Mikelly

FYI, I just got a price quote of $1200 for a 12 point cage (Through the Firewall and attaching to ALL strut towers & Footers sunk into the rocker boxes ala Mark Icard's car) in cromoly. Of course, I'm giving them a BUNCH of business for Jim's Scarab Pro Touring project, and I've been sending others to them, so I'm not sure how much of a price break they are giving me, but Cromoly in 12 point in 1 5/8th inch .082 thickness is pretty danred good I thought! Mike 8)

Steve and Ian own a 72 240Z that I was sponsoring through my former business, ZF Racing LLC... Their car was a L6 powered car that was GUTTED... No glass in the doors or 1/4 window area, Lexan on the rear hatch, and NO door interior... It was just a door skin with piano hinges. The car had NO interior including the dash and it was as gutted as you can get while maintaining a pair of light weight racing seats... The car weighed in at 1995# without a cage, and without anyone in the car... They installed a cage and the car picked up 100#... They are running coil overs, my custom suspension pieces, and Marsh Racing Carbon Fiber/ Aluminum 3 piece wheels. The car is pretty darned light... Their next move is to go and install a small, lightweight fuel cell. My point to all this is that this car is missing everything you would need to run it on the street... no wipers, no windows, no bumpers (Most of us don't!) and a lot of other stuff... I'm not sure you will get a Z down to less than 2200# without losing a lot of key items listed above. Mike

I've had my motorcycle License since I was 16, and I'm 38 now. I've never been down on the road, have ridden sportbikes for most of that time, and love riding... However, I'm selling my ZX9R because I simply don't ride anymore, and I won't feel as safe on the street as I used to... I'm hoping to unload the bike and all the associated tools and parts before my car gets paint, as I'm putting that money towards the Z. Mike

Well I'm happy to report that the car is back together and sitting on all four wheels... We have a small bit of brake plumbing left to work on the proportioning valve, but it is mounted and the lines routed through the firewall. We need taller springs for the coil overs, since they were adjusted to the max and we have only a half inch clearance between the fender flare and the top of the tire... Unfortunately Jamie was required to charge me for the strut shortening, since he had to use other facilities and they charged him to use their machines... But I'm glad he was there for me, and able to get the strut tubes shortened. For those who have thought about doing the R200 CV axle conversion, the procedure to shorten the CVs is CAKE... SIMPLE... BUTT SIMPLE... Took Doug and I about 30 minutes to do both.. Have a gear puller handy and remember to remove the snap ring first... More to come in the days ahead! We've now got Jim talked into a fuel cell and maybe a complete induction upgrade! This bad boy is gonna be sweet when it is done! Mike

PhAtty, You hit on something that I think SHOULD concern us all with Kerry... He has this big plan to finish the war in Iraq, and get "Europe on Board", and if he is so scary smart, then explain WHY he sat on his hands while the slipboat attacks raged on for 4 weeks... And if he loses, does that mean his little secret of getting the job done over there goes by the wayside? These are serious questions the hardcore independants need to ask themselves... I know I am... Bush is not the most intelligent speaker, mainly because he is passionate about what he is doing. He speaks with to much emotion, and Kerry to little. Because of that reason alone, he comes off as a dummy, and Kerry the high brow liberal that he is. Lets face it boys and girls... Those who have made up their minds, these debates mean nothing to them... The few who are undecided are what these debates are about, and as John C. mentioned, the questions are all scripted and feel good... the next two will get uglier, but I'm not watching... My mind is made up... We're doomed. "The sky is fallin', the sky is fallin'" Mike

Its all spin... And as was mentioned before, I'd not get to excited over what the media analysis was on this one... Both men should be ashamed at their performances... Bush did tenfold better on the O'Reiley factor, and Kerry, Well... Terry, In a reverse of your analagy, Let me put it like this... If Im on deaths door because an attacker has got me on the ground and is ready to do me in, I'd MUCH RATHER not have the flip flopper debating over the moral dlimema or if he might get sued by the guys family... I'll take cool hand luke, 'er Bush... Sad that THESE are my only choices... Good thing I carry a Glock and rely on NO ONE to get me out of a jam! Mike 8)

Yea, I'd budget $200 for grease, bearings and seals... There are four rear bearings and four front bearings, plus four seals total... I think VB sells them for about $46 for each rear axle (All three pieces) and the fronts run $24 per wheel for all three pieces... Mike 8)

Well you can get a set of 300ZX front hubs from Zbarn for $70 + Shipping, and you can Buy a set of stubaxles from Ross, drilled, and with studs for $250 (Doublecheck his website to confirm.) and then it boils down to a rear disc brake upgrade, and bearings. The other related cost would be in buying or renting a slide hammer, some bearing grease, and seals. Other than that... I'm not sure there is anything else hidden... I'd plan this upgrade in concert with a front and rear brake swap, just to get it all done at once. Mike 8)

Yup... Wheels ARE an issue for some guys who DON'T have deep pockets... Huh, Talk about $300 PER wheel to some guys and they will scrap their projects, Which is WHY the 5 lug conversion is SOOOO SWEET! The customer of this SCarab Pro Street Car we're building has deep pockets and was able to buy CCWs... That will now have to be modified because the fronts are interfering with the front spoiler... Some guys can't afford $3000 worth of CCW wheels, so you can't Assume that everyone is working on the same budget. That also makes the Mustang Cobra R wheel a VERY attractive $600 solution! Mike

I know Poundz, But you'd think I'd remember my own HOME ADDRESS! Even at 0600! Mike

Well it gets even better... I stopped by Express Auto and took a peek at some of their work. As luck would have it, they JUST finished up work on a cromoly cage in a Honda DelSol! The guy's gonna come by my house Monday evening and look at Jim's car... He basically said they would be glad to do the work, including the rebuild on the 355Chevy motor. So it looks like as soon as I'm done plumbing the brakes and re-installing the suspension, I'll be towing the car to Express and leaving it with them until the cage is done... AS SOON AS the cage is done, I'm taking MY CAR to them and having them put a cromoly cage in it as well... JIm's car will completely done sooner than he thought... I now need to rethink the parts list for the rest of the swap. We need a JTR install kit, and I'm gonna need to mod the trans tunnel and a few other things for mounting. Mike

Obviously I meant Hybridz.org... Getting to work before 6AM can make doing things a bit of a chore some mornings... Mike

Here is the scoop on brake systems on the Zcar... The rotor diameter and the lack of thick, vented rotors is part of the problem... the other part is the caliper itself, and lets face it, for the rear, nothing says OLD SCHOOL like drum brakes. Bottom line is that you can make the Z stock brakes work well with high performance pads and really good brake fluid, and I'd save my money on the 4X4 upgrade, and wait until you can afford to step up to something that increases the size of the rotor, along with the thickness, and to a better, lighter, more powerful caliper. FWIW, I have had the 4X4 caliper setup and it worked ok, but there are much better solutions out there... mike 8)

Guys, There are members here who will attest to the fact that I'm pretty much FOR the buyer... However, I don't want this to become a member BASHING site... There are always THREE SIDES to every transaction... For every ONE bad transaction on HybridZ.org, there are probably well over 100 that go PERFECT. So lets keep that in mind... And as always, it is BUYER beware... Lets not turn this into Zcar.com... Mike 8)

Customer service is #1 in my mind, and ROSS just hit the mark... I sent him an e-mail Monday with a list of parts I needed ASAP and he held the order up to clear something up for me, and I STILL GOT IT TODAY! That, Boys and girls is CUSTOMER SERVICE... THANKS ROSS! Mike 8)

"Ladies and Gentlement, Are you ready?...I said ARE YOU READY? For the thousands in attendance, and the millions watching from around the world... L-E-T-S G-E-T R-E-A-D-Y to RUUUUUUMMMMMBBBBBLLLLLLEEEE!" Mike 8)

Yea, but based on my experience with the import honda set (And I've built a few of these hondas and use Hybrid Honda as my site for research), most don't have this much luck... and Most have no clue what is required to build it right to survive... The K series motors are nicer than the B series, and certainly have beefier rods and mains, but still... Those cars are ONLY getting heavier... Jmortensen, Pull the figures on a Civic Coup. You'll be amazed at HOW HEAVY they are! The Civic hatch and the Acura RSX are the ONLY products in their lineup that are below the 3000# mark! Mike

I'm with Tim... Besides, A 2002 Civic has got to weigh in at around #3100+, and they aren't making THAT MUCH hp from the beginning. Even if he boosts it to 8PSI which will be about all the rod bolts can handle, the boost in HP on his stock motor won't be much over 50HP... Don't sweat it... Especially based on the parameters... Mike

This project has been a little frustrating, a lot of fun, and should really have some good lessons learned for future builds... I may just make a part time gig of this if enough folks care to bring them in... One thing I'd caution ANYONE doing any of the following mods... Make your list, do your research, and if you are getting a builder involved, then put him in touch with the vendor and let THEM do the planning. Jim isn't up on current technology of Zs and I think a few things got lost in translation from him to Ross and vice versa... Ross didn't want me knowing his business with regards to his prices (Which I can understand), and I was excluded from the parts selection process even after I sent Jim to Ross, and his $$$$ as well... Point here isn't to bash Ross, or kick Jim... This was a new process for Jim and I both. However, In the future, if a builder is invloved in YOUR project, Make sure that he and then vendor are 100% in communication and THEY AGREE on the parts list... When everything comes in, HAVE THE PARTS DELIVERED to the installer. Some things were missing in this shipment of parts, and I can't say if they were lost in shipment, lost between Jim's house and my shop, or if they were just left out. These small items STOPPED our build process... So to make sure to limit the traceability of the parts, have them shipped to where they will be installe, coordinating with the builder first! The last thing is this whole business about the shortened struts. I originally did not plan to shorten the struts on this car. I've never done them, and prefer not to, because you can take a real chance on ruining a strut housing. I prefer to leave that to others... and I said so in an e-mail about 9 months ago... Well 9 months, and a lot of customers later, I'm sure this issue got lost in Ross' inbox, or just slipped from mind... We put everything together Saturday and installed it, and I had to use spacers under the strut cartridges... That seemed funny, but everyone that looked at the strut tubes saw what was thought to be welding around them, giving the impression that the tubes had been shortened. In actuality the ring around the tube was from where someone removed the spring perch. We spent an additional couple hours installing and then uninstalling the suspension because the struts have about an inch of travel... This won't work... So Jamie, at River City Speed and Custom is going to shorten them for me at no charge. This ould have at least been planned for, had there been more communication between... The vendor and the installer... These are all lessons learned and I'm sharing them so you guys can PLAN your builds better. I'm sure the next time around Ross and I will coordinate better. I'd still do this project over again, without thinking twice. This car, and it's owner make this project. Mike

Speaking of the border, Did you guys see Bush on O'Reilley? See his response to the border issue? He doesn't have a CLUE how to fix it, and won't take a hard stance right now, because he doesn't want to upset the minorety votership anymore than a Republican in the Whitehouse already does... Oh, but have faith boys and girls, Mr. Kerry wouldn't upset that voetship either, since they are currently his base supporters... Oh what a kettle of fish! Mike 8)

Hey Mortensen... You say Potato, I say Potahto! Mike

Oh christ Phil... You got me on the ropes with that one... Laughing HARD! You girls seem to miss something.. a real softball... Ever hear of a guy named CAT STEVENS? Good case for a PA F-A-I-L-U-R-E!!!! My gift to you... Mike

Get your heads out of your arses and focus... What about HERE? I"m taking bets now that we will have MAJOR attacks on our cities at key poling places prior to or during the elections... It would NOT surprise me if they tried to strike during one fo the debates... If they hit the President and the front running demacrat at the same location, could you imagine the kaos? I'm telling you boys and girls that I'm betting LARGE that we see a number of smaller attacks, that added up will equal to or eclips the 9/11 attacks... if that happens before the vote, color Kerry DONE... If we must focus on the middle east... What about SYRIA? I think Israil's Prime Minister fired a shot across their bow earlier this week, late last week with comments to the effect that Syria's backing of fundamentalist organizations is making them a target more and more each day... Make a hole fo that place and back fill it is my opinion, but you knew that... Remember our Embassy? Remember the USMC barricks? I do... Make a hole and back fill it... Wait and see sheeople... Mike 8)

Well interestingly enough I have had all of the following in hand: Mustang Cobra PBR Caliper (Like Ross Sells and as you can see in the link to the Pro Street Scarab We're doing for a member here) Wilwood Superlites - VERY Nice and I've had them in TWO different cup sizes... Outlaw Series 4000s - Very nice and VERY similar to the Wilwood in style and design Chevy Corvette C5 PBR calipers - I'm fond of these, since I have them on my Vette... All of the above mentioned calipers are LIGHT... Within ounces of each other... PERIOD... I've had wilwoods on the track, and I've had Corvette PBRs on the track and the performance was identical. I've also had the Cobra PBR caliper on the track and it is also... IDENTICAL... You guys simply can NOT go wrong with the current crop of OEM calipers... I've been salevating over the chance to try Ross' 13 inch kit, when Jim's car is done and I break in the brakes and bed the pads... I'll report back here, but suspect that they will also be... Ummm GREAT! For $2600 They better be! If not, I'm verbally throwing Ross under the bus on this forum... But Ross is confident, and so am I... Once the pads are broken in, I have a location I can safely do 60 zero braking measurements, as well as 80-0 measurements... I'll try to get some testing in before I give Jim back his car. Mike 8)

The black parts were powdercoated... Awesome car... I just removed all the suspension and brakes in an hour and a half so we can shorten the struts... Mike