Jolane

I see two good ways to fix this. 1. Take it to a shop and have it TIG welded. They will basically run the torch around and remelt what weld is already there. This would be my choice. 2. Use JB Weld, or one of their other products. They have two products that will cure submersed in gasoline. This would be easy, cheap, and could actuall make the situation look nice if you use it to fillet the weld and smooth it, then paint. Joshua

Clifton, I am still getting the same message. If you wouldn't mind posting or sending pictures, that would be great! Thanks for everyone elses help! I looked into the Ford and Camaro pump buckets, but they are seemed too specialized for my needs. Plus, they are expensive. I worked on my tank some more this weekend. Since it is aluminum (.090" 5052), I ordered some aluminum piano hinges from McMaster car. I then built a box (6" x 6") and mounted a 2 1/2" wide hinge to the side, swings towards the inside. The cutout is 2" wide, so the hinge overlaps and cannot swing out. After testing with water, this works GREAT to trap the fuel in the pump pick-up tank. It does not seal perfectly, but definitely acts like a trap door. The fuel will flow in fast, and out VERY slowly. The hinge was ~$6 for 3 feet. I can make ~14 of these. So, now I have a pump tank, very much like the Fuel Safe and ATL units, but instead mine was approximately $10 in material and some welding time (I did this). I am also baffling the tank further both for strength (keep the bottom flat with a full load of fuel) and directional fuel flow control. The baffles are angled so that regardless of car direction (accel in straight, right or left), some fuel will flow towards the trap doors and into the pump box. I know this may be overkill for a street car, but I have experienced issues with low fuel levels in stock cars before in turns on the street, and their pumps are significantly less flow than 255LPM. With such a wide tank, I think the problem only gets worse (fuel is more spread out), so I want to take preventive measures. I also figured out how to mount the pump and level sending unit (Walbro GSS340 and GM sending unit). If anyone wants more details on the hinges I used, let me know. They could always be riveted onto a metal/plastic box to form a pump box for a stock tank... Joshua

I looked at using Z31 300ZX side markers. They are low profile also, and readily available in the U-Pull yards here. In the end, I am going sans side markers. Joshua

Desert Dog, Nice Find! Where did end up finding this car? I am not sure whether my location is listed, but I am also in ABQ. Joshua Do you plan on using the bumpers on your project. If not, I would be interested in them. Maybe the parts car has some good ones?

Here Comes Trouble, Are you sure that roof is soldered on? I am not sure I follow you here. I removed all of the body solder on the joints, and under that are what appear to be mig welds, big ones, at the joints. I think that the roof in general adds a lot of strength to the twisting of the body, and acts like a big shear plate. If it didn't, people would not see any cracking issues. On a side note, I know someone who has a late 80's Pontiac Firebird with T-tops. With the stock engine, after several thousand miles, he has cracks in the roof line right behind the door. I realize that there are convertible Z's with V8's, but how stiff are they? Maybe it is just that you can't see the results of the twisting since there is no roof to crack? Either way, that car looks nice in the pictures. Replacing a roof shouldn't actually be too hard, depending on fabrication skills. There is not a whole lot holding the roof on anyways (4 pillars). Joshua

Wow, that is a lot of work. Where is the car from? I bought a rear deck from the the local JY. When I stripped it is had no less than 12 coats of paint! It was flaking up in spots and was nearly 1/16" thick! What a pain it was to strip too. I will be following this thread. I am also interested in proper paint procedures. I am at bare metal now though. The car only had stock paint that needed serious help. It would not have a good base coat. Joshua

I agree with Grumpy here. I much prefer using my TIG over the MIG when I can. Unfortunately though, the TIG is not practical for chassis stuff IMO. It is hard enough to get in a good position with good view to put down good MIG welds. When I can take the part off though, TIG here I come. I used TIG for engine mounts, tranny mounts, diff mount, some body work, on and on. As for tapped output versus infinite, I have used both. I own two tapped machines, my dad has an infinite one (big older Lincoln). You can get quality welds from either. There is a lot more to it though than two knobs, regulator, etc. IMO, when Miller added WST to the infinite voltage model, that just made the infinite control less useful. It is one (wire speed) or the other (voltage) to fine tune the arc. You don't need both as long as the voltage is close and the arc is the type you want (short circuit, globular, or spray). Stickout also greatly affects these things, as does wire diameter. With these small machines, you are not going to be in the spray mode. This narrows it down a bit. On a taped machine, set the tap to the recommended setting for material thickness, adjust the wire speed and fine tune the wire speed until you get the arc you want. This is not very hard to get a high quality bead. Travel speed will change slightly as wire speed is changed, not a big deal. On infinite voltage, set voltage to the recommended value, adjust wire speed (if you can independently) until you get a quality arc. Fine tune with voltage. Not a whole lot of difference here. What if the wire speed is completely independent of voltage? Set voltage to recommended setting, adjust wire speed. Fine tune with either, most likely wire speed. Sounds the same as a tapped machine. It is generally stated that a lot of professional weldors like the small Lincolns for dirty metal work. The arc is usually more tolerant of the dirty. Search the Miller Forum for more info on this. Also look for WST. Most tend to not like it much. The whole point is to make the machine easier for the user. This is odd since they changed the machine from tapped to infinite. But why? Well, from the horses mouth, because of the (mis?) conception that infinite is better from the competition. They were taking hits from the competition in feature comparisons. It was basically marketing, and the fix was/is WST. Hobart seems to sell A LOT of machines though using a tapped setup, and MANY people love them. They are also lower priced. I don't think that infinite voltage is bad, but I do think it is highly overrated on the small machines. Use a good tapped machine (NOT a high/low only like the crapsman referred to above) and you need nothing more for what we do. When you get into spray transfer, that is another story, but then you are talking MM251 and up. I can spray with my MM210 with 98/2 gas, but haven't needed to. Globular is plenty good enough, just requires more cleanup of spatter. BTW, spray is really for heavy structural stuff, not automotive type things (except maybe axles perches on 4X4's). It is your money. If you want an effective, "inexpensive" machine, look at the tapped Lincoln's or Hobarts. I own three Miller machines and a Lincoln, and the little Lincoln is awesome considering its size. Past the "175 Amp" range though, I choose Miller. I can perform great welds on very thin steel (20 -22 gauge) to thick steel (1/2") with one machine, one wire, one gas. I can even weld medium aluminum (1/8" - 3/8") with the same machine and my spoolgun, argon bottle. The MM210 is perfect, if not slightly overkill, for most people. It is no bigger in footprint than a 175A machine on a stand with a bottle strapped to the back. It is more costly, but also has more power and probably a better resell value. Finally, look at Cyberweld.com. They might not be the absolute cheapest, but are typically within $20 of anyone else, and have EXCELLENT service! Good Luck! Joshua

D, I am not sure what kind of foam in the can you are using, but if it is the urethane type, I can give you a tip or two (may be unuseful for you). I used this stuff to mold an intake runner for my 280ZX years ago. I used dryer vent hose (aluminum kind) and shaped the runner how I wanted it, then filled it with foam in the can. I then cut off the aluminum, sanded the foam smooth, then glassed over it. Finally, I removed the foam in pieces. I did use clear syran wrap to cover the foam and keep it from sticking to the fiberglass. It worked really well. What I found though with the foam in a can is that it was not curing in the center. The ends would cure, but the center would be gooey for days. Ends up, this stuff cures with moisture. So, I would stray foam in the tube, then mist water with a spray bottle, then more foam, then more mist, until it was full. Add about 2" of foam per mist. This allowed it to cure fully. I don't know if that is helpful, but it may save some frustration if your foam is not curing. Joshua

Ah Ha, that is exactly what I was talking about in another thread a few weeks ago 74_5.0L_Z. That looks great. The thing I like most is the ability to now use a rubber/poly bushing instead of the rod end, just for vibration. That looks really nice. I think it is definitely better than the typical solution of boltsing on a "clevis" to the stock TC rod mount. I am not sure I will go that route, but thanks for the picture. I will decide in a few weeks. Joshua

When I replaced the floorpans in my 72, I built new seat mounts to accomodate my Corbeau CR1's. I used rectangular tubing and cut one edge off and welded that cut edge to the floor. It runs across the floorpan just like the original seat mounts. It lowered the seat enough for me as well (the CR1's have thicker bottoms thatn the A4's). I used the Corbeau seat slides, but no adapter (since I made my mounts work with the slides themselves. Depending on your fabrication abilities (tools, time, skills), this was not very hard to do. Joshua

I know that others opinions are different, but I would seriously consider getting a tapped voltage unit, and not an infinitely variable machine. This will save a lot of headaches when learning, and is just not needed in most cases. Besides going to classes, read up on both the hobart and the miller boards. There are many expert welders on the miller board who are very helpful. There is also a lot of good discussion about infinite variable voltage there. Appearantly most race shops use the MM210, which is not infinite variable voltage. Not only will the machine be easier to use, but the welds will probably be better quality with the tapped unit, unless of course you weld for a living and can really dial in a machine. One person to search about on the miller board is "Dan", who has many pictures/hints/tips/settings/etc posted. Sorry if this sounds like a rant, I don't mean for it to be. In the end what you really want is a capable machine that you can use effectively for a reasonable price. The most important things in my mind are ease of use and maximum capability/usability. For automotive related work, any of the big brands will work work great (ESAB, MILLER, LINCOLN, HOBART, HTP). Finally, I do agree that if you have 220V available, buy the bigger machine (~185A range). It will cost more initially, but should be much more useful if you decide to do heavier stuff later on. Joshua

Those are all good. Personally, I would lean towards the Lincoln or the Hobart. I own 2 Miller Welders and 1 Miller Plasma, but when talking about the small machines like those, I think the other two are just as good and are less costly. Take a look on the hobart forum (http://www.hobartwelders.com/mboard). They really like the Hobart Handlers over there. I have a Lincoln 3200HD (110V from Home Depot) and it welds great on sheet metal. Whatever you get, you want to make sure to get a gas bottle and solid wire (try your best not to use flux core unless working outside on heavier metal). Good Luck. Joshua Oh, do a search for refurbished Hobarts as well. Some of the people are getting insanely low prices on dinged and dented HH!

I am currently working on designing a fuel tank for my 72. I am keeping the spare tire well. The tank will fit in the stock location, will be made of aluminum, have a GM sending unit, and should be appropriate for EFI. I do not want to put an external surge/header/swirl tank in there. I also don't want a sump like system with the lines coming out the back. I would prefer to have a baffled tank with an internal pump. I see several options, none very inexpensive. I already own a 255 LPM external pump, brand new in box, but don't plan to use this. Anyways, it looks like I can get a "Black Box" with pump from ATL for $400+ with trap doors. Expensive for what it is IMO. Fuel Safe has their version as well, can't remember the exact price, something like $350+. Racetronix has a pump kit for 99+ LS1 camaros as well as a pump upgrade. This uses the stock tank bucket, and does not require tank baffles. Every car on the road has a fuel tank (I think). Every new car is also EFI (I think). I just can't seem to find an pictures of tank baffling for examples. Clifton's site (with pictures of a Supra tank baffle) seems to be down. I know what the 280Z tank looks like (One baffle through the middle of the tank running fore and aft). Anyone have any pictures of baffled tanks and baffle scheme's? Is the baffle in the 280Z tank really sufficient for most applications? Seems very basic to me. I would appreciate any pictures/description/anything concerning new car EFI tank baffling/working baffle retrofit in performance cars/anything. I have searched the MS board as well, and the concensus is to use a swirl pot. Since I am starting from scratch on my tank, I would like to have as much as possible internal, with as little complications as possible. I do realise I would put my surge tank internal, but need a source for a quiet internal carb type pump. Thanks for all help/discussions/pictures... Joshua

GrayZee, You said earlier this year that the sending unit was working good for you. Would you by any chance have the part number for this sending unit? Also, how is the baffle working out for you? I would like to start building my fuel tank in the next week or two, and am trying to find as many examples of baffles as possible. On yours, it does not appear that the tube you welded to the bottom has any holes in the side to let fuel in, other that the small V's around the bottom. Have you ever had starvation problems with a low fuel level because of pumping all the fuel out of the tube? Is your return line plumbed back into the tube? I know that this is an old thread. Thanks for any help! Joshua

Is that just the threaded sleeve, or does it also include a thread nut for the spring perch? If so, what type of lock does it have to keep it from turning? Joshua

I agree about the infinite voltage control, or better the lack thereof. I don't think it is necessary, and actually is probably more complexity than is needed. I have a Lincoln HD3200 (110V version like a 135T) with tapped outputs and it is awesome with C25 and .023 wire. The tapped output is easy to adjust and learn, and will weld just as good as an infinite control, maybe even better with a novice at the gun. There are tons of variables in welding, from material type and thickness, wire stickout, gun angle, wire speed (a BIG DEAL, controls the amps on MIG), etc. There are even subtle differences such as wire BRAND, yes it does make a difference! I was hung up on getting an infinite voltage machine as my second machine, but was convinced differently from expert welders. I ended up going with a MM210 (a tapped machine). I have used this machine on body panels to multi-pass 1/2" plate. It has shined with everything so far. The wire speed is very important regardless of voltage (within reason). The thing that I have read about and have seen people not like about some of the Miller's smaller MIG's is the WST (Wire Speed Tracking). A lot of people don't like that. I don't know whether the MM135 has this, but if it does, I would look elsewhere. I think it might, and that is probably why many people really like the HH135 (Hobart tapped unit). The HH units get great reviews as well. I know this did not answer your question, but I hope maybe it helps in understanding the machines a little. I do not claim to be an expert welder, but I certainly can lay some quality welds. Joshua

Fluke. I have a cheapie from HF that is just okay, and a Craftsman with integral IR temp, which is also just okay. They both work, but my next one will be a Fluke. They respond faster, and seem to be laid out better (how they work that is). They are a little costly though. If you want something that works okay, but cheaper, I can recommend the Craftsman. Joshua

Unfortunately, my experience with Ipod's has been less than stellar also. I am using a Creative product now, and have plans to never buy an Ipod. Sorry to hear about your problems, but I guess I am not surprised. They really should concentrate more on reliability and ruggedness instead of style and size. They have gotten them so small, now just make them more robust. Good luck with yours! Joshua

Thanks Here Comes Trouble! I may just go over to my neighbors house and measure his which is still on the car. I never really thought about that option until this morning. I will let you know if I still need it. I think this option will work out though. Thanks Again! Joshua

Wow! That is a project! My '70 is only about 25% that level, if even that much, and I was thinking that it is headed for a recycler eventually. That really puts things in perspective I guess. Nice work and dedication! Question: Where did you get the rear lower skirt (valance) panel? I am looking at replacing mine. Is that the Motorsport Auto piece? Finally, great videos! Well done! Joshua

I have seen some discussion about Line-X before on a Bronco forum. It seems that the reason people like it is because you can tint it to match your paint color. I believe it is similar to rhino liner though in that somebody else has to apply it. I don't think you can roll it on. It is also supposed to be rather expensive because of this. Joshua

That was dumb. Thanks nitr0. Actually, I should have put this in my message. I am after the stock length of an S30 LCA (72 240Z for me). I guess that is sort of an important detail I left out. Thanks Again, Joshua

I am a little confused with this. How can it be both linear and exponential? Does it just have a linear region, then an exponential region? Are you talking about just the sending unit as it travels through its motion, or are you talking about the output of the sensor versus actual tank level? If talking about the sensor only, it seems like it should be linear throughout the range. If talking about actual output versus tank level, I could see that considering the tank is not uniform in vertical cross section. It should show full and then drop rapidly until the tank is more uniform (the region under the spare tire well). In the end, what are you after? I guess I just want to know that the gauge is accurate when the tank if half full and below. The upper part is not so important for me. Just curious is all. I plan on using a 0-90 ohm sending unit with an aftermarket gauge. Joshua

ON3Go, For a good TIG unit at a reasonable price, that will do what you want, look towards the ThermalArc 185TSW. Ready to weld less filler and gas is under $1700, inverter, 220V, very small and light, and very well liked by many. Everyone looking into welding, do some research at the following sites (just thought this might be helpful): http://www.millermotorsports.com/mboard/ http://www.hobartwelders.com/mboard/ They both are very helpful, and have a lot of good information. Personally, I started with a Lincoln HD3200 Mig (110V unit). I did most of my bodywork and rust repair with this machine, .023" wire, and C25 gas. It works great, with a nice small gun for getting into tight places. I also have a Miller Dynasty 200DX TIG that I use a lot. It is a blast, and I find places to use it on the car (more structural stuff, suspension, engine mounts, etc). I then got a Millermatic 210 MIG (with spoolgun for alum), and this is now my primary car fabrication machine (.030", C25). It has a great low end arc, and will also lay down awesome beads on heavier metal (truck suspension parts, etc). For anything this machine will not do, I will revert back to the D200DX and stick weld. I do also have O/A setup for bending mostly, as my Miller Spectrum 625 Plasma does most of the other cutting not done mechanically. I have worked my way up from MIG to TIG, and feel that this is the way most people should also do it. MIG is so nice to use, and would work for nearly everything on a typical hybridz project. The 110V unit I had, with gas, would have been plenty for just the Z. Note though, that after buying the machine, you still need a helmet (Miller Big Window Elite is very nice, and so is the Jackson EQC, personal experience with both), wire, consumables, gas bottle and gas, possible home wiring, gloves, and other safety equipment like a fire extinguisher. The costs can quickly add up for MIG. TIG is no exception though, and is generally MUCH more than MIG. Good luck with any decisions on welding equipment. BTW, the Hobart Handlers get great reviews also. They tend to be a little less costly than the Miller's, an quite often can be found on sale somewhere (Tractor Supply comes to mind). Joshua

I am looking for the stock length of a LCA, from bushing bore to some outboard point, maybe the sway bar bolt hole. I don't have the rest (strut tubes, ball joints, etc) together to measure chamber and want to fiddle with the TC rod setup. Just preliminary stuff, but need to set the spherical joint in the corect location. Thanks, Joshua