Access to a CNC shop

[Jesse OBrien]

I just visited a good friend's father's shop down the street from me, and was surprised to find that it's actually a CNC shop that has a few machines running most of the time. While we were there hanging out for a bit, he walked me through how the machines work and the basics of what's required for them.

 

Now obviously, my head is filled with parts that I could be designing in AutoCad right now and having made there, but since I'm on a tight time budget out here, what would you guys suggest as best bang for the buck out of an aluminum machine shop?

 

Here's what I've thought of so far:

 

• 5spd short-throw rally-style shifter (tall shifter with a raised fulcrum point, the shift knob sits level with the bottom of the steering wheel)
  
• Control Arms. I may not do these, since I'm not comfortable enough with my physics knowledge, and I'm thinking it'd take a few rounds of testing before I had a solid, trustworthy product. I'd really love to do these though, so if anybody has some plans/calculations I could go off of, I'd really appreciate them.
  
• Pedals. They're cheap enough online that I'm really not too worried about it, but it'd be a nice fun project.
  
• Shift knob. Having a custom knob with a Z on the top, or maybe something a little more personal like my signature on it would be pretty awesome.
  
• R200 mounts. I have an r200 sitting in my garage right now along with a pair of 280z axles coming in, so I guess it'd be worthwhile to make some mounts for it. Again, I'd really need some plans/measurements if anybody has something to offer.
  
• Camber plates. Do people make these out of aluminum, or just steel? I've always wondered about that.
  
• Something else. Boost controller? Steering knuckles? Fuel pump mount? Power steering block-off plate? Horn button? HBZ aluminum logos to replace the Datsun/240z ones? Center caps? You tell me!
  

I'm honestly not very interested in cosmetic improvements. I realize that replacing suspension parts with aluminum will reduce weight in the most crucial areas, and the sexiest cars I've seen on the street weren't the sexiest because they had fancy seats/gauges/carbon-fiber/etc. They were sexy because they were light on their feet, were very stable under all conditions, and a lot of thought and effort had gone into them. I'm trying to take advantage of this unique experience to get a little closer to that goal.

 

Also, seeing suspension like this on a daily driver is just amazing. I want to do something that isn't ostenatious but that I can show off to any new car buddies and have them go "ooh" and "aah" about it.

 

Help me decide what the best way to spend my very limited window of time with this shop.

[tfreer85]

Front Q-45 diff mount...

[jbk240z]

^^What he said.^^

[Jesse OBrien]

I don't have a Q-45 diff though, nor do I have CV axles. From what I've read, the Q-45 swap is fairly intensive and won't happen by Aug 1st for me (when I want to begin shakedown for my cross-country drive).

[Gollum]

The R200 mount would be functional for you, and fairly easy to make. That's my vote. The shifter isn't necessarily needed and you might not end up liking a super short throw like that on a daily driver. If you were going to do something that intense I might not recommend it on the L series tranny anyways, since their syncros aren't the strongest.

[rturbo 930]

R200 mount OR some short steering knuckles like you'd buy from MSA or AZC. I know they're not cheap either way.

[MAG58]

I'd have to second both the diff mounts and the short steering knuckles. I really like the feeling of a Z with a little quicker steering, and if you could fabricate a diff mount that still allows use of a rubber isolator, perhaps with a sandwich design that puts isolator on the top and bottom so you can finally rid yourself of having to replace diff mounts due to the "klunk" and still avoid the NVH that comes with solid diff mounts..