Mikelly

Neat ride... I could defenitely own a 240SX coup with an SR20DET in it! Mike

Uh, I'm With Kustom 240... Lets raid Japan instead... I need a Gnose! and Flares! Mike

This has been a MAJOR story for us around these parts, since it happened just northwest of DC by about 40 minutes... This TOOL, 'ER fellow rider died on the scene...GOOD! He also had lots of "Friends" who took off as he recked. NICE FRIENDS! The individuals videotaping this event were eventually charged. There was also another member of this tool's club who was riding semi-nude with him as well, and he has been found and arrested... Screwing around in an empty parking lot is onething... these idiots who are riding on one wheel in excess of 100MPH and passing within inches and feet of traffic are criminals who should be put in jail, or gutt shot and left in the woods to die. Mike

Of the American Hotrod Magazine "features" we normally have one issue per year with the following: CRATE MOTOR Extraviganza $600 Performance Specials How-To overhaul your SBC/SBF/SBD the first time Paint and Body Tips for the beginner Header Shoot OUT CAM basics Bore and Stroke Guide for the nooobbeeeeeee Head comparison for the SBC/SBF/SBD Fuel Injection Basics Carburator Basics Carb Vs. Fuel Shootout... And this is just the technical "Stuff" I can trace back for the last TEN years Hotrod, Carcraft, HiPo Chevy, MM&FF, and other useless mags publish year in and year out... So in summary, yes they suck, and yes they publish the same useless crap and yes... I'll keep on buying them... Don't ask why! I still get them all for the nuggets... My crapper looks like a damned magazine rack at the grocery store... yea I'm a magazine whore! Mike 8)

I think he is gonna take you... By atleast a car length! Mike

Well considering HRE and CCW wheels are running in the $3-4K range... That price is in line with full on custom modulare wheels... Mike 8)

I drilled mine myself and would NOT recommend it unless you have a LARGE drill press available. I just did another set of front hubs last night, which is cake, since the holes are existing, but the rears can really be tricky, and it is easy to hose them up. Mike

Sure do! I'll have to watch the sales flyers! Thanks Man! Mike

Yup, I've got two of them sitting in my shop floor right now... Just the differential itself is a beast... 230mm ring gears are STRONG though... Glad I made the move and upgraded for the torque of my 383 Stroker. Mike 8)

Print off some pics from cars here... I used Mark Icard's yellow Z as an example for the rocker box idea! Mike

I've got a local shop three miles up the street from me who will custom make it to my (Rules) specifications AND use cromoly tubing. I highly recommend you get a couple of samples of materials and check out how much heavier DOM mild steel tubing is, when compared to .095 1 5/8th tubing. I was amazed. The guys who are fab'ing my cage are going to tie the rear strut towers together, make the initial 6 points with the front two points sunk into the rocker boxes (No broken ankles) and tie the cage into the FRONT strut towers through the firewall. They are also going to weld the diagenal bar in and X brace at the rear four points. I should have between 10-12 points and it should run me around $1200 complete. I personally do NOT like ANY of the kits available for the Zcar. They do not locate the tubes properly and if you want the best fitment, I recommend going custom. A cage is something you want to get right the first time... There normally isn't a second time! Mike 8)

Today I went into the garage and installed the front suspension, crossmember and swaybar, so I could make the car a rolling chassis again. I also installed new races in the front 300ZX hubs, and installed my companion flages on the rear stub axles. I'm in the process of mocking up my new tophat design for aleviating the whole "sectioned" strut housing issue. This unit will allow you to gain well over 1.5 inches of additional travel on the suspension so you can lower the coil overs without losing the travel in the strut cartridge. If all goes well, I'll ave something to show withint the next two weeks. As soon as the scarab project comes back from the fabricator's, I'll send mine out for roll cage, and I've got an appointment with a painter next week to discuss my paint and body work for the car. Finally, some progress! Mike

Well here is the low down on concerns over upgrades and swaps... If you are not mechanically inclined, you are going to pay a pretty hefty price to get one converted. I would charge by the hour depending on the job for doing coilovers and big brake swaps, primarely because they are time consuming to do. Doing an engine swap would cost you quite a bit, even with someone who is seasoned to swap it in. Bottom line is you just need to ask yourself how deep your wallet is. You would have at least 16 hours worth of labor just on brakes and suspension upgrades (Including front and rear disk, and coil overs/ struts/ bushings), not to mention other things that might be found wrong once the car is in the air. Bearings, ball joints, tie rod pieces, frame and floor pan rot... Just be prepared mentaly, or be prepared to go mental!! Mike

As Ussual, John M. is correct. These cars are NOT nose heavy in foactory trim with the L6. Do a scarab mount with a chevy motor and you throw off the balance, and if you do the JTR, you correct it. Moving the battery to the back isn't a bad thing, so long as you sink it into the floor somehow or move it behind the passenger seat area. You want the battery LOW in the car. It will aid in achieving a better PMI. Mike 8)

The Scarab Project car has a 3:70 R200 with a Quaife and my car has the Q45 with 3:54s. Should be fine. Certainly MUCH better than the Muncie Rock Crusher four speed that is in the Scarab right now... it is a 1:1 ratios in fourth! Mark, The pics will have to wait. I repackaged it so we wouldn't get any dirt or filth in it. Mike

That weight is way to light for an 83ZX.. Something has GOT to be up with that scale. This car has the stock body work, Glass, and factory bumpers??? Those are very respectable times though, and if you cang et that 60ft. time down a bit, you will have yourself a 13.5 second car, no doubt! Good Job! Mike 8)

Dan, None of the current C6s are Z06s. They won't be released until 2005 as a 2006 model... Although I agree that they didn't get crazy with the style changes, when you see the two (C5 and C6) side by side, and walk around them, you get the full impact of just HOW MANY things were changed on the car... The biggest complaint I've had about my C5 was the SIZE of it. The C6 is considerably smaller, and I like that... It has the same overall size as the new 2005 Porsche 911. Mike 8)

With five hundred HP, It is gonna be a bad ride... Rumor is that the Z06 will come in a targa and a convertible as well, but I'm betting it won't be either. They built this car to be raced, and most sanctioning bodies don't like exposed interiors in a showroom stock or stock configuration vehicle... I could be wrong, but to keep the cost to 15% less than a Viper, they won't be able to offer it in multiple platforms like that... My bet is the Z06 is a Hardtop, or in the Vette world, FRC... Fixed Roof Coup. Mike

The TRIAX Shifter ($190 item) comes with the package, and it uses a more conventional (and MUCH lighter) Flywheel/ Clutch setup. I spent $513 on my Centerforce DF setup for my last T56. I suspect I'll have that much in an SFI approved bellhousing AND Heavy duty clutch/ presureplate kit! The weight is another serious factor in all this... When I shipped out my T56, it weighed in at well over 150# in the little box I made for it, and the box weighed maybe 10#. Add the addition weight of that flywheel, Something like 38# (Which is rotating mass) and you can really see the overall impact. On top of that, the gearing in the T56 was NOT ideal for my setup... Jim Pearl aka BLKMGK just chatted with me about possibly going the same route, since he isn't all that happy with HIS setup w/ T56 either! As for gearing, If this was a primarily street car, I would have opted for an Overdrive gear that was more overdriven, but since this car is gonna spend more time on the track than the street, I'm pretty sure it will match revs well for track use, based on how we set the gearing up. Mike 8)

Yup, ask 100 people WHY they hate the ricer mentality and it will be a unanimous vote AGAINST the attitudes of the PUNKS who know nothing, but want to pretend... My tag on my truck says it all NOPOSRS.... I have a HUGE amount of respect for the guys who engineer their cars and make them DO IT right. There is a TON of aftermarket support out there for hondas, and I don't understand WHY there aren't more of them with the right mix of parts to make them work well... I guess for all their efforts spent on big wings and stickers, electronics and lights, they simply do NOT WANT to really understand the physics behind mass in motion... And Jmortensen, I've tried the same thing... I've even handed out flyers to events like FATT (Summit Point Instructional ROAD course training) and autoXs... What we fail to understand is what drives them away from these things is FEAR... It is real easy to hang out in a lot and talk trash... real hard to admit when you CAN'T drive... Saw the look in my oldest step son's face when we went to an autoX... All the sudden he isn't the next Michael Shoemocker! In front of his little hottie girlfriend no less! A lot easier to sit and talk trash, and like a punk, threaten violence, or make up excuses WHY they lost that stoplight run... Mike 8)

Actually I think I read about nickle content differences in the 75-newer blocks... Provide the numbers and I'll dig up the info I had... If I can find it... Mike

So yesterday afternoon I called my brother-in-law and ordered a 1.5 ton, ceiling mounted HVAC unit for my garage. Winter is fast approaching, and he made me a deal I can NOT refuse... $1000-1400 installed! Heating AND COOLING... Both the upstairs and the main floor! I'm spoiled! Mike 8)

So yesterday the Fedex truck dropped off a HUGE box with a 90# rating on it... I carried it around back (REALLY need a hand truck! ) and into the garage. We unpacked it to make sure everything was in order, then repacked it... The new G-Force tranny can't weigh more than 75# WITH the shifter in place, and MAN it is NICE! Can't wait to see how it does... And I can't wait until the second one (Mine!) arrives! The units we bought did NOT have straight cut gears due to the fact that these cars will see street use, and we wanted speedo gear access, so we asked that they be built with a ford tailshaft. I did spec the forged input, main, and output shafts, and their ussual case fortification... as well as a .93 5th gear, and complete custom gearset. I think the total PER UNIT was $1840 shipped. I think this tranny will be a MUCH better alternative to a T56, in part due to the weight savings... Plus it is fully customizable... The Gforce folks supply a lot of the SWC cars with their trannys, so I'm pretty sure this one will hold up to the riggors of a 383 stroker in a 76 Zcar! Mike

Yup... It was an LS motor that we had dumped a TON of money in... He contributed to it, but my machinist warned me about the rods and Honda's history of failure... Machinists see a LOT more of what works and what doesnt' and Dave Williams told me from day one that the rods on these motors (VTEC and NON vtec) were the weak link. JUst so we're all straight here... The car I was driving as my commutor BEFORE I bought my C5 Corvette last December? It was a 1990 Honda CIVIC HF with a motorswap in it. My 17 year old is driving it now... Lowered suspension, nice exhaust (Sounds like crap to me, but what they hey! ) and a nice black paintjob by macco... Mike 8)

.065 is the tubing "Wall" thickness. The 1inch diameter is perfect... Hell the unit I bought years ago from MSA was made of 3/4 inch diameter stuff... That information Drax and John C. Gave you is excellent info... Your shop teacher might know about automotive repair and fabrication in general, but these two guys are "Z Specific" guys who put their parts to use on the track... I follow their advice regularly and would recommend doing the same! Mike 8)