jhaag

I haven't looked at the forum for over a week so I hope I'm not repeating something someone may already have posted. Check out the photo of this V8 nitrous powered 240Z. http://www.jps.net/zparts/sidebars/sb_fantasy/bo_v8_blue_l.htm ------------------ 1979 280ZX w/ 350 V8 and 700R4

A few months back, someone posted a photo ( http://www7.ewebcity.com/dewzenol/Dscn3563.jpg ) from the Las Vegas show of a Z with side exhausts--thanks to whoever posted the photo. The exhausts grabbed my interest and I finally learned whose car it was: Jim Darnell of Burlingame, CA ( zmonster2000@yahoo.com ). He is a member of the Z Club on Northern California (ZONC). I spoke with him last night and got a lot of details on the car. He says Eric Nyerlin will be doing a photo shoot of the car in 2-3 weeks so hopefully more photos will be on the way. All body sheet metal seams are welded smooth, the door handles have been shaved as well as the rain gutters. The name "Datsun" is painted on using a pearl white color and replaces the Datsun emblems. The side marker lights have been removed. The underside of the hood has a mural painted on it of a woman with her arms raised to the sun--a photo of this would be interesting. The engine is original and is mostly stock but it does have a mild cam. The car also has Eibach springs and Tokiko shocks. There are fiberglass air dams on the front and back with fiberglass side skirts that are molded in (I didn't quite understand this). Anyway, on to the dual side exhausts. From the header, the pipes come out from under the car in the form of 2.25" seamless brushed stainless steel elbows. The end of the elbow has been slightly expanded so it slips over the side exhaust. The actual side exhausts were fashioned from two, 36" long glass pack mufflers joined end to end with a baloney cut in the turnout tube at the end where the exhaust exits into the air. The side exhausts have been painted black. He said that this arrangement probably costs him some horsepower but for him the main thing was the look of the exhaust. He said it sounds nice but isn't too loud. He also said that he can place his hand on the side exhaust without burning his hand--a lot of Cobra side exhausts apparently have branded the owners' legs when they accidentally touched the side exhaust. He reports there is not any noticeable heat entering the interior of the car. The side pipes are 1" away from the rocker panel. I hope I haven't made any errors in describing his car; he welcomes anyone to contact him with questions. His next project is a V8 Z so I encouraged him to join this forum.

A number of months ago, the guy (Rory Bateman) told me he was moving his shop but didn't have his address yet. Since then I've lost touch with him. Eric Neyerlin (on the IZCC list a lot) runs into the guy occasionally and Eric said he'd try to get the guy to become more visible again. Eric's response to me is at the end of this message. Eric has several photos of Tomahawks at his web site. He took one photo at the West Coast Nationals ( http://www.jps.net/zparts/showcase/wczn20/pages/00r08f04_c.htm ) and he has another at ( http://www.jps.net/zparts/showcase/tomahawk/jc280zx_prv.htm ) Eric's response to my question: At 07:41 AM 9/11/00 -0600, you wrote: >Eric: Have you heard anything lately from the guy that makes the >Cobra-looking kit for the Zs? Last time I talked with him (quite a >while ago) he was moving and didn't have a new address yet. Thanks > >John Haag John, I was just speaking to him yesterday at a kit car show. A total of 7 Tomahawks were at the show including Rory Bateman's personal car. The 280ZX and 300ZX finished and driveable prototypes were there as well. I took numerous photos that will appear on my website later this month. Rory is still in transition and has not found a location to set up his shop at yet. He told me that he might have a new residence in Sacramento soon, but I have no direct phone # or address for him at the moment. I mostly relay messages to him through his loyal customers that keep a constant communication with him while he is searching for a new shop opportunity. Because I receive a constant stream of inquiries about his kits, I made up a 3 page questionnaire for Rory to fill out regarding his Tomahawk kit and it's history. If he fills it out, as he said he would, then I will either mail it out to you or post it on my website and alert you and others that it is there to review. btw, have you ever seen a Tomahawk kit at a show or on the street or did you first learn of them from my website display? I am trying to locate aprox. 20 + kit owners whose location records have been lost by Rory. I wish to find them to document their histories and to add them to a Tomahawk registry. _________________________________________ Eric Neyerlin 510-233-2624 Z PARTS (ZP) E-Mail: zparts@jps.net P.O. Box 70506 http://www.jps.net/zparts Pt. Richmond, CA 94807

There are several places to get Lexan but I have the info at home. For the moment I know you can get it through Aircraft Spruce & Specialty. Search on "Lexan" (it takes longer than I expected) and then scroll down the page to see various sizes and prices. Their hard copy catalog (free--500+ pages) can be a good source of info but I don't know how the prices compare. It's a place to start though. http://www.aircraft-spruce.com/spruce/pages.cgi

I can attest to the stopping ability (and acceleration) of Ross Corrigan's brake mods. I've never stopped so fast or so straight. I had to change my shorts when I got home. I'd love to have a detailed description of every step he took in creating his system. I also know he put in many, many hours of design work and fabrication and deserves a lot of credit for the outcome. On another note, I purchased a 6 hp, 80 gallon air compressor (had several 220 volt outlets added to the garage) and just finished all the installation work on the piping. My Miller mig welder arrived and that's plugged into the 220 as well. My one car garage/shop is coming together but, of course, there are an endless number of tools I'd love to purchase. I'm looking forward to starting some of the hundreds (I dream a lot) of projects I'd still like to do to my ZX. John Haag ------------------ 1979 280ZX w/ 350 V8

My car is a 79 280 ZX (GL version which I think has the 3.54 R180 diff) with a currently completely stock 1989 350 V8 and 700 R4 trans from a Firebird Trans-Am GTA (240 hp when new and I think about the same amount of torque-I don't have the numbers in front of me). Someday I will probably up the power of the engine but I'd rather work on effectively getting the power to the ground first. I've got urethane bushings everywhere and have rebuilt the stock brakes and added stainless lines. I'm probably going to buy a Quaife Limited Slip R200 differential through Paul Stod of Performance Racing Products in Rochester, New York. He has gotten good references from some people on the IZCC listserv. He was trying to put together a deal to get a much cheaper price on an R200 LSD but not enough people were interested. Since that has fallen through, he is offering an R200 Quaife for about $1100. I've asked for his thoughts on my questions but would like your opinions as well. The 700 R4 has the following gear ratios: 1st--3.06 2nd--1.62 3rd--1.00 4th--0.70 My intent with the car is to perhaps (I haven't done either yet) do some auto crossing and some 1/4 mile drag racing at the strip. I'm not interested in high speed track events but I am interested in a "reasonable" ratio for the highway. If I had to choose auto crossing versus drag racing, I'd lean toward drag racing. So far, I've driven the car about 1,000 miles per year (over a six year period) although I'd like to do a little more highway sightseeing/touring. I don't use the car to drive to and from my job. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but the engine is known for its low end torque--I'm guessing the torque peak is reached by 4,000 rpm. I haven't chosen wheels and tires (I currently have the 14" stock rims) yet, due mostly to my uncertainty of how the tire height, trans ratios, diff ratios, torque peak, etc play together. I don't yet understand the effect 14" rims versus 15" rims versus 16" rims would have on the overall ratio. I'm in love with the look of Panasports and they are available in all three sizes although I'm sure the selection of 16" sizes are more limited than the 14" or 15" sizes. I'm unclear how going to larger wheels will affect drag racing versus auto crossing. I'm slowly understanding this stuff but there are a lot of gaps in my understanding of how all of this plays together. I'm guessing that a 3.54 ratio with 12 mm ring gear bolts might fit the bill best but I'd like your thoughts. I'm told that there is more availability of ring gears with 10mm bolts. My notes show that the 81-83 cars w/ turbos with either manual or automatic trans had the 3.54 ratio as well as having 12 mm bolts. Are my notes accurate? I've saved a lot of notes from the IZCC listserv (thanks in particular to Ross Corrigan) but oftentimes I still get lost. I'm going to look at a spreadsheet someone has posted (http://www.geocities.com/dave240z) that apparently allows one to play with the variables of ratios, tire sizes, etc. I'm not sure how good it is. Any ideas from the group would be much appreciated. John Haag