JMortensen

The man speaks the truth... even if his screen name is an onomatopoeia for burping.

What year is your Z again? The early ones, 70 and I think the first 1/2 of 71, had the diff positioned about an inch forward of the later ones. This led to halfshaft U joint vibration and failure so they changed the position later when they recognized the problem. If your halfshafts are further forward on the inboard end than the outboard end, you could stand to make this change, especially if you're going to put a lot of power down. I did this on my car but it's been so long I forgot all what was necessary. I think you can just change the mustache bar, but I changed the link behind the diff too. If you use the straight link that came on the early cars then it is difficult to access the drain plug. If you use the later curved link that came in the 72-78 cars then there is more clearance. I want to say that the front diff mount might have been different too, or maybe you switched it around 180º, I can't remember exactly. Been too long...

I think I found exactly what you're looking for Mike... you're working on a Painless install, right? http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=94822

Then what you would check during assembly is that the pointer on the timing cover actually points to 0º. The pointer can get bent or chewed up and then if it points to 5º ATDC, you wouldn't really know. Personally I don't think that's too big a deal, because you shouldn't really say "I'm going to run xx degrees of timing because xx on the internet says to." Each motor is going to make maximum power at a slightly different spot. You can use what you read here as a guideline, but you shouldn't tune to the internet's specifications, you should tune to your engine's specifications.

The 300ZX came with two different shafts. The NA 300ZX came with a outboard end with a 6 bolt pattern. THE NA SHAFTS ARE TOO LONG AND WON'T WORK IN AN S30. This is why Ross doesn't make an adapter for them. The TURBO came with the 4 bolt outer end, and it is the only one you can use. It does require an adapter, because the bolt pattern is totally different than the stock halfshaft bolt pattern.

Pick up a 240Z door, then a 280Z door, then a 280ZX door. Or a hood. Or an exhaust manifold. It's not one thing that makes the later cars heavier. It's everything. All the individual pieces got heavier as time went on. To be fair I don't know what a stripped ZX shell weighs. It would be interesting to find out. If the stripped shells were close, and if you were going all fiberglass panels, you might end up somewhere in the same vicinity.

The R200s all use circlips on the stub shafts or CV's. I think John was thinking of the R180s, some of which use a retaining bolt to hold the stub shaft in place IIRC.

The control arm already has the inside washer built into it, so you'd just need a large 3/4" washer for the outboard end. I think that is a good idea and very easy to do. As far as seals for the bearings, I have to wonder if that is necessary. I've been running exposed rod ends on the front LCA and TC rods for years, haven't seen damage due to dirt yet. Wouldn't hurt I suppose, but might add a layer of complexity that isn't strictly necessary. I wouldn't do it if it required extra machining on the monoball retainer. If you find some that install with no extra hassle and it makes you more comfortable then go for it.

When building the motor, use a dial indicator on the #1 piston to verify EXACTLY where TDC is. Then use the timing light as normal. Sometimes the rubber ring in the damper comes apart and allows the outer ring with the timing marks to move. So if the car doesn't run unless it has 80º advance, that would be a tip off.

John is right. From 510 to 280ZX, the halfshafts are identical. CLSD = Clutch LSD

RB will bias it forward, V8 biases back. It does have a real effect on the car. See all those custom adjustable links in that picture? There's your adjustable control arm equivalent.

All of the inner splines are the same on any R200 except the VLSD. Any R200 except the VLSD will fit with no issues, and that includes the 87-89 CLSD. I was running halfshafts with the stub shafts from a 280Z R200 in my 87 ZXT LSD diff with no problems for years.

You have correctly identified the stub axle and companion flange. The other part I call a stub axle as well or stub shaft, but you have to be sure to specify which one you're talking about because it can get confusing.

The billet ones from MM do. Then tack on $395 for the billet CV adapter... http://www.modern-motorsports.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=32&products_id=62 http://www.modern-motorsports.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=32&products_id=63

It's been posted here 5 or 6 times now. I think the problem is that the cage used to be legal and isn't anymore IIRC. Like they changed the tubing requirement to 1.5 x .120 or something. Johnc would know. You're right though. That is one badass racecar.

Just a counter point here. I was able to do this for quite a bit less money. R200 LSD $325 used I put a new pinion bearing in and shimmed the LSD at a cost of $75 4.11 gears $150 (works for me, probably not for you, if you could keep the 3.70s then subtract $150 300ZX CV adapter $215 300ZXT CV shafts $135 (disassembled and greased up for $10 in grease) 280 stubs and companion flanges $150 Adjustable control arms - made my own toe adjuster instead $15 JSK brakes - ~$500 for the rear when completed, no longer available... So there is a whole done up rear for less than $1600. A NEW clutch LSD is ~500. Even if you bought an open R200 and retrofitted the LSD you should still be in the $2000 range completed. A lot of what you listed there simply isn't necessary to complete the swap, and some of it would still need to be done with the SX rear suspension if you were to build it to a similar level, like adj. control arms and big brakes.

Not arguing the point of racing history at all John. You're right. The ZX has a brilliant racing history of championships in FASTER classes than the 240Z. No argument. All I'm saying is that a Ford Taurus has a LONGER, MORE SUCCESSFUL racing history than a 280ZX in the even more prestigious (to most anyway) racing classes offered in NASCAR. That doesn't mean that I'm going to run out and buy one. Just because a built to the Nth degree racecar is fast that doesn't necessarily reflect the potential of the street version of the same car (unless you're talking about the potential of the silhouette, as in NASCAR). Look, I don't doubt that you can make ZX's very fast. You obviously can. And as was pointed out, the 510 has a great history and shares a similar suspension design. I prefer the chapman strut to the semi-trailing arm, and I prefer the lighter chassis. That's why I like the 240Z over the 260, 280, 280ZX, 300ZX, and 350Z. Oleh, you're right, but not by much, and still ~500 lbs more than a 240Z.

Shelby wheels were akin to today's ARE wheels AFAIK. Certainly not top of the heap racing wheels. When I bought mine I thought for sure CARROL SHELBY wheels would give me at least 500 whp and would "wow the ladies". Truth is they're just wheels. One piece, cast aluminum wheels.

Because you aren't comparing apples to apples. When CP changed to GT2 the class rules changed pretty dramatically IIRC. GT1 is even further off the mark from production based racing. I'm basing this opinion on seeing the buildups in the How to Hotrod book, vs pics like the GT2 ZX that's on ebay. What I'm saying, and it may be totally wrong and please tell me if it is, is that comparing a GT1 or a GT2 car to a stock ZX is like comparing a NASCAR Taurus to the one you buy from the dealer. Comparing a CP 240Z to a stock 240Z is a hell of a lot closer.

I've seen people put 225's on a 6 inch rim. Just because it has 225's on it doesn't mean they SHOULD be on it. I had a set of mesh Shelby 15 x 7's. Heaviest freakin wheels ever. Had to weigh ~30 lb each. I mean they were HEAVY. Traded them to a friend for her 6 spoke ZX wheels that are 14 lb each. She called me the next day and said that the heavier wheels really made her car accelerate and brake a lot slower, but she wanted the 15" look and still has those wheels on her car today, 5 or 6 years later...

Wow, opening at $5k. That'd be a steal!!! Wonder what the reserve is though. That'd be a FUN car to race I'm sure. Here's another way of looking at this issue. The reason that the 240Z was the preferred chassis for racing was because it was lighter. Even if you can get the power to weight ratio the same for a heavier 280Z, the heavier weight is going to make it harder to get around corners. The ZX is the same way as the 280Z. Heavier with .4L displacement to make up for it. Now you get into a GT2 car like the one for sale and then all bets are off. Full tube frame and all fiberglass panels levels the field. The weight for the Z is the same as the weight for the ZX (just looked it up in the rulebook). The cars are so far from stock that it would be hard to compare them to the originals, but it might be interesting to see what there are more of: GT2 240Z's or GT2 280ZX's. I would think that the 280ZX would be a better choice because it's more aerodynamic, but I don't recall seeing any 280ZX's at the runoffs. Lots of 240Z's in the back of the pack. I think the Z32 300ZX has such an aero advantage that people have gotten rid of their 280ZX race cars. If they are out to win, would make sense for the 240Z racers to do the same IMHO...

I always thought SCCA production racing is a better indication of what the stock platform can do with a couple of guys like us working on it, and IMSA a better indication of what a team of engineers with hundreds of thousands of dollars can do. Is that accurate?

From the urban dictionary: "2. The jagged or wavy line between your marble bag and balloon knot." That has to be the funniest definition for anything I've ever read...

Roll bar basically. Got all the materials, hoop is done, diagonal is ready to weld in, but then I got sidetracked but I am going to get back to that ASAP...

Yes.