JMortensen

WHOA!!! Too bad my machinist could only figure out turning down the retainers!!! That is awesome. Definitely need part #'s and pictures on that. Jon

I deg to biffer. We put 201 in every 924, 944 and 993, 996, and 928 that came in the shop and I've been cutting it 50/50 with ATF with my brass synchro tranny for the last 7 or 8 years. No problems in any of those cars with the synchros. In fact all my friends run it in their Datsun trannies (steel and brass) and a couple of Toyota 4x4 guys too with no problems. There was a discussion some months ago about how GL5 used to automatically mean that it would eat yellow metal, but not necessarily anymore, but a lot of people still associate GL5 with that. Not true in the case of Swepco 201!!! EDIT--My old boss even told me that the ATF Swepco mix is essentially what comes stock in 3 series Bimmers from the factory. Don't know how much truth there was to that one. He said, "You ever change the trans fluid on an M3? It's purple, because they are using the same stuff I am telling you to use in your car. Swepco and ATF." He seemed to know his stuff. Jon

J260 is right, could be a worn synchro, but are you heel/toeing? Double clutch usually isn't necessary with synchros. If you want to turbo it, you'll want wider ratios, and probably want to sell me that trans and driveshaft. The 240SX tranny is supposedly bulletproof and has apropriate ratios. I know that link to swepco is wrong, but the name stands for South West Petroleum Company, or South Western Petroleum Company. If you call GPR they will sell some SWEPCO to you. I used to pick it up there every couple weeks when I worked for the Porsche shop. Works great in the clutch LSD diffs too. This stuff won't fix a bad synchro, but if there is ANY life left in it you'll see a big difference vs regular gear oil and probably Redline and all those types too. Nobody who raced a Porsche and brought their car into the shop I worked at used anything other than SWEPCO. To be honest I never realized they had so many. The stuff we used was the 201. They'd probably all work fine. Can't believe I actually had a hard time remembering which it was, but I guess it has been 6 years or so since I worked for that shop, and at least 2 years since I've had a bottle in the garage. http://www.drivewerks.com/catalog/shopcart/CARE/POR_CARE_swepco_pg3.htm#12 Jon

Grab the bump stop with a pair of channel locks to keep the strut rod from rotating and hit the nut with an impact wrench. If you don't have an impact, hit a wrench with a hammer for the same effect. Jon

You could sink the battery down below the deck, which would be preferable for weight anyway, and just build a cover that closes off the vent lines and the fuel filler from the rest of the cabin. I'm really not into having the battery exposed in the back. There was a thread about that a while ago. Hydrogen is poisonous and extremely explosive. Nice fab work, as usual! Jon

I've never bought a new aftermarket cam, only regrinds, never had a problem either. I thought that a lot of regrinds were welded and reground... maybe I was mistaken. IMO you should spring for some springs, though, and not try to cut corners reusing old stuff. I supposed if you really wanted to use the old stuff you could have it tested on a spring dyno (I think that's what they are called). The machinist who did my last engine build had one, just basically a glorified scale with a lever. Put the spring in and you can tell what the installed seat pressure will be and what the pressure is at max lift. Jon

If you have a Comp trans, or a roadster 5 speed with the steel synchros, then check this out: http://hybridz.org/nuke/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=31024 If it is just a regular brass synchro 5 speed, then any transmission shop could do it for you, or you can buy a kit and do it yourself. The Porsche synchros are a PITA, so I would suggest taking it to a Porsche shop since this sounds like your first rebuild. The $1500 sounds like Comp trans $$$ to me, so you may very well have a comp tranny. You may want to try some SWEPCO in there. Makes the steel synchros MUCH easier to work with. Jon

If you can scrounge up a Mikuni manual, do it. If not, there is a lot of info in the How to Modify Your Nissan & Datsun book. Two things I would check immediately. Floats - are they stuck (tap on cover with back of a screwdriver. If that doesn't fix, check the float level (get the book for specs). Fuel pressure - what kind of fuel pump do you have and do you have a fuel pressure regulator. If you run too much pressure, fuel will just continually pump into the bowls until it runs into the jet blocks and flood the motor potentially causing the spitting you describe. Sounds like the PO didn't know what the heck he was doing. Good luck. I also recommend an O2 sensor in the exhaust to give you an idea of what is going on. Especially with MSD it is hard to read the plugs. Best source for parts I've found so far is Malvern Racing. They know their Mikunis. Jon

Not sure. People say you can make power with them. I'm just not one of those people... Jon

Jon vs U-Haul "So, do you issue gay porn trading cards with every rental?" "Uh, what?" "Well, you rented me that truck, and there was a bunch of gay porn in it. Since you had me wait until 9:00 to pick it up, I assume that you put it there." "Uh, I'm really sorry about that sir. Your total mileage costs will be $160." "That's kind of high, don't you think? I only drove the truck 11 miles." "Not according to the records here." "Check it again." ....(USES A CALCULATOR TO SUBTRACT MILEAGE, WTF?!?!) "Oh, you're right, you did only drive 11 miles." "Thank you for taking that off my bill. By the way, the ring and pinion in that truck is about to fall out. You really need to get that fixed. Oh, and it had no windshield wiper on the driver's side, and the seat wasn't bolted down properly..." there's more, but I've forgotten the rest. "Oh, yeah, we know. We never rent THAT truck for long distance moves." Needless to say, it's Ryder for me in the future... Jon

I really like the idea of milling a P90 .040. and running the longer 280Z valves and shimming the cam towers. Early E88 would be good too, but don't get the '73 and '74 E88. That one is a boat anchor at best.

PM must not be working. I did respond to your message, sorry if you didn't get it. Basically said not my head of choice, block should be fine, and if you did a big cam, triples, lightweight flywheel and 2.5" exhaust it would be fun, but then you'd have 2 Z's that don't do stop and go traffic very well. You might want to consider SU's. Pay attention to the combustion chambers when you port the head. ZX tranny has closer ratios, or maybe old roadster tranny - there were 2 different versions so you'll have to check the 1st gear ratio to make sure it is the one you want, I think the closer ratio unit is like 2.8:1 in 1st gear. I doubt you'll find a comp tranny reasonably priced, but that would be an option too. My Z likes the ACT pressure plate. Lower rear gears, man this is turning into quite the list. Then we can talk suspension, brakes, etc, etc..... Jon

Terry is putting it VERY VERY nicely. If you want a tire that doesn't hold the road at all, but has a cool looking tread, buy a set of TA's. Jon

You're welcome!

That's the speedo cable, you're right. The part under the dash is fun. One time right after I replaced my cable the drive end that goes into the side of the tranny popped out just enough to not work. You might want to pull the end off the tranny and see if that happened to you. It just unscrews with a pair of channel locks or vise grips. The end is just cylindrical, but there is a little drive pin thru it that has to hit a slot on the speedo gear to work. You'll see what I mean when you get it open. There are 2 or 3 O-rings in there that seal the speedo drive. You might be able to match up the O-rings at the local parts store, but if not you can get them from Nissan. Check that end of the speedo cable first before replacing the whole cable, you may save yourself a lot of headache. Jon

Drax, I thought MacPherson wasn't good because of the camber change with suspension movement. Upper and lower control arms do a better job of keeping the camber consistent. That is the disadvantage to MacPherson struts AFAIK. Jon

You can unscrew the plastic back of the ignition switch and completely bypass the lock. Once you get the plastic switch off the back, you'll see that you can manually turn the switch with a screwdriver or the end of the key to the acc/on/start positions. I have a friend who drove her Z like that for years. Just tuck it up and out of sight when you get out of the car. A theif will probably recognize what it is and realize that they can very easily start your car. I've unscrewed the pieces before, but I can't honestly remember what all was involved. It wasn't a big deal IIRC. If you have to take the steering lock setup off just grind a slot in the end of the bolts (because they have no heads on them) and turn them out with a screwdriver. You can probably take the tumbler to a locksmith and have them fix it. I had my Toyota ignition tumbler fixed when some of the pins fell out one day. Real bummer. Wife had the truck and was about 8 hours away at a camp for kids with diabetes. My options were go rescue her or pay a $350 tow bill. I went and rescued her. It would be nice if someone else could fill in my fuzzy memory on this one. Jon

Jeromio- I probably led you astray on the camber thing. For the longest time I thought that when the control arms pointed up, the camber got progressively more positive. Apparently, as JohnC and Terry have pointed out to me, this is NOT the case. What does happen, though, is side load on the suspension will compress the suspension when the arms point up, and not when they point down. Sorry!!! Jon

Interesting battery mount. I like the idea of having it down so low and building off of the cell frame. NICE! Jon

I just looked in my Coleman catalog, it appears the only male parts they have are rifle drilled bolts. Probably overkill, but I suppose they would work. Still, LH bolts should not be too hard to find locally or special order locally. I'm sure McMaster Carr would have them, if no place else did, or maybe Fastenall (sp?) if you wanted to order on the internet. Jon

Yeah, for a turbo it would be GREAT. Puts you down in the rpms when you shift gears so that the turbo spools up. For a high strung NA it would probably drop you right out of the narrow powerband. Jon

I thought the gearing sucked on the KA24 tranny. I guess it depends on what you're looking for out of the gearing, but isn't it like 3.5:1 1st gear? Pretty much same ratios as the Nissan T5, right? Not exactly close ratio but maybe not so bad for a street car or a drag racer. Hiten seemed to indicate that he wanted a closer gearset, like a 2.9:1 1st. Or am I putting words in your mouth Hiten? Jon

Does road course and autox count? If so, add: 911T 911 944T 240Z Vette Mustang 510 3000 GT Eclipse GST and GSX RX7 And I have had my @ss handed to me by: VW Bug 510 Eclipse GSX 914-6 911T 944T 240Z Lotus Europa RX7 Jon

Jeromio, I was thinking a rh and a lh bolt in a sqaure tube which will be the transverse link, then a "doubley threaded" tube in the center for the turnbuckle. You'll have to get a bolt on the right and left side of the gap, or get rod ends on the right and left sides, with a female center section. Coleman should have what you need. Jon

I believe the fittings are 10 x 1 mm, and I think the guys were telling you to get metric fittings so that they would attach to your calipers and brake lines, not to get metric hard lines. I've got mine set up with SAE size tubes and metric fittings, so I know it works. Jon