jonzer12

IMO tutone paints jobs can look great, if the ratio is very lopsided, I think you would have too much area different colours and it might not look as good as it could. I would go for the double racing stripes. Try to keep at least 70% of the car a single colour.

http://www.jagsthatrun.com they sell the swap kit and the manual as well as a manual for swaping TBI and TPI chevys. They sell all the "necesary" swap parts like cables, mounts, adapters etc. There are blueprints in the manual if you wish to fab some of the parts yourself. Check their site for a listing of parts. Most of the guys here running chevy motors have gone this route and its my impression they were pleased.

http://www.jagsthatrun.com Go to that site and buy the manual, trust me (and half this site probably) when I tell you that it is not a waste of money. It discusses the differences between the 280z and 260z and the 240z as well as the differences during the swap process. Then you can make the decision for yourself. I do believe that the year of the 260z makes a significant difference as well. For myself, 240/260/280 makes no real difference, I would prefer a 280 most likely due to its heavier construction.

A common swap into 323's (not sure if its been done with AWD) is the kl series swaps. A 200hp klze in a 323 is an awesome sight. There is a company near Toronto that specializes entirely in Mazdas that does ze swaps into quite a few mazda models. They have a 323 klze that has some amazing specs. Just another thing to consider if you happen to find that the motor is shot/too expensive to replace. KL motor's can be had very reasonably.

Um..yes, you need the fluid for a reason, you can definetly notice if you are low or have the wrong fluid.

If all u wanna do is replace the vinyl plus the actual horizontal roof it should be just like normal bodywork with the exception of the drip rails, that seam area will be a pain I would imagine. The vinyl installation you could probably find a book to tell ya how to do it.

Go to a profesional body shop and find out whats involved, If you are replacing everything including the A pillars, etc you will probably need a jig of some sort to make sure everything mearsures up. If you are already handy with MIG/TIG then you should be halfway there. Good luck.

I helped a friend build one, we found that you could get a electric curtain mover for really cheap and adapt the drivetrain. You know if you have a large bay window you can get a track and motor to open and close the curtain? It was about the cheapest thing we could think of/find that had a track, motor and worked well for home wiring. We simply shortened the track and mounted it vertically. Runs off a switch on his wall. The tricky part is to balance everything properly so nothing binds. I made a crude picture in MS Paint We used this design with two rolling tracks to support the projector platform itself, I didn't draw that in the picture. Crude but its been working for 3+ years now. I think the curtain system was from walmart for ~$15. Just a thought.

That would probably be due to poor construction and installation. I am fairly confident I can fab up a simple roll cage simply using the pictures I have collected and copying the design by eye. My basic question is are there some specific concerns to take note of if you are just looking for roll over protection. I want to build as less intrusive roll bar as possible. Some racing associations require side bars etc. I was thinking a simple 4 or 6 point setup.

I can beat that, there is a 30 something guy in my city with a purple pontiac sunfire that has huge rear tires. They must be over 300mm wide easily. Other than that the car is stock except for the huge flares. I originally thought wow, that guy must have converted it to RWD and put a small block in it or something but the hood looked stock. So one day it was parked at the Canadian Tire near my house so I crawled under the rear to take a look. There was no pumpkin!! I can't understand some peoples logic, all that time and money to make a car handle like junk. Who is he kidding?

Hello all, I have an idea for the site that I thought I might bring up, not that I don't love this site mind you. I visit a forum for working on my 94 mx-6 where they have a nice area of the forum where people post "How to Guides". These are usually very well done threads where knowledgable people post guides on how to do various things to their cars. Everything ranging from changing an alternator to removing body panels, anything. They are simple, good instructions for common tasks that help aleviate reoccuring threads and help out people new to their cars. I have used them on several occasion and they were a great help. This is an oportunity to tell someone how you got to that hard to reach bolt, or a neat tool or invention you fabbed up to help with some task. I thought that since people here have done so much we could try it. Here are some examples, it seems like some links for the pics are broken but use your imagination! http://www.mx6.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32713 http://www.mx6.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=70532 http://www.mx6.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29805 What do you guys think, I have no knowledge to share but I have a digital camera and would take to time to post a guide if I could. [/url]

Well I started a big thread about my Z fund and my woman, it seemed to spark quite a bit of interest! I still don't have a Z car yet, I have come close to buying a few but it makes more sense to find one in the spring since it will just take up room all winter. Also I can't weld but am currently taking a basic welding/machining class in the evenings so I won't have much time this winter anyways. The only real thing I have got accomplished is bought and read just about every book I will need. The engine choice is being narrowed down. If you ever watch dream car garage you will notice that "Active Engines" builds all their engines for the show. I have been in contact with them and I think I found a respectable Canadian company to build my motor. I also have a r200 I pulled from a wreck which I am cleaning up and money permitting I will have fitted with a quafie (crazy expensive!!) so I can swap it in as soon as I get the car. My woman has agreed to buy me a brake setup for christmas so I will good to go in that area as well. Not having the car is KILLING me!! What about you, I remember seeing a bunch of pictures but now it seems you want another Z?

I have a quick roll-cage question. Assuming that they don't have to meet some racing association's specs and you just want some roll-over protection can't you just buy some piping and fab one up? I am planning on putting one in my street-use-only car and was planning on just making it myself. Is some special considerations to take note of or something?

Don't forget the burnt elboes from those belts. You would think the headers/ex manifold would burn up that nice carpet!

I asked a smilar question a while ago, the credit for the following goes to Pathogen "Importing a vehicle from the states is not to difficult. You need to get in contact with whatever border crossing you are going to be exporting the vehicle from and fax them the bill of sale and title 3 business days prior to US exportation. You bring the vehicle to the border the US customs inspects the VIN and matches it to the title and stamps your title as exported. You then drive into Canada, where you will be pulled over the pay GST of purchase price. Since the vehicle is over 15 years old it is exempt from federal inspection. The Canada customs office will give you the Vehicle form 1 and you present that to your provincal (which is probablly different then BC) In BC I am required to pass the provincial mechianical and safety inspection and need to have title and bill of sale and the vehicle form 1 in order to get BC title and registration. At the time of provincal inspection you have to pay PST. Hope this helps you out." I have a friend who works customs for the Ambasator in Windsor, she agreed with this info.

I know very little about FI but after watching a few (4) people build turbo setups on stock engines using the "I'll only run xx psi" motto I would advise against it. I can't speak from experience but it would seem boost is an addictive thing, sooner or later you will want more, its probably easier to build it right the first time.... since you are into racing the chances of you turning up the boost are pretty good!

I have seen a few b-series with swaps although mostly with turbo swaps, check out some mazda sights, I remember a few posts about some b-series on mx6.com, longshot but you might find what u are looking for.http://www.mx6.com

I can't really answer your question but when I asked some forced induction questions to a friend of mine he told to buy "Maximum Boost", I believe its author is Corky Bell? (I can't remember). Its a great book, I would highly recommend it if you want to truly understand what FI entails. I would do my homework before you spend a penny.

I should classify that I haven't been hiding this money from her, just that until now she hasn't really examined my finances, we kept our finiancial lives separate. I have just completed university and began a career. I put myself through school by working full time at the cost of a limited social life and some good grades here and there. During that time I gave up or lost every hobby I had and now the thing that really interests me is building a hybridz. I feel that I am "due" in a sense. I do realize that once married financial decisions are a mutual that is why I want to blow the bank before the wedding . Is this selfish, I don't know, to her it seems so, to me its seems nessesity. Not because I really want it RIGHT now, just because I fear that if I don't get it now I will end up buying a house, then having kids and then I will be retired before I get a chance of building the car. Then of coarse, how could I get away with buying tools if I don't have a project car that needs them? I have decided to come clean about exactly how much money I have put away and about how much I plan to spend between now and the end of next year on the Z car. I am hoping she will understand that this is my window to get a lifelong hobby started. I think once the dust settles she will understand. Besides she will probably make more than me anyways, who cares what I spend!!

Thanks for all the great advice, I have realized that I MUST buy the car before the wedding so that once it is there there is no getting rid of it, I figure if its been there since day 1 she might eventually be accustomed the time/money I spend on it. Maichor your approach seems to make sense, she probably won't notice the $2000 wheels while she is admiring her new $300 arm chair. Expensive, but honest and probably the best route. My plans for having a running hybridZ car for the wedding are fast fading however! I was planning on leaving two black patches and a bunch of fumes on the church parking lot exit! I knew it wouldn't happen anyways! Thanks again for solid advice from hybridz.org

Well to date I have been making an effort to try and put away 500-800 a month for the Z project slated to begin in the late spring. I have been quietly squirling the money away and picking up a few parts here and there as well as learning all that I can. I am getting married at the end of next year and have been sitting down with my lady to discuss finances, honeymoon, longterm stuff etc. I am not making a huge amount of money right now, and she is in her last year of university so money is tight and I really should not be taking on a project of this expense but I know that if I don't get it started before I get married than it will be a huge fight afterwards. The thing is that she knows my current expenses and is beginng to realize that there is a large sum of money unaccounted for. She knows about the Z obsession but I don't think she realized just how much I am planning on spending on the whole thing. We have begun arguing over the exspense and practicality of the whole thing. (She has no expensive hobbies and is really frugil). My basic question in this thread is how do you guys hide/justify the expense of your cars. I already have a pretty nice daily driver and she can't see the need for dropping 15-20k (over time) into a car to use on the weekends. Do you guys pay cash and hide your bills, or do you guys try and make your wives/ others understand the dream that is your project car? I know this is not a technical post and may be off topic for the site but I am faced with a woman who wants to blow my car fund on a dream wedding or furniture (practical yes, fun no!) any advice is appreciated. Oh yeah, one more thing, it is not that she wants to spend "my" money, its that having no real passions of her own she saves 100% of her money for "our plans" and obviously in her female logic expects me to do the same. I don't want anyone to flame her or anything, I understand how she feels.

IMO if you are going to the troublel of building the car, then build it the way you want it. If you want a manual then find yourself a T5 and use that. You should be able to find a T-5 with out much trouble. Same amount of work as converting from manual to auto probably.

for 150, buy it, you could easily get your money back if you don't want to keep it.

If it is a huge problem you could just sand down to the grey primer

This could be a good opportunity. If its rust free, and the engine is in decent condition it would not take much in the way of special tools/expertise to strip the interior and fix up the body. If you have the time and space, go for it.