Owen

If it can happen, it'll happen to me. From full street ready to a full tear-down... The past couple of week's I've been trying to get my EFI system running. The car would idle rough and I was finally able to get it smooth but with hesitation at sudden throttle closing. It was still running rich and in the attempt to lean it out a little, I played with some settings, f-ed up somewhere and lost ability to start the engine. Tim240Z came over and we checked and adjusted the valves, checked the starter etc. Cranking was uneven with the plugs in but even with them out. We suspect a toasted main bearing or jacked up piston rings. No wonder it wouldn't start. I used to be able to turn the engine over by hand but now it is VERY tight, like 250 ft./lbs. I pulled the engine and trans this weekend, removed the in-mani, heads, and main caps. 10:30 Sunday nite and Wouldn't you know, my damper remover is nowhere to be found...the bearings in the caps look fine except for one which has a slight orange colored gouge in it. When I turn the engine by hand, I hear a strange sound like rubber scraping against a smooth surface...could it be that some gasket material fell into the pistons and lodged themselves between the rings and cyl. walls? Thankfully the engine was never revved very high. Owen The cursed mechanic

Acrylic enamel is old school and it takes much longer to cure. I've heard something like 3 months? As for shooting bc/cc on top of AE, I'm sure it can be done but why spend all that time and money? Spend your time on the body work and then shoot bc/cc. Paint is more expensive and so is the safety equipment but you'll find it's worth it in the long run. Ask the experts here, I'm just a do it yourselfer Owen

What about timing belts and an adjustable cam sprocket? Too much stretching? Owen

It really sucks taking apart the gauges...I modded my Autometers by lining the area around the gauge face with some of that flexible neon wire. No need to tear apart the gauge, just disable the stock bulb. Maybe if you got the expensive stuff, you could actually have 3 different colors at the flick of a switch! Or have them stobe light??? Just make sure your eyes and brain don't wig out and give you a seizure while you're driving. Owen

It's actually not in the firewall but on the horizontal ledge at the top, it's an intake duct of the heater I believe. Take the cowl off and try getting your wires through that area, not easy. Which is why I just cut the damn thing out. I might have pix if you're interested, email me offline from here. I'd be interested in seeing a movie clip or something of those strobes! Owen

Cool, I stay away from HF tools (and craftsman) as much as possible if they have any moving parts in them Gonna stop by Pepboys on the way home and see what they got. Owen

I've read about this happening for the TO bearing for the T56 too, FYI... Owen

Syndicate, I broke the front sash which is the bolt-on rail with bolts that runs vertically/diagonally at the front of the door. I've found that instead of struggling for days to try and find the right alignment of all the rails, simply leaving some bolts loose to move with the window is not a problem. Owen

Strobe lites? What are you hooking up (just interested) I use the big hole on the passenger side and I have also passed wires through the throttle cable hole on the driver's side. Another thing I did for my EFI harness was to cut off the heater vent box under the front cowl, there's a big rectangle going down to the passenger floor area. I then passed the wires out of the hole by the hood latch into the EG bay. Owen Owen

DAW, does yours trip out like Dave's? And Dave, how many times can you use it to attempt to start? Will the unit shut down after a while, making me wait til it cools before I can use it again? Thanks, Owen

They were used in some later model 240SXs too. I wonder what's used in the other Infiniti sedans like the G20...I've heard the J30's VLSD can be swapped into a 240SX. NA Z32 (90-96) was the R200VLSD is what I heard. You can tell an R230 right away by the output flanges, they have like 6 bolts. http://www.v8zcar.com/s30z/r230.htm If you can find a good cheap R200 LSD get it, the only reason why I went with the R230 was because they were actually cheaper than the crapped out R200s in my area. But putting it on takes a lot of custom work. And it's heavier than a mofo! Owen

I need to buy a portable battery charger/starter, what sort of AMP ratings do I look for. Highest I've seen is 50amps, is that enough to crank a performance engine? I'm looking more for a starter than a charger, and I wanna be able to plug it into the socket on my wall in the garage. I'd rather buy this at the local Pepboys, etc on the way home tonight instead of mailorder. Thanks, Owen

I had a problem with the window going up too. Then I tightened the front window sash top nut and broke it off. Guess what? The window slides up and downway better than before! Owen

Who's car looks good? Can't be mine... David, yes I have the Haltech and yes I wanna sell it! I'll email you. OK Tim, $0.06 commission Owen

What are barrel locks? I'm using APC universal locks that use a key similar to those Kryptonite u-shaped bike locks. They work fine and I've installed power door plungers as well. I lost the lock for the hatch though...damn! Owen

True, true. Those bumpers aren't much but they're better than nothing I guess. Owen

HRE, Hayashi Racing I believe... Owen

Yeah, I saw this a while ago but de-considered it because you have to use a Grant steering wheel while I am going to use a Momo one. Owen

Me too. v8z@earthlink.net Thanks, Owen

Don't know the numbers but I recently switched from this to this The urethane one will probably last longer but I hated the ducts. Owen

Police departments continue to buy Ford’s Crown Victoria for their officers despite a series of lawsuits alleging that the car has a design flaw that can cause the gas tank to explode in a rear collision. (USA Today, 6/6, David Kiley) Just make sure you don't tailgate one of these! Owen

Hiromino is in Japan right now and just scored a set of flares and a spoiler. I'll ask him to see how much they are, he should be back in a week or so. Owen

Tim, The alt WAS charging at a pretty high rate, but that crank pulley I got is the same size as the alt pulley, 1:1. Terry, No, it's not charging at all. If it is, it's not as fast as the components that drain the batt. I've read all over the net that cut-in is around 1200-1500 rpm. They make ones with lower rpms but I'll do some more observing to see if it's gonna be a problem. Owen

Exactly, so get the hose that was made for it. I was thinking of exhaust tubing as well, but how long will that stand up to rust, etc? Owen

Thanks! That's what I needed to know. My battery is still draining though...faster than it charges.... Owen