate the bottom end without the cam installed. If the noise is coming from the rotating assy, looks like your pulling the engine again to find it. Or...you CAN run it till it stops turning then figure it out.

Hey all, I have a P90 head with a header and Arizona Z intake and am not sure which gasket to run. I ordered a header gasket for a P90 head from Motorsport, but it didden't have the upper holes required for the AZ intake. Im just wondering what others with carb setups and square port heads are doing. Im thinking an N42 gasket might work...any ideas? Thanks!

Hey all, im looking for a set of black A-piller covers, a steering colum cover (with hardware if you have it) in good shape and a glove box insert all for a 77 280z. Let me know price plus shipping to 97702. Please PM with prices. Thanks, Chris

I thought it was funny...but what is a wog? I didden't get it...just an AU thing?

My first car was a 72 Ranchero with a 351 Clevland. I rebuilt the engine, installed a 4BBL intake and carb, drove it around the block once with my Dad...then sold it. He said it had too much power. So I used the cash from that and bought my 77 Z. He thought a six cylinder would be better then a big V8. I know i'm gonna get it for this...but why not leave the stock six cylinder in it? They don't make that much power stock. I got mine when I turned 16, have had it for almost 13 years and haven't wrecked or ditched it yet. And I think I take more chances now then I did when I was young. If you want to give him a low HP four cylinder get him a 1995 Honda civic station wagon, put the Z in the garage and let him build a nice N/A engine (should take him a couple years) and by then he will be good to go. Im sure no one will agree, just my thinking.

The first time I forgot the switch was leaving the DMV. I got about half a mile away when it cut out in a roundabout and I thought WTF...another gremlin. I was still coasting with enough speed to pop the clutch, look down, flip the switch, let it prime for a sec. and re-start it. I would just let it go for a while and see if it dies, it wont hurt anything.

Dito that, my Carter will run for a couple minutes befor cutting out. I installed a fuel switch when I put the new engine in and forget at least once a week to turn it on before driving. I need a buzzer or somthin...(hey stupid, turn the fuel on)

Sorry if I offended anyone by insulting a mustang owner.

That's my old stompin' grounds. Highway 1 is a cool drive, as long as the weathers good. If you go to LA there's an Asian botanical (sp?) garden that's worth looking at. I went there once with my Grandparents when I was a kid and would like to go back as an adult. Portland and Seattle are two of my favorite spots up here in the North West. Seattle has the Fish Market, its right down on the bay in Seattle. Its a pretty cool maze of shops, lots of fresh flowers, good food, just something cool to check out for an hour or two while your up there.

I have two things to say... first off its a fox body Mustang, everyone I have ever known with one of those is about as smart as a box of rocks but thinks there car is the fastest thing on four wheels. And second, boy am I glad my engine is internally balanced!

TonyD- I would never use an ill fitting wrench on an aircraft part, that was the point of my post. I am a home owner, and a tool owner. I think you can do both if you are careful about how you spend. I do believe in getting good deals when you can. I have a nice older Snap-On tool box I bought from a guy who was leaving the shop for 800.00. It was a 3,000.00 box easy when new in the late 80's. I also buy from ebay ect. but I buy brand names that I can trade in on the truck if needed. I also understand hes an auto mechanic, my Dad has been a Mercedes Benz mechanic for over 40 years (Mercedes certified master mechanic) and he has a huge box full of brand name tools (and im not talking craftsman). So I guess you can use whatever you want, but like I said, you get what you pay for. Its the nature of the beast that we mechanics never get paid for the investment we have in tools.

Hey, I guess i might as well jump in. I have been an aircraft mechanic for over 12 years, the first ten where in the military where my tools where supplied, most of them where good quality (mostly Snap-On). For the last almost three I have been on my own at an FBO where we work on any aircraft that rolls in. So unlike some of the others on here I dont have the luxury of a "specialized toolbox" I need to be ready to work on anything. My tools are 90% Mac, with the rest being a mix of Snappy and Matco. I dont buy much Snap-On for three reasons, first I dont know if anyone else has noticed but the quality of Snap-On has been falling off over the last few years and seems to be overpriced for what it is, second, im on night shift and the Snap-On guy comes by in the AM, and third the dealer is an A-hole, hard to get him to warranty ANYTHING. But Mac and Matco come by on my shift, and the dealers are cool, so they get my business. Now for why I support the chrome pimps... say im using a Craftsman (fine for my Z) on a Cessna 425 main gear attach bolt, and it slips(due to a lesser quality steel) and rounds off the head...crap, so I get my 1.99 drill bits and try to drill off the head, and the bits warped, so now i marred the casting. I go look up the part, and what do you know, I cant get one because Cessna discontinued them in 1990. So I get lucky and find a serviceable unit at a boneyard, and hey they only want 15,000 for it. CHEEP!! So all I have to do now is explain to the customer that he needs to buy this 15,000.00 part, and not fly his plane for a month or so because its coming from England. So, do the math...how much did I save again with my cheep tools? Bottom line, you get what you pay for.

I think the problem with this car is that the owner put it in a pot, added WAY to much rice and let it boil for WAY to long. Its looks almost like he's making a joke out of the ricer thing. I also have a body kit, I could not stand the big crash bumpers on my 77, I thought it just killed the nice lines Datsun had going. So I installed a MSA kit which in my opinion is more how it should have come from the factory. So while I agree with agentZ and appreciate the work that went into the Z, there is a point at which you should stop. And this is way beyond that point.

For an MRE bomb you take the litle heater pack and crumble it up as fine as you can get it, dump it in an empty water bottle, add about half the water back into the bottle and shake. THROW it and wait about 15 seconds (depending on mixture) and there you go. It was enough to get the MP's called on us a few times. They thought it was gunfire...I guess not a good idea in some locations.

Any one else out there made an MRE bomb?

Someone should drive this car off a cliff, I actually think its crying on the inside.

I was in the military for a while, and the MRE's ans UGR's we had where better then the food at the dining facillity at most deployed locations. A few years back they did a study and released a bunch of diffrnet meals. The new ones arn't that bad, I guess when your hungry you can eat about anything. The first one I had was in basic training, that was in 1998, the packet of M and M's in the meal had an ad for the 1984 Olimpics on it.

The one with the wood dash kinda looks like a boat. Kinda like some tattoos, it looks cool and is different, but just not my bag baby. Dose anyone know who makes the turbo intake sitting under that carbed Z? I can read Turbo Toms on the upper, but I dont know, is that a kit?