JMortensen

Thanks for bringing up that pic again OTM. I've seen it before, but never really looked that closely... Anyone else looking at this wondering why they didn't run the tubes all the way to the strut tower? The diagonal bars look like they go through the firewall to a meet at a dash bar maybe. They could go all the way out to the strut towers but stop about 12" short of the towers. Why??? Same with the lower bars that "should" go to the strut towers from what looks like a knee bar. They could meet up right at the tower, but for some reason they hit the bars that come from the dash bar about 6" short. That don't make no sense to me. I do like the sheet reinforcement to the bars that hook in around the swaybar mounts. Might have to do that to mine. You know, while I'm at it...

Subscription? I didn't have a subscription and I read them all. I just opened the 4th link (the 3rd and 4th deal with the airtabs more specifically) and read it just fine...

Are you sure that the MSD is the problem there DL? That could also be a loose connection somewhere. I had my MSD in basically the same location and never had any trouble. You could always send it back to MSD if you're not sure, they'll test it for free and fix it relatively cheaply if it needs fixing...

Found some interesting articles on the Mitsu VG project/airtabs/etc: http://autospeed.drive.com.au/A_3058/cms/article.html http://autospeed.drive.com.au/A_3059/cms/article.html http://autospeed.drive.com.au/A_3060/cms/article.html http://autospeed.drive.com.au/cms/A_3061/article.html Yarn aero testing: http://autospeed.drive.com.au/cms/A_1044/article.html http://autospeed.drive.com.au/cms/A_1055/article.html http://autospeed.drive.com.au/cms/A_1065/article.html

Hey John I was looking at some pics on http://www.betamotorsports.com of the fuel cell mount you did for Amir. It looks like you did a full frame, I can't tell if it goes all the way underneath the cell. Was that just to mount the pump and all that, or do you feel that the cell needs to be supported underneath as well?

The 87-89 turbos used a CLSD. Only the 88 SS used the VLSD.

Charles VI of France here.

The countershaft in the transmission on the 280ZX trans doesn't have removeable gears. This means that you can't change the gears on the mainshaft, because the gears won't mesh with whatever is on the counter. Apparently some ITS racers figured out that there was a 3rd gear that was close enough to interchange from 2 of the 4 speed boxes even though the tooth count was different, but as a general rule that's a bad idea. In all likelihood any attempt to change 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th independently of the rest would not work. You can probably change all the gears on the mainshaft, and put in the corresponding countershaft, but at that point why not just get the whole other transmission???

Worn control arm bushings, worn mustache bar bushings, oose driveshaft bolts, worn stub axle splines... the list is long for possible causes. I think backlash in the diff is probably one of the most common diagnoses and is also the most likely to be wrong. I would be very surprised if anyone ever took a diff out that wasn't howling like crazy and measured and found the backlash to be way out of spec.

Oops, I meant that the pickup would be in the left front, not LR. I'm not too concerned about the pickup location, I've never had fuel starvation issues and if I ever get around to doing the LS swap I'll just put a small surge tank in there. Right now I've got 3 surge tanks in the carbs, and until I run into issues i think I'll let that be good enough. I wouldn't be inclined to raise the tank for a diffuser. I suppose you'll know better what to do after you do the wind tunnel testing, but I can't imagine a diffuser doing so much good that a higher cg was offset by it. Plus, if you tilt the tank then the bottom of it acts like a diffuser, that's the whole idea. Wouldn't have the strakes, although I'm sure that they could be added later if that was deemed a priority.

Looking at my new one, it says the pickup is in the right rear. Maybe if it was installed backwards so the pickup was in left rear. That was kinda my plan, but it would be nice to hear from someone else that this works before I do it...

Thanks John.

ZX FI sucks. I think it would solve your driveability problem assuming you installed it properly, but it might lose you a few ponies in the process. I'd suggest you look at an aftermarket FI system if you have to go FI, especially if you're thinking of turbocharging in the future. The NA FI system is different than the turbo FI system, and both of them leave a lot to be desired. Your other option is to fix your carbs. Yes, you might have to use the choke when its cold, but tuned properly they shouldn't be a big problem at all, especially in San Diego. It's not like you're in Minnesota or something.

Thanks. That might be the way to go with this cell.

The stock injection sucks really bad. It is very primitive and the AFM is a big restriction. You can however swap to a stand alone FI system which will rid you of all of the stock issues and problems. That is kind of a DIY thing, so you need to have a lot of familiarity with FI in order to get one of those systems working properly. Check the megasquirt forum. If that's not your thing, carbs are pretty easy to get in the ballpark and in my opinion, even a set of SU's would be a step up from what you have right now. If you're looking to make a lot of power, the triples have a definite advantage over the SU's, and 44's or 45's have a definite advantage over 40's. If you want the best of both worlds, you can get triple throttle body injection that bolts onto a triple carb manifold. Several people here are running that setup, and it is probably the ultimate for NA induction.

The other question I had is if you do bolt all the way around the flange, are straps even necessary??? Seems like they'd be overkill at that point. How was yours done Steve?

I LOVE these translated pages! My favorite line: CLASSIC!!!

Here is a pic of what I have: http://www.speedwaymotors.com/xq/aspx/path.2005/img.91053440_L.jpg/deptId.58/displayId.2271/qx/ProductLargeView.htm See the flange at the top? That is the part that is giving me some trouble. I saw bjhines's setup, that's pretty sweet. Mine is a bit different because it has bolts all the way around the flange that sticks out at the top. I could make a frame very similar to what he did, but then I'd have to either replace all the bolts with longer ones and make them go all the way through the frame (PITA with my crappy drill press), or I could maybe make the frame out of angle iron so that there wasn't so much thickness to it and then maybe the bolts that came with the cell would be long enough (maybe, they're really short). John Coffey's frame I think had a round tube in front and back and thin straps, but I can't remember seeing the side parts of the frame which left me wondering how he dealt with the top flange part, if his cell even had a top flange, and I can't remember how he kept it secure vertically...

OK, anyone else have a road race type cell installed with clear pics? I've looked and all I can find are the Jeg's type cells...

The Schneiders are the cams that MSA sells. I believe you will have to upgrade springs and seals to run that much lift. I have a .490/280 NA cam and it required both upgrades. The seals didn't actually hit but they were within .010 I think, and my machinist recommended at least .050" clearance there to prevent damage to the seals. My suggestion would be to just run the Ford V6 seals (cheap and better than the CRAPPY Nissan seals) and get some Schneider springs and retainers. I'd also look at regrinds rather than a new cam. Regrinds are cheap and the metallurgy of the cam isn't in question...

Also look for pics of Greg Ira's E Production race car here and at classiczcars.com.

You might email my brother-in-law Mat. racermat @ earthlink.net (no spaces). I think he has a big ol box of hinges.

I'm not buying the body flexing argument. This has been seen enough times to draw a correlation between the solid front mount and the damage to the crossmember. Plus, it's kind of a strange coincidence that all the damage is to the top of the crossmember. I'm pretty sure the damage is from the solid front and soft rear mounts.

The Wink is very popular with road racers in various different cars. I installed one in my Z and then took it back out fairly quickly, because it felt like it was way too close to my head and it required me to look up and away from the road to check the mirror. I have thought that maybe a 3 panel that was installed on a mount that put the mirror further away might work, but installing it with the mount that the mirror comes with to the corners of the A pillars was not a good solution for me. Your mileage may vary.

Also, I suggest you search and look in the photo album. There are tons of pics of flared Z's for you to look at.