Phantom Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 Not a good week. On Saturday, June 2nd, a Dodge Ram truck backed into the Z32 convertible. About $6k to have the car back to pristine but down for around 4 weeks. Only one windshield in the entire US and that was at a Z dealership in Tennessee at a price of $1,038. Friday night, June 8th, I went out to Renegade Raceway in Wapato, WA with the 280Z. First run started with a .2 second reaction time which was pretty good since I hadn't been on the track in nearly 3 years. My 60' was a 2.1 which again was not too bad because I was trying to take it easy on the car. Grabbed a good shift to second and the car really hooked - and then it broke an axle. Not the half shaft but the stub shaft that runs through the strut. Thus ended my first foray into racing in the fine state of Washington. Flopping half shaft took out the brake line too but fortunately I was able to coast off the track (20 second run) onto a side road and call a wrecker. He was there in less than an hour and I was home by 8:30 PM. Called MSA Saturday morning and have a new shaft, bushings, bolts and seal on the way today for $61 plus shipping. Down to the Suburban - which I had to replace the battery and three lights on on Thursday, June 7th and hopefully a rental car sometime today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 Bummer. At least the damage was minimal. Could have lost the whole wheel going into third. Sounds like you are a good candidate for posting in this thread http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=122470 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted June 11, 2007 Author Share Posted June 11, 2007 Posted the info over in the other thread. I sure hope the new MSA shafts are tough. The class I was in at Renegade is for 13.0 & up street cars which makes my Z a real class contender. The last time I ran 3 years ago it ran 12.9-13.3 and those times were better than any I saw Friday night and about a full second better than a couple LS1 Camaro's that were running. That 2.1 60' time would have put me between a 13.0 & 13.1 based on the previous runs. Interestingly enough the owner of the shop I'm going to use to replace the spindle - once again I don't have the right tools - was out there Friday night and watched my demise. I also had one of my mechanics at work come inand let meknow that one of his buddies who builds race cars is looking for a job - and I have an opening in the plant. Hmmmm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted June 12, 2007 Author Share Posted June 12, 2007 Talked with the shop today about the Z32 'vert. It's going to set me back just under $4k plus the insurance companies contributions but it will have a new fender and door skin, the last new windshield in the continental US, and a fully dismantled 3-step paint job with 3 coats of clear once it's all done. I've also located a local pin stripe artist that I may have do a little work to add some distinctiveness once it's all done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted June 15, 2007 Author Share Posted June 15, 2007 Update: The 'vert is coming back together. The damaged panels have been replaced and have their first coat of paint. The new rear view mirror has arrived. I went over a list of about a dozen items with the body man, Fred, last night and it looks like the car is going to turn out really nice. The 280 went into the shop yesterday and "ouch!" The good news is that the stubaxle going through the hub isn't what broke. It was the part of the universal hub that was attached to it. In the process, however, it took out the brake line, the e-brake line, and the 240SX caliper. Good news is that this is a shop that also builds high performance vehicles so they have a source that will provide some solid universals that will take the abuse so I can find the next weakest link. Also discovered a bad wheel bearing in the process and, while its down, I'm going to get the radiator out and have a couple things fixed on it. Should be back on the road sometime next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete280z Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 I was bummed to hear that the 'vert got banged up but it sounds like it will make a good recovery. The 280z28 was a topic of some conversation at CowtownZ last night. You might see a PM from a guy who had some specific questions about your swap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted June 15, 2007 Author Share Posted June 15, 2007 Pete, He can go to www.brokenkitty.com to get details on the components that are offered and he can do a search in the Chevy V8 forum here under "LS1 / T56 Update" and read most of the posts I made during the conversion process. If he has other questions he can PM me and I'll be glad to answer. On another note - any news on when the Cowtown website will come back to life? Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete280z Posted June 16, 2007 Share Posted June 16, 2007 Thanks Bill - I'll pass the word along. Our old domain name was taken by some Chinese squatter. http://www.cowtownzclub.com/ is up an running. http://www.cowtownz.org/ should also be redirecting there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mario_82_ZXT Posted June 16, 2007 Share Posted June 16, 2007 I know the feeling! Swapped in a turbo engine, didn't have time to finish the wiring. Finished the wiring and burned an HEI module. Fixed that and the fan goes into the rad. Finally get it down here and the fuel pump goes out. Fix that and clean out the pipes, take it to the drags, hit a 14.4 first run (never ran this car before) and blow the headgasket. Thought it was the exhaust gasket (no oil/coolant mixing), end up doing that twice before figuring on the headgasket. Got it all back together tonight and now it won't start I just want to drive the damn car... Good luck with your projects, I love your s30 Mario Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted June 16, 2007 Author Share Posted June 16, 2007 Pete, Good to see the website back. I notice Chaoticmass is webmaster again. Good. Great guy. The site looks really nice and, if you guys will be nice enough to approve me, I'll drop by and post periodically. This little incident o the strip has kind of fired me up a bit. I feel robbed because the car is a super strong competitor in its class and I really want the local scene to recognize its presence. Also, the local sports car club is desperately needing some new blood. I think the average age is in the mid 50's. I might be able to do a little recruiting at the strip or get a small eastern Washington Z club going. We'll see. Hey - I haven't heard anything on how your car is coming. You need to fill me in when you have a few minutes. I know you have "plans" for it! Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted July 2, 2007 Author Share Posted July 2, 2007 Well - I have the 280 back less a parking brake for the moment. Savage42 is being kind to me and sending me the one out of his car. Thanks Gary. The Z32 'vert is still in the garage. It's in the reassembly stage and looking good so far. Since it's a holiday week I doubt if it will be done before Friday and definitely not in time to cruise around on Independence Day. At least it will be safe from the space aliens and Will Smith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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