[Tail Light Lens Request]

Bill,If you want the absolute best shine on the tail lens or front signal for that matter, start by removing the assembly carefully,it helps if the unit is very warm to pull it apart.

Then start sanding the outside face with a DA or by hand using 240# then 320# and so forth till you are at 1500 #.It goes faster then it sounds.If done by hand ,use a firm hand block. The way I've done it for 25 years is to sand the raised letters completely down and then use automotive paint compound or better yet,3M's Finese-it polish.You should have that on the shelf already if your paint looks worth a darn.

Anyway, polish to perfection,I use a Buffer set at low RPM, the buffer on auto-lock between my knee's upside down,and hold the lens in my hands,having already applied the polish on the lens before lowering to buff pad .You'll get the hang of it !

If your careful and pay attension ,they'll better than new ...Guaranteed !

Let me know what ya' think,and good luck

.........Vince

[Exterior scheme]

Anubis, that is the molded black eurothane spoiler that MSA sells.That car has aluminum covers where the signals go (but you knew that) he simply hasn't painted it yet,or plan to (you knew that too)

I will tell you though, if your a perfectionist,you'll want to put a center brace behind it as that dam has a tendancy to sag,then drag..so sad.

Anyway...you asked.

Vince

[How to install Z32 taillights in a S30 (a pictorial)]

Hey Dan,....I realize your choking on congrats., but I met you at the Rio-Vista show when you had done a rough graft-in of the lights ,flares and I loved the direction you were headed.

So I knew you would pull it off with great results,but Geez what RESULTS ! Man now thats a tight theme ! Beautiful ! And a great color to boot !

You and T.Oxindale rule the Max-Bod-Mod class !( I really didn't mean for those abbreviations to sound so odd.)

I work in Sacremento on occasion ( I was the guy from Springfield ,Missouri ) And BTW... the Hybrid bunch is by far the coolest, 8) warmest Z crowd I've been exposed too yet ! And I get around to alot of Z events around the country.Thanks for that ,alot.I've been building Z's since 16 ( 41 now) and Z folks are Family!

OK,ok I'll shut up.

.....................Vince

[Building a rottisery...]

Hey Mike, I'm right in the middle of welding one up as we speak, I'm using 4x4 and 5x5 tube as the primaries,however I do realize this is hell for stout re: a Z's weight. I'm just using materials that are taking up space in the shop. I can't seem to post pics. ,maybe I can e-mail them to you and you could post them for this thread ?Let me know.

The mounting points are obvious of course,the main concern is to draw the Grade 8 bolts tight and check them every now and then as you spin the car.

I'm going to weld the spin pipe last so as to align the centers with a long 2' or 3' pipe between the full length ,that way the final trueness won't put any undue stresses on the Rotation bearing and bumper points.

Give me shout to what ya' think ?

...........Vince

[Attention ON3GO and z-REX & point-counter point]

Yeah Sparky, thats me.

How ha doin'?You've got a good memory ! E-mail me after your comments on this thread . I'd definatly see good reading in this article don't you ?

...........Vince

[Attention ON3GO and z-REX & point-counter point]

I do agree with TIM 240 on the Idea the fewer Stock vintage cars are around,the more there value increases with time.

But I think the Z sport article is simply intended for all of us to witness the "who's got the better machine " in the end .Something we're all not ever going to see the point,because the Z has remained an awesome base to refine,restore and enjoy,no matter how we build them, Period !

I don't own a V-8 Z,but my older brother has done several "Badass" V-8 Z's and we've always loved racing the crap out of each other.Strangly enough he loves the sound of my turbo and I his American growl But neither one ,will permantly swap our power plant choices.No matter how much we keep upping the power it's still a tie in the speed race !And we love it that way.

I hope Sport Z writes the article in such a way that it simply exposes the many reasons we've all been drawn to the Z as our choice of enthusiasum,motivation and self expression and as well the canvass to show our skills whether it be autocrossing-restoring-fabrication-detail-and just plain old effort !

..............Vince

[Innovative Turbo Systems Ex Wastegate flange.]

Hey FL27, I still havent had luck posting pix here so I'll e-mail it to you,but it's of the T4/E downpipe adapter I turned on a lathe in order to make use of the v-band clamp in a real smooth 45 degree stainless exit.It actually slips into the I.D. and has a zero interior transition as it mates up.

Maybe I'm dreaming ,but I could swear it changed the sound,spool response and back pressure for the better !

I won't lie,it took about 9 hours to prototype it on the lathe but it fits perfectly and lools so proper not to mention how easy it makes everything to install/uninstall.Let me know what you think I'll try to get more angles to you if you like ?

Vince

[For those looking for HKS cam spocket]

monster, Do you know if the HKS version is any better as far as tuning than the Nismo steel adjustable one ?

...Vince

[Blowin' through some triples?]

Tony D's the winner !What a small world we live in now that we have Ebay and Hybrid-Z ! And yes to the pix Tony,love to see tour fab. If this old timer can ever figure out how to load pix to this site ,I;ve certainly got some butes' to show,I may have to e-mail them direct to you.Your going to like this Aluminized air box tony .The carbon fibre' is stiff and silver and will hold boost great I'm sure.

What are your plans as far as fuel for your new vintage find? Triple carbs or IBT's ?

....Vince

[Blowin' through some triples?]

How cool is that ? I saw that HKS vintage airbox on EBAY and watched the auction,it ended at 255.00$ or so.The only reason I paid any attention to it is that I'm just now finishing -up an "old school Blow through on my 260-Z (small-bumper )Triple 44mm Solex/Mikuni's, and I'm making the "pre-box out of Aluminized carbon fibre' with machined billet flanges and a Turbonetics "Godzilla" blow-off valve I had on the shelf,.

I had mocked it up in other materials to try it out and man it was loud and beasty ! You guy's oughta try it just for an old twist/new twist.

I've got several 1st gen Z's ,and just wanted this one to be a little edgy compared to the others.So its got 15x9 Centerlines I bought new in the late 70's but never used.Also ZG flares and some special hood grilles,fender vents.Scarab rear deck spoiler and dual upturned stainless exhaust ,etc,etc.

sorry to ramble on, I just Love these cars !

Vince

[Should I mess with this or leave it be?]

I remember when I was still using the stock turbo electronics on the ZX engines.about 60% of the glitches encountered were in the "FLAP" style throttle box.They were constantly posing "little gremlins" because of little things like grit build-up etc.It was constantly a reoccuring problem,and just replacing it only delayed it from the next go round.

The next item a little more important in many directions was the flow rate of the injectors.(but that should go to another thread )If you havent taken them out and floed their CC's,and made sure their cleanliness is perfect and a really close flow rate ,it can kill any chance or good idle and acceleration no matter what else you replace.

Perhaps you've already dialed that in,excuse me if I've missed you alresdy addressing that .

Those problems were eventially what made me delve into using 3.0 mass air,harness,injectors etc. on my turbo 240-Z. (much better performance)

.................Vince

[Anyone ever install or info about RB26DETT on a Z31?]

I've been fabricating custom Z's for about 30 years (still have my first car,240-Z 1970' ) and after watching threads for years now I started what I hope to be my favorite project of them all.

I've taken two of my rust free chasis (early Z bodies) and begun to cut one car directly down the middle,lenghwise.The plan is to add an 8" welded section to widen the cabin elbow room and of course give the final appearance of stance I've always craved.Obviously the resourced powerplant of choice is the RB26DETT using the all wheel drive system and also using ZG flares to enable a set of 13" or wider 3-piece wheels.

I travel a great deal in my job and everything is in place and ready to set into motion.(I'am so stoked )I've done virtually every combination of L-series build you can make and am finally bored with that angle.

So here we go...anyone interested ? comments ?

Vince

[NA 3.1L=>head & camshaft questions. No shortcuts, max]

Oh Geez, so sorry JohnC,

My bad....I thought the hybrid mix might be a blast to try since so many of us have already made so many different multi-carb 2.8-3.1 efforts ! I'll be more disiplined in trying to join in on the next thread ,again everyone, I apologize for the confusion John seems to think I've brought.

Vince

[NA 3.1L=>head & camshaft questions. No shortcuts, max]

hey guys,

I just recently set one of my Z's (260 early) up with a stock f54 turbo manifold and Solex/Mikuni 44mm carbs. I've fabbed an aluminized carbon fibre' airbox with blow-off valve on the nose of the box,and for now plan on running below 10 lbs. boost until I see how it responds.

Any guesses on what I can expect from all of your previous configurations?

I've already got a 73' green 240 with F.I. and a Wolf 3-D,custom intake,To4/E etc.,etc. I'm just doing the 2.6 blow through to touch on both worlds. I love the howl of big carbs and power onset of turbos.It's a shame some of that tone is going to get knocked out by the turbine .

Any thoughts ( ON3GO has seen my green Z engine ,what did you think ON3GO ?

[Installing quarter glasses in my 240z, Help!!!]

I've restored about 30 some pre-79 Z's and you guys have all mentioned what has become the "steps" to re-installing those panes.I've always used a halogen lamp to pre-heat the unit while it sets in the resess home,then in about 10 mins. pull it out and spray a soapy solution(any) on the rubber contact points and quickly slide the pane towards the rear of the void, then quickly slide your hide into the cabin and slide a icepick or straight o-ring tool into the worst aligning holes and lean the tool towards the rear of the car until you can begin to safely thread a bolt.If the tolerances seem too wide then continue to smack the the frame firmly towards the back of the void until you can line up the the holes better.I can't stress enough for you to use common sense regarding these things:1-always chase threadholes and pre fit bolt. 2-make sure the old bolts are worthy of reuse.3-bear in mind the factory coach builders were custom fitting each of these panes,which of course translates as "pains". oh yeah,for crying out loud,make sure you clean the hole good prior,like yo momma toad ya'

[can carb beat turbo??]

well long ago I had decided if I ever got the time that I would build a "blow through" Solex 44mm turbo system on one of my early Z's.And since my fiance' was killed in her Nissan Maxima this past June,I've been walking around with my foot nailed to the ground for months.

Well anyway I've begun the Blow through on my small bumpered 260-Z. I'm fabricating the airbox out of some aluminized carbon fiber(silver).Just to keep things simple at first,I'm only using the stock F54 t-manifold and a T/3 turbo with no Intercooler since boost will be under 10 lbs. Just the 2.5 stainless exhaust that I pulled from my 73' turbo show-car and I'm bolting in the MSD 6al w/msd boost timing master in series.

If all goes well then I'll put the forged piston motor with a ported N47 hard seat head in .(stuff on my shelves from old projects)

So I hope to get the best of both worlds here,the great sound of howling triples and the V-8 beating horsepower that I've enjoyed in my other Z's.

If anybody is interested,post it and I'll stay in touch.

Later.........Vinny-Z