TomoHawk

He uses Grandma's sure-fire cure-all lye soap

Thanks. I had the thought of putting a little spring under the center screw to put some pressure on the shutter and make an even better seal. Maybe just one of those flimsy little bent washers. But yours isn't panhead screw. You might want to consider stamping or engraving your reference marks into the metal, because if you use a solvent (like carb cleaner) to clean it, you'll lose your marks.

From my experiences with alignment shop, they will only try to get things to be "within specs" which means plus or minus so much from being perfect, even after giving them an order and a print out of what I require for the S30. they just look up your vehicle on a computer or in a book, type it into the alignment machine, and start (banging and twisting) things under there until you hear the beep and it's "done." If you really want things to be perfect, you need to find a custom shop, not an "alignment shop."

It looks like my rendition. I.e., it looks good.

IMO, car covers are to keep the dust and debris off the car, and to help decrease damage in case someone or something touches the body. the only "cover" that is "waterproof" is an enclosed building or a giant plastic bubble.

The infamous "Engine delete" option?

It seems the forms are particular to a certain year. Are you suggesting we use that form for whatever year car you have? It would probably mean a lot to some people who go for accuracy in everything, but most people probably wouldn't care about the size, layout & colors, etc; only that it "looks kinda right" and what's printed on the sheet, even though the build sheets back then are much different then today's (some people are really that dumb! To expect the MPG info on something from the 60's or 70's...)

I replaced my weak-sounding horns with some I got from Advanced Auto. They sound very European/Italian, which to me is more appropriate than the stock ones that sound more like something off a Chevy. They mount in the factory way, without any brackets or hoses, and use the existing wire, but I did add a ground wire/connection. I used both high and low tone horns: http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_horn-disc-hightone-wolo_10018606-p?

I noticed that too. I also saw there was one for two hoses. There is also one for a Porsche that has a square body, and the connector is right on the part with the shutter, instead of on a long tube. http://www.autohausaz.com/porsche-auto-parts/porsche-air_mass_meter_boot-replacement.html

FWIW, I looked to a picture too, but I found a sale for one that can be disassembled! http://www.rhdjapan.com/nissan-oem-auxiliary-air-valve-ca18-57582 Also: http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/1993/nissan/pathfinder/air_intake/auxiliary_air_valve.html It's a pathfinderor "CA18" part, I think. http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/1993/nissan/pathfinder/air_intake/auxiliary_air_valve.html

that's odd. The boot doesn't appear in any of my catalogs, or on eBay. Can you offer any more information? Can you offer a photo?

Why do people make a big thing about the Momo shifter knob? A shifter knob is a shifter knob. I've seen millions of them. Is it solid gold or diamond or something?

OK, which Mercedes engine, then?

It's kinda weird. If you start it, it will idle down after about a minute or two. Then you drive it around a little, and when you park it, the idle goes up to 1800! I don't think it would get that cool from the airflow under the hood while driving. An insulating cover might help. Got any suggestions? I thought a little of the header wrap ( or a wool sock?) might work, tho unsightly. You could also made a kind of a mold by pressing the thing into some putty and casting with a little glass & resin....

Is that like the CD player or satellite receiver option for the Ford Model T?

A couplde weeks ago, I was getting some gas, and a woman asked me if it was a corvette. I said it was a ferrari!

IMO (from experience with my car and some hand-built customs) you need to remember a few things about car shows, and trophies: #1: Show car = NEW car. If it's not chromed, shiny, or perfectly painted, forget winning a trophy. #2: Cool car NOT equals votes! Please refer to #1. I have 10x more visitors/chats than other cars, but the "show cars" always get the votes! #3: Trophies don't mean squat. I take the "plastic tube" out of my trophies (even the First place one) and bolt it back together. Only the headpiece and the base with the engraved label remain, and they are now 5 inches tall. You can fit them on your average bookshelf that way #4: Judges don't care how popular your car is: A judged show is close to rule#1 because (usually) people with money (checkbook cars) usually get all those glitzy chemicals o the car to make it shiny, and the judges go for the blingy stuff over the original interior, wheels and paint. That is, unless you are at a marque-specific show. that's why being in a club, going to shows as a club, and regional Z meets have the significant advantage of getting you the recognition you deserve for your efforts. Even the 350Z guys will appreciate your car and your efforts over the checkbook ones. To me, a real "trophy" is when people point to your car, or the engine, or center console, or whatever, and say, " look at what he did..." or something like that. Then you have people all over referring to you or your car, and making a special trip to check it out...

I actually duplicated mine using MS Word, and a lot of work, and based on the scan of mGood's 1972 sheet. It's probably not the absolute correct one for a '78, but it looks very business-like. If I can print it on 12w x 9h inch paper, then it should be really close, except for the glue stain on the edges. Are you guys trying to duplicated the aging & wrinkling of the paper and glue stains? What about the paper itself? Was it heavy or lightweight paper, or do you even care?

It doesn't actually say "UTQG" on there anywhere. You just look for where it says "treadwear" or "load" or "temperature" or whatever rating value you are interested in. I suppose there's a reason for having a "minimum UTQG treadwear rating of 140" for the autocross ST classes as it equalizes things between cars, at least in that respect.

It would be nice to know where to look on the sidewall, like near the outer tread, on the (main ring) or by the wheel rim.What does it look like: "UTQG: 400AB" or something else (400AB)? It's not as prominent as the tire size numbers. I looked at the tires on my DD, and they have "treadwear 540"? (CooperTires 185/65/R14) I suppose passenger tires can wear less (over 50,000 miles) and still be safe to drive, compared to a higher-performance tire.

Ok, so I looked up some tires on TireRack.com, and found some BFG Radial T/A tires, size: 215/60R14 and it has a UTQG rating of 400AB (it says this in the description box for the tire.) The a service description was 91S. Treadwear: 400 Traction: A temperature: B Load Index 91: 1356 LB per tire Speed rating S: 112 MPH this on the So it looks like that tire should be adequate for some autocross in the stock or STU classes. Arne is correct that the rules require a "minimum UTQG treadwear rating of 140" so thanks for clarifying that. The temperature rating is unfamiliar to me, but that should be easy to look into. I suppose it only matters if you're doing something like driving long-distance at 100 MPH through phoenix, AZ in August?

I thought that the place where you buy the tires should have the UTQG values. I haven't talked to them since it's a new thing for me, and my tires are fine for everything else. It's just that the new ST classes for SCCA autocross require tires with a UTQG rating for 140 or more. How would you, or the autocross tech guy, know if your tires are compliant? Of course mud and snow tires are exempt- I doubt they would ever get anywhere close to the limit of temperature, or wear.

For the new autocross classes like STR, etc., you need to have tires with a UTQG rating of 140, but the rating isn't literally seen on the tire's sidewall. Instead, you get a bunch of other stuff like tread wear, traction, and temperature. So how do you go from there to the UTQG value? thxZ

It looked to me as it it caught some air under the bottom, because at first it lifted & rolled to the right, then tumbled to the left.

Is there a writeup on this? The JDM website says to look through the pictures, and it has some little things you can barely see. thxZ