qwik240z

As someone that dropped out of college and went back 10 years later, I will throw my 2 cents in here. Finish the Degree. It is so much harder to go back to school after you have been out there in the working world for a while. These days you need a 4 year degree to be competitive. It seems to be the same as what a High School Diploma used to be. My advice to your is to get you degree and while doing it, try to get a part time job at a car shop so you can gain some more car experience and some money of your own. Once you have the degree you may decide to stay in the car business and you will have the formal business skills to set up your own business. Mechanics make good money these days. If this is really what you want to do, you may still want to do it after a few more years of school. The degree will always open doors for you in the future. If you don't get it, you will be sorry about it at some point in the future. Best of luck in school!

Before you tell me to use the search function please know that I have spent the last 5 hours reading through the different posts about swapping in a stronger rear to handle the power of my LS1 motor. My goal is to install a stronger diff then my R180 Nismo LSD rear. I only want to do it one time. So I want it to be strong and reliable. I have a budget of $1500 give or take. I don't plan on too many trips down the 1/4 mile track but I would like to be able to do a smokey burnout once in a while. I don't plan to runs slicks either. I do plan to do track days and autocrosses and use sticky tires. I also plan to use it as a weekend cruiser and surprise the occasional Vette, Viper, DB9, etc. I plan on runnig 225-50-16's on 16 X 7 Panasports. I also plan to run a rear sway bar. I currently have a suspension techniques rear bar and would like to keep it. For now my LS1 is a stock motor and puts down 317HP to the rear wheels and 365 RW torque. I am sure that I will be adding to it at some point in the future and would want to know that the rear I install will handle 400+ RWHP. I was going to buy the billet moustash bar for the Q45 R230 but now I read that the Q45 is an R200. I don't really care if I get an R230 or an R200 as long as it is strong enough. Ease of installation is also a plus. I haven't found anyone making a front mount for these diffs. I read that Jody broke his R230 but I have seen him drive and he launches really hard. I doubt I would run my car that hard but you never know. So please help! I need you Z gurus to show me the way. My head hurts from all of the confusion.

280Z and 280ZX Stub Axles - Are they the Same? I saw a set of 280ZX stub axles on eBay and the guy said they were an upgrade for the 240Z stub axles. Will they bolt in to a 240Z. If so, what parts will I need from the 280ZX?

Mike, I live about 20 minutes from Fairfax on the other side of the Potomac River in Potomac, Maryland. I used to live in Fairfax and I have lived in the DC area all my life (44 years) so I know this area well. I am in the mortgage business and my wife is a realtor. We have a strong knowledge of the market around here. But before you get into house shopping, I think you need to really make sure you want to uproot your life. Take it from someone that has been there and done that. GO SLOW! TAKE YOUR TIME! FOLLOW YOUR HEART! Make a few trips out here and spend lots of time with her. Check out this area. Focus on the 2 of you and your views on all aspects of life. No just good sex. Make sure you enjoy good conversations together. When you get old and your kids are grown you will be glad you chose someone that you can talk with. Your skills will allow you to find employment in this area no problem. If you decide to move here you will have lots of Z friends. The area has lots to offer. Beach is 3 hours away, mountains are less then an hour, Downtown DC for Museums and other culture. It is also highly congested. Lots of people, traffic, etc. Don't forget about the weather. Winter is alot different here. We do get snow and it is cold from mid December til beginning of April. Spring in this area is the best. Summers are hot and humid. Fall is great! I am hear to help if you need anything. Let me know.

I wouldn't cut the support either. I think the JTR intake looks fine. It flows nicely too. Looks less restrictive then the corvette and is alot less work for you too.

Fastzcars, Wow, your car looks great. I see in these pictures that the vintage air unit sits way close to the fire wall. The unit looks really tight for space above it. Did you have any issues in routing the ducting? Did you do the defroster option too?

I am also interested in seeing picturess of these installs. I plan to pull out the entire 240Z heater unit and replace it with a Vintage Air unit for Heat/defrost/AC I want something that will tuck up in close on the passenger side and provide flow to the existing defrost and side ducts. I am willing to modify the center panel to have dual ducts and a modern controller mounted there but would love to keep it looking stock if possible.

Sounds good, David. Keep the updates coming. We are here to help. You are going to live that motor!

I had contacted dashboard Restorations about doing my dash. The are in New Zealand but recently opened a location here in the states. http://www.dashboardrestorations.com.au They wanted $575 plus shipping both ways. I probably would have had them do it but I got a great deal on an NOS dashboard about 6 months ago. It is sitting here waiting for the new EL gauges to arrive so I can pull the old dash and install the new one. Another winter project. I have a full dashcap on now and it looks great. Most people don't even notice that it is a cap.

As long as we haven't had any snow or salt yet, count me in. I won't drive the Z on salted roads. Will be bringing the jack this time.

Went out for a cruise with a friend from out of town today. He is in town to run in the Marine Corp Marathon tomorrow. He needed to go and register so I took him for a ride in the Z. Nice weather for cruising. Anyway, we are going down the highway and here comes this brand new (temp Tags) Aston Martin DB9 in the rear view. As he pulls around me to pass, I drop it into 2nd and hit it. The rear breaks loose and starts to slide but I am used to that. The guy looks over and smiles. He nails it and so do I. We are side by side and WOT. I hit 3rd and the rear breaks loose again. Readline comes up fast and I shift to 4th and keep going. Here comes redline again and I decide that is fast enough for public roads. We both back off. He never pulled away from me. We stayed side by side the entire time. As we slowed down to normal speeds, he keeps looking over and giving me a big thumbs up. The gut is all smiles. I give him the thumbs up too. I know that he was very surprised by the look on his face. I needed to take the next exit so I tuned off and settled back down. My friend was amaZed. He couldn't believe that my little Z car could hang with a modern supercar like the DB9. Nice to know my $25K Datsun can hang with the $155K DB9. For those of you not familiar with the car, here is some info from the Aston Martin website: A great sports car needs a great engine - it is the heart of any high performance machine. In DB9's case, that great engine is a powerful yet refined all aluminium 6.0-litre V12. It produces 335 kW (450 bhp) and 570 Nm (420 lb ft) of torque. That results in a power to weight ratio of 194 kW/tonne (263 bhp/tonne) - one of the highest figures in its class. Performance is enormous, yet usable. Top speed is 300 km/h (186 mph) and acceleration sees 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.9 seconds (add two tenths of a second for the automatic). These figures are impressive and DB9 will respond with real passion. Aston Martin DB9 Vehicle type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2+2-passenger, 2-door coupe Estimated base price: $155,000 Engine type: DOHC 48-valve V-12, aluminum block and heads Displacement: 362 cu in, 5935cc Power (SAE net): 444 bhp @ 6000 rpm Torque (SAE net): 420 lb-ft @ 5000 rpm Transmissions: 6-speed manual with automated shifting and clutch, 6-speed automatic Wheelbase: 107.8 in Length/width/height: 184.9/73.8/51.9 in Curb weight: 3750-3900 lb Manufacturer's performance ratings: Zero to 60 mph: 4.7-4.9 sec Zero to 100 mph: 10.8-10.9 sec Top speed (drag limited): 186 mph Projected fuel economy: EPA city driving (C/D est): 11-12 mpg EPA highway driving (C/D est): 18-19 mpg

That looks great. Can you post a link to the supplier?

sir_daniel, I will check out the condition of the tail lights next time I go to my storage yard and see the car. Chewievette, I did a rip out when I pulled the motor. Cut the core support out in front to make it easy to remove and cut all wires and lines. Car is way too rusty to be a good shell. mario_82_ZXT, I am keeping the calipers for my 510. 73Turbo240z, The moustash bar is already sold.

I had a 1963 215 in my 510 for many years. Non turbo rated at 185HP. The 215 turbo motor was the first production motor to make 1 hp per cubic inch. No big deal today but big news in 1963. I wouldn't recommend that motor for a Z. The turbo parts are unobtanium and even though it is an all aluminum engine there are much better choices today. LS1 for example. If you really want to go with that 40 year old boat anchor (actually too light to be a boat anchor) send me a PM and I can hook you up with the 215 Guru and show you how you can build a 300CI version of that motor. I prefer modern technology.

I too love to row through the gears. When I bought my LS1 motor, it came with a 4L60E and I tried to talk myself into believing that I could be happy with an auto. I even went as far as to install it in the car. Well as the car sat in limbo while I didn't have time to work on it, I finally decided that the Z is a sports car and sports cars should have manual transmissions. (No Flaming Please, this is just my opinion) I am so happy that I went with the T56. I love it. 1st gear is usable if you are just driving around town or starting off easy. If you nail it it will just spin the tires to redline. I have a 3.54:1 LSD rear and in 6th gear at 100mph the car tachs at about 2400 rpms. at 80mph it tachs around 2000rpms and at 60mph it tachs around 1600rpms. I think 3rd and 4th are the best. Talk about power. I can be cruising in 4th gear at 60mph (3000rpms) and nail it and in no time be bouncing off the the rev limiter (set at 6000) which is about 120mph. Talk about exilerating! Go for the 6 speed!

Ok. I too am parting out a 280ZX. 1983 non turbo. Had 128,000 miles on it and was running when parked for a bad clutch. I never heard it run. I pulled the motor and trans the other day. The trans is sold. I am keeping the front struts and the entire brake system for my 510 along with the wheels. Everthing else is available. Car is located in Silver Spring, MD. I am willing to ship parts that are not too big. Car was pretty rusty but all there. The car is white with red velour interior. Dash is cracked and interior is sun faded. Seats are torn, etc. email me at qwik510@aol.com or pm me with any request. Cheap stuff. All must go.

Pete, Got your phone message. Sorry about your misfortune. We can surely hook up again in the spring. If I can help in any way let me know.

$200 will get you an Abbott industires cable-x box that converts the electronic sighal to run the mechanical speedo. I wanted stock gauges so this is the route I took.

Found this on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Datsun-240Z-260Z-Air-Conditioning-A-C-Complete-Kit_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33543QQitemZ8008919372QQrdZ1

I would be in for 2 sets of these. Maybe even 3.

Here is the link to a thread that will tell you about it. Visit the website and you can play with options. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=103440 Here are some shots of the ones for my 510. They are off in this picture. They are on in this picture in simulated daylight. They are on in this picture in simulated nighttime.

Got an email from speedhut today. They have started the tooling for the EL Gauges. WHen they announced this for the Datsun 510, I received mine about 30 days later. Soon to be illuminated.