blueovalz

If you run OEM sized tires (or close to it), then gobs of torque is like driving in the rain with slicks, it can get tiresome after a while. Putting myself in your shoes, I'd have to look at a number of factors, and weigh the importance of each. A 250 hp V8 is going to be more streetable than a 250 hp L6 (NA of course), so how important is driveability (and I include in this question engine noise because in general, the more hp / L you have, the louder the noise level)?. Do you like challenges and tinkering with things? This was the biggest reason why I put the SBF in my Z. Few had documented any work here, and I enjoyed the challenge of engineering and fabricating the parts. How much emphasis do you put on owning a "unique" vehicle? Yes, the V8 Z-cars are more common than ever before, but they are still unique. I tried a more rounded approach to my motor. I changed my SBF's torque characteristics by moving the curve upward. I still have enough torque on the bottom end to move the car quickly without boiling the tires off (315/35 tires), and now still have plenty of torque on the top end for fun. I chose to balance traction with engine torque for as much of the RPM range as was practical for WOT driving.

I'm quite sure the bronze bushings that I replaced in my rack were from Nissan (I even remember the Nissan plastic bag that they came in, but this was the early '90s). I can't remember the details, but it appears some bushings have a smaller I.D. for one rack verses the other (240 vs 280). I replaced the bushings on my 280 (the old ones became elongated from rack gear wear), and I definitely remember having to take a brake hone to slightly enlarge the I.D. so that the rack gear would slide in and out. With this said, I believe that the only bushing Nissan offered was a 240 (which I believe uses a smaller diameter rack gear) which will fit into the 280 rack tube, but will need to be honed a small amount for the 280 rack gear to slide into them.

There is not much to clean. It's basically a tube with bronze bushings in each end (which should be replaced if you've not since you've gone this far). You definitely do not want sand or grit inside this area, so if you choose to sandblast it, seal up any holes very well, or at least know that you will be able to clean it out thoroughly later.

I'm sure this is a good matched set of parts, but I'd start by loosing the bolts holding the caliper in position while attempting to turn the rotor. At some point the rotor should loosen up, at which point you should be able to figure out where the (and I'm making an assumption here) caliper itself (not the pads) is rubbing the rotor. Another assumption I'm making here is that the caliper slipped over the rotor fairly easily before you started bolting the caliper down. More information, even the small details will help when you need assistance. Whenever you assemble parts such as these, move them around while you tighten everything up. This will tell you a lot if things are fitting correctly, and can prevent permanently damaging parts.

I can't recall the torque required to "set" the bearings. I propably go over this when I set mine. The hub should have no play in it, even when the nut is backed off the recommended amount after setting the bearings. Some very small amount of preload will still exist.

spin the rotor as you progressively tighten the nut. You may feel a "pop" (which I have no idea what it is, but...), then back it off the recommended amount. (make sure the washer with the tab in the middle of it is in the spindle groove)

Hmmm, perhaps your choice of a hobby needs to be re-evaluated. You need to go into this with the mindset that 1) "bolt-on" is not really bolt-on. The part WILL need to be modified in some way, shape, or form to make it work as designed, 2) that unless you've done this specific job a dozen times, then it will aways take twice as long to do it than you think. Slow is fast and fast is slow. Same thing applies here too.

Yep, that's why I mentioned the coordination of thickness with wheel size. I run 17" wheels and have room to spare. I could drop it another inch if needed. My biggest problem is the steering tie-rod extension (for bump-steer) that comes within 1/4" of the inside of the wheel. This photo is an old one, but shows the set-up with a 1" spacer.

Venture-Z, I would look at what you would want for your set-up in particular, if you are going to be machining these out of billet, rather than use the typical 1" thickness of the pre-made pieces. I believe these spacers do not give any benefit for bump-steer in that it lowers both the control arm AND the steering arm together. It will assist slightly in the camber change by lowering the outer part of the control arm though. If your car is excessively lowered, 1" may not be enough to reposition the lower arms to a more optimal position. In this case, you may want to make your spacers longer, and being you are machining these, I'd take a gander at what thichness YOU want these spacers to be. Of course, you must also take into consideration wheel clearance issues as you go thicker and thicker.

The traditionally coined "bump steer" spacer dimensions you need can be derived from a Z steering arm if you don't have the spacer itself. The bottom of the spacer fits over the arm and the strut fits over the spacer (which means the top of the spacer must have the same shape as the arm in the round framing of the ball joint and the spacing of the two bolts that hold the arm onto the strut.

I only recently bought a BMW 325 (first German car I've ever owned). I bought it mostly for my wife, but once I drove it a while I fell in love with it. I fully understand the brand loyalty associated with the German mark (very well designed)

I actually drove my car up into the back of the large Ryder (with all my other household goods, and dropped the truck off at my destination.

Is a sad affair indeed! However, we do expect you to maintain your usually helpful presence on this site.

Good observation. I'm am in the process of reversing these lines. As it is plumbed currently, any water loss results in a drastic loss of cooling efficiency. In fact, the water will not flow with the loss of even a small amount of coolant. When I reverse these (as was originally done when I first made the conversion) I could still keep normal operating temperature even without a full radiator, and trapped air in the system was not a problem. Hopefully, the tubing will be welded next month and I can get back to the original pumbing again.

Tim, the vents look great and unique. Sit on them a while (if you're not in a hurry, which may not matter if they can be removed) and come back to them to see if anything needs to be refined. Owen, that's a wild looking hood. Was that the one you did not like? Very aggressive. Any pics of the "starting over"?

Can't remember what your Falcon is in our country

Aluminum Griffin.

The importance of documenting any SBF swap with technical information (measurements, etc) as well as pictures, will go a long way toward offering future Ford swap considerations some solid information to help them decide what to do. Nearly all the SBF conversions (as far as I've notice) are using differing methods of installation (mounting, spacing, etc). In a way, this can be an asset in that it will offer many options to the potential swap. Anybody doing this swap needs to pass pictures and methods back into this forum for all to gander at.

This is what this site is all about. Helping and being helped.

I want to throw out a comment/quetion about Dan's photo post of the adjustable arm in his picture. I'm assuming the swaybar link is attached to the small stub opposite the arm's TC attachment point. Has there been any documentation of problems with any twisting of this arm and subsequent bending of the TC-to-arm clevis due to a thick (stiff) sway bar. As I visualize the car in a hard turn, the sway bar is going to exert an up or down force on this link stub, which will attempt to twist the arm along it's axis. The only thing preventing such twisting is the clevis for the TC rod attached to the arm. It would seem to me that a much more ideal location for attaching the sway bar link would be directly on top of the arm instead of to the side of the arm, thus the swaybar would be exerting it's force on the axis centerline instead of to the side of it. This is what I liked about Mike's arms. The TC-to-arm connection was a two bolt set-up that seemed to provide a stable platform to resist twisting, plus the swaybar link was still located on the arm's axis (oem location). Comments?

I certainly appreaciate any attempt to duplicate some of the old vintage race cars. I wanted to use the R,W&B Sharp/Newman racing paint scheme on the blueovalZ, but I have modified the body to the point that the paint job would be the only thing that resembled these old Zs. I have finally hit a point in the project where I regret, somewhat, all the body modifications I done. It's an illness that I cannot control . As soon as I finish one thing, I am compelled to start changing something else (need therapy).

I'd say not to worry unless the caster is way off (perhaps from impact damage). Small changes can be done with shims (large washers for example).

Well! The gauntlet has been thrown down On MY coil-over set, I was converting a race only (metal on metal) coil-over set-up to something more palatable for the street with some rubber included. I fabed up my own bearing retainer and upper spring perch using Honda (yes, fact is stranger than fiction) upper spring holders (my 2.5" coils fit very nicely into these Honda (YAH, I'll say it.....Honda.........HONDA) spring locator cups with the rubber (my camber plates made any kind of Datsun part useage very hard).

Ah yes, grasshopper. I still remember my first post (actually, I have no idea what my first post was). Welcome on board.

A hobby is time and resources spent on something you enjoy. Whether it is a blue oval or a Z (blueovalz??). Anyway, changing vehicles will not necessarily create the change in family time your wife desires. Self evaluation on how your time is spent will though. I am in a fortunate position in that my shift work allows time on a hobby when nobody else is at home, making it easy to spend time away from a family that is already away. When I do periodicallly work a normal day shift pattern, I find this time management much harder to do, thus sometimes the project will remain unchanged for weeks or months on end. Denny411 has a good view on this. I've found that the kids grow up WAY too fast to not enjoy them when you can, and the little woman will appreciate you more than you will realize when you focus more time on her and the family.