johnc

I think the KYB GR-2 shocks for the rear and similar strut inserts up front will give you what you're looking for in ride. I don't know if they are still available.

I know. I'm just doggin' the turbo guys to get someone out to the track. Can't seem to get the V8 guys to come out and play...

Build it and come see me and my "no comparison" 3L NA motored 240Z at Willow Springs Raceway. In fact, any of you Turbo boys want to run against me? Go here and sign up for the event next April: http://www.opentrackchallenge.com

If its just the steering you want to upgrade: 1. Rebuilt steering rack. 2. Polyurethane rack mount bushings. 3. Poly steering coupler. 4. New Nissan tie rods.

I've autocrossed a WRX a few times and they are good handling cars, but you drive them in a much more aggressive style then you would any other car. Friends of mine have run a WRX in the local Cal Club STX class for a couple years now are are generally in the top 3 every event. I helped them sort out the car with some suspension mods. To get a WRX around an autocross course quickly that car had to be driver hard, really hard. The throttle is critical and you don't feather it, you just stomp on it after pitching the car into a corner. If I drove my 240Z the same way I would be everywhere but on the course.

The Tilton MC uses a 5/16" fitting and the brake line on the 240Z uses a very similar sized 8mm fitting. You'll need an adapter. Earl's sells them.

Don't know.

Jon, Ian does OK with his car in BSP but budget seems to be his limiting factor. I've seen him run some really old BFG R1s. He is on this board as Ianz so maybe he will see this and post.

Guys, stick to the thread topic.

I'm running 305hp and about 260 ft. lbs. throught my R180 with a Quaife ATB. All track and autocross use. 15 hours so far without any problems. I'm running Redline Shockproof gear oil and change it every 5 hours. Most R180s in the US have a two pinion differential which is weak and will go boom. If you've installed the Nissan Comp "competition" clutch pack LSD or installed a Quaife then you've got a much stronger differential and it can handle more torque. FYI... there are two Nissan Comp clutch pack LSDs. They sold a "street" version that has two pinions and a "competition" verstion that has 4 pinions.

You've got a usable rpm range from 2,000 to 52,000. You'll need some kind of gear reduction because I know of no automotive driveshaft that will survive a 15,000 rpm spin, much less 50,000 rpms...

With the 13 x 8 wheels I can see the car getting that low but its not the best idea. Ian Stewart autocorsses a 240Z in the CSCC region and he runs 13 x 8 wheels. His ride height (measured at the front rocker panel seam) is a little over 4" if my tape measure eyes are right. With a 225/50-15 tire (about 23" in diameter) your ride height should be 5" measured at the front rocker panel seam and with a 25" diameter 16" tire the ride height should be a bit over 6" measured at the same point. All of this is assuming the struts have been sectioned so that you get back some bump travel and you're running bumpsteer spacers. Without the sectioning your car is basically riding on the bump stops and is skating.

FYI... Hoosier always has a sale at the end of the year for discontinued/overstocks. Here are some 15" slicks that would work well on a 240 with 15 x 10 rims. 43387R35 23.0X10.0-15 R35 A 11 $80.00 43387R45 23.0X10.0-15 R45 A 36 $80.00 They are 23" tall, 10" tread width, 15" diameter ply R35 and R45 compounds.

Bzzzzzzttt! Compound is the most important consideration. Much more so then tread width, etc. I'll take a Hoosier 35 compound and give up 3" tread width before I'd go with a 45 or a 55 compound for autocross. Agreed. Fit fine with 5" of backspace. I'm running 16 x 10s on my 240Z using 265/45-16 Kumho V700s and/or 275/45-16 Hoosier A3S03s for autocross and Hoosier 22 x 10 x 16 R45 for some track events.

Larger tires bolted onto an otherwise stock chassis will make the handling worse. As with any modification, changes are required to take full advantage of larger tires. Wider tires increase steering kickback (some folks call it bumpsteer) which it more a comfort issue then a handling problem. Bumpsteer spacers reduce this kickback. A bigger issue is the handling problems caused by lower profile tires (45 aspect ratio and below). The Z chassis needs a certain amount of compliance to grip properly. If the suspension is not supple enough the tires tend to skate over bumps and the suspension isn't given enough lateral load to bite. Normally this compliance comes from the tire sidewall (50 aspect ratio and above) but when you go to a lower aspect ratio tire the sidewalls are stiffer. Now the compliance that once existed in the tire has to be moved somewhere else. It can be moved to the suspension bushings and/or the shocks. If you stick with spring rates around 200 lb. in. the Tokico Illuminas set at no higher then 3 will work with lower aspect ratio tires. With spring rates over 200 lb. in. the Illuminas set at 4 or 5 (to get proper rebound damping) have too much compresison damping which causes the tires to skate over bumps. The car feels like it wants to take a set but then unloads and moves a bit and then tries to take a set again. So, as you can see, you have to make a number of changes (springs and shocks) to get the larger tires to work. Without those changes, a smaller tired car will be able to get around the track faster. FYI... ITS prepared 240Zs run on 225/50-14 tires and are very fast around racetracks (1:34s at Willow Springs, 2:03s at Thunderhill, etc.) If I was building a street 240Z I would run 225/50-15 tires regardless of the horsepower. Remember, tread compound has much more to do with traction then tread width.

As an example, the ports (including valves at the proper lift) on my NA 3L L6 head flow at least 10 more CFM then any other L6 head Jim Thompson has ever tested, including some of the Electromotive ones from the 80s. Interestingly though, the ports match up to a stock Nissan head gasket - no grinding of the gaskets needed. That should tell you that the flow numbers are produced through velocity and proper port shaped as opposed to making the ports bigger.

That's basically an unanswerable question. What's the intended use? What's the budget? What rules is the head being built to? What cam? What valve sizes? What valve springs? What rockers? What intake manifold? What fuel delivery system? What ignition system? What exhaust header? What exhaust system? How much does the car weight? What gearing?...

The mechanical side of an early Z is pretty cheap and easy to build. The cosmetic side is where things get very expensive. It would acutally be worth more if it had a perfect body, paint, and interior and a junk engine.

The exhaust side of the L6 head is where people should focus their efforts on. Especially cylinders 3 and 4. When you can get all 6 exhaust ports to flow within 5 cfm of each other (regardless of the ulitmate flow number) you've accomplished a lot.

If the "no rust anywhere else" is true (which I doubt) then its a $3,000 car. Maybe $4,000 if you're not in a hurry to sell it.

Thanks guys. The website is just a start and will grow as I create more content. I'll eventually start selling stuff off of it, but mostly its just one of those bragging/ego things. My old software peers have been giving me crap about "no website" for about a year. Now that its up I'm getting crap from them about "no flash", "no e-commerce", "no .NET", "no J2EE", etc. Some of the .jpgs are huge and I need to shrink them down a bit. Later this week or next when I get more time. I also have more photos to put up somewhere in the Bench Racing stuff.

I got me a website! http://www.betamotorsports.com

There's basically no such thing as a rust free early Z. The places to check are: Strucutural 1. The battery tray and the area underneath it. Also look at the interior side of the firewall next to the battery tray. 2. Rocker panels. Be sure to check the rocker panel ends from inside the wheel wells. Poke a little bit with a screwdriver. 3. Floor pans in front of the front seats. Look for holes or patch jobs. Undercoating hides a lot of damage. 4. Front frame rails where the tension rods mount and where the front crossmember bolts up. 5. Radiator support and the area where the front anti-roll bar mounts. 6. Rear hatch striker sill. 7. Cowl area, especially inside the cowl where the wiper motors are. Figure it will cost you $500 to fix each one of these items and these are items that should be fixed to keep the car safe. Cosmetic Bottoms of the front fenders and doors. Tops of the wheel wells. Around the front window and rear hatch glass. Around the gas filler lid. Fixing these items is optional but, again, figure about $500 to fix each one.

I'm thinking you should get more then a free version. You took the picture right? You own the copyright to that photo? Its not something that can be used without your permission...

Your Mileage May Vary - meaning: your results will be different.