John Coffey

Pushrod length, pushrod length, pushrod length! You need to shorten the pushrod that sticks out of the booster because its not letting the piston in the MC retract far enough. Take the MC off and shorten the pushrod by one or two turns, being careful not to pull it out of the booster and causing the reaction disk to fall out.

Maybe a dumb question, do you have the brake lines reversed? A some point (Z to ZX?) they switched the front and rear ports on the Z MC.

http://www.jmsracing.com/ They've built two for me. JMS also did (and still does) a lot of the machine work for JG/Edelbrock - the old JG Engine Dynamics. (626) 357-2718

I really wasn't trying to make a point, just pasing on comments from a "player" in Barrett-Jackson world. My own personal opinion is that 240Zs will be worth more to buyers in Japan then to buyers in the US. Probably that "pride of origin" thing. But, that's just an opinion and not based on any facts.

I have a friend who buys and sells cars at the Barrett-Jackson auctions every year. He's even had a couple appear on TV and typically won't look at cars that are under 6 figures. Right now he has: 1. 1967 L89 Corvette with all options (including the knockoff aluminum turbine wheels). 2. 1957 Bel Air Chevy 283 FI - all original. 3. 1964 Ford Thunderbolt 427 Hi-Riser with a 1965 NHRA Championship to its credit. He has a big soft spot for 240Zs and is always coming over to my shop to see what I'm currently working on. I've talked with him often about the values of these cars and why they are worth what they are worth. The issues he brings up: 1. There are still a whole lot of 240Zs out there. 2. They are Japanese cars. 3. There were no "special" models or "performance" versions of the 240Z that would differentiate one from another (at least as sold in the US). 4. The people who grew up loving these cars are only now getting to the point in their lives where they have enough disposable income to spend on a toy. 4. There's no "Gold" standard of judging (comparable to what Mustang, Ferrari, Corvette, marques have) that can be used as a standard to measure one 240Z to another. But the main issue is: It costs $40K and up to resore ANY car to a presentable level. The kind of car collectors/investors who spend this kind of money regularly are going to spend it on cars that can fetch 6 figures so they can recoup their restoration costs. Regardless of a person's affection for a particular marque, spending $40K on a car that's worth $20K is a hard sell to yourself, your wife, your accoutant, etc. My friend says that as soon as a 240Z sells PUBLICALLY for $50K, you'll see a groundswell of interest in the marque.

Hawk HP Plus are fine. Completely change your brake fluid to something like Motul 600, ATE Super Blue, Castrol SRF, or something similar (Ford HD is probably not good enough until you learn how to brake correctly). Be sure to follow Hawk's instructions and bed the pads BEFORE the track event. After bedding put at least 100 miles on the brakes before going to the track event. Adjust the rear drums so there is a slight drag as you spin the rear wheel. Plan on checking and adjusting the drums after each track session (pulling on the e-brake isn't enough.) Also plan on bleeding the brakes at least once during your track day after you've cooked them in a session. Bring bleeder bottles, 10mm brake wrench, jack, jackstands, etc.

Air ducting to solid rotors is more complex then ducting to vented rotors. With vented rotors you just get the air to the center hub area and the internal rotor vanes pull the air out through the rotor itself, cooling both friction surfaces about the same. With solid rotors ducted air needs to be directed to both sides of the rotor to cool the friction surfaces evenly. If air is directed just to the inside friction surface the rotor will eventually cup and the brakes pads will wear unevenly, with the inner brake pad wearing out first. Plus, you'll have a lot of pulsing in the brake pedal and the car will probably pull to one side under braking. A special can must be fabricated that takes half the air from the duct and routes it over the edge of the rotor to the ouside friction surface. In lieu of this, point the brake duct at the caliper and install one of Demers' fade stop brake coolers.

I don't think the top side of the strut casting presents a square surface for a nut or bolt to bear against. In addition to boring the hole you would have to machine the top of the casting flange to be square to the bottom. Sounds like a lot more work then is necessary. I would: 1. Source a replacement strut and throw the damaged one away. 2. Bore the hole slightly oversize and tap for the next larger metric or SAE bolt. I think those bolts are M12s so you could bore to .475 or .4844 and tap for a 1/2 bolt. If they are M10s you could bore to .4062 and tap for a 7/16bolt.

The "best" for what? Road racing Autocross Ralley Drag racing Drifting Street driving I sell some of the "best" for road racing. A complete Penske 8760 triple adjustable, remote resivior strut kit with EMI Racing camber plates, 2.25" OD Hypercoil springs, Hyperco helper springs, threaded collars, etc. for $10,000.00 That is arguably the best that has ever been installed on a 240Z here in the USA. Some of the other "bests" that I sell are here: http://www.betamotorsports.com/products/240StrutKit.html

BTW... I have a set of 50mm (2") SUs that I'm thinking aobut selling, if anyone's interested. Watch eBay next week.

SCCA EP 240Zs run the OEM SUs on a 2.4L engine and make around 250 horsepower at the crank. The EP racers run SUs because the rules require them (the 240Z is a limited prep EP car). If allowed most would run triples and would probably be able to get 25 more horsepower out of the same engine, depending on the chokes allowed. Conversly, putting triples on a stock engine probably won't get you much.

The Tokico Illumina shocks typically used on a 240Z application are: BZ3015 - 240Z front. BZ3016 - 240Z rear (which is the BZ3015 shock with a 2" spacer attached at the bottom). BZ3099 - Toyota MR2 rear. For a nearly stock ride height car (stock length struts) the BZ3015 and BZ3016s are fine. For a car lowered 2" or more the struts need to be shortened and the BZ3099 is used on front and the BZ3015 is used in the rear struts. Per the Tokico engineers and my experience, the Tokico Illumina rebound control is limited to about 250 lb. in. spring rates. Anything over those rates and the rebound valving tends to go open and not control the springs as well as it should. Another negative for racing purposes is that the Tokico Illumina adjustment affects both compression and rebound. That is typical of a street performance shock where drivers want to feel things get stiffer without resorting to stiffer springs. Its not as good for a racer who is looking for compliance in compression because the racer is already running stiff springs. The combination of stiff springs and stiff compression damping makes for a car that doesn't handle as well as it should. IMHO, Illuminas are fine for a street car with spring rates up to about 200-225 lb. in. (I run a set on my street 240Z) but once you go beyond those rates a properly valved Bilstein, Koni single adjustable, or something more exotic will make the car handle much better.

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=109462

Suspension Techniques kit # 52095 - 25mm front and 19mm rear with the rear ARB mounted behind the diff (better position). Summit Racing is probably the cheapest source for this kit. The only negative is that the latest set I ordered came with lime green powder coated bars. Ick!

SCCA does not have anything called a "high speed license." Maybe the race track itself or some other sanctioning body is using that term. SCCA has four levels of driver licensing: 1. Novice 2. Regional 3. National 4. Pro SCCA also issues logbooks and technical approvals for vehicles that race with them. The log book goes with the car, the license goes with the driver.

As always, the answer is: "It depends..." Which Koni shocks? If you are going with the racing Koni 8610-1437 or 8611-1259 then you should shorten the struts (although you don't have to).

Mopar Rust Penetrant part # 04318039AB.

Hah! You've obviously never seen me on an autocross course! I've gone through the finish backwards and that run was only .006 slower then my previous fastest run of the day.

R180 open diff, stub axles, no oil - 57lbs. R180 Nissan Comp LSD, stub axles, no oil - 65 lbs. R180 Quaiffe, stib axles, no oil - 67 lbs. R200 open diff, stub axles, no oil - 77 lbs. R200 Nissan Comp LSD, stub axles, no oil - 86 lbs.

I was going to bid but the thought of spending $400 on fuel and 16 hours of driving to pick this car up convinced me otherwise. It would probably be a $1,000 parts car once I got it back to the shop. I bet it sells for about $425.

I've traded some e-mails with the seller. The car was his dad's (who died recently) and is being sold as part of the liquidation of the estate. There is no paperwork (title, registration, anything) to be found on the car. Supposedly the car has spent its life in the Phoenix area so it might be fairly rust free but the interior and all rubber items are shot. The seller won't provide any more pictures of the car then what are on the eBay auction.

Shut up!

I don't know when the episode will air, maybe in 2 months time.

For those that haven't seen the PINKS! show, yes if you lose, you lose the car. Its gone. The folks that have invested $26 in the raffle have lost their $26. The sponsors (like me) who have invested more have lost their investment. The car builders, who have by far invested the most, lose the car and their 6 weeks of hard work and have to drive 18 hours back to Houston with an empty trailer behind their truck. Its a big gamble and if you're not comfortable gambling $26, please don't do it.

$26 Don't know. Turbo.