JMortensen

I have also heard that the early ZX rears are a bear to rebuild. Luckily they are also more reliable than the later ZX calipers. The ebrake not working is usually indicative of a stuck caliper. If the caliper is stuck then only the inside brake pad would do anything. You might try to slide the big thing on top back and forth and see if it is stuck. If it moves, then it is probably a stuck piston. If it doesn't then you may be able to break it loose with a BFH and clean it up and reinstall it. I used to have those calipers on my 240Z and I seem to remember taking that big top piece off, but I don't recall how to do it. If I figured it out it probably wasn't that hard...

Not in my experience. I used to think the same as you then I actually measured. They were all the same compressed length, much to my surprise. http://www.betamotorsports.com Go to Bench Racing and check against the measurements in the "R200 handling issues" link if you want to measure some yourself. I'm sure John would love to see some different ones if you can come up with them.

Bumpsteer spacers are worth it, but $60 seems high. You can find them on ebay all the time. There are different sizes based on your wheels (because if they get too tall the control arm will hit the rim. Get the biggest size you can fit in your rims. If you have a 240 or early 260 I'd go with the Suspension Techniques bars, I guess Summit Racing has them for $240. Can't beat that price for ST bars. For late 260 or 280 they're pretty much all the same as far as I can tell.

ZX is semi-trailing arm rear suspension. That would work in the front.

Yeah, they're all the same back to the 510, with the exception of that one, I think its the 73 and 74 R180. Not sure on those numbers, but ALL of the others are the same.

This is the important bit. You learned your lesson. None of us are immune from stupidity. I'm sure that you will find the track days MUCH more fulfilling than driving too fast in canyons. The point I think Pop is trying too hard to make is that the accident wouldn't have happened had you not been in a group that was driving too fast on an unfamiliar canyon road. I'm not Mr. Safety who drives 5 under, but I have come to realize that when you get a group of people driving fast, and especially if that group contains even ONE competitive person, it's a recipe for trouble. Speeding is one thing, but when you're trying to keep up with the guy in front of you, that's when the **** really hits the fan. Not saying that's what happened to you. I'm saying that's what I've experienced.

I agree. Those are the nicest looking ZX flares I've seen.

I agree that aluminum is definitely a better choice, but a super lightweight aluminum wheel is pretty fragile too and costs something like 6 times as much as a steelie, although it will be lighter and stiffer.

Maybe we should focus on the jackass in the ZX some more. I was having more fun when we were focused on that idiot.

http://www.diamondracingwheels.com/RoadRaceSeries.htm Looks like about 16 lbs. "Stock car" wheels are much heavier, I have a set that I ordered before I knew any better and they're about 24 lbs. I didn't search or anything, you might find another supplier that makes a lighter steel wheel, but I know Diamond Racing's URL so I just went straight there. I believe the P90 would bolt to an L24, heck I have an E31 on an F54 block, but when the valves opened they wouldn't clear the block due to the smaller bore. You'd have to notch the block quite a bit.

How about just fixing the hatch gaskets and seals? Then you don't have to worry about shielding the floor from a hot cat.

You need to take the side stubs out of the R200 and then you'll have a spot for the CV to plug into the diff. You can just pry them out with a prybar. Side note: I just sold a set of those stubs on ebay for $30.

Looks like the Specialty Products company still has these available. I'd do like Afshin says and put them on both pivot points. http://www.specprod.com/MAIN_DIR/HOME_CONTACT.HTML

Crawford, you are correct. In looking at the book I see that these are 4 cylinder heads.

What's the casting number on the early FIA head? I just checked How to Modify and there is no casting number listed, but it does give some different valve sizes for the "early and late" FIA heads. If it is the early FIA head it should have cast iron cam towers, that would be a pretty big giveaway.

Vacuum gauge??? Turbos need load to create boost, so if you're looking for boost on a vacuum gauge that you've hooked to the manifold and you're just revving the car in neutral you won't get any boost. If you can drive the car with the gauge hooked up then you'll see some boost. T3 was the stock turbo on the L28 turbo, so it probably is a T3.

I think Pop's point is that something is more likely to go wrong when someone is showing off for the camera, especially if the driver is young. I have to say I agree. Austin's new car looks incredible and he's obviously a talented guy, but I would suggest putting the camera in the new car at an autox or on a road course where going off the pavement rarely results in ending up in a ditch.

I believe the head gasket for the turbo has a slightly different shape and is not interchangeable with the NA gasket. You should be able to lay them on top of each other to see the difference. You might try a Stone or a Nissan head gasket if that Fel-Pro looks iffy. I never was a Fel-Pro fan...

I believe that the 80 is the best year to use. First one with reverse lockout and has the closest ratios of any of the stock transmissions. I've got one in my car, and I love it. Definitely would take the 80 over the earlier transmissions, as the close ratios really help.

GT6 is a cool looking little car. It's also about 2/3 the size of a 240. I think it's basically a hatchback Spitfire with a 6 cylinder engine in it. I don't know that for sure, but I almost bought a Spitfire once, then I saw a GT6 pretty shortly afterwards and they really looked similar to my untrained eye.

You could measure the OD of the strut tubes and compare. The 280 stuff had a larger OD. If they're the same they're probably both the larger 280 struts. That test should work front and back.

A primered 280ZX plowing around in a parking lot?!? That ZX plowed so bad the guy should consider adding a hitch and putting one of these on the back: http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=6970&productId=41886&R=41886 At least he had a cool wing on it...

Some of the later R200's (the shortnosed ones) had 4 pinion open diffs. I think that's what you have there, could have been swapped in from a short nosed diff. The cross pin shaft is an X shape with a pinion gear on each end, and in the middle they commonly have either a square or octagon shape.

I've seen several peoples' triggers get eaten by vibration. A weak mount for the trigger will vibrate at high rpms and the pickup hits the wheel. If you make your own make it STRONG.

I doubt it. Too scary for too many people. Besides, you'd still have to get traction to accelerate that fast, unless you're envisioning some sort of maglev transportation system, in which case that definitely isn't happening in 20-30 years.