John Coffey

Two tone paint job: $4,000 to $6,500. Used seats (Miata): $250 a pair plus $250 to install. Tires (good new ones): $425 installed. Front end alignment and steering wheel centering: $65 assuming NO parts need to be replaced. Replace back louvers: $125. Good luck.

Wow! I had no idea Mike had passed away.

Its official, Porsche 356 number 289 won the Historic A class at this year's La Carrerra. Second year in a row.

Starting grid in Guadalajara.

I've been a Rush fan since 2112. Went to the 2112 and Moving Picture tour shows. For some reason they didn't get much respect from the rock and roll media until the last few years. Its about time.

There's the whole hydraulics thing...

Maybe, but he's got some pics from the 2009 race mixed in.

My friend, John Benton (mentioned above) performing a midnight service on his customer's 356 in Puebla. This is typical of the race - up at 5:00am getting the car ready for grid, follow the race car in the transporter all day, work on the car in the paddock until mid-night, repeat for 11 days. He's also learned a new phrase: No me mates, yo sólo soy el mecánico!

The teams are well escorted and the locals are 100% behind this event. Its rumored that some of the supposed drug kingpins are owners/drivers.

Benton Performance, a Porsche shop across from mine, is supporting a customer team running a 356 (last year's class champion). They are posting lots of pictures on Facebook and here's a shot of one of the 510s running:

I guess I do this enough (weekly) that its not a big deal. Spending $1K on a complete rear suspension/diff rebuild is normal and cheap for these cars. Thank your stars you're not working on the rear end of an XKE Jag.

If this thread was on HybridZ I would have shedded it by now...

The master cylinders are basically in the stock location (they may be reversed depending on the pedal setup) and there's a hose running from the MC fluid inlet to the remote reservoirs.

Watching the brake MCs in John's car made me think that running some baffles in the reservoirs might be a good idea.

A CLSD should have both wheels spin in the same direction. But spinning wheels is not the correct way to check for any LSD. You must remove the rear cover and look inside.

You don't need a high temp silicone for a radiator mount. And if the radiator is too close to the fan you can carefully bend the mounting flange to move the radiator closer to the core support. This isn't rocket science.

Lord Mount (Vibration Damping Mount). http://www.mcmaster.com part number 9376K221 Rubber.

The engine number is irrelevant as far as the DMV is concerned. Focus on getting the VIN numbers right and it appears that the one stamped in the firewall is the correct one. Your big problem will be getting the strut tower plate, dash plate, and door jamb plate to match what's on the firewall. I don't know how that can be done legally without those specific original parts in hand. I don't know about NH, but in CA your car will have to be physically inspected by the DMV to make sure all the VIN numbers on the car are correct and in the right place before a corrected title can be issued. And here in CA the title inspectors know their stuff and have books showing where the VIN numbers should be and pictures of what the number should look like (font, positioning, plate style, etc.)

That is not true. I've measured probably 3 dozen 240/260/280Z halfshafts, Tony D has measured some known 280Z halfshafts for me, and a number of local 510 and 240Z racers have used 280Z halfshafts interchangeably on their racing cars. No one has measured any difference in halfshaft comrpessed/extended lengths between the various model cars.

Actually, that car as titled and VIN stamped is illegal in every state. You need to correct this before the car gets impounded as part of a normal traffic stop. And don't be surprised if one of the VIN numbers your dealing with comes with a lot of back DMV fees, has a salvage title, or is a stolen car.

If they are a four bolt inner flange style and your diff has the four bolt flange side axles then yes they will bolt in. Unfortunately, diffs get swapped on these cars over the years and there is a R180 style halfshaft with a splined shaft and a center bolt that was used over the years. You really can't rely on what was "stock" on these cars 40 years ago because owners and mechanics do crazy things.

Traded texts with Toby. Intermittent rain with wet and drying patches on course. When you ran (down to the minute) was critical to a good time.

Yup. Congratulations John! The autocross God pulled one out again. I'll call Toby later today and find out what happened. Hopefully nothing I did on Toby's car broke... :-(

4th heat is still running. XP is running right now and FP has their last runs to do. EDIT: Hope you didn't curse JT. :-)

No third run posted yet. Are they done with only 2 runs today?