Mikelly

David stole my thunder. I'm going to run 3.5 inch oval pipes on my setup once I completely reshape these S&S Long tubes to work with my groun clearance issues. Have torch, will make RED HOT! Mike

Yup, that is about as bad as JIm's were. This is absolutely fixable, and expensive to do so, unless you do it yourself. Check with a few of the vendors to locate the floorpan kit, and then plan to cut the floorpans out, and use Pete Paraska's Framerail blueprints and do the whole thing RIGHT! Once you install those framerails, you'll be done... Car will be stiffer than anything else you could do, except installing a cage. Mike

Send them to me at dat74z@yahoo.com... I'd like to take a look, and have been a party to several frame rail/ floorpan installs and can tell you first hand if it is worth fixing... And I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that NO floorpan rust is bad enough to scrap an otherwise good car... You guys saw Pics of Jim McNemar's car. It is GORGIOUS... Floorpans and rails were GONE... From the TC Box all the way to the back... GONE... Not anymore. If you can do it yourself, BUY THE PREMADE floor pans, and BUY the Framerail kit offered by one of the members here, and isntall it yourself for the cost of a welder and gas, and be done with it... So long as you are capable of doing it yourself, it is fixable and worth the effort. Mike

Michael, I had the Centerforce DF setup with the T56 and the pedal pressure was nice, running a 7/8th Tilton master... However, the DF Clutch kits are PRICEY! I'm trying to get the best bang for the buck. As for release bearings, I was going to go with a traditional setup and a factory T5 Slave cylinder unit and clutch fork. Jolane, Sachs makes good stuff and I've used their OEM replacement parts previously... maybe I'll see what they have! Heavy, My Gforce doesn't require a counter gear stabilizer... However, GForce is a big fan of the McCleod product line... I couldn't get them on the phone to answer some of my questions when searching for an SFI Bellhousing and ended up with a Lakewood unit, which is why I'm now looking elsewhere for clutch parts... Maybe they were at SEMA when I was trying to call! Mike

SO I just got the word that my tranny will get shipped in the next two weeks, and I need to buy a clutch kit for the 383 stroker... Which kit guys? 10.5 inch or 11inch? It is a 26 spline. Mainly going to use this car on the track doing road course instructional events... What are you guys using? Most sessions run 30 minutes in length... Mike

The factory Datsun five speed won't live under the torque of a V8... Remember, you're talking about the torque load of an L6 motor, which is in the low to mid 100s... If the car already has a T5 in it, and you have a $2000 budget, look up Paul Cangialosi at http://www.g-forcetransmissions.com for a custom T5 that will be stronger than a T56 and MUCH lighter... And customizable to your preference for gears, shafts, and syncro types. Mine ran $1840 plus about $60 to ship, including the Steeda Triax Shifter! Mike

Sounds like your mother was left with a hard decision to make, and made the best choice based on her options and taking the immediate threat of your safety into account. Yes, it was wrong what this 10 year old stepbrother did to you, but he WAS 10 years old and it points to someone probably abusing him as well. This is a cyclic path, and you certainly must understand that as a child of the age he was, it is kinda hard for him to have comprehended the damage he was doing at the time as well... You should talk with both your parents and try to understand why things happened, and move on and make sure the cycle is broken in your case. Therapy and education will go a long way towards personal happiness. In my case, an old Girlfriend walked up one day and said "Hey I'm 6.5 months pregnant and I know it doesn't show, but trust me, I am..." and she was... and I was 18, she was 19, and we were both in college, and neither of us had any interest in being parents, being single with a child, or comprehending what this would mean to us or the child. I certainly couldn't see being with her, and I couldn't see trying to let my parents raise a child, and at 18 I was putting everything out on the table and trying to find the best solution for the baby, as well as us. Adoption was our only solution, so long as the couple was picked by us. We got the file on several families, and read them, and decided who was suitable, based on the states screening process and our final decision AFTER the state screened the candidates. Hardest thing I've ever done, and a decision that has followed me for the last 20 years. To top it off, my son was born on my mother's birthday... Mike

Yea, I saw the "Vortec" listed next to it in the MORTEC info on the heads and just scratched my head... But it does show them as I measured with 2.02 and 1.5 valves. The heads were disassembled by a machine shop, so I just used my dial caliper to confirm the size. Heads look to be in clean shape and the cam doesnt' look hurt at all. I'll drop a line to Crane and see what info I can dig up on it. Mike

Well a good alternate (Since you already have them) is to take them to a shop and have something more durable made, using these units as the template! John C. could advise here... Mike

Update... Mortec Says these were Vortec heads that were used on 71-72 350 LT1 applications... 75CC... The heads have been disassembled and cleaned at a machine shop, and looked over. Can't find ANYTHING on Crane's site just yet... Mike

Jim McNemare gave me a set of heads and a Crane cam, and all the parts for them... I'm trying to find out what I can on them before I sell them... The heads are Number: 3973487 Chevy Small block steel heads with 2.02/ 1.5 valves. The cam is a crane unit: R-234 -1335-2-12 The setup came with some roller rockers, hardened pushrods, and screw in studs. The lifters are roller lifters and are in excellent shape. Mike

SO I'd had some issues with bolting on my FLuidamper on my 383 stroker.. Never could get it to seat with Pete's tool, and I broke TWO of my own... So today I pulled the timing cover off and took a look at things... And got out my NEW crank tool, which was like the Proform balancer install tool i previously broke... Interesting thing about the tool... if you allow the tool to bottom out, it will put undue stress on the threads and snap it... So this time I installed the balancer without bottoming it, holding it back with a wrench as I turned the bearing portion with the larger nut on the tool... BINGO! So now I need a waterpump/ TC gasket set and I'll have the front of the motor back together...While I was at it, I figured I'd re-route the fuel rail regulator so it wouldn't HIT my new hand formed valve covers... I'm not awaiting the Gforce tranny, then I'll assemble it and the clutch kit with the Lakewood bellhousing, heat and bend the headers to clear my Canton pan, and ready everything for the install... Making progress! Mike

I know on C5 Corvette applications the clutch kit, indlucing flywheel are replaced as a unit since they are sold in kits... If not replaced as a unit, you must have the whole assembly balanced per the GM shop manual's Specs. Mike

Depends on the defenition of "Hard" for street driving... I've had them fail, move out of position, and not hold alignment well... They are aluminum and will wear over time, and the Delrin internal sleeve will crack and degrade with time... If you use sticky tires and hard springs, these issues will cause failure to accelerate. In my opinion, they are junk! Mike

Exactly... For the same money spent on a 305, you can generally get a 350, so why bother? Unless of course you live in an area where 305s are plentiful and 350s are rare to be found, which is unheard of in the USA. Savage, You should take a trip down to Chesterfield Autoparts and walk through their yard... They have 350s with automatics bolted to them for cheap... My guess is you could get a motor trans combo for less than $500. Mike

Mine was good overall... Every year I spend more on one person, and this year it was my wife, and I think it will be in the future... She does so much more for me, is there when I need her, and quite honestly I don't get the sense that her kids appreciate it as much... So she got: a Panasonic DVR handycam, $100 mall gift certificate, $200 Casual Corner gift Certificate, $300 Petite Sophisticate GIft certificate, and a comforter set... The oldest step son got a snow board parka (That I had bought and never used-new in the closet), $100 and a free Dyno session at Express Auto. The youngest got his windows tinted in his car, and I paid half towards a gym membership (His dad paid the other half) and we got a DVR Dishnet box for his room. I got a corvette hat, a C5 double cup holder, some leg warmers for bicycling, a right angle drill attachment, a pair of bass shakers to wire into our home theater, a craftsman lazer leveler, an extention cord built into a reel and power strip, and a couple of small things like a beard trimmer and a travel mug. I also bought my parents a 32inch panasonic TV... But everyone in the extended family got gift cards... $50 each for my brothers, my sister, and the nephews and nieces... I figure they appreciate money as much as anything. MIke

Paul, I gotta ask, Why the 4.3? I had it in a S10 Blazer and hated the motor... Mike

Merry Xmas Michael... CALL YOUR FAMILY and give them the gift of your presence (telephonically speaking of course)! Be safe, and have fun... I'll also be in the garage hiding from my oldest stepson at some point! Mike

David, Look at it like this... You still get to KEEP trying, right? I decided yesterday afternoon while I was in my garage working on my car, and dealing with the stress of the holidays (My older brother and I don't get along to well, and there's always stress with my oldest stepson as well...) that I would find my son. I want to know him before I die, and make sure he knows about me. Life is strange... Things happen for a reason... I hired a fellow two months ago to work for our company and I got a call on Thursday that this guy's daughter was killed in an accident this past wednesday night... 17 years old, and at the beginning of her life. Sometimes I wonder if having children is worth the pain, the stress, the sleepless nights... This poor guy will have a lifetime of wondering how things might have been. What do you say to someone who has such tremendous loss and right here at the holidays to top it off... I couldn't imagine, and wouldn't want to... David, You keep trying myfriend... Keep trying. Mike

There is a Z shop in Great Falls Off Rt.7 in Northern Virginia... Datsun Dynamics... However, be forewarned that sending something like this out to a shop to do will be VERY expensive. There are a number of us in the DC/ Maryland/ Virginia area... Glad to know there is one more! Mike

Cold Air Intake... CAI! Mike

Rt.619 and Aiden road are the roads you are thinking of that go From Independance Hill down to the main entrance at Qtown at Rt.1. I catch air in the Vette a LOT on my commutes when I take those alternate routes. That shop was there as of a year ago. I think he still has a lot of stuff from Zs, but his problem was he was stuck in the early 80s. His prices on parts was THROUGH the roof as of three years ago. I Went to the owners house and I'm not kidding when I say he had at least 100 old rusted out Zs, ZXs, and 510s... Mike

Gabe I've got a 1998 ZX9R that is tweeked pretty well and turns 132Hp at the rear wheel and is 390Pounds dry... I've got a ton of spares for it, and it is a clean ride... Lots of fun! Doug, I JUST bought the wife a DVR mini recorder for Xmas, since she was NOT happy with my Digicam. So we'll have a camcorder of sorts for it... 20X zoom, very good stability and seems to be a nice little unit for the coin spent! Mike

Couple of the guys who've been to the house have heard a few of my police encounters and my desire to unload my bike because of them... After MONTHS (Six to be exact) of trying to sell the bike with the additional race plastics and all trhe slicks and extra wheels, stands, manuals, carb sticks, and other related tools/ fluids, I gave up. I"m simply not willing to give over $7000 worth of gear and BIKE away (Especially with the mods) for less than $4500! So in May I took a new job out west of where I live, and the trip there is NOT a grind up I95 to I395... No, there are many different alternate routes with backroads that are roads you see in magazines... Roads behind Quantico Marine Corps Base, sandwhiched in between Fairfax, Prince William, Stafford, and Fauquire Counties... I'll be doing a LOT more commuting on my scooter... and since My Buddy Barry now works for my company and across the street from my location, we'll be riding in together and back home the same route together... he ride a BMW, so I'll be kept on a leash! I'm also gonna sign up for several track days this year. I plan to do 4 in the Vette/ Z and four on the bike. Mike

FYI on the ZX10... Buddy of mine at work dropped his in a parking lot doing less than 25MPH and BENT THE STEERER On the Frame... Totalled it. These new breeds of flyweight sportbikes are so delicate that it isn't just about replacing expensive plastics and controls anymore. Guy I mentioned above walked away without so much as a hard RUB on his leathers, and the driver of the car he avoided didn't even SEE any damage other than a broken brake lever and a cracked lens (Frame sliders REALLY HELPED HERE!). However, under further inspection, frame was tweeked and bike was totalled... Brand new 04 WITH the front wheel recall corrected... I saw the bike and was speechless at the damage this simple low speed fall caused... THat said, a Turbo'ed ZX10 would be the POO... I rode ANOTHER buddies (My friend with a 2002 Z06 Vette) and his ZX10 made so much power, It kept me on my toes... I could see rear traction being a huge problem at track days! Mike