billyjarrell

I agree also.. I'm happy to see the Z on the list, but the order of these things will never please everyone.. I am surprised to see the Dodge Neon though. What did it contribute that no other front wheel drive four cylinder car didn't?

My name is Billy Jarrell and I have been a member here since Feb. 2006. I lurked on this site and other Z car related sites for a while before that. One thing I've noticed is the the information on these forums has been invaluable to me and building/maintaining my Datsuns. I have been a Z car nut since before I could drive, my first car was a 75 280Z 2+2 I bought at age 15 for $750 and have owned 3 more since. I've been kicking an idea around with a friend of mine in publishing and he likes it so I'd like to hear your thoughts. I would like to collect all the tips, tricks, modifications, or any other specialized information that the factory service manuals or owners manuals don't give you and compile it into a print book. Things like engine swap specifics, brake options, electrical upgrades, ect.. I know I wouldn't be able to just copy posts, but take the information and clean it up in my own words giving credit wherever due, and asking permission from individuals or websites to post any pictures. Obviously giving credit to any websites or individuals that make special contributions also. I think it would be nice to have all that information in book form, what do you think? Thanks, Billy

this is the first time taking the Z out for some autocross action. I had a blast doing it even though it was pouring rain. Thats me in the orange Z, my buddy Hank in the blue RX-7 and another buddy Jon in the blue Volvo S60-R. here is a video of me spinning on the first turn.. this was my fourth run and all of them up til this one were improving. I guess i was just trying a little too hard on this one.

Yeah, they do come in red or black, but black was sold out when I ordered so I took red because I didn't want to wait. As far as whats in the kit, you get rear mustache bar bushings, rear control arm bushings, sway bar end links front and rear. front control arm bushings and torque rod bushings, and front tie rod end boots. One word of advice, when I did mine the right rear lower control arm pin, the one that runs from front to rear on the outer end of the lower control arm was seized up and took an torch and press to get free. Blackdragon had the replacement in stock, but it left my car down a few days more than expected. As far as handling goes, it makes all the difference in the world! If your car dives or acts squirlley on bumps (worn mustache bar bushings, or lower control arm bushings) you will notice a huge improvement. As for noise, i have had them for over two years and had to re-lube the rears once for squeeking, but other than that they've been great.

hey saridout, i have never had a problem dealing with Motorsport and I haven't had any experiance with Black Dragon, but on my 76' Z I used the prothane bushing kit from summit racing. check them out here: http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=PTP%2D14%2D2002&N=700+400351+115&autoview=sku i hope the link works. Anyway, I love these bushings they made a huge difference in the feel of the car and I'm sure either of the other kits will too. Oh, by the way if you don't have the urathane steering coupler from motorsport I highly reccommend it. super quick and tight steering. I also have the billet diff mount from them, a little noisy but no clunks between gears and it definately feels more planted when accelerating. Hope this helps, Billy

I have had 4 s30's but never a 510. I have always loved the small size, boxy lines and rich racing history of the 510. Its too bad I havn't had the funds for both. A little less realistic but would be really cool would be to have an old Hakosuka like Kev's over at japanesenostalgiccar.com.. Love that car..

Hey look what I found.. I was looking through all of my posts and here are some pics of the car when I first got it. Man did it look rough. Oh well at least I got rid of that ugly hood.. http://classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20487&highlight=hood

I have to say you guys are awesome...!!! I love geezers reply "take into account dog years..." that is the best. Boyblunda you hit the nail on the head with using numbers to bolster weak arguments..amen to that..Zbane I mentioned your s=19 and ae=6 reasoning to him but he wasn't satisfied with not using the "30" or the "86", which plays right in to what boybluda said... And bravo to hls30.com for the most explicit response to a ridiculous problem. and I agree the Z just is....

I really, really appreciate all the kind words you guys have... I have been working on this car for more than 3 years now and its still got a ways to go. ( you can't see the interior in the pictures ;-) ) Also I've done all the work myself. as for the wheels they're really not my favorites either but I wanted 15's and I had them on another car.. the wheel color is actually a little different than the tail light panel but I do have plans to paint it to match... I agree with you 100% Danglybanger I want to put the mesh grill up top too. I just haven't figured out a way that will look right yet.

O.k. so here's the story... as a joke I sent a text message to a toyota loving friend of mine that said Z+L28>ae86 (ae86 is an early corolla..think initial D if anyone didn't know).. In response to my message he went through the trouble of proving toyotas are better like this. He assigned each letter of the alphabet a number e.g. A=1, B=2, C=3, and so on all the way to Z. he then spelled out the names D-A-T-S-U-N and T-O-Y-O-T-A, and totalled the value of each. Datsun=79 while Toyota=96. Using these numbers he determined that toyotas are 15.62% greater than Datsuns... Is there anyone out there with even more time on his hands than this guy to prove him wrong? Or do I have to accept his mathematic logic? P.s. I do realize that we are both in fact nerds, but at least I'm a Z loving nerd..hahaha.

Here are some pics of my car after I finally got it off the jackstands and back on the road. While I had it down doing the brake work, I went ahead and shot another coat of pearl orange and cleared it. I also painted the wheels with dupli-color smoke gray metallic wheel paint.

I've gotten a lot of comments on the color of my car also. Its Dupont Chromabase, the color is called poppy. when they gave me the paint they also gave me a small can of red tint and said I could tint it until I liked it. I poured the whole can in and this is what it came out like. Check out the avatar. There are more pics of it in the gallery here also, but they're not great.

man that is awesome! the only thing I can say is lose the louvers in the back window, but besides that sign me up! Anyone here know somebody at Nissan? We need to get this thing built. (straight 6 and rear drive of course)

Just my opinion here ( and we know what those are worth ), but no one is saying the 350 Z isn't a great car. But I have to agree that it doesn't really fit as a Z, in the classic sense. I mean think about 35 years from now is anyone going to pull a 350 out of a field or a barn a bring it back, I doubt it. But its not really nissan's fault. I work on cars everyday for a living and I can honestly say I don't see anything thats going to be around 30 years from now, everything is just plain cheap. Plastic intakes, cheesy interiors, and internal engine components designed to just barely get them out of warranty so you have to buy another one.

I totally agree with you doradox. The thing that kills most "retro" styled cars is the size. Cars were supposed to get cheaper and lighter, but instead have turned into bloated luxo-cruisers that just hint at performance with a name-(charger, mustang, even the new mini is huge by old mini standards). They could do a sweet retro styled Z with the bucket headlights and light weight (something like a honda S2000 or BMW z4) And it would have to have a straight 6. I'm thinking RB. And your right about the price too. I mean have you seen how much a miata or s2000 costs? You could buy something with a V8 and back seats for the price of one of those things. I say bring back the 510. I said this on another forum : http://www.japanesenostalgiccar.com : build a cheap 4-cylinder rear drive car that doesn't look like a computer modeled jellybean. By the way there is an entry on that site about bringing back the Datsun name, but you don't want to see the car they want to do it with. yuk!

I know what your saying zero z. I looked everywhere and went through 3 different Z's before I finally got one that didn't have a sunroof cut into it. Now I'm not letting her go. And also Beautiful car Arne. I wish I could have afforded not to paint mine myself.

thanks poindexter, a wife and two kids doesn't leave much extra time or money for the Z but I do what I can. As for the coupler it did make a big difference to me. The car now has a very quick and tight feel (my brother called it "twitchy" but I prefer go-cart like.) but I did the suspension bushings at the same time. One thing to look out for is its sensitivty to wheel balance. I have to do mine about every other month and I drive the car almost daily. It is also very sensitive to tire pressure but I would not say that it feels harsh just connected.

I've been a member here for some time now and I have never posted any pics of my car. Be gentle, I did all the work on it myself, including paint, and I know its got a long way to go. But the info I've gained from this site has been awesome the entire time. Just want to say thanks everybody. A little bit about her: 77 280z MSA type III front end 83 ZX 5-speed turbo wheels (which will hopefully be gone soon:)) energy suspension urathane bushings front and rear solid aluminum steering coupler again thanks everyone.