pete280z

doesn't matter

I can't even remember. I found hybridz sometime between 1999 and 2001 probably via a Google search. Back then the home page had profiles of a few members' cars. Blueovalz's car pulled me in. I read as much as I could until I finally bought a house and soon after my first s30 in 2003.

I got a ticket for tailgating 12 years ago (18 years old at the time). In Texas the offense was called "failure to control speed." It was a multiple car accident on an interstate. The car in front of me stopped quickly, and I stopped within inches of their rear bumper. The Mustang behind me locked his brakes and drove my car into the car in front of me. The issuing officer never even witnessed my car in motion, but said we were all obviously tailgating each other if we wound up like that. My second Z (1986 z31 NA) died that night. I drove like an idiot when I was young and went through 4 cars in 2.5 years (3 z31s and 1 FC RX7). Not a single accident was technically "my fault" as the other drivers all committed some traffic offense that led to the accident. I wasn't such a lunatic I could have avoided them all. I'm convinced that the correlation between attention and accident avoidance is strong.

Those s13 wheels are probably 15x6 with +40 offset. I grabbed those numbers off another site, so they may not be perfectly accurate. Stock 280z wheels were 14x6 with +15 offset. I'd be very surprised if you can get these to fit.

Austin - I am definitely interested if one of your buyers backs out or you decide to make another run.

Awesome. When will you have a prototype & pricing on L6 intakes?

How exactly did you hold the camera, steer the car, and shift during that run?

Great video! I've seen that car around town, but never seen what it can do. Can't wait to see it when he turns the boost up.

Hang in there spot. There's a nasty bug going around town. I'll let everyone know and we'll look forward to seeing you guys soon.

My TJ was totalled years ago, but here's a buddy's XJ project that got way out of hand.

That is great info John. Thank you. You've convinced me to pony up for the Nissan ball joints when mine wear out. edit: Now I'm leaning toward dropping the $385 on the Nissan stuff and setting the MSA parts aside as spares.

The ones I got from MSA have castle nuts and grease zerks. They came in plain packaging and have no identifying markings though, so there's no telling who manufactured them.

There are simply too many variables involved to always assume that higher price == better quality. I see where you're coming from as my experience tells me that the factory Nissan stuff seems better to my untrained measures. But $40 - $50 for a rubber boot indicates that scarcity (real or perceived) is probably playing a role in the pricing.

Congratulations!

I had heard that the boots available from Autozone, NAPA, etc would all be wrong in the way that you described. The advice I got was that Specialty Parts is making boots that fit well and they are sold by MSA as "Aftermarket steering rack boots." I ordered some on Monday and expect them any time. I'll post again once they're on the car.

I saw the pics of the wheels on your car in the other thread. As part of the whole package they look good. On my car (light blue s30) they would look like poo. But they still remind me of YJ Wranglers

I'll probably get smacked for this, but I just ordered ball joints, tie rod ends, steering rack boots and RCAs (bump steer spacers) from MSA. MSA recently accepted a gift certificate that had technically expired, so they earned the repeat purchase. The prices from Nissan were steep and opinions about aftermarket suppliers varied pretty widely. The safe bet would be to buy it all from Nissan though.

Weren't you talking about building a super high displacement SBC just a few months ago? Not exactly cheap.

Yeah, those look like American Racing wheels that people used to put on YJ Jeeps. Don't do it.

Well, I just ordered them about an hour ago. MSA had pretty decent prices on ball joints and tie rod ends and I needed bumpsteer spacers anyway. I guess we'll see what I get.

Has anyone used these? http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/PSDC11/23-4459 They're $30 for the pair. The Nissan boots are $50 each from MSA and $41 each from Courtesy. I can't see spending $80+ on rubber boots if the $30 are good quality.

I've never seen a phone number for MML. Ross has a full time job that doesn't involve selling Z parts. I've purchased from him twice and I'm very happy with the products and service. Sometimes there is a short delay with email, but he has always responded.

The 350 swap is very well documented. Spend a few days/weeks searching through all of the very good information on this site. You're much more likely to have the swap take 5 years making little improvements "while you're at it" than you are tracking down unsolved problems.

You going to bring it out next month?

Your link isn't working. Do you mean this set? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/16-x-8-0-Sportmax-501-Wheels-xb-240sx-s13-ae86-corolla_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ43956QQhashZitem130079525053QQihZ003QQitemZ130079525053QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW The +15 will probably fit on the rear of a 280z without a spacer. On the front you're probably going to need between 10mm and 15mm to clear the spring perch. I couldn't find a source for quality spacers so I bought some from Pep Boys and opened up the center a little bit to fit the front.