Black Beaut

Out of interest, is that kit list on their site anywhere? I don't seem to be able to find it, just the individual parts. Seems like a very good price for the parts you get. Damn, you guys in the US are lucky!!! Cheers, Rob

One rather unflaturing reviewer of the Crossfire in the UK described the curve of the backside as being like that of a dog doing a #2. I haven't been able to look at a Crossfire since without that image popping into my mind!! Cheers, Rob ps sorry for lowering the tone of the discussion :eek: where's the winking smiley gone?!!!!!

Hi all, I've just got hold of an R200 to put in my '73. It's a 3.7 though - you get what you can over here ok I was looking at the old z garage site - http://geocities.com/zgarage2001/engine.html - though and got an idea. According to that site the 3.7 is a 37:10 ring/pinion and the 4.11 is a 37:9 ring/pinion. So my question is are the two ring gears the same and can I just swap in a 9 tooth pinion gear to convert my 3.7 to a 4.11 or are there subtle geometry differences between the two 37 ring gears? OK I practically know the answer is no but it's got to be worth asking the question right? Cheers, Rob

Excellent info guys, much appreciated. Seeing as different valves make such a difference I shall wait until the head has been worked on and the new 280 size valves have been dropped in and the inlet seat has been swapped to steel. Then I can get serious about measuring these suckers! Cheers, Rob

Cool, thanks for the extra info there Jon, especially catching the spark plug thread issue, very valid point! I'm planning on building a stroker block to mate this head to with an 88mm bore so like you say the unshrouding won't matter. Definitely need to measure the volume property now though!! Cheers, Rob

No idea how the car will drive with this head on it as I got it on Ebay. My Z's a '73 so it's probably go the late head on it anyway, certainly hasn't got any power that's for sure You might want to consider shaving your current head, that would probably work out cheaper than sourcing an early E88 plus you won't have to mess about reseting all the lash pads and stuff! It wouldn't take much of a shave to get the chamber volume down to the early head spec I'm sure. Cheers, Rob

helloooooo, echo, echo, echo Any thoughts peeps? I filled out the custom piston form on Top End's site but not heard anything Cheers, Rob

Check out this thread: http://www.classicZcars.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13114 There's some pics of my shaved and ported E88 which is still open to debate as to whether it's early on not - probably not. Also Carl has attached an image of the early E88 chamber. Shame it's a head off job though! Cheers, Rob

Lucky guess I swapped everything up front I could find with urethane bushings, control arm, radius/tension rod, sway bar drop links, steering rack and coupler. Hopefully they should last a few more miles Cheers, Rob

Hi All, Managed to finish up the front suspension this weekend. Little bit knackered now but good to have got it all done. Just need to get a brake pedal back before I can try her out again - then of course start planning the rear swap, whoopee! Cheers, Rob

Hi all, Well plans are afoot to knock out a bit of a stroker engine. I've pretty much finalised the piston spec as above. The low compression height is to help keep the compression to around 10.5:1 and allow plenty of valve clearance without having to machine the piston tops. I've already got an E88 head that's been shaved by 0.030" so compression isn't a problem. Only problem is finding a piston to this spec. So far I've got a quote of £125+VAT each from a company for forged pistons. Yes that is nearly $260 :eek: The best bit is that they probably wouldn't be able to deliver for 6 months :sleepy: I'm waiting to hear back from another company but I thought I'd pop over the virtual pond and see if you guys have any recommendation/ideas. I've got no problem with importing pistons from the US (or OZ for any of our southern hemisphere cousins reading) if the price works out right. Also while we're on the subject of pistons, what are your thoughts on cast v forged? As I said the planned compression is 10.5:1 but the engine won't be revved over 7k. However I am thinking - further down the line - of trying a low boost supercharger on there and simply dropping the compression to around 9.5:1 with a 2mm head gasket. Cheers folks, Rob

Cool, thanks. Here's a couple of pics of my head. That area is clearly less pronounced on mine. What do you think? Cheers, Rob

Thanks guys, I was thinking about working out the volume of a 0.030" high cylinder but wasn't sure what the diameter would've been, 83mm makes a fair bit of sense though :stupid: Now then on to verifying which type E88 I've got to start with. What are the give away clues? Mine has 42mm inlet and 34mm exhaust valves. Still has brass inlet seats but the head has been given a workover already so they might have been changed in the past already. Having bought it from the joy that is Ebay, it's origins are a bit of a mystery. Cheers, Rob

Hi All, Does anyone know roughly what the chamber cc will be on an E88 after a 0.030" shave? I need a figure to plug into the engine calculator. I've been guessing at 42cc so far. Cheers, Rob

Thanks All, I got them out yesterday using the drill method, brute force and hacksaw. All virtually painless - gasp!! Cheers, Rob

That's sounds like another good method, thanks Marty. Should've said that I'm replacing with Energy Suspension bushes so I don't need to retain the original outer bush, just need loads of silicon grease. Cheers, Rob

Thanks Chris! Seems that Ebay-UK has a pretty reasonable price 1 ton press just begging to be added to my junk collection Cheers, Rob

Hi, Sorry to dig up this old thread but it's on the right subject for me at the moment. I'm going to be tackling the control arms this weekend and wondered if anyone has any DIY alternatives for removing the original bushes other then burning them? I've only been able to find this one (very helpful) write up on the job: http://www.AtlanticZ.ca/zclub/techtips/suspension/frontcontrolarm/index.html Cheers, Rob

Thanks 2ManyZs. I've managed to fix it now. Turned out the hub adapter hadn't been assembled too well and it was that that was actually causing the wobble. Attacked it with a trusty allen key and added some washers and it's all solid as a rock now Shame the 5 socket screws used to fix the wheel to the boss have signs of rust already - you just can't get the quality these days eh?!! Cheers, Rob

Hi All, I recently fitted one of the FX wheels that MSA sell to my 240Z but the damn thing is wobbly. I've torqued the nut down that holds the boss to the shaft but the splines on the boss just don't seem to sit snugly with the shaft's splines. The wheel does turn the wheels fine as it grips enough on the shaft splines. Bit blooming annoying to say the least! I'm not sure if the shafts splines have been damaged by a previous owner fitting a different aftermarket wheel (Motalita). Has anyone suffered a similar problem? Due to my location I'd prefer to fix rather than send the wheel back. I've been pondering wrapping the shaft with wome aluminium foil just to increase it's diameter slightly but not loose too much definition of the splines, any thoughts on that? Cheers, Rob

Hi All, I'm having fun and games with nicely seized flare nuts on my brake lines at the moment. In particular the ones on the strut leg mount. Looks like I'm going to have to get new S bend hard lines unless!!! Can you get braided lines that will run directly to the caliper from the inner fender mount to the caliper? All the kits I can find just seem to be replacements for the rubber lines. I've checked the usual suspect websites but with no joy. Any ideas folks? Cheers, Rob

Hmmm, not too keen on the panasport/minilite style wheels. They're a bit too common over here, every man and his MG has them. Cheers, Rob

Hi All, I want to do a big disc conversion, probably from Arizona Z, and so I need to get bigger wheels first. I've got 14x7 Wolfrace slot mags on at the moment and really like the 70's look so I was wondering if they were available in 16x7. I've searched all over the place and haven't been able to find any though apart from some specially made split rim replicas which sure ain't cheap. Any ideas folks? Cheers, Rob

!! Translation issues eh! Gaiter is the bit of vinyl that covers the rubber gear lever boot and is fixed on to the centre console with clips. Something like these: A bit safer to have in the car than some large reptile commonly found in the Everglades What do you guys call them? Cheers, Rob

Hi All, Due to an unfortunate misunderstanding my gear gaiter is now in the possession of County Waste Disposal Dept. so I need to get hold of a new one. I'm going to get a local trimmer to knock up a leather one for me to match the steering wheel he's re-trimming at the moment but I need the dimensions. Any one know them or has their gaiter handy to measure from? See cunning image attached for dimensions I need. I'm assuming the 't' is the same for all 4 sides. Cheers, Rob