blueovalz

My "dream" rear end would be having the entire panel "frenched" inward about 2" to 3", and then some kind of tail lights inside of that (kind of a shallow tunnel on the entire rear panel. I'd do it to mine, but the rear cage bars go all the way to the end of the rear subframe rails, thus taking up a lot of the end space, which if not done right, would not have the effect I was looking for.

Sometime we hate to see the truth. I'm currently going to a 289 vs the old 302, but in the process, I'm using a domed piston with .020" deck height vs the old .005" flat-top. Compression was, and still is 10:1. I was concerned about the increased quench thichness at this ratio, and this read (one of the previous links) only verified my fears. KB pistons has a good write-up on the value of a thin quench thickness too.

Hang in there Mike. If you acted in good faith and in good conscience, then this will pass, and all this consternation on your part will only be a burden in what really counts (family). In time you'll look back on it differently. One day at a time. Ross knows that. Our thoughts are with you.

The guys that run the local speed shop here always make the first "test & tune" day at the 1/4 mile track each year with their traditional V8 American iron. Up until this last year they alway saw about 30 imports to work around. Then after The F & F movie came out, they said it was unbearable at the track. 130+ imports this year. It was amusing to hear him describe the visual appearances of the "ricers". I guess this will be the next class war.

I don't and won't have those kind of HP numbers. I am using a Ram long (not long327) style PP. The T/O bearing I'm using is from Mcloed. It has been trouble free since I've had it. The MC is a 3/4" bore, which works perfect in pedal pressure and travel. Works good, lasts a long time. What else can I say. I think Pete is running the same thing too.

Please help me understand the "pull" type of tranny mentioned above on the T-56. My understanding of clutch systems is that the throw-out bearings on all of them, are pushed toward the PP, which is attached to the flywheel. By "pull" is he refering to the arm outside of the bell housing? If so, then the hydraulic T/O bearing on a T-56 is used the same way as the T-5 (or any other tranny for that fact). Also, I've never had a bit of trouble with mine, other than a silly thing I did to it myself. It's been very reliable, and freed up some room in the tunnel. Dazed & confused.

I can't vouch for Imagestation, but I threw a few pics on about half a dozen photo hosting sites, because PhotoPoint went belly up. I wanted to see which I liked best as far as user ease, and liked Fototime the best. That's where my stuff is hosted.

From my point of view I see several ways to look at this unique approach to the front mount. First, you maintain the OEM buffer on the differential nose without the worry of a tension failure due to hard launches, BUT, if you do have a failure in time (all the front diff weight is now in tensional load), theres nothing to hold up the nose (add a strap to the bottom now?). Also, will the thin sheet tunnel be able to adaquately distribute the shock loads? There's a lot of area there to distribute these loads, so that may not be a factor. 327's recent failure of the OEM crossmember shows that even that is not bullet-proof, but he had a solid mount up front, but (I hope I'm correct here) not in the back. Which brings your question up about the aluminum solid front mount. Unless you also make the rear mounts solid, either the aluminum or the steel is eventually going to fatique, and then fail. I like the design, with some reservations.

I ran 245/45ZR16 on custom made (16" X 8") wheels on my '75 with stock diameter springs, unmodified fenders lips, and struts. I had about a pinkie's width between the spring/tire/fender. I used an slightly different offset between the front and rear wheels, but it was only about 1/4" difference. It never rubbed.

I'm as confused as you on that one. Victoria British used to sell these adapters, but quit about 3 years ago.

This is my understanding of the brake fittings. The 1/8" pipe threads are to be used to install a fitting into, and then the brake-line fittings screw into this fitting. The Datsun (metric) and the SAE brake fittings are straight cut (the 1/8" pipe is not), and are so similar, that it is nearly impossible to tell the difference when screwing them together by accident. In fact I had done this for years before realizing that there is indeed a slight loss of thread strength (which never showed up in stripped threads) when doing this. Now I remove the metric fitting (10mm 1.25 I believe) and replace (re-flare) it with the SAE fittings for all my aftermarket parts.

I'm not totally familar with the valve set-up on these motors, but you may also need to know what the OD of the inside step of your OEM spring retainer is too. Your new spring will need to fit around it (a nice snug fit is ideal), and this can be cross-referenced to their "recommended retainer" for whatever spring you may think works. This selection will need to be carefully decided though, so take your time and think about all the variables. Also, are there any hydraulic "lifters" so to speak on these motors that may be effected by a stronger than normal spring? (sorry for my ignorance on the VG30's)

As a first step, I would measure the installed height of the spring, it's open height, and it's OD. Then try competition cam's online catalog for their spring selection to see if there is a match for that size, and then review what pressures are available. They've got quite a selection.

I'll bet when Grumpy wakes up, this can be his coffee and toast editorial. In the mean time I'll take a stab at it. drilling a small hole in the throttle plates is an old trick (to avoid the use of the transistion from idle to open throttle circuits??, it's been a long time on that old trick, and too many cobwebs this time of the morning up there). My first question is what is the stall speed on your torque converter. Have you installed a smaller converter to allow the engine to idle in gear at a higher rpm?

Yeah, the dirt dobber got ahold of my headers (I never was a great welder). It's not pretty, but they have held up to 10 years worth of abuse.

I built my own headers mainly because of the desire for equal length tubes. I used the Hooker J-tubes and the "rings" that are used to hold sections together while welding. I simply mocked up the steering rod, frame rails, and anything else that I thought would get in the way, and began cutting and fitting. Once you cut a half dozen tubes you will get the idea and hang of it. I can't over emphasize the "rings" that you can get with the tubes that aid construction. They fit on the ID of the tubes, and lightly hold the tubes in position while you tack it all together, with minimal obstruction on the inside. Very nice, but they are more expensive that I think they should be, BUT, they do make the job much easier. After watching all my hard work being oxidized into oblivion (about a year after I built the headers), I decided to have my headers Jet-Hot coated just so I wouldn't have to do it again if I decide to hang onto this car a long time. I never realized how really nice the coating is, and how much cooler the temperatures are during and after shutdown are under the hood.

I moved the entire crossmember forward to increase my caster to roughly 7 degrees. The shaft that comes out of the steering column to the coupler is splined and will slide several inches with adaquate engagement. To use camber plates on top to account for all of the required movement would push the towers inside dimensions beyond their limits. Not knowing the static ride length of your struts, I am guessing that a minimum of about 1.25" movement will be required to achieve the 7 degree (4 degree change) caster. My first design consideration was to drill out the tower's spot welds, and then move the tower rearward, and re-weld, but then I realized the advantages of moving the crossmember forward (better use of polar moment & weigh distribution, increased clearance for the front of the V8 oil pan, and custom bodywork on wheel openings) instead, and chose that method.

Does the differential switch have any function other than just a warning indicator that you may have severe problems with the brake system?

I believe that is correct. I have heard, but uable to verify that some '74 models had the R200, but were rare.

The only thing my wife really knows her business about my Z is that the passenger seat is 2" wider than the driver's seat (I wanted her to feel comfortable in the race seat). She still can't get past that (he he).

Don't feel bad Paul, my Billet Specialties 11 x 17 with 315R35ZR17s weigh in at 57lbs, and they were supposed to be a light but strong DOT wheel.

I welded up some water passages on a set of Cleveland heads to make a quasie-BOSS 302 head. John's info is pretty close. I did not preheat, but as expected I did have one tiny problem with the weld cracking until the heat finally "set" into the casting (so yes, preheating really is necessary). The higher the nickle content the better, but, also the more expensive the rods become.

These spindle pins, in general, are extremely hard to remove (unless you have a tool sold by one of our members that helps a lot). The pin passes through what I think you are describing as the lower control arm, through the strut, and back through the other side of the lower control arm, and has a nut, washer, and rubber washer on both sides of this pin. To remove the spindle pin you must unbolt a cam bolt (that holds the spindle pin in place) that is dead center in the middle of this spindle pin, in a hole in the strut housing. You must remove the nut (it's on the very bottom of the strut housing), and while protecting the threads of this bolt, drive it out the other way (back up through the top). It's a tapered bolt so it will only come out the top side. When this bolt is out, the spindle pin can then be driven out. Here is the big problem. Thru years of use, the spindle pins usually corrode or rust into the strut and/or bushing sleeves. When this is a severe case, the pins are nearly impossible to remove. If you try to hammer them out, you may be successful, but the end of the spindle pin will be destroyed (threaded part), and thus the pin will need to be replaced ($22 each). Once the spindle pin is removed, then the strut can be separated from the lower control arm.

Unfortunately, that was the way I always removed mine before buying Dan's tool (which BTW, cost less than both spindle pins cost). The best tip here is that if you have time, then soak the ends with penetrating oil, and also squirt some in the cam bolt hole in the middle too. This may help quite a bit if allowed to soad a few days. You can always remove the entire assembly (strut and control arm) if this will suit you purposes, and you won't have to go to all the trouble of the pin then. Good luck.

Well, I no longer feel like the red-headed step child anymore with my Ford conversion problems. Mine would not clear the harmonic balancer either without lowering the rack (about 1/4" clearance as it is now). Plus, I also had to tilt the pinion bearing snout downward so that it would allow clearance of the header tubes. I guess we really are facing the same issues here. Here is a photo of mine showing the ~20 degree incline I had to use.