EricB

Larry Suffice it to say that used parts places and wheel shops are plentiful in Japan. There's a phenomenon over there where everyone has to go out and get the latest NEW gear. Therefore that makes the used market pretty vast. Japanese car nuts on average take good care of their stuff and if you don't have anything against getting someone else's second hand there's a lot of deals to be had. Recaro SPG race seats for $200 ex-JGTC center lock racing rims for $50 (what would you do with them other than make a coffee table??) Nardi steering wheels $30 used suspension, exhaust, LSD, car stereo, you name it they got it... So rather than name off some addresses and seem them getting blown out with a hoard of visiting tourists and seeing the prices there rise as a result I would simply advise your friend stationed in Japan to grab a couple car mags and look at the ads inside for addresses nearest to him... 10 sets of wheels airjockie? and you shipped them? damn... I had 5 sets of Honda TypeR wheels shipped shrinkwrapped on a palet once... Sold them at a premium and that paid for my airfare there and then some... Dealing with US Customs in Long Beach however was a pain in the arse but nothing's free, right? -e

When we were talking about this last week I sent Alan's scans to a Japanese designer friend of mine & fellow car nut at Mazda in Yokohama. Even back in my Engineering school days I had a profound aversion for all things Electrical Engineering related and as I recall nearly failed my basic Circuits class. With that said here's his email back to me verbatim: "Eric, I think i figured it out. The scan you sent me is not CDI or MDI. They are both hyper ignition Sytem by Nagai Denshi. The one with MDI shows how to add MDI on top of Hyper Ignition System. correct diagram for MDI is this http://www.nagaidenshi.co.jp/IGNITION/9500_9600/haisen9500.gif and CDI is this http://www.nagaidenshi.co.jp/IGNITION/9800/haisen.gif I looked at their website www.nagaidenshi.co.jp and seems like there are 1.Semi Transistor 2.Full Transistor 3.Hyper Ignition System 4.CDI 5.MDI 1 and 2 are transistor ignition for point type ignition system. Semi still uses points to pick up the signal but it doesnt use high current on the points. the transistor amplifies the voltage.... kinda like relay. Full transistor doesnt use contacting points. It picks up the signal without actually touching the points, therefore more precise and no wear on the points. these two are the basic ignition mods and less expensive. 3. Hyper Ignition System is for point type ignition system too. not sure what this is. seems like this is an evolution of the semi or full transistor. 4. CDI is for point ignition car too. It uses capacitor instead of transistor. 5. MDI is the top of the line and its a multispark system. MDI works with newer cars as well as old cars. for example this MDI kit is for Honda B16, B18 engines http://www.nagaidenshi.co.jp/IGNITION/mdi_9680.shtml I dont really know much about ignition system and never touched nostalgic heros so i might be telling wrong thing. hope it helps a bit -Yohei"

Next time bring the wheels back on the plane... I brought back a set of Regamaster EVO 15" once (granted they're superlight at 8lbs each) as carry-on! The stewardesses didn't flinch... And think of it this way even if you do get charged an excess luggage fee you're getting your parts OVERNIGHT (they are on the plane with you) and that's still cheaper than mailing anything from Japan. Invest in a large hard suitcase for next time... Craziest trip saw me return with 110lbs of car parts alone and again no one protested (except for my back maybe)... What a great place Japan is... A friend beat me though when in one trip he brough back bumpers, a roll cage, a set of wheels... hahahaha -e

George Thanks for the offer but I've got one in the mail already from a fellow club member. -e

complete LSD diff with ring gear and pinion? That's awesome... Great find! -e

Thanks guys. -e

Alan, I know I repeat myself but once again thank you... I really have to run into you somewhere and buy you several rounds of drinks... -e

Does anyone have a spare set of the "L" shaped brackets that secure the clock to the metal dash support? Thanks, -e

Since we're talking about this I had a question that went unanswered on their Q&A section. So from their catalog on Pitroad's website, in the "High Performance Ignition" section: _ The most expensive MDI unit priced at 65000yen is ONLY a coil unit - it does not replace the distributor. It is meant to be used with a stock distributor? _ The second most expensive unit at 54000yen and which Alan pictured above is coil pack AND distributor. _ The least most expensive unit at 35000yen is the coil pack from above along with parts needed to upgrade a stock distributor to use this coil pack (as opposed to getting the bespoke one above). Did I get it all correctly? If so can someone explain the difference between the MDI and the cheapest unit? Is the MDI just a Japanese equivalent to our MSD ignition boxes like say an MSD 6A unit? I see these MDI/CDI units all the time in Japanese mags without honestly knowing if they are exactly the same as our MSD or not... Will someone (Alan?) enlighten me please? -e

Otherwise you could always set up a Favorite Search on Yahoo Auctions Japan with the right keywords and just wait it out... -e

Will mail out my check tonight! Thanks for organizing this yet again! -e

Derrick, You're probably referring to the exhaust that is commonly seen on old S30 Zs as pictured in Nostalgic Hero. It's an old Sports Option piece that Trust re-created in the 80s and 90s and has since discontinued. I found mine brand new on eBay and am very happy with it. -e

I've got pics from that race too... Let me guess, the 906 lost because of its exccessive fuel consumption & thus more time spent in the pits.... hare and the tortoise anyone? that would be my $0.02. -e

Alan, Awesome info! Not to go off on yet ANOTHER tangent but your pics yield more questions... How come the Nissan Racing School car pictured above and the racing GT-Rs of the time all have this super elaborate clear fuel tank vent hose snaking all around the back window... Did it really need to be so intricate? -e

Mikey I could probably get your tape onto digital format (CD-R or DVD if needs be)... Let me know. -e

Jim Thanks for the numbers... we'll see what Alan says. -e

Alan, Regarding weight, did you say the racing PGC10 was lighter than the racing KPGC10? Or did you mean the racing PGC was lighter than the stock version KPGC? Or did you mean that when the KPGC debuted they altered the regulations such that it would be required to have a heavier minimum weight than the PGC? Just curious for clarification... Thanks, -e

Nothing's stopping you from going out and getting whatever Eibach ERS spring you want in any combination of length and stiffness... Good place to get them (and get adice to boot on what kind of spring rate would be best for you) would be Ground Control, but there's plenty of other places too... -e

Speaking of miserable sods, if you've ever watched an interview with him about a particular special car he's just driven he's always at best morose... you just can't get the guy excited... hilarious... -e

Hey TXZ thanks for the link, unfortunately it doesn't let me input non OE final drive ratios like 4.11 and 4.375 -e

I got the tire diameter from the info section on discounttires.com I got the mph formula from a rock crawler website. I just want to make sure I plugged all the numbers in the right way in the right units. It just seems crazy that the combination of the lower 4.375 (vs the 4.11) and the 5spd would yield a higher cruising speed for a given rpm. If you asked for a case of Pacifico, any idea what Victor drinks so I can go drop off a case at his place? He gave it to me before Xmas and I lagged putting it on as my wife and I spent nearly every weekend for almost 6mo looking for our first house. Needless to say we found it in the end. -e

Not knowing how to weld or knowing anyone local who does, would you all care to hazard a guess at what I should expect to pay when bringing my Z in for new floors and rails provided I bring my own (Zeddfindings)... I mean how intensive is it to cut out the old ones, prep, weld in the new ones. Are we talking 8hrs work per side? 12hr work per side? etc? I could cut the old ones out myself but then I'd have to tow the Z to whatever shop I go to... No point in that. I could however do the POR myself once the new metal's in. If someone can give me a clue then I can better budget for this which is going to be a necessity in the near future for my 73... There's a couple 1.5"x4" rust holes where the tar paper is the only thing keeping the elements out on my passenger side... -e

Get it already. -e

Here goes: My rear tires are 225/50R15 that comes out to a 23.86" diameter I've got a loaner original 4spd from Victor Laury (thanks Victor!) so 4th gear is a 1.00 ratio. My rear end right now is a 4.11 At what feels like a slow freeway cruising speed and observing a steady 4000rpm I calculate I am actually travelling at 69mph. "Feels" right since everyone in L.A. including the CHP does at least 75-80mph on the freeway regardless of the 65mph speed limit. (rpmxtire diameter)/(final ratioxtrans ratiox336)=mph (4000X23.86)/(4.11X1.00X336)=69.xxmph When I get my 81-3 5spd back with an 0.745 ratio 5th gear from rebuild I've been toying with the idea of putting in a 4.375 final drive. At the same revs my speed would actually increase to 87mph??? (4000x23.86)/(4.375x0.745x336)=87.14mph Did I do the math right? -e

Hi Mikey If you're swapping in an SR motor what will/has happened to the built L28 and home come you didn't use that? Am sending you an email right now to get more pics of the car as it stands today. -e