John Coffey

I just use a plasma cutter as my spring compressor.

My 3.0L stroker (same stroke as a 3.1, smaller bore) ran regularly to 7,500 and was hard redlined at 7,999. Sunbelt said if it hits 8,000 the warranty is done and the engine goes boom. The crank was an LD28 crank that was nitrided and lightened to 35 lbs, Carillo rods, JE forged pistons, and an ATI Super Damper. 25+ hours on the bottom end when I had it and the next purchaser is still running it as far as I know.

The red car has been for sale for a long time, appearing periodically on eBay.

There's always a little bit of confusion regarding California's 1975 and earlier smog rules. Its actually pretty simple: ALL cars in the state of California must comply, at a minimum, with the smog regulations in effect at the time of their manufacture. California performs a chassis dyno test and a visual inspection to verify compliance. The exemption for 1975 and earlier model years cars is for the bi-annual inspection and the transfer of title inspection ONLY. The car is still legally required to meet the smog regulations in effect at the time of manufacture. Any police officer or BAR regulatory employee can order a 1975 or earlier model year vehicle to get a smog inspection within 10 business days of the order. The exemption does not apply to this order, the subsequent inspection, the inspection results, and all remediation required to meet the regulations. Failure to comply with the inspection or perform the mandated remediation means revocation of the vehicle registration.

Its not a common problem. I've found two or three rear struts with this problem and I've probably fondled over 100 rear struts so far. It might also not be a manufacturing problem, more of a race use, bending problem. One of the struts with the mis-alignned spindle pin holes came off my 1970 race car and probably had 25,000 track miles on it between the PO and I. The problem was masked by offset rear LCA bushings. This would be a last thing to check if you're not able to get a good alignment.

Might as well make a full project and rebuild the rear suspension. 'Course, that will also lead to a full front suspension rebuild... :-) Bushings, shocks, ball joints, tie rod ends, spindle pins, Simple Green, lots of rags, grease, and paint can all be bought for under $600 complete and then its just a few hours each week of your time and a couple bloody knuckles. By summer, you'll be driving what will feel like a brand new car.

If you're asking these kinds of questions, you're probably not ready for this job. Air tools are always better then hand tools, but hand tools can get the job done just fine.

You put the shims where they need to be.. :-) What I've done is put Dychem on the ring gear and then run the starter for a couple compete turns of the flywheel. Then carefully look at the wipe pattern on the ring gear and adjust from there. Lots of trial and error.

Try shimming the starter to get a better alignment with the ring gear. Sometimes it only takes a few thousandths to get it right.

The hours involved to remove the LCAs, R&R all the bushings on the LCAs, and reinstall the parts (7 hours) is reasonable.

The poll questions are bizarre. What are you trying to accomplish with this?

(2) Correct. (3) Correct on the alignment. Put everything together loosely and then use a dead blow hammer/brass drift to get the rear caps and the front x-member positioned properly as you snug things down. Sometimes the rear caps get distorted from either over tightening or some years spent clamped on a bad bushing. A little work with a pipe, hammer, and some heat can correct the distortion.

Are you trying to put sleeves on your 280Z strut tubes?

Better aerodynamics, more weight. Slightly slower acceleration, better top speed.

http://www.summitracing.com http://www.jegs.com http://www.modern-motorsports.com

You need to spend a few hours and read this thread: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=138601

Do you mean the spacers that fit between the rear wheel bearings in the rear hub or do you mean wheel spaces that fit between the hub flange and the wheel?

Depending on the AZC rotor size you're using, they sometimes scrape on the outside edge of the front LCA. This occurs somewhat at random and on one customer car only occurred under braking. This caused a lot of vibration and instability until we ground down the end of the LCA.

Keep the tire diameter under 25". You'll be looking at a 215 to 225 width with a 35 profile.

The sleeves are not the same OD as the strut tubes. 240Z strut tubes are 2.005" OD and 260/280Z strut tubes are 2.15" OD. Typical threaded collars are 2.39" OD. Also, there's not enough wall thickness in the strut tube to accommodate the 70% thread you'll need for a custom spring perch. You can cut off the strut tubes and weld a threaded shock tube in its place, which is what I did when I ran Penskes on my 240Z.

I'm not disparaging Panasport wheels in any way. I like them and have run a few sets on street and track cars. They are good, strong wheels. What I'm trying to get across is that wheels, like any other component used on a race car on a race track, must be inspected regularly and no one should assume they will last forever. If you purchase used wheels they must be inspected carefully before putting any track time on them.

I'll be instructing at the driving school again and walking around the show.

Really? I've seen at least four Panasport Lightweights crack between the lug nut hole and the center hole. Another one had a spoke crack at the hub. All these were run on various ITS 240Zs here in Cal Club back in the 90's and 00's. Its something we used to check for every weekend.

I'm with Alan. Looks like a marine setup.

First I've ever heard of this failure. Probably a defective part. Carefully check the rest of the steering system to make sure this isn't a sign of a bigger problem somewhere.