Marty Rogan

I ordered Moog ball joints from Carquest. They were identical to the Nissan part. I don't remember the exact price, but it seems like it was 30-40% cheaper. They list these under their "OEM Replacment" parts line. It only took about a day for the store to get them and they didn't even charge me for shipping. Marty

I think I have a diff strap that was only used for about 5,000 miles. You can use that if you want. Let me know and I can mail it to you. Marty

Thanks, this is great info. I will be ordering the Ishino from them. Do you know if their manifold gasket is a quality piece too? The picture looks like it is a paper gasket. I prefer to get a manifold gasket with the steel reinforcements around the holes. Thanks, Marty

That shows a gasket for a 280ZX, but does not mention a turbo. Are the gasket different between an N/A and a turbo engine? It is also curious that they show a different part number for an '81-'82 and an '83. I thought all 81-83's were the same.

Thanks again Stephan. You are a wealth of knowledge as always! Marty

I checked that website to look up the turbo head bolts, but it doesn't seem to list them. Anyone know the part numbers for the turbo head bolts? Thanks, Marty

Thanks Stephan!

Looks like the parts CD does not cover the 280 ZX. Anyone know what the part number is for an '83 ZX turbo head gasket? Thanks, Marty

If you were wondering how a GTR performs on the track, check this out: http://www.streetfire.net/video/nissan-gtr-road-america-229-lap-stock-summer-dunlops_2000789.htm This guy did a 2:29 lap at Road America on summer street tires! This is a 4 mile, 14 turn road course. 2:29 is really flying! And that car sounds incredible flying by you too. Enjoy! Marty

I bought a 240Z Track Car, with a 280ZX turbo motor a couple of months back. It has the stock turbo oil pan in it. I was kind of surprised that it had a stock oil pan as a purpose built track car. Does the turbo pan have any type of baffles in it to keep the oil near the pick up? I tried a search, but could not find an answer. I have an AZ ZCar aluminum pan that I am thinking about putting on there. I have been pretty busy lately, so if the stock pan has some baffling in it, I might wait a while. thanks, Marty

I just bought a track car a couple of months ago with these brakes on it. I have only had 3 test laps with the car so far though. I think I have experienced that issue as well. My next event is June 7th, so I will get a better idea of its performance then. I would really like to hear how you solve this issue. Marty

I decided to go with the 3M Adhesive Remover. I applied it with a Scotch-Brite pad. It works really well. I would not say that it was easy, but it wasn't too bad either. It took me about an hour to scrub the entire roof. A few words of caution if you use this stuff. It is extreemely toxic! I was using chemical safety gloves and it still went through one of the fingers. Use the heavy gauge black ones. Secondly, take frequent breaks for fresh air. If you can smell it, you are ingesting this toxin. It did take off the paint in some spots. That is ok in my case, as I intend to re-paint the area anyway. Overall, I would recommend it, but be very careful using this stuff. Marty

I just talked to another car buddy who uses these. He thought they would be stong enough. I am thinking, 2 at the top, 1 in the front (leading edge), combined with the retail lock at the back and the window sliding into the channel on top of the door should do it. It should be pretty quick and easy to install/uninstall. It would be a lot cheaper that pip pins which cost $14/each. The Clecos are $.59/each and $8.50 for the pliers. Not too bad at all.

What about Cleco Clamps? http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productselection.asp?Product=645 I am not sure how strong those are though.

The first time around I drilled a hole and put one of those spring clips over the hole that allow you to thread a screw through it. It held it ok, but it was not very user friendly. Pretty much a PITA to get it out again. I kind of like the idea of the retail store lock. Not that I need to lock anything, but it would be quick and easy to use. That would require the window to have a channel to slide into though. Pip pins are another good idea. Pretty quick and easy to use.

True. I have never had a car with Lexan in it before. The car has a Lexan rear window. Thanks for the heads up. I am still looking for any way to secure the top and front edge of the temporary window. I have a set of window channels that I am considering cutting to fit the top and front edge of the window opening. Just trying to figure out the best way to attach it to the weather strip lip on the car.

Cool, thanks!!

I picked up a sheet of Lexan last night. Where do you get locks like that? They look like the ones you would see used on store display cases.

Ok, that's great to hear. I did a quick test with a jig saw on the lexiglass and it did not fair well at all. It broke easily and got too hot very quickly. Lexan sounds like the way to go. Thanks!

Here is what the window opening looks like. I installed a 1/4" aluminum channel on the top of the door. I had the plexiglass slid into that and attached to the weather strip lip at the top. I made it long enough that it would lay on top of the quarter window piece. Any and all ideas are welcome. Thanks, Marty

So how do you cut Lexan?

I was going to post a picture of the current set up, but I don't have it on this computer. The car has only fiberglass shell doors and no window tracks. I made a track at the top of the door with some 1/4" aluminum channel pieces. I just need to come up with a better material and a way to secure it at the top and front.

Does anyone have suggestions for how to make temporary windows for a race car? I just need something that will install and unistall easily. It doesn't need to be watertight, but should be able to keep out 90% of the water in the event that the weather turns bad on the way to/from the track. I fabbed up some plexi-glass ones a couple of weeks ago. They were a real PITA to cut. I then drilled a couple of holes on the weather strip edge at the roof line and screwed it into there. That was not exactly an easy install/uninstall. One of them blew out on the way to the track and broke it in two. The other side worked ok, but something fell on it and broke it. I am back to square one on this. I appreciate any suggestions you may have. TIA, Marty

Thanks for the suggestion. I am not re-installing the headliner, because this is a race car. I need to clean up the roof to paint it.

Hi Guys, When I got my latest Z, the PO had removed the headliner and left a lot of glue and foam residue on the roof. What's the best way to remove it easily? I figure somebody out there has done it, so I am looking for the easiest and least time consuming way to do this. Thanks, Marty