AydinZ71

@jhm Yep yep! Mine is the long nose R200 (z31). Adapting the Short-nose into an S30 is a more more involved exercise. I tend to agree with the he opinions of some that the short nose needs a “cradle” to “bolt into” an S30, unless you welded in custom reinforced mounting. Assuming you are putting in the short-nose for the strength and LSD (to run high torque), the torque can do some weird things. ... and now I’m just rambling because I have no one else to talk Z tech with locally 😂😂

At the risk of not reading the entire thread, I can let you know what I ended up doing. I pulled a 3.7:1 from an 85 NA from a. Pick a part. I used a 280z driveshaft and diff front yoke, plus a 280z mustache bar and rear LCA crossmember. 280z axle shafts. Everything bolted right in. You would need an impact wrench for the front yoke swap. This was 20 years ago when 280z’s were still plentiful in pick-a-parts. This diff is still in my turbo Z. Waiting for the race car to finish and il be swapping it out for Wlad’s kit already in hand.

@Ben280 We are the family that hasn’t figured out whether to stab the environment in the heart, or save it. 😂 a hybrid, a fuel cell car, the turbo Z that spits puffs of sweet black hydrocarbon, and my neighbors Tesla. Alas, no room for a trailer The race car is in my 1926 1.5 car garage...ahem... “root cellar” to the left. I live in the la crescenta area. North of LA, but south of Willow. I’m about a click from JPL and Adam Corolla. Wish he would let me see his garage, but I hear he is a dick.

Gosh I feel so lucky. I’m 1.2 hours from Willow Springs. If I can ever get this thing out of the garage... gotta budget for the SCCA novice license course too. At least I save $500 for bringing my own car Car is registered and EP still looks pretty stock so I’m thinking of driving there. I plan on running a straight muffler + resonator until I do anything competitive in the meantime. Save my nerves while tuning.

@calZ I think it can be very regional. Here in Southern California, you can get a running L28 with an N42 for around $800-$1,200. Not always available however, so the right buyer may pay more if you are patient.

Hey il give that a shot! Never tried it. I don't mind the ugly welds on thin metal to be honest. I just grind it down later, and none of the work I'm currently doing is on the outside body. @Invincibleextremes also gave me a pointer not to grind the weld seam down entirely if its not intended to be an aesthetic piece. After some practice, I agree. Once I grind the weld seem so its its even (no more hills and valleys), I now leave 0.5-1mm of "proud" metal. I have noticed it adds additional rigidity to super thin sheet, and keeps you from having that " steel drum" or "tin can" sound. Its like a mini rib.

better tech, naturally I know modern cars have integrated knock sensors that automatically retard timing and such. Still impressive for pump gas.

Wow, 10.7:1 How did you pull it off? Large valve overlap (low dynamic CR)? E85? I couldn’t run an L6 with a static CR that high on pump gas unless it was a cold day and had a ton of valve overlap.

Looking good!! My door was dissected like your by the perilous owner. I need to add reinforcement as well. Did you ruin the outside finish of the door, or were you able to weld the rods in a spot that kept the paint cool? On the sheet metal welding, I dunno man. I’m convinced you can’t make a weld on 20-gauge or thinner metal look good on a first pass with a MiG. It doesn’t seem possible. You also have to wait several minutes to let the sheet cool between stitches, so you don’t warp it all to hell. When the metal cools off, your first several snaps are going to be loud again. On a MiG, You are either burning through at high heat and get a flat puddle, or you are on low heat and making a Pearl necklace. 18-gauge plus, no problem! You can make a MiG weld look almost as good as a tig with thicker sheet metal and the right settings. Here is my hand at 20 gauge. The blobs are burn-through I repairs. No warping, and I managed to get a curved contour from flat sheet. You going with 2 component epoxy sealer for the primer?

Thanks Clark! Very helpful!! Looking into columns now little update: passenger side cowl area is done. Moved over to the drivers side. Vids attached. IMG_6111.MOV IMG_6112.MOV IMG_6114.MOV

Pretty awesome! Can't wait to take mine for a spin! What are the details on the event? Location, class, competitive or practice? Also, the G-force monitor is inverted in the accel-deccel plane.

Send Fritz an e-mail. I believe he is on this forum as well. Here is the product: https://datsunrestomods.com/products/coming-soon-electric-power-steering-kit I think he planned or has a conversion for S30. I don't need/use power steering but in general I like the quality of my CV shafts that I got from Fritz. Silvermine...I am on the fence. I give fabricators and those who design/make their own parts at the top of my list.

I work with a few engineers at Toyota’s technical center. I could ask them the next time I speak with them. I’m sure a general discussion wouldn’t be proprietary. We work on H2 vehicle fueling facilities and protocols. Do you plan on doing the final machining with a CNC or by hand? Manual for the prototype? You can tell what’s happening to the metal based on the resistance at the cutting surface. Always helped me with my proto designs. It’s been 10 years though...

Adding back new sheet metal to the cowl are firewall areas. 18 gauge for the firewall and 20 for the rest. Also got my tilton pedal assembly and MC’s. Many thanks to Greg Ira for all the pointers.

Aaaah! Interesting! Did a little research. T6 is the same harness I’m used to working with on 6061 billet parts. I bet the shrinking is much harder to deal with on AL than on Steel.

Agreed. It’s also not great engineering. Metal-on-metal seals work best with a soft metal combined with a hard metal. Soft-to-soft is next best but sometimes can stick/Gaul. Hard to hard mating (SS-SS) is poor design which often leaks and the threads/friction surfaces Gaul easily. Hard-hard mating surfaces are ideal for precision machined and (ideally honed) sealing surfaces that experience extreme temps or service with aggressive chemicals. They are expensive to make work.

Really phenomenal work Derek! Hoping someone I know near me can afford a unit so I can take a closer look. We are all appreciative of folks like you pushing the design envelope on our L-series motors. I find the metallurgy fascinating, as my knowledge on cast and machined AL is quite limited. Is there a specific alloy of AL you are using it is it proprietary?

@clarkspeed I have one of Wlad’s kits for my turbo Z (V.7 I think?). I can weigh the parts with my fish scale if Wlad has not weighed them yet. I got the 17’ GT auto trans diff which is an all AL body and Fords standard “Torsen” helical. Weighed-in at 70lbs. nearly identical to the weight measured with the same scale for the R200 open unit. Both dry, no stub shafts.

Score dude! These are getting rare and people are asking for a premium.

Now that is a fantastic story! I still own one of those cheesy plastic grater thingie a they sold on infomercials. It worked like, twice before the handle broke off the veggie holder. Of course you have to push down hard, the plastic flexed 😂

Very true. One of the few suppliers I would struggle to ever find a replacement for. It is as if their website was designed by a librarian. Everything is so well catalogued and comprehensive. I have used their website to reverse-engineer components simply because they log the major dimensions of their materials so well.

Thanks Clark! The length just helps since that is one of the few variables they are sold in. I could measure myself, and then il have to factor in the adjustability. I really appreciate Greg’s experience! It’s refreshing that he has a “tried it, wasn’t worth it” approach to A/M parts. I know if I ask him a question, the answer will be based on his actual first-hand track experience. Can’t top that. Have you looked into the Honda K-series motors at all? I have seen quite a few people migrating from the L to an RB, JZ, or LS for racing applications. I have seen a few SR’s but I believe the Honda k’s are lighter and post impressive numbers for an NA.

@JMortensen OK, I know the point of your post was not the infomercial guy, but I found that super entertaining. Thanks for sharing! I remember watching those as a kid. Must have been a tough job dealing with those chargebacks. I lived in Jamaica for a year, working on an energy import project (LNG). I made a lot of local friends, and the “scammers” as they were referred to, were legends. Like gangs, really. They fought over turf and power, too. Turned out Jamaica (after India) was one of the largest exporters of internet and phone scams in the world.

yeah good point on the vibration. I’m overthinking it of course, but that’s half the fun for me 😂 I am also getting some wrinkling on OEM 20-22 gauge steel from the heat of adding reinforcement and rebuilding rusted surfaces. Not too worried about it since none of them are outward facing (I’m much more careful on body panels). Your sweet steering column, what length did you settle on? I’m looking into that now. Greg runs OEM, but he is already down to the weight limit so not much incentive to change. He just bought someone else’s project for vintage racing. Another 240z.

Looking goood!! Glad they did not disappoint 😀😀