jmai86

Krylon oil-rubbed satin black. Has a bronze flake in it

Yea that would kind of defeat the purpose. But then again ground control setup wouldn't allow you to go as low I don't think. And you wouldn't have independant height/ preload adjustment. I can raise it up to near stock height or go down all the way and still have the same level of comfort and no danger of bottoming out. Personally I would've put in s13 JIC or F2 or something if I had the money.

Oh so you want to remove the lip paint, but keep the chrome looking good? In that case.. you could try using some aerosol paint stripper. Spray it onto a some towels lightly and gently dab away at the top coat. Then immediately remove the residue. Might take awhile but it might work. I'm not sure how chrome reacts to paint stripping chemicals.

Just put on some other doodads & painted some stuff All I need now is paint! I've been semi daily driving it and the ride is very nice, IMO. It can get a bit bumpy over uneven roads, but it's quite alright otherwise. Oh and I think the engine bay paint is awesome. Very picasso. Can't tell me otherwise lol.

Awesome line

Why do you want to remove the paint? To repaint the center a diff color? If so, you really don't need to strip the existing paint. Just sand it smooth and paint over. The original coat will act as primer I never understood why people go through the hassle of stripping original paint to repaint (especially if you're just rattle canning).

Ah that's good to know, thanks. Thinkin about it know, the guy wasn't very thorough at all. I really don't know much about engine internal work, so "to spec" sounded like a good thing to me at the time

I retorqued, no weepage so far! Thanks for the tips

Support this vendor! I purchased wheels twice from them, and received them 2 days later (I am in northern ca, they're located in southern ca). No I don't work there lol, I just love that I got my wheels so quick. And they actually pick up your calls lol.

Oh well I was just worried about the effect of re-torquing on a gasket that's not meant to be re-torqued, if it would ruin the gasket or anything, you know

Well my heater core was removed and bypassed by the previous owner, so I'm not concerned about blockage there. My only concern with retorqueing is causing more damage. I don't remember if the gasket was one of those "do not retorque" or "no retorque needed" types, and since it's such a small weep, if the bars leak can plug it up I'd rather do that than risk more damage by retorqueing. Unless retorqueing wouldn't hurt anything regardless of the gasket type... I really wouldn't mind torquing again if it's safe and correct to do so.

Ah jut noticed your location haha! I'll try some bars leak tomorrow and see if that helps the slight weeping.

Hm, would you happen to remember the brand/type?

I don't remember the brand, but I purchased from Winchester auto, who usually has quality stuff in stock (never had an issues with their parts or gaskets). My mechanic checked for flatness and it was to spec. The block and head were cleaned and scraped thoroughly of all materials using hand tools and scrapers, head was sanded lightly with higher grit sandpaper. No chemicals that I remember using during re assembl, just motor oil for the head bolt threads if I recall correctly.

I put in a new head gasket, torqued bolts in sequence properly, and after maybe 100-200 miles I'm noticing a VERY tiny leak where the head mates to the block. I can see a line of green along the seam. The car drives fine and I'm not noticing any internal burning coolant. Should I retorque? Or is the new gasket just bad.. again? Sorry if this is a dumb question, I'm quite new to major engine work. It's a 71 btw.

chances are those sleeve threads only adapt to those coilovers or other specific coilovers. you might as well buy the AZC setup IMO. also, they look like they're aluminum. or just really nicely polished steel

Agreed, don't half ass the job even if it is an affordable job. I spent well over 20 hours of labor installing these and making sure everything was snug before I took the car out the driveway lol. Also, I can easily see this being used for the track with custom springs or better coilovers. But the main reason why I went this route, was because no other Z option allowed me to drop the car as low as I wanted to go while retaining some comfort.

The springs I am using are the ones that came with the coilover kit. The ride is stiff, but not undriveably stiff. I actually quite like it, and have been daily driving the car. But then again, comfort is a subjective thing. johnc: I am aware that this type of thing may not be the best for performance, but it was a much more affordable solution that works very well for me as a daily driver and not a track or high performance oriented car. My main concern was reliability, and took steps to make sure things don't fall apart ont he road. So far, it hasn't let me down. I don't want to knock those that put alot of R&D into custom setups, because I do respect the work that they do. But for a street car, I don't see the point in making a very simple conversion a big deal. Just make sure the materials are a good quality steel and the welds are good, alignment is good, and everything should be fine. IMO. Also, the advantage with this setup is independent height, dampening, and preload adjustment, as well as a better range of height adjustment. You can go very low with this, and still retain shock travel.

The thing is, if someone made adapters, they would have to be specific for certain coilovers, as not all coilovers have the same thread specs. Unless you can work out a deal on blanks, and then tap them to a customer's specified thread spec for their coilover.

I know which megan ones you're talking about, and I'm pretty sure they're aluminum, and the threads likely to not match non-megan coils.

Yeah I saw his car in person and I followed his blog, and did it myself after lookin at what he did, but with a few alterations to his method (my goal was not super dumpage). I have since welded em Fitted some new wheels, lowered it a bit more, and redid my steering wheel, and yes I am aware my fender is a different color, I'll be repainting soon

Yes lol. The install is very similar. Just follow those pics.

Oh no worries. My camera sucks and turns on when it feels like it. But, the weld is just like seen here, in this serial9 adapter install found at http://www.zcar.com/forums/read/2/2006740 (this isn't an install into an s30, but the idea is exactly the same) Pressed down to spindle: Welded:

What photos would you all like? I don't see much else to take photos of, unless more photos of the disassembly/re-assembly is wanted, which I won't do haha since it was such a laborous ordeal to remove the rear assembly with only hand tools and no help. *Also my setup is now welded on so I can't disassemble anyway.

I edited the post with more info. You could leave more of the strut uncut, but you'll have to be sure your welds will hold as the coilovers won't be sitting on the base of the spindle anymore... Edit - oh and you could use the s13 top hats if you do some cutting I think. I just didn't need to do it for my street purposes.