johnc

You're right. I had only given the 2008 GCR a quick glance and assumed that 9.4 applied to GT and Production cars only. I missed the "Production Based" reference. They still include the old Section 18 as Appendix G but its just for grandfathering cars from before 1/1/08. Thanks for updating me.

No. With 4130 tubing sometimes the joints are normalized. Which SCCA rule book did you get this from? SCCA roll bar tubing requirements are much more specific then that are are unique to each category (IT, SS, Production, GT, etc.) Anyone building a cage for their car must get a copy of the SCCA GCR. Its free and its here: http://www.scca.org/documents/Club%20Rules/GCR2008.pdf

From your statements, it appears you guys haven't road raced before. Diff temp is something you usually check after a session, its not something you monitor while on the track becuase its not that important. There's no reason to take up valuable dash space with a diff temp gauge, but the temp is important enough to monitor after a race session. Given that, where Ron placed the diff temp gauge is pretty clever.

Here's a little story... A customer of mine raced a very early Honda S2000. Those early cars had a tendency to tear out the upper front control arm mounts. My customer happened to work at Honda and some of the technical guys wanted to see how this could be repaired because the follks in Japan said it couldn't be fixed. Well, I (and every S2K racer and fabricator) had already figured out a simple fix. My customer showed up with a couple Honda techs and some obvious Big Wig in a suit wearing some really nice shoes with tassels on them (must have been a marketing guy). While welding on the car a couple Acetone soaked rags I had lying nearby caught fire. Not a big deal, I was just going to let them burn in the middle of an empty concrete floor because I had just a couple more little welds to do and I was already in position. Well, Mr. Big Wig decides to be a fireman. He walks over and stops on the rags with his nice, tasseled leather loafer. Since the rags had a flaming liquid on then, the flaming Acetone immediately transferred to his shoe and now he's got a hot foot. Mr. Big Wig stares at it for a second and then starts stomping the shoe on the ground, faster and faster. I grab a wet towel I had next to me and threw it on his flaming shoe. That put the hot foot out, but his tassels were burned down to nubs. I told him that I was revoking his Junior Fireman's badge. I don't think he appreciated it because he walked out of the shop and sat in his Acura for the rest of the visit.

Next time just jamb the nozzle against what your welding and the wire will bird's nest in the machine giving you time to go back and shut it off or the machine's circuit breaker will trip stopping the feed.

The non-Turbo Z31 HP kit is part number TOHPK257 and, from your description, it sounds like you were sent the wrong kit. For your car Tokico does not make a HP kit. You should use the Illumina kit for the Turbo cars and I sell it for $506.25 plus shipping. The part number is: TOILK258. http://www.betamotorsports.com

He's been in the hospital since November with intestinal cancer and has been on life support recently. He did a lot for Hot Rodding and was an important part of the local community.

Welding On Cars Safety 1. A recently drained fuel tank is more dangerous then a full fuel tank because of the trapped fumes. If you're replacing or welding on the floor pans its probably a good idea to pull the fuel tank from the car. You might as well check that are of the car for rust and possible repair while you've got the welder out.. 2. If you're welding near the transmission tunnel, pull the fuel and brake lines (brake fluid burns very well). 3. Undercoating, dirt, rubber, and grease will catch fire and burn. The same stuff will also smolder for a long time and then catch fire. Soak a bunch of rags in water and use them to extinguish any of these fires 4. Keep a 10lb. fire extinghisher very close to your work area. Check for fire every couple minutes. Keep all flammables, solvent, rags, gas cans, etc. at least 10' away from the car. 5. Wear long a long sleeve cotton shirt, leather gloves, a cotton baseball cap or welding doo rag, heavy shoes, and a full face welding helmet. 6. Keep your face out of the welding fumes. Don't breath the stuff. 7. Keep your clothes, hands, and feet dry and free of solvents or hydrocarbons. 8. Make sure a friend or family member knows what you're doing and checks on you periodically. If you knock yourself out, the sooner someone finds you the better. 9. When you're done working on the car, hang around for about 15 minutes to make sure something that is smoldering doesn't light up. 10. Remove the carpet and seats from the car if you're welding on the floor pans.

If someone has the bearing number I'm sure I can find it through the bearing houses I use. I just had a R200 rebuilt for a customer 5 months ago and Unitrax had no trouble finding ALL the bearings inside the unit.

Which tranny (6 speed, 5 speed, Turbo 400, 4L80E)? Which model year 240/260/280Z? I'll sell you some flat plate, some square tube, and an industrial mahcine mount and you can build it yourself...

BTW... if you're in Glendale you can go by Sunrise Z (on Braodway near the Galleria) and talk with Art Rinner about a 2JZGTE swap. Also look at his Solo2 SM2 240Z project that I did a whole bunch of work on.

I'm sorry I came across that way. Sometimes I'm in the middle of something and don't want to be on the phone very long. My wife has told me its better to just not answer the phone then to be abrupt and cut someone off (like her) You're welcome to come by the shop anytime, just call first to make sure I'm around. Being a one-man-band I'm often out chasing parts.

Just leave the keys in the car and I'll pick it up in San P and drive it to Texas for you...

We're at step 10 and 11 on my list above.

I They are safe. I know of two people who rolled their 240Zs at speeds in excess of 60 mph with the Autopower/MSA bars in place and one person who went end-over-end 4 times. All walked away from the wrecks with minor injuries. Ask Tony D about what Hiten Patel did at LVMS...

Unfortunately, becuase of the multi-piece construction of the main hoop of the the roll bar, you will not be allowed on track or at an autocross with pretty much any sanctioning body. You might be able to sneak it by the tech inspectors if they are lazy. If you don't intend to track or autocross the car, then you don't need to worry.

Even in an unlimited category, there are still limits. It took massive amounts of engine work to get 320hp out of a NA 3L L6. I could have gone Turbo but that would have bumped me up one class in the unlimited category where I would be running against Porsche 944 Turbos, Supercharged Honda S2Ks, World Challenge BMWs, etc. Although it appears that my old car was a completely unlimited build, it was actually limited in many ways by a couple different sanctioning bodies.

Always loved those cars and the 302 powered Z28s. I was lucky enough to drive a 302 powered 1968 Z28 and it had plenty of power. You just had to get it above 5,500rpm and keep it there.

That Wikipedia article has a couple small mistakes in it. Below is a thread where I post the official explanation from SAE (I'm a SAE member): http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=95385 EDIT: a simple search would have found this pretty easy.

FIA certified seats are designed to move around a little bit in an impact to reduce the loads on the occupant. That's why they specifically disallow seat back mounting and why SCCA, NASA, and others allow those sets to be installed without a seat back mount. The main differences between tubular and full composite FIA certified seats are cost and weight. Both do their jobs up to (and often beyond) the level of FIA certification. Aluminum racing seats are generally designed not to deform or move around and rely more on the safety crush zones on the vehicle to reduce the loads transmitted to the occupants. In general they are just as safe as the FIA rated seats. Some people have issues with the heat transfer abilities of aluminum and complain that aluminum seats are hotter then composite seats. Any of these seats, properly designed, built and installed, will protect occupants well in 99% of the accidents we as non-pro racers are likely to be involved in on a race track. The key is to sit in the seat before purchasing it. If you can, sit in for a an hour.

Found her. She's had a lot of plastic surgery and has been working in the porn industry.

There are probably a half-dozen metal supply places in Stockton. Use the phone book or do some searching on the Internet.

Happy birthday Larry. Keep things up.

Those same "Everyone's" in their Z06 Corvettes, Honda S2Ks, Porsche Boxsters, and Dodge Vipers finished behind my old 240Z with its "crap" front suspension. But hey, this is the Internet so "everyone" is an expert. OK, I'll get off my soapbox and be quiet now.