Zedyone_kenobi

I ran several sets of RT-615's for autocrossing, and was hoping to get some for the Z, but alas, my size is not available. I may be able to get some if I go to 14" or 16" though..

I NEVER drive my car in the rain if I can help it. Its a fun weekend car. I have now fixed it up to the point where all my mechanicals I believe are up to autocross, and light track day duty. However, the sidewalls of my G019's flex so much in turns that the steering response is not always in phase with the body of the car. I have grown accustomed to the car doing what the wheel tells it to do. I had some summer tires on there, that were extremely old. I took them off for safety reasons. But trying to find summer tires was near impossible in a 195/60/15. A 205/60/15 rubbed on my front body work, so it had to go. I know ES100's are available but my local tire shop would have to special order them. If I could get a competition tire I would. I do not need wet weather traction at all, Certainly an all season is not the perfect fit, but it will do. Since I only drive about 700 miles a year, I could get away with come DOT street legal race tires, but trying to find them in the right size is nuts. So, having said all that, the RE960AS seems to get great reviews from all the car forums, as an all season tire with near summer tire response. Sounds like the ticket. Also, the 960AS gets great reviews for ride comfort. Since my car is primarily a street car, the refinement of a softer tire was a welcome change in my G019's, and its good to know the 960AS gets better reviews for that. THe Z likes those softer tires, as it creaks and moans a bit less than with those rock had 10 year old summer tires I use to have. I will report back on how I like the 960AS's. I get them installed on the 15th. To answer your question WING, sidewall response to me is defined as how much the rim can move axially in the tire. Imagine the car parked. Get out and push on the fender. The tires do not move but the rim goes back and forth inside the tire. This leads to very slow steering response and a more numb feeling. Good summer tires usually have reinforced sidewalls that respond immediately to steering inputs. Less flex, means less delay and quicker transitions.

going from a set of Bridgestone Potenza G019 Grips, to a set of Bridgestone 960AS pole positions. The tire place local to me said they would do the swap for the price of mounting and balacing. I am pretty happy with that. I was just never happy with the side wall response of the Grips. I am hoping an ultra high performance tire is better than a high performance tire.. HAHA. anybody online run the Potenza 960AS tires?

Hey Texi300, welcome to Houston! We started a classic Z get together a few weeks ago in Houston. Had a great turnout... Shoot me your email address and I can get you a copy of the member names and numbers of all the classic Z guys in this area. The purpose is to ask others questions, compare notes, check for spare parts, etc. Here is a link to the pics Dis referred to.. http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdamico/sets/72157623149004415/

OH yeah, thats what I am talking about!!!!

I am assuming he is putting a steel liner in the aluminum drums. I would like to know the process involved with this. How do they account for the differential expansion, is it an interference fit, and if so, how does that effect the residual stresses in the drum. Lots of questions... but I would want a set once mine are worn out.

Sounds like your getting closer to reality my young friend. Go to AMazon and buy the how to restore your Z car, as well as how to build your L series engine. You cannot hot rod anything until you understand the physics behind how the engine works in this particular car. Get to know every single part.. which oil pump do you have, which distributor. Does it have points, or has it been converted. What is your compression, what head do you have. Does it need new plugs, wired, cap/rotor. I love your enthusiasm, never lose it. But many have given you great advice. We want to hear more from you, and your adventures. But I am going to call your bluff. haha. You do not ask people here where you can get a twin turbo kit, and then tell us its for 30 years down the road... gotcha! I do not know anybody who knows what they will be doing 30 years from now. You may be married to a wonderful woman, and have 6 kids.. Keep the Z stock, and go over every nut and bolt. As said before, you will have much greater joy in great condition daily driver Z car, than an ultra sensitive thrown together turbo thingy.

I love those wheels!

Welcome, and look twice, buy once... have a look for the rust monster...

Slow down ace.. You are a junior in high school. First is go through the entire car and make sure the brakes are good, and all the electrical is straight. Then make sure you have good rubber on the road. Are all the bushings in good shape, are the fuel lines in great shape. I was a junior in high school once too and I ate, slept, and drank cars. So I know where your mind is. I know you see yourself in totally 'redone' Z with twin turbos cruising your town. But the journey there is not quick nor is it cheap. Some people will say 'yeah baby, twin turbo it'. I am not going to do that, instead I am going to do you a favor. You will be in college soon, what you need is a reliable car to get you through. NO 35+ year old car is in perfect mechanical order when you first get it. Spend some time learning the systems of the car. Fix anything you find out of whack. I know bearings and bushing, and fuses, and wiring is not as sexy as turbos, but they MUST be done... you have to walk before you can run. I know you love the idea of it, but you said you have limited mechanical skills. I would wager that by the time you fix the rest of the car, you goals and aspirations will settle down as well. A well tuned L28 is a great engine for a 240Z. Twin turbos, as flashy as they sound, are a totally custom setup, (read that as crazy expensive). Putting carbs on it was a step in the wrong direction for a turbo setup. I know you see what you want in your head, but I am asking you to calm down and look what is in front of you. If you spend the time to ensure all the items in the car are up to the challenge of more HP, then you will have a great car for the rest of your life.

I was under the impression the 2000GT came out in 1968ish time frame...

Welcome to TEXAS! Great to have another collection of Zs in Northern Old Mexico.

Without a doubt my favorite time in American road racing.. THANKS SO much for these pics. Wonderful amount of history that produced the creme of the crop in American driving talent still to this day.

S60 R looks really stable. Love that AWD. Z looked really good. I am heading to my first real track day with my Z next month...

I am a long time autocrosser and Tire rack supporter. However, a new local tire shop, A Firestone opened up near me. So I brought the Z in for a new set of shoes, since mine were over 10 years old, and I just do not trust them. I installed a set of Bridgestone G019 grips. Not bad by any means, but not nearly sporty enough for my tastes. After talking with the owner he agreed to let me return them for something more sporty that would fit. All I have to pay is mounting and balancing (35 bucks). I cannot tell you how thrilled I am with the ability to talk and negotiate a deal that makes me happy. Its a little strange to get that kind of customer service. Tire rack may be 10% cheaper, (in my case it was a dead heat), but the service after the sale CAN ONLY be accomplished by a local shop. I will be outfitting all three of my vehicles this year with new tires, and I will give this place my business for all of them. What you say is true Arne, you should establish a good relationship with your tire shop, just like you would your butcher, your mailman, or your doctor. It pays dividends.

Those domes look a bit more polished than ZT's usual fare.

Getting back to brakes.. I finished my drum brake install yesterday. Painted the drums and lightly sanded inner bore of the drum where it fits over the hub. also applied some brake grease to that fitting to hopefully prevent galvanic corrosion due to the differing metals. I need to go test drive it when the darn rain lets up. I ordered a set of speed bleeders. I am just too nervous that the mityvac did not get all the air out. Speed bleeders are something I should have invested in a long time ago anyway. Next up are some hawk pads on the front calipers.

Well I just used the coolest tool... I picked up one of these... What a cool tool to use. Beats saying "PRESS", okay "LET UP", okay "PRESS".. Has anybody used one of these before? I have a couple of questions. I pulled the master cylinder down 3 times, and completely flushed the old dirty fluid out, but Never did get a solid stream of liquid from the rear drums. I still got MOSTLY air with a trickle of fluid from both sides of the rear drums. There is absolutely NO way I could have had that much air in the system and stop the car. I think when pulling a vacuum, I am also getting air in from around the nipple and around the threads. The good news is even if I am sucking in air from around the bleed nipple I cannot be introducing more air as long as I hold a vacuum. That is why I love this tool. It is almost impossible to mess up bleeding the brakes.

I was reading this again and noticed that it was mentioned you cannot turn the factory drums. I just had my aluminum drums turned, They came in at 9.015" and 9.005" when the allowable ID is 9.055" Should I be concerned. My car is currently used for only street driving, but I am taking it to a track day in March and want to start autocrossing it.

Just a note, before installing your hose over the nipple, make sure its clean. IF it is dirty or corroded a bit, then it will be hard for the hose to form a tight seal.

It is really to help warm up, I would not worry too much about it. After the car is warm, it makes no difference. But Arne gave you the history, its nothing more than a novelty in Cali.

yes, it does, by design every time you pull it, it moves a lever on the wheel cylinder and ensures the shoes stay in approximately the right position to function properly. You are right esmit208, but a full rear brake upgrade will cost about 800 bucks and while I still have life in my aluminum drums, I will use them. They measured 9.008 and 9.015". Max ID is 9.055, so even after turning, they are still within spec. The chances of me wearing down my rear drums again are close to zero in the limited fun driving I do, so if I feel I need more braking, I will probably go with the toyota 4x4 brake upgrade for the front. Or the front disk upgrade from MSA, which is essentially the same thing.

Rear drums are turned and ready to go back on. Both wheel cylinders look fairly new, so I cleaned them up, applied some lube to the adjustment wheel, and installed my new shoes. I just have to get the new drums measured to be sure they are within the 9.055" max allowable ID, as the parts store was not able to measure it :stupid: I was wondering what people would suggest to put between the aluminum drum and the steel hub to keep it from sticking due to corrosion. Anti seize comes to mind, as does some brake grease, any other suggestions. Paint would work right up until I actually put the drum on the hub when the close fit would scrape all the paint off. I should have this done by wednesday, as my mityvac brake bleeder kit comes in Tuesday. Then its by by old fluid, hello new.

Agreed, they are next. But I know I have plenty of pad on the front. I never knew about the drums..

THere is a trackday coming up in March, that is the ONLY reason I am swapping out all the pads and fluid. I just wanted to be absolutely sure all my stopping bits were in tip top shape. I still had quite a bit of shoe left on my rear brakes when I removed them, but they looked really shiney, also noticed that the car did not want to roll while in neutral. With the driver rear jacked up, and the car in neutral, with the E-brake off, the tire was still VERY hard to turn. I know some dragging of the shoe is normal, but I think I may have had something out of whack.