Sleek Z

Mke & Jumbo Dan Juday alerted me to your replies this evening. It's usually best to email me direct at eric@zparts.com when you wish to talk specific projects. I now get so many Z related project calls and email from around the world these days that I barely have time to get back out to Hybridz to check the threads. Mike, I tried your web address, but ran into wall of non-Z related phone stuff. How do I find your project photos? Jumbo, just checked your pics. Your conversion and custom work looks very photo worthy. Can you send me a few particulars on your Ford V8 and other custom work so I can plan a bit on what to photograh? You have much fresh stuff underneath interesting to photograph? How far you live from Rio Vista time wise? I know where Antioch is. You ever get over to Richmond with your car?

Hi, Ya'all Eric Neyerlin here. I've been getting some requests for me to feature a clean Ford V-8 swap into an early Z body on my ZPARTS.COM website. To that end, I am looking for one to train my camera on in the SF Bay area. I'll be covering the big Rio Vista Bay Area Z car show as well in case anyone is coming to the event with enough completed for me to take first photographs. I am interested to photo document a Ford V8 project in progress as well. Don't wait for the car to be painted before you call me. PS, Terry Oxendale, bummer that you live so far away or I'd be at your place in a flash. Got some good news for you also. I'll write soon. If you are interested in featuring your Ford V8 swap at ZPARTS.COM, contact me at eric@zparts.com or at 510-233-2624

Russ, I agree, all that would be helpful to add. Because of the immense amount of time it will take to set up a useful, interactive web display layout and then plug in all the info so it will display at a viewer's fingertips, I'll probably start off with the simple approach shown at my test layout and then incorporate the rest as time and energy allow. I've already received quite a few requests to submit photos. Many have suggested similar to what you did, as well. Stay tuned, Eric Neyerlin - owner of ZPARTS.COM

Hybridz'ers I get so many inquiries about what brands, sizes and designs of wheels, new & used, are available for the 4 lug Z cars, that I have decided to work on a pet project of showcasing the best examples I can find. I could use some feed back and suggestions from you all about how to make this wheel showcase useful and interesting to a wide range of Z car owners. To view a trial layout of my wheel showcase concept, go to my Coming Attractions Page . If you would like to have your car and wheels showcased there, contact Eric for submission guidelines. I will be trying to maintain a pretty high quality photo presentation requiring one dead on side profile and one close-up wheel photo, so quality of photos will be important the wheel showcase's success. The good news is that there is a very simple formula for taking such photos that I can easily teach anyone with a basic camera. Feel free to contact me about it. If there is enough interest, I'll write the whole photo tutuorial up and publish it on my website eventually. I'd most appreciate any comments or suggestions about how to imporve my showcase concept, layout, etc. Please send them to eric@zparts.com Eric Neyerlin - owner of ZPARTS.COM eric@zparts.com

Many points made in this thread agree with my observations so I won't rehash them. However, I thought that some of you might find it interesting to study two introductory photos of Sam Freeman's professional convertible reinforcement bracing treatment. Sam Freeman is a well know SoCal custom car fabricator noted for his work on convertible cars, including his share of Z cars. Scroll half way down the page to the yellow convertible Cap project . Curious thing about the bracing illustrated in these photos is that it is all rectangular box channel. More photos later on will show that Mr. Freeman did quite a bit of bracing behind the seat area in front of the tool bins which would relate to one of the 2 chief flex sections noted in other posts. Eric Neyerlin

Miles, Too bad you did not follow Dan Juday's tip first about my tutorial on removing troublesome brake drums . Everything was there to save you a lot of pain and mess. IMO, applying heat or drilling the aluminum brake drums should be your very last course of action. If you did not permanently warp or damage your drum you are most lucky. Now that you have one off, you might want to check the other side as well. Cleaning up the rust and crude down to solid metal inside the drum, especially around the both the contact surfaces around the studs is also a wise idea to prevent the problem reforming quickly. Note, a reader of my article wrote me to say that he had found that using a slide hammer hooked over the fins was a good alternative to using a block of wood and hammer from the backside, as I recommended. I'd have to agree mostly with the exception that the metal hook could do more damage than the wood approach. Good luck, Eric Neyerlin - owner of ZPARTS.COM

In response to my photos, I have heard from one person with a curious story of 2 strange "bang" noises (months apart) in the rear preceeding sheared differential ring gear bolts coupled with an observable "twist" in the stub axle (but it was not cracked). His did not break, but he and his mechanics are quite concerned about what was causing these "bangs" and the sheared bolts. They also discovered a leaking brake cylinder. After they fixed that, the guy never had another loud "bang" occurr. John Coffey, a SoCal racer and a few others have frequently mentioned experiencing stub axle breakage, but most I have read spoke of cracks and breaks at the out board portions the axle where it meets the stud flange, if I understand them correctly. Kim Blough has made some interesting remarks elsewhere that suggests that he may have a lot of experience to share on the topic. I am waiting to hear from him. The story of the photo on my website at the coming attractions page was that a racer, that had replaced a broken stub axle on his 72 240Z autocross car in the past, loaned out the car to his grown daughter and grandchild to use for a week of touring around the Bay Area freeways while they were visiting. Prior to the visit, he had been hearing strange noises from the rear of the car and had assumed that he might have a u-joint going out. After his daughter returned the car, he decided to investigate. When he jacked up the rear of the car and pushed on the half shaft, the outboard side just dropped on the ground! A little tug on the wheel and he was able to begin to pull it away from the car! Get the picture? Nasty stuff could have happened. My customer was lucky and his loved ones were not harmed. I know the experience really sobered him up a bit, however. I need more testimonials of others and more broken stub axles to photograph for evidence. Can anybody help me on this? Eric Neyerlin - owner of ZPARTS.COM eric@zparts.com Eric

Hi, All Hope this will be of some interest and use to everyone here. I've just published the first part of an illustrated article on "Broken 240Z Stub Axles and Solutions". You can find the links to the introduction and 2 excellent detail photos at http://www.zparts.com/inprogress.html There is a well documented safety issue on older 240Z models that I feel is not well publicized nor illustrated on the internet, that I have often felt inclined to address. Recently the topic has resurfaced on the IZCC list so I decided to take the first step toward publishing some useful information to get the ball partially rolling. You can find links to two rather revealing detailed photos, one of which has text overlays, that should introduce the topic well. I would most like to hear from anyone that has experienced this problem. I need to know any symptoms leading up to a cracked or broken stub axle being found and as to what solution you used to fix it. Note. Replacing a broken 240Z stub axle with a used one doesn't really make safety sense to many owners and Nissan no longer sells new ones. Racers, which most often encounter this problem, have found that stronger built 280Z stub axles can be substituted if the right swap parts are known. Later segments of this article will focus on solutions that others have turned to when fixing their cars. If you have direct experience or solutions to the problem to contribute, please send them to eric@zparts.com I am hoping that persons on this list will address this topic a bit. This is definitely a topic that needs to be discussed more often. Eric Neyerlin - owner of ZPARTS.COM

Anybody know where I can find a decent photo of a silver painted 3 piece BBS wheel that has the "mesh" look? So far I can not find one anywhere on the internet. I've got a customer wanting to consign a set of mint condition, 16x8, 3 piece wheels for sale that are made to fit the last generation (1990-96) 300ZX cars (5 lug). The wheels are in Northern California area and the owner is not able to send me decent quality photos of the silver painted mesh style wheels. New price was $3200. Selling price, $1200 firm. Contact Eric at parts@zparts.com if you know of any photos or of anyone interested. Thanks much, Eric Neyerlin of ZPARTS.COM

RON Well, I've certainly removed quite a few in my time. Seldom have broken one except when dinking around with ZX glued down glass without a an quality piece of piano wire in my tool box. As others have said, old rubber is best to carefully cut out because it will not allow lubricants to help easy it out like the glass pros sometimes use. You can use a strong mat knife to cut it away, but I most often use a carefully sharpened, curved hook, linoleum knife with the tip slightly rounded out before sharpening. It gives you lots of downward force cutting pressure and control at the same time. Chief cautions are to go slow without impatience and to not pry at the corners and far edges to force the glass to let go early. Keep cutting at the top and sides until the blade appears on the backside of the glass and the glass will easily lever forward with minumum force. Next, lift upward gently at each end just enough to cause the glass to rise up out of the rubber channel it is resting in. Take care how you set it down and where. I usually store them on there upper edge resting on a board leaning up against a building. Other times I stand them on their botton corer edges, but the later is risky because any movement of the glass edge on a rough or hard surface can cause them to chip or crack. Hope that helps, Eric Neyerlin - owner of ZPARTS.COM

Tim, Nice tail light idea and progress you have made so far. I've imagined similar designs based on certain ricer fads of the past and the Nissan Pulsar tail lights that had a similar taillight cover treatment (different design, however) years ago. I think after you view the lights through the body slots, some other aesthetic or lighting issues may be revealed. I being a photographer, I know how light behaves through translucent and colored objects. If you use the stock tail lights, you may find that they will not project through the slots in an even or pleasing way, especially from certain angles. On the other hand, it you use certain types of color plastics to cover them or use substitute lighting, you may find that light fall off edge to edge, or brightness or quality of red and amber hues and saturation may fall short of what you expected. I'll be most interested to see how you address these questions because they are mine as well. What to do cosmetically with the license plate has always been a question for me also. If extra work were no object, I'd be intriqued to create a recessed and lighted cavity that would have a hydraulic activated sliding door that could be closed flush with the rear panel when not breaking any state laws. Although, not a perfect idea for your design, Luciano Sarra's license plate treatment on his custom E-type Jag might give you an idea or two. To review many more close-up photos of custom tail light treatments on Z cars you might like to check out the 2000 West Coast Z National photo display at my website. Eric Neyelin - ZPARTS.COM

Knowing that some of you here have an interest in body kits made for the Z car, I thought you might be interested in some news regarding the beautiful Tomahawk Z kits designed and created by Rory Bateman. Vincent Hudson, owner of the "Purple Candy" Tomahawk Z kit (#002) and I visited Rory Bateman at his new shop on Feb. 11th to preview the new hard top prototype that he is working on. Three photos are now online at ZPARTS.COM in the TomaHawk Z Showcase section of the new prototype lightly set into place on Vincent's Tomahawk for a photo session and to give all owners a sense of Rory's concept. Dan Juday, a well known Hybridz'er, dropped by to take a look and share in the experience and nice day. Popeye's chicken, Coronas galore and a high tech dart competition rounded out the day until dusk and then Vincent and I split for the Bay Area. See the first photos at web page Sleek Z (aka Eric N)

ALL, I am working on a photo tutorial depicting the typical body panel removal method of using a spot weld circle cutter on Z car unibodies. Apart from cutting off sections of the car with a torch or sawsall, does anyone know of other ways to seperate the spot welded panels from the body that you could share with me for the tutorial? I also need experienced input on methods of prepping the rusty body behind the panel before a new one is attached and as to what welding and attachement methods others have used. You can see the rough draft of the tutorial half way down the new "Coming Attractions" page at http://www.zparts.com/inprogress.html Any experienced contributions most appreciated and you'll be credited as well, for a major contribution. Thanks much, Eric Neyerlin - owner of ZPARTS.COM

Hi, All Thought some of you would be interested in a new graphic photo of the 4x4 Z car that you may have seen on my site and ebay. The owner just sent me some new photos and there is a great one of the underneath rear suspension that ya'll should get a kick out of. The photo thumbnail links can be found at the bottom of the Coming Attractions page at http://www.zparts.com/inprogress.html Anybody have some other good shots of this unusual car or of another 4x4 Z for me to publish? Sleek Z

Hi, All Just wanted to drop by and alert the Body & Paint section that a rather unusual convertible project dropped my shop for parts and documentation photos last week with a rare Sam Freeman fiberglass hatch "cap" installed on the rear, still in primer and white fiberglass showing just how the famous customizer designed and installed it. I have a sample photo of the cap as well as some custom bracing on the inside that will surely intrique some of you contemplating a convertible project. Previews of the project and some other interesting photo documentation projects can be seen at the Coming Attractions at ZPARTS.COM page. The convertible project will be coming out of the paint booth in early March, at which time, I will do follow up photos. Any requests for what details you want documented? Eric Neyerlin - owner of ZPARTS.COM eric@zparts.com

If it's any help, I took a closer shot of that car's headlights 2 years ago that is posted on my website. View that Headlight Photo There's another good shot in that section also. Enjoy, Eric Neyerlin

To expand the sidepipe discussion a bit you might like to check out the side pipes of the Tomahawk Z kits featured on Eric Neyerlin's website. He tells me that the designer, Rory Bateman, sells them with the kit. Since they are designed to fit to the Z car body underneath the kit, they might also look good on a stock Z. Eric has told me that he has also been working on his own sketches of a custom body concept, many of which incorporate a side pipe into the styling concept. He said that he has sectioned the lower body parts looking for a way to incorporate the side pipe partially or totally into the lower body cavity that is hollow underneath the door area. Has anybody seen somebody do this? I think Eric's idea might look outstanding. To see 2 photos by Eric Neyerlin that show off the Tomahawk Z side pipes check out these URL's: http://www.jps.net/zparts/sidebars/sb_kitcars/tomahawk_prev_m.htm http://www.jps.net/zparts/sidebars/sb_vh/vhad_r700s.html /Sleek Z

quote: Originally posted by jw81zx: I have a 93 q45 v8 , has anyone tried to drop in zcar ,if so what tranny used? Thanks Jason You might check with Eric Neyerlin at Z PARTS http://www.jps.net/zparts/index.html In past posts to me he has mentioned that he has been in touch with several persons around the world that are working on unusual engine transplants. One is a lady in Australia that is actively working on a Q45 V-8 transplant into a 240Z intended for autocross use. Another person in the states is working on a dual-turbo Mazda L20 rotary engine swap. -Sleek Z

Hi All, I'm new to this list. I was attracted by the name "HybridZ" and came looking for more information regarding current day body kits available for the early generation Z cars. Can anyone tell me what is out there besides the Velo Rosa kits? Looking through older books I have seen a GT40 type, the "Prima Donna" and even a retro Mercedes kit for the 300ZX, but none of these are sold anymore. Does anyone know of any new body kits being developed for sale for any of the Z cars, especially the early ones? -Sleek Z

quote: Originally posted by SpeedRacer: Don't think I've seen one with a Nissan V8 but here is a shot of the one with the Lexus V8 http://www.jps.net/zparts/sidebars/eng_lexus1.htm ------- Hi, I am new on this list. I noticed an error in the URL listed in the above post referencing the Lexus V-8 engine swap photo at Z PARTS. I am a big fan of the Z PARTS site of Eric Neyerlin where several unusual engine swaps are featured. Apparently thebLexus V-8 engine swap photo has been moved to http://www.jps.net/zparts/showcase/engines/eng_lexus1.htm