JMortensen

You mean the right way. Nicely done.

I climbed all over mine when it was on the rotisserie, just be careful, it is possible to tip it. Most surreal part of working on mine was with car upside down sitting on the top of the windshield opening with my legs hanging out the front and welding rust on the cowl/firewall junction with my head right about where the pedals would be.

Shim stock that is .004" is super easy to cut. I made shims for my LSD and cut them with scissors. You might consider buying a piece of shim stock and cutting a shim out if the alternative is paying a machinist to turn a new spacer on a lathe. Once it's in there the shim is not going to move, and when you're torquing the nut you can prevent the stub axle from spinning, so you won't screw up the shim while tightening. Looks like $11.30 from mcmaster.com: https://www.mcmaster.com/9011K815

Check the seal. If you don't drive it all the way in the lip on the seal hits the axle. Other than that shouldn't be much to it. If you had to make a new spacer the thing to do would be to test fit without the seal until you get the right endplay (almost none, but there is a spec for it) then install the seal and torque the shit out of it. Also there is a bit about torquing until you get the right amount of drag, but they're ball bearings, so the drag really shouldn't change with the torque. I always red loctite and then put the impact on 5 and give it lots of ugga duggas and have never had any trouble. I think the FSM is just wrong on that torque to drag thing. Doesn't make any sense.

Duh. I had never thought about it, but the countershaft is under the mainshaft, so yeah, turning it sideways or flipping it is the answer. I remember the Porsche guys flipping transmissions for 914 swaps I want to say, but it was 25 years ago and I don't remember what all was needed. Sounds like a shift linkage nightmare on a T56, but your T10 and Jericos have external shifters, seems like it would be a lot easier to do on one of those.

I was thinking about the trans being the low part, as I had issues with that too (trying to keep it from hanging below the frame rails. My though was whether it might be possible to raise the tail of the transmission and then lower the front of the diff to keep the angles parallel. Haven't looked at it, but was just thinking about this the other day, probably after looking at this thread. Without some way to get clearance for the trans, I'm not sure how much lower you can take the engine.

Double checked the compression bit, would be 10.4 with 706 heads (unshaved) and 9.9 with 799 heads. It's enough of a difference that you can see it in Holdener's videos.

Are you going to dry sump it, or band aid the stock oiling system like I did? I'm running a Holley oil pan with Improved Racing baffles and IR thermostat remote oil cooler adapter to a cooler and 3 qt Accusump. Dry sump is the better way. BTW it's been a while since I looked into it but one thing that I was interested in but didn't end up doing was to make a baffle that bolted onto the main caps and directed the oil back to the pan. Basically just need a wall that doesn't allow oil draining back to flow directly onto the crank. Also if you plan on changing the oil pump, watch some youtube videos on how to do it right. You can't just slap it on there. I think I did the barely snug the bolts and then spin the motor a couple times method, but you can also check clearances with feeler gauges IIRC. You'll laugh at how easy the cam swap is. If you're working the heads over, might try to find some 706 truck heads. They're readily available and the L33 has the larger chamber 799 head which lowers compression. The truck head is actually the better choice for a 5.3, think it puts compression at mid 10s, where the 799 is 9.9 IIRC, but double check my numbers. Richard Holdener's youtube channel has a bunch on comparing heads, if you're interested. You can buy them CNC ported pretty cheaply too. Just amazing how cheap stuff is for a GM V8, and how big the gains are, especially in the trucks with their tiny cams. Good cam will get you 100 hp easy. Might look into the LS7 style lifter upgrade and a rocker arm upgrade too. I will eventually get to those on mine. The thought of losing all the needle bearings on the stock rockers has me a bit concerned. I think one of the main issues with road racing these engines is that they pump too much oil to the head. I ended up putting restrictor pushrods in to slow down the flow of oil to the top of the engine, and I think that was a good call, might look into that.

Never done a flow test, but thought I'd chime in to say that my square port header, purchased from Arizona Z Car in the 90s but same header, had the tubes formed to meet the port shape incredibly poorly, and the inside of the primary was pinched down enough that I actually felt the need to port the header a bit on a couple cylinders to try and open them up before installing it. I'm sure a round port header wouldn't have that problem. I was still pretty green back then, I think today I'd probably beat the tubes or maybe use two prybars in the primaries to spread the tubing back open again and then grind and weld if necessary. I just remember being very unhappy with it.

Mark sent a picture. Looks like they were using a borescope. Said it happened a different time and sheared all of the teeth off, sounds more like Ben's failure.

This looks amazingly similar to Mark Haag's drive gear failure, which he noticed at idle IIRC, so he also didn't destroy his engine. Messaged him to see if he still has the pic or wants to jump in on the thread.

I wish I had the creativity to make 3d parts. My only experience was when Austin Hoke 3d printed a caliper bracket and sent it to me, then I was able to bolt it on and make sure it fit. Was great for that.

Z's taking flight is not something I worry about, but also the last time my Z was on a road course was 2002 and it probably topped out at 120ish with the triples and the L28. Many people more worth of the title "racer" than me. Unfortunately I spent way too much time building and way too little time driving, and it's been all autox for the last 20 years. Hopefully I'll fix the shop/driving ratio in the next couple years.

Sealing everything up tight would be the goal, but in practice I don't think you're going to see a whole hell of a lot of difference one way or the other. I'd put a piece of sheet across the opening and fasten to the fender or bucket, and then cut the hole in the middle for the scoop. Sometimes I do these "simple" things and then hours into it I realize that it was a waste of time, then I have to do the sunk cost fallacy appraisal and decide to finish or cut my losses. Your mileage probably won't vary too much. ;)

I was talking to a friend with a GTI and he was telling me that he was doing 145 at the end of the straight at the Ridge. When they first opened they were saying a stock C6 Vette could do 150. Are you just topped out in 4th waiting for the braking zone? Pacific Raceway is dangerous, eats a lot of cars, so I wanted to go to Ridge but I figured I'd be doing 170 at the end of the straight and was honestly a bit scared of it for that reason. Figured I needed a wing before I tried it. Thoughts?

What rear gear ratio are you running? After reading Jerico I've been thinking about that. Maybe you have OD 4th, I know they make them, but with 1:1 and 3.54s I worked out a top speed of about 133 mph with a guessed tire height of 25.5

Unsurprisingly, I like the direction the front end is going in with the fenderwell removal, and the L33 idea as well. Button clutch is neat, most people say the T56 shifts pretty slow but mine changes gears fast and I attribute it to the low flexplate/clutch weight. If you don't have a winch to get it into your trailer, will need one if you go button. You can burn them up real quick trying to slip the clutch.

Yeah, I think it fit because you used different parts that fit better, so you're good to go. FWIW, I always had doubts about the weld on adapters, but to date I don't think I've ever heard of anyone breaking them. Seems the axle is still the weak link. The Modern Motorsports adapters (which I used to sell also) were radiused and just way beefier all the way around. I wish I had a profile shot of the two.

You said you followed the info in the other thread exactly. The CV adapters in that thread are much thinner and I'm guessing all of the grinding the end of the axle stuff was unnecessary. The old Modern Motorsports CV adapters don't fit, which is why I made shorter axles for a while. Usually if it's too short you won't be able to put the CVs in easily. The old anecdotes were usually things like "I had to disconnect the strut at the top, install the CV, then force the strut back into place."

So glad to hear it. Cheers!

I'd love to see Richard Holdener get a hold of a Datsunworks head. Easy for me to say, but I'm gonna say it anyway, because I've been following him for years now and he knows his shit and has a huge audience.

All I can say about ZX fronts is that the rotors are tiny. Under 10" diameter. They are vented though, and that's probably enough of an advantage to make it a good idea. Friend ran the full ZX brakes on his 510 and it worked great, even the rears that I had pad disintegration issues with. Lighter car though.

Definitely weld the bar to the chassis. A buddy of mine ripped the A pillar off of his car at an autox in the 90s. A fabricator friend fixed the A pillar and added a 4 point, then welded one single probably 3" x 6" plate from the bar to the roof right in the middle where the map light is. He said it made a huge difference, and all of the interior panels stopped squeaking when he went in and out of driveways, etc. People do this all the time now with shear panels that usually have dimple die holes on the A pillar of cages, but you can do it anywhere the cage and chassis get close. I have smaller panels on the roof, the door bars to the sills, the main hoop to the inner wall just inside the doors, and around the A pillar. I don't have pics of the top, but here is one of the hoop to inside of the door. FWIW, after I did this I learned about shear panels, and they really should be longer for better strength. Also doesn't have to be 1/8" thick. Thin metal does fine for this. .0625" is fine, .040 or .050 probably sufficient. Do some googling on roll cage shear panels and I'm sure you'll find more detailed info.

Interesting. I have 12.19 x 81 rotors front and rear, Superlite calipers front, Dynalites rear. I've only autocrossed this car, and not as much as I would like what with covid and some health issues that are now behind me. Car probably has 150 autocross runs on it. The local autox venue is on a circle track, so at the end of the run you do the length of the front straight, probably putting my car at ~100ish mph. I'm running Hawk Black pads based on John Coffey's recommendation (they work, but MAN, they are DUSTY AF). Rotors are blue at the outer edges and pads are probably worn 1/3 of the way through. I have no venting, because autox. Thinking you could adjust your venting to make the pads you want to use work. I can say with absolute certainty that having too much thermal capacity is a whole hell of a lot better than not enough. When I had the L6 and was doing track days on stock front rotors with stock calipers and Toyota calipers, I got to the point where I no longer got adrenaline rushes when the fluid boiled and the pedal went to the floor. I got used to it. That's not good. I also pushed the piston through the pad backing plate when the pad material gave up and exited, and had rear 280ZX pads overheated to the point where the pad was breaking up and coming off in chunks. I agree that your average street Z with 12" brake kit is overkill, and I could probably get by on my car right now with stock brakes while autocrossing. The main point, as you said, is that the TIRES allow you to put heat into the brakes. It's not the V8 or the turbo that requires bigger brakes. The stickier the tires, the more brakes you need, and obviously the longer the courses or the sessions, the more brakes you need as well. I did all my braking carnage on the L6. I'm still a bit intimidated to take this thing to the big tracks in the area, as one of them is famous for eating cars (just dangerous) and the other had a friend's GTI on street tires doing 145 at the end of the front straight. I'd be going a lot faster. 170? More? That's high stakes stuff...

Wow. Those cantilevers are giving up some weight. Must be the sidewalls. I guess they're 19 or 20 lbs. The FA rears are 13.75 x 24.5 x 15, only weigh 23 lbs, and they're 100mm wider and 1.5" larger diameter. The FA fronts are 9.4 tread width and 17 lbs. Wheels are a lot heavier though. The steel wheels I'm running are 24 lbs IIRC, so 47 for each corner. Could probably get that down 10 lbs if I spent a whole bunch of money on wheels. I kinda like the steelies though. Shows how low dollar the build is, like the stained plywood splitter...