5foot2

I picked up a Lincoln pt185 Friday. Wow, clean spatter free welds are soooooo sexy. I've only run it dc- on mild steel so far, but the machine was bought with 1/8" aluminum in mind. I'm fab'n a cart for it, my mig and a pair of bottles this weekend. New tools rock.

maybe they broke the pneumatic tool when they put your plug back in and it was out being serviced I love the instant victimhood. Do you get enraged when McDonalds gives you a diet coke when you ordered a regular coke?

If this guys is all done with the Z parts stuff, he should post his specs and drawings of his parts.

Yeah, if you hate the sun roof, weld in a patch (or have it done). The roof is a complex shape, so unless you have the tools to work sheet metal, starting with a flat sheet will never work. Find a clapped out parts car and cut the roof off, even if you just want the center sheet metal. If you grab the whole roof (from the A pillars to the rear hatch) it will hold the shape of the roof sheet metal until it's installed. I cut the roof off the parts car I picked up, just in case I need one.

So.... what about the short nose vlsd in the long nose case? Anyone looked at it, done it, knows a friend who knows a guy who's fathers brother did it?

I paid $300 for a 73 that was a complete rust out. The car was a loss, but it had a NOS front bumper, a usable rear bumper , a bunch of uninstalled sheet metal (rockers, front fender tails, and a dog leg) good enough front turn signals and valance. I wanted the parts to make my 280 look like an early z. The kicker was a really solid dash, zero cracks in the top and only a few blems here and there. Sadly the top cracked while removing it.

I think the Lincoln stuff has a 3 year warranty. The wp100 I just sold was about 10 years old. Never a bit of trouble. Other than the odd lemon, anything from Lincoln, Miller or Hobart is going to last.

just do the math. the tig unit is 1500 ish and replacing your wp100 is about 400. I just sold a wp100 with mig kit for 250 and upgraded to a sp175 pro. so don't forget ebay and the like for a replacement mig. they are two completely different tools, but that sounds like a super sweet deal.

If it's an aluminum tank, just run a 1/2" line inside the tank from where ever you want the lines to exit in the front, to the rear sump. Your return line does not need any extention.

One of the fastest cars I ever drove was a 914 with a 327 in it. It was a beater we took in trade at a specialty car lot I worked at (muscle cars, vettes, etc). It was the car to use for the lunch runs, glasspacks bolted to headers, and of course in the 914 your like 1 inch off the ground. Fun car.

"I have a 1974 260Z and there isn't much to it." "I meen come on there are only so many things it could be." Then why are you having this guy look at it in the first place? Do you not have the tools, no space to work on it, don't know how to fix it? What magic did you expect the scope to do on a pre computer car? It sounds to me maybe you didn't like the answers the man gave you. I recommend you pay the man and mark it up as another good reason to learn to fix your stuff yourself.

what rotor hats are you using on that setup?

that looks like a photochop. cool car though.

If it's a Dana 60 that's been cut to fit the rear of the Z. You should use that instead of a 12 bolt or 9 inch. It's a much better diff than the others. It's a big diff though, common in 1 ton trucks and van. Also used in the Hemi and 440 six Pack mopars. It might look odd under a Z.

Go buy the book "Door Slammers: The Chassis Book". There is not a lot of room in a Z to back half it, leaf springs will be tough.

If this is a short track event and torque is the deciding factor i winning I'd stay far away from a 3" stroked 4" bore combo. This is the classic 301/302 SBC combo. IT's known for high revs but not for torque.

wow! did the follower really wear a grove, leaving a flange on each side of the cam lobe, or am I seeing things? I've pulled a few bad cams out of SBC motors but the lifter contact face is bigger than the cam lobe so the lobe dishes the lifter face as it wears. This is pretty cool.

Why do you want to swap the big block?

Make sure you give some thought to the torque curve of the motor as it relates to the 5th or 6th gear ratio in the trans and the ratio in the diff. The 302 is not known for it's torque, so 1500-2000 rpm @ 70 on the interstate may be bog city. Of course, the same holds true with first gear. Too much rear gear with the wrong motor and a t56 and you'll sound like a tractor trailer taking off. 3:55 ish gears and std. t56 first would be fun with the 302 if you can hook it up.

I find this, interesting.... Are you a King of some small land in old Europe? Will I gain the title of Duke or Earl if I assist you in your quest to stuff 550 hp of raw "393" power into your Z? By the way, did you mean 383? If not what's the 393 based in, it's bore and stroke, etc?

How's the drool? I have a pair of 100lbs labs at the moment, but I've been thinking about getting another dog, a big dog. I have friends with newfoundlands and they're great dogs, but the drool...... it's non stop.

Hey Turbo Meister, any more pics of the 4 link? Will you be able to pull the dash after the cage is complete?

The only wide body Z that's ever hit the mark for me is the Q45 swap at zparts.com. It does not radically change the lines of the stock shape and the fender work is extended to the doors instead of termination before the doors as some seem to do. I'd love to read more about this car, it's so well done. http://www.zparts.com/showcase/engines/pages/q45v8z-testfit.html http://www.zparts.com/showcase/engines/images/q45zpowers_11rw.jpg http://www.zparts.com/showcase/engines/images/q45zpower_19rw1c.jpg

I'd look at the 8.8 LSD rear end out of a early 90's mustang. It's pretty strong, lots of brake options and you can do the MM ford 5 lug brake/hub conversion to match. One other thing I like about the 8.8 in the mustang, it's located by a triangulated 4 link setup, so it has the mouning lugs on the diff for the upper bars. If you wanted to run the triangulated 4 link this will help out a bunch. When you start to measure for the back half, you'll see you don't have much room behind the seats, traditional ladder bars are going to be tough to install.

American is making these wheels again as "Ansen Sprints" (The original name). The area I grew up in (seattle) was thick with s30 z cars, and I think half of them had Ansen sprints or copies. I was thinking a pair of 16" or 17" Ansens would look good, and be a fitting wheel for my build.