wheelman

The "assault weapons ban" Clinton put into place on Sept 13th 1994 will expire this month so you'll see many more of those for sale soon. It's never been illegal to own the banned weapons or the large capacity clips you just couldn't sell them. In fact I've got an SKS with 2 30 round clips. I really hope this thread doesn't turm into another guns are bad discussion. Guns are not the problem it's the goober who pulls the trigger thats the problem. I've always been in favor of allowing citizens to own firearms, not full autos, but lately with all the terrorism going on I wonder if we'll be able to retain the right. Wheelman

Michael, If you're willing to play with the settings a little (wire feed speed mostly) and be patient you'll be fine. I have a Hobart 135 with a gas setup but most of the sheet metal welding I've done with it has been without gas. I even used some of a banged up 240Z hood as filler material to replace rusted floor and firewall. Turns out the hood metal was as thick if not a little thicker than the floor. Be sure to use the .030 wire. I found that if you tack a few spots to hold everything in place and then lay a short bead, move a small distance and lay another bead back to the first and then continue that pattern it works very well and prevents most warping. So it is possible and actually not all that hard to use self-shielded wire to weld thin sheet but if you can convert to gas it makes a much cleaner weld. I also found that if you burn through it's best to stop and let things cool before trying to fill it and then go slow or you'll end up chasing the hole and making it larger. Wheelman

Welcome to the board. You may want to rethink your idea of using the T5. They are only rated to 300 ft/lbs of torque for a World Class version. If you have to use it then look at having it built by G-Force. If thats out of the question then you should consider converting to a T56 or using a 700R4 automatic. Automatics are better for drag racing anyway, faster shift times. The R200 should be OK. The u-joints in the half-shafts will be a problem so you should consider converting to 300ZX turbo axles with CV joints or doing a full conversion to an R230. I know of only 1 Z with a twin turbo V8. It's owned by a member here who goes by TurboMeister. His is a blow-through carb setup but he could probably help with the project some. I would start with the 280Z. They are structurally stronger so would require less reinforcement than a 240 or 260. Wheelman

Zoldman, Here is a picture of a sump produced by Brad Davies. He is a member here. He says it's 240Z specific but it might work with an early 260 tank. The sump is very low profile and only hangs down about 1 to 1.5 inch(s) below the tank. His email is Brad_Davies@omniglass.com. Shoot him an email and find out if it will work with your tank. I bought one for my 240 and the quality is top notch. He will put whatever fittings you want on it. I had him put one in each corner so the fuel can run to either side and still be picked up. He charged me $60.00 plus shipping. Wheelman

Jared, I've read through this thread and am curious about how much you plan on spending on this engine. What is your main focus for the car, drag racing, road racing/autoX, daily driver or combination? I don't want to hi-jack the thread I'm just curious what an engine like you plan to build will cost and what the target application is, for my future reference. Wheelman

Hey guys, what do you think of this intake setup? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=38634&item=7919755644&rd=1 I know it's not a cold air setup but how big of a deal is that anyway. My LT1 is from a Caprice and I'm getting rid of the big "Home Base" resonator so I'm looking at other setups. This one is very simple and seems to be a decent price considering a 1LE elbow is $65.00 by itself and then I'd have to spend more on additional piping and a filter. Wheelman

Toysport, Not to be contradictory but I've heard nothing but bad about those cheap Harbor Freight welders. I almost bought one and then changed my mind and got a Hobart Handler 135. I've been very happy with it and had nothing but good performance other than a questionable regulator. My opinion (so take it for what you paid for it) is that if you're just learning to weld get the best welder you can afford and if you can't afford much then save until you can. It's hard enough to learn to weld on the thin sheet these cars are made from without adding in the frustration of an inconsistant welder. As for MIG, TIG or ARC. You really want a MIG or self-sheilded wire feed. An ARC welder uses flux coated welding rods and is very hard to use on thin sheet metal. TIG takes a lot of practice to learn and the equipment is expensive. MIG is fairly easy to learn (especially with good equipment), the equipment is reasonably priced and can be used on many different materials including aluminum and stainless. Wheelman P.S. I bought my welder from Northern Tools and it included a free cart and free shipping.

My understanding is that the change in tank shape was made in 77 because Datsun switched to use the mini-spare so the spare tire well was reduced in size and moved up in the rear hatch area. This made it possible to increase the size of the tank. I've read that the earlier tanks 70-76 will work in the later cars 77-78 but not vice-versa. In other words the 73 tank should fit in your 75 280. Do a search on fuel tanks and you'll get alot of information that agrees with my statement but nothing that directly answers your question. Give it a try and let us know if it works. Wheelman

Innerware, Here is the link to the 4x4 brake package on the Modern MotorSports site http://www.modern-motorsports.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=&products_id=48 Wheelman

Dorifto_Tuning, The final bid on the black ZX was $1,125.00 but it didn't meet the reserve which means it didn't sell or at least the seller has the option to refuse to sell to the highest bidder. I considered bidding on it but would really have to inspect it first. The car was stolen from New York state so there's a very good chance it has some serious rust problems. Wheelman

I vote for R200, 300ZX Turbo CV axles and custom stubs. Or R230 and CV axles and custom stubs. Wheelman

I call BS on that one, it has got to be photo-shopped. A mature bald Eagle is much bigger than that. They generally weigh between 12-15 pounds. I've personally seen one take a full grown Mallard duck and fly off with it. If that is a real picture then kitty is in very deep trouble and has no clue. Wheelman

Forgive my ignorance but are the NGKs you're using stock spec plugs? I looked at NGK's docs and they recommend closing the gap and using a colder heat range when the compression ratio is increased. The turbo increases the CR and based on what you report about how the engine acts when you lean it out a colder plug and/or smaller gap might work better. I'd also try closing your gap to .040 with your current plugs and see what happens. You shouldn't get any pre-ignition at that setting and it might eliminate your mis-fires. Wheelman. P.S. Be sure to say so if you've already tried these changes.

The 73 tank should work just fine. If you do plumb a return line from the carb you might have to replace original return connection on the tank or find a different place to connect it such as the filler neck. Wheelman

Baastadd525, What plugs are you running and how are they gapped? When you rebuilt everything did you install a new ignition system, like an MSD or something? My thoughts are that if you have some weakness in the ignition system it may be the factor that causes your car to prefer to run rich. Also do you know if the ECU controls the timing or spark energy in any way? What is the stock timing setting? How far is it advanced at full advance? Have you tried adjusting the initial timing advance after setting the EFI up "correctly" to smooth out the idle? Just some thoughts and more variables to explore but it seems strange that those turbo motors should prefer to run rich at idle.

Guys, That ZX has been in Las Vegas Nevada for the last 2 years. Very dry so probably didn't contribute any rust problem it may have. It was stolen from New York though so it might be a real rust bucket?!? I asked the seller about rust so we'll see, maybe. I agree though the ZX is the most interesting of the bunch. I've seen that green one listed before and it didn't sell. Not really my style. I also liked the red Turbo ZG but way out of my price range. Edit: Just heard from the seller regarding my question about rust. He says there isn't any, but it being from New York I would tend to discount that. He also said there's a small dent on the driver's door and that he has started it but not driven it due to tires being bad. To bad I don't have the funds or time to go check it out in person. Wheelman

Thanks guys. He's very stoked about it, anybody that stops by gets a ride just to prove it runs. Sleeper-Z: The brother thing is very cool too man. I lost my brother in a car accident about 4 years ago but we did a small amount of wrenching together as kids and had a good time, although we almost killed ourselves several times. Wheelman

Not Z related exactly except I get my engine stand and garage back, but congratulations are in order! My son and I just completed a rebuild of the engine for his car. This was his first major project, I helped mainly by supervising so he learned alot about how cars work in general and his specifically. The project is a 1981 Caprice Wagon with a 305 small block. It was bored .030 over, received a mild cam and rebuild of the heads. When we got it torn apart we discovered the exhaust lobe for #2 was gone and the thing was full of very nasty burned oil of a gelatine consistancy. Can you say delayed maintenance program??? Anyway we dropped the engine in 2 nights ago and after some minor problems with a broken radiator drain and mis-connected hoses we fired it today. He had the biggest grin when it started. Makes all the aggravation and prodding worth it. Now I just need to make sure he follows through with the 500 mile oil change and keeps an eye on everything for awhile. It sures runs nice though, a slight cam lope at idle and good throttle response. Wheelman

Calico, I agree with Dan. Use a World Class T5, they are strong enough to handle the torque a TPI motor will produce and will be easier to setup. I'm installing an LT1 and using a WC T5 because I didn't want to spend the money for a T56 but I ended up having to scrounge around for parts to make it all work. Still cost me a lot less than a T56 though. A T56 should bolt up to a TPI based motor assuming the T56 is from an LT1 not an LS1 or a Viper. The area where you'll end up doing the most research and chasing parts will be the clutch/flywheel setup. The clutch slave cylinder is different for a T56, it's a pull type rather than a push type which means you'll need to use the pull type clutch parts and flywheel unless you use an adaptor. Here is a link to a page that has some info about this topic. http://www.drivetrain.com/gmt56inst.html Overall it should be doable to use a T56 with a TPI based motor but IMHO it wouldn't be worth the extra effort and cost. As for the WC T5, the hard part with those is finding one for sale. Depending on the power output of your motor and what you intend to do with the car an R180 differential which is found in the 240s and 260s might be Ok but an upgrade to an R200 from a 280 and several other Datsun/Nissan cars would be better. Also again depending on all the above mentioned parameters it might be worth the time and money to install CV joint axles. The_dj, You posted while I was writing my post. What issues, if any, did you run into assembling your setup? I had to track down the correct clutch and flywheel to use with the external balance/single piece rear main seal LT1 that would mate to the T5. I'm thinking the TPI motors also used the one piece rear main seal and are externally balanced, true or not? Was it possible to use a flywheel from an LT1 or did you have to track one down? What about the pull type clutch, how did you deal with that? Wheelman

Bastaad, I don't have a turbo motor so take this for what it's worth but it seems to me that if you run non-IC and 10 PSI and it drops to 8 PSI when the IC is added it's still pulling the same amount of air through the engine. The pressure drop is because the IC cools the air charge after it leaves the turbo correct? If thats why the pressure drops then the air volume at 10 PSI non-IC will be the same as the air volume at 8 PSI with the IC. The volume of air moving into the engine dictates the amount of oxygen available to burn the fuel so your AF ratio shouldn't change much if at all. Any of you turbo experts be sure to correct me on this if I'm wrong. What I'm trying to say is I think the amount of air moving into your engine will not change but it's density will because it's cooler. That is until you turn the boost back up, then you'll need to adjust everything to account for more air. One thing to keep in mind though is that your boost controller is set to 10PSI so your turbo should spool up to that pressure even with the IC. The pressure drop is theoretical, in reality your waste gate will still allow the intake manifold to be pressurized to the pressure dictated by the boost control valve. Wheelman

Search for posts from a member here that goes by alsil. Send him an email asking about his crossmember/motor mount for SBF into a Z. He sells them for about $125.00 I believe. I'm not sure he still makes them but they are very high quality and pretty much take care of the motor mount aspects of the Ford 5.0 install. You'll still need to deal with the tranny but you can use the JTR (jagsthatrun.com) crossmember for that or fab something of your own. Welcome to HybridZ and good luck with your project. Wheelman

Call me stupid but how are you going to prevent the fuel from running out the bottom of that baffle in a hard corner when the tank is less than 1/4 full? Seems to me there are to many outlets to slow the flow much. It's an interesting idea though, maybe if the portions facing the sides of the tank where welded closed around the bottom of the baffle and the portions facing the front were left as they are it would trap enough fuel to prevent the pump from sucking air. Feel free to correct any mis-conceptions I have. I'm trying to figure out the best solution for EFI in my Z and haven't fully decided yet. Leaning more towards a sump but like the idea of a surge tank as well. Wheelman

I think another aspect to the trend is the bling factor of showing off those expensive cross-drill/slotted rotors and/or Wilwood/Brembo calipers. Most of the cars I've seen the larger rims on are ricers that have done nothing to increase HP but have huge brakes because they look "cool" along with the trendy rims. None of them have any requirement for the brakes installed. It's all "BLING"! I totally agree with 305240, but I'm an old guy and prefer the older style and also refuse to pay for over-priced trendy dodads. To me a set of Cragars look awesome on a Z, but beauty is all in the eyes of the beholder. I'll spend my money on making it faster and stealthy, then spring it on those kids with more show than go. Wheelman

I read through the email and I think you're only part of the suit if Paypal did an erroneous transfer or denied you access to funds in your account at some point. I'm not a lawyer so take that for what you paid for it but thats how I understand it. It's not a scam. http://news.com.com/2100-1017-842240.html Wheelman

I like sims76's idea. Limit a new user's ability to create new threads until a certain time period has expired. I also think a real improvement to the search feature would be the ability to search for an exact phrase match as well as the current all terms or any terms. I've tried getting the search to look for a string or phrase by putting it in quotes but the search engine strips them off and looks for the terms based on the selected mode (all or any). Also being able to limit the all or any terms search to each post rather than an entire thread would be very useful. I'm a Software Engineer so I understand that the last idea could be pretty tough to implement but it would be well worth it. The first 2 ideas would be relatively simple to put in place. I'd be willing to help if need be although I have almost no PHP experience. This is a great site with tons of information and if we don't want to answer the same questions again and again the search feature needs to be improved and emphasized. Wheelman