wrenchtech

How much time and effort will you have to put into correcting the violations and getting them signed off? I lived for a year in Long Beach and 9 years in the Bay Area. I've lived in Wisconsin for a couple of years now and I guess I've forgotten how tough the enforcement is in California. In Wisconsin we have emissions inspections in five out of 72 counties. I live in one where we don't. We don't have a primary seatbelt law, no motorcycle helmet law and we dont have proof of insurance requirements. It's amazing how little cops have to hassle you about here. Like I said cops rely on that badge of theirs to get out of tickets all the time. And even if they don't, they let other cops off who do. Do you think you would have gotten a fix-it-ticket if you were an off duty cop?

What a sad era it is that we live in when a cop that likes your car and wants to make friendly talk goes ahead and gives you a ticket anyway and then tells you that he's doing it partly because he's bored. What bu!!sh!t! Things have changed in the 30 years I've been driving. When I was just starting out there were cops that were a'holes that would give you a ticket no matter what, but, there were a lot of cops who owned Hemi Cudas, Corvettes, GTO's and Z28's who wouldn't write a fellow enthusiast a ticket unless there was a real problem. And we sure didn't feel good about it if we got run through the system to satisfy some cops boredom. <BTW> I know quite a few cops that own muscle cars, sports cars and motorcycles who drive them pretty hard on the public streets confident that if they get pulled over by another cop they can just flip out their badge and expect that to be the end of the matter. We're all equal before the law. It's just that some of us are more equal than others. Matt

Woo-hooo! $500! My 1989 4runner is going to be loving it! Then I can start working on the Z.

I saw a JDM 7M-GTE selling for $695.00 the other day! A quick look at TraderOnline.com the other day revealed several late eighties Turbo Supra cars, in various states of disrepair, with asking prices as low as $800. I'd gladly pay that to get a donor car with the right sensors, ECU, wiring harness, flywheel and a Toyota R154, 5 speed transmission, even if I still had to buy a low mileage JDM motor for another $700 in adition. My first project is going to be to swap a 7M-GTE into my 89 4runner. I think I'm going to take majik16106's advice and put a 1JZ-GTE (the 7M's successor) into my Z! Matt

I'm new to the hybrid Z so I have a couple of basic questions about motor weight and how it affects the car. I know a cast iron SBC weighs about 550 lbs, but, I don't know how much the I-6 Datsun Z motor weighs. I understand that the shorter compactness of the Chevys hold their weight back closer to the center of the car which helps with the front to rear balance. So how does a SBC swap affect that balance? And then of course there is the aluminum LS1 which I believe weighs 380 lbs; how does that affect the F/R balance? And if someone could give me a weight on the Datsun motor I'd appreciate it. Matt

The image below is pretty low rez, but, It's the best I've found. The picture came from the Reaction Research website. Apparently the owners name is Ron Best. That's all I know. Matt

The picture below is supposed to be a combination of the MSA Aero kit and; Reaction Research Subtle-Z fender and quarter panels. I like the Victoria British flares a lot, but, they need to be blended into the body better (like BigJim plans to do) by tying them in with the front spoiler, some side skirts and something behind the rear wheels. I keep coming back to the picture of the 240 with the fine blue with white stripe paint and the Victoria British flares though. It's got a certain classic look that can't be dismissed.

The picture below is supposed to be a combination of the MSA Aero kit and; Reaction Research Subtle-Z fender and quarter panels. I like the Victoria British flares a lot, but, they need to be blended into the body better by tying them in with the front spoiler, some side skirts and something behind the rear wheels. I keep coming back to the picture of the 240 with the fine blue with white stripe paint and the Victoria British flares. though. It's got a certain classic look that can't be dismissed.

The above question anticipated my own exactly!

Yeah, I guess I have to be more specific, since there are so many possibilities. I ran across the kit I was thinking of, pictured below, at the Z Store. They had all the rest of the regular stuff you usually see too. I'm thinking of using Reaction Research's Subtle-Z fender and quarter panels with some variation of the side skirts, air dam and rear bumper from the Z Home picture below. Matt

If there isn't there should be! Matt

I've heard mention of mixing different body upgrades for a custom look. One blend that I'm particularly interested in involves mixing Reaction Research's "Subtle-Z" fender panels with some buffed out rocker panels and maybe a front and rear lower sections from other sources. I'm posting a few pics here to illustrate what I mean. First the Subtle-Z: And here a mixture of Subtle-Z panels and a different front end, rockers and rear:

I posted the pictures, linked below, in a few other threads on this forum, but, I think it bears more than one look. I believe these are the same flares BigJim is currently installing. I kinda like'em! Although it could be the nice paint. I'm going to start a thread called "Blending Different Body Upgrades For Custom Results", which I think is what BigJim is talking about doing on this current project, with a few pics of different body treatments to get some ideas from list members. BTW -- I linked to the images instead of posting them as images so I wouldn't take up bandwidth for people who don't want to see them. Is that better? Or just go ahead and post them? Image: Nice Fenders Image: Nice Fenders, Rear

I've always wondered who this Z belongs to and where I can see more pictures. I'll bet somebody on HybridZ knows. Matt

How wide is that 17" wheel gonna be? Someone else said those flares are from Victoria British, is that right?. In any case, looking good so far! Matt

Wow! With those size tires I look forward to see see what you'll be doing to keep'em covered up front. Matt

From the picture gallery on the website of HybridZ senior member Zachb55's project website I saw a Z that caught my attention. I've been thinking about some of the more radical body kits like the 280YZ from Reaction Research, but, I was pleasantly surprised to see this more traditionally styled Z looking so fine. Anybody have an idea where the flares are from and who the owner is? Matt

Anybody know what size tires it takes to properly fill the wheelwells of a Z with the 280YZ rear fenders? Matt

Is that a custom flare or is it something that's available to the general public? Where can I see a picture of a finished Z with those flares? Thanks Matt

I read for about 3 hours and the conclusion I came up with is that there must be a better way (to find the 240 - 280Z tech info). I am a regular over on the 4x4Wire.com website where I pursue my passion as a Toyota 4x4 enthusiast. Not only do they have outstanding discussion forums (like HybridZ) the have compiled tech articles dealing with just about every subject that ever comes up. The articles are freely available and well organized, not to mention well documented, with plenty of illustrations and enlargeable photos. Newbies can go straight to that stuff and get a masters degree worth of info with out having to cull through tons of scattered and often irrelvant material. Is there such a resource for the Z? Matt

I'm new so bear with me please. If you go to the trouble of doing a big brake upgrade why not go to a 5 lug hub. If there is such a thing? Thanks Matt

Please, somebody point me to a FAQ or some websites where I can learn what all the options are. I've read about the Toyota caliper/Z31 rotor upgrade, but, I also want to see what the aftermarket has to offer, so please point me to some vendors too. Thanks Matt

The 7M-GTE, 3.0 liter DOHC I-6, on a cost per horsepower basis, has got to be one of the best motors ever made. The inherent balance of the straight 6 combined with Toyota precision engineering has made this the lowest cost and most reliable 500hp motor in history. You can buy a worn out Supra Turbo car for about $1500 to get your motor, ECU, wiring harness, exhaust and accessories; put an $800 rebuild in it and with a few minor tweaks your at 400hp. A turbo upgrade and some fuel system improvements will get you up to 500hp pretty quick. So how about it? Has it been done? Matt

Jason, I hope you have, or will in the future, post some pictures of your 280YZ project. Are you going to use the 280YZ front end too? Is it going to be a street car or for the track? Matt