silicone boy

While I'm on the subject of "headlights" as accessories, I have to add another Z product to my list of most hated add-on devices. Those plastic headlight covers are super ugly. I mean, I know they are functional and improve what is otherwise as aerodynamic as a coffee can, but they are kinda tacky. I'm going to look up in the body forun for any improvements that can be made to the headlights (seems like I can't get away from my work even when I'm working on my hobby!)

OOPS, looks like I stirred up a hornets nest. I take it back, I don't think Z's are inherently rice cars. What I really mean I guess is that it may have started up the rice accessory industry. I mean, most of those people in the 70's who bought spoilers and air dams and window louvers for Z's were doing it for the same purpose as today's honduh bench racers. Sure, there were a few nuts like on this board who realize that a Z is unstable at 120 without a functional air dam, but most people put them on for looks. Now that I stand corrected, I have to mention my favorite accessory of all time, silicone implants. It's not just because I make my living off of them, it's also because I think they really do add to aerodyanmics, appearance, and possibly performance. I don't reccomend putting stickers on them to make them look better, and as they say, there's no replacement for displacement. By the way, I'm sure someone will ask, so I'll nip it in the bud. There is no way I can show examples of my favorite accessories, but I assure you all that they are a lot prettier than the picture above.

Ok, this is a sensitive issue. I have always viewed the Z car as the original rice car. I mean, it is Japanese. Also, wasn't it the car that popularized add-on spoilers and air dams? To top it all off, the Z and its cousin the RX-7 popularized the second worst rice-a-roni accessory of all time, the rear window louver. Yuck. (the worst accessory of all time in my opinion is neon lighting). I challenge the members of this board to describe or provide pictures of the riciest Z car on the planet. Oh, you don't have to admit it's yours either. We ought to send the winner to the Monster Garage to have it made back into a normal car. Now that would be their biggest challenge yet!

. I am going to make about 2 grand this summer so I wanted to hopefully take car of GC's and get a turbo engine or L28 and do a stroker. I remember working all summer in high school to buy car parts. My parents thought I was crazy, and they were right. It was worth it though.

Actually, my wife suggested the magnet thingy. I dismissed the idea because she's a girl and doesn't know anything about cars, then I tried it when she wasn't looking. After about an hour of trying, I spent the next two hours taking off the manifold. Guess what--It wasn't even in the intake side of the heads. Surely my luck couldn't be that bad. Only two of the valves are open enough for the valve to have fallen in. At this point, I'm thinking two things: Did I really see that thing fall in (unfortunately yes, and even if I think I was mistaken, I still have to be sure) and I really don't want to pull off the head(s). John, I did think about stealing a fiberoptic scope to see which side it fell into for a moment, but it would cost a pretty penny if I broke it. Why don't they make a cheap borescope for idiots like me? Anyway, when I'm taking the head off, I'm going to be thinking, "I could be driving this thing if I wasn't such a bonehead". Hopefully, it'll be worth it.

I am in the final stages of my re-conversion. 355 is out, 383 is in. I've made great progress over the past month. I conquered a hairy aftermarket fuel injection harness (I think) and I was taking care of a few detail before firing it up. I was hooking up the throttle linkage tonight when I dropped a small allen wrench onto my throttle body, only to see it disappear into the intake. No problem, I thought, I'll just take the throttle body off and get it out of the manifold. No such luck. I couldn't find it anywhere, and I can only assume that it went into one of the intake passages in my heads. I even went fishing with some of my surgical instruments, some of them with extra long reach. It looks like I'm going to remove my intake manifold now. I just hope it didn't fall into one of the cylinders!

I did buy a converted one, but I'm rebuilding everything on it again in a no holds barred upgrade. I am learning so much in the process, it's just incredible. I've built a motor, taken apart the whole drivetrain and suspension, learned to work with braided high pressure hose and fittings, learned how to weld, and I'm even trying to wire up a hairy fuel injection harness. Am I mechanically inclined? No, I'm a surgeon by day and not too bright of one at that (on the other hand, I guess working on cars is not too different from working on people). I guess my point is, go for it and learn a ton while you are at it. The education you will give yourself is priceless.

Well said, Strotter. I caught the disease even worse. I bought a perfectly decent running V8Z. About one year ago, I decided it would be fun to build a 383, throw in a T56 while I am at it. Oh, it has to be fuel injected, so I got an Electromotive TEC3 system. Don't forget big disk brakes front and rear. Oh, those suspension arms look kind of weak, why don't I give Mike Kelly a call about his tubular suspension. What about the rearend? Get an R200, and while it's out of the car, why not put a Quaife LSD. As long as I have Ross on the line, I should do the CV axle conversion thing. Am I missing anything? My mind perhaps, and a whole lot of money. I could have had a nice, used C4 Vette or Gen III RX-7 by now. It's almost ready to run, and it better be worth it.

It's a PITA. Getting the clutch pedal and hydraulics in there is not that bad, but it's time consuming (not good for a college student). Trying to get the clutch and tranny into such a small area without pulling the engine is difficult without the right facilities (heck, it's not easy even if you do have a shop). I ended up pulling the engine because I was adding a bigger motor anyway. It's going to be backed by a T56 (mongo expensive clutch-again not good for a student). I agree with Tomahawk, get one with a manual already installed. You'll have a lot more fun driving it and working on the suspension.

Thanks for the warning. That was hilarious. I thought those safety switches were for sissies (remember the scene in Blackhawk Down when the Ranger commander chastises the Delta guy for not having his gun on safety and the Delta guy shows him his index finger and says: "this is my safety", well that's how I felt). I'll put a switch on my clutch pedal after all.

I just pulled the engine/tranny from my Z. The tranny is a 700R4. Upon removing the shifter, I noticed that one of the wires going to one of the switches that keeps the car from starting in gear was disconnected (no wonder it wouldn't start). Anyway, that's irrelevent. My question is, I'm converting to a T56, so I don't need those switches anymore, do I? Do I just short them out, or splice the wires? It seems self evident, but I've never done this before, and I wouldn't want to put the transmission in and find I couldn't start the care cause I didn't hook something up in a hard to reach location. Thanks.

I tend to think that coil over hardware is pretty generic and paying more than you need to is stupid. It's just a threaded collar and a perch. The springs with Ground Control are Eibach--can't get any better than that. If Ross does indeed use Eibach springs with his kit, I would go with him. He is an honest businessman who has always been responsive. Support your Hybrid Z members.

I went all out and got an Electromotive TEC3. The direct fire units looked real cool. I'll have it installed, along with the fuel injection in the next couple of months (my wife says so, at least). I'll let you know how it goes.

I wish I would have known about the advantages of the H beams before I started my build, but then, that's why I'm doing my own assembly. I'm learning by trial and error, mostly error

I have to agree with Tbuck. Even after getting my block back from the machine shop where it was supposedly clearanced, I still had clearance issues. I had to finish it off myself. Like they say, if you want it done right, do it yourself.

Doesn't cost as much as you think. I think it cost me just over $100. However, I still had clearance problems between my crank (for a 383 stroker) and the camshaft. I had a small base circle cam custom made, and I still had clearance issues. I had to grind the connecting rods a little. Hope it isn't out of balance.

She's in Buffy? I didn't know that. Come to think of it, you're right. I never made the connection. As to where I saw that picture, it was one of those bonus sections with a pullout calendar, so I assume it was January of 2002. She was in this schoolgirl plaid skirt, a little too short (make that, way too short), and her white shirt was unbuttoned. Easy there, Blkmgk! Makes me want to go to band camp.

It's a clever idea, but at over $500, it's a lot more expensive (and complicated) than a nice electronic speedo hooked into the T56

I don't know what made me think of this, maybe it's because it was really late, but I recently saw a picture of the chick who played the "And at bandcamp, we..." girl in American Pie. It was in Maxim, I think. Would you believe that mousy little actress that no one payed attention to in the movie looked really hot in the magazine? I guess I shouldn't have ignored the band girls when I was in school.

Well, there's been a lot of talk over the years about how stupid the T56 clutch slave cylinder is--it has no bleeder, it is made out of plastic, and it uses a stupid non-AN hose fitting (custom GM stuff). JTR, Mike Kelly have advocated tapping the plastic and using a 1/8th to -3AN coupler. I did this at first, but I couldn't leave well enough alone. I'm waiting for some parts (e.g. the Comp Cams hydraulic roller lifters that have been backordered for about a year ) and my brain was therefore idle, with nothing else to do, a dangerous situation. I used the spare time to work on the slave problem once and for all. A lot of people have talked about the similarity between the T5 slave and the T56. In fact, the picture in one of the JTR is a T5 with a tapped fitting, even though it says it's a T56. It is almost identical with the exception that it has a bleeder valve. Cool. For those of you that are worried about the plastic thing, forget it. It's pretty much indestructible (I should know, my wife accidentally drove over it when I left in in the driveway . Rather than tapping the plastic, I took a cue from Blkmgk (he used a T56 slave) and used the stock end fitting-or actually, I used the end that goes into the master cylinder since it is a straight, rather than angled one. After all, that's what came with it and is least likely to leak. I cut the tubing a few inches above this with my Sawzall (overkill, but it was within arms length of my computer when I saw Blkmgk's posting on the board from a few months back. I intended to get some pretty hydraulic fittings for the other end, but somehow it didn't work out that way. I was wandering around Home Depot with the slave in my pocket (don't ask me why, I don't know), when I came across their plumbing fittings. They're brass, not anodized aluminum, so I'll probably lose some horsepower, but I stuck a 3/16th barbed to 1/4 in adaptor into the free end. For those of you who are wondering if this by itself is secure enough, I can assure you that it is because it got stuck and I couldn't get it off-I had to assure the HD people that I wasn't trying to steal it. I then put on a 1/4 to 1/8 reducer followed by a 1/8 NPT to -3AN coupler (the last one is not a Home Depot part--I'm sure you knew that, but it's amazing how much quasi automotive stuff you can find a Home Depot, such as Ram Air stuff in the ventilation section. I wonder if you can find LSD's in the lawn tractor department--those riding mowers sure do seems to have a lot of traction off the line). Anyway, here's my finished product. I'm a lot happier with it because has a lot less of that homemade look. h ttp://photos.yahoo.com/bc/benleemd/vwp?.dir=/datsunZ&.src=ph&.dnm=T5slave.jpg&.view=t&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/bc/benleemd/lst%3f%26.dir=/datsunZ%26.src=ph%26.view=t

OK, I've tapped my stock T56 slave, and JB welded the 1/8 NPT-3AN coupler where it meets the slave for extra insurance. I'm still not sure how well it will hold under pressure, and I am considering an alternative metal slave. I've tried to search for previous postings I've seen, but I can't seem to find anything on Chevy S10 blazer slaves ('91?)or any other alternatives. Does anyone have any experiences with these, and what modifications, if any, need to be made? Also, I've heard mention of Wilwood push type slaves, but I can't find one on their website.

Panasports, or their close cousins, the Minilites, should be just fine for the street. I've used them before on an autocross/street car because I was too lazy to change wheels on race day. As for coilovers, they are pretty generic IMHO. After all, they're only a threaded collar and a spring perch. The Ground Control ones are fine and come with quality Eibach springs. Ross and Mike have them too (just as good), and I prefer to support members of this board. I haven't thought about going without the rear bar because of the potential for throttle oversteer, but it does make sense. I've put in for a major power upgrade, and I may decide to go without a rear bar or put the stock one back on.

Aren't those Panasports or Panasport knockoffs? I've always felt that they look great on Z cars.

Mike, it's great to hear your father is doing better. I want all of you to know that I had sent him some parts I bought from him to repair, and he was working on them during this past week while his dad was in the hospital. I didn't know about the illness in the family. Mike, I appreciate the commitment to your customers, but I want you to stop working on my stuff and concentrate on your dad. As you know, I am a physician and I truly believe that family involvement (as you are all obviously doing) helps a patient get better. Take care.

Y'know, I'm building a very similar 383 and ran into clearance problems with my cam. Mine was a COMP cams Extreme Energy 270HR. As it turned out, I needed a small base circle cam and even then I needed to grind my connecting rods for clearance. Comp cams gladly made me a custom small base circle cam and didn't even charge me. They just exchanged the one I bought from Summit. That's great service.