JMortensen

You can probably open up the chamber 2-3 cc resonably. More than that is going to be a real PITA. As far as what boost you can run, I'd say as much as possible without detonation.

That's was a pretty good speed for towing with a rope like that. I still don't get exactly what happened to cause the crash though. Looked like the steering wheel locked or something???

There are two FAQs that have to do with the subject of your post. I think they'll answer most of your questions. If you have more, search and you'll probably find the rest.

No, I don't believe that is right. The standard NA ZX diff is 3.90. That's what I got out of my first parts car, an 80 ZX. The automatics came with a 3.54, as did the turbos. The 280Z came with 3.54 and 5 speeds, but they were geared with the super low 1st and 2nd. The NA ZX 5 speed is a closer ratio'd trans and the tall 1st and 2nd gears goes well with the lower rear end like the 3.90 or 4.11. XelderX, you can check rpms at road speeds here if that is a concern: http://www.geocities.com/z_design_studio/

It's really not that hard. You can buy an expensive kit with a burette and get precise results, but if you just want to improve on the factory's shoddy casting you can use a graduated cylinder (the taller and skinnier the better). I think I had a post or two here about the procedure, I know there is some good info on http://www.classiczcars.com about it. If you're really looking to lower the compression ratio there are better ways to do it, cc'ing the chambers is really intended to just even them out so that the compression ratio is the same on all cylinders. You can make some improvements to the chamber shape and take out some sharp ridges, etc, but really affecting compression ratio is better done with pistons or swapping heads in my opinion.

It is well worth it. Your 260 probably has 3.36 or 3.54 gears. With your new 5 speed the 5th gear will be pretty much unusable under 75 mph with that rear end ratio. You should DEFINITELY get the R200 (or some other diff with a lower gear ratio) to take full advantage of the 5 speed. 3.90s or 4.11s work well with the ZX 5 speed ratios. The ZX R200 probably has 3.90s in it.

This is the perennial first post, these types of questions get asked a lot. I thought it might be time to try and show why we can't really answer these questions definitively. Hybrid Z cannot tell you what engine you want. A V8 Z with 300 ft/lbs of torque at 2000 rpm is going to be a lot different to drive than an SR20DET Z which has 100 at the same engine speed. When you come here you need to search and read and figure out what kind of engine is going to be the best for you and your driving style, and for the type of driving you plan on doing. If you are going to race, this will SEVERELY limit your engine options, and any swap should be done AFTER figuring out what class you plan on running in. Most road racing or autocross classes don't allow any engine swaps at all. Let's assume that you aren't racing and just want a fun car to drive on the street, and continue on with the discussion. Everyone wants to go fast on a budget. Nobody is more guilty of this than myself. The thing about engine swaps is you see an engine and trans combo for $2K and think, "I can afford that!" but you really probably can't. It's all the little nickel and dime details that will get you in the end. Most people say to figure out how much you think you need to complete the swap, then double it or even triple it. There are many threads on the subject, but this one is probably my favorite: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=67657. You will see in there that some people who can do EVERYTHING themselves can get away cheaply, but most of us mere mortals have to farm out some of the work, and that's when things get expensive. Is it possible to do a swap for $5K? Yes. Is it likely? No. Easiest/cheapest swap is probably a 1st gen SBC. It's been done so many times that every stumbling block has been run into and every potential problem surmounted and those efforts have probably already been documented here. SR seems to be getting more and more popular and has increased support, from what I've seen the RB swap is still the most pricey and the hardest to get done. As far as rust goes, unfortunately most people ignore it or don't have the time or skills to do anything about it so just about any Z you buy will likely have some rust. There are some good tips on rust and Z's on http://www.zhome.com. Down the menu on the left side of the screen is a section called "Buying a Z car tips". Read through that section and this should get you relatively well versed on what to look out for. With regards to 240 vs 280, the two basic theories are: 1. A better power to weight ratio = faster car (buy a 240 or early 260) 2. The late 260/280 has a better stronger unibody and will take the increased power levels better (buy a late 260/280) Again, you need to decide for yourself where your priorities are on this issue and whether or not you have the skills and tools and $$$ necessary to take on a task like increasing chassis rigidity, and how much chassis rigidity you "need".

We do not have a parts resources FAQ, so I am moving this thread to the FAQ section.

I'm going to be using the 3/8", I'm sure that it will be fine.

Either it's an automatic and the torque converter is slipping or the clutch is slipping.

The throwout fork doesn't matter. The early ones are compatible with the adjustable clutch slave cylinder, the later ones are not, but that won't make a difference as to which clutch and pressure plate you choose. Likewise as you said the flywheels are compatible, and the clutch disk is compatible as well. What does matter is that the pressure plate must match the throwout bearing collar. This collar goes onto the shift fork, which may be what had JessZ confused. I think the safest thing to do is order by the year of the collar you're using. If it's the stock one off of your 72 Z for instance, then order a clutch kit for a 72. If you switch to a 5 speed from a ZX at some point, then you would need the throwout bearing collar from the ZX 5 speed, and you would need to get a 82 clutch kit. If you search this has been dealt with before quite a few times, and http://www.zparts.com has a page on their website which has pictures of all the different throwout bearing collars and their measurements if you're not sure which you have.

To a point maybe, but then you run into the nose heavy car's dart like performance. Similarly, I've often said that driving a 911 is like throwing a dart backwards, and that is why so many Porches are seen headed off the track ass end first. Racing stockish Mustangs on the other hand is like throwing a dart forwards, is why you see so many Mustangs understeering off the side of the track, and why the fast ones move the engine back. There is a happy medium, and turn in can be affected by a lot of factors other than weight distribution. Have you ever seen the posts where Cary is trying to convince me to move the alternator and radiator to the back of my car? Maybe he has the wrong idea??? All I'm saying is that if I had a blank slate to design a Z it wouldn't have a 60/40 distribution, it wouldn't even have a 50/50 distribution. I'd shoot for something more like 45/55. The only guys I know of that race with a front heavy car on purpose are the front drivers, and I bet if they could move weight back they would too.

My fear is that people like Team Nissan will think this applies to their stock LSD as well. So here's a warning: THIS POST ONLY APPLIES TO ADDING CLUTCHES TO A Z31T LSD. THE SHIMMING INFO DOES NOT CORRELATE TO A STOCK DIFFERENTIAL. IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE ADDITIONAL CLUTCHES THAT PHYXIUS SOLD IN THE GROUP BUY OR CLUTCHES YOU MADE WHICH ARE THE EXACT SAME THICKNESS, IGNORE THE SHIMMING INFORMATION AS IT WILL NOT WORK FOR YOU!!! If you want to shim your stock LSD, check this thread: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=92629

I think the theory that there is an issue with the firing order and that the center carb won't get even intake pulses is CORRECT. The thing is, that DOESN'T necessarily mean that the car isn't going to run well, and that's where the naysayers cross the line. It just means that it won't run AS well an engine with a nice even firing order. How many Jags went into production with triple SU's on an inline six? To say it "isn't going to work" is just foolish. This bit about the triples is wrong though. The triples have a separate barrel for each cylinder. Each cylinder is getting it's own intake compresion power and exhaust strokes so the center two cylinders share a carb body and a float bowl, but that's it.

Cameron, From what I've read on other sites the tread width on this new tire is going to be 11.2". That might make it faster than a 9.5" wide slick. I seem to remember Cary saying that the new Goodyear FA tire is supposed to be FAST. It comes in a 23.5 x 9.5 x 15 as well. The R070 compound should be a REALLY sticky tire. I haven't seen this tire in person, but I've messed around with some R160 treaded GY's and they were SOFT, so that R070 must be a qualifying tire or something. http://www.rogerkrausracing.com/GY1.html#FA%20RADIAL

A road racing, 8000 rpm 500 hp 283 (?!!) Z car with an AUTO transmission and what looks like stock exhaust manifolds or at best shorties? I think the guy had some very interesting ideas, I just think the implementation went wrong somewhere along the line there and I don't know that I'm buying the ad as stated...

Like a dzus fastener? Most people pin the hood, and use dzus fasteners to attach fenders and stuff like that. Google it and you'll find a bunch of suppliers.

I was thinking TVR and S2000

Walked right into that one...

For what it's worth I don't think SU's run out of fuel on larger engines. I think they run out of air. That's one of the nice things about SU's is that the more air you put through them the more fuel they put out (true of all carbs, but to a greater degree with SU's since they don't rely on accelerator pumps and other fuel circuits). I think some here have shown the SM needles to be very rich on 2.8 and 3.1 engines. I bet a search would bring up more info on that...

Sad but probably true... I don't like to rush things.

I don't think I'd ever spend that much for coffee, but I have seen stories on TV about that stuff and the end result is supposed to be a really smooth cup of filtered poo water.

MSD has had a questionable rep for a lot longer than 5 years. As others have said, my experience has been very positive. I bought a 6AL basically just to get the rev limiter and have used it for at least 6 years if not longer, only time I ever had trouble was when I disconnected it and reconnected it wrong.

That's fine. You can also just vent to the catch can and not provide any vacuum to it. I think there is some benefit to having vacuum in the crankcase but it will work either way, and my take is that keeping the crap out of the intake is more important.

John is correct, the difference is in the thickness of the flange, so it's a rotor offset thing not a wheel offset thing. The part that threw me off is that the protruding flange where the wheel bolts on is the same thickness but not scalloped on the 280Z hub. Then further back it tapers away from the hub and gets smaller, and that smaller diameter area is the part where the flange is thicker.