Pop's Z

Global Kia parts seems like a good deal. I visited my local Nissan/Kia dealer today and it was $67 each 3-5 days to ship special order. Cheers, Mike ps tried to visit the website of globalkiaparts.com. Not having too much success. Very slow and gets "hung up". Maybe they're jammed with S30 owners.

Power window install tomorrow. Thanks, Dave for the inspiration. Cheers, Mike

Dave, You have a problem. Step away from the Zs. You are going to have to enter a 12 step program. There are cat women...and z guys. Cheers, Mike

Arne, I wondered the same thing. That's why I mounted them sans tires. They fit fine with no "crushing" the grease caps. Cheers, Mike

Offset was +3mm

Hey Bonzi, We would love to have you along. FYI, there is current planning for an event to blow the mind in July... "The First Iron Butt Challenge".... 9 mountain passes, 5 @ 11,000ft... one day 500 some miles. Interested? It's not too far from Kansas, eh? Cheers, Mike

OK, I lied. Here are some pics. Looks weird with no tires. Considering Sumitomo HR 200 215-60/15s. Cheers, Mike

Yeah Dave, me too. There were several of us Zboyz from Colorado all set to go this year. Too far and too expensive for a one day "show". I emailed MSA about my concerns and asked them to share with us what happened to have no show in the park this year. I told them we all support them and were willing to pay more to be in the show, etc. They have not responded. Sadness on my part. Maybe next year, eh? Cheers, Mike

Kudos to www.wheeldude.com. My new silver finish 15x7" Rota rbs arrived yesterday. I'll do some pics when I get tires and they get mounted on the car. "She Who Must Be Obeyed" says no tires until the next VISA billing cycle whatever that means. For me it means the end of the month. I am very impressed with the way the wheels were packaged. They were absolutely pristine upon arrival. Cheers, Mike

Zedone, wouldn't it be cheaper to get your Panasports painted or powdercoated gunmetal. I'm pretty sure that they are painted to begin with. I mean if you are happy with them and they are balanced with no vibrations, why change? If you weren't able to paint them any good body shop could. If you masked them off all they would have to do is prime and paint. It wouldn't take that much paint and you could have them use an epoxy-based one. Powdercoating is another option...has anyone done this? FWIW. Cheers, Mike ps: my Rotas were shipped from www.wheeldude yesterday, here Friday.

Check out www.wheeldude.com. I ordered a set of silver Rota rbs 15x7 +4mm offset with caps and lugnuts from them this week. Be sure you get the 114.5 bolt pattern. They supposedly shipped Friday. I'll repost when they arrive. $523 shipped from Cali to Colorado. Haven't decided on tires yet. Either Sumitomo HTR 200s or Bridgestone Potenza G019 Grids($100 more than the Sumis) in 215-60/15. Cheers, Mike

FWIW. I have a '73 with the mount points. When I ordered my rear bar from MSA I ordered one for a 260. MSA included the mount tabs and bolts at my request. It fits perfectly with NO drilling through the floor. Call MSA and exchange your bar for a 260 one with mounting hardware. It will only cost you some shipping. Cheers, Mike

Hi Beth, For a stock motor you will gain very little with a header. The stock exhaust manifold flows well, is quieter, and runs less hot. You can purchase an exhaust system from MSA or just take the car to your local muffler shop. Try to use a shop that caters to the hot rod crowd and you'll get what you want. As far as the differences between 3-2 and 6-1 there are very knowlegable people on here that can give you that info. It might take a few days so be patient. Cheers, Mike

What those guys said, Arne. Got mine today. Loved the innovative packaging. Thanks again for taking this on. Three cheers for Arne......... Mike

Fantastic, Arne. Looking forward to seeing them if not installing them until the weather gets a bit warmer. Thanks for taking this on. I'm sure it was a bit of a pita. That will teach you about volunteering......... Cheers, Mike

I have to say that I'm pretty bummed out. I've been wanting to bring my car to the show ever since I went to one a few years ago (I've been to three)."kenz240z" and I went to the first one in the park and were determined to get our cars there this year. We have been working on our cars to get them ready, but we are not going to drive all the way from Colorado for one day and not even be allowed to be in the "past winners to park at the store". It appears that this year is for locals only. We both hope that MSA will explain sometime what the deal is and why this year's show was basically cancelled. I will continue to support them as they have been very helpful to our Z community. Perhaps we all should e-mail our feelings of support AND our disappointment to them once they let us know what happened to the show this year. Cheers all, Mike

What about the rears? The car might seem a bit unbalanced w/o doing them, too. If you need help give me a call 204-4927. Cheers, Mike

You should apply silicone-based grease to the sway bar and the INSIDE of the bushings where the sway bar goes. Grease between the bushings and the brackets doesn't do anything as the brackets hold the bushings tight. Cheers, Mike

I rebuilt mine ayear ago, and I filled it with R/C car differential oil. I got it at a hobby shop locally. The brand name is Mugen and it's called super silicone for diff. It comes in several wieghts. I started with #5000, but it was too thick, and the fan never disengaged. So after removing the whole thing and cleaning it out with brake cleaner again, I used #3000. It works perfectly, and has for a year so far. The o-ring was re-used with no leaks. The problem with parts from places like Autozone is that the clutches are not rebuildable. This job was pretty easy except for the scraped knuckles during the two removals/replacements. Sometimes our cars require a blood sacrifice. Cheers, Mike

I agree. Oliver is good to the Zcar community. Thieves suck. I hope they get caught and punished. Mike

FWIW, in my '73 240Z I am running a 4:11 KR180 from a 200SX combined with a later model 5-spd from an '82 Maxima. These are behind a stock '82 motor from a 280ZX. I use the car for canyon carving here in Northern Colorado. This combo is perfect for that. It has great acceleration and turns a few hundred rpms less at 70-80 than my stock 4-spd/3:36 R180. Be advised that you will have to take the side buttons from inside your 3:36 and put them in the KR180 in order to use your current half-shafts. It's not hard and gives you the opportunity to put new seals in, You will also need to get a red speedo gear so your speedometer is accurate. Look on hybridz for a complete differential sticky thread that will tell you all you need to know about differentials and making the side button change. Cheers, Mike

Arne, I'm still in. 1 240Z, 1 DATSUN. Thanks again for all the work you're putting into this. Cheers, Mike

Try ACE hardware. It's amazing what they have. NAPA is also a good source. Cheers, Mike

Nice shiney bits, James. Keep up the good work. You just might be done by the time I get back there (Feb.-March 2011) Cheers, Mike

Hi Dave, Got mine yesterday. Thanks for doing this. Now, hopefully, you can get back to your 260. As I have said before: YOU DA' MAN!!!!! Cheers, Mike