MYRON

Hey guys, Its been many years since I had my V8Z and was active on this board, but I have a buddy that just bought a fully restored UBER NICE 71 and he is having some brake issues... I Did the Toyota 4 Piston upgrade on my 77 280 and it worked great... Can Anyone tell me if this conversion will work on a 71 240?... If so,What year toyota truck calipers work best? Thanks, Myron

Hey Guys, I stumbled across this when surfing the other forum I hang out on.. http://www.toysonics.com/abc-hobby-genetic-datsun-240z-bre-24017.html Myron

I did some digging and a little math.. MSA doesnt make the dash cap they sell.. It looks like they just sub it out.. Anyway, a full dash cap is only 85 bucks and I cant reallly see too many people paying real money for a CF unit.. For those that dont know how the whole process works, CF is VERY labor intensive.. Especially making the molds.. After you get your molds done and if you do a vacu-form or a squish mold, there is still alot of work to be done.. If you have any blemishes you have to repair those then you have to wet sand and clear coat.. Its a major PITA and to produce a good part, you may have 15-20 man hours in it not including materials.. There are many methods of doing CF and the vacuum bagging is the least expensive material wise, but getting the a final good looking part is the kicker... Myron

If MSA are the guys that actually mfg the dash cap, all they would have to do is use the existing mold and lay CF over the top of it and vacuum bag it.. All the cap is now is a vacu-formed peice of Haircell ABS that cost about 25 bucks for a 4x8 sheet.. I have a dash cap, maybe aI should use it to make a mold and pull carbon over the top just as an experiment... I'm off to my garage to look it over... Myron

RSICARD, Would you try to make a mold from the original dash, or start from scratch for totally new look? When I started on mine, I did a totally one off dash and then I did a center console that fit up with the stock dash.. there is alot of complexity if you want a stock looking and functioning dash. If you were willing to install something like a vintage air ac/heat system it would make the job alot easier.. Myron

Yeah, I pulled it out last night and looked at it.. IT has been sitting outside at my dads shop with the rest of the car and it looks like I should probabaly start over.. I have all the materials at our UAV shop.. I will have some time next week so I may just start a new one.. Myron

Keep in mind that CF gets EXTREMELY hot when exposed to sunlight. As cool as it looks, we have had to resort to painting it or coloring the resin to keep the heat down. This is on small unmanned aircraft and some auto parts and its stinks to have to cover its original look. Not trying to rain on any parades, but if you think your interior gets hot now, make it shiney and will really give you a lesson... I do have a foam mold I started a while back to do exactly what your talking about but it will be a long road to hoe to do it right.. Myron

Hey JY, Looks good!.. I found some old pics of my 77 that I will scan and post.. I'm getting too old to swing that airfile back and fourth so much! I just noticed your in H-town.. Where about are you? I grew up in Conroe and also lived in Clear lake and Spring.

Yeah, thats how I did my first Z, I'm just looking to make things a little easier this go round! Myron

Hey guys, Does anyone know of a smooth Roll pan for the Z? Metal of fiberglass? Myron

Yes, that is the correct way, but the wording looked a bit to me like he was just going to make a "buck" and just glass over it and use that part to attach to the car... I have made alot of molds for small UA's (unmanned aircraft) and done a fair amount of carbon fiber and Kevlar parts as well. Myron

Based on how I'm reading it, you plan on glassing over the top of what you have made and then pulling the "mold" out and then attaching the the glassed portion to the vehicle? IF so, your gonna have a slightly oversized front part. If its your first rodeo, I would get on youtube and look at some mold making videos.. There is some pretty good stuff out there and I would suggest trying some smaller stuff before tackling such a large part. Making molds is very tedius and time consuming and if you fubar a mold or buck it can be really frusterating! Myron

Hey Master, What type of mold do you plan on doing?.. A reverse or are you going to pull glass or other down over the top of what you made in a vacuum bag? I make molds for much smaller stuff and use ABS and Carbon Fibre as the materials to make the item.. I made a foam dash and glassed it, but I never finished it completely. I also did a center console a long time ago but again, the car got put on the back burner.. Now that I have more time, I plan on making all kinds of unique stuff for the Z. Myron

Yeah, I'm torque junkie and its easier to get that with more cubic inches!.. I just gotta get the garage cleaned out now... Z240, that is a nice looking turboed blue oval... Myron

I hear ya!.. The guy that has the SBC summit crate motor has come down some more on the price. Only bad thing is a T6 tranny isnt cheap!.. My last Z had a 700R4 at first and then TH350 so this one has to be a stick!.. My brother has two small turbos in his "junkpile" that he said I could have so if I feel the need I cna maybe drop the compression on the SBC and do a mild TT V8... I guess I need to start looking for a 9" or at least a wrecked Q45 as well. Myron