VaGuS510

I hear you, just rev that engine so they think your in. Put your car in reverse and slam it when the light turns green. They will never know what happened. Just make sure it isn't a busy street and noone is behind you. Just kidding. I don't think I would ever do that. A funny story. . . I was with my brother in his supercharged 5.0 Mustang and an SUV came to our left while we waited at the light. A few teenagers that wanted to have some fun. The light turned green, they floor it and take off. My brother eases into it and at about 10mph slams on it. Both rear wheels lost traction and the engine screamed. Sure the SUV "won" but the guy in the lane to our right in his late model Corrola looked like he crapped his pants by the expression on his face.

If you havn't seen this video check it out.. http://www.break.com/index/red_neck_bmw_road_rage.html

First lesson of spending money on cars: A car is rarely worth the price of parts it is composed of.

Do those 280z 2+2's have a 5-speed? I need a tranny and figured I should upgrade while I am at it.

This talk would make my Z jelous, if it could read.

My 510 had the worst case of pOD. I removed at least 10 lbs of bondo from the rear. It was over an inch thick in many areas. It had metal filler panels that were 1/4 thick steel. They even put filler in the interior and aparently tried to reenforce it with some bright orange mesh crap. They seemed to also mess up the engine they built because it never ran. My current engine is running with the same top end as the old engine had. Some people really should think before they do something, then stop, and think agian, then stop, and think agian, then maybe try it. Oh yeah, I have a 510 for sale, really cheap.

Thanks for all the help so far. I thought that 200hp at the wheels wouldn't stress the stock block too much. That Rebello engine is pushing 219 hp with the stock block and no header. I am sure it could push 250hp with no trouble and that should get me to 200hp at the wheels. In fact it may be best not to turbo it in the distant future if these numbers are achievable NA. I am not aiming to build a 400hp turbo L-series monster. I want a daily driver with a little pep in its step.

I was actually trying to figure out how much money I will need. I would only like to spend as much as I have to at this time. I would like to build a shortblock capable of around 250hp at the flywheel and, for the time being, do the minimal amount of work to the head. Once I have the money I will do further upgrades.

Right now my 73 240Z has a beater L28, I don't trust it. I would like to rebuild the original engine so I have matching numbers. The valve and piston hit on the original engine, this apearently released some built up carbon deposits and that scared the cylinder wall. The woodruff key on the crank also wore into the crank making the original crank useless. So i at least need: new pistons, a new crank, maching work and a rebuilt head. I also would like more power around 200 at the crank would be enough for now. My thinking is that I should bore it .020 over (1mm). Then put in an l28 crank and rods. I will rebuild the E88 head and use SU carbs. My real concerns are these: Should I get larger valves? Should I get forged or cast pistons? What cam should I get? What machine work should be done to the crank, rods, and block? What is a good header? (mine is leaky) In the distant future I may desire to turbo this engine. I wouldn't desire to make much more then 200hp at the wheels with the turbo. I would put a whole new topend on the motor for this (p90, efi, etc.) With flat top pistons the E88 would be under 10:1 CR and the P90 would be under 9:1 CR. Any input will be appreciated. Thanks.

Rice is the result of a few different types of people when the associate with an automobile. 1. The first type of person lacks the money and/or knowledge to create what he desires of his car. This person then, in overconfidence, attempts to create his dream car without the proper knowledge and/or budget. Signs of this ricer: different color body panels, insecure body panels, unsanded filler/cracking filler, mix-matched wheels. 2. This type of ricer has too much money for his own good. This type of ricer often lacks the knowledge and/or taste to create a great car. The result is a very brightly colored car with large speakers/spoilers/exhaust and many stickers. Though it is bright colored the paint and bodywork were likely not completed well. This driver often wants the showcar/daily driver/racecar. Resulting in a car that would be faster/cleaner/or more streetable if he would have prioritized. Brightly colored interiors with racing seats, roll cage, and carbonfiber overlays everywhere. These are the main catagories of ricers. I don't mean to put all ricers into these categories but these are the types that tend to stand out. Ricers are all about following trends and overexaduratation of trends. Trends come and go, but a beautiful car will never die. By the way the stock RSX may have that six speed but it also has at least 500 more pounds and not much more power then a 240Z. In the twistys the RSX would win, but at the drags it would be close. But then again transmissions do make a big difference.

I agree, take advantage of the fact that their are companies that supply body parts for the Z. I have a 510, finding body parts for it is a real pain. I needed two new quarters and a taillight panel so I bought a new car. Good luck with your future projects.

Too bad they didn't give you new bolts with your ball joints. I ordered a frontend kit from PST. It has urathane bushings (including swaybar center and endlinks), tie rod ends and ball joints. It comes with new hardware for the ball joints and the right tie rod (the left is reverse thread and appearently the jamnut is harder to get ahold of).

A trick I found out (couldn't find my ball joint seperator): Use a pulley puller. The type that has the large center bolt with the "peace sign" shaped slots for bolts to go thru. Put bolts thru this and into the big bolt holes for the knuckles. It doesn't line up perfect but it worked great when i did it.

That is what I was thinking. I don't want future problems with my wheel bearings. I don't have a 200ft. lb. torque wrench so I had to guess on the torque. My only idea is that it isn't tight enough. I used a 3 ft cheater bar and tried to estimate 70 lbs. That would be about 210 ft. lb. I don't know. I just don't want to have to replace any of these parts again for a long while.

I really don't understand the point of stripping a whole car. The only reasons I could think of is a bad previous paint job (chips easy) or to repair body work that was possibly done wrong. IT really doesn't make much sence to me. My brother is an autobody painter and he is working on a 1940 ford that was in a wreck. The only spots that went to bare metal are the parts that needed body work, metal work, or the parts with rust. These are the only reasons that makes sense to me. Bare metal is alot of work for little reward.

I finished my whole suspension. I gave the car fresh: bushings, tie rods, ball joints, shocks, and wheel bearings. But when i took it for its first drive last night I heard an awefull grinding (metal on metal sound) coming from the left rear. This sound would be louder and more common when turning to the right. First I thought that the brakes were rubing but they were cool after driving for 10-15 minutes. Then I looked under the car an saw that the drum was rubbing the backing plate. This was easily fixed but I have another problem. Why turning left affect this noise? It seems that the hub should have no give in it. What is the deal here. I don't want to fix the backing plate until I am sure that this is the only thing that is wrong. My only guess is that the hub isn't torqued enough. Let me hear what you think.

That is a mighty fine looking Z. Is it black or dark blue? Is the suspension stock? I don't know if the MSD is really worth it. It can't hurt but that money could provide greater reward. Anyways what is your Z philosophy? Crazy fast? Daily driver? Weekend cruiser? An MSD wouldn't hurt, but if you really want performance then the money could be better spent.

I also did suspension first. I would have also done brakes but find no sense when the car is this slow. My future plans are to do drivetrain then engine then body/paint/suspension powdercoating/brakes. but my timeline is money dependent.

I did use plenty of grease between the provided metal bushing and the urathane bushing. I didn't use any between the spindle pin and the metal bushing because it is covered with anti-sieze. I was thinking about a future solution. The best would probably be to have some teflon bushings made. I have heard that many racers use teflon. It is self lubricating and has little deflection. Another option might be to machine some out of a soft metal (brass or copper). This would be easier then rod ends. I think I will just wing it and torque them by gut. maybe I can find a solution later. Thank for the input.

I am replaced my first set of spindle pin bushings today and discovered a slight problem. If I tighten the nuts up too much the control arm is really difficult to move. If I torque them the the recommended 65 ft. lbs. then the arm probably wouldn't move at all. I was thinking. . . Is it really important for these to be that tight? My answer would be no. They are locking nuts so it isn't like they will fall off. Even if they did, what would it matter. The spindle pin will stay in because of the locking pin. And it isn't like the control arm could just fall off. Tell me what you think.

I have checked out a bunch of wrecking yards in the bay area and can't find any 240/260z's to take the rear strut from. I am not talking about the strut insert. I want the whole hub piece that holds the strut insert. Let me know if you have one or know where to get one. Thanks.

summit says part number 861812 (rear) 861811 (front) They are Koni Sport Adjustables.

I have heard from people ont his site that koni struts require "extensive modification" to work on a 240z. I have never heard anyone explain what this means? Summit racing now sells Koni adjustables for the 240z. I ahve seen web sites claiming little difficulty in doing this upgrade. Can someone explain this to me? I'm just curious.

I have a little problem, I bought some used springs hoping to cure my rear end squat problem. I can figure out which of these springs are front and which are rear. They all look exactly the same. Comparing them to my front springs they are all different. I think they are pretty simular to my rear springs. Are their any markings on the spring to identify it as front or rear? I also think that I overpacked my front wheel bearings, the rotor is pretty difficult to turn in comparison to how it previously was. Would this make sense?

i am not sure a pin-puller would have helped considering that the 20-ton press failed to do the job.