Mikelly

Yea, imagine the amount of mud and salt water damage! It is truly a tragedy, but the fiberglass work would be worth it for pulling molds, if they are done correctly... I'm VERY tempted... Mike

Let me preface this by saying that my uncle John (Now dead) owned K&K Auto in the town I live in. John used to work exclusively on European cars, and for a couple of summers I got to work at his shop. I got to drive a number of exotics... Every single gated shift plate car was a royal pain in the arse to shift. I hated them. Now this was in the early 1980s, but I can think of several times that I personally had issues with false shifts where the gate would interfere, and it was a constant joke around the shop about how that plate alone would hinder racing successfully in those... Low and behold, one of our customers had several race cars from Ferrari and he enlightened us that they would remove the gate plate off the shifter. Function has to meet form guys... Good Luck! Mike

That is quite possibly the ugliest kitcar on the planet! Mike

Congrats man! Mike

Those cars are a lot of fun. We see them regularly at track days. Dodge really did their homework with that SRT/neon! Mike:cool:

Prieth, Unfortunately the original "Z" was a Corvette... Our little beauties rolled off the assembly line a couple years later... This car is something else... Can't wait to see one at a track day! However, try to buy one right now... In my area the Koons of Manassas Chevy dealer has TWO and the price is $101K GM isn't discouraging this practice either! And what's worse is idiots are paying it... Wait about three years and you'll be able to get a low mileage unit for about $45-50K! On that dyno chart, if my calculation is correct, it would seem that the new Z06 is suffering from more driveline loss than the previous Z06. That HP figure shows a 14% loss. We've seen bone stock 2004 model Z06s in the 9-10% range... That also could just be a factor of a new motor with fresh rings not totally sealed yet... Mike

Keep in mind that high 12s to low 13s are pretty fast numbers when compared to anything on the showroom except for the higher end of the market. This is a very informative thread. Mike

You sir need a stress reliever... I know a couple of single moms that need support! <<<<<<<------------ Mike

D&D performance is my recommendation for parts for your T56... They have everything to beef it up, including the forged strut pins and 3/4 shift fork, as well as the Kevlar Syncros from C5 supplied T56s... Prices aren't that bad considering... Mike

Kazu, Jamie was on the team that designed the rear round tube arms I sold back in 2001-2003. The problem with not using heim joints in the rear is the binde the arm is put in. We had several arms suffer structural tubing failures beyond the welds because the metal, over time (These were track cars on slicks) was fatigued to the point of failure of the metal tubing. I think you and Jamie both are onto something... I particularly like Jamie's design because I have the same type of rear differential (Not a standard R200/ R180) and will be covering this hurdle soon. Mike

I recommend going to a track day event hosted by a Zcar club... You'll see NO bellypans and rarely a chin splitter. Most track Zs simply aren't employing a lot of these advanced designs. I'll try a few things as I get the car up and running, just for giggles, but I've made a huge turn around on this. Unless you're chasing the salt flats or doing the Silverstate Challenge type events, I'm not seeing much need for these advanced devices below 160MPH and there are few documented cars doing in excess of that in Zcar land... YES there are a FEW documented... But still... A F-E-W! Rear spoiler, airdam, and maybe removing the mirrors and applying tape on the seams... That's about all I would recommend... Beyond that you might end up creating something more dangerous without knowing. Mike

I strongly recommend that you do a lot of research and go to http://www.alteredz.com Pete has excellent framerail blueprints for upgrading yours. No offense, but you really don't sound like you're familiar with the car very much. READ A LOT here and at ZCAR.com and get educated about that car before you dive in. Your dad deserves it. Best wishes! Mike

We had problems with them binding on install... couldn't get them to line up to the strut housings... It was very difficult. Every time you have to adjust them for anything BUT toe, you have to pull the spindle bolt and thread in or out the heim joints... It was quite difficult with THREE men on the arm and strut assembly to get them to work. HOURS were required to install and then adjust them. We also didn't use a rear swaybar. Mike

Rob, If you haven't bought your arms yet, I suggest looking at Ross' design. I've installed the AZC arms and they are an absolute bitch. They are well made and very functional, but are a BEAR to adjust. Just my $.02! Mike

BASTARDO... Looks good as always. Mike

David, I wouldn't sweat it man. You didn't build the car for 1/4 mile stuff... Shake it out, and get your bugs fully worked, and get some sticky tires on the back of that car. With the power to weight of that thing, you'll be in the 12s I'm sure. Mike

"let them eat cake..." Or Give them enough rope so that they hang themselves or get baned! Mike

I had one block bored .80 over and it never ran hot, but the comment about running hot should be taken seriously. Go much more than .60 over and the block does require attention and a stock cooling system may not work... All depends on how well that individual block sheds the heat. I think sleeving it would be the way to go, but wouldn't think twice about boring it out to .60 over on all cylinders if that would "fix" that problem cylinder. Mike

On my first attempt I was able to pull the Datsun Drivetrain in October 1998 and took the car for its first test drive by May/ June the following year. I also had upgraded the fuel system to a fuel cell and relocated the battery to the rear of the car and repaired the rust below the battery box and removed the battery box from the car completely. I prepped and painted the engine bay was well. So when you consider all that, along with learning how to "do" the T56 tranny components as well, I think that turn around was pretty quick. I also was recouperating from a fractured skull during this timeframe, so it was very therapudic to build this V8 car. If I had a clean car that required no interior or suspension "stuff", I'd be able to do a swap in about 2-4 weekends or less. If everything was inhouse, it would be quicker for sure. Buy the JTR manual and read this site... Everything you could imagine to stump you has been sorted here by other members, a luxury we didn't have back in the 90s! Mike

Ken, I'm within days of being back in the shop working on my Zcar project. Since it will be a track day car with minimal street use, I'll be testing a LOT of ideas on my Z, including a number of wing, spoiler, splitter, and airdam designs as I go. Doug Carrow is pretty good with resin and fiber matting and he and will be trying some of this "Stuff" out over the winter for fit and design, and testing the "stuff" come next spring when te Z is back together. Fortunately, I've got a couple of road courses and plenty of clubs that will be used for my testing days. As to a windtunnel for business, I don't see a market for many on this board. I actually contacted TWO companies (one on the east coast) back in 2001 who have them and was informed that theirs weren't available for rent. Most of these facilities are booked by the major racing teams throughout the country. Last month I read that one of the larger Nascar teams had built one in North Carolina. However, in that article it stated again that it would be for rent to race teams only. By the way, Rent was in the $1K+ per HOUR and you had to bring your own operator back in 2001! Our goal is to start this company next week, put as many people on government contracts as we possibly can, and then buy a large enough chunk of land with a house already built on it, and have a large shop put on it. I'm shooting for 40X60 or 50X100. I then plan to buy a Dyno. I think in my area, that thing would be worth its weight. Glad to see this topic re-surface. I'm amazed that I post figures direct from Chrysler about the new 2006 Viper R/T10 and Michael finds the need to dispute them. Sometimes I wonder if we don't find things to disagree about for the sole purpose of the disagrement itself. February 2005 issue of Car and Driver... http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=19&article_id=9018 Aerodynamics and Downforce... They've been concerns for car builders since automotive racing competition cars have been built... Makes you wonder what they engineers were thinking when the Datsun was designed... Mike

Scottie, Pencil me in... 2fittieZ, There is a reason I also have a 76Z with a full cage and fuel cell... power to Weight ratio is key. That being said, I've not lost a single stoplight challenge in this Vette. Then again, Most people hear the exhaust and don't even try. And stop light races mean ZIPP. Timeslips are the only proof that both people agreed to, and raced from point a to point b. My guess is this car will run low 12s, so do the math and you should be able to figure out how you'd stack up... Regardless, you'd probably beat me because I'm a road course guy and not into drag racing anymore at all. Got a few ground issues to resolve that creeped up yesterday, and maybe a battery to replace (my optima battery is 7 years old and spent most of its life on a shelf), in order to calm the electronics down. Overall this car is such a blast. The heads/ cam combo make it easy to launch in control and the acceleration is most impressive. Kinda reminds me of my other 383Zcar project. Mike

Having converted Jim McNemar's Scarab to a JTR, I'll throw my hat in the ring on this one... Unless you want to put this car on the track, or want the ultimate handling, And since this car is so rare and in such great shape, I'd leave it alone. Also, the Scarab springs were supposed to be about 15% stiffer than stock springs. The struts were also an upgrade at the time. I believe the should be Bilsteins and if not blown, are pretty nice units, designed specifically for the weight of the motor over the front axle. David, Beware the TC boxes. They were cracked on Jim's car. The Scarabs suffer added stress on them, and you pretty much have to dig below the undercoating to find it. Also, Jim's trans tunnel and floorpans were TWISTED. Probably from repeated hard launches from stop lights from JIm, and from the two previous owners. We've got those same seats, taken from Jim's car and currently in my Son's civic. Great car man! I take it the Cobra found a home? Mike

Yup... And with a good fabrication shop, you can have quick turn around for a cage and frame rails. My 12 point took a total of 28 hours for the shop to do it. A drag certified cage would probably be in that range. Go here to check out mine: http://photos.yahoo.com/dat74z and click on the "New Zcarpoject" Folder. Mike

Thanks man for the loan of the scantool! Mike

No doubt... If I could unload my 383 stroker for a reasonable amount, I'd buy a Z06 crate motor and dump it in the Z... They are simply amazing at the power they build. Mike