Mikelly

The 5lug rotor is on in the rear, I just have the wheel spacer on over it to help with the wheel fitment. Pete, I have no knowledge of the Zquip bracket you speak of. This unit used the 79-81 brake caliper and the Wilwood unit is a direct bolt on with the 5lug rotor Mike/Scca supplies in his rear disc kit. Thanks for the compliments guys! I'll get pics of the tire/ wheel combo mounted and the rear suspension set up proberly so you can see what the whole package will look like when done! FYU, those wheels can be had from Summit Racing for $149 each. Break down and swap to 5 lug, 'cause you will not find the right bolt pattern in this wheel size! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Yup, sounds like your boost, torque curve and where the HP comes in at is way different on this platform than the L series platform you used to run. You need to get more balance across the rev range so your HP will be there to push you through the traps when the torque starts to fall off... Just my guess, but the fact that you mentioned your injecter being maxed out, that isn't helping your situation at all! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I have new pics up of the outlaw discs mounted, the rear Wilwood Billet Caliper mounted (They are Billet, I double checked the model #) and the wheels on the hubs. Rears mount with a 1/4inch spacer. Pics are here: www.yahoo.comdat74z 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 February 12, 2001).]

What I did was buy an electronic Speedo (Had a VDO, but am now going with Autometer) and run the wire down to the speedo sensor. Works great and VDO recommended I use the factory T56 sender over the unit they supplied. VDO unit runs about $130 and the Autometer unit runs about $200. Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Scottie, Not to be a pain in the ass, but I paid you for two sets, trying to get to the magical "10" needed. Can you drop the 2nd set for me now and refund the $120 for the additional set? I could use it towards rear rotors I just Paid Mike/Scca for! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

...Yea they are gonna work with the Wilwoods, but keep in mind that the bolt on bracket I'm using is the old JCR aluminum $200 brackets. I don't know where else you could get this bracket in the right offset... Also, another question, should I put the rear calipers in front of (LEading or trailing the axle), or behind the rear axle? Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

...and they weigh so little and are soooo huge! Man, these things are a work of art! Amazing! I can't wait to finish this car up! It is gonna be truly a bad ride with all these neat parts!! Guys, Mike/ SCCA brake parts are sweet. If you can afford the coin, spring for them! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Well this is just my experience, and I have owned a total of 14 datsun Zs and have driven them hard since January 1988. My 500+HP 383 stroker Z is as easy to control and well behaved as anything I have owned, and as for handling, it is like anything else. You have to look at the v8 Converted Z as a total package. I wouldn't dream of stufifng a 300HP V8 in a bone stock z with bone stock brakes... Not smart and I hope noone thinks that is a smart thing to do, because it is a quick way to get a trip to the hospital. Build a total package, but 1st come up with a plan... that is the way to go and I think Darius has got a well thought out car... I need to see the film!!! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Got my 12.2 inch X 1.25 rotors in from Mike/SCCA last night and man are they HUGE!!!! Also VERY Nice looking and well engineered! I hope to have the rotors bolted onto the front hubs and hubs installed by this afternoon and if I do I'll put some pics up on the homepage. I can't wait to get the rest of the suspension done so I can get this car rolling around again!!! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Here is the gameplan. When GC sent the springs I thought I was getting 8inch springs because of the conversation I had on the phone with them. When I called them back to get the top perches, I asked why they sent me the longer springs and they said the same reason...Coil binding. However, I can reduce the diameter of the seat ring, and raise it as well. I didn't take in account the camber plates, which I measure at giving me a full 2 inches (Maybe GC camber plates give less room) of additional travel. So I'm gonna grind off the welds on the rears and raise the ring 1st, tack it back in place, and then re-weld it. That should give me the clearance of the rim and then some, but then I'll have to see how the 275-40s I just ordered will affect the clearance! At that point I might be forced to reduce the flange on the outboard side of the weld-on perch. I should be OK, And I agree with what GC did. The longer spring would give a much more tunable ride. Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Pete, no offense taken (Shame on you for thinking I would be) and I think I can fix the problem in one of two ways. I just ordered tires from Tire Rack and should have them by Monday. I'll mount them up and we'll see what kind of fitment issues there are if any. I'll let you guys know what I come up with, but bottom line is that even though GC recomends a 12inch spring, I should have gone with an 8 inch unit for ground clearance. That extra 4 inches of rise would have placed the spring perch above the tire and wheel! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Well I have the Jim Cook Racing rear bracket for 79-81 cars and it works well with the 5 lug hub Mike/SCCA uses in his rear 5lug conversion and the Wilwood and presumably outlaw 2 piston caliper. a mechanical e-brake caliper could be used by fabricating a bracket off the mount bracket points. I'd be happy to loan someone one of my brackets if they want to machine something up for sale, but I have to have it back in my greedy little mitts within 30 days, cause I want the car on the ground and moving about the shop within that timeframe... I think this would be a much better, although more costly solution. How much do the wilwood spot e-brake calipers run? Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Well they should have been shorter, but I'm not ov3erly concerned. I'll use some wheel spacers to compensate for the offset. Pete, using the camber plates in the rear, I should have compensated for the aditional travel and will have to raise the spring perch about 1.5-2 inches which will probably give me clearance over the rim at the rear, but who knows what will happen when I have wheels mounted. We'll see, but regardless I can make the wheels work and they are a work of art. I'm glad I went this route... these wheels look awesome! For the money (I'm sworn to secrecy on the price) you can't beat them. For $149 each, they are a steal to anyone! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I have the rear bolt on bracket from Jim Cook Racing and am a huge fan of bolt on brackets. So I did a little search and found a caliper with the 3.75 inch mounting tabs needed to match the bracket from the older 79-81 calipers... Since I borrowed Jim's Rotor from Mike/SCCA's 5 lug rear disc brake package, I thought I would try it with this new caliper, a wilwood Dynalite 2 dual piston caliper, made of Billet... It works perfectly with a simple caliper shim or two. Yes, this does away with the emergency brake, so I'll be doing research on the little dunebuggy pressure valve Mike/SCCA mentioned in a previous post. This gives me a much better, far superior caliper compared to the 79-81 design. Mike/SCCA what rotors are those used in the 5lug kit? I'm gonna need to get a pair! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Well I got my Cobra wheels in tonight and test fitted them to the car, and I screwed myself with 12 inch coil springs. The perches hit the rims without using spacers. So now I'm gonna have to get ahold of some nice billet wheel spacers. I don't know if you guys will have to deal with this or not, but I'll be using the longer wheel studs to clear the spacer, probably about a 1/4 inch spacer is all I will need, but it will be hard to tell until I get the tires in and mounted. Not a huge deal, but you should know that the backspacing is sufficiant in the rear to hang most of the wheel deep inside the wheel well. But these things do look awesome! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Check the Brakes/ Suspension category and search the archives... Lots of good suggestions that have been covered recently. Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

That is a good question and I second that Scottie... Any chance to get four additional holes tapped to accomidate the bolt on the flanges??? Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

#1 Use the JTR mount kit, period. Nothing against the MSA kit, but I know what I know and if you ask everyone here what they used to swap the engine, they will 99% tell you to go with the JTR kit... There is a reason for that. #2 With a cage and strut tower braces, you should be fine with your car and the mentioned items in #4. You shouldn't need to do anything else. #3 Nope, the ZX 5speed won't take the abuse of the torque, but I also don't think the input shaft is the right length or spline, but I could be wrong. However, I still say don't use it. Go with a Tremec or T5 from a GM F Body that was equiped with a V8, so you will get the WCT5 unit that will live under that HP load. #5 ZZ4 crate motor from GM performance parts... 355HP and 405ft.# of torque. Aluminum heads and intake included, intake to oil pan, not a bad package at all. If FI is in the works, look at the GM RamJet package instead for about $4000. You get complete injection, wiring, and all the necessary extras, including the SDS type programable unit. PS...You don't need a SC if your goal is 350HP... #6 Get in on the group purchase for the CV Axle adapters and contact Zbarn for a set of 280ZXT CV axles for $100 and your U-joint snap days will not be a reality. Hope this helps, and I'm glad to see you changed your mind on the bolt in cage fiasco! 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 February 07, 2001).]

Document that well, as I'm not sure anyone on this site has worked on the internals of one of these beasts! Hope I never have to go into mine! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Zbarn just shipped two early 280Z stub axles to me for $40 each, including the flanges. They have them in stock, but told me that they normally sell these for $50 each. I'm a repeate customer, so they cut me a price break... Scottie, I understand, I was just giving you grief. Seriously, if we fall short by one set, I'll pick up the extra set. Let me know. Can I pay you via PayPAL? If so, I'll transfer funds for one pair ASAP. Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Well I think they would fit due to the 5 7/8 backspacing that they come in. That only leaves 3 inches of rim past the hub, not a lot. I think you could run a 245-40-17 and make it look good. I'm gonna run some 275-40-17s out back and some 245-40-17s up front, and that is why I'll be runng my flares, that and the fact that the rears are already on the car and painted. Mike

These are the exact wheels I'm gonna have inhouse in about a day! They are 17X9 and they sell from American eagle Wheels for $149 each, Model Number 168. They come in painted silver, polished, or chrome. They are also 24 pounds, which isn't a bad weight at all! You can get them From Summit, but you won't find them in the book... You have to ask! I'm glad you posted these Andy, as I was hoping they would look as good as they do! Should look awesome stuffed under my fender flares!!!! Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Call me an idiot.. Go ahead, I asked my fiancee to after I realized these hubs fit... Go ahead, call me it... That's right, you guys educated me.. that dust seal thingy was what was throwing me and initially the unit would not go on so I thought "Hey I got the wrong ones..."!!! OK, foregive me for I have sinned... Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

OK Scottie... That makes 10.. and if someone backs out, just count me in for two sets. Make 'em ASAP please, pretty pretty pretty please???????? Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

OK, I must be missing something here... Zbarn sent me two 86 300ZX hubs, but they do not fit my spindles on the 74. What am I missing here. The diameter of the hub on the 300zx is smaller than the 240-280 hub diameter... Clear my vision guys... Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk