jmortensen

http://www.theonion.com/video/today-now-interviews-the-5yearold-screenwriter-of,20188/

I've posted here and at Hybrid Z about testing backlash from the wheel or from the driveshaft. Short version is you can't. Suffice it to say that I think it is unlikely (but not impossible) that your problem is the diff. I do think it is impossible to turn the halfshaft and find out anything meaningful about what is going on inside the diff, unless you feel broken spider gears or something horrendously wrong. Here is one of those previous threads. Looks like the problem in this case was a transmission mount: http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/91146-drivetrain-clunkingim-going-to-need-some-help/ Good luck finding your clunk.

Sounds to me like you're blaming the weird issue you have and the clunk on the diff. Diff clunk is almost never the result of the differential. Search "diff clunk" and you'll see people replacing diffs and having the exact same noise, etc. I would expect your initial problem to be something with the ebrake. I have a friend who owned a Fiat Spyder back in the 80s and it chipped a tooth on the ring gear and he managed to the the pinion locked together with the ring and it locked the diff solid but I've never heard of another instance like that before or since, and I've had a decent amount of exposure to different differential problems. You can always pull it and check, but I just really doubt that what was going on had anything to do with the differential.

Rpms depends on tire size, diff ratio, and trans ratios. If freeway rpms are a concern, this will help figure it out before you commit to anything: http://webspace.webring.com/people/cz/z_design_studio/ FWIW, I like the close ratio ZX transmissions with a low diff ratio. The ZX's came with a 3.90, so a 4.11 is not bad at all. Bad Dog's idea of lower rpms with the 4.11 and 5 speed is proved by the calculator.

Isn't Z31 also trailing arm? I thought someone had done a switch in a ZX to S14 suspension. Maybe I'm wrong, but I believe it is a 5 link. Depending on how much you want to cut into it, you could do just about anything, SLA, strut, live axle, 5 link, etc. "Any suspension- no matter how poorly designed- can be made to work reasonably well if you just stop it from moving." -Colin Chapman

You're probably right, I haven't seen too many people complain about hitting the inside.

I think he's saying that they're rubbing on the inner fender well, not the outer lip. I experienced this with a 15 x 8 with 5" backspace and a tire that was way too wide for the rim. I'm not sure you you could have had the same thing with a 16 x 8 with 0 offset. The OD of the tire might be taller, but I wouldn't think that it would rub the inside like that.

Your 71 has a 3.36 rear end from the factory. Adding the 280Z five speed will gain you a little mpg, but the gearing is a bit tall (280Z's came with 3.54's). I'd sooner follow ezzzzzz's prescription and get the ZX five speed and a 3.90 or 4.11 diff. That would make for a much more lively car.

Actually, I just realized I was wrong about the above. You can do a progressive spring setup with coilovers, or you can do a helper spring. More info here: http://e30m3project.com/e30m3performance/tech_articles/susp-tech/springs/index.htm I do think that what this company is selling is the helper spring which basically keeps the spring from being loose at full droop, so if that is correct it does fit the Dukes of Hazzard example I used previously.

Coilovers are coilovers for the most part. If you're looking for cheap you can buy generic threaded sleeves and nuts from www.colemanracing.com along with top hats and be done with it and probably come up cheaper than that setup. The only difference between what they sell and what GC sells is that they use a "helper" or "tender" spring. The tender spring has very little spring rate and is only there to prevent the main spring from flopping around at full droop. Your car won't spend any time at full droop when you're actually driving unless you're doing Dukes of Hazzard style jumps. If Roscoe P Coltrane (and Flash) are in hot pursuit and you think you need to hit that dirt berm and jump the creek and get away, then go ahead and get yourself a helper spring. For the rest of us, it just doesn't matter once you take the car off the jack and put it on the ground.

Gas struts add ride height, the force that is trying to extend the strut is inside the spring but not contained by it. So the spring works on the same structure as the strut. If the strut is charged, it essentially adds to the spring rate. If it is not, then it doesn't.

www.zccjdm.com makes a VERY WIDE kit with VERY GOOD quality. The rear flares will fit a 14" wide wheel with 5" backspace. Reaction Research also makes several different kits, Subtle, 940, and YZ, and a Ferrari 250 GTO kit which I think is also wider than stock. RR is expensive but also reported to be very good. http://www.reactionresearch.com/automotivedetails.htm You can also get flares from www.motorsportauto.com if you want to keep it simpler. Showcars is in Canada and they do some Z stuff, but the guy has a bad rep. Search here and hybridz.org for more on that.

I agree on tlorber, make the ceilings high enough for a lift, and with Jim that you can't make it too big. While you're at it, look at the floor requirements for a lift, because if you just pour a 4" slab with no rebar, you won't be able to install a lift and retrofitting is expensive. 220 and 110 and air plumbed around the shop are great ideas. My shop has a NG industrial heater and it has a thermostat which stays at 50 year round. The heater will bring the shop up to 65 or 70 in about 45 minutes. Very handy, and really beats the last house I was in where I used a Mr Buddy propane heater in an otherwise unheated shop (although the Mr Buddy was much better than nothing). If I were building again from scratch I'd put some wide overhangs on the roof and a cheap table and vise out there. Sometimes you're working on something that is very messy and you just don't want to do it in the shop, so you end up in the driveway working on the ground. Not optimal.

Looks like it's trying to be a Shelby Daytona. Maybe a search for shelby daytona 240z

The part of the axle that strips is the part where the peen is, not where the nut is really holding on. I stripped one (though not that bad), dressed the threads with a thread file, and reused it successfully. You'll have to make your own decision about how much it bothers you.

They all have it, I'm pretty sure. The wires are taped up in the harness near the fuel sender wires.

I ran my pump off of the wires by the tank. Pump ran slow and sped up as revs came up. This might be one of those things that would be better served by a relayed power source. In fact, I just set my new pump and electrical system up with relayed power, or rather Dave Irwin did, as I can't wire a lamp successfully...

I think you're underestimating those who still harbor a grudge. It seems presumptuous to say that they're all a bunch of cretins. Some think our president harbors some pretty strong anti-colonialist notions (returning the bust of Churchill as one of his first actions after taking office being one indicator), like him or not I don't think there is too much doubt that he could find Britain on a map. Speaking of which, I think I'd have to say that as you are a citizen of a colonial power your wait for "redemption" will probably be longer than mine, although the US seems to like to add to our list of offenses with alarming regularity.

No, why? Are they friends of yours? I just said I understood the reluctance, not that I was endorsing or agreed with it. It proves my point though. People don't forget how a country has mistreated them just because that country suffers a natural disaster, even if it was 70 years ago.

Like it or not, Japan pissed a lot of people off in the 20th century. I saw news reports of large numbers of Chinese people saying something like "Warm welcome to the Japanese tsunami" on the internet, and really if you look what happened between those two countries it doesn't surprise me at all. I'm guessing the number of Filipinos donating is probably pretty slim as well. They pretty well ran over all of Southeast Asia, so I would guess that this feeling is pretty widespread in the region. As to the dollars spent to help Haiti vs Japan, Haiti is a dirt poor 3rd world shithole, Japan is a technological leader. I think their debt situation may bite them in the arse here, but they are certainly in a better position than Haiti to deal with what comes their way. Also consider the death tolls. Haiti, maybe 300K, Japan, maybe 20K dead.

280ZX has 25 splines IIRC.

220, 221, whatever it takes.

Not true. Only the 70 and 71 were straight. After that they moved the diff back and used the curved link so that they could fix the U-joint angles.

Dave was over the other day helping me wire up my race car and I got to see this switch in person. There is a lot more to replacing the ignition switch than just putting a button in its place, but he has really done all the figuring for you. I hope you sell a ton of em Dave.

You betta check yourself before you wreck yourself. The new Mustang will eat the new Z alive on a road course. It was .1 second slower than the M3 at Streets of Willow. If you know the track it is basically like a big autocross, not the kind of track where huge amounts of hp can overcome crappy suspension. I think the new Z would likely be several seconds slower on this twisty, short course.