mclark999

Thanks for the post - got me to thinking about suspension. I know Factory Five offers 3 link, 4 link, and IRS for their Cobras. I found this article from hot rod pretty interesting: http://www.popularhotrodding.com/tech/0604_rear_suspension_guide/pictures_diagrams.html Sounds like you are into 1/4 mile racing. GTO is an interesting car for that. I'll be doing mostly road courses so will stick with the R200 and coilovers.

Thank's Con Brio. When you get back you can email me mclark998 at yahoo . com and we can work something out.

I grounded everything. The lights all work. They just don't flash. Just stay on.

This may be on the trivial side of things, but I've run into a little snag. After pulling out the old lighting and putting in new, my signals don't flash anymore. I think it's because now in the front and back I have only one bulb that flashes, while before I had two front and back. Has anyone else worked through this? I see I can get a resistor like for an LED light conversion. I wondered if I can just get a different flasher unit? Also, my dash was disassembled when I bought my car and the hazard switch is missing. Any recommendations on a replacement? Thanks for helping me handle the trivia. It's one step at a time. BTW - I've got one half of the rear suspension lowered. Progress

I used duct tape and packing tape to tape my window up while I fixed the regulator. I left it on way to long and the tape dried super hard. The packing tape came off, but the glue is super hard. I got it off the window with a razor blade. Any ideas on how to get it off the paint? I tried goof off and tar/bug remover so far. I can try stronger things, but I don't want to hurt the paint. The paint is the original factory paint. Any ideas? Thanks

With my son and stepson.

I have a set of 4 lug Centerlines that I'll be selling. Don't know if you'd be interested. They are 15x10 front and 15x12 rear.

Go to Centerline Wheels website. They have several options that fit the Z 4 lug pattern and can custom offset what you want. Some of the options actually look nice on a GTO. I photoshopped a couple.

I'm considering the wire wheels as well. What is the difference between regular and reverse-laced. Does the reverse lacing give you the larger offset? And why triple laced? Is that for a certain look, or for strength? I would need 8" on the front and 10" on the rear. Do they both need to be reversed laced? Perhaps, I just need to talk to the guys at Dayton. THanks

Dream big, Chelle and build even bigger!!! In one of the kit car magazines, a guy is building a GTO from scratch. From what I've seen, you are talented enough to do it. Why start with a Datsun if you can build exactly what you want? Now if I was going to do it, I'd buy a Factory Five coupe (frame only) and modify it to work with a GTO all aluminum body on it. Then I'd talk to some good Chinese friends (in China), and ask them to start a business building and selling classic replica Ferarrri 3 liter v12s for projects like ours. Patents expired years ago. So far, no one's wanted to take on the Italian guys due to law suits, but if the Chinese can clone the iPhone, I don't think they'd be bothered by Ferrari. You'd have a reasonably priced and very drivable, very high performance replica for a smidgeon of what an original would cost. That's my 2 pennies worth. Go for it!!!

Hey Con Brio, What hardware is this (your hood latches) and where did you get it? I've been looking around the web and the Triumph Spitfire latches look like they might work. Did you consider those? Thanks, Michael

I'm more than half way through the Vello Rosa conversion. I would highly recommend you do what I did -- buy a really high quality rustfree 280. I bought the car in Arizona and it doesn't have rust anywhere. Even if you don't go with the spyder type, the extra strength in the 280 will serve you well with a high power v8. Cutting the top off the 280, nothing sagged. I will reinforce, but only because I cut the top off. If you go for the coupe conversion and use a rustfree 280, you can avoid all the strengthening. You might want to bolt on shock tower mounts, but won't need to do much more than that. I recommend completely rust free because this is a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge project. Why make more work for yourself? You might even cheat a little the way I did. My car already had the V8 installed and the brakes and suspension upgraded. Saved me tons of hours, so I could just focus on the body kit. If you can find a car that someone else has loved and improved, but is bored with or can't afford, you can get a deal and save yourself a lot of time and money. I paid less for my donor car than I would have just to build the engine that came in it. No matter what you do, the guys and gals here are very helpful and very encouraging. Have a blast. Michael

Hey Chelle, I'm sure you've weighed your car. What are the specs front and back? How much weight did the engine add?

Billet Specialties - I know it's not much, but I've got to celebrate every piece I get done to keep me motivated. Just need to get the ebrake hooked up and brakes bled and I can get it approved for registration.

Here's a current link to the air ride system. Need to call to confirm that it's for 280z not ZX http://www.truckn-store.com Just search on 280z and you can get a complete kit or the front and rear strut pairs.

Anyone that's put the Vello Rosa on a 280, how did you extend the fuel filler pipe? The manual recommends welding a piece of tailpipe in as the extension. Is there a way do do it with rubber hose and clamps like for the 240? I guess I don't trust that I'll weld the right length piece in and would have to redo. Seems like it would have to be a fairly exact fit. Thanks Michael

Yes, everything that's going to be in it except gas and people is in it right now, so the weight isn't going to change much. It's a SBC in the Scarab position with headers and a single 2" or so exhaust. I looked under the car and can see that I'll need to have the whole exhaust raised up. There's a 2" gap between it and the car from the engine bay to the back. My only plan for the exhaust is to have it split into a dual diffuser at the far rear.

Actually, the tires in the pictures are 15". The rears are 295/50s and the fronts are 265/60s. I'm going to replace them with a set of vintage racing wheels I already have that are 14". I plan to use high aspect ratio tires with those.

It's a 280, so I will change the the strut isolator to get the initial inch or so. Are those available new anywhere? As you can see from the attached picture, I have a full 5 inches of space between the rubber and the fender. I'll need to lower more than an inch to make it look right. The front isn't so bad. Probably an inch and a half lower will work.

Hey anyone who has finished a VR How much did you lower your car front and back to make it look good? Please post pics straight on from the side to show your ride height and clearance above the tires. I'll take pics and add them here. Looks like I'd need to lower the back of my car about 4 inches to make it look right. I don't think that's feasible. BUt, the guy I bought the car from may have raised the height. I won't know until I pull the rear struts out. Thanks, Michael

Just finished installing the taillights. These are Opel GT lights from http://opelgtsource.com. They include everything needed including new lenses and housings and used electrical bits. I decided to go with the more modern Ferrari look. I just don't care for the bullet lights on the Velo Rossa rear end. Plus these put out a lot more light. Due to the lack of space behind the fiberglass panel, I had to cut sheetmetal to fit the electical parts in. Otherwise it was fairly straight forward. Took about 8 hours all together to do the job. If anyone is considering these, I have a big hole saw available. Ciao for now, Michael

My 280Z came with a phantom grip that was new in the box and not installed. I'm selling it as I'm not looking for max performance out of my Vello Rossa. If you want more performance and can't afford or find an LSD, this is a deal. I'm knocking 40% off the new price of $369. It's yours now for $222 plus $10 shipping anywhere in the U.S. That's a deal.

Dan - Are you the one that wrote the thread on cutting out the fenders so you can put the wide body on without welding up the mess left behind? See the pictures below. Most people weld these, but either you or another experienced builder on this site gave a complete method for taping/bonding the fender back together.

Anyone have these seats in a Z? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SENTRA-ALTIMA-350Z-I30-G20-G35-LEATHER-RACING-SEATS-BK_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33701QQihZ006QQitemZ160202372299QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW