Jeff

July 9, 2003

That is too damn funny.

July 9, 2003

Thanks for posting those Bob. I've been following the Corner Carvers thread with great interest and was glad to see Todd's comments about his real world experiences.

My car will likely see several HPDE events per year but I believe the 1/4" bracket will be just fine. Once Juan posted the image of the final bracket you could see there was very little offset involed.

Juan, thanks for being open minded about this discussion and not getting into the dirt with negatives and such. I think you will do great as a Z company and should be around for a while.

I second that and thank you as well. I look forward to receiving my brackets in the near future.

July 8, 2003

No your ride height will not be affected because you are working below the spindle. All you are doing is spacing the lower control arm down a bit.

July 7, 2003

It's easy Mike. Put the transmission in first gear and then place a mark on the output shaft for reference. Spin the input shaft three full revolutions and check if the output shaft is back in its original position. If it is back the you have an 80-83 ZX N/A five speed.

The chart that j260z posted simply represents the number of revolutions you will need to spin the input shaft to get one revolution of the output shaft. If you notice all of the five speeds have a number less than one for fifth gear. This is your overdrive and is why your engine sees less RPM at highway speed.

July 7, 2003

.. its hard for me because im learning everything as i do it.

I'm 40 years old and have been working on cars since my frist car a 1970 Cutlass when I was 16. With that said I'm still learning as well so keep your chin up.

I know this might be hard to swallow but you may consider holding off on the motor swap until later. In my mind that is the stumbling block for a September completion. If you get the suspension, brakes, transmission, rear end and interior complete then you will have a good foundation in place for the motor swap. I know this isn't what you want to hear but it is just a thought. It is also the thought behind not tearing too much apart at the time. If you limit yourself to completeing specific tasks at a time then hopefully you will have a driveable car come September, even if that means that the turbo motor isn't in yet. Again, just food for thought.

July 7, 2003

ill never get done by end of september

Don't get discouraged. My suggestion would be to tackle one task at a time so that it doesn't become overwhelming. When you finish one task move on to the next so that you get a feeling of accomplishmnet and this should help keep you motivated. Good luck with it!!

July 7, 2003

Two words, "Air Tools"

I know I would have never gotten my suspension apart without an impact gun. There are also special open end wrenches made for taking off the brakes lines as well. A normal open end wrench will round off the flare nut many times. If you have already rounded it off then a pair of vice grips is you only hope. Of course you will then need to replace the brake lines which is not always a bad thing on cars this old.

I know this can be frustrating and if you would like someone to speak with about this and future problems then send me an email and I will give you my cell number so that you can get in touch with me.

July 3, 2003

the clamping force is guided on the rotor which makes brackets all much stronger.Its not like the caliper is moving all over the place putting stress in areas where it couldn't handle. Its going in one direction.

This was my thought as well. The bracket is placed in shear and not bending. In other words you are trying to rip apart a piece of 1/4" steel. I'm glad they are steel, if you look at the Airizona Z Car setup they use an aluminum bracket. They are thicker than 1/4" but aluminum does not have the shear strength of steel. Of course I'm not an engineer and this is just my $0.02 for what it is worth.

July 3, 2003

Damn Scottie I always knew that hatch was heavy I just never knew it was lethal.

July 1, 2003

So now that you've started taking the Z apart does the Corvette still fit in the garage?

If you haven't removed the spindle pins yet I bought a puller and it came in yesterday so you are welcome to borrow it. Of course that means you'll need to take a road trip to Orlando like Scottie suggested.

July 1, 2003

Looks like an autocross course to me especially with the "GN" on his windshield. I can't believe they let him run though.

June 30, 2003

Folks need to get over this "sports cars do not make good drag cars" way of thinking.

Oh come on Scottie we all know your car is a pig off the line. That independent rear suspension couldn't possibly hook to the tune of 1.4X in the 60'.

June 28, 2003

You can always attack the rust with a sander and wire wheel first then coat it with POR 15 to kill the remaining rust. You could then fiberglass it to fill the holes. Not the ideal repair but it should last your college career and then you can repair it properly later.

I graduated from Auburn way back in 1985 so that's the reason for the War Eagle.

June 27, 2003

Can't help you on any shops in the Auburn area but I did want to say WAR EAGLE!!

If you want to do a temporary patch you can go the fiberglass route. The rust will be getting worse though until you have time to cut it out properly.

June 27, 2003

Well...
With that much rust' date=' i am sure that the thing is pretty much dead.

I would find a new unibody, and then drop the running gear out of one and throw it into the other... [/quote']

Easy with that kind of talk now you'll scare him to death. I've thrown away a 240 but it was an absolute mess.

What I see is rust on the inner fender where it goes behind the frame rail. This probably means that the frame rails are questionable as well. It looks to me as if you will need to do the frame rails and fabricate some sub frame connectors to replace the ones that run under the floor.

Check out Pete Paraskas web site here for details on this. Take the class and then take your time as you're doing the repairs.

June 27, 2003

I have released them before without a spring compressor but it sounds like this is his first one and I was just trying to be safe. Good tips on the plywood and blanket / vice grip methods though.

June 27, 2003

Scottie said that he has compared his on board computer, datalogger, to the tracks time slips and using his formula the two compare to within 100ths of seconds. So the math to actual is very accurate. Oh BTW I can attest to the fact that Scottie is not spinning so the computer is not getting a false reading. You don't run 10.30's and spin the tires.

June 27, 2003

any tools i need to put these parts in and also take the parts im replaceing off?

You are going to need a pickle fork to seperate the ball joints, spring compressors, spindle pin puller and of course air tools make the job much easier. I just pulled my suspension apart last weekend and it can be quite a job without the correct tools. A vice on a work bench is always a big help as well.

June 26, 2003

This particular M3 was also bondo'd together (literally) from 3 stolen M3's. That is why the guy was so quick to overlook all the problems. The car was selling for way under what even run down used M3's sell for.

I understand that and I would much prefer a Z06 over an M3 anyday as well. I've ridden in a Z06 on a small road course and that thing was awesome.

June 26, 2003

This particular M3 is only $10,000.

June 26, 2003

Very nice!!

June 26, 2003

Mike Kelly sells adjustable TC rods for $175 and you can check them out here. They are relatively inexpensive and would solve your caster problem.

I'm not sure that the camber bushings wear out as much as they move and therefore go out of adjustment. Sloting the towers is an option and I've seen it done but I would worry about weakening that area. The bushings are cheap you might try them first and put a dab of paint on them to monitor if they move.

June 25, 2003

Those sheet metal boxes are welded in very well and I suspect that means that Datsun considered them a structural element. I would tie the factory frame rail to your sub frame connector with gussets or some short pieces of tubing run vertically off of you sub frame. Or run a piece of tubing against the angled section where the floor pan transitions to the firewall and tie into the factory frame rail where it meets the firewall. You could then leave it open.

June 25, 2003

That sounds very similar to Pete Paraska's setup and you can check out his website here

I would recommend removing that sheet metal box entirely so that you can tie into the TC bracket and frame rail properly. That box is welded to the TC bracket really well and it took a lot of grinding to get mine off. I'm planning on doing this and I thought I would cover it with a sheet metal piece when I was done. The sheet metal would just be to make it look more finished. Here is what you have left once you remove that cover.

I know it's not a great shot of the area but I hope you get the idea.

June 24, 2003

I don't have any good pics of the back half of the car but here is the best one I have.

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Posts posted by Jeff