JMortensen

I think that's right. Most cars don't have leaky seals around the back and a shape that draws the exhaust into them when the windows are rolled down. If you want to get rid of the gas smell, go FI and put a catalytic converter on.

I've got the bigass bolt if that's what you need. I think it comes with a bigass washer and a toothed washer also. PM me your address and I'll send one to you if that's what you're looking for.

That's a rough week. Condolences.

They're R180 internals. Part numbers are all different: http://www.gordon-glasgow.org/lsd5.asp

My machinist made a big deal about springs having too much seat pressure and was all set to return whatever I ordered, but the Schneiders came, he tested them on his little spring dyno and they went in the car. He said there was another set that he had seen for L series that had like 200 in/lbs at the installed height, but I can't remember what type that was. Anyway, Schneider springs are a go as far as I'm concerned.

The tabs on the outside of the pressure rings and the clutch plates will prove that you need the housing. The clutch disks tabs slide onto the 6 grooves in the side gears, the plates need to be held by 4 grooves in the outside of the case.

Wait a minute... You'd need the HOUSING as well. DUH. You might have spare parts for someone else's race car there.

The threaded buttons in the side gears indicate that it is for bolt in axles. Greg is right, that is a CLSD less the C's. I would suggest that if you can find someone with an R180 CLSD and can get measurements, you should be able to have clutch plates and disks laser cut just like Gary Savage is doing for the R200s, and then you could make it function. I would think that it would be a lot cheaper than buying a new diff or Coffey's adapters to make the Subaru diff work. This page will help a lot if you're not familiar: http://www.gordon-glasgow.org/lsd1.asp

Just as an example of why NOT to "upgrade" the brakes, I'll tell you about my first attempt, which was using 4x4 calipers on solid rotors and 79-81 280ZX rear disks. I went to a driving school and was informed that my car was not locking up the rear brakes in the "drive through this puddle and slam on the brakes to see what it feels like when you lock all 4" exercise. I had an adjustable prop valve at the time and it was already all the way open. Ended up taking it out completely, still couldn't get the rears to lock before the fronts. Finally went back to the stock front calipers and was able to get the rears locking fist, and then was able to reinstall the prop valve and cut down the rears so that they locked up just after the fronts. When the brakes were tuned like this, I was able to really dive into corners on the brakes a lot harder. I think that most people don't really know what proper brake bias is. I'm as guilty as any: if you asked me if I thought my upgrade was better than stock before I went to that driving school, I would have said "HELL YES!!!" but I would have been WRONG. At that time I had been autocrossing for probably 4 years, and thought I knew which was my ass and which was a hole in the ground. I really didn't. A lot of guys go put some shiny new brakes on their car, and with no other experience than having driven around the block a couple times, come home and snap a few pictures and jump on the internet to say how great the new brakes are and how their eyeballs popped out of their head or they were hanging in mid air on the seatbelt, etc. Maybe the guy had brakes that hadn't been bled in 15 years and the pedal was spongy, or they had the cheapest Autozone pads you could buy or warped rotors, etc. The guy puts on his new Wilwood front brakes with stock rears and is amazed at how bitchin the thing feels, but the information he gives is pretty useless without any context. The internet is a wonderful thing because people who know better (who often times have learned by failing in the exact same way) will help keep the guy with the new Wilwood fronts on the right track. It's much better to learn from others' mistakes. It is entirely possible to put much larger brakes on and increase the amount of heat you can put into the brakes and improve the balance over the factory. But if you don't get the bias right, you are probably making the brakes less effective (in the short run) than they would have been if left stock and properly maintained. I say in the short run because as others have noted, the stock Z brakes just don't have a lot of heat capacity, so it is pretty easy to push them beyond their limits. The stickier the tires and the better the car handles (note I didn't say the more hp you have) the quicker you can burn the brake pads off the car or boil the brake fluid.

I bought mine in probably 95 and they had the same adjustment as the new ones. They do break off, if that happens Tokico will sell you new knobs pretty cheap, sometimes they'll just mail them to you free of charge.

Link?

Yes, I am aware of how the gauges function. The argument that the industry is doing something means nothing to me. What site is this again? With the mech temp gauge I could flip the fan on and watch the temp go down immediately. There was no 3 minute delay. I had a 190 degree thermostat, and I could watch the gauge hit 190 (exactly, not 189 or 191) then bounce down to say 175 when the thermostat opened, then build up again, and drop again. With the oil pressure gauge, the pressure is sent directly to the gauge via a hydraulic line, so the accuracy and speed of reading is a lot better than a sender IME. I wasn't saying that you needed to rev the engine to see oil pressure, I was saying you could just about use the oil pressure as a tachometer, it responded so quickly and accurately. Only problem with using it as a tach was that the oil pump maxed out at about 4000 rpm. Again, stock gauges give comparatively crappy response and accuracy that is questionable at best. If that's good enough for you, then go the easy route. I posted to help other people who may have the same problem I did finding info on running those gauges, not to argue about what "the industry" is doing.

In my experience the electric gauges give a vague notion of what might be going on, and mechanical gauges are much more accurate. With the mechanical temp gauge on my L series I could watch the thermostat open and close, and on the oil pressure I could see the oil pressure jump instantaneously as the revs came up. On my 2006 1500 truck the gauges react like they stuck in molasses, and accuracy is generally relegated to "middle of the gauge".

I went looking for this info and wasn't able to find it, so now that I've found it, I think I'll post it here for the next guy. The task at hand is to hook up mechanical Autometer coolant temp and water temp gauges. I have part number 3421 oil pressure and 3432 water temp gauges. Coolant Temp Gauge First thing I need to do is take 3432 and throw it in the trash and buy electrical gauge 3531. The mechanical gauge apparently doesn't work as there is no available standoff adapter to go from 12x1.5 to 1/2" NPT. As much as I hate to do it, I figure the only choice is to go with the electrical gauge. Once you have the electrical gauge with its 1/8 NPT sender, then you can use Autometer adapter 2277, remove the plug just above and behind #8 cyl and screw in the adapter and sensor. The one nice thing about the electrical gauge is that it is possible to cut the wire down. Can't do that with the mechanical gauge, and the 6' tube they give you is a lot longer than necessary when you're just going from the gauge to the back of the pass side cyl head. Oil Pressure and Warning Light I do want an oil pressure warning light, and I would like to run the mechanical gauge above. I had previously run the gauge with copper line and a ferrule, but figured I'd upgrade to an AN braided stainless steel line this time. All adapters and fittings are steel, didn't want to hook up this many brass adapters as I was worried they may work harden and crack over time. Here's the parts I need: Autometer 2268 16mm to female1/8" NPT adapter 799-661501 1/8 NPT to 1/8 NPT male to male 361-961701 1/8 NPT Female Tee 555-105100 1/8 NPT male to AN-3 male adapter Autometer 3242 30 psi oil pressure light switch Autometer 3240 red warning light 361-968703 1/8 NPT female to AN -3 So the 16mm adapter screws into the block, then the male to male screws into it, then the Tee, then the switch and the AN adapter. Switch turns on the the light and the AN adapter takes the ss hose to the gauge. The NPT female to AN-3 adapter attaches to the back of the gauge for the ss hose. Buying parts Monday, so if you see any glaring errors here let me know.

The passenger was giving you good advice. You're turning in too early and not tracking out all the way. Use the whole road. One trick on steering which you've probably heard already if you've read any books on racing: You should almost never have to steer and then back off, and then steer more to hit the apex. Obviously you couldn't see the wheel, but it looked like that was what was happening in some of the long sweepers just judging from the attitude of the car. Should be one movement of the wheel into the apex and one movement back out until the wheel is straight. Simple practice is to put a piece of tape on the wheel at 12 o'clock, and then focus on how much you turn the wheel as you hit the apexes just driving around town. This kind of practice also helps to focus on steering the wheel less sharply. The less the steering wheel is turned, the faster you can go. Sounds like you need a limited slip. Looks like a fun track and a good time.

I would just run 50/50 for corrosion. If you can't cool it down with that, go get a bigger radiator.

Just FYI, Diamond makes a lot of different rims, but they have a 15 x 10 that weighs 20 lbs. I don't think you're going to find a steel wheel much lighter than that. I read on your thread on classiczcars.com that you had Aero wheels. I haven't purchased wheels yet, so I checked their site. Looks like they no longer offer 4 x 4.5, but their lightest 15 x 10, the 51 series, is 20 lbs.

Thanks Pete. Fixed my previous post. I think a light would be sufficient. Wouldn't want to be going into a corner at high rate of speed and have the ignition cut off. I also had problem with the stupid plastic hose. Getting the ferrule to seal was impossible, but I switched to copper and never had even a drop after that. I expect a SS hose would be similarly effective.

I was looking at some Autometer warning lights that were 1 5/8", didn't see anywhere that they could be mounted inside a dash. Are they made for dash mounting? The one thing I don't like about electrical gauges is the slow response. On my mechanical oil pressure the response was INSTANTANEOUS. Haven't seen such response out of electrical gauges, don't know if that is more a function of the gauge or the sender. Similarly with the temp. I could watch the themostat open and close on my mechanical gauge. Electrical always shows it headed to the middle or in the middle of the gauge. Just doesn't seem as accurate. Is that just a function of stock gauges? Do the aftermarket electrical gauges work better than what I'm used to?

Thanks for that schematic Pete. Aren't relays a good idea? I"m thinking of how slow my wipers were, and how dim my lights were without relays. I know I've replaced some burned out relays and even taken some apart and sanded the contacts to make them work, so I know there are some potential failures there, but I thought it was a good idea to avoid having the full current going through the switch. I have the Taurus fan already. Bought it with a radiator as an afterthought, but for a good price. I'd just as soon use it if it won't kill the battery if it comes on while I'm gridded up and waiting for the next run.

With regards to Taurus fan amperage: http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/82748-280zx-v8-progress-pics-and-wiring-questions/page__view__findpost__p__807144 Talks about 40A relays being short lived on the Taurus fans. http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/58262-taurus-fan-slows-at-idle/page__p__532594__hl__%2Btaurus+%2Bfan+%2Bamp__fromsearch__1#entry532594 Pete Paraska says high speed pulls 35A

I realize I could make a harness If I had any clue, but I don't (I should really take an electronics class at the local CC) and I think the easier solution is just to buy the harness and have Dave install it for me. I am running a carb and MSD coil trigger setup, so there are literally 4 wires coming off of the MSD box. I figure there are probably power, ground and switched power, not sure what the 4th is. I'll have to look up what goes where, but wiring for the engine will be really easy. I like the idea of circuit breakers, but I think I'm not going to do that just due to expense. Looking at prefabbed 8 circuit harnesses, and they don't have a circuit breaker option. This? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/8-CIRCUIT-WIRING-HARNESS-KWIK-WIRE-UNIVERSAL-GM-FORD-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem1c0c9ead0aQQitemZ120470809866QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories or this? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Rebel-Wire-8-circuit-wiring-harnesses-1932-Ford-1934-33-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem41532eb59aQQitemZ280568444314 I'm thinking about maybe going with the cheaper one, since only the gauges and brake lights will be running full power through the fuse box. Everything else will be on relays.

After doing a lot of research I ended up with the PC680 mount. I didn't buy the battery yet because the research told me that storing the battery for a long period of time would likely kill it. Looks like the Deka has about the same reputation, but I found a couple more people complaining about the Deka than I did the Odyssey. I do get the feeling that most people who are having trouble with these are idiots who are using a lightweight battery to run their heavyweight stereo systems, a lot of people seem to have no trouble with either, but you can only go so far on anecdotal internet evidence. At some point you need to just pull the trigger and I went for what I figure to be the more conservative choice. I also bought a Taylor 4 post kill switch. Still need switches, and I'll have to buy a piece of aluminum plate for the gauges, and the harness itself, and gauges if I can't run the old mechanical stuff. Was thinking about oil pressure idiot light, maybe coolant temp too. I had mechanical gauges in the old engine and liked that setup, not sure how to do that with the LS. I did see on LS1tech that you can drill out the oil temp sender and tap it for the mech pressure gauge, maybe it's possible to just run a tee to an idiot light. Not sure if there is room with the carby manifold in place. I have the feeling that the pressure gauge in my truck is less than stellar when it comes to accuracy, and it is the same motor. If it is a problem to run both might just run the mech gauge and skip the idiot light. Am I reading correctly that the Taurus fan draws 60A while running?!? I'm worried that it might kill my battery if it comes on a lot between runs at an autox.

Congratulations John!!! Nice work.

I would take issue with the thicker gasket to lower compression idea. If you do a thicker gasket you'll likely remove all the quench and even though the compression is down it may be more detonation prone. I would say if you're in doubt about running on pump gas, get a bigger cam. A bigger cam will run less dynamic compression and can make a higher compression motor work without pinging.