johnc

A little off topic - but to clarify, your car DOES still have to comply with all the California smog laws applicable to vehicles built in 1975. That includes an air pump, charcoal canister, PCV, EGR, and most likely cats. A 1975 model vehicle is exempt from the bi-annual inspection and the sale inspection, but be aware that a police officer, roadside smog check, or any BAR official or referee can order you to get your car inspected within 10 days.

IMHO, they are not really needed. The are nice to have for the ease of toe adjustment, but a good set of 240 or 280Z rear LCAs will do everything these do for a lot less money. But what do I know...

They do and every single race sanctioning body and race harness maker in the world says to never run a 5 or 6 point harness without the sub belts. None of us are any smarter or more experienced the FIA, SCCA, NASA, NASCAR, ALMS, IRL, ChampCar, GrandAM, etc. OEM style lap and shoulder belts are designed to remain low on the hips and have the occupant's torso twist slightly in a frontal impact. This slight twist keeps the torso from sliding under the lap belt. The Schroth DOT approved 4 point harness does the exact same thing by adding their ASM device to the inside shoulder harness. The ASM device allows that shoulder harness to stretch a bit more then the outside shoulder harness which twists the hips and keeps the torso from submarining. Follow the harness manufacturer's installaiton instructions.

As stated above many times, get aluminum lug centric spacers that fit a 4 x 4.5" (114.3mm) bolt pattern. If the center bore is too small, take it to any small machine shop and they can open up the bore. You will be lucky to find Datsun specific spacers that fit the various 240Z center bore sizes. And a wider track in front makes a better handling 240Z, so that BMW MicroCar look is that you're after.

Since its a temporary solution, weld it up and see it you can handle it.

OK guys, harness mounting is probably the most important aspect of safety in a car. Bolt on strut tower bars are not an appropriate mount for the shoulder harness. The bar will bend in a hard impact because its seeing a load of up to 2,000 lbs in a frontal collision. The bend and the extra length of the harness will probably be enough to let your head smash into the steering wheel. Also, only using 4 of the 5 (or 6) belts in a racing harness is very dangerous. The sub belts are there to keep the lap belts from riding up your belly and chest in frontal impact. Your body will submarine under the lap belt and your knees will smash into the dashboard shattering both femurs. This isn't a little game of trying to fool the cops and look cool. Read up: http://www.schrothracing.com/docs/Competition_Instructions.pdf

Looks like you got it. When torquing the stub axle nut torque to the lowest value and check end play and preload. Then tighten in 10 ft. lb. incremens from there until the end play and preload are within specs.

I think some folks have forgotten how low the US dollar has dropped recently. I just shipped a bunch of Koni 8611 shocks over to customer in England because its cheaper for them to buy and ship from a vendor in the US then to buy locally. The inquiries I normally receive each week from overseas has tripled. I sometimes buy specialized Nylon 6/6 plastic from Ensinger in the UK and I made a call yesterday to order some. The price in Euros hasn't changed but its now twice as expensive to me in Dollars.

It all depends if your 260 is an early 260s (240Z carryover) or a late 260Z (early 280Z). The 280Z has larger OD strut tubes, stronger front and rear lower control arms, and a different front hub offset. The rear strut tube is also about 2" longer then the corresponding 240Z part. The differences are enough that you just can't slap the 280Z struts into a 240Z without doing some strut tube sectioning. Compare the strut tube OD of the 260Z with the 240Z to determine if you have a late or early 260Z. 240Z strut tubes have a 2" OD and the 280Z tubes are 2.17".

Bar layout looks good. What Jon said above about the tool box area being a structural part of the car.

Try McKenzies: http://www.mckenzies.com/

I think SSFlyer has some co-workers messing with him. I had a woman door ding my F350 right in front of me. She ignored my comments and walked real fast into the mall. When she came out later all four of the tire valve stems on her Lexus ES330 were missing.

What's funny is how they mix up clips from the two main tracks at WSIR and the roads around the area. Jeremy does all his driving on the Streets of Willow which is a tight, low to medium speed track. Very safe for auto journalists. A lot of the "glamour" shots were done on the Big Track which is high speed, although the car was just cruising for the cameras. The editors mixed them all together.

OK, now I get your point and yes, you are correct in that assesment. Another way to picture it is from above the car. Engine mass loads, when mounted to the crossmember, pass directly to the suspension. The same would be essentially true if the engine mounts were on the frame rail directly above where the crossmember mounts to the frame rail. Moving the engine mounting back on the frame rail makes the frame rail more of a beam connecting the front suspension with the engine mounts. What I've learned by doing a few of these kinds of things (in Miatas, FD RX7s, 240Zs, and E36 BMWs) is that, with proper reinforcement, its really not an issue. For the 240Z, welding the OEM front crossmember in place and reinforcing the frame rails between the TC box and the welded in crossmember adds a lot of support in that area. I also, in the front wheel well, weld in plates that connect the reinforcement where the crossmember mounts to the reinforced area on the wheel well for the strut towers. I did the SR20DET swap on Amir's 260Z about 4 years ago using the reinforcemnt I mentioned above. I saw the car towards the end of last year and the mounting looks good with no bending, cracked paint, etc.

I'm confused about the point you're trying to make. Are you saying: 1. That a more direct connection between the contact patch and the engine has an effect on handling? 2. That a more direction connection between the contact patch and the engine has a greater or lesser effect on framerail loading? I'm not being argumentative, I'm just confused.

Jack stopped... There are a few threads that already discuss weight distribution.

Actually, there's a difference between Friction welding and Friction Stir welding. Friction welding, spinning two parts real fast and mashing them togehter, has been around for 70 years or more. Friction Stir welding is different in that a high speed bit is mashed into the two parts and dragged along the weld seam.

Any loads into the front frame rails (from the bottom, sides, and/or top) get transferred to the inner fenders, strut towers, upper frame horns, core support, firewall, etc. Its a unibody chassis. Lateral loads from the engine also get transferred to the frame rails regardless of how the engine mount or crossmember is attached to the frame rail. The lateral loads don't just disappear because the engine is attached to an underslung crossmember. If there's 400 lbs. of lateral load from the engine you'll (theoretically) see 200 lbs. of shear, tension, and/or compression at one engine mount/crossmember end and 200 lbs. of shear, tension, and/or compression the other. EDIT: Clarification/simplification... Engine mounts welded to the frame rails and crossmembers bolted/welded to the frame rails both transfer loads from the engine into the frame rails.

There is quite a bit of flex in the ENTIRE S30 chassis. I probably haven't said this clearly and directly, but the S30 chassis, even with an 8 or 10 point roll cage, subframe connectors, etc. is a flexible chassis when compared with vehicles designed 20 years later. This has to be taken into account and allowed for when designing mounts. A good stiffness comparison is the strut front suspensions of the E36 BMW and the 240Z. Typical racing front spring rates for the E36 are 750 to 900 lb. in. depending on tire selection. That's for a 2,500 lb. full race car. For the 240Z typical front spring rates are 350 to 400 lb. in. and tha'ts for a 2,200 lb. full race car. Would I want to run 500 to 600 lb. in.springs on the front of a 240Z? Absolutely. Can I? Not in a million years because it will tear the chassis apart. The crossmember/front LCA locating point deisgn on the 240Z is primarily focused on ease of assembly (engine and front suspension were installed from the bottom) and any load path advantage is secondary. Any engine mounting solution will see flex at the frame rails. On the Rusty Old Datsun I saw cracking in the front crossmember where it bolted to the front frame rails. I ended up welding the crossmember to the frame rails which solved the problem. Its important to keep the S30's chassis flexibility in mind when. Stiffening one area only reduces flex in that area with the loads moving to a more flexible part of the chassis.

Why? The front frame rails are strongest at the TC rod buckets, which handle greater loads then the torque an engine can produce.

Its been around for about 20+ years. Its only become practical for non-aerospace use due to cost reductions. Its can effectively weld ferrous and non ferrous metals.

Used to ride with a guy who's nickname was "Splinter." He carved his own seats out of pine.

WTF? Are we still on HybridZ? Comparing cars based on interior room?

Say you're sorry... If you look under a left hand drive S30 you'll notice the differential is offset to the passenger side of the car. In fact, with the R154 transmission (5 speed) in a early S30 chassis the 2JZGTE engine is still about 1/2" too far to the left to be directly in-ine with the rear diff. With the R154 trans the shifter is centered in the shifter hole on a later 240Z.

$10 says there will be a relist. When the first 240Z hits $100K at Barrett Jackson, these kinds of original race parts will double in price.