heavy85

Not exactly - the garage ceiling is the updstair bedroom floor. Jon - so do you recommend this one or is it too small? I do like the quiet aspect so I dont wake up the kids at night (see first comment). Thanks Cameron

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=6970&productId=207226&R=207226#productinfo I've been searching around a lot and know that 230V would be better and 60gal would also be better but several things are leading me to look at this compressor. First it's an IR rated at continuous duty so it should last me forever and it's compact (out of garage space), it's two stage, it's relatively portable (wont be in this house forever), I dont have 230V in the garage , and since I wont be doing any bodywork type high flowrate stuff for a year or two (...or three???) I'm thinking I could always add an external air tank down the road if needed. So what do you guys think? Thanks Cameron

JohnC - what rim diameter should I be looking at? Also since the new Koni's dont appear to work what do you recommend - this will be street driven some so I want a good strut that's not too expensive (in the ballpark of the old single adj Koni) so I know it wont be nationally or probably even regionally competitive. I have Illumina's now but am looking to upgrade some when I section the strut housings. Thanks Cameron

Well I'm working on the alignment. Already adjusted for a little more camber and caster on the front but still haven't figured out why there is more camber on the left side both front and rear when both sides are set equally. I guess 30+ years of sagging and tolerances? I'll say I dont care much for the EMI set-up. Next will be to set toe. I'm also going to section my struts and upgrade to Konis. Does anyone know the story on the new single adjustable Konis since the old ones are NLA - like what part # to use and if they are any good? Lastly I'm going to get some race wheels/rubber. Question, though, what size wheels to get and how big of rubber should I be looking at for SM2? Main considerations are performance and cost. In reading over the last two issues of Grassroots Motorsports I have a good idea on the brand of tire just wonder how big to get in both diameter and width. [edit] one last thing - can I easily swap the LSD from my 3.7 diff into my 3.9 diff because I really need lower gearing (or higher depending on how you look at it). Currently I can push high 60s MPH in second. Thanks Cameron

I'm researching rollbars and wonder if anyone has used one of these? Unfortunately they dont have a picture so you can see where it actually attaches. http://www.kirkracing.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Catalog&CategoryID=120 Thanks Cameron

NOS included ? ..... Now I see why you are only running 9 PSI! Sorry no idea what it's worth but to be even less usefull I have an old pull through single SU turbo set-up that I always wondered what if anything someone would give for it. Cameron

I was just thinking the other day that I wonder how much it would cost to have him design and draw a rendering for a Z? Not actually build anything just make the inspirational picture.

You mean like alky or gas (sorry I couldn't help myself). Austin - I'm guessing that unless the aftercooler is close to the radiator - maybe an inch? - that the air from the fans will go path of least resistance which would be over the top and around the sides (at least stationary). Sealing the bottom and sides would help but not sure how much. This is where a middle mounted fan would help if you really wanted the fan to be pulling air through the aftercooler. This is really only a potential issue when going slow as the ram effect would push air through both once moving. I think the WRX aftercooler being mounted above the engine only gets ram air so maybe none of this is an issue. I'm guessing (again) that by the time you really need cooling you would be moving pretty good which is how they get away with it. However, I'm finally guessing (last time for this post I promise) that the WRX type for the same reason would be a good candidate for the water mist. As many have said before - nice job on your car by the way. Cameron

If your going to do that why dont you just skip the aftercooler all together and just use water injection? Remember power is proportional to mass flowrate so adding water increases mass flowrate while cooling the charge allowing more fuel (& boost) without melting things (well as long as you dont run out which would suck) which again increases mass flowrate. As far as the actual question I think that depends. As you show it would probably provide the best radiator cooling, but sealing it would increase the flow through the aftercooler by the fans at the cost of temperature and flowrate to the radiator. Cameron

Yeah, I know I should be able to get a lot more braking g's and therefore know something's not right - especially considering it's just a warmed over L6 and not some rocket ship. I'm also used to my daily driver which stops NOW which makes it that much more apparent. The new pads/rotor/shoes were already installed when I bought the car which is why I have no idea what brand they are but it's very obvious they have very few miles on them. I personally replaced the booster so unless I got a bad one (bought from Napa) then it should be good and I do have a decent vacuum going to it. Thanks Cameron

I too have a similar issue but mine are real hard and just dont grab. I have new rotors, pads (but brand unknown as they were installed by previous owner), & shoes. Rears adjusted, very well bled, new booster, but there's just nothing there except my pedal is very hard not soft. I'm sure I couldn't lock them if I had to. To give you an example at the autox last weekend according to the G-Tech I was pulling 0.73 g's accel, 0.98 g's sideways, and only 0.38 g's in braking. I can actually accelerate faster than I can brake! I'm wondering if the PO 'upgraded' the the larger later model master cylinder so it's not generating enough line pressure to squeeze the pads? Thanks Cameron

Well this past Sunday was the maden voyage for me and the Z. I used to autox a GTI followed by wheel to wheel go-karts now back to full size cars. Anyway I'm looking for some advice on where I take it from here. Car will be driven on nice days 1-2K miles per year with maybe a half dozen autoxes thrown in. Couple things I noticed imediately 1) it snap oversteers really bad if you lift - especially turning left, 2) it plows on slow speed corners which there were several at this event - especially turning right, 3) need more midrange power, 4) need real tires, & 5) need brakes that are a little more confidence inspiring. I know 2) can be fixed by a large part by driver not entering too hot . Here's my stats: '72 240Z w/out wipers, heater, spare, & battery relocated behind pass seat 15" generic wheels w/ Dunlap 'Sport' 225/60R15's (not high performance) ZG flares (so I could fit big rubber if I had it) 225 / 250 springs on coilovers - front arms set level, rears with ~1/2" of rake Tokico Illuminas (but I'm concerned they are about dead?) EMI camber plates all around 2.5 deg neg camber on lefts, 1.5 deg neg on rights but garage not level Offset aluminum bushings front and rear, rest poly G-machine TC rod bushing ST swaybars front and rear Front and rear stut bars L28 w/ headers, mild cam, tripple 44 Mikunis, MSD, & shaved P79 3.7 R200 LSD Stock brakes with new rotors, pads, & shoes (brand unknown) well bled 3 out of 4 SS brake lines (??) Early 'comp' 5 speed So if I had a couple g's laying around to play with where should I go from here? I'm thinking I should start by getting real rubber but debating high performance street vs R compound. Also debating on new wheels. Next I'm thinking of properly shortening the struts so it doesn't hit the bump stops and adding single adjustable Koni's (although I thought I read they are NLA?). I just got but yet to install a wideband to hopefully tune carb to help the midrange unless I need cam and or cam timing change (timing chain sprocket set on 2 but not degree'ed in)? Any suggestions? Seperately I also want to put in a rollbar but that's mostly for safetys sake - my wife currently wont even let the kids ride in it. Thanks Cameron

That's exactly where I was going with the mounting - started off splitting the pieces instead of going all the way across but quickly realized that didn't support the plastic fan mounts enough so am on the way to making bars that go all the way across the radiator. I'm not familiar with that style of thermostat - you got any pictures by any chance and where could I get my hands on one of these? And finally, although I realize they are metric threads on the engine I have used an NPT tee when I added an oil pressure idiot light so I know they are close enough to work. There is actually one plug that is the right size (or at least the close enough metric equivalent) on the driver side towards the rear of the block but that's under the header so I'm worried it's too hot. Cameron

I posted this a while back on the 6 cyl forum but didn't get much feedback so I am trying again over here. So ... Anyone got any pictures or advice how to mount a 16" Spal fan to the stock z radiator. I've got some ideas just wanted to see what others had already done. Also, any suggestions where to install the thermostat switch that controls the fan (I'm using the Spal thermostatic relay to control it)? I dont have any extra holes in the engine to screw it into and it's kind of big (3/8 NPT). Thanks Cameron

I would still suspect the cooling systems is not up to 100% and opening the vents are causing just enough airflow loss to push it over the edge. This is not normal as my trippled, high compression L28 in a 240 with stock cooling systems (no shroud) does not even run hot on 98 degree days in traffic - and I never shut those vents. In my experience the radiator probably is a little clogged up internally. I would take it to a shop and have it flushed or at least take a look down inside the radiator tubes and see if they look clogged. Cameron

I had the same problem except I could not find 1 mm oversized flat-tops. I ended up getting a new block that didn't need to be bored out so I could keep the original pistons. They are not NLA they are just on backorder which means you could get them tomorrow or next year or maybe never. The only place I could find some was Carquest and they were made by a company called SAFETY which is why I didn't buy them. Cameron

Jon - you said you did a bunch of research but what swayed you to the Ultra-Shield brand of seats? I noticed Grassroots Motorsports put a set in one of their project cars but didn't know if that was because they were freebees or if they are really quality seats. And be sure to let us know how they fit. Thanks Cameron

When I auto-xed my old '84 GTI I would jack right behind the front wheel and it would lift the front and back wheels so I only had to jack from one point on each side of the car to switch wheels. It only had front and rear strut braces. Now on my current daily driver a bone stock '03 SVT Focus if I jack behind the front wheel both front wheels and one rear wheels comes off the ground to a two point stance (sorta like that Neon). Cars are a LOT stiffer than they used to be. Cameron

An alternate to the smoke bomb idea to find all those stupid little holes is to use a bright light on one side and look for where the light comes through on the other side (obviously the darker the room is the better). You would be amazed where there are air entry points. And make sure you move the light around a bunch to catch them all as some will be hidden if you dont. I sealed these areas (and there were a bunch) with a roll of aluminum tape and a tube of caulk and it reduced the smell a lot. Just put new tank vent lines in yesterday as one was leaking and I'm hoping that will fix the rest. Also, since I dont have a hatch interior panel I used the aluminum take to seal the gaping holes around the hatch latch and the huge drain holes in the bottom of the hatch (she doesn't see rain so I'm not worried about drainage). Cameron

Unfortunately it's got a P79 head which only has one port on the thermostat housing and it's being used to measure temp for the gauge. I also have a P90 head that has several ports on the thermostat housing but unfortunately the housing will not fit the P79 head and I'm NOT switching heads. Any other ideas? Cameron

Anyone got any pictures or advice how to mount a 16" Spal fan to the stock z radiator. I've got some ideas just wanted to see what others had already done. Also, any suggestions where to install the thernostat switch that controls the fan? I know it ideally should go in the return flow to the radiator but I dont have any extra holes in the engine to screw it into and it's kind of big (3/8 NPT). Thanks Cameron

I've thought about using a cup half full with water strapped to the dash with graduated lines on the sides to measure G's but a string hanging in a car ... that's just hokey ... or maybe an air freshener. Cameron

This happened yesterday evening. OK so here it goes... Took her out for a test drive (the car that is - keep focused), cruisin down the highway, right turn at 'agressive speeds' from highway onto couty road, immediately over railroad track ... what's that smell ... seems kind of like burning plastic .... hmm that's bad (check gauges and alls well) ... wait what's that smoke out of the corner of my eye ... dont know but I'ld better kill the engine ... crap it's the battery (pull over, get out, open hatch) ... crap the fuel pump is still running (fuel pump dies on it's own) ... crap why are there so many threads on the battery box cover (battery is remote mounted behind passenger seat) it'll never come off (finally get cover off) ... crap the battery strap is glowing cherry and there are flames shooting off it from the paint burning ... what the hell do I do ... my car is going to go up in flames in front of my eyes and theres nothing I can do about it ... I have no tools with me ... wait maybe I didn't put the terminal on tight and can just yank it off (yank on positive cable) ... crap it wont come off (stop think duh slide the battery over so the positive terminal is not direct shorting to the mounting strap) ... ouch I think that should have hurt but can't feel anything ... good it's not glowing red anymore ... crap it's still hot and now melting through the top of the battery ... wait I do have a screwdrive (pry strap off battery) ... I'm not going to drive it anymore without a fire extinguisher ... wish I had a cell phone ... all is calm So I bummed a cell phone from a kind passer by to call my wife and she graciously (without even a bad look) picked me up and a $109 Optima battery later I drove her back home (the car still) with a little better understanding that you cant trust that a store bought part (battery box and mounting strap in this case) was engineered properly. Should have known better. On the bright side later last night I finally got the right turn signal working:). Tonight I will be re-engineering the battery mounting system. Cameron

Decatur (one hour south of Bloominton, one hour East of Springfield, one hour west of Champaign) - if I can figure out my coilover problem I'll be at the autox at the Coles County Airport near Charleston this Sunday which will be the first race for the Z . Also I just suckered a co-worker into getting a 280 which should be delivered from Louisianna next week and he's probably lurking on here somewhere. He's already talking turbo and Megasquirt By the way I'm in need of a windshield if anyone has one they are willing to part with or know of a jy that may have one around here. Cameron 240 shipped in from Cali last year running L28, tripples, coilovers, ZG flares, etc...too much to list