Zhadman

Perhaps I'm confused. Are you referring to any turbocharged car (stock boost and modified boost levels) or are you only referring to turbocharged cars with higher than stock boost levels? My WRX is bone stock... and will ping and retard on a warm day. Pre-ignition (detonation) is most definately related to engine load AND fuel octane rating.

I can't run my WRX on anything lower than the piss 91 here in CA. It pings and retards timing enough... going lower would probably not be a good idea for me. So that's one example of why someone would use 93 octane.

Here's a picture of non-modified VB's installed (also with CCW's)... for reference:

Flare Update: If you look back on page 1 you can see that the Victoria British steel flares really only net ~1" of increased width. After several months of pondering my options (and reviewing the alternate suggestions posed by Hybrid members) I decided to modify the VB's to fit. Here are pics of the wheel/tire combo on the car (with no flares). Now... Below is a shot of the modified flare during construction. In this shot it is mocked up to show fitment in relation to the wheel/tire. I've welded in extensions that stand the flare out an additional 2" from the body of the car. It's definately FAR from finished, but you get a good idea how much farther out the flare will be. Yesterday I scribed the outer profile of the extended flare into the body and cut out the fender well. The body was cut 1" below the scribed mark and segmented so that it could be turned up to meet the flare. 5 pop rivets were installed, fastening the flare to it's new flange. The pop rivets will stay in place until I'm ready to weld the whole thing up (including the inner fenderwell). I'll post more pictures when I can!

I have a 59/66 that had the launcher portion removed. The sight is still there ofcourse. so... a detachable magazine is definately off limits. Sure seems kinda confusing how they word everything.

Well... I pick up my new (to me) Yugo SKS in 10 days! I was able to choose from 3 rifles and I picked the one that was cleanest and showed the least amount of wear. Can't wait to pick 'er up! $246 out the door after the fees and taxes.

I'd like to know if anyone out there is making the vented hood out of CF. You know the ones off the 78-79 (or was it just 79?... I don't remember).

SURE... uh huh... it's a crappy photo. I see it now, though. There's no reflection off the grill area there.

BWRex, I don't want to steal jbc3's thread...here's a link to a post about my wheels: Wheels Installed and Post # 52 (The day I recieved them) . PM me and I'll be more than happy to answer any questions. jbc3, That looks good! I, too, would definately like to see the progress on your project. What did you use to create the shape? metallicar, The grill looks nice... Do you have some sort of ducting on the driver side?

Don't get me wrong... I believe exactly what you, and others, are saying. I was just trying to play the devils advocate. There are many of us on here who will never need to buy a 'kit'. We either have the time, tools, experience or determination to 'engineer' our own solutions. THAT is what makes our cars and shared experiences great. There are very few individuals here who will not lend a helping hand to get someone through one of these swaps. That makes Hybrid and our community extra special. There is an immense amount of pride in the DIY job. Even if it's not perfect... it's something that YOU did/made... and that feeling cannot be bought 'off-the-shelf'. Because our vehicles are largely unsupported by the aftermarket, there are a host of individuals who have to take matters in their own hands to achieve the desired results. With that comes a wealth of knowledge. You don't have to look very hard to see these individuals lend a helping hand. For example (and only just a few in the RB section): JamieT's oil pump and pan thread. Stony's RB swap sticky. 240Z_Masters pics/information in this thread. All the posts concerning Rick Wong's mounts. ...and on and on... McKinney is definately out to make a buck, but so is Ross C., John C., Dave @ Arizona Z and others... The difference is that Ross, John, and Dave are ENTHUSIASTS who (atleast partially) make thier living helping other Z enthusiasts. McKinney does alot of their work on S13's and S14's, but swapping an RB into one of those is technically illegal in CA (for a registered, street driven car). Thier reluctance to listen to the advice of individuals like 240Z_Master reinforces thier position in the community. I sincerely doubt that they CARE about 240Z's and thier owners. But if they can come up with a swap kit for the S30 then they can import and sell more motors... thus making more money. It's probably more of a business decision that a labor of love... and that sets them apart. I, and many of us, will never have a need to purchase any of their products... we will do it on our own and take satisfaction in that. I would much rather spend a couple weekends with my four RB friends (here in SoCal) trying to engineer a solution to a swap issue than pay out the booty for parts that someone else made. I am confident that ANYONE with the grit, dedication, patience and the willingness to learn can do any one of these swaps without purchasing a single thing... and I hope more people do just that. Sorry for the length of my post, but I wanted to clarify my position...

That car even made it into the current edition of SCC... as a notoriously bad idea!

Not a prob!

I thought that there were significant changes to the unibody on the 280Z that added some of the weight? I could be way off, but I was under the impression that that was a major contributor to the weight difference between the 240 and 280's.

Family Guy ROCKS! FWIW that episode was on last night. Even after viewing the clip on here it was damn funny the second time around.

My initial plan was to purchase a sheet, make 3-4 grills and then sell them. I've removed the original grill mounting point that was attached to the front connecting frame rail (the rail that runs in front of the core support and connects the main frame rails)... so anything I make will be without provisions to mount to that location. I don't know what your timing is... but you can have a section of the sheet I purchase if you want to make your own. I'm going to use the 1/2" hex, though... the 1/4" is just a tad too small for my tastes.

I'll be making my own grill out of 1/2" hexagonal perforated metal sheet ( http://www.ametco.com/perforated/nonround.html ). It's going to follow the shape of the hood and the headlight bucket, but be recessed 1/2". I'll have it powdercoated black. This project is about a month off, but I'll post pics when it's completed.

I was hesitant at first to do it, but once I had it in place I really liked it... so it stayed. I played around a bit trying to figure out how to terminate the bumperettes (as I like to call them). I tried turning them into the grill area and I tried rounding them out... but I ended up liking the abrupt termination the best. It's definately a 'love it' or 'hate it' kinda thing. Little mandibles... ready to rip Honda's into chewable bits! Lol!

I've been giving serious thought to the two tone scheme as well. IF I go with it I will have black on the upper portion (along/above the body line dat240zg mentioned) and my secondary color below that (which will probably end up being a Titanium pearl'ish color with a hint of bronze to warm it up). I will seperate the two colors with a pinstripe (lighter version of the secondary color). The only difficult part of using that body line is determining where to run the colors when you get to the headlight buckets. My idea was to run the black over the top of the bucket... meeting up with the top edge of the hood. I'm just not sure how the inner (cylindrical) portion of the bucket would look... being a seperate color than the top. The front lip of the hood would be the secondary color as well (obviously transitioned by the pinstripe). Not sure how that would look, though... it's the only thing keeping me from doing it.

Those mounts look great. I can't wait to see some of these mounting solutions side by side to see how the motors are positioned. Do Brad's-style mounts hard mount or do they use some sort of isolator?

You're absolutely correct. Maybe they should review the operational history of the M-16. How many of them were ditched in Vietnam in favor of the AK? Yeah... lots. My brother in law has a Yugo SKS and loves it. 'Patriots' be damned. I'm sure that during the Revolutionary War there were plenty of British made guns being used by the American forces.

You could always do what I did: I cut up the stock 240 bumper, removed all the heavy brackets associated with the original frame rail mounting, and fabricated new brackets so that it bolts up to the headlight bucket. It's RS split bumper'ish...

I got my chinese SKS several years ago, but never fired it. Dug it out of storage a few months ago to have a gunsmith (who is familiar with them) go through it to ensure correct and safe operation. I called about 15 places and 14 of them (at some point) hung up on me after I mentioned SKS. One of the guys even called me a commie F***er for owning a crap communist weapon. Finally found a guy in Riverside, CA, who will check it out for me. He just laughed when I called... went something like this: Me: Okay... I'm going to say what rifle I have... please, please don't hang up on me. HIM: Um... okay- Me: Promise? HIM: Yep... Me: Alrighty... I own an SKS- HIM: [Laughs hard]... Don't worry... I get that all the time. I own 3 of them...

Going to make a special trip to Costco today to see if they have them...

Has anyone actually referred them to this site? To this post? I'm playing a bit 'o 'Devil's Advocate' here... they're trying to produce a comprehensive S30 kit from the ground up. That's quite a daunting task for a small shop. What, from the mount pics posted on the previous page, makes it 'crappy'? If something has been identified... has anyone brought it to their attention? I've met both the father and son McKinney's and they did not strike me as unreasonable individuals (but I don't know them personally). Maybe we should lend a helping hand, be supportive and share our experiences with them. [ducks inside concrete bunker]