RebekahsZ

dpuma8 Please send us a photo from the under-side. All may not be lost. If the repair job is going to exceed budget and turn the whole car to scrap, this may be salvageable if this is just gonna be a fun car for you. The thing is at least slotted, which gives you some slop for adjustment. My alignment guy totally screwed up my caster first time out-I couldn't tell a thing was wrong when I drove it. So long as the desired camber is achieved, and if the area is strong (which can be achieved with some re-welding and perhaps some form of reinforcement like over-plating the junctions, who cares what it looks like? These chassis aren't totally square to start with. Chin up.

Ok, thanks, looked at photo in link. So SunnyZ, your opinion is that the PCV system pulls too much vacuum and sucks oil into the intake? So it is best to just vent it to atmosphere and cap the PCV port. Have I got that right?

You can just weld a piece of tubing into the defect and it will pretty well replace the strength that is lost. Maybe use a scab patch to give more meat to weld to, then cut your hole and weld a short piece of tubing in. You do have to think about heat burning up any component that the exhaust passed by either in the hot tubing or directly from the exhaust. As Stoney's photo shows, the brake master is in a bad place (note his heat shield and fiberglass wrap). I think SCCA wants the exhaust to exit behind the driver, but NHRA doesn't seem to care. Many states dont have safety or smog check so you shpuld be fine there. I had fender exit exhaust straight pipe for a year and with a clean air-fuel ratio, the feims were WAY better than they ever were when I had filthy poorly tuned SUs and an exit in the stock location. But, for cockpit sound control you got to get the exit out from under the car. The sound trapped between the ground and your floor pans will make you crazy. Just have it kick out the side and it isn't too bad. What are you thinking muffler-wise? You will be serious cop bait for noise (double standard for Harleys). I always watched for cops and coasted by them in neutral. Also, freaks out the little chicks working a drivethru window!

Nope, stock, weak ass headlamps that are about as bright as a firefly in a fog. Thanks for the advice, will get it bench tested as well as the battery.

I love this site. Every post helpful. Just picked up rebuilt starter and will wrap head pipe on that side with lots of header wrap. Starter is already wrapped but only thinly so. Played with headlights on drive home tonight. Amp meter is centered with lights off. Turn on headlights and meter goes negative (to left) by 1/4 inch and stays there at any rpm.

Have done all the above. Tires fit into fender at full bump. Lots of work to preserve the stock fender. Abandoning that soon. Too much damn work everytime I change shoes.

Look at Dans Toy in the cars for sale. That car is super well done. you could swap a manual trans into it easily.

Just read your last post. I will be buying one of these eventually but have a few purchased parts to get installed first. Perhaps I will be ready in the spring.

Pics for the little people?

Not out of the question, sir! I think they need to try my spare 3.90 with their T350 first.

Yeah, and I think he's gonna go thru another pretty quick. I was standing behind the water box (yes, I do get out of the belts and watch from time to time), and I watched him spin one wheel till it got hot, them it would hook up and then the other wheel would skin until it hooked up. I guess my CLSD isn't so bad after all.

So it is kind of a stupid worthless gauge with no practical use whatsoever?

So if it is on the - side, does that indicate a weak alternator? My alternator is a recent rebuild on an alternator of unknown age. My starter is a factory unit with 20,000 miles and 7 years.

Half track was when the axle broke. The photo is bad-the teeth on the spiders aren't worn-about 1/4 of them are sheared off.

Sure you can! How about you shoot a picture of the panel you want to put a hole in and use a grease pencil to show where you want to put the hole? Then we could discuss this intelligently. Guys have been c-notching frames and chassis components for years. You just gotta be smart about it. Either, put the hole in the middle of a non-structural panel, or reinforce any structural panel that you put a hole in. If I built a purpose-built drag Z, I would definitely use fender exit. Otherwise, you spend tons of time removing and reinstalling your exhaust to do maintenance on the drivetrain. You gotta build a race car for easy maintenance, because you will spend more time fixing your car than driving it, so make everything as easy as possible. That includes a minimal exhaust system. The underside of the Z car is very cramped, but there is enough room in the back of the front fenderwells to store a medium suit case (or a dead body). Might as well use the space. Following this topic.

My 240z has a factory amp meter on the dash. What does it physically mean when the needle is reading to the left of center? On center? Right of center? I've been having some intermittent trouble with starting the car when it is hot at the track. Wondering if it could be low voltage/amperage. But, I've never known how to interpret that gage and I'd love to learn regardless of my starting trouble. Any advice appreciated. Everything I know, I learned either thru hard knocks or hybridz.

And this philosophy applies to driving safely on the street. Just because your car can go fast doesn't mean you have to. On the Cable-X: mine came with the dip-switches in random positions ( I called and they said they fired the dude who used to configure them ), so I've gone a year without a speedometer even though I have the Cable-X box mounted, wired and the cable hooked up. If it was ever feasible, I'd love it if you could send me some good photos of the dip switch positions with the cover removed. Otherwise, I'm gonna look into an electronic speedometer (oh, my aching back!).

No, I haven't, but I will when I swap tires Thursday for Friday drags.

I have had trouble with my brakes since I cooked them at AMP in the spring. The front rotors are junkyard replacements that I had turned. The rears I only had turned. Pads are Hawk HPS. All four rotors have the same (skipping?) pad deposit pattern. The rotors don't seem to want to get shiny like my wife's car. This is my first time with Hawk pads. There is no pedal pulsation, and the car is stopping reasonably well. I'm just curious if I have a problem coming. I am limping this brake system along for a couple more months, then I will probably try to sell it off when I do the AZC big brake conversion over the winter. Any ideas are appreciated.

The other V8 Z-car in my area had a drivetrain failure last week. He has a 350SBC with a T350 tranny in his 280z. Running open 3.54 R200 with stock halfshafts of unknown age. Unknown u-joint manufacturer. 2800 stall with 10" MT bias ply slicks at 20psi tire pressure. Looks to me like spider gears jammed from cross shaft wear. Broke a bunch of teeth off the spider gears and temporarily locked that axle, which broke the inside u-joint and mushroomed the halfshaft yokes. New (used) diff, replaced axle - back at the strip following week.

If you are racing, I would stick to a power plant that is available where you are, and one that your machinist is familiar with. All motors break when you ask 101% from them. Nothing worse than missing races because you are waiting for parts.

My LS does consume some oil and I noticed some occasional throttle lift puff of smoke on the rear facing camera at Altanta Motorsport Park. The engine has less than 20,000 miles on it. I just check the oil and keep it topped up. The oil recommended oil capacity is 6.2 quarts. I know fellas who run 6 and others who run 7. I'm running 7 so it looks overfilled on the dipstick.

I know, I'm just pretty invested (time, thought, and money) in this system. I'm not one of these guys who think only an IRS can handle-Ive been beaten by too many solid axle cars at the autocross to think that way.

Yes, I know but I would like to drive it every once in a while. I commuted all last week and plan to this week as well. It was great. I will consider a back half when I have exhausted all my dpares: four sets of axles, eight CVs and 6 diffs. Smoke em if ya got em!

Fry burgers on the hood and serve them to your z-car buddies.