gnosez

Tomorrow would be a great day to bring out your Z and come up to A&C Imports in Bedford, NH for the ZCCNE annual spring charity inspection event. The cost is $35. For more info go to: www.zccne.org

I wonder if he did any research at all as the upper speed limit in an S30 body seems to be well south of the 200 mph mark. I'll keep an eye out for reports of high speed crashes in his area.

As I understand it, the BSR/Newman 280ZXTT and the Tom Cruise 300ZX SCCA cars will not be going down to the Mitty as originally planned. They will however be going to the ZCON 2010 convention in Nashville and it's possible the ZXTT will do a few laps on the track.

If all goes well I fly home on the 23rd but my street Z still needs work so I'll likely bring this instead... Hope to see you there.

Good question, but where on these routes are you driving? You can also post on the NE website to see if anyone has seen your Z. Try: www.zccne.org There is a club charity inspection event on Saturday the 24th at A&C Imports in Bedford, NH if you want to meet up with local Z owners. I believe they have over 60 members with more than half driving S30 bodied Zs.

Not that I would recommend this, but unless the car was stolen, a dash and door VIN tag moved to a different shell wouldn't likely raise any alarm bells. Proceed at your own risk....

Aah! Now we have the necessary information to offer you better advise (re: since I'm a college student). Get it running, keep it running, then after you do the other basic items such as brakes and suspension you can upgrade the power and drive train.

Aah! Now we have the necessary information to offer you better advise (re: since I'm a college student). Get it running, keep it running, then after you do the other basic items such as brakes and suspension you can upgrade the power and drive train.

What can be done depends on the size of your wallet. S30 bodied cars (1970-1978) can be run with everything from bone stock engines to LS, Grand Nationals, Skyline RB, Titan truck, GM/Ford crate motors, or in other words anything you can stuff in the engine bay. Body re-enforcement is a good thing to consider and there a number of ways to do so. Better brakes and an upgraded or refreshed suspension should also be on the list. The NA engine in my 240 puts out 255rwhp but a turbo and some more money would bump that to well over 300. An LS1 or RB single or twin turbo could get you 400-800rwhp. Want to see what can be done? Go over to: www.hybridz.org and join the dark side.....

Consider getting the Thermo-Tec 11620 (they make other sizes) as a good way to reduce exhaust heat under your feet and butt. Very, very easy to install and a good price.

...then come out and play at the convention! We're coming down from New England with our "club" car and while it's not the fastest 240 it is a lot of fun. Plus it has a custom dual throttle body intake manifold set-up run off megasquirt that makes it a bit different. Pete (Z-Ya) and I (gnosez) will be there along with another 6-10 more ZCCNE members. Whether you have a daily driver or a full race car a track experience is well worth the time and effort to get your car ready for this event. In fact just looking in your mirror and seeing another Z hanging off your bumper is worth every penny....

MSA does. Don't know if there is a price difference but Charlie ships his stuff all over the world.

Okay, maybe I'm not understanding this correctly but there are a few stand-offs on the top of the inner wheel frame that had some sort of foam used to pad the frame from the fender. I used a section of 3/8 rubber cut to the correct size and glued them on. Then of course there is the inner fender/frame seal (NLA I believe) at the top, that weatherstripping can be used in a pinch.

First, as part of the safety and inspection procedures, you should not be running with anything in your Z (remove all carpets, tools, spare tire etc.). Second does your Z have a rear sway bar and/or adjustable shocks? If yes, then soften the rear shocks or remove the sway bar end links. You can also lower your tire pressures. Most Zs want to swing out but they do so less when driven slower (slow in-fast out). As to a full tank of gas, now you're not only adding more weight to the rear of the car but you will likely be flagged for a fuel leak.....

First go over to hybridz.org and look under their "brakes, wheels and suspension" forum. There is a very large "sticky" on brakes which you should read before deciding what to do next. In deciding you need to consider what you be using your Z for. My 240 has the Wilwood fronts and the 240sx rear disks with a prop valve (OEM valve gutted) and race pads in the rear. It has a 280 booster w/a 15/16 master. It stops the 2400 lb car very well and the e-brake is operational. Even the prop valve and the rear race pads can not direct enough braking effort to the rear wheels. The fronts are just over powering and if I had to do it all over again I'd likely go with the Z31 front calipers/rotors with the 240sx disks. We run a 240 on the track and have the Z31 front set-up and the original rear drums with Porterfield shoes. The shoes are at least 3 yrs old and they look like they could go for another 3 yrs. The kit being sold (say it goes for $100.) will also need the following: 1) rotors -$100. 2) calipers - $100. 3) pads - $40. 4) SS brake hoses - $120 (if you don't already have them) 5) misc brake lines - $35. 6) optional booster - $150. 7) optional MC - $120. 8) optional front brake upgrade ($150-$800)

Jon got a very good deal if all he paid was $150. I've seen them go for as much as $300.

Welded on. You can see them at: www.baddogparts.com

When I did my restoration back in '03 I found that my larger front sway bar was bending the frame rail and so along with the other parts we started making (frame rails, seat brackets, single point jack plates) we bend up a simple 90 with holes punched to match the frame rails. We sell them shipped to anywhere in the lower 48 for $30.

If I understood 26th's post correctly he was saying that it's not the number but the quality of one's posts.

Black Dragon sells ones for 280s for $100. and I'm pretty sure you can still get one from Nissan directly. I have the $139.95 280ZX version in my 240 (15/16) but you need to get the correct size for your car or application. Save money on other things. Spend what is needed on everything that controls the steering and brakes.

Sorry, I've been a tad busy with rain damage and getting the race car ready to reply to the issue of the # of cones on an AX course. While 350 yds long is a goodly distance there is no reason other than poor driving skills to warrant that many cones. The designer has made the layout into a road course and all that was needed was to either paint lines down the middle or add curbs to each side. I take my course direction from Peter Johnson (National Solo course designer and author of design manual) who was kind enough to spend time with me a few years ago. He is all about removing superfluous cones or as he says "sea of cones". The course shown would fit that description to a T. On similar courses (size-wise) we run 2/3rd fewer cones and on larger courses, old airfield with distances exceeding 2000 yds, we use just a dozen more cones than the smaller courses.

If you left the pulley on that hi-wattage unit it might do that since it could be narrower. Instead you can use the pulley from a 40amp unit so that you could use the same belt. I have been for 7 yrs with a 1-wire GM 105amp unit. I change the belt every few yrs just as a matter of preventive maintenance. Hadn't thought about misalignment. Good point.

Way, way, way too many cones but then again it was a Porsche event so I guess they didn't want anyone going off course and getting lost. Only reason one eats fans belts is because they are too loose or too tight. My 3.2L Rebello has yet to eat a belt over the past 9 yrs and I would never be mistaken for a timid driver.

Nice car to bring to the Z convention in Nashville this summer (www.zcon2010.com). I'm sure lots of folks would be very interested in looking it over. You'd enjoy the people and the cars.

Once you find a car have someone else look it over for you, even if that means contacting a local Z club or repair shop that the club recommends.