Mikelly

I prefer the twelve step program... If you have a 6 pack in the fridge you're halfway there! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

"Luke.....I am your father, come to me...feel the force.... it is strong in you because it is all around you..." Welcome to the dark side... Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Andy, I believe Kevin is correct on everything except (And I might be wrong as well..puliing from memory) The firing order... instead of 4-3 it should be 3-4, no? Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

There was a difference in the 74 model year. It is a split production with the first 2/3rd of the year being built on the 240 shell and the later 1/3rd of the year being built on the 75 shell. The later 74 strut tube housing is a larger diameter, the same as all 280Z cars. If you go to buy struts for the later model 260, you basically have to get 280 parts to fit. If you have a 240 or an early 260 (At least through 7/74 but not the 10/74 or later models..)then everything is 240style. Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

For $525 you got yourself a deal. Don't worry about the rust at that price. My 74Z cost me $425 when I got it and mine was clean and straight, but yours appears to be in great shape. BTW, if you ever think about not wanting that sunroof, you could go to a junkyard and hack off the roof metal and simply cut the appropriate section out of it to weld back into your roof...I've seen it done twice, and it isn't "THAT" difficult! Congrats and now go buy some tools and drop that V8 in! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

JIm, I've been to the Electromotive shop and almost became a dealer back in 1997. I wasn't real happy with the HPV unit I owned from them and it probably had more to do with the setup I used than the product. One thing I don't like about Electromotive is the price. They are expensive. DFI isn't bad for what you get and I'm also looking into the new Holley TPI setup (Dominator??) and Edelbrokc has a decent system out for the money. Key here for me is to get everything I need at about $1500 if I can. Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Putting that kind of HP and Torque to the ground isn't realy that hard as long as you learn how to drive with that kind of HP. My car is actually very easy to cruise in, and only becomes a handfull when I step on the right pedal. This from a car capable of running low 11's/high 10's. Wide sticky tires help, and plan your build up of the car's chassis around the HP you desire! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

If you are gonna have $1000 total in the car, then here is what I would do... Buy it, and save your money and read here and elsewhere on how to fix rust and you might want to start scanning the papers and pawn shops for two things: An air compressor (Atleast 6HP and 60 gallons pushing atleast 9cfm...Got mine new at sears onsale for $359) and a nice Mig welder that can weld atleast 1/4 inch steal and very adjustable/ tunable for sheetmetal work. (Should be able to find one for around $300 used) Buy a few books on welding, and autobody repair. I'm here to tell you, it isn't that hard to fix these things with the right tools. Don't let rust scare you. Yes you want to buy the best and cleanest car you can find. Abscent of that, and rest assured the day after you buy this car, clean Zs will fall from the heavens for cheap (They always do), buy this car. These guys all make real good points, but it sounds like you realy want to get going on your project and you like this particular car. Being smog exempt is a good thing and I can certainly relate to avoiding that whole issue. So as long as you are prepared to take the chance and don't want to go broke letting others cut and weld on your car (And usually do a sub-standard job) I'd say get it and plan to learn a few new skills. Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I was actually looking at that motor when my GMC 350 let loose! Nice specs and the right price. Excellent springboard to start from. Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I'm closing fast on Needing seats, so I guess I'll be ordering the A4s this coming week.. I cut out the complete frame rails including the seat mounts and will need to weld in the need seat mount braces for the rails... I have a set of 76 280Z seat rails...Pete, How hard was it to mount the A4 on your 240 Rails and does anyone know the differences in the two seat rails?? I made huge gains last night on welding in some footers and hope to have the floor pans done by tomorrow night...Took today off work (Comp time owed me) so I could knock out some more of it! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I'd be up for a copy... Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

This from the man with the rolling art work he calls a car! Terry, you crack me up! Guys, I remember years ago (92-93) talking to Terry on the phone after seeing his car in a Kit Car magazine! He is one super guy... He is also the guy who got me started in thinking about doing a V8 swap all those years ago.... Terry you crack me up! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I'm running 2.5 inch duals with shorty headers. I'm upgrading my shorty block huggers (Ceramic coated 1 5/8th primaries, they are forsale BTW!) to 1 3/4 block hugger or full length headers, but I'm staying with 2.5 inch duals with an Hpipe configuration and dual mufflers out back. I had the flowmasters on the car and I can't recommend them if you plan to spend significant time in the car. They really boom inside of a datsun, as these cars don't have thick sheetmetal and are way to loud. I'm going with Dynomax Super turbo units and hope to tone down the noise without losing the flow! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

My last Z had a sunroof in it. Interesting thing about it, I had it put in, it was an X large unit, and it was one of the few things to survive the 3 car sandwhich my car was the middle car in. I don't think Sunroofs are as bad as some would say, however I did have a full 6 point rollbar and sub frames in the car, so that made a difference! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Terry and others, Go to: http://photos.yahoo.com/dat74z and check out photos of the front and rear disk setups. I'll try to get more and better pics of the wheels and brakes, cage, and other mods up asap. I'm also gonna have to buy some front camber plates, as I don't have the kind of travel up front that I'd like to see. Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I'm running a Lincoln SP125. I really like how this thing is feeding. I got both door bars in, and a 40 degree 24 inch brace running from the rear main hoop to the door bar on the drivers side put in yesterday afternoon. I'll do the other 40 degree brace in tonight and start on the footers. I plan to draw out the outline of the cage and post it on my site later. My door bars ride about 3 inches above the rocker and are 1 5/8th diameter .134 thick. They tie into the wheel well with a 1/4 inch backing plate. They then tie into the three 1/8 inch footers that run from the ouside of the boxed frame rail to the rocker using tubing of the same diameter. I'll have three footers per door bar/ front hoop. I'm also tieing in the dash brace to the firewall at either side of the console. that tubing bender is a godsend! I was able to contour the door bar slightly at the right angles. My goal is to be done with welding by the end of the coming weekend. Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Well I took Chris' and Mike/SCCA's advice and went and bought some 75/25 gas, some .030 wire and tips and I had my regulator checked while I was at it... The bottle was empty for all of my tach welds... And the regulator was way out and both gages were shot. I got a new regulator and gages! I laid some passes this morning on some doorbar footers and OH what a difference! I advised Jim (BLKMGK) to either bring his struts back to me for some additional passes, or have them check by someone, as I believe I ran out of gas during welding his coil over collars. Man am I glad I swapped over to the thicker wire and had that regulator checked. Plans are to have all the cage and floor pans done by the end of next weekend! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Well yes, I'd say doing the crate motor thing is the way to go, but RatedR specifically said he is on a tight budget. So I broke it down for him and gave the prices and what to expect. However, RatedR, if you can afford it, the ZZ4 is my personal favorite for crate motors. Bang for the buck aluminum heads, nice accessory package, and a warranty you just can't beat! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Here is EXACTLY what I would do: I would get a good block, sit it asside Get a new set of Hypereutectic pistons and do the same Buy a new set of LT1 Rods (They are cheap!) and find a good steel crank or get a new SCAT Crank. Get a 6 or 7 inch harmonic balancer and a flywheel or flex plate (Depending on standard or Auto Trans) Once you have those six parts, cart them all to a good machinist and have the block gone through, Hot tanked, magnafluxed, & deck the block if needed, & I'd screen the oil ports as well and have thr block painted. Have the complete rotating assembly balanced, this is a must and I'm gonna do it on my stroker when I pull it next winter! Have them install new cam bearings, and if your'e not sure about your mechanical talent, have them build the lower end for you. Wouldn't be more than an extra $100-200 to have a competent shop build it for you! Get a good Melling Oil pump, and a decent pan (Search here on a recent thread to get the best ground clearance!). Now, go back and look at Kevin's comments about the cam selection. If you have the extra cash, you cannot go wrong with a roller valve train. They rev much faster and you will get performance gains with it. I'd go with a Hydraulic unit, because they are less maintenance than the solids, although it is believed that solid roller valve trains make more power! However, beware, the Hydraulic pushrods, rockers, and cam kit are gonna run you about $600!!!! Rockers are about $150 new, and Chromo Push rods are about $200. Then the springs, retainers, cam and lifters...But in my opinion, it is absolutely worth it. Next you will need to get a deal on a good cloyes true roller Timing chain set, a decent set of heads (Search for aluminum heads used with a 2.02 intake and a 1.6 exhaust valve.) If you are lucky, you can get a set of built heads which will have the springs and rockers already and that will reduce the above mentioned price of those! From there, it gets down to the small stuff, intake, carb, distributor selection (Mine was an MSD Billet Mechanical @ $180), water pump (Get an aluminum long shaft pump), and starter ($180) and alternator ($70). This section of parts will run you about $1000 when all is said and done. I don't recommend junk yard alternators or starters, as they will leave you stranded, and a good aluminum water pump with the long shaft is gonna run you about $140! A good decent intake, to match your cam type, will run you another $120, and a good Edelbrock or Holley 600-650CFM carb will be about $230! Then you will need plugs, wires, coil, ignition box is also prefered, and of course you will need a good carb linkage and cable. AS you can see, this project will not be cheap if you use good high end aftermarket stuff! But racers get hardup for cash and all this stuff can be had used, and that my friend is where I would prey... Like a shark. Go to the track, or check your local hotrod shop. People hang out there all the time needing cash! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk [This message has been edited by Mikelly (edited March 03, 2001).]

Yea, Women are funny like that! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I don't think you could squeeze them in on the rear... I think you would have to have about 5 inches of backspacing. That would require coilovers and MIKE/SCCAs collar perch idea. Even then, I doubt if the tires would fit inside the wheel well... Not much room without opening up the fender. Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Jared, Here is the question you need to ask yourself: What do you intend to do with the car? What are your own skills and what can you afford to do? Do you plan to change the brakes and suspension? Do youplan to drive the car aggressively? Race it at the strip or autocross? I always tell guys to make a plan and then go over the plan a bunch of times and then send it out to the masses here to allow them to look it over... Then stick to that plan. I just wish I had had this type of setting to fly some of my ideas by 5 years ago! A good foundation is an older late 60s early 70s truck block 4 bolt main unit. Get some LT1 Rods and a nice steel crank and go from there... Find a deal on some used aluminum heads.. Search the yards and the forsale boards and see what you can get for cheap... Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Those flares are really growing on me for the front... I'm gonna have to see how the fiberglass unit looks when I get it, and I'm definitely doing some flares up front, just not sure which kind...bond on, or screw in.... Decisions decisions! ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

...As long as I'm not spending it on some whore, my soon to be wife is happy as a clam! No bill collectors rining the phone and we always have what we need when we need it, she wants for nothing, and my money is my money! Life is good. However, I'll be shopping that price and if I can get this stuff over time, All the better! I really need to search for this stuff used and hopefully cut that price in half! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Sure did... Not a bad price at all... Even gave you a choice between the HALTEC and the ACCELL DFI unit! Total price customized for your application was $2795, but I'm waiting on a price quote from them. Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk [This message has been edited by Mikelly (edited March 01, 2001).]