Phantom Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 I was pondering this after reading several of the posts on the forum. Over and over I see guys doing things with their cars - just because they can. Don't get me wrong - that is how the innovations occur that benefit us all. But then there are the others. How many times have I read about guys with overheating problems? I've lost track - and most of them have the issues because they made a change that wasn't thought through or researched on the site. Undersized radiators, fans that aren't shrouded, etc. Components that are swapped in from other cars that are a one-for-one replacement for the functions performed by the original part - and sometimes don't even do everything the original part did. Why? All it does is further confuse the parts list on the car for maintenance and reliability purposes. When I went for my LS1 swap back in 2003 there were two rules. 1) There were to be as few "hybrid" parts as possible. Wherever possible keep Datsun Datsun and Chevy Chevy. An obvious exception to that was the driveshaft since the T56 had to be connected to an LSD R200. 2) Make it look as OEM as possible and make it as reliable as a daily driver as a non-modified factory vehicle would be. Looking back I feel I only failed in one area - I should have put the optional tailshaft on the T56 that gave a mechanical output for the Z speedometer rather than using the electronic output with a CableX Converter. The results is a vehicle I have now driven 10 years, much of it as a commuter to/from work, and I've never been left stranded. I had infant mortality on the two relays for the radiator fans but they failed separately so the car never overheated. I also had a starter wire burn through because it was too close to the headers. Have other things broken - sure. I broke a universal on the drivers side halfshaft but that was on the track and it did have over 200,000 miles on it. I also blew out my KYB struts - after about 70,000 miles. I've spent a lot of time and money on my car but what I love most is driving it. I'm not into having a garage queen that is always needing something tweaked or repaired. I've run an exhaustive benefit analysis on every part that I've put on the car and that generally means I spend a lot of time on this site figuring out who has done it right - versus just who has done it. Now the car is slowly starting to morph. Since I now live in Washington and can only drive it about 7 months out of the year I'm modifying it a bit more extensively to increase my "fun factor" when I'm able to drive it. Do I still look for reliability - you bet. I don't want to get stranded on some backwoods road where there is no cell phone service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 And this philosophy applies to driving safely on the street. Just because your car can go fast doesn't mean you have to. On the Cable-X: mine came with the dip-switches in random positions ( I called and they said they fired the dude who used to configure them ), so I've gone a year without a speedometer even though I have the Cable-X box mounted, wired and the cable hooked up. If it was ever feasible, I'd love it if you could send me some good photos of the dip switch positions with the cover removed. Otherwise, I'm gonna look into an electronic speedometer (oh, my aching back!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socorob Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 Go to their website. They have a chart on it for dip switch settings. You need to know your rear end ratio and half tire height. http://www.atrol.com/cx30/ I was going to do the cable x box but between that and the tach calibration from johns cars, it's about $50 cheaper to get speedhut speedo and tach thru the group buy here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 "Since I now live in Washington and can only drive it about 7 months out of the year I'm modifying it a bit more extensively to increase my "fun factor" when I'm able to drive it." I envy guys with snow, where they get six months f the year where they don't have to worry about driving the car and can just work on it. Living in SoCal, every weekend its "sunny and mild" there's a drive, a car show, club board meeting, etc etc You're constantly driving the car, it's incessant... You almost have to get four cars just to put one down to get any decent time to work on it! Just drive, drive, drive, all the time. It's hell. Having 144" of snow and -40 for three months, and accumulation/receding around 0 for another three months....wow! How fortunate you guys are! It should give you time to think things through, as well! Plenty of time to think in a whiteout at -40! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted September 3, 2013 Author Share Posted September 3, 2013 (edited) OK Tony - shut the heck up! RebekahsZ - Socorob has it right. John Radevich and I spent about 45 minutes driving around at different speeds setting up the dip switches in my car vs the 280ZX I was driving as a "standard". Since then I've compared against other vehicles and the tach and it's really close. If your tach is accurate you should be able to mathematically compute your MPH at certain RPM's and get the dip switches set right. BTW - anyone know why I have the funky "No Permission" instead of my normal one. Not a conscious decision on my part. Edited September 3, 2013 by Phantom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 But, but....you really get to sink your teeth into real projects with a timeframe like that! Me, I gotta get up with the sun to do an oil change and check the tires before a weekend of canyon-carving at 400 miles a day... I mean driving twisties for ten hours going the back way to Palm Springs in February...then back through the low foothills the next... I mean, it's like 80 degrees...you worry about your cooling system all the time! It really wears on you... That ability to unplug from the constant drain of driving every weekend... Man I envy you guys! I often think of moving to the mountains...I can see snow there from time to time. So close...maybe a 45 minute drive... But yet so far away at the same time. You know, living under the sun is brutal....a palm tree give SQUAT for shade! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtreme_240z Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 Tony just move up this end. We get for driving our Z a mid to end April to a if were lucky end of October. If you still have the heat hocked up in the car. Al tho it give plenty of winter project car time il say its never enough time to do it all. But i got no clue how in nice sunny environment you have how you could spend 1-4 years to build a car and not have it. Our took 4 years to build, and il be running on winter 5 or 6 cant remember and we still are modifying it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 I shipped ventilation systems from Malaysia & Thailand...the environmental controls are a blue wedge of increasing thickness....no red on them! "Heater"? Whaddahellisdat? In fact, those Tropical AC Heads or the S30 are huge by comparison! No "marginal" AC complaints here any longer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted September 8, 2013 Author Share Posted September 8, 2013 (edited) Tony D, Ok-OK!!! I drove my car year round in the DFW area for 14 years before moving to Washington state - on the dry side of the Cascades. That would be why my car has a good AC system in it and a cooling system that can keep the engine and the passengers cool in 100 degree temps with only one of the two radiator fans running. I understand the up early to get things done because the car was never a "spare". It was my daily driver to work until I did the LS1 conversion in '03. Then I went out and bought an '83 280ZX as a daily driver until the 280Z28 was done 14 months later. Then the ZX went to my son and the 280Z became my year round daily driver again. Here in Washington it's not driven in the winter because WDOT likes to use a deicing agent on the roads that would dissolve my car. It ate the wheels off my 300ZX in two winters so it doesn't go out after the first snowfall now either. The good news is that summer only driving allowed me to put high performance summer tires on the car - Dunlop Direzza's. Love those tires. And no - I don't get to sink my teeth into real projects when it's cold out because I'm busy with all the winter work that needs to be done on the 4 acre park my wife wanted. Try keeping about 100 trees pruned - especially when they are 50-60' tall. Edited September 18, 2013 by Phantom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 Thanks fellas-I'll try to get that done this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 "Try keeping about 100 trees pruned - especially when they are 50-60' tall." Get a giraffe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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