johnc

5052 or 6061 aluminum with 4043 filler for the 6061 and 5356 filler for the 5052.

No on the AN fittings. Yes on the NPT side of adapters that let you connect AN fittings to objects that have non-AN threaded openings.

Again, check the rule book to see what must be working on the car. That will determine your wiring requirements. One thing to keep in mind: in a LSR car, light weight is not a goal. I think the rule book specifies a maxiumum weight to control aero ballasting and traction.

Lots and lots of performance parts for the NA 2.3L engine. Circle track guys run 'em. Here's where you start your research on classing and records but the very first thing you should do is buy the rule book: http://scta-bni.org/ You'll most likely run the car in Production Coupe/Sedan (/PRO) or Production Coupe/Sedan Supercharged (/PS).

Total wheel travel is bump and droop. Also, Mark, your sig is getting pretty big.

Looks pretty nice Frank! How much is it going to weigh?

I was told that CH Topping relines 240Z brake shoes with exactly the same material that Ferodo used. I have not confirmed this but here's their web site: http://www.chtopping.com/

Autocross cars can be effective with a suspension setup that has very little suspension travel. 2" of total wheel travel can work if the course is fairly smooth and you run a lot of spring. In those cases on a 240Z, the chassis itself is acting as an additional spring (like a shifter kart), which can work but is more difficult to tune. Cars like that are very difficult to drive quickly but a lot of seat time can get a person used to a particular setup and be fast with it. What you see recommended here is usually based on not using the chassis as a spring. It makes suspension tuning easier and more effective. BTW... "typical" street prepared E36 BMW spring rates are 700 to 900 front and 500 to 700 rear.

Looking at picture 2 it appears that there is an old crack running from the pocket up to the arm itself. There also appear to be 6 thread shaped dents that might have been caused by the anti-roll bar end link banging against the control arm when it broke. Looking at the edges of the tear, some parts of it are rusted so this damage took time. My guess is that its fatigue failure caused by the anti-roll bar bottoming and binding and the original crack might have been casued by a hard impact of some type.

Without taking it a part you'll never know if it can be rebuilt. Is it worth spending the time and money to disassemble it? IMHO, no, if its a stock engine.

A splash mold is a quick mold made with fiberglass over an original part and intended to be used once or twice.

I thought it was rotated forward a bit too much. When the body shop re-did things the flare sat much better on the car.

BTW... I had someone call last year and said they wanted to order 10 240Z glass hoods and what the discount price is. I told him the first 8 are full price and 9 and 10 are free. He didn't like that and wanted the 20% off on each one that he ordered until he ordered a total of 10. I asked him how long before he completes his order for 10. He said he didn't know. I said, good bye.

You're assuming something that probably isn't true. Showcars probably doesn't have a rear mold for the part being order. They probably just do a splash off a plug they have had lying aorund for years or try to order the parts from a vendor that they haven't paid for 180 days.

Geez, imagine the absolute terror when you got to something really tough on a car. An air hammer gets any spindle pin out in 30 seconds or less - I'm undefeated in removing at least 30 pins over the years. Once you have the old pin out, replacing it with a new one liberally coated in anti-sieze eliminates spindle pin issues on that car forever. They really aren't that big a deal despite all the horror stories posted on the Internet.

Dang! And I've been thinking that my 16 incher ain't big enough. I've been semi-seriously looking for an old 22 or 24" band saw. Something like this is close to what I want but I would prefer something here in SoCal. http://cgi.ebay.com/Mossnier-not-DoAll-Vertical-20-Metal-Cut-Band-Saw_W0QQitemZ270014646062QQihZ017QQcategoryZ104243QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I used to use a Delta miter saw for exhaust work. The little dust bag caught fire, the guard melted, and, as said above, the diameter of the wheel is too small. I use my 1953 16" Do All band saw for that kind of stuff now. The Delta miter saw is just sitting on a shelf.

And watch them at 10/10ths on a race track. The semi trailing arm rear suspension goes through some toe changes and if you're at the limit and hit a bump or go light in the back, be ready! A long, lurid slide coming off Magic Mountain at Buttonwillow - twice - taught me all about that.

Van, you're lucky you've got a get-out-of-jail free card 'cuz you're not going to get a mile down the road before an offier will want to take a look.

Aluminum is fine for caliper brackets and is preferred over steel because its lighter. 1/2" aluminum is overkill and won't save you much weight.

That's funny. I strike fear into the hearts of people who work in their 240Zs...

This is all too queer... and since I'm an admin, I voted more then once. But I guess its a compliment, so thanks! The question should be more like: "What would JohnC do after he's realized that what he just did f*&^ed up the part?" There have been (and will be) countless times where I've cut or welded something and then just stared at it for 5 minutes wondering what the hell I was thinking? There's a reason I don't like customers hanging around my shop watching me work - its like watching sausage being made.

I only have experience with the MM arms and tow/tracking adjustment is very easy and they are plenty strong enough. The outer ends have poly bushings and Ross is currently working on a rod end outer for a racing application.

I will start a thread in the Vendor's forum once I talk with my composites guy. I need to get a mold build schedule from him and from that I can project a mold completion/hood build schedule. Tony D is rumored to have a few perfect 280ZX hoods. I'll contact him and see what he has. Thanks for the interest guys. Regarding the Turbo hood scoop, I don't plan on building that into the hood mold. As Nissan did, its something that the buyer can add themselves by cutting a hole and bonding a stock part in place.

Most do have some moisture inside when welded. What keeps them from rusting out is, in a sealed environement, the oxygen gets depleted quickly after the inside gets a coating of surface rust. No more oxygen, no more iron oxide. the 3M coating is avaialbe at automotive paint supply stores and its expensive.