JMortensen

Thank you for saying that Norm. I've known it to be true for a long time, but I've never had access to a dyno to prove it. There is a lot of hp in those last few degrees.

Thanks. They are pretty cheap, so I think I'll spring for em. So many different types, it's kind of confusing as to which to buy.

Like the CMR6T and CML6T on this page? http://www.khmetals.com/185.pdf EDIT-still looking but I found something I didn't expect to find... a carbon fiber race with PTFE liner for about $5 for the 3/8". It's at http://www.mcmaster.com and here's the part number: 2458K141. Must be that the carbon fiber can't handle the punishment, because the rod end is like 1/3 the cost of the steel raced rod ends for the same size. Static radial load capacity looks pretty similar to the metal ones though... anyone heard of this before?

Search and you should find a thread where John Coffey was told 370 hp out of the L24 by Sunbelt (one of the best L engine builders) IIRC. That's a motor whose lifespan isn't very many hours long, but it was a road racing engine, not a drag engine.

I would guess 10 or maybe 10.5:1

Thanks Cary. So many bearings to get that the difference in cost really adds up fast, but I guess I'd rather put it together later and only do it once.

OK I stand corrected. When my first helmet flashed me I would see "The Dot" so I assumed it wasn't dark enough to really protect my eyes. Kinda like wearing sunglasses. I wouldn't stand around in a pair of shades watching someone mig weld all day even if it technically didn't injure my eyes.

Maybe he hooked it up and then it broke, so he disconnected it. ZX distributors are the way to go IMHO. Search and there's lots of info. Two wire hookup. Good mechanical advance curve. Available cheap. GM HEI or Chrysler module works if the Nissan module should die. The only issue is the vacuum advance is known to be weak. Disable it and run more static advance. That's my advice anyway.

I don't know how it works, but they have a solar panel on them for power, and you'll know if it's not working right. It will "flash" you which means it doesn't darken quickly enough. This happened with the first auto-darkening helmet that I had. Not every time, but enough that it bugged me. So then I got another one, the cheap HF helmet, and it has been a lot better. The lenses do not fail dark, so you will get flashed if your helmet isn't working correctly. But how stupid would you have to be to get flashed over and over and over and over until you had eye problems as a result?

If it is stock I believe the drums fit fine and you need to grind for clearance on the front calipers. I had looked into running 13's at one point and I was able to fit them on front and back, but I had already swapped in 280ZX rear disks by that point. I have seen an ITS 280Z race car with 13's on it, but I understand some of those guys use the cast iron 510 drums so I don't know if that allows more clearance or not.

I just took my bathroom scale out to the garage. According to my maybe not so accurate scale (but it does usually match the Dr's office), I gained 11 lbs picking up a stock metal fender. So you're swapping an 11 lb fender for an 11 lb fender.

14" brakes with 6 piston calipers on a 1800 lb car? Less? This is another showy car like that Lotus 7 we had posted about a week back. Both have REALLY nice work, but are not built strictly for speed. I guess that answers my other question, which was why bother with a 510 when there are so many more slippery shapes out there. I think the answer is that this guy just has a hard on for 510s and a huge budget. And to that end he's done nice work. Just not the direction I would have gone.

Put a spacer under the strut insert. Something as simple as a flatwasher will work. The gland nut needs to be tight against the top of the strut, otherwise you'll have a big clunk, and the top and bottom of the strut will get the crap beat out of them as the strut slides up and down inside the tube. EDIT- You want it spaced so that when the gland nut is TIGHT there are still one or two threads showing between the nut and the strut tube. The bushing kit doesn't include front sway bar bushings??? That doesn't sound right...

I'm looking to buy my rod ends for my swaybar project, and also for the rear control arm project (kind of a 1/2 thread jack). Just looking for some simple advice. I was thinking of getting the cheapo $4 rod ends for the 3/8" end links on the sway bar and the 7/16" to attach the bar to the chassis. Then I was considering the teflon lined super bitchin ones for the control arms. The 3/4" size are going to run probably $25 each, and the 5/8" are around $20 each. That's pretty expensive. The question is are they worth it. I don't think the expensive ones are necessary on the swaybars, but I'd be curious to get some feedback on the control arm parts.

Pretty much any transmission shop should be able to order one for you. I have an "RPM SuperKit" that I am eventually going to use to rebuild mine. When I worked for a Volvo dealer I had them order it for me. It was $85 at jobber price, IIRC list was like $250. So they really screw you on it. The kit includes all new Nachi bearings (I think these are the same as Nissan uses), new front and rear seals, the gasket that goes inside the bellhousing, and all new synchros. The other thing you need is the nut that goes on the end of the mainshaft. I ordered it from Nissan and it wasn't expensive. I still haven't rebuilt mine yet, but I have a friend who has rebuilt a bunch of transmissions and if you give him the tranny out of the car I think he charges 5 hours, so it can't be terribly difficult. I have rebuilt two other transmissions and found them to be pretty straightforward. I hope those don't end up being famous last words though.

Normally aspirated 280ZX would be my first choice. Closest ratio 5 speed you can get. The 280Z 5 speed would be my second. It has a really wide gap between 2nd and 3rd which kills acceleration. 4 speeds are pretty similar gear ratio wise. The 280ZX Turbo 5 speed is the Borg Warner unit and really requires an upgrade to an aftermarket shifter. Gear ratios are wide, not the best for a NA car, but it is the strongest of the bunch. One thing you might want to check into is whether you have the type A or type B transmission. The type A is about 3" longer, so if you put the type B in, the shifter won't clear the hole in the center console. The best fix for this is to BEND THE SHIFTER. Lots of people will cut the hole in the console bigger, but then the shift boot doesn't fit right anymore. Not very hard to bend the shifter. http://zhome.com/ZCMnL/tech/69-83TrannyShifterDrawing.jpg If you go to zhome.com, then click on the Index of Technical Articles there is one called Swapping the Transmissions in a 240Z

I like to wear a beanie because in addition to sparks flying on top of your head, my HF helmet will consistently and painfully rip the hair out of my temples (short buzz cut basically). I guess I should have mentioned that as a gripe before, but putting on the beanie is just second nature now. Tannji, you ever have that problem?

I have read that one of the limitations of the Z32 as far as drag racing is that the design incorporated too much anti-squat. Just food for thought, if you start messing with that aspect of the geometry you probably don't want to do more just because you don't like squat in general. Get too much anti-squat and you'll just roast the tires coming out of corners instead of hooking and accelerating.

1 bar = 14.7 psi. 1.2 bar = 17.64 psi.

That's what these are for: http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=10966&itemType=PRODUCT

Not yet. Visited Boise, ID. Mixed feelings. Still looking. Check the "where should I move to" thread for more details.

One other thing, has anyone weighed a stock fender? I have two hanging in my garage right now but it's raining and I don't want to go out there to weigh them. I'd estimate the weight at 15 lbs. They're pretty darn light. So how much weight are you really going to save?

Auto darkening is the way to go IMHO. My experience is the same as tannji's and I'm using the same helmet. The only issue I have with the auto darkening helmet is that sometimes I'll use a drop light to see where I'm starting my bead, and if the light turns towards the lens it will darken. Also happens when some paint catches fire next to where I'm welding. Sometimes that tiny little flame with trigger the lens.

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=103472

I talked to the real estate agent and my aunt about Pocatello. My aunt used to live just across the border in Wyoming, so they'd drive to Pocatello to stock up since it was the closest town of any size. 75% mormon population. Boise is about 25%. So yeah, apparently if you walk into a restaurant and order a cup of coffee you can expect some flak from the waitress and glares from most of the other people in the restaurant. I've experienced the same in some rural parts of Utah. Point taken though. We're definitely not moving to Pocatello... Michael, you're exactly right. Which is why we're still looking. I think I could adapt, but I'm not sure my wife will be completely happy there. She said the trip showed her how much of a city person she really is. Personally I felt like I was living in an anthill in LA, I feel its 10x worse in Seattle (not as much sprawl, more high rises, impossible to park anywhere, streets don't make any sense, etc). We both LOVED San Luis Obispo, which is a town of 50,000 but close to other larger towns like Santa Maria, and only 1.5 hours from Santa Barbara.