pparaska

DATTO, Yeah, I was tossing up a color like that and the one I picked http://members.home.net/pparaska/image/recentpics/2001July3/P0000308s.jpg The one I picked (95-97 Audi A4 Europa Blue Mica) brightens up a bunch in the sunlight. That charcoal color looks awesome! Thanks for the tip on the perorated metal. I need to find some of that. I like the idea of using the OE grill as a way to hold it. Thanks, Pete

Datto, that Z looks great! What color is that anyway? What did you make the grill out of ?

Wow, I've heard of that happening to the hoses. I tried to make sure that mine were clamped just outside the bellhousing so that the were pushed back to almost against the bellhousing. I guess a custom bracket/clamp inside the bellhousing to hold them away from the PP would be a good idea.

I have the TR-3550 in my Z, behind a mildish 327 Chevy (double hump 2.02 heads, no porting, intake matched, 270 solid magnum comp cam, Holley hi-rise dual plane, 9.7:1). No word yet on how it really shifts, but it seemed fine on the very short trip up and down the street. Tremecs have a bit of a reputation for being notchy, although some people I've talked to haven't heard this much (shrug). The TKO is another ~$300. It didn't seem worth it to me, maybe it is for the power you'll be making if you put slicks on the car.

The bottom bracket to hold the pivot lugs on my Sanden 508 compressor was made from a piece (9" long?) of 1.5" angle bracket. I used the top two bolts of the JTR driver's side set back plate, that bolt to the GM mount. I used too-long bolts in the two top holes so that they protrude through the plate by about 1/2". One side of the angle iron, which sticks forward in the engine compartment, has holes in it that align with those two bolts. (I ran locknuts down on those once the mount was in place.) The other side of the angle is somewhat horizontal above the side of the angle that bolts to the set back plate. On that horizontal side of the angle, I welded a piece of flat plate flat on the top side of the angle, and a piece of tubing with a 3/8" i.d. that was just long enough to go between the ears of the mount points on the bottom of the compressor. It's a good idea to weld a piece of flat plate between the legs of the angle to stiffen it. If you use the Sanden 508, you use the front groove of a two groove pulley on the long water pump. The rear of the compressor is very close to the header. You could use the shorter Sanden to get away from this and lower the weight. For adjusting/holding the top of the A/C compressor, I used a rod end-turnbuckle setup from Street and Performance. Sorry, no drawings.

Crowned one, welcome. Sounds like you are no longer an engine purists. Mike Kelly is also a convert . I wanted a V8Z since I saw a Hot Rod article with a Scarab in it way back in the 70s . Got a Z, then finally did the install - yet to really drive it though. Regards,

Mike, do you mean smaller diameter or thinner wall thickness? I think the issue is that since the material is stronger, you can use a thinner wall thickness. Smaller diameter would make the tubing less stiff, not sure I'd want to do that. [ July 06, 2001: Message edited by: pparaska ]

The only place on the entire older Zs that you leave the outer sleeve in place is on the mustache bar. Everywhere else, they must be removed to put the Urethane bushings in.

Damn, that didn't even work. I don't know how Angelfire does this, but sometimes the pics show and sometimes they don't. Screw them, just buy some space on a legit ISP by signing up for a real email/webspace account, or find a new image hosting site. But these image hosting sites are starting to charge and make it difficult for people to see the pics without going in through another page. Do they possibly limit the number of views from a calling page or something? I can't see any of them now, just minutes later. If you go to http://www.angelfire.com/sd/fareastpinoy you can see all three pics at once. Well at least I could this time. [ July 06, 2001: Message edited by: pparaska ]

The pics are there - try clicking on the Urls below. Funny, after I went to the pic specifically (found the URL with the "properties" right click in IE, and opened a new window with that as the URL), and then went back and veiwed the post again, the pictures showed up ? Anyway, here are the URLS: http://www.angelfire.com/sd/fareastpinoy/fullpod.jpg : -------------------------------- http://www.angelfire.com/sd/fareastpinoy/rpmpod.jpg : -------------------------------- http://www.angelfire.com/sd/fareastpinoy/3pod.jpg :

BTW, on of the aspects of Z rated tires that I think is important is the increase sidewall stiffness. This means you can run a bit less pressure on the street and still have excellent turn in. Speed ratings are useful in other areas than just max speed, IMO.

I'm definitely no expert, but my experience and reading says you are on the right track and the jets are too rich. Maybe some holes in the secondary plates are called for, to get more air at idle?

Here's one of the old posts on this topic: http://www.hybridz.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=8&t=000042 Note that Rick (Fast Frog) did some research that says that for two pipes with the same cross sectional area as one pipe, the wall area increase gives a 7-10% reduction in flow volume. But that might be a steady state flow, not the pulsations exhaust systems have (my theory). Anyway, Two 2.25 pipes have 7.95 sq. inches of cross section, and One 3" pipe has 7.1. Subtract 10% from the 7.95 and you have 7.15, so by the above theory, they'd be about the same. Oh yeah, here's another thread on the exhaust issue (2 vs 1): http://www.hybridz.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=13&t=000089

Hi Les, I think you're helping prove my point. The widest tire I can use on the rear is a 255, 285 and 335 are just too much or me. The point is, the newer ultra high performance tire designs and compounds don't come out in much less than 16 or 17 inch sizes. This is too bad, as I think a 15 inch tire is better for a street Z. But I'm not going to go with old, aged tire designs just to be able to use a 15 inch wheel.

When doing this on a press, a bearing splitter is used. Hard to describe what it looks like, but it has thing halves that are bolted together on either side of the bearing. The thin edges of these halves are placed in the tight region between the inner race of the bearing and the flange on the stub axle. The bottom of the bearing splitter rests on the stationary part of the press, and the moving part of the press pushes down on the stub axle nut end. Most garages and machine shops that have a press will have a bearing splitter. If money is available, I suggest taking the stub axles to a machine shop to have them pressed off, and have the stubs shot peened and magnafluxed, then have new bearings pressed on. I got that done for $60 labor. Cheap insurance.

Ron does not have this one any web site, as I remember it. Think of it this way. Build a squarish box that fits up into the tunnel where the front of the diff mounts (diff out of the car). The box bolts to the tunnel with the two bolts on either side of the tunnel where the arrestor strap brackets would bolt in. Now, cut the bottom, front (side towards the front of the car) and back out of the box - you're left with a bracket that's u-shaped in cross-section. Scarab used to sell something like this that bolted in like that, but solidly contacted the top of the diff. This bracket would go higher in the tunnel, enough to hang two GM transmission isolators from, running lengthwise on either side of the centerline of the diff. The bolt holes in the isolators that would normally mount to the GM transmission tailhousing would instead be bolted to the top of the diff, using the bolting bosses (2 each side aft of the pinion flange) The isolator would be inverted with the stud(s) sticking up into holes in the u-channel bracket described above. I think Ron said the spacing was very close to that of a standard GM trans isolator. Ron has been to this site before, maybe he can sketch something and/or elaborate.

Long, I'd bet that exhaust would be too loud for my tastes for MY car, but I sure would love to hear it! My dad thinks the exhaust on his neighbors 427 Cobra kit car (sidepipes with some baffles) is too loud, but if I had a 427 Cobra, it'd be loud too - it was MEANT to be loud . How many big baffles are in the Delta 40? That's the newer Flowmaster design - do you think it's quieter or less resonant than the older regular flows? Let's hear it!

I've ridden in a few Zs (L6 and V8) with solid diff mounts (front) and the sound is objectionable to me. To each his own, but if I want to hear whining, my daughter does a good job, but a blower belt whine would be preferable . Ron Tyler made a diff mount that is pretty cool. It doesn't use the crossmember at all, but it's a big u shaped bent piece of plate that bolts to the diff arrestor strap bracket mounting holes in the tunnel, and goes above the front of the diff. He used interlocking GM transmission mounts (2), on one either side of the diff nose, to pick up all four of the bolt holes. If/when my snugged down diff arrestor strap goes, I'll be making one like Ron's. This is a great way to go, because you can lower the front of the diff a bit to help with driveshaft u-joint angles, you have a compressed instead of stretched set of rubber mounts, and it's super-sano. Again, Ron comes up with a killer mod!

I agree - 2 2.5" pipes are 9.8 sq.in. in cross section, versus one 3" pipe at 7.1 sq.in. I have a very hard time believing that friction can account for that much reduction in flow. But V8s 400 hp and under, that don't see high rpm use but every once and a while, the 2.5 duals into 3" single seems like a good choice.

Terry, that ought to work. The McLeod hyd TO bearing is held on the bearing retainer by o-rings - it'll slide off the retainer with some persuasion. Sorry to hear it went up.

Brian, Congrats and Welcome! The LT1 in the Camaro was put in the Z/28. It was rated at 360hp in the Z/28. I'd think block and head casting numbers, plus the number stamped in the block just ahead of the left cylinder head, would be the way yo partially determine whether it's a true LT1. That stamped number is easily faked though.

You can use the Z slave cylinder, but typically you need to increase the diameter of the master cylinder to 13/16" or 7/8" to get full clutch release. Tilton, Girling, others make aftermarket ones that work fine.

A few comments. My car is STILL in paint jail (but it got painted Monday night!) so I can't really research this on my car. ... Anyway, I'm prett sure that the ground and high speed winding terminals are on the ends of the connector, and the low speed winding terminal is in the middle. Try testing for continuity between the fan motor housing or shaft and one of the outside terminals on the connector to see if that can tell you which outside one is ground. Use the ohms scale, since the winding resistance will read in the single digits most likely - you want to see Zero ohms to confirm which terminal is ground. Another way is to use the outside terminals and hook it both ways - the way the pulls air through the radiator will tell you which should be ground. Also, without 14V, the fan will seem to be slow, even on high speed. A few people that came to see my car before the engine ran thought that the GT stang fan was wimpy. Start the car, get 14V to the fan's high speed winding and you'll see what I mean. You think it's blowing now, just wait. Don't be surprised if your alternator belt squeals when the fan is on high with the engine idling! It pulls 35 Amps at 12.5 volts on high! Anyway, once you find which is ground, 12V to the center terminal should give a lower speed. BTW, the way the Mustang 4.6L cars work is to have the fan come on low speed at 221F coolant temp, and go off at 200F. If the A/C is on and the engine is above 221F the high speed comes on. Remember to not run voltage to both the high and low speed windings at the same time. As for a delay off circuit, there are delay on and delay off relays available through industrial electrical supply houses. Pricey though. It could also be done with an RC (resistor-capacitor) circuit with a relay, or a 555 timer and a small relay. I used the RC/relay circuit to give my fuel pump voltage while the engine was cranking.

Beautiful! Can't wait to see it installed with Turbos. Are you going to send it to Baxter Custom Engineering for Stainless/Ceramic coating? Same price as Jet hot, but better material and they do great work. I thank Scottie for letting me know about them.

Also, the distributor housing completes at least one oil galley passage. If you don't put a dizzy housing or special priming tool in the dizzy hole, you'll never really build pressure.