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I don't know is it was fat fingers or auto correct, I meant lumber not lumbar. And no I'm not from Maine. The Camaro engine is an LFX in the 2012 and 2013 model years. An interesting engine in that the exhaust manifold was incorporated into the heads. This reduces the overall width to 21 inches. The 323 HP it puts out will double the stock 165 HP of the MX5 Miata. The NC generation of the Miata will also accept the AT. Working with a company that produces the engine mount and a beefed up differential/drive train that bolts in. My wife is in a holding pattern right now. She needs a surgery that is done by a facial/cranial surgeon. Most of the work these surgeons do centers on correcting birth defects and thus they don't accept Medicare or Medicare Advantage Insurance. The at fault insurance company seems insistent on dragging this out to a court case and there won't be any funds for the surgery until the case is settled. I received a nice reply from BRE yesterday. It seems their concerns about protecting their copyright centers around commercial uses, but they need to protect against individuals to prove they have not abandoned the copyright. Because of this, they have established a tribute program for people like me. They will be sending additional information next week. For those of you who might be interested, Greg Ira of Revtec produced a video of a 240Z production race car with a gray over white BRE paint scheme. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=f679wAYm37Q

While I had the choke assembly disassembled from my 7'70 240z to deal with a sticky choke issue I started to measure and model the parts as an exercise while I had some free time. It got me thinking that others might be doing the same with other parts and might like to share stories and maybe a few cad files or just to show off what you are working on. I am a mechanical designer and use Solid Edge as my primary 3D solid modeling tool, I am also learning Solid Works and have a background with 2D AutoCAD. Here is a sample of the work I have done so far, comments welcomed from cad and non-cad users alike. If we get to the point of sharing cad files I'm wondering if @Mike would consider adding a 2D/3D cad section to our downloads area, if file size is an issue limits could be established. Cheers, Mike

Yes, That is the best way. In fact coating the inside is far superior to coating the outside in heat retention. However, it is much more difficult to do. The headers usually have to brand new as you have to Media blast used parts to get the Ceramic to stick properly. Extremely hard to get the media to clean all the way up the headers, then there is the issue of cleaning all of the media out. Best to talk to the vendor if you want to do something like that. Coating the inside of the header also extends it's life as the tubing heats up a lot less.

One popular upgrade for the 240Z seems to be swapping out the lame Original Heater blower motor to the one coming from some 80ies or 90ies Honda. Unfortunately all the manuals i found for this swap mentioned a different Honda model as source for the Blower motor so i was confused. They all looked the same in the pictures and some guys on Ebay even sell the Blower swap for around 90$ + shipping. I thought that's too expensive and did some research and figured out the one blower everyone is using is the TYC Genera Model 700077 which is an aftermarket replacement for the aforementioned old honda motors. Funnly this blower is sold for only 23 Bucks so i went the direct route and ordered it This is the old Nihon Radiator / Hitachi Blower: And here we have the new one. Brand new and factory fresh As you can see the shape is slightly different (left new, right old), but it wil fit perfectly. I compared with the drawing on the TYC website and many people in the internet told this is a 1:1 swap except for the rubber gromments which need to be changed due to different mounting hole diameters (other people probably will enlarge the holes). Also i recommand to paint the now Silver motor cover black as this is installed right in the foot compartment of the passenger and will stick to the passengers eye According to the poeple in various forums the advantage of the new Blower is: Much more powerful, much more silent, lighter (Due to the plastic squirre-cage compared to the metal one in the old design) and draws less current. Overall it's much more effective. can't wait to install it. Of course i will write about it once i get to that point

Early S30z's are becoming increasingly rare and more sought after. There is huge global demand and the market where they have been the cheapest for longest was North American markets. When new these cars were priced above MGs, Triumph's and Fiat's etc.. But less than Ferrari's, Maserati's, Porsche's in Australia. If you couldn't afford the last 3 you bought a 240z. A lot of Doctor's in Australia bought these cars new (seen quite a few where first owner was a Doctor / Lawyer etc.) as they had the budget for it. Unfortunately a lot over the years fell into hands of people who took less than good care of them and did some horrible modifications. If you look at Early air cooled 911's the S30z is still a great bargain and the engine was in the correct end of the car. I honestly still think they are under appreciated and under respected in many ways, just look at the ghastly things a lot of people still do to them. When finished period correct and when restored to a high level they are as beautiful as cars that are priced many times their current value. I've noticed the price of many early parts has started to go crazy, it was only a matter of time before projects like this did also.

He's happy alright.

It's true. The wrapping dramatically reduces header life, especially on a DD. I've seen the results in person. Headers that literally fall apart after a year of being wrapped due to heat fatigue. Even SS wrapped headers get over heated and turn brittle. Mild steel just falls apart in big chunks. The other problem is that if the car is a DD driver and is run in the rain, you can get sections of the wrap that get soaked with water and road dirt. Usually on the bottom of the collector. On short trips in the rain, the wrap gets soaked in water and doesn't completely dry out. Creates a lovely, corrosive paste solution of water, dirt, etc that just destroys the collector. It's surprising how much water soaks into the wraps. Paint or coating don't have the same issues. Swain Technology is very good. Particularly on the inside of the pipes. A lot of Turbo guys get the inside and outside of the Turbo exhasut housing coated by Swain.

Yes, I agree it does seem high for a car that needs a lot of work. However, with 40 bids and close to $10k, it shows you the kind of interest that the early 240Zs are getting nowadays.

I have the 1980 5 speed, with 3.9. And my 5th is .773, not .745, like 1983. My car cruises easily at 60 mph for distance. 25.3 inch tires though. The 1983 .745 5th with a 3.54 seems like it would be best for highway cruising. When I had the 3.54 diff, 1st gear felt sluggish, so I went to the 3.9. Basically, the stock 1980 280ZX setup, except for a slightly larger tire. At 60 my car should be at 2400 RPM. Something odd here though. The calculator shows that 3000 RPM at 60 mph with a .745 gear and a 3.54 diff (Diseazd setup), would have an 18" tire. Kind of small. At 60 my car should be at 2400 RPM. 25.3 tire, .773 5th, 3.9 diff.

I wasn't going to try to rebuild it myself. I found a Trany/diff specialist who say he can do it. However, I was going to order all the parts myself (eg bearings, seals, gaskets) hoping to get good quality at a reasonable price and then just pay him for all the labor. Gary