Dan Juday

Overkill bars? Ballast? I'm not sure what problem they're solving. That is the first time I've seen a brace placed there. Maybe that is an area that needs stabilizing but unless it's tied into a comprehensive cage, I don't think there is much of a benefit.

Hey John, I know of a good fabricator in SoCal that might be able to help you redesign those Japped up seat mounts. I hear he has a lot of experiance with Z cars (snicker snicker). Sawzall! The American answer to Japanese design.

All good replies. A driveline shop is a good place to find the correct bolts. The shop I got mine at just tossed then to me, no charge.

I was just explaining how diff's work today to my son. The vidio was perfect timing! Remember when we thought it was important to explain stuff like this to average people? Maybe if we had done that when computers where developed we wouldn't have a nation of numbskulls today.

Here you go: http://www.autopartsbylou.com/lift-supports-products.php?make=NISSAN&model=280Z&year=1976&type=mmy&x=14&y=13 I've bought from these guys before. Good prices, good service, no problems.

240 uses only one strut, 280 uses two struts.

Nice work Derek. That textured abs is fun to work with. It's pretty forgiving for us amateurs. As far as the carpet cover, I can take it or leave it. It looks good but it seems like a lot of extra work for little benefit. I'd prefer a speaker position as far north as possible to avoid crowding the footwell. The hood release cable does not concern me as my next hood will not use it. When you get these worked out make a set to replace the rear panels as well that deletes the fuel expansion tank bulge. Those will have room for 6" or larger speakers. When they're ready I'll take a full set.

August is also national napping month. Everyone here getting their Z's? Don't bother me for a while.

They are NOT. Ratios, input shaft, torque ratings, all different. Don't buy a T5 for a V6. The T5 is probably the most prolific tranny in history with versions that span cars, trucks, models and manufacturers. You want a T5 from a GM f-body V8.

I'm not posting much these days but I'll throw in my $.02 because I've done two sbc swaps into S30's. One with a 305tpi/wcT5 and the other with a '95 LT1/T56. Both motors are mostly stock, bolt-ons only. Both cars are street driven, not drag raced. My personal experiance is as Geking says. The T56 is considerably larger and heavier than the T5 requiring much more tunnel clearancing. Driving the two cars I can tell you that with the broad torque range of either motor combined with the light weight of the S30, that extra 6th gear is not needed. Depending on the rear gears you choose to go with using the six speed, you will either forgo first or sixth gear when actually driving the car. With the 3.7 rear in the motor lugged in 6th unless you were in the "arrest-me" band of the speedometer. The 3.9 made first gear so low it was worthless. On the other hand, even with a 3.36 rear on the T5, I still have more torque than the tires can use in first, and 80 mph is a comfortable cruse in fifth. I'd recommend the T5 over the T56 to anyone doing this swap but it's your call. Just sharing my personal experiance.

Here's your rig, complete with flames! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1997-FORD-350-ECONOLINE-BOXVAN-TOYHAULER-USED-/200499238507?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Other_Vehicles_Everything_Else&hash=item2eaeaf966b

This was my solution. http://www.zparts.com/showcase/djudayv8proj/shoot1/pages/fbs01r16f17.htm

I love the windshield extention on #2. It changes the entire profile of the S30. The Godzilla bi-plane wing is absurdly too big. It must take 50hp to push that thing through the air at highway speeds.

The cable idea is clever, innovative. I think your plan needs some development though. Steel cable is highly abrasive. Keep and eye out for wear on both the tranny case and the cables themselves. Strength to weight ratio, you are correct. On sail boats we carry thousands of pounds of load over some pretty small diameter cable. If I were to do this I would use thimbles and swedges and connect to mounting points on the tranny and unibody rather than wrap the case though. Again, abrasion would be the concern. Thumbs up for thinking outside the box.

I have always been a fan of the slide in camper. I've owned two. The downside is the limited space. Even a big camper has less living space than a small motor home. But for someone that just needs the basics it has a lot of advantages: You can find used campers cheap. Smaller investment means less stress when the thing has problems, and all RV's will have problems. If you have room to store a motor home, you have room to store a camper and your race car. Campers don't need to be registered or insured (on the truck it's cover by the truck insurance, in the yard covered by your homeowners insurance). You don't need to get a smog check for a camper. When it's not in use you can still use your truck... as a truck. And everyone needs a truck anyways. When I'm away from home all I need is a bed, kitchen, and a head. A slide in camper does that very efficiently without a lot fuss or cost.

Alan, you never fail to amaze me. Anything Nissan you don't know? BTW, I want that cool S31 dome light.

Read closer Jas. Stony is asking about the S31, not S130. We need a JDM Nissan guru here.

No gasket, just bolt it up.

Also check to see if you have your tranny mount in reversed. The tranny mount hole is offset in the mount. You may also have to slot the hole to get proper driveshaft angles. Don't worry about the shifter hole untill you have the driveshaft in and aligned. You're getting your install steps out of order.

Can't offer you anything on the starter. On the slanty T5, I had to trim a small bit off the left side of the shifter hole for it to clear. Not much, about a 1/2". I just used tin snips and cut a semi-circular shap out. Your picture angle could be deceiving, but it looks like the tailshaft of the tranny is too far to the left. Before you cut the shifter hole any bigger I would suggest you align the driveshaft u-joints. This may move the tailshaft over enough that no trimming is required. JMHO I love the T5 for this swap. As long as you don't abuse it I think it's the perfect manual for a V8Z. Good gear ratios and enough of them in a light package.

Yup, potential and current. Those would be the problems. EDIT: Sorry, I just noticed this is your first post. Just having a little fun with you. It sounds like the "jump" was a jump start that reversed the positive and negative terminals of the battery. You could be looking at a lot of damaged and burned up electrical bits. If your forte is automotive electrical than go for it. If not, expect to pay a pro ($) to find, sort, and replace all the damaged bits. Could be quite pricey by the time the car actually runs.

He's a modeling superman. I hope he makes a good living doing that.

What did I start? Honest Derek, I was only trying to to help. It is thread jacking. Tony gets away with it because he's so entertaining. Although, I do wonder what he's "sniffing and licking". And just for the record: I married my trophy wife 27 years ago. I don't have a wooden Chris Craft or live on a lake. But I do have a plastic triamaran (two actualy) and I live near a river.

Pretty amazing. Low speed chaos on Market Street. As a young service tech I worked in many of the old buildings along Market and Mission. I wonder how many in that film I may have worked in. Another tidbit: At the tender age of 22 my grandfather was applying for a job with a stock broker in San Francisco when the quake hit. The building he was in was heavily damaged but did not collapse and he was not injured. He didn't wait to see if he got the job. Instead he high-tailed it to Chicago and took a job on the exchange processing inter-exchange orders over telegraph. "The next biggest shaker I experienced was in October of '29". That "quake" was somewhat less centralized though.

You can minimize, or even negate motor/throttle position movement by extending the link from the bellcrank to the butterfly arms. This can be done by connecting at the #3 or #4 TB rather than the #6. Simple trig, lengthen the "a" side and reduce the COS error.