rxsleeper

All years with drum brakes came with Al drums. PWD, Yes and probably every Z car racer in the US (that run rear drums) will want at least one or two sets of drums relined. I have 6 drums at the house that can be re-lined plus one on the car, 1 set of spare used drums, and 1 set of brand new Brembo's. So that is 8 sets for me. I would think I am a typical racer as well.

Leave my order as is. Many thanks to you Arne for putting this together!!!

Well, I guess it is time for you to hit the purple crack. Get some Hoosier R-6's in an appropriate size for your currrent set up. If your spring rates and shocks are working properly with your current set up, add what you need to to be able to get -3 or so camber in front and -2 in the rear, add Hoosiers and watch your times fall. FWIW, I have seen lap times drop by 2+ seconds with no changes in the car except for tire compound. IR pyrometers might give you a trend but tires often cool too quickly to use an IR type. You really need to see core temps with a 25-30 degree variance from outside to inside of the tire. YMMV and good luck. I would think someone at your track days would have a good pyrometer that you could borrow. Just some thoughts but I think you would see the largest benefit with camber/toe adjustments and better compound tires. We really need some of the oother guys to check in as well. Paul Edit: And you really need to consider an LSD or locked rear. I would go with LSD if the $$$ are right. That alone could be worth another second or two. One other thing Go Illini! I was born in Urbana!

Time for JohnC to weigh in but here are my thoughts if you do not want to install camber plates. Go with JohnC's coilover setup using EMI camber plates at the top and eccentrics on the control arms. Use eccentrics on the rear control arms. As for shocks, I will defer to others more knowledgeble as I only have experience with Bilsteins but I am currently running #325 Front and #275 rear spring rates with custom valved Bilsteins. I have been told that #400f/#325R is the max I should try with my current shocks. I also am not using any rear sway bar and a locked diff. I guess the best question to ask you is what tire are you going to be using and do you have a pyrometer available to help set up your suspension? and What do you want to achieve by going to coilovers? It may be that just by changing shock valving and adding camber adjustments front and rear you may be happy with what you have and not beating your teeth out if you choose to drive it on the street. Just some thoughts to start the discussion........ Paul

Sarah, You may want to look closer to home for the "thief's and vandals." I chased crooks professionally for 25 years and usually the perp's were "known" in the hood. They tend to stay in their comfort zone ie near where they live for these kinds of crimes. Pro's, on the other hand, will steal from you whether or not it has an alarm and you probably will not know it until you go out the next morning. With that said, you need a concealed kill switch to prevent the car from being started, or maybe 2 such devices each operating in a different area so to speak. I think you get my drift. I am also a fan of loud alarms, including glass breakage, and of those that will "page" you if there is a problem. Remote arm, disarm by all means for those big thunderstorms or booming sub woofers that Will set off the alarm. Just a couple of suggestions as to what to look for. I had a "Viper" system on my Suburban and just use the OEM alarms with a shock sensor on the RX8's. The Datsuns stay under lock and key in the shop or trailer. Good luck, Paul

I guess I will ask the question. Why do you want coilovers? What are you planning to do with the car? If it is to be a driver, and I hope you got it running, you may want to rethink the coilovers and go with lowering springs. Just trying to help you out. I don't think you have given enough information about how you plan on using the car for us to make any kind of recommendation. Larger tires and wheels are easily fitted on the car without changing the entire suspension. And, to answer your original question, at the very root, prices vary because the features of each coilover kit vary. I can point you to a vendor where you can purchase coilover sleeves/perches for less than $30.00 per corner but you will need a welder to make them work. I can point you to a vendor that will supply everything you need for a complete kit, already assembled and ready to install and it will be over $2k to include caster adjustment but until you know how you are going to use the car it may be best to spend funds on getting it running, stopping, and turning as it came from the factory. Good luck.

Well done Phillip! Looks like you had a good time and were able to record a "W" as well. Traffic didn't help you much and I thought the SRF was going to park in front of you You need to come enjoy some southern hospitality some time at Barber or RA. BTW, check out how much movement in your shift lever. Do you have a stay rod on the engine? Paul

Didn't want to try and edit the previous post so I went and looked at the FI manual. Sarah, hopefully this helps: I have attached an image and here is the text:

I was trying to understand why your MSD is not working and noticed this in the instructions: NO-RUN ON FOREIGN VEHICLES Some foreign vehicles with fuel injection systems may require an MSD Tach/Fuel Injection Adapter to run with an MSD 6 Series Ignition. This is because many of these systems use the same trigger source to operate the MSD, the tachometer and the fuel injection. This results in a voltage signal that is too low to accurately trigger the fuel injection. To fix this, an MSD Tach Adapter, PN 8910, will remedy the problem on the majority of vehicles. If the PN 8910 does not fix the problem, the PN 8910-EIS will be required. Note: Toyotas and Ford Probes will require the PN 8910-EIS Adapter." I use a Pertronix/MSD (in the 240) and I am assuming that you need to use the mag triggers with the 280 distributor and I am wondering if the Injector system uses the mag pickup as described above? I used the standard point triggers. I was trying to learn a little more about the injection system since I have a ZX in the wings. Trying to help and learn at the same time....... Paul

Arne, I just now noticed this. I will send you a check for 2 on Tuesday since Mon is a holiday. Thanks, Paul edit: Here is why. A shot of my old Z This is from a car show c. 1975

Thermostat hung I think. Pulled water pump and it "seemed" ok. Changed all the fluids and made through the weekend without any further incident. Of course the 20 minute black flag session for the Miata that deposited 8 qts of Mobil 1 in turn 1 didn't help. Finished 2nd and 3rd so not too bad. Didn't have ANYTHING for the 2 z's in front of me but we all left the "P" car behind.

HI E-tek. I know those pictures

Dave built the motor for the car builder, Michael Scott when it was still on the left coast and not SEDIV. I am pretty certain he did the last freshening. Still have the machinist ok on the magnaflux on the crank and the journal diameter. I am doing the freshening. I talked to Dave earlier this year about the car, he remembered it but discarded the build records several years ago. Only real work to do will be the valve springs/seats/guides if needed. I had a cooling problem in June and saw 280 oil temp. Figured it was time after that. Rest of the engine looks REAL good considering how hard it has been driven. Paul

Congrats on the wins. I have the motor out of mine now for a freshening and hopefully some paint on the body.

Glad you managed to get one removed. FWIW, I didn't realize that the brakes changed in '76 until I looked it up on the club parts fiche. Does this resemble how your brakes are set up?

Go get 'em Greg. Hi Bill, long time no talk, are you going to make Crow Mountain this year? Paul

Hey Rick, good luck and here are some tips. All of this assumes you have OEM style aluminum drums. If you do not have a FSM, you can find a copy online, but you have to align the hole on the face of the drum to access the star wheel. The hole may or may not have a plug that you would have to remove. You may be able to activate your parking brake while peering into the hole to locate the wheel. They are hard to see sometimes. Did your parking brake work correctly? Otherwise, sort of like spindle pins, removing drums can be tough. If the shoes have ground a groove in the drum, you will have to back the shoe away from teh drum a long way to remove it. Some fellow racers have had to cut the drum off with a die grinder/cutting wheel. You might try GENTLE application of a dead blow hammer to the rear of the fins using a block of wood agains the fins if you can locate the star wheel and back the shoe away. Two things generally cause this to be a hard problem, one the groove that shoes might have cut into the drum and corrosion/galvanic type bonding that occurs between the aluminum of the drum and the steel axle. You might try a light application of anti-seize when you re-install the drums. Good luck, Paul eDIT: Forgot to add, you might be able to get away with cutting a hole in the drum face that allows access to the wheel cylinder/mechanism and back the shoe away from the drum

Mitchell, I used a "Lifted" scissor truss for the high bay area. It is 8' at the sidewall and about 36" in from the front and back walls it is 12'. The peak is over 16'. It was the only way I could maximize the upstairs storage area and still fit the lift in. If I had to do it over again, I would have given up 2'-3' upstairs and made the highbay a little wider. As it is now, the lift is not centered in the door so you have to pull in and then move left to get the car centered for the lift. That would have also given me some space to walk around the drivers side lift post. The shop is 24' deep and I also wish I had gone about 2' deeper as well. Oh well, next time maybe I don't have to crouch for the Z's or any of the other cars but I can only lift my Chevy 2500 HD about 4' before the hood and camper shell encroach on the ceiling. Enough to change the oil and do some things underneath but it is a pain. I should be doing just the opposite than you, spending more money on the cars and less on the shop :stupid:

Here are a couple of pictures of mine post epoxy. I used the Costco Epoxyguard which appears to be a spin off of Epoxy Coat. It is available online only and you will not find it in the retail stores. The devil is in the prep work but the epoxy goes on easy. I liked the last one as it shows how much reflected light is on the ceiling. +1 for the Garage Journal. Lots of good info on flooring over there.

FWIW on the ITS car I run the Nylon/aluminum ball and socket on the T/C rod with rubber on the back side. http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/PSDC10/23-4190 I am building a heat shield for the drivers side since the Datsun Comp header puts a lot of heat into that joint which degrades the rubber and nylon quickly. I have also run the same combo on a street car w/o any problems. YMMV. Paul

FWIW, I am using the OEM 4 speed per the class rules (ITS) and 225x50x14 Hoosier R-6's. I think it works out to about 122 mph. A couple of the other guys are running a 4.11, same tranny, and 225x50x15 IIRC and they pull me on the straight. I know this year the 2nd place car changed tire diameter to drop his rpms on the straight. I just don't remember exactly what size he went to. He was seeing 7100-7300 on the front straight.

Hey Joe, I probably have a 3.54 open R180 that I would be interested in trading you for your 3.4?. Shoot me a pm if you are interested. I currently am running a 3.9 or 3.7 for the local tracks I hit. A 4.3 I could use on the hillclimbs. BTW, I keep a locked 3.54, 3.7, and 3.9 on hand. I have been promised a 4.11 from another racer I just need to pick it up. If I ever get enough coins I will upgrade to a Quaife. And to answer your question, With the 3.9 I see 7k rpm on the front straight at Nashville Speedway. It is too tall in my opinion for street use with the 4 or 5 speed. I would think a 3.7 or 3.9 coupled with a 5 speed would be a nice street combo. Enough grunt at the bottom and not too bad on RPMS in the uper gears.

Good to know Dave. Thanks for the update. How goes the re-tub of the other car?

Greg, I bought 2 for the ITS car earlier this year from MSA. They had them in stock and were actively trying to convince Brembo to locate another supplier. At that time they had "plenty." If you get in a bind, pm me. I have some used ones that you might get another turning out of. Have you tried Riley C? Paul

Is the rocker broken? Thats what it looks like to me. IF it is just the rocker and spring clip, replace the lash pad, if it is undamaged, adjust the pivot post so that the rocker will slide back into position, reinstall the spring retainer, adjust valves to cold settings, crank car warm and re-adjust valves. From your picture, the valve has not lost a retainer and I would guess that you have not damaged the valve or head. Best way to check is to perform a leak down test and see how that cylinder tests. I have slung rockers off of the race car head and finished a race with it. No significant damage, replaced the rockers/lash pads/spring rocker retainer and continue to use the motor. Not the best way but certainly doable. YMMV