Mikelly

Well here is a little known secret that I'm gonna let out. I don't even think about the speed or the fact that I will be going THAT fast. If I focus on it (And the subsiquent fear) I'll not be worth a damn. I found out it is better to just work on the technical aspects of the project and then just go do it... A few years ago I took a bet and road a carbon fiber bicycle off Skyline drive in Va., down Thorton Gap to Rt. 211 (17% grade!) and back into Sperryville... I hit 62mph on some 23mm wide road cycling tires, and I passed some cars along the way, and a state trooper who subsiquently gave chase... It was my 33rd Birthday so he cut me a break...but I couldn't focus on how fast I was going, I just went.. that is the same thing I plan to do in the desert...right now I'm just focausing on the lift and other aerodynamic aspects of the project.... And YES I am full blown addicted to speed.... Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Thanks Eric. Unfortunately, My site will be going down soon, as I'm ditching AOL, but I plan to reconstruct the site from a different server/ provider... Any tips (From All) on what to ditch, keep, or expand on would be appreciated... I'm thinking that with the current project underway, I may have to do two different sites...one before with that "Value Added info" for those who don't want to go all out race, and the new "Construction phase & Final product", aimed at hitting 200mph in the desert... Ideas please... Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I contacted Jerry this morning via e-mail and I'm gonna send him pics of my MASS front end.. I think he did an excellent job creating a G-nose, and I now have even more ideas!!!!!! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Lone, I agree with your points, but I think in my post I intended to mention the torque as well, and I didn't... Torque is what is killing the T5s in Mustangs and Camaros and the T56 really is a bruit when it comes to handling torque. If I was building up a ZZ4 build, It would be a hard choice make between the tremec and the T56... And Cam choice is what really got me into trouble, but I am afterall building my car to do "Other things" besides running around town and hunting down potential victims! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

You are right Ron...Making that sucker tilt would have been a nightmare...However, DZUES fastening it down should work...I think... The more I look at this thing, the more work I realize it needed from the beginning...The quality isn't good, but the glass is pretty thick, which is something I realized last night when cutting it. Stay tuned... Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I think I'm qualified to jump in here... I am building a 200MPH car and I have a T56... And I would NOT put a T56 behind anything less than 400HP for two reasons... The cost and complexity of the job. I'd also remind anyone thinking about doing it to make sure they select the proper engine parts before doing it...My 6th gear is worthless below 2000rpms and does the herky-jerky on the highway because the cam isn't making any power below 2000RPMS... So basically I do a lot of driving in 5th gear. And I don't care how cool it is to say you have a 6 speed... It ain't $2000 worth of cool and if I could have found a T5 that was stong enough for half the cost, I would have gone that route.... Oh, and the ZF transmissions are big, heavy, and way noisy...and parts are expensive for them as well...as are the Richmond units, and their shifter linkage is external which would cause tunnel interference... Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I personally SWEAR by Canton Mecca filter eliments and their billet reusabel shells. That is the only filter I will put on my Z's motor... The Mobile Filter and the AC DELCO filter fared well, as did the Purolator advance design filter... I have a fram filter in the bag for my truck oil change, and it is going back tonight! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Well Ron Jones almost had me sold on ditching the front end and going sheet steel, but Terry talked me back into it... Soooo last night I cut the hood out of the mold and the lip off the fender so I can start working in the Right side flare.. I'll post some pics later this week.. BTW, I'm going to be losing the AOL address and website... I will create a new website with all the info and stuff before I terminate the site. My yahoo account is still good though! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

http://members.nbci.com/_XOOM/minimopar/oilfilterstudy.html This site has research about how efficiant (Or inefficiant) many different brands of filter are... Seems Fram is a poor poor filter... Very good stuff... Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

OK< I think I understand this, but I have to ask: This seems like an aweful lot of work to do when you could go ahead and do the coil over conversion while you have the car appart... If you just wanted to do the rear conversion, just order the parts from Mike/scca to do the rears...cost would be about $200. Mike Kelly ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I have a 20 point cage (Possibly moving to a 22 point...we'll see) and My cage does through the firewall (Or will as this is almost the last of my welding to be done) under the access lids and ties to the strut tower with a footer plate welded to the bar. I also ran bars straight up from the frame rail at about a 70 degree angle to the main hoop to tie the frame rails into the cage. I agree that running it to the floor pan isn't the most optimal. Once I'm done with my cage, I plan to do a 3-d model of the cage and then drape a Zcar skin over it to show the funtional tie-ins. Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

OK my first question is this: Do you want to reinvent the wheel? Add more work to an "Already Hard project"? There are a number of guys here on this site that can attest to this: The week link in the R200 is BY FAR the u-joilt equipped half shaft units... Bottom line... If you are worried about anything, then get Scottie's buddy to make you a set of those Axle Shaft adapters and then get yourself a pair of 280ZX turbo CV Axle shafts, and weld your R200 Axle flanges tot he adapters, slap the CV axles in, and you are done... No fuss, no muss... My 500HP small bloock is throwing nearly 500Ft# of torque to the rear end and I'm doing just fine. Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Cheap gun and toss when done...I'm actually gonna purchase an HPLV gun to shoot the front clip with, two guns actually, a main gun, and a detailer, both are gravety fed. Northerntools.com is my friend... Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Search on the members name to read about his many adventures in building this project. However, SpencZ is no longer a member of the HybridZ staff. Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Well I went back over it with a 2nd coating of POR15 and then at the 3.5 hour mark I hit it with primer and got a good 1st coat on. I'll do some filler and more primer tonight and the rest of the weekend. I will be buying a new paint gun to shoot the POR15 under the car where the new floorpans and the exposed frame rails are, as well as inside the car in the same areas... And I will follow up as they advised...I remember reading about this, now that it has come up, and come to think of it, I have noticed some paint peeling on the front fenderwells that I did earlier this year... I'll be re-doing that area again... Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I need to take pics of this front clip and post them... I'll do that by the weekend..Up to my eldows in primer and POR15 right now. Basically the front himges being offered by JC Whitney are the same hinges I sent back to MAS, as they supply JC Whitney the front ends that they market. BTW, JC sells them for $150 profit and then tacks on the truck freight.. Evan, I would defenetly remove the tension springs. and the whole clip doesn't weigh what a factory hood weighs, so your idea of using the struts is a good one. Terry, What I'm hoping to do is leave the spoiler stationary, and have the front end tilt forward. Not even sure this will work as I haven't even tried to mock anything up yet... Plans are to finish the engine bay, finish up the cage supports and floor pans, and then turn full attention to the front end. I guess what I want to know is this: If I want to mold a metal frame into this unit to add stiffness to it (Underside is course matting) what would I have to do to ensure it would stay? Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

So I assume I should probably plan to put another coat of POR15 and then spray on the primer as the POR15 starts to set/ gets tacky? Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Guys, I am leaning back towards making my front end tilt... I need to know how I can mate a 4 inch wide, 1/8th inch thick frame, with hing studs (To bolt to the factory hing) onto the current front end... My plan is to use DZUES fasteners at 5 points... one on either side mid way up the side of the fender, and three across the top and the windn shield... I want to anchore the front end down....At speed. Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I know POR15 really likes metal that has atleast a bit of rust on it, but I knocked the engine bay out over the weekend and took the majorety of it to bare metal, and except for a couple of pits in one frame rail, and a small amount of pitting in the firewall on the passenger side, there was no rust to speak of. My plan tonight is to put the 1st coat of primer and some filler over a few imperfections in the sheetmetal in the firewall...OVER TOP of the POR15 treated metal.. This should work shouldn't it? I really wanted to get a good coat of POR15 on everything before I started paint prep... Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I had the front end completely gutted before 11AM and broke out the DA sander and went to town.. I also welded in an additional brace in the front where the main cross brace on the core support used to be.. Tomorrow afternoon I'll be priming the engine bay and hopefully I'll get a topcoat on by Tuesday evening! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Chas, I have a tech article written up about the other fuel cell I installed, and the only changes from that article are the frame I welded to hold the cell in and the relocated filler behind the license plate.... The cell, 45 degree filler, and the recessed fender fill cap cost me about $300, plus welding and cutting the rectangle out, If you can do it all yourself, then plan to spend a total of about $500 with all fittings and lines. Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Jim, those are the headers I ran on my car all year, last season... I had them posted here on the forsale site, and I think I was asking $125 for them... I think I paid $190 for them... I'm not sure what I'm gonna go with, I'm thinking about long tubes, but I'm also looking at Sanderson's headers... I'd like to get a 1 3/4, but Pete's info is also exactly what I have been told from others.. going 1 5/8 to 1 3/4 really doesn't net you much in HP, and Might make torque drop a few points... Now I'm confused... Maybe I should keep what I have and not screw with my exhaust... I don't know.. The Flow Techs are nice though, and I can tell you from having them on my car, you have a good fit all around, and Robert @ Roberts Custom Exhaust did mine and took a bunch of pics for the next time he has to do one up for someone...BTW< don't buy your own mufflers, as Robert likes to provide everything, that way he knows exactly what he has to work with and there is no guessing...I thought it was odd to, but the guy does GREAT work and tucked my exhaust way up under the car... Mike Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Guys, Our plan as of now is to get three sets made up before I head out to the show...Mark gets a set, we need a set for display purposes, and a set is going on the car we are sponsoring for the event. I would like to get two more sets made up to take with me a sell while I'm at the show... If that happens, I need a list of who wants them, as I would rather my HybridZ bretherin get them first.... Send me an e-mail off line and first come, first served... As soon as we get several extra sets sitting on the shelf, we will start in earnest on the rear arms...I promise! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I posted some pics of my cell with one of them labelling each line. The onjly thing I wished I had done was make blocks t6o raise the cell far enough into the hatch so you wouldn't see the cell from the back of the car...as it is now about two to three inches of cell hang down. Oh well, live and learn... You will see a little surface rust tha just popped up were I washed the car and the moiste got to an exposed piece of sheet metal on the floor.. That, along with the grey stuff on the top of the cell, which is body sealer...stuff is messy to work with. Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Ryal C. I just used the holes for the vent and the pickup, keeping the vent, and using the pickup hole for the return. I then drilled a hole in the center, just behind the filler neck for the pickup to sit. I removed all the hardware for the "Bail" since I was replacing it with a filler neck and I removed the blatter from the safe. I laid a three strip wide section of duct tape under the area I was drilling into the plastic with and I drilled the hole for the right size of the pickup.. The tape caught any plastic droppings from the drilling... It was that simple. The unit comes with a bunch of 5/16 holes drilled around the unit, I believe there are like 48 mounting holes...what I did was weld in a frame of channel around the area, creating a very SNUGG fit for the cell, then drilled the holes through the 1/8 inch channel, using the safe as the template, then I painted the frame and sealed it with body sealer, and placed the safe in, then the bladder with the new 45degree filler installed, the lid and I was done... The rear access filler, I cut out the area behind the license plate panle and welded in a new sectuion of 20gage steel with the filler hole cut in.. I then installed the filler and primed and painted the new metal... It still needs to be re-painted as the paint ran a bit... however, this unit will be hidden behind the license plate, so I wasn't as clean with it as I could have been.. Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk