wheelman

I bought a set of them from Schucks. I think I paid about $20.00 for the kit which rebuilt 2 calipers. Wheelman

Mike, I went the stainless 3/8" hardline route, it wasn't that hard although it takes time to get it right. I used brake line from NAPA and brass couplers to get the correct length. At each end I went from the double flare normally used on brake lines to -6 AN and then 250 PSI rubber line to the tank and the fuel rail. It is much cheaper than stainless braid but also doesn't look as nice. I also ran the hardline in the same basic location as the original fuel lines which in a 240 is in the tunnel, if I did it over again I would relocate them to beside the frame rails, one on each side of the car. Hope this helps. If you decide to go this route be sure to get a tubing bender and be careful using it, I partially kinked both lines at 90 degree bends and will eventually re do them. Wheelman

Sounds to me like ecp48 is trying to tell you that the money/time invested to make it work won't be worth the performance increase in the end. If you're already at the hairy edge with the compression you're running then throwing a turbo on top of it is a recipe for disaster. Even pulling timing and dumping tons of fuel into the system won't always prevent the engine from self-destructing and will always hurt performance. Maybe you should just do it and let us know how it turns out when you're done. Wheelman

Nice job Tim. I've always prefered those older 70s trucks to the newer ones, they had more style. I owned a 70 Ford F-100 for about 2 years. I had a hotrod 302 in it I was building for a drag car but the car was rear-ended and totaled so I dropped the 302 into the truck. Was a little bit of a dog off the line but once it got moving it did OK. The twin I-beam suspension needed help so it was quite a handful on the road. The kids called it the beast, it had a very rough and loud idle and no power steering or brakes and no AC, hell it barely had a heater. I wish I hadn't sold it now. Anyway good job on your truck, I like it. Wheelman

THe research I did indicated that the non-turbo axles are 6-bolt and the turbo axles are 4-bolt as stated above. I pulled my axles from an 84 turbo and used Ross's conversion kit for the install. Very high quality and everything fit perfectly. Wheelman

Wagz, I'd sure like to meet you some time and I'll buy the beer if you make the trip up/over. Let me know when would be good for you and I'll make time for a cold one and a tour of the project. Mine started off with a pretty serious case of rust under the battery tray which I had to remove and replace along with part of the firewall. Right now the front fenders and interior are removed. I've got the engine and tranny installed but haven't started it yet, I spent most of the day today trying to eliminate pin hole leaks in my gas tank after welding a sump to it. I replaced the R180 with an R200 and upgraded to CV axles and put in poly suspension bushings. I still need to have an exhuast system built and then put the interior back together. Anyway I still have a lot to do and am getting anxious to hear the thing run. Once it's running then the body work starts so right now it looks pretty pathetic. You mentioned you own a rental house in Richland, how has that worked out for you? My wife and I own 5 rental units (a 4-plex and a single family house) and manage 8 others (2 4-plexes). The rental market is under quite a bit of downward pressure right now due to all the building and layoffs that are taking place, fortunately we can price our units very competitively so have not had a problem with vacancies. Just curious. Well I need to get some beauty sleep so I better go. Wheelman

WAGZ, As I was reading the description of this car I kept thinking it was the one sitting next door to my house. An early 260 that's been sitting for at least 8 years and is relatively rust free. I tried to buy it from the owner but he wouldn't sell, so I found a 240 and bought it. I think you and I have traded several PMs so you know where I live, Tri-Cities WA. South Eastern WA desert, so cars survive forever out here. Congrats on your find and good luck getting it back on the road. Don't let that Velo sit to long or it'll get jealous and give you all sorts of problems. Wheelman

Thanks Jon, I appreciate the input. I thought it sounded to big but had heard somewhere that a large rear bar would help with turn in and with the right front bar and camber settings could generate a nicely balanced setup. Seems a little counter intuitive to me, you'd end up with a tail happy car that would sometimes washout the front as well. I guess that would make for good 4 wheel drifts wouldn't it. I went back and re-read the auction and it didn't talk about road racing but Auto-X and Slalom which have much lower speeds than road racing so might benefit from a larger rear bar without as large a risk of spinout. I'm no expert so this is just speculation on my part. I'm going to pass on this and go with a more conventional setup when I get to that point in my build. Wheelman

I had the same issue with the Energy Suspension poly rack bushings in my car. I used some strips of neoprene between the bushings and the mount to tighten things up. I haven't driven the car like this yet but it eliminated all rack movement with the car sitting in the garage. I thought about using some sheetmetal wrapped around the rack mounts but decided on the neoprene because I had a sheet laying around and it's much easier to work with than the sheetmetal. Anyway I'll watch it over time to see how the neoprene holds up. All the other bushings in the Energy Suspension master kit fit very well and I had enough grease for all of them. In fact I had a heck of a time getting the rear outer control arm bushings in. Wheelman

I ran across this auction on ebay and wonder what all you guys think about it. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=7969655289&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT It's a 25mm rear swaybar for an S30 chassis Z. The auction text states it's a good setup with a 22mm front bar for Auto-X and road racing. So is this true or just BS. Seems to me it would produce a rather tail happy car depending on other factors of course but I'd like some feedback from the experts. This is the second time I've seen this on ebay. The first auction started at a higher minimum and received no bids and with 2 hours left it again has no bids. Wheelman

Wow I guess I'm really fortunate. My wife has fully supported my Z habit without having to be bribed, in fact she probably has a better idea of how much I've spent on the project than I do. She will make requests for things but it's never tied to how much I spend on the Z, of course the money I'm spending is money I've squirreled away over the years and she doesn't work so really has no claim to it. That sounds bad though, if she wants to use some on the house or something for herself or the kids it's allowed, within reason. In fact I'm such a tight wad, at times she has had to get on me to make me buy the things I need. As for tools being a hidden cost I have to agree with most here that they aren't. If I purchased them for just this one project with no intention to use them later then they would be part of the project cost but that isn't the case. In fact I've used the tools to earn myself a significant portion of my funding by working on cars for friends of my son. The tools have more than paid for themselves so haven't been a cost but a revenue generator. COZY, I couldn't agree with you more about the GYPSIES, THIEVES, LIARS and TRAMPS. I try to ask around alot before hiring something out and have had fairly good luck but not always. I've taken the attitude that I will buy tools and learn to do something myself unless it is very costly before hiring something done. Even the local shops with the "good" reputations aren't always good. We took my son's car into a "good" local muffler shop to have some work done and found joints that hadn't been welded and other problems, then got an angry greeting when we brought the car back in to have things "fixed". Needless to say they won't get my business again or a recommendation either. It's not just auto mechanics that have this problem, it's all the service industries. "Caveat Emptor, Buyer Beware" Wheelman

There were a couple Ford 302s with similar motor mounts that reported the frame rails started twisting, something to keep an eye on. Looking good though and that engine is very low and far back in the bay, what oil pan are you planning to use? Wheelman

I got mine from Victoria British but there are certainly other suppliers. I paid about $28.00 each for them, don't know if thats high because I really didn't search around much. You could also check with your local Nissan dealer and Motor-Sport Automotive (MSA). When you put them back in use a wire brush to remove the yellow coating, it helps make the job easier, not easy, but easier. Are you replacing the bushings as well? If you hadn't planned on it you should consider doing it now while it's already apart. No sense putting everything together just to take it back apart later. If you decide to do the bushings be sure and search this site for threads about it, there are some tricks you can use to get it all back together. Wheelman

One thing Matt wasn't real clear on is that the bolt you have circled in red comes out the top of it's hole. I had to replace the spindle pins on mine with new ones when I put in poly bushings because I trashed the threads trying to get them out. Putting them back in wasn't a whole lot easier as it was a very tight fit. Wheelman

Could be different in Canada, everything else is. JK I'm sure the turbo cars in the states all have 4 bolt patterns I researched it before doing the conversion on mine. If the car was a combination of 2 then anything could have been swapped so who knows. Wheelman

Go for it man, the Z will be waiting for you when you get back, your house will have been paid for by someone else while you're gone and you and your kids will have the memories of the experience for the rest of your lives. Wheelman

Even the wireless card would be near impossible to find, the best you could do is identify which access point it's communicating with. Even knowing the access point doesn't necessarily pin point an area because given the right conditions those wireless connections can be established up to several miles away, not very likely on a college network but still a factor in locating the laptop. If the laptop really did contain very valuable info then the government could be called in and use special equipment to triangulate the signal and find it. Wheelman

Drax, Those aren't from a turbo, they all had 4 bolt setups and the N/A models had 6 bolts. Go figure. Wheelman

Dan, Sounds like you have an agent that truly cares about his clients, can he do business in WA state? If so please PM his contact information. Wheelman

Have you actually measured the length from the tranny slip yoke to the differential flange yet? If not then you may end up spending more money and time having the shaft built a second time if it turns out wrong. My LT1/T5 combo in the JTR position (could go back another 3/4") needs a 19 1/2" shaft so 24" seems too long even if the engine is in the Scarab position. How are you planning on mounting the engine? JTR, MSA or Scarab Wheelman

Randy_77zt, Insurance companies all share data so that it's not possible for people with cronic problems to keep switching companies to avoid high rates. Pop, You're correct, the insurance companies do look at credit ratings to help them determine the rate you will get. I guess they figure your credit history is an indication of how you live your life. I hate all insurance companies as well, it's such a racket, especially when the state laws say we have to have it but do nothing to control the rates. I've been fortunate myself to keep a clean record so my rates are relatively low but I've still paid a hell of a lot more to them they will ever pay back. Wheelman

I really have to comment on the statements made about building a 351W for the same price as an LT1. I'm assuming you are talking about the 90s vintage LT1 rather than the early 70s version. I think this is the wrong price comparison to make. The 351W you're talking about would be in the same technology catagory as the gen 1 SBC not the LT1. The LT1 was also a short run engine so fewer of them were made which in turn makes the LT1 specific parts more expensive and there are fewer options to increase performance. Taking these things into account a better comparison is the GEN 1 SBC (50s through late 80s). There are literally millions of these around of varying quality with many more parts at better prices than the Ford 351W offers. So for the money it's possible to build a GEN 1 SBC to comparable power cheaper than a 351W. Both are good engines and can make comparable power levels so the real choice other than availability and price of parts comes down to brand preference and distributor placement. I'm a Ford guy myself but ended up with an LT1 because I found a great deal on it before I could find the right deal on a 302, had I to do it all over again I would have held out for the 302 or possibly a 351W. Wheelman

You really want to set the engine/tranny in the car and measure the distance after you're satisfied with the placement. Each car can be a little different depending on how far back you put the engine. Wheelman

Z-Tard, You're a very creative person and you're also correct about the money order. There is no reason to verify it because the purchaser has to make complete payment at time of purchase. He may just want to have proof that it was actually purchased which could be provided by sending him a copy of the receipt which has no usable info to create a fake. PBooty, This is a scam to either get half the shipping in advance and/or legitimate money order id numbers and info to create a fraudulent MO worth 26k. I'd tell him to ship the car which you'll then inspect for 3 days and if it's legit then you'll send him the MO with the additional $250.00 added for shipping, if not he pays all the shipping for both directions or he doesn't get his car back. Wheelman

I received the 73 240Z FSM today from Brad and looked up the 4 gang connector I had asked about in this thread http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=100152. Turns out the plug connects to a relay, which Mat73GNZ had located and linked a picture of so we could see it. From page BE5 of the FSM, that relay is the Throttle Opener relay. It controls a solenoid(sp) that holds the throttle open a short time on throttle down when the car is moving. This is part of the original emissions equipment designed to reduce output when the throttle is suddenly closed. It might also be used when the car is cold as an idle speed control. Bottom line is that it can be totally removed if you're swapping in another engine. Also the black/white wires I mentioned in the other thread that appeared to be connected to switched power are and can be used for other purposes. The green/black wire connects to the speedo and is used to determine if the car is moving. The black/yellow wire activates the throttle opener solenoid and so should be removed. All this pressumes you're swapping in a different engine and are not going to uses this circuit. As for the ground wire I mentioned in the other thread, I haven't identified it yet but I will and it will probably also be removed. This just proves how valuable an FSM is (Thank you very much Brad). I was trying to figure it all out using a Haynes manual which is marginal at best. Thats the last time I waste my money on one of those, I'll get an FSM for any future projects. Wheelman