[Would this be illegal?]

In my town, the guy that does inspections is an old rotten bastard. I took my little 4 banger Ranger to get inspected with stock exhuast, and he put his hand over the tailpipe and declared it had an exhuast leak. By his professional guess it was somewhere around the cat, so I took it home, let the truck idle, crawled under there, felt around the entire pipe back out and didn't feel any air leaks, so just to be sure I tightened the cat bolts. Then, I did the same test that he did, and it didn't push my hand away with THAT much force when I tried to cover it, but it did a little. I mean, what the hell do you expect from a 100 hp 4 cylinder at idle? So I took it back there and he still didn't pass it. What an ass... Anyways, I'm suspecting he'll do the same thing to my zx as he did to my friend's GT.

 

Hey labrat, I may need to take a trip up to Austin to get it "inspected" at your friend's place. Maybe slip him a couple of bucks too for his troubles.

[Caption contest]

"...and that's why we're going to be drafting everyone to Iraq."

 

"Not now, I'm still hurtin' from last night"

 

"The economy's state is an immm...pooorrr...taaannt issue."

[Would this be illegal?]

I think TX is on the same level as Cali...don't quote me on that though. I know that '74 and under are emission exempt, and I believe it's the same way over in California.

[Engine is apart -- What would you do?]

Sorry, I was hoping this post wouldn't be like one of those that I always see, "I HAVE A Z AND WANT 500 HP AND 30 MPG -- WHAT DO I NEED TO BUY, HOW MUCH WILL IT COST, AND HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE!!!"

 

I honestly did search the archives for a camshaft selection, but I couldn't find anything...guess I should've thrown the word "combo" in there. Thanks for the link, and thanks for the list grumpy. I guess the only question I have left is what kind of little things could I buy for it that won't hurt reliability, such as roller rockers. But I suppose I can search the archives for that one some more. Thanks again, and I apologize now for posting this up.

[Engine is apart -- What would you do?]

Was this a stupid question? Should I re-search the archives?

[Would this be illegal?]

I currently have an 82 280zx with a sbc 350 -- the exhaust is 2 4-1 headers with flowmasters. What I'd like to do is just have the mufflers directly under the seats. I know this would be loud, but it will give a clean look in the rear. My friend had an 86 GT with headers, H-pipe, and flows right after the h-pipe with no tailpipes (pretty much like the setup I'm wanting) and a couple of years ago the laws changed and he couldn't pass inspection so he had to install tailpipes on it. I don't think mine would be exempt if his 5.0 wasn't.

 

Another question: why aren't sidepipes illegal? It seems like they are pretty much in the same position as the setup that I want, just along the side of the car.

 

Anyways, thanks in advance.

[quite the art work]

Looks like a PITA to wash

[Stoplight Race: Fiat vs S2000]

Don't you hate it when that happens?!! LOL!

[Engine is apart -- What would you do?]

Hi all. As some of you may have read, when I first bought my hybrid the cam had a couple of rounded off lobes, and the engine has had some excessive blow-by, along with a couple of other problems. So, now that the engine is apart, I'm replacing the headgasket, trying to locate and remove any kind of metal shavings, and I'm going to be changing cams. The cam that I was thinking about was the Competition 270H (maybe 280H). My specs are:

 

*sbc 350 -- block came from GM factory from a 78 pickup (I forgot which model)

*Holly Systemax II Alum. Heads -- Intake flows 220, exhaust 178, 2.02/1.600 and 64 cc chambers

*Pistons are still stock dished pistons

*Drive line is a t56 with an aluminum flywheel and a 3.9 rear

*Victor jr. intake

*Edelbrock 600 carb

*MSD ignition

*Currently has a Lunati 300 cam, but I think it's too big for my setup

*True dual exhaust with headers and flows

 

If you need any other information, please let me know.

 

I'm looking to get between 350-370 rwhp -- I don't want too much because that's when things start breaking, and I gotta save some money for classes and books

 

So, I guess the questions are:

 

1) What kind of cam would you choose with this setup? This is pretty much going to be a daily driver, so I need something streetable - it just needs to pack a punch. Like I said, I think the Comp. 270H is a good candidate, but I'm not as experienced as many of you are with this, so prove me wrong if I am.

 

2) What would be causing the blow-by? With the engine apart, what can I check to make sure the engine is sound?

 

3) Is there anything else that I can buy for this engine that won't hurt reliability and still help out with performance? Is there anything else that you would buy for the engine if this was your engine? (and you wanted the same streetable setup, of course; not a 7 second monster)

 

I did search the archives, but everybody has a different setup, so I wasn't sure which one to go with. I also searched for one of grumpy's 500-point checklists, but it was unsuccessful. Thank you all in advance with any help. This forum kicks @ss!

[Meanwhile, halfway around the world...(Iraq video)]

That's awesome man! I've got a good friend over there right now -- he said he's gonna e-mail me a couple of videos that they shot up there. I'll post 'em here if someone could host.

[People can't drive]

I think he was trying to do a 180 but forgot the function of anti-lock brakes. Yeah, he's pretty dumb, but at least it was all caught on tape.

[Neutralizing Rust]

Search for POR-15 -- awesome product.

[Autobots are here]

Hell yeah, one step closer to Mech Warriors!

[Serious Issues... Blackmail...]

auxilary wrote:

actually, if you want to be really clever, put a single 37 cent stamp on it, and the return address for his home. Almost free shipping, the tape will be sent back due to lack of proper postage!

 

 

Pretty Damn Clever you are

 

I'm suprised you have never heard of that. It's a great way to get free postage. Let's say I'm going to send a letter to a friend. I would put his name and address as the return address and my name and address in the destination (?) address. Then, when the the post office sees there isn't any postage, they send it to the return address . I know that used to work...not sure if it still does. It doesn't really matter with e-mail these days anyways.

[Please help with Tail lights]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

 

73TPIZ: Thanks for the link on the "fogotten chevelle" I'm sure there are plenty of those in the junkyards. As for the Tiburon lights, just like the integras they are one piece, so no hope there.

 

Tomo and dot: I never thought about that. I've seen plenty of big trucks with those round LED taillights -- that would be a great thing to check out, thanks for that tip.

 

Sleek: Those sites are in my favorites, but thanks anyways. I'm a big searcher here -- I make sure I search at least five different times before I post -- I know how some of us are trigger happy with that flamethrower . Thanks for the links though.

 

I'll let you know if I find any updates.

[Please help with Tail lights]

Hey, the Opel, never thought about that one. Thanks for the replies guys. Yes, I was wrong about the size, they are about 6" in diameter -- my apologies. Does anybody know where I can find small round headlights? I can't ever find any leads to one...maybe I'm not using the correct key words Any ideas? Thanks again

[Please help with Tail lights]

Do any of you know where I can buy some normal 4"ish round taillights. I've been searching sights all over and I either find cheap trailer lights, crappy ricer lights, or the good taillights I do find are $225 a piece, and I don't really feel like spending $1000 for 4 lights. In particular, I'm looking for a red taillight with a smaller white insert in the middle, like the older vettes and the current Ferraris. Here's what I've been on the hunt for:

 

 

Also, while I'm here, does anybody know where I can find 3-4" round headlights? I can't even find any of those anywhere!!

 

Thanks for any help as it will be much appreciated -- I've been searching for these lights for sooo long without much luck.

[MSA Aero Kit II for my 280ZX.....]

For the exact kit that you bought, from PA to TX...*drumroll*...$90. That's also to a business, not a private delivery.

[You want a spoiler? You will die.... ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

damnit aux, even without pictures you crack me up -- I suppose the reason why it's so funny to me is because I can relate. I've dealt with so many of those people -- it just amazes me how people can be so computer illiterate even with friggin Windows XP!! If they made an OS more user-friendly than XP, it would make you dumber! God forbid if we still used DOS as the universal OS. Oh well, just try and keep it cool -- I know EXACTLY how hard it can be trying to keep your mouth shut. I have a real short fuse with those people, so I tend to get sarcastic with them real easy -- like talking to an infant. "Click on settings....Very Good! Now move your cursor, I'm sorry, the white arrow that moves when your mouse moves...That's correct! You're doing a great job! Move that over the words control panel...it's just a couple of inches to the right of the word settings...no, that's printers, select the one above that..." you get the point. After a while, those calls just start wearing me down to where I almost want to get fired. Anyways, keep up the great work aux

["FOR SALE" *not a joke*]

Speaking of burial plots, here's an add:

 

[You want a spoiler? You will die.... ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

Whoops , guess I should've clicked on the video before I made the assumption of the video. But at least I knew what clip you were talking about . That Matrix clip is pretty funny, would've been a good target for Triumph. Auxilary, what do you do for a living? Whatever it is, keep it up because you make me laugh my ass off!

[You want a spoiler? You will die.... ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

haha, I didn't even have to click on the video - I know exactly what you're talking about. I was watching Conin when that clip made its debut -- holy crap, I think I woke up the whole block!! Damn I love that little mutt. I haven't seen him lately, where's he been?

[lt1 vs ls1]

Try here, or here, or you can click here. Basically, just run a search with "lt1 ls1" and you'll come up with plenty of info.

[Having trouble with the local ricey cars and]

Too bad it's not a real product -- Christmas is coming up and I know a lot of people that could benefit with some of that.

[350 with NO torque!]

Thanks everybody -- I'm relatively confident that timing is the culprit. I'll be out there with a timing light this weekend. I've checked the throttle plates -- they're opening fully when the pedal is floored. The clutch is not slipping (yet), and I will need to check my timing advance, as that is another good possibility. Thanks for the reply grumpy, I was waiting for you to send me that 500 point checklist . I've checked most of those things on your list, but there are a few I can run back by again. By the way, those centuryperformance.com links didn't work for me, but the rest did.

 

One other thing I've noticed is that my passenger side is running hotter than the driver side (exhaust from passenger side is hotter than driver side) -- what's a common cause of this? One other question, my aluminum heads have seen about 245 degrees and I'm afraid that they may be warped. Does anybody know how much aluminum heads can usually take? Once again, thank you all for the help. Hybridz kicks azz!!