Mikelly

I'd recommend taking Mark's advice and having a 4-6 point unit welded in. Having one custom made to contour to the inside of the car is best. we are welding a unit (Actually almost done!) into Jim's Scarab and using 1 5/8th .095 wall cromoly tubing and the tubing is simply amazing how light weight it is when compared to DOM... and this unit will accomodate wide racing seats AND will move the forward down tubes to the front a pillar nicely... of course to get that tight a fit you'll need to remove the dash! Mine's next! Mike

I've currently got a Giant Carbon Fiber hardtail that is strictly a 2X9 race rig. It works great and was put together with race spares from my Jamis FS race bike. All the bikes you list are well within the range for what you want to do. However, I'm a HUGE fan of JAMIS bikes... I've got a Diamondback, and a GT, and the other two bikes mentioned above. The best fit for me is My Jamis. There are currently seven bikes in the Kelly family stable, along with wheel building tools (I build all my own) and every other tool needed to build at the track or home! Just need to RIDE more and turn wrenches on cars LESS! Mike

Just got off the phone with S&S and was chatting with their senior guy and he told me that he could work up something a little tighter, but wondered if it wasn't an issue with how the tranny was sitting in the car... Don't know, but he is up for a revisit of these... He has also built BIG tube headers for 240Zs with big cubes... Bottom line is they are willing to work with us... 623-847-0920 was the inside line! If we can come to an agreement on what primary to use, I'm game and JIm would be as well... I'm using a 383 with lots of potential for big cubes, and after running 10:98s on block huggers...I'd really like something with a little better flow! Oh and someone asked about the configuration... This is traditional small block chevy in the JTR setback! Mike

Trying to find a V8 Zcar member who lives near Glendale Arizona and who would be interested in allowing S&S headers to use their car as a test for making a NEW set of headers for the V8 Z SBC Conversion???? Not sure what the cost would be, but there are atleast a few of us who would chip in on the initial setup and build of a set for the template so S&S could get us a more "Exacting" fit for ground clearance... Mike

You boys are doing something wrong... My wife is tickled to death that I'm IN the garage and NOT in some girl's bed. No, I must admit that it has more to do with me not wanting to start over at this stage of the game. My 383 stroker will be 500+ hp and will have programable FI thanks to Holley... I'm close to a point where I can start re-assembling this thing, so I'm gonna press on without changing the motor out for now... However, I WILL have an extra LS1 sitting on the engine stand, should something happen! Mike

Yup, and molds change over time and use, as do parts when they are made and then stored... The MSA flares on the white Zcar I had and sold John (JT1) had a fit difference of almost an INCH from side to side, even though they were both fitted at the same spot on the body line... Fiberglass is tough to make, and even tougher to make properly and store! Mike

Fredericksburg Needs a Strip Club... Two Words Son: Jiggly Joint! Mike

Holy CRAP! THat is like 10 miles from my house... Might have to go take a look! Yea, John told me about the Insurance claim and all that... I was amazed. BTW, That site is really bad news... LOTS of deals on race cars and parts... REALLY BAD NEWS ALLEN! Hahahahah! Mike

"MFBH!" Dr., Do you make house calls? Hahahahaha! Mike

Mark, I went Here: http://www.dealsonwheels.com/category/index.cfm/cat/12 There are also a LOT of them on ebay, and many of them are in the NC/ GA areas. John (JT1) really got me going on this when he came to pick up the white Z I sold him, towing a HUGE enclosed trailer! Mike

Yup, the Haulmark, Pace, featherlight and wellscargo models I've looked at are all 3/4inch treaded (Some cases marine grade) plywood with 16inch on center bracing, 4 wheel brakes, and all of them under $6000 have 3500# rated axles, with an average of $1000 upgrade to 5200# axles and six lug hubs. Of the three different brands I looked at, all were nice, had full loom front to rear, and seemed well made. I'm not ready to move just yet, but I did find one in Georgia that was a Haulmark 24X8.5 for $3800. It sounds like an excellent deal on an inexpensive line trailer. Most of my towing would be within 5 hours of home, with the occassional trip to Road Atlanta, Sebring, and MAYBE a jaunt down to Barber... I could easily get by with a 20Ft. unit though... Mike

I strongly recommend you do some searching... Jim M. Bought a set of Corbeau seats for his Zcar and they ended up to WIDE... Doublecheck ALL your measurements... I DO know that the A4 fits. Pete Paraska and I both have that seat, and it fits in the car. Mike

On further inspection, It appears I've got a good 1.25 inches of thread in the crank that are good, a little over half an inch of missing threads, and I think JT1's idea makes a LOT of sense... I'm going to look into a stud kit for this unit and also get a flap attachment sander and bore out the balancer. I'm just glad that there is something to work with, and that there appears to be mre than enough threads left to do the job. I'm REALLY concerned about getting the hole drilled straight and re-tapping it at perfect straightness. With the crank in the motor, I'm just not certain that is a good idea. Mike

Anything I pull wwill have to be pulled with a 1500 for now... It is rated at 7500# capacity, so I should be OK with the units I've been looking at... Mike

ANd not to mention the fact that I HAVE TWO LS1s! Ugh... I don't know that I want to open that can of worms with the wife... JUst got done talking to her about seeing the light at the end of the Zcar tunnel... Mike

Man oh man... I just started my C5 Vette with LGM longtubes and hiflo cats and nothing else... The thing sounds SOOOO AWESOME... Got me jonse'ing to get this thing back on the road... Miss my meaty torque... You guys with these things in the Z are truly ahead of the curb! If I could only sell my 383 stroker! Mike

Well I'm Deaf... and Happy... I pulled the tap and die set Barry had loaned me out, and I ran the tap into the crank, cleaned out a TON of trach, and I found over an inch of good usable threads, So I'm gonna get a new Grade 8bolt and hone this balancer out a little, and then heat it up (AGAIN) and try it later this weekend... I'm deaf because I started the Vette with the new LGM headers, SLP Cats and rearward pipes installed... WOW... I really need the mufflers on now... Fortunately I ordered some new 02 sensors, and extended the wires to reach the harness from the new bungs and got ZERO codes and NO leaks... Musta done something right! Now I'm going to remove the whole rear suspension, trans and differential, install a new Torque tube aluminum replacement bushing (Factory was rubber) and fix a trans to diff leak I've had since day one... Then I'm done with this thing and it can go out to the exhaust shop to have the stainless 3 inch pipes bent to run back to my Bprla Stingers! Fun Fun FUn! Mike

Jon, Weren't most of those TC failures on the ZX models? Also, I think Steve and Ian's setup is a bit extreme, but we errored on the side of caution since I was selling these things to people. On the weight savings comment, I agree 100%. My older "Ugly" square tube rear arms were bomb proof and experienced no reported failures.... The pretty, lighter units failed on two occassions. Sometimes lighter isn't better! Mike

So, I'm looking into possibly replacing my trailer with an enclosed 20-24 ft. unit and I'm amazed that I can get NEW 24Ft. enclosed trailers for $6200 (With upgraded axles and 6 lug wheels), but I can't seem to find used trailers any cheaper. Any of you guys notice this??? Mike

OK, someone owes me for a monitor on that one... Hope it sheds water well... Mike

Smart man Alex! Wearing gear is a choice... Smart choice, and the ONLY choice in my opinion... Mike

There is easily an inch worth of threads GONE! I just borrowed an extensive TAP and DIE set from my buddy and will take a look at the damage this evening... I've got some stuff to do to the Vette to get it ready for the track event in February, so I'm going to redirect some of my time to it, since it is actually a working, running, driving car... Imagine that, a car that WORKS... Anyway, I'll get back to you guys and let you know what I end up with... Mike

What is the tranny gearing? Also, how tall are those mondo 18inch tires your spinning? Mike

Well I don't know how it is on the left coast, but out here it is impossible to find gear for petite women, and Magnum's wife looks petite like my wife... Took us 10 months to put together a full set of leathers for her... With the help of Dennis Kirk, Ebay, and another blow out outlet http://www.newenough.com, I was able to find her some really nice leathers, new, on closeout... same with her boots... Got her some SIDI Vertibra2s (Better than my AGV race boots) for $99 on clearance! I got to ride this past Saturday for 2 hours and I covered 135miles, had a blast, but was fully suited and fully armored... I never and I mean NEVER leave home without my leathers, back protector, hard armor, the whole shootin' match... One bad fall on asphault (On a bicycle!) doing 20mph taught me I never want to do that at 80 on a motorcycle! Cheers! Mike

Don't have a pic of it here at work, but I've got a 98 ZX9R that is a flyweight... weighs less than 395# dry and i've weighed it with a full tank of gas at 419# with all fluids and ready to roll... Bike turned 132HP at the wheel on the dyno... I have a complete spare set of plastics, tank and wheels/ slicks for track days. I used to have a 95 GSXR750... nice ride! Get that gal some leathers! I won't let my wife ride without them! Mike