Savage42

I met a couple of you at the NW Datsun Meet in Canby, Oregon this last weekend! It was a good show, with around 200 cars there. It's cool to see that nearly half of all the 510s, Roadsters & Zs had some sort of hybrid drivetrain. With the 510s, you have KA24, VG30, & SR20 power (turbo versions of each, too!). The Roadsters were sporting many SR20 powerplants, with some turbos and one with a turbo and automatic. Several V8 Z cars were there, too. If you think we Z guys may get some flack for putting V8s into our cars, I can tell you that many Roadster owners are much more fanatical and "purist" and seriously bad mouth the SR guys! Heck, I can't blame anyone for going the hybrid route, considering the cost of rebuilding an old, prehistoric drivetrain vs. a newer powerplant with more power, smoother performance and typically better mileage. The SR Roadster guys drove nearly 500 miles to Shasta last year, averaging 80-85 mph and got 32-33 mpg and stock have 170 HP. I'd go that route, too, if I had a roadster. Anyway, here are the pics. http://album.hybridz.org/showgallery.php?cat=570

Jerry uses the best parts and his work is excellent. The cool thing is that you only have to do this once and you end up with fully adjustable front suspension that will allow you to really dial in the way your car handles. To further clarify on the issue of Jerry & I doing these arms, he had a semi-adjustable version that he was selling and a full tubular version that even replaces the stock ball joint with a rod end, so I built mine (pics in my album), talked to him about them, sent him pics and now we have someone who will offer them to everyone else, as I don't have the time or desire to do that. So, there you go. Great investment for those performance oriented Z enthusiasts! (which is every Hybridz member!) http://album.hybridz.org/showphoto.php?photo=1677&cat=548&page=1

Yep, Jerry is referring to me. Jerry has been making some different variations on stuff for some time. I've had that type of control arm on my 510 for a decade or so and gave all the info on setup and design on what I've had and he just gave me credit for them. So, it's a team effort, if nothing else.

Well, if you go with a bigger front bar w/o upgrading to a matching rear bar, along with stiffer springs in the front and not in the rear, it will push (understeer) like a pig!! Virtually all aftermarket springs design them with some understeer, which is safer for the average driver. A big bar will add to that problem. No need to relocate the control arm mounting points unless you really lower the car more than several inches. Adjustable shocks and rack bushings are a good thing. Hope that helps.

Guess I haven't been around long enough to get that one. I'm assuming the one person who says that setup is the way to go? It is easy to see how putting more weight onto the front wheels and up a little to get better weight transfer to them would make sense. At any rate, here's some practical application of that theory, I suppose.

OK guys, I went down and talked to Dustin at length about when he built his car. As mentioned, he originally bought a red V8 240Z back when he was 16 years old, which was 16 years ago. It had a scarab kit in it, which worked for the 9 months he had it before "rallying" the car down a gravel road at 70 mph, going off the road, virtually off a cliff, but stopped by the trees. Not a good thing, but neither is a 16 year old with the V8 Z on a gravel road. So, he bought version 2, which was a chartruce 240Z, which he used the kit but built the 400 small block with Pink rods, lightened the forged pistons, extrude honed the intake, major port & polish, cam, etc. He has also run a welded diff in his cars up until last year when he put a ZXT LSD in the black car. Anyway, he went out to an autocross, where the thing pushed like a pig. After moving the motor into different positions, the car finally worked well when the motor was forward 3" and up 1.5" from where the original kit had it. He said this put the center of the motor 1" back from the strut tower center line. He ran the car for some time that way, with lowered springs and stock sway bars. Then the local Z guys started an official club here in Eugene and they went for their first official cruise.....a spirited drive to the coast on a back road and virtually no traffic. With Dustin leading the way, he took a decreasing radius corner too fast and hit the guard rail. The next car ran into him, and the next, and the next, the next car evaded, and the next and the last one just tweaking the front of his car on the rounded end of the guard rail. So, 5 of the 7 cars were toasted. This was a decade or so ago, so most were in their early 20s. Good thing we live & learn, right? So, Dustin found the orange car (in the pics) and transfered all the parts onto it. It also got a set of Motorsport springs and bars (from one of the other wrecked 240s), which made the car even that much better. He then came across a white 240Z (version 4), which was nicer than the orange one, then the nice black car came along shortly afterward and it's been that way since. He's been trying to blow up the 400 SBC for nearly 15 years w/o any luck, even with it floored down the straights at PIR at track days at 5500 rpm and oil blowing past the front main seal. He wanted to go with a 383, but the motor is still going strong. Anyway, he's using the stock struts with motorcycle oil, Motorsport bars & springs, poly bushings and now a LSD diff, along with the 400 SBC and a built 700R4. It does have front & rear strut tower braces, but other than that, it's just a clean V8 240Z. He runs 225-15s most of the time. He's got enough trophies from autocrosses in the state to prove the car works. Bottom line: he built the mounts himself and put the motor where it is to make it handle the best for autocrossing. He stated that it's definitely not ideal for drag racing, but worked the best after moving it several times. It definitely sits about as far forward as anything, where his HEI dizzy doesn't even come close to touching his stock hood latch. He hated having to hack up the latch or remove it to use hood pins with the other kits. I'd like to say that he is one hell of a driver, too. He let me use his car one time and we were within 1/100th of a second in his car. (I edged him out that time) But he is an OSP-O champion and I am an OSP-U champion ("O"= over 2.5 liters and "U" under 2.5) when I was in my 510. Now it'll be battle of the V8 Zs, so it'll be fun stuff that I'll schedule in while I'm using my car to promote the foundation effort. We'll take more pics of the engine compartment and get them on the site, but I hope that answers some of your questions. (or creates many new ones)

Ah, I've had both my 510s in that magazine, and so did my buddy down the street. Sure, they are the most unique and well known 510s out there, but they put them in. It's not all that bad, but it's usually 510s and not Zs that get in there. We'll have to work on that!

I'll see what I can do. He's too busy running his shop, but I can get the info from him. Stay tuned.

I'm actually using the flexible sealer/filler stuff to blend it in, but attaching the front & rear by bolting them on in a few places. I'm not sure how to do the side skirts the most clean way, but will let the paint shop do their magic since they do the nicest cars in the area. I'll let you know and take pics.

That's exactly what I plan to do, too. I bought a helmet in Jan '95, but got a Snell 90 helmet, which isn't good for anything. A couple of months and I could have had 5 more years on it. When I was at Daytona for the Rolex, they also said this summer for the Bell Helmets, so hold off, if you can.

Now I have the correct attire to where at all these events in June & July that I'll be attending with the car. You are the man, Tim! Thanks!!

No smog or inspections in this state. Haven't heard of it being a problem for anyone else. It's the "no bumper" thing that get's ya! (at least in my experience) As long as it looks like it's got one, you are usually good. Different states or countries with different rules may apply!

Bill, you are 'da man! You've been there, done that! It'll be cool having our cars together at the Z Convention next year!

Oh, it's got ported heads & cam, but with the stock intake, it's limited. It's getting a TPI setup and supercharger, so it'll do more in the next few months.

MSA at http://www.zcarparts.com

Guys, you have heard me refer to my buddy, Dustin, who originally built his first 240Z with a 400 SBC with the intention to go drag racing. Somewhere during the process, he went to an autocross and then a track day and got hooked turning, too. He's got several Top Time of Day at local events and it's damn fast on the road courses. I've added some pics of his car to my album. It's now a very sharp, black car, but it is in it's version 5 form. I believe it started as a red shell, then I met him nearly 15 years ago and it was then converted to it's second shell which was chartruce (sp?), then the orange car (also pictured), then a white one and then the black one. He just found nicer bodies along the way and transplated everything to each one and for the first time he's actually getting the black one repainted, as he's never restored any of his cars. The 400 SBC is the original one he built nearly 20 years ago and although he's been trying to blow it up for years, it still keeps going. It dynoed at only 215 HP at the wheels, but has 400 ft lbs. Torque is king in autocrossing and city driving, anyway. So, I thought I'd pass it along for those who are interested in one of the best looking & performing hybridz in the state. http://album.hybridz.org/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=8934

Depends on what car you are talking about and what diff you have. In a 510, it's a "bolt-in" deal. If you are talking Z with an R200, then it's just a mustache bar swap (with one from a 240Z) and bolt it in. Maybe your context was about how to put the LSD carrier into an open R180? Sorry, but I wanted to make sure I got you the answer since I didn't have more specifics. Hope that helps.

Bartman, I will definitely be doing something down in SoCal in the near future, so we'll definitely connect and do something at that time. JohnC, that is cool stuff! When we had the 'Cuda in NY, this 5-6 year old boy comes up and loved seeing the Hot Wheels stickers on the car. I asked him if he liked Hot Wheels and he replied "Oh Yeah" and steps back to show me his Hot Wheels patches on the knees of his jeans. I put him in the car and his eyes were buggin' out like a kid in a candy store. After his parents took some pics, I asked him to climb onto the passenger side. I slid in, flipped the switches and fired it up. Straight 3" exhaust that dumps out infront of the rear tires, thundering off the skyscrapers in the Rockefeller Plaza, people came running, and this little kid starts shaking with excitement and says "This is the best day of my life!" Dang, how cool is that? It only took a couple of minutes to blow this kid's mind. I'm looking forward to doing that more often! Jeff, thanks for the input. I plan to make the car a true performer but nice enough to attract car guys and some good media exposure. I'm really getting excited to get the car done so I can go out and do our thing. It'll be a blast!

Jerry made that piece (I believe) but clevis, heims, etc can all be bought and sleeve bought or made. Then you still have the mounting bracket. I figure that the time & hassle of trying to gather all the stuff makes it worth it to just buy them ready to bolt on. I never want to be cheap or cut corners on brakes or suspension because a failure there means an ugly car! Just my .42 cents.