JMortensen

Couple things to check: Did you drop the reaction disk when you installed the new master? Did you bleed the brakes properly? Did you adjust the rear drums properly? Soft pedal on drum brakes always makes me think that the rears aren't adjusted properly. When you previously posted about your trouble I responded with this but you didn't give any indication that you had checked it or made sure it was done correctly. I don't know what kind of pads MSA sells, but I think they used to have Metal Masters, which are IMO the worst pad on the planet. They don't do anything well other than chew up rotors. That won't cause the pedal to be soft though. Soft pedal is something else.

Stupid questions make it harder to search and find answers, because instead of getting relevant info when you search you get 500 stupid questions. I think they should be deleted, and a rule should be added that says "Stupid questions will be immediately deleted" so that people can figure out why their post disappeared. My $.02

Looks to me like someone needs more tools. Of course I could probably do with selling 1/2 my tools and organizing a little more like you...

Not saying it wouldn't be bitchin and all, but if the weight distribution was 50/50 in the last RX7 as quoted here: http://www.musclecarclub.com/other-cars/imports/mazda-rx7/mazda-rx7.shtml what would be the more awesome weight distribution you'd get from putting in the LS1 with a presumably heavier transmission? Gotta be 53/47 or 54/46 at the best I would imagine. While that's better than a Mustang, it's not as good as an RX7. Of course it would be a lot more powerful than the RX7...

I'm pretty sure the reason you didn't find any information when you searched on this topic before you posted is simple: 300 hp out of a L28ET is just not possible. Either that or you didn't search. Definitely one of those two...

I've got nothing against V8's in an RX7, but do you really think that an LS1 is lighter than a 13B? That kinda sounds like what you're saying, and I'm pretty sure you'd be WAY wrong. 13B engine with no accessories weighs 180 lbs according to this aviation site: http://www.rotaryaviation.com/faq.html#weight

Because they're trying to make the 50 cal illegal. That's too much power for the "untrained" citizen to handle...

You can also stick a big prybar in the mount bushing area and try to pry the front of the diff up. Sometimes they look fine, but you pry on them and the diff moves way too much.

Sounds like you have the wrong cam. Have you red the posts from Zredbaron? He went through the SAME thing you're doing now. Within 10 hp out of his 3.1 stroker if I recall...

Guys keep in mind that he has a real day job and works 50 hours a week most weeks. One thing I'm going to do is try to get a semblance of an inventory for him so that he knows what he has, but I don't know lots of stock Z parts either, so don't be beating down the door. Then he'll be getting a biz license, etc. Patience...

I was going to tell you to search, then I did myself and didn't find a good answer. Here's the basics. If you get a R200 from a 280Z or 280ZX then the pinion flange is the correct one. You need the mustache bar and the front diff mount. Everything else will bolt up. If you get a R200 from a Z31 you will need the pinion flange from a 280Z or 200SX and the side stub axles from a 280Z. It's plug and play when you have all the parts. Is your 280 an automatic? If not it should already have an R200 in it. Also check the mustache bar bushings and halfshaft U-joints and the front diff mount/crappy *** strap setup as they can all cause clunking. Might not even be the diff at all.

Thanks. He doesn't really know that much about Z's. He has raced mine quite a few times, and bought one of his own about a year ago but hasn't gotten it running yet (almost). I'm really curious to see what's there too. I know the guy had a bunch of LSD's and sold them all, so maybe it's mostly stock stuff. Still for the asking price it should turn out to be profitable for him, not to mention he should have enough parts to get his car running... Mine is getting to the point where stock parts just aren't exciting anymore. Might not be such a windfall for me.

I appreciate the offer. I don't know exactly how this deal is going down or what the bro-in-law's plan is, but if we need help I'll put out the call to hybrid z'ers to come by. It's his show.

Interesting. I had always taken this argument the way the author of the article did. Before the weight transfers the Ackermann pulls the inside tire harder and that's what gets the car turning faster. Once the weight transfers the effect of the Ackerman is more or less over. So it would seem to me that the higher roll center makes the car more resistant to the weight transfer enhancing the Ackermann effect. That's the way I had always thought about it anyway, and it really seems to be the case in my friend's 510.

Looks like my brother-in-law struck a deal with the guy. He just bought a house with a HUGE barn. Now he'll have stuff to put in the barn. It will take a few weeks to get everything situated, then I'm going to try and help him set up a little side biz to sell everything. Looks like I'm getting sick, get to move my sis-in-law this week, then next weekend I get to help move all this crap to the barn! Pretty cool all in all.

Hmm... pull harder?

I think the MM coilovers use the stock bearing in the stock rubber top hat. So the cone aluminum piece rides on the stock bearing. As for the washers when I redid mine I just found a piece of pipe that fit snug on the strut tube and cut some 1/2" lengths and welded those to the tube for the lower spring perch.

Sounds like you might have a bent strut.

Cameron, maybe glazed rotors/drums? You should be able to get a lot more braking g's than accel g's. Something isn't right. Did you break them in or just put them on and go "see how good they work"?

ON3GO has proven time and time again that he CAN'T stick to the basics, so his bug was probably $20K...

Biggest reason for brake pedal softness IME with drum brakes is improperly adjusted shoes.

Search this site for 280ZX suspension upgrades with the search function near the top of the screen. It's been talked about recently. The main thing is slotting the crossmember like a 510. In fact the suspension is VERY similar. You might want to check out what 510 guys are doing and try to implement some of the same modifications.

Subframe bushings are a good idea because it removes flexibility from the subframe, but diff bushings are not IMO unless you solidly mount the entire drivetrain. The reasons for that have been discussed before, look it up, but bottom line is you could end up tearing up driveshafts and breaking diff mounts if you just do a solid diff mount with everything else in the drivetrain rubber mounted.

VW is an option... There were three guys I used to autox with who had Meyer's Manxes. Two were consistently faster than me, the other guy was slower. They ran used slicks. They all had built motors, the most powerful was making 225 hp IIRC in a fiberglass Manx that weighed 1200 lbs with a full cage. Supposedly the fastest one ran 11's. The fastest guy told me he had a total of under $5K in his...