Mikelly

The JTR Kit contains the motor setback plates, crossmember drop plates, trans mount, radiator mount, drive shaft adapter, Hoodlatch adapter, and the speedo cable for $350. Don't give up. You have the motor and trans. All you need is the radiator, you'll probably need to swap the starter (You might get lucky though) and set asside some money for an exhaust system, and you are done. Don't get wrapped around the axle on some of the costs that people throw out. I've had my car since 1996, and spent the bulk of my money in 1998-99. Everyone makes a different living doing different things, and we all have different resources available to us. Work with what you have, what you are capable of, and what you are capable of doing. Its all about you anyway, right? Goodluck and keep us posted. Mike Kelly ZF Racing LLC

Mine was a shell that I built into the car you see in the link below, but had a high compression L6 in it. I built the car to compete in the SCCA F prep. category. It wasn't enough... Low 13s in the 1/4 only when abusing it on launch, and hammering it to get down the road in a hurry only to keep up with bone stock mustangs and camaros... Just wasn't my cup of tea. I bought a 93 GMC stepside pickup that was loaded, had a 350 with TB injection and ran VERY strong (9s in the 1/8th) for a 4000# truck, and the HP and torque realed me in. That was when I scrapped the L6 power mods ideas and had a 383 stroker motor professionaly built. Mike

I have had some good success with my mig welder and using 75/25 Argon/ CO2 mix in the bottle. One word of caution, make sure you test weld a piece first to get your heat ratio down. On my lincoln Mig unit I'm running really low settings with the .030 wire. The other tips I would recommend are: Make absolutely sure the pipe is cleaned of any rust or dirt. You want clean good metal. The other is to get a can of "Anti Spatter" spray from your local welding supply store to minimize spatter from welding. Thats about it.. mike

Yea, one of the things that is often overlooked is good SOUND drivers education. When my step son learns to drive, I'll be going to summit point raceway for a day of father/son beginners defensive driving skills. best $450 I can think to spend and help give him the skills he will need to drive safely. We ALL played in our cars growing up, and thank (Insert your religous ?? Here) that we all survived. But a quick scan through a newspaper tells the all to unfortunate, yet true story that young, inexperienced drivers die the quickest on our nations highways and byways. Learn to drive safely before you get a car under your belt that will have less than 8# per HP. We want you around to help sort out problems long after some of us retire! Mike Kelly

This issue when dealing with street cars is definitely a preference issue. I rode in a guys car one time and he thought it handeled like it was on rails... I took him for a ride in mine (At the time my 240Z had some free #500 springs at all four corners) and he was in shock at how the car was flickable at 45-50 MPH on smooth pavement... But I cringed at overpasses and train track crossings... I also think that running the right strut and the right length of spring in the coil over kit will also be critical. The shorter the spring, the harsher the ride. But again, it truly depends on your definition of comfort! Another thing to factor in... You mention you will be focusing on the 1320club... I'd run a softer spring in the rear. You want all the weight transfer you can get to the rear of the car... Maybe a 200# front and a 175# rear... Mike Kelly

I'm running 250# springs at all corners. BLKMGK bought (I think) 200# for the rear and 225# for the front and he felt that the rear was to soft. So you may want to consider that... Mike Kelly

My Blazer came with the Carbon Fiber trim kit in it and I must admit that I like the stuff too! I'm smoothing out all my stuff on the body and filling holes everywhere, including the doors, so I can re-mount them wherever they best fit! I'll probably get them... Mike

I'm probably gonna do an adjustable sheetmetal wing... Mike

I completely agree with John here.. You want to unsettle a car and chance ruining the trans AND damaging other driveline parts, then continue to use the trans to help you brake... The FIRST thing a good driving school will teach you is to NOT use the trans to brake the car. It behooves any of us who aspire to be better "FAST" drivers to learn how to drive the car using all of the components the way they were intended. Can you use the trans to assist in braking? Yes. Should you? NO. Mike Kelly

Check these out.... http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/ click on the complete index and then on Mirrors and scrole down to the club series mirrors...Carbon units with small stems...Very trick looking... What do you guys think? Mike

Took off late this morning from work to get my right hand X-rayed (Mountain Biking is gonna kill me...) and I decided to go ahead and remove one of my drip rails this afternoon... Done, and it wasn't nearly as bad as I though it would be. Went ahead and removed the roof vent emblems and the gas lid to fill those holes, and I'm getting ready to remove the rear hatch/ whale tail combo... BTW, I'm selling that hatch/ wing combo, but the buyer must pick it up at my location... $400 mounted and ready to go. Rear window is tinted as well. Next step is to remove the other side drip rail and fill those holes up. Mike

Rick, Couple of things you could do... Get as much info, and a faxed copy of his drivers license, a good phone number and confirm that number to the one on his license. Get him to provide his SS#. It will be a tough call though, as you can still get burned. Sounds like he is unloading a lot of stuff and he was honest about you needing a clutch kit, so that is a good sign... $960 is a lot of scratch right after Xmas, so he may be hurting for the money, who knows... Escrow payment service would be the best way to go still... Mike

1st, after the old pans are removed, replace ONE of the frame rails, and then complete that side floor pan. The remove the other frame rail, replace it and then the floor pan. Make sure the car is squared up and there is no sag. You want as little weight in the car as possible and as much jack stand support as possible... Remove the wheels and tires, as they ad weight that is "pulling" against each corner... PeteP, what am I missing here??? Seems like he should do more to insure the car is square, besides taking measurements... seems I read that someone actually chalked their car and taped its seems to check for movement... Mike

Ray, it really depends on which trans you use...I'm actually searching for a 4:10 gear ratio because my T56 in my current configuration (383 Stroker w/ hydraulic roller 535/550 Lift - 284/292 dur. Advertised) won't allow my motor to function optimally at RPMs below 2000 in 6th gear... The cam isn't working below that and 6th gear at 2000RPMs is pulling something in the range of 105mph! Mike

With Coil overs Pete Paraska is running 9 inch wide wheels and 245-45-17s in the rear and NO flares. Jim and I are both running flares... Mike

You won't find an auto trans in ANY of the competitive cars running the improved touring series in SCCA or PRO SOLO. Scottie, I have just the parts for your front end! Mike

BLKMGK and I both run the T56, which requires an electronic speedo, unless you want to do the JTR mod to the trans which is expesnive. Mike Kelly

...the foot note here is that Les and I'll be doing some fabing of some Fiberglass and we may be able to come up with something VERY close to a Terry Oxendale original...in our dreams!!! Les will be making some cool fiberglass stuff though! Mike

Mike, I don't think it is a pain at all... About three-four hours worth of work... Do you have a garage to work in? Biggest headache is the brake lines getting in the way.. You have to unclip the line retainers from the strut housing and get a spring compressor, but other than that is isn't a real headache at all... Figure on (For cheap parts counter inserts) $160 Minimum for parts, and probably 5-6 hours book labor if you pay to have it done. Mike Kelly

The Adjustable KYBs are fairly cheap. I priced them for the Honda Civic I have (90 model) and they are $69. However, my previous experience with KYBs and Zcars was that they were blowing seals back in the 90s... One of my car parts buddies who managed a parts place actually QUIT stocking KYB products because the return on them for defect was to high. Hopefully these new adjustable units are MUCH better, as I'll be putting them on the Honda unless I can get some Koni or Tokico units within $20 of that price... Mike

Yea, I agree with Terry and Davey on this one. When I had the front fiberglass clip, it was really a piece of cake to knock down and mount the fender flare on...Think I had about two hours in it. However, there is an art to working with BONDO, as you have to watch the ratio of the hardener... Johns kit is a nice place to start if you want to build from it, but don't expect to buy that kit and have it look like Terry's setup out of the box... No way, no how unless you want to put in the 15+ years at tweeking and fabing it up... Terry is in a class all his own with this one! Mike

I'm just picking at ya Terry! You are truly DA MAN! Mike

Tim, Don't sell yourself short...the work is looking good. Terry is on another planet all his own, but us "Mortals" can still do pretty good work too! Terry, You need to start teaching a self help course for those of us who can't paint or do body work... it's humbling going to your site! Mike

I believe Jim is running 265-50-15s on it, although he is having trouble finding replacement tires for it... I gave him the pair I had on my 15s, but the tire shop that removed them from the rims actually tore the sidewall and I didn't notice it until I was getting them down out of my attic for Jim. The little details on that car, like the side vents in the fenders, no seems between the headlight buckets and the fender/ spoiler, and the fender flares in the rear really make this car a standout! Mike

First, let me say that these pics look REAL nice... BUT, and I mean this, they do not do this car justice... I've had this car in my driveway, and Jim has done one hell of a job of making sure the workmanship of those who built it was top notch. There is NOTHING imperfect about this body work, and the paint is FLAWLESS... You guys who are local really owe it to yourselves to see this car! Mike