Zedyone_kenobi

Installing a rear sway bar should not make you ride any higher. That is strange. Perhaps since the car was jacked up and the suspension was unloaded the car just sits higher since the struts were fully extended. That close clearance spooks me. I guess It is designed to work.

Well I managed to remove and install my drivers side rear wheel bearings in the course of one week. Which is a blistering pace. Everything went smoothly except for two things. First, I have heard some advice on how to get the big freaking nut off the stub axle. All of it good I am sure, but I can tell you one way NOT to do it. DO not take the easy way out and use an impact wrench to get the peened nut off. Yes it will come off in a a matter of seconds with little to no effort on your part, BUT, and here is the but, it will gall the holy hell out of the last two threads of your axle. Ask me how I know this . Well the machine shop I took to get my bearing pressed on was kind enough to fix those threads for me. Second, with the car on jack stands, and the wheel off, it is next to impossible to get 200 ft lbs of torque on that damn nut when putting it back on. The problem is that when tightening the nut you are pushing up on drivers side. that means the suspension will compress what ever bar you have wedged in between the lugnuts against the floor will want to turn. I had a two and a half foot pipe that came with my floor jack I used to wedge it in, and I actually bent the darn pipe before my click'y torque wrench indicated 200 ft lbs. I had to use a hydraulic jack to push my torque wrench up and STILL did not hear it click. IF this had been the passenger rear side, I would have pushed down and this would have not been an issue. So I decided that this was tight enough, and I took out my hammer and peened the nut on both sides as well as I could. It looks like it is in the same position as the one I took off. And Lord knows it is tight. Also the atlantic Z sight is great, those pieces of advice are spot on. Freezing the inner bearing to install works fine, but still takes quite a lot of persuasion to get on. Freezing the outer bearing on the stub axle works flawlessly and I was able to get it fully installed with only two light hammer taps. The slop in my wheel that I could feel is now gone and I can move over to the next project.

boyracer, if that is your white Z, please paint the front spoiler to match, it will look so much better! And 225 on 10" rims can be done, but it will look positively ridiculous. I know some guys in the VW world do it but it is unsafe and hurts handling in more ways than I can get into.

I was more worried about what 5150 above and the regulars. I have been competitive for a few years when I was autocrossing, but again, that was only in a 2006 WRX STI that was mildly modded. Hitting cones was never really a problem, but it took me 2 years to learn to drive the STI fast. The Z will not be entering any regular racing, but I think it is good to go out and race them from time to time to keep them honest so they do not get use to being a garage queen. THanks for your answers, I will get a hold of my local chapter to see where they want to put me. Like you said Gnosez, I really do not care about the times so much as I want to have some fun sliding the Z around.

Well I have run nothing but subarus for a while, but really want to give RWD in an autocross a try. The Z seemed very fun to drive during track days, but the lack of power gave it a disadvantage. However, autocross is all about being nimble, and responsive. I am running 195/60/15's, potenza UHP all season rubber, but those tires are living on borrowed time. I just found a sight that sells DOT approved race tires in 205/50/15's for 125 each. I paid more for my all seasons! Now I have no intention on trying to be seriously competitive with this car, I just want to be properly classed.

Stock everything but with tokiko springs and struts... What class would I be in? Running All season rubber, so no race tires.

Okay, I am running 195/60/15's on a 15x7" panasport. I am lowered on tokiko springs and struts. When I ran 205/60/15's I rubbed on the front body work when turning, but if you have an aftermarket air dam and not the OEM body panels that should not be an issue. I definitely noticed my car was easier to turn with the 195's on there. FYI

That looks VERY clean! You are off to a great start! Take your time, and start a journal. Keep track of everything in it. Parts, cost, where you get things, where you sold things, torque settings, which hoses you have replaced etc. It will come in handy. Also, get it safe first. Fix it right one time and then move on to the next. Brakes are paramount. Spare no expense to get it working correctly. Start at the booster and work your way down. Check everything. NO need to upgrade, just go OEM and it will stop very well.

Here is a close up of mine installed with the retrosound 240Z faceplate. It would be possible to use the retrosound faceplate as a template and make one off center to fit the antenna up/down button. I almost think you could fit it in with the face plate as it is. But it would be close.

I did upgrade mine to to the ceramics that motorsport sells, they are quite nice. Little dusting and pretty good bite.

THanks! I forgot that was there. Sorry for posting it in the wrong forum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yFNQI1PYGc&feature=player_embedded#at=413 One of the greatest videos I have seen put together on classic rally racing. The Z makes a few appearances. Some may enjoy. It is 90 minutes long. So get some popcorn first!

Where would I look if I wanted one?

I put some meguiers on my seats. Then sat in it and cursed the fact that put some meguiers on my seats.

I think you have stumbled into a naming convention. I am not an expert, Arne may be able to chime in, but there is one particular color of Datsun orange that is pretty darn red looking. Or vise versa...you get what I mean.

You guys are making me very sad. I wish I could mail you some sunshine!

I do not know about easy, but the subaru WRX diffs will bolt in with some work. You will need to convert to CV's, but it is one hell of a stout diff!

Well I decided to say to hell with cold weather, and I took the Z out today to play. It was 25 degrees this morning, but after warming up, she did great and seemed to really love the cold weather. The tires however proved to be a bit slippy. Every once in a while I have to drive her when I normally would not to let her know she is no garage queen! Plus I like to give the heater a workout. Get out and drive. Enjoy the Z! Today may be the last day you have, and what better way to spend it than on a fun drive!

Well it takes all kinds. What I hope is that the true collector status never pushes the Z into a 'flip this car' mode we see on barrett Jackson. I would rather the cars be driven and loved. The Z is one of those cars that is as fun today as it was 40 years ago. The dynamics are still current and the car still handles very well. I hope the fine folks I have got to know here keep the dream alive and running.

MY dad is quite ill, and I can truly sympathize. I wish you the best and want to congratulate you on such a wonderful build. Your car and your work ethic are inspirational to me a when I roll up my sleeves for another project. Also I am not ashamed to say I would do a great many illegal things for your style panasports.

I am not going to bash you at all. IN fact welcome! There are dozens of posts about the MSA twice pipes... just do a little search and you will be very happy.

That sumitomo is a nice offering in that size. Any summer tire is just about guaranteed better than an all season. Wish I would have seen those.

I wish you all the luck in the world. My Z would love to be stripped down and resprayed. So many little things that I know are wrong that this level of restoration would fix. One day...

Tires are a love hate thing. They are, without a doubt, the most important part on the entire car. Seems it is the last place you would want to skimp. I am even thinking of going to 16's just so I can find GOOD performance rubber. The only thing stopping me is that the car is not really an all out screamer, since it is mostly stock and the Ultra High Performance Potenza 960A's I have on there now are truely a good match for a stock HP 240Z. Overtiring it may make the car lose some character. I even thought about going down to 14's just for the lightness. What I will probably end up doing is keeping everything the way it is, and installing some quick steering knuckles. But my mind changes daily. I am funny that way.

For 14's that is steep, but last time I put tires on my Subaru it was almost 900.