johnc

One very critical aspect of making an adapter or modifying the bellhousing is to make sure the crank and the trans input shaft line up perfectly. Can't you just source the proper bellhousing (that matches up to the engine) and then bolt it to the tranny? Isn't the trans side of both bellhousings the same? EDIT: Never mind, ignore those last two questions.

I just measured a 1973 crossmember and the steering rack mounts parallel to where the front LCA mounting hole. Don't measure to the engine mounts.

The Type A 4 speed came in the Series 1 240Z although I don't know when the cutoff was. They are easy to identify because they have a separate bellhousing. The Type B 4 was available from the 240Z through the 280Z. The T-5 was installed in the 280ZX turbos. I don't have dimensions on the Z32 and Z33 transmissions.

I found I rarely used the adjustable frequency stuff on my Invertec. I did use the pulse and sometimes I tweaked the balance when welding AC. The Auto Balance function on the ACP will do a better job them me of optimizing the balance between cleaning and penetration when weld AL. The important things for me are the water cooled torch, additional power, auto balance and pulse. I'm also hoping the MicroStart tech will help me when welding .049" stainless tubing. Its pretty tough getting the bead started without burning a hole.

Ya know, that car would be a great basis for a La Carrera Panamericana car... http://www.panamrace.com/

That's not undercoating. They can't blast that stuff off, you'll need to remove it as you planned. Regarding the WD40: I've talked with a number of car painters and they prefer something like that as opposed to a customer spraying primer on the car.

BTW... they did a great job and it took them 3 days.

I had a customer's car done there. I was quoted $800 to $1,000 and the price came out to $850 because the car was COMPLETELY stripped and doors, hood, hatch, fender, etc. were off the car. Don't worry about removing the bondo or undercoating, they will get that stuff off quickly. They do get grumpy about leftover fuzz from the carpet padding, grease, and water. OC used their own stripping media first then finished the car using walnut shells. After its stripped, spray the whole car with a light mist of WD40. You will also have small piles of the blasting media periodically fall out of the car for the rest of its life.

Yes, I added the ACP controls for $227. I looked at the Miller Synchrowave 300DX TIG Runner setup but the street prices were about $400 more then the Lincoln, comparably equipped. Either machine would work well for me but the Lincoln is what I trained on at the Lincoln Electric Welding School. I know what knobs to turn and when to turn them.

This one: http://www.mylincolnelectric.com/Catalog/equipmentdatasheet.asp?p=5408 When it gets here and I have it all set up, I'll probably be selling my Lincoln Invertec 205 in case anyone's interested: http://www.mylincolnelectric.com/Catalog/equipmentdatasheet.asp?p=9760

Orange County Sandblasting 415 W. Walnut Ave Orange, CA 92687 USA phone: 714-532-4633 fax: 714-538-0938 They just did a 1973 for me. Probably cost about $1,000 and the more you strip the car beforehand the better job they can do. Also, put the car on a rotissiere or a tall cradle so they can get underneath. OC Sanblasting did a number of the 240Zs Nissan restored in its Heritage program.

Uuuhhh, no. It does leak out quickly. Maybe not all through the casing but a helium filled tire will leak helium fast enough that its not safe to race or drive on. Helium does not interact with other molecules at the temperatures we are concerned with (remember, its a noble gas). A typical Helium molecule (which is always monatomic - one Helium atom) is .98 angstroms in diameter. Nitorgen and Oxygen both form molecules at the temperatures we are discussing. Typically a Nitorgen molecule is two Nitrogen atoms bound together with a ovoid shape that's about 2.0 angstroms across. The oxygen molecule is even bigger. At any particular temperature the Helium molecules are moving faster then the Oxygen or Nitrogen molecules. Because of their increased speed Helium atoms have many more collisions with the walls of the container (balloon or tire). Therefore they have many more opportunities to fine a way out, whether that's through the tire casing, tire bead to wheel interface, valve stem, or porous wheel casting. And there's very little to impede Helium's moverment through molecular structures due to its small size, their smooth valance outer shell, and because they rarely lose or gain electrons.

http://www.mulsannescorner.com/audir8-01-3.html http://www.mulsannescorner.com/couragec60-03-2.html http://www.mulsannescorner.com/dallaralmp03.html

So far so good. But this is a risky topic on this site.

Helium story... My nephew is a Navy Seal and when he went through BUDs training he and his squad end up spending a lot of time carrying around a big inflatable rubber boat. One of the other squads got smart and filled their rubber boat with helium. But, it seems the instructors knew about that little trick. The squad was caught and for one 24 hour period of training the squad had to carry their rubber boat around half filled with water. Then when they were allowed to drain the water back out, they had to inflate the boat using their lungs only. They started at 10:00pm and the instructors finally let them hit their racks at 4:00am.

I just added a strip of aluminum to the bottom of my generic airdam after my splitter concept failed. I used 10/32 button head screws, nylocks, and large washers. Also, here are a couple shots of the failed splitter I had built. It made the front of the car fly because it wasn't close enough to the ground.

That's a pretty bold claim considering what Yates and Hendrick had to do to get 10,000 rpm reliably out of small block V8s. What did your dad do for the oiling system? How did he drive the alternator, water pump, etc.? What was the distributor drive?

I've designed many, many wonderful race tracks over the years both on paper and in a computer. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of talking with Alan Wilson, probably one of the best race track designers in the world (he did Barber Motorsports Park) at an ALMS race at Laguna Seca in 2001. He said that the first and most important thing that affects a race track layout is drainage. How the water flows over the area for the track will be the prime determiner of how the track is layed out. My visions of a US Nurburgring Nordschleife were destroyed...

232 degrees at idle on a hot day (90 to 100F) is not that big a deal if you have a good coolant mixture and the system is pressurized to 16 psi. You noted the coolant temp going into the top of the radiator at 210F but didn't note the coolant temps coming out of the bottom of the radiator. Hopefully that's about 100 degrees less. Also, a 900 to 1,000 rpm idle seems high for a stock engine. Is the timing heavily retarded or advanvced? Do you have a vacum leak? Are the cooling fans shrouded so that all the air they pull comes through the radiator? Is the radiator itself sealed to the core support so all the air has to flow through the radiator? Is there a place for the air flowing or being pulled through the raditor to exit the engine compartment?

Its already been built: http://www.off-road.com/vw/iribe/thecar.html

Don't compare spring rates from one car to another. The rear multi-link suspension on the 240SX is not a strut suspension like the 240Z. What we are actually tuning when adjusting springs rates is Wheel Rate. This is the force per unit (lb. in.) measured at the wheel as opposed to what the spring rate is and takes into account the lever arm distance between the spring and the spindle/hub On a strut equipped car (like the 240Z) the motion ratio is around .97 . So, a 250 lb. in. spring on a strut works out to a wheel rate of 243 lb. in. On a multi-link or unequal length control arm suspension where the spring is mounted inboard, the motion ratio may be .30 to .70. A 250 lb. in. spring installed in a suspension that has a .50 motion ratio would work out to a wheel rate of 125 lb. in. You would need to double the spring rate to get close to the wheel rate of a strut equipped car running 250 lb. in. springs. I've already answered that question above. Run whatever tires and camber plates you want. I was just offering a suggestion based on what I was building for myslef.

Don't compare spring rates from one car to another. The rear multi-link suspension on the 240SX is not a strut suspension like the 240Z. What we are actually tuning when adjusting springs rates is Wheel Rate. This is the force per unit (lb. in.) measured at the wheel as opposed to what the spring rate is and takes into account the lever arm distance between the spring and the spindle/hub On a strut equipped car (like the 240Z) the motion ratio is around .97 . So, a 250 lb. in. spring on a strut works out to a wheel rate of 243 lb. in. On a multi-link or unequal length control arm suspension where the spring is mounted inboard, the motion ratio may be .30 to .70. A 250 lb. in. spring installed in a suspension that has a .50 motion ratio would work out to a wheel rate of 125 lb. in. You would need to double the spring rate to get close to the wheel rate of a strut equipped car running 250 lb. in. springs. I've already answered that question above. Run whatever tires and camber plates you want. I was just offering a suggestion based on what I was building for myslef.

Either of the Miller or Lincoln 175-185 TIG welders will do ANYTHING you ever plan to weld on your car. Both machines are good and can be repaired easily if something goes wrong. Personally, I would purchase from the welding supply store that gives you the best support and makes you feel the most comfortable - as long as the price was within about 10% of the cheapest price you can find. Maybe pay a little more and get them to throw in a nice auto-dimming helmet, gloves, filler, etc.

Sorry, missing zero. .049"... 'Course, if there is a minimum weight for the class and your car is WAY under it, what better place to put weight.

Drew, Honestly, if I was building a car like yours for myself (which I actually am) I would do the following: 1. Shortened struts with coil overs. 2. EMI Racing camber plates. 3. Hyperco springs 200F and 225R. 4. Tokico Illumina shocks BZ3099 front and BZ3015 rear. 5. Suspension Techniques ARB kit 52095 (25mm front 19mm rear). 6. Off the shelf 15 x 7 wheels with 225/50-15 Toyo Proxes RA1s. 7. Replace all the suspension bushings with polyurethane except the rear bushings on the TC rod. Use rubber there. This is a good starting point. You can experiment with spring rates withing a 200 to 250 lb. in. range (go bigger on the front, remove the rear ARB, etc.) to see what you prefer as a driver. But, as Keith inferred above, going fast around a race track has much more to do with the driver then any particular spring combination. BTW... the only difference between what I recommend above and what I'm actually going to install is spring rates. I'm using 175F and 200R. I've gotten older and I want my daily driver/autox/instructor car a little more comfortable.