2ManyZs

N42 on an L-24 works fine. In fact, someone before me put one on the 71 I have. Don't know what happened to the original E-31 but luckily I can change it back if I decide to. The one drawback (supposedly) of the N-42 is the bronze valve seats that tend to drop as they age. Of course, a new set of seats is a lot cheaper than doing the earlier heads with larger valves if you don't have a good one sitting on a shelf somewhere..

Since you need to use an amber bulb, most states should let it slide, but ya never know till you try. VA won't let you have clear headlight covers on a Z, yet don't almost all the new cars have a clear lens over their headlights? :stupid: :devious:

Glad to see we can now become famous, since many of us are infamous for one thing or another.

Here's the link to the 2003 convention site. http://www.zccne.addr.com/Convention_2003/index.htm Yes, Rolf, I saw the pics. I'd rather we took a ride together on the Autobahn someday instead of only looking at pictures though..

One other thing to look at, make sure the splines on the transmission input shaft aren't caked with old grease and clutch dust. I've seen them caked so badly that the crud would make it difficult for the splines to slip through the clutch disc........

As far as I know, the 2004 Convention is going to be in Los Angeles. Not sure which clubs are hosting, but I think there is talk of making it coincide with the MSA show. Haven't heard a final date yet.

Sorry, but if you want new lenses, you're gonna have to spend the $150 a set. 8 months ago they were about $100 a set, and the price will keep going up. If you want them, you might better get them now, before the price goes up again. Too Intense has them in stock and you won't find a better price on new in-the-box lenses. Your only other hope is to find them used, but even they will be kinda pricey as people are going to try to profit as much as they can on them....

If it isn't sliding into place, using longer bolts to force it could only end up busting the bellhousing. Try lining up the clutch disc again. Have you go the rear of the engine on a block so it won't move around while you are trying to align the trans? If the engine is moving at all, it could be why it is hanging up. Try putting a little grease into the splines on the input shaft where it goes through the clutch disc. If all else fails, check the pilot bushing to see if it has a nick in it, sometimes you can do that while trying to line everything up. Patience goes a long way, the old "if it doesn't fit, force it" will only cause you more problems. I've had it take two of us, over an hour to get a trans in, just because the clutch disc was just a little bit out of alignment. It doesn't take much for it to cause the input shaft to not align with the pilot bearing, so just loosen up the clutch cover and try it again....

:stupid: Uh, I was under the assumption that the top was being shaved as well, that is why he was asking about the shims being used. The shims could be used either way if I'm thinking correctly, which I might not be.....I'll have to think about that idea some more, lest I stick my foot in my mouth.... When you mill the top of the head you have to shim the towers to maintain the correct cam to rocker geometry so that the rockers stay in contact with the center of the valve. The pivot of the rocker will move the tip around on the top of the valve relative to the length of the rocker adjuster. That would be a simple matter of geometry. When the bottom of the head is milled for straightening or compression change, you change the distance between the centers of the driven gears, and the more the tensioner has to move to correct the slack in the chain, the more retarded the cam becomes as the chain has effectively gotten longer. Then it is a simple matter of advancing the cam sprocket to correct the cam timing. Of course, this also applies of the top of the block has been milled as well. As a side note, no more than .008in or .2mm combined is the general rule of thumb for milling the head and/or block.

The pic Zlish posted is a 350Z I would actually be waiting in line to see and/or buy.... I like the Mustang's front view and rear view, but looking at kmacks pic, I'm not so sure I like the high beltline on the car that well. The window opening is just out of scale with the rest of the car. The fender flares are large, as are the wheels(maybe a bit too large) and then you try to look inside and all you have is a tiny little window opening... One of the biggest downfalls of the Fox body cars has been its upright, tall greenhouse, while this one may have gone a little too far in the "downsizing". Kind of reminds me of an early Z, the window opening looks to be just about even with most drivers shoulder.... Still a lot better car than any of the Fox body cars, that's for sure. The front reminds me of the Shelby GT-500 in a way, while the hood has an Aston Martin look to it. If I had a choice between one of these and a 350 as the grand prize in a sweepstakes? Hate to say it, but Ford would win.... and I've only owned one Ford out of all the cars I've owned.

The bike reference brings up a good point, but you have to take into consideration that the centers of the drive gears doesn't change like it does when you shave the head. Now, the deraileur does keep the same tension on the chain, but the chain only goes from one sprocket to a different sized one, yet the distance between the center of the gear cluster on the rear wheel doesn't change in relation to the center of the drive gear. When you mill the head, the distance between the centers of the drive gears will change, thus the gearing which is set for only one ratio (center to center)will not change no matter what you do to the chain via the tensioner. If you could change the diameter of one of the drive gears the point would be moot, as the chain effectively gets longer the more the tensioner has to move to restore the correct tension. I doubt that explains it the way it should be in technical terms.. but if you think about it, it might make a little sense......or maybe not:ermm:

Good question.... hmm, got me thinking on that one.:stupid: It should be fairly close but remember, when using a different thickness gasket you are only changing the combustion chamber volume. If you mill the head, you will most likely change the quench area and shape of the combustion chamber along with the volume of the combustion chamber. Of course, piston selection and overbore also enter into the the final numbers as well as piston deck height. BTW, milling the head might be a cheaper way to go if you are going to have machine work done to the head, as those gaskets are over 100 bucks a piece last time I looked.... Also, don't forget to shim the cam towers when milling the head or you'll end up changing the cam timing. Might be a good idea to ask these questions of a better engine person than I when you decide on exactly which parts you are going to use. I'm just a "shade-tree" engine man at best.....

Hmmm, uh guys? We are talking about two completely different countries here. US has had them for as long as I can remember, but Australia might have had different laws concerning Hazard lights....

Do a forum search and you should find a few answers to removing the wheel lugs. MSA might be able to help you with the locks, they had a kit that included all the locks that are keyed the same. It is sometimes unavailable, so e-mail or call them to see if they have it in stock. IIRC it is about 200 bucks for the complete set... not cheap, but better than no locks or locks with a bunch of different keys.....

Unfortunately sandblasting is going to be the easy part of the job. The dog leg is completely gone as is the inner fender panel that seals the dog leg area to the open end of the rocker panel.:sick: Floor looks to have a good bit of rust as well, and that hole in the roof looks scary as well. The floor and rocker panel will be fairly easy to repair as repair panels are available as well as the inner fender panel to repair the dog leg. The hole in the roof is going to be the most difficult as it looks like the rust has come from under the windshield gasket and I wouldn't be surprised if after taking the windshield out, you are going to find even more rust. This is going to be one very dificult area to fix as it is where the roof panel meets the windshield header....It is going to take a lot of welding and filling to make get this right and have it look right and not leak water into the interior..... With the damage shown, I would be surprised if there aren't other rusted out areas that haven't been found yet.:disappoin

Now THIS is how you design a new car with a bit of retro styling and make it an attractive car! Guess it might be time for Nissan to start thinking about hiring a couple designers from Ford. This is the best looking Mustang in nearly 30 years if it goes into production. Hopefully they did as good a job on the interior as they did the exterior, which has been one of the biggest downfalls of the Mustang since the 80's. Too bad Nissan could meld the old with the new in the 350Z the way they did with this car.

I've seen more than one race car with a patch welded into the sunroof opening. Some look like hell, and a few were done so well, you couldn't tell until you looked inside and saw the inside that wasn't finished. It all depends on who does the welding. I'd check with some specialty resto shops, they usually attract the best welders and body men. It would be worth the extra money to save the aggravation of a crappy job.

Have you tried a little WD-40 around the plug? In pic one, it looks like you have to gently pry in the tabs that lock it into place, then try rocking it a little to loosen it up. Looks like they are just a push in locking tab by the looks of it in the pic. Got one of those pocket straight screwdrivers you could use to push in on the tabs to unlock it? Or maybe the end of a test light?

If you do a search here on this site you should be able to find out all the problem areas for rust on a Z car to look for. As far as prices, it all depends on where you are, your in luck if you live on the west coast where the majority of good Z's still exist....:tapemouth

It could possibly read below normal or above normal, it all depends on what happened to the regulator. I'd rather it be low than to be overcharging and possibly blow the battery... Then again, it could be just a wiring problem going to the amp gauge, like a bad ground somewhere.....

Here's the thread with the engine calculator http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1292

Yes, they have a "targa" exhaust in the catalog, that would be fairly good with the stock manifold. Plus, it does have the resonator so it shouldn't be too loud. $139.95 For $149.95 you could get the "turbo" 2 1/2 inch exhaust to use with the stock manifold. Guess it is up to you, or you could find a quality exhaust shop that might be able to make up one for less or about the same amount.

I think a complete roof transplant would be best left to the pro's with the equipment to do the job right. Not that I doubt your abilities, but without the roof the complete unibody is going to lose all it structural integrity. Not too mention the problems associated with re-aligning the roof panel with the drip rail, windshield header, and hatch header when you go to re-weld it in place.... It would be a tough job to say the least. All the hidden spot welds around the windshield and the hatch header panel? UGH! I think the best approach would be to use the old roof to create just a patch panel for the cut out area of the sunroof and butt weld it in. With a little work, it could be done so that it would be hard to spot. Lay the old roof over the existing one, and cut out your patch by tracing it onto the old one from inside, and leave a bit extra when you cut it out so you have something to work with. By tracing it out, you would be able to have the proper curve in the patch to match up with your existing roof. I know that this would be one job I wouldn't attempt, especially on a car as nice as the one you are working on.

Stock exhaust is oK if you don't plan on any future upgrades to the engine. If you plan on a header or any other upgrades to the engine, go with their 2 1/2 inch "turbo" exhaust. If you buy a header, it's probably best to go all out and get one with the ceramic coating, as it will prevent rust and even help cut down in the heat under the hood.

IF you can get the pistons out with no trouble, rebuilding it with a kit is possible. One of the members tried it (hmsports) and could not get the piston removed and gave up and used a lter master and swapped the lines. There are actualy two pistons in the master and the main piston could be the problem...... Give it a shot, and if it won't come out, at least you know where to get a new master at a good price:classic: