johnc

I'll have a good start on it by the end of next week. Thanksgiving will slow me down a bit. A week from today can I e-mail the pages to one of the admins?

While you're at Sears getting the socket, buy an air compressor, some 1/2" air line, fittings, and a 450 ft. lb. 1/2" drive impact gun. You'll thank yourself profusely at the end of the day.

Does the Mercedes 450SEL use K-Jetronic (CIS) or L-Jetronic (pulse)? I guess it must use pulse...

I have a flex-plate the same diameter as the stock flywheel. The decision to finally go with the Quaife came at the last minute so I will not be able to relocate the starter. Maybe next year. I'm building the car for autocross competition in the SCCA Street Modified 2 class. I will also do a number of time trials and open track events. The car only has a roll bar and I've been reluctant to cut up my perfect dash to put in a cage. I think once I see the speeds I'll be getting at tracks like Willow, the cage idea will become pretty important. No dry sump yet. I've had to draw the line somewhere so I can get the car together by the end of this year. Again, dry sump might be a "next year" thing.

Yes, I've lost my mind again. I just ordered a Quaife Rocket/Sierra sequential 5 speed dog box to sit behind the Sunbelt 3.0L L6 in my car. I guess I'm approaching this HybridZ thing backwards - from the chassis and driveline instead of from the engine.

List prices are: Rocket/Sierra (Ford Based) sequential 5 speed dog engagement: $5,310.00. Rocket/Sierra (Ford Based) sequential 6 speed dog engagement: $6,060.00. Quaife 5 speed sequential dog engagement: $9,095.00. Quaife 6 speed sequential dog engagement: $10,195.00. The difference is in hp/torque capacity. The Rocket/Sierra can handle 300hp/300ft. lbs. The true Quaife transmission can handle Viper levels of horsepower/torque (600/600). Other comparable prices: Jerico 5 speed - $6,000.00 Lenco 4 speed - $7,000.00 Oreca Racing T56 - $10,000.00 A big part of my decision is weight. The Rocket/Sierra with the optional aluminum case will weigh about the same as the Nissan Type B transmission I'm replacing. I'm also running a Quartermaster 5.5" multi-plate clutch and no flywheel. The whole package will weight about 45 lbs less than a stock Nissan clutch/trans.

We're using the separate bellhousing from the Type A (early) 4 speed and machining an adapter plate. How do you like the P8Pro?

Trans ratios: 1st - 2.39 2nd - 1.69 3rd - 1.21 4th - 1.00 5th - 0.87 With a 3.90 rear and 25" tall tires (275/40-17 Hoosiers) my speed in gears (@ 7,000 rpm shift point) are: 1st - 54.7 2nd - 77.4 3rd - 107.7 4th - 130.8 5th - 150.4 With a 4.11 gear take 3 to 8 mph off those speeds. I'll be running an R180 with my trusty Quaife diff. Another cool thing about the Quaife, its got an electronic output that indicates what gear your in for the engine computer. I'm running a DTA Fast P8Pro computer which can take the trans input and automatically retard timing and interrupt ignition when I upshift. I don't have to lift off the throttle or use the clutch. The engine computer does it for me! Just foot to the floor and bang, bang, bang! And the REALLY cool thing about the computer - its got Launch Control just like the F1, Rally, and Touring cars! I just have to figure out the wheel speed sensors. Just foot to the floor, clutch in. Green light, sidestep the clutch with the foot flat on the floor, and then bang, bang, bang up the gears. Or, maybe, bang, bang, bang there go the halfshafts...

If the carbs are backfiring then the engine is lean. Have you ever tuned SU carbs before? If not, then get Scott Bruning's (ZTherapy) carb tuning video. In the mean time, richen up each carb about 1/2 turn. Also, check for vacume leaks, make sure the carb pistons are free through their range of travel, make sure there are no air leaks around the pistons or domes, etc.

I've had one on my Z since 1999 and was part of the original deal that got Quaife Engineering to start producing the diffs for the R180. I think Ross helped get them to start building the diffs for the R200. I autocross and track my 240Z and the Quaife is probably the single best thing I've done to the car to improve its handling. A diff improves handling you ask? Yup, here's why: Previously I had the Nismo clutch LSD and had to run a preload around 70 ft. lbs. to get it to work in the tight turns of an autocross. Unfortunately, with that kind of preload the diff induced a lot of corner entry understeer, similar to what a welded diff does. To compensate I had to run a lot of rear spring so that I could get a lot of oversteer under trailing throttle. This made the car a bit tricky to drive. At higher speed track events the car would get downright scary if you weren't on the throttle in a corner. I also had to replace the clutch packs every year becuase they would be completely worn out and the diff wouldn't work. The Quaife (and a Gleason/Torsen) works like an open diff during corner entry and doesn't try to influence the direction of the car. It allowed me to soften the rear springs and move some roll stiffness forward, balancing the car's handling. I can also apply more power on corner exit and drive the car more like a traditional road race car as opposed to a dirt tracker. In addition, the only maintenance I've had to perform is to change the fliuds. Be aware that a Quaife (or Torsen/Gleason) will go "open" if you significantly unload an inside wheel. It needs a small amount of load (at least 5% of total load) on both wheels for it to work correctly. Once the load is reapplied, the diff will start working again. At low speeds and high torque input this could cause very abrupt behavior: the car suddenly starts going where the rear wheels are pointed. Good suspension tuning practically eliminates this issue. IMHO the Quaife is worth ever penny. Figure about $1,500 total including a complete rebuild of the diff (bearings, seals, and setup). Also, check this thread out from a few weeks ago: http://www.hybridz.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic&f=7&t=000555

Davy, We did that too with a friends K2500! I was floating on a raft and got washed over the tailgate when he took off from a stop sign. Luckily I landed on the raft and the girls in the car behind us waited for me to jump back into the truck. Needless to say, I didn't impress them one bit.

There's always more than one way to skin a cat. An ITS 240Z car setup can go two ways and the preferences seems to be based on geography. East Coast 300 to 350 lb in front spring rates 250 to 300 lb in rear spring rates 1" front anti-roll bar no rear anti-roll bar West Coast 225 to 275 lb in front springs 250 to 325 lb in rear springs 22 to 25mm front anti roll bar 19 to 21mm rear anti-roll bar Both work well. Maybe it has something to do with the tracks on each coast?

What that means is that the bolt hole is open (or passes through) to one of the water jackets surrounding the cylinders. But I think I was mistaken when I posted that this occurs on the L6 head bolts. I looked at an L6 block in my garage and I can't see where that happens. I do recall pulling head bolts and seeing water corrosion on the threads. I'm confused.

From the horses mouth: http://www.burnsstainless.com/TechArticles/Theory/theory.html http://www.ssheaders.com/header.htm http://grapeaperacing.com/GrapeApeRacing/tech/exhheaders.htm http://www.centuryperformance.com/sanderson/headertech.htm http://www.randomunity.com/superrod/product_profiles/extech_images/product_profiles_extech1.html

Call or send an e-mail to Erik at EMI Racing Designs. He can send you a complete setup with camber plates, springs, modified strut tubes, Tokicos, Koni, or Penske shocks, etc. 714.713.9096 or emiracing@mindspring.com.

> i need to put new seats in a 240z and i want to > spend the least amount of money posible Go to Target and buy a couple lawn chairs. I did that with a $10 1961 Ford Falcon I was driving around. Worked great until I went around a corner too fast and fell into the passenger side. That night I used some long sheet metal screws and attached the chair to the floor board. I had to install a real seat after a cop pulled me over and wouldn't let me drive the car home. He about crapped his pants from laughing when he walked up to the car and saw me sitting in this aluminum lawn chair with yellow webbing.

Scottie, So soon we forget... L6s had head bolts for cost reasons. FYI... if your motor mounts are a bit worn and the engine is set back a bit, you can't get the head on/off with studs 'cuz the hoods latch mount gets in the way. Check for the same kind of problem with a V8 install. Also, at least two of the L6 head bolts end in a water jacket. I know the left front does and I think the left rear also.

> I think the book, Chassis Builders Handbook, > states that @1/8" is ok. It says, thats what > suspension is for. That's scary!

Magnecore. Worth every penny 'cuz you never have to buy another set or worry about them.

A clutch pack LSD would work, but I bet you would have to replace the clutches every year. I would probably stick with a welded diff.

When I broke both rear stub axles at the flange within a month I spent some time researching cryo treatment. It was touted to me (by a cryo treater) as the solution to my problem. My research came down to this: 1. As of June 2000, there were no published scientific tests that said cryo treatment helped with fatigue resistance. In fact, there was only one test published at that time (by Bethlehem Steel) and the results were inconclusive. 2. There are published scientific tests that show cryo treatment does help significantly with abraision resistance. Cryo treated brake rotors are a good example of this effectiveness. 3. There is lots of anecdotal evidence (from users and cryo treatment businesses) supporting the benefits of cryo treatment for reducing fatigue failure. 4. There is lots of anecdotal evidence (from users and traditional heat treaters) refuting the benefits of cryo treatment for reducing fatigue failure. 5. Don Potter swears by cryo treatment for his $1,000 pair of matched stub axles and companion flanges. 6. The Nismo competition stub axles were stress relieved (heat treated), shot peened, and polished. In my case, I bought two brand new 27 spline stub axles from Nissan and installed them as is. The previous pair lasted 7 years. [ November 05, 2001: Message edited by: johnc ]

Just went through this trying to make some brakes scoop plugs for the front of a Viper. 1. The two part urethane foam that we used shrunk after a couple days. 2. The florist foam dissolved when we poured the mold material onto it. 3. The first batch of modeling clay was the wrong stuff and never hardened. We finally walked across the street to a "secret" Porsche design studio and begged two bricks of the modeling clay they use. Worked great. We still don't know where to find the stuff, but it can be carved to very fine, sharp edges and hardens up at ambient (you have to heat if for a couple hours to about 120 degrees and then you have about 4 hours to work it).

GM made lots of carburated and fuel injected 60 degree V6s in the 1980's. From 2.8 to 3.1L. These motors were in Citations, Sierras, 6000s, and S10s. From 115 to 165hp.

Omar, Coast Fab: http://www.coastfab.com/.

Check out the mufflers Coast Fab makes. The Viper guys love 'em. http://www.coastfab.com/