randy 77zt

my boat is for sale.got 2 guys that want it -hopefully a deal will go down.z sits in driveway gathering dust.i have made in 9 months what i made all last year.thanks to the flat rate pay system i have money but my body hurts bad.while the guy that owns the car dealership that i work for plays lots of golf at his new $3m house .rumor has it that its paid for.any suggestions?hoping to move to a state that is z friendly.will get another boat when my accountant tells me i need a tax writeoff.thinking of selling my house in ca(its paid for) and buying some commercial real estate out of ca.will be keeping a low profile for awhile.i will miss my 100+ mph 18' boat though.speed with no tickits.is rural arizona smog friendly?

since i work on cars for a living i find most of the mags boring.all fluff and no go.best mag i like is grassroots motorsports .dedicated to hard core autoxers and track time fans.all wheels advertised in that mag mention weight-not bling.sport compact is a distant second.

i read an article in the editorial section of local newspaper written by jesse ventura about why the 2 party system should be abolished.basically stated that the reps and demos are too busy getting thier parties ahead to worry about what is right or wrong.so we are reduced to voting for what we believe are the least of 2 evils.i am bailing out of ca.when 1/2 of radio stations are in spanish and local billboards are in spanish if i wanted to see this crap i would move to baja.since the price of housing is getting expensive i am starting to see too many people living in a single house in my neighborhood.time to sell!

awhile back i rented a ryder with a 24' box and a lift gate to help my girl friend move.she has 2 kids= lots of stuff.got it in 1 run.the truck had auto trans and a turbo diesel.good fuel milage and power once it spooled up.just put the car in the truck and all your stuff and pad lock it.the diesel is a lot cheaper on fuel.avoid u-haul.i have had to repair thier trucks on the road.

if dale earnhardt was still around to give him some hot tips i wouldnt want to be on the track with him.i think colin should check out a ride in a off road baja truck.toyota would sponser him

great-send your kid to school looking like a pimp.i used to live in hayward.glad i moved.

ii bought a new 2002 fz1 last winter.think of it as an old mans r1.put a ivan's jet kit on it and a D&D slip on.also put on a kit to remove air injection smog junk.bike dynoed at 130 hp at the wheel with only 500 miles on it.its a little looser now.put a taller smoked windscreen on ,a black vinyl tank protector on back half of tank and factory yamaha frame sliders.reset the suspension settings.bike drives great.the 600 sport bike riders always give me the eye but i dont race people.i have been hurt on a bike before.its a full time job just watching out for people that dont see bikes.

you have to pull the steering column and the complete dash.then remove heater box from inside fire wall.ford dealership gets about 8 hours for this.the ac system has to be reclaimed and recharged.are you sure you dont want to loop the heater hoses?

i go down to san felipe dirt bike riding sometimes.will have to come by there and meet you.thinking about bailing out of california myself.if i sell my house i could buy an rv park down there.

if car is used for a work car i would run a turbo 6-good gas milage.if it is a weekend car only i would run v8.

not in a z but some food for thought.i work as a ford dealer tech.i work in front end and brakes-but everything is computorized anymore.i am the guy that gets stuck with other tech's comebacks or problems not solved.so we have this guy with a 2003 cobra that is not our favorite customer.buys a new car and then has some shop in los angeles modify it.any way after 8000+ miles the abs warning light comes on.first tech diagnoses it as faulty rear wheel speed sensors.second tech installs them because 1st tech is off.abs light still on.so i get the car.pull out the service manual and do official ford test.evrything checks out ok as far as harness resistance,voltages,etc.so i order a ecm for abs .install it .same thing over again.with the ford scanner plugged into the obd 2 port under the dash i watch the wheel speeds.in lr sensor when i rev the motor up i get different mph readings that follow the throttle.after 2 hours of screwing around(i am worried about time back flags-we get screwed on warrenty work)i give up and get a different job.thinking about it later-what makes ac in a car.an alternator.the next day i take the wires off of alternator and take car for a drive-no abs problem.there is nothing in ford manual about checking the alternator.for you members installing a efi system in a z consider making sure it gets clean dc current.cheeck the alternator output with a scope to see any ac wave form.the next hard part is getting paid for my time.

the intake manifold alone was 90 lbs.i am open to alot of engines i a z but from past wrenching experience this is something i would skip.

zf truck trans is huge .used behind diesel and old 460 efi.not car friendly.the trans used behind 4.9 liter six f150 was a mazda unit.still not car friendly-poor gear ratios.5 speed behind 90's tbird sc was a mazda.most a low 1st to go with a tall rear gear(2.80 on tbird)this turns into granny gear with a 3.54..best trans is a wc t5 -but this was used on most mustangs.most mustangs had a 3.36 1st.wc is a 2.94-close to a late 280 zx na trans .which is what i run behind my 81zxt engine.we did a 3.55 gear swap in a tbird sc 5 speed at work-1st gear was good for getting car rolling -you had to get 2nd fast.

california-an expensive place to live but where there is money there is more to share.since i work at a ford dealer as a tech i always wanted to be on a race team when i was younger.but now the thought of 3am breakfast at dennys and working weekends doesnt sound too good.these kind of jobs depend on a reputation-you will have to starve for a few years.try nascar-houses in the south are cheap.since i work on cars for a living it really kills having cars as a hobby.i am thinking of seeling out and buying a rv park in baja.southern ca has a lot of not so common type of racing going on that costs lot of money-off road racing ,boat racing,sand rails.the shops that fabricate and maintain the play toys make big money.but you will have to pay $1500 a month for a crappy place to live.

i have a scotty dp hooked to 3" pipe with a magnaflow straight through no baffle type muffler.sounds good .i tore up the magnaflow at thill off of turn 5.now i am trying open 3" .the back is 2 90degree 3" mandrel bends.

since i am a ford dealer tech i have worked on them.i wont tell anybody on this site not to try a something-creativity is what hybrid z is about.engine has weak head gaskits-change them.engine was made by ford and is still in use in windstar,mustang,4.2 liter truck.engine makes lots of torque but doesnt wind up smoothly.trans was built by mazda and has wierd gear spacing to run 2.80 rear gears.but you can use a t5 from mustang.a buddy tried to run a tbird sc at sears point but it overheated -radiator was down sized to put intercooler next to it.smaller pulleys are made to drive the blower faster.if you do the swap get a book called evtm from the dealer-its the wire harness book and is very good.

one of the parts guys at work went to get a jdm spec rb20 for his 240sx last friday .he calls me from the motor shop and says they have a mazda cosmo 20bt front clip.so i get lucky and get off work early and go check it out with trailer in tow.this is a 1 hour drive each way.i get there and find out it is a 2nd gen rx7 clip.v bummer-i thought i was going to score.the shop said they wanted $1500 for the clip-if this was a 3 rotor it would have been a steal.

no problems with my 81 crank fire.used differnent year 81to 83 ecu's and always worked.i am thinking of using the crank fire to run a haltech system-its there and working allready.

the oem turbo runs out of air flow.my car cuts out about 6300.but new turbo i put on it likes to rev.now i need aftermarkit efi.

a efi tank has a baffle around the fuel pick up to help prevent fuel starvation in turns.my 77 will start missing at 1/4 while on track.the efi tanks a 11 mm out put line and a 8mm return line.with the 11 mm output you could feed a lot of horsepower with the correct pump.

a 5.o ho mark 7 can be spotted for sure by the orange 19lb injectors.the lincolns arent picked over in the pick&pulls like mustang parts.plus lincolns usually are driven easy and serviced more often.the aod trans has parts out for it -good for drag racing/street car .a standard 5.0 will have grey 14 lb injectors.these were used in mark 7 and town cars.85 up blocks will have 1 piece rear main seal and bolt holes in lifter valley for roller lifter hold down plate.usually a 5.o mark 7 ho came in a mark 7 lsc.see car craft july 2003 issue-400 hp with a stock junkyard bottem end .

back in my younger days i could pick up a bare 302 block and carry it.i never could lift a l28 block.plan is for a solid roller lifter ,aluminum head 302 built for 7000 rpm.the hydraulic roller lifters are heavy.so you need big valve springs.not good-you are losing power opening the valves up.

i know this has been kicked around but i want some answers.my 77 z is used as a daily driver but also gets used for open track and driver schools at thunderhill,sears point,laguna seca.i have spent years swapping parts to get the car to handle good enough to run against trailered race cars.engine is a 81 zxt.the 302 is simple and cheap-i work as a tech at a ford dealer.i want more power,better weight balance,less parts under the hood.i would bet that a 302 long block is lighter than a turbo l28 with same parts mounted.302 would have aluminum heads.main problem is keeping the car handling the same or improving it.no weight can be added to the front.car is 1350 lbs front 1270 rear.

hook up the timing chain and do compression test before putting it back together.that way if motor is toast you did lose as much time/money.

the lightning motor was a limited production ford f150 made in 95 or so.ford svt built it.it has a lot of good stuff on it that cost bucks in the ford performance catalog.$1000 is cheap if it is all complete /running package.