zedevan

i just found some pics of the guys eclipse. there's some videos of it too, he has little segments strobe in the order of the direction he's turning and stuff like that, not sure if its legal...lol, but i dont get americas indicators, but i havn't ever really tried

yeah i was concidering buying a set of c110 skyline rear lights at one stage as they like they could of come on the car, but i guess it depends what look you want. regarding the led tail lights for it to look nice you have to set up the array and fill the whole lense imho, there's a guy in america who's got an eclipse and his rear lights are nuts, i'll try to find a pic later on

i do not mind the lights themselves, just the panel, particually the fillets around the reverse light, lol, getting off topic i know. ages ago i started a thread regarding the skyline lights i'm fabricating for my car, i'm hoping to actully finish them soon since i'll hopefully have some time...hopefully

ohyeah, forgot about the fact you got the roof replaced! mayb thats y i remembered your car had a sunroof, just forgot that it was HAD your car looks nice, and is a classy classic colour, is the rear tail light panel on 240z's metal and hence how it can be chromed? or is it dipped plastic? i think thats the main reason to get a 240 over a 260, the rear lights, 260z's rear light panel is ugly in comparison i agree with most ppl's comment being "oh a 260z, i prefer 240z's" being due to 2+2's. i think i read somewhere that fewer 2+2's were made than the 2 seaters, is that true?

so you're in america? to my knownledge the only sportsmax wheels that came in 0 offset were 15X8's and in most pictures they look like they stick out a little bit while i was looking around for rims i found that "speedy wheels" make a fair few 17" rims that will fit and are cheap, like $250 a wheel, but they all had a slightly positive offset so i think you could only run the 7" ones, and normally they dont make wider ones as what cars can fit them? hence y u have to go custom...

that has me a little worried as mines a later 260z :S ohwell if its a problem coilovers it is lol which rims are you thinking of getting? if i was in america and the price was an issue i'd get those sportsmax ones, or the one thats been released more recently that looks like work equip rims, however i guess its kind of a different look

yeah i saw that car up there the other day when i was looking just out of curosity and was thinking the same thing about it! your mum should get them to give her a discounted xr6 turbo motor for it :evil:, i'd never do it myself but it sure would make for one quick car. so u've now got 2 zeds in the family, both with sunroofs, and both not on the road? lol! hack up the 260z and keep your 240z orginal. i should of bought a car in a similar state to this, along with a cheap 80's corolla, and played with it as it works out much cheaper, but i've had alot of fun with mine still and i couldnt imagine it being any other way (the past that is, not the car hehe) have fun with them both, and enjoy your car when you get your p's! i get off mine the day after you get yours i just realised so the late 260z's have the same suspension and hubs as 280z's? just trying to work out what stuff works thats on the overseas sites etc

i've noticed while driving slowly and turning to full lock that there is a point at where it kind of automatically turns tighter, if that makes sense. Is this what the bump steer spacers fix?

there's a place just past knox along burwood hwy on the right that does it into spray cans, and a guy at uni uses a place thats in boronia coz he lives out there, both are sub $20 for the can i believe

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When you?re a car enthusiast who has owned the same machine for almost 20 years, chances are there isn?t much left on the car that remains unmodified. Just take John Whittaker?s 1976 Datsun 260Z for example. The suspension and brakes are f-a-r removed from the standard Datto parts ? and you?d better be ready for a surprise when you pop the bonnet... There?s a tuned Skyline GT-R motor hiding in there! Click for larger image John is the owner/manager of Brisbane Tuning and Turbo Centre and, as you might imagine, he?s had petrol pumping through his veins for many years. Back in the late ?70s, John purchased this RS30-series 260Z from its original owner and proceeded to give it the performance to run with the hot cars of the day ? namely, Toranas, Monaros, Falcons and Chargers. The first serious round of mods saw the original L26 in-line six equipped with a draw-through carby turbo set-up. John says this set-up made quite good power - about 260hp (191kW) at the wheels - but it lacked the oomph to make it a real on-road ego basher. After about four years of running a boosted L26, John decided to step up to the L28 engine (as fitted to the later series Zed). A new engine was pieced together with a ported head and some beefed-up parts and John achieved his goal of improving flexibility and torque. Now fast-forward to the start of the current millennium. Click for larger image As a workshop owner, John didn?t want to get left behind by the current breed of performance cars so he took the big plunge ? fitment of an R32 Skyline GT-R engine (RB26DETT). John says there was a lot of work that had to be done to accommodate the DOHC twin-turbo donk but the similarities between the L-series and RB-series bottom-end helped make it achievable. John recognised the limits of the factory engine mounting arrangement and added an upper engine brace to keep everything sitting where it should. The RB26DETT was slid into the Zed together with the accompanying GT-R gearbox. To suit its adaptation into a rear-wheel-drive car, John removed the front-drive section of the ?box and performed some custom mods. A modified HKS single-plate clutch is sandwiched between the engine and ?box. The Datto IRS has been revised with Nissan R31 Skyline LSD (R200) rear suspension running custom driveshafts. John says it?s unlikely the standard driveshafts would?ve lasted under the stress of a boosted RB26. Click for larger image A squiz around the engine bay reveals some power-up mods to take the RB26DETT well beyond its standard 280hp (206kW) power level. The inlet to the compressors is virtually restriction-free thanks to twin K&N filters and the turbochargers are based on HKS 25/10s. John says he ran the engine with the turbos as supplied from Japan, but after fiddling with the wheels and housings, he managed to pick up torque at both the bottom and top ends of the rev range. A 3 inch mandrel bent exhaust lets the turbines breathe. Click for larger image An air-to-air intercooler was initially used in the car but the front-mount placement of the big core didn?t do any favours in terms of maintaining coolant temperature. The alternative was to switch to a compact water-to-air intercooler set-up using a PWR heat-exchanger, electric pump and dedicated front radiator. John isn?t entirely happy with the set-up on the track ? some experimentation with pump flow and radiator heat-exchange properties might be needed. The intercooler plumbing is made from mandrel bent stainless tube and twin GT-R blow-off valves are fitted. To avoid engine destruction on the racetrack, John has upgraded to a thick core aluminium radiator with a large diameter electric fan. An Odyssey battery, isolator switch and oil catch can are neatly nestled into the rear of the engine bay. Click for larger image The task of controlling fuel, timing and boost pressure is given to an Autronic programmable management system. Fuel is supplied by a set of six Mazda RX-7 (Series 4) injectors and a 700hp Bosch Motorsport fuel pump drinking from a swirl pot. The ignition system is stock with the addition of an Autronic CDI. Boost pressure is limited to 1.2 Bar (17.6 psi) and you?ll find a maximum of 448hp (329kW) at the wheels. John says peak power is attained at 7000 rpm but with the recent turbo tweaking and careful tuning, the car produces strong torque all the way through the rev range. There?s plenty of punch available to kick the rear-end sideways on corner exit. ?The car is pretty neutral in terms of handling,? says John. ?It?s quite controllable and, when you want it, you can make it power oversteer,? he says. Click for larger image The all independent strut suspension uses coil-overs that are custom made by Brisbane Tuning and Turbo Centre using adjustable Koni dampers as the base. Custom adjustable swaybars were also fabricated and a carefully chosen group of bushes are replaced with Nolathane items. John says the car is still driven every day and it was important to maintain an acceptable ride quality. Click for larger image Braking is improved thanks to R32 Skyline calipers and discs together with a Holden VL rear discs. John also added a larger brake master cylinder and braided lines but fell short of installing a hydraulic handbrake ? he?d prefer to keep the original cable-operated system. Despite the substantial improvement, John says the brakes are still pretty marginal ? he plans to switch to R33 Brembos or AP monster anchors. Click for larger image The classic Zed body is standard with a fresh splash of original green pain courtesy of a friend. An aftermarket front lip was added back in the late ?70s/early ?80s and a new rear bumper was about to be fitted after our shoot. The previous one got a li?l bent at a recent track outing... Click for larger image Inside, John has kept much of the '70s Datto feel. The dashboard is standard and retains the factory tacho (using an adaptor off the Autronic ECU) and an oil pressure gauge is integrated where there's normally a clock. A boost gauge and shift light are also added to the steering column. The standard steering wheel remains and there's an aftermarket driver's seat and harness for track purposes. A new set of race seats are soon to be fitted. The area behind the front seats has been stripped and a custom rear suspension tower brace is installed. Rolling on its 16 x 8 alloys and Toyo road-legal slicks (which have now been replaced with Silverstones), John has taken numerous trophies in the historic racing class. And we know what you?re thinking ? it won against old HR Holdens, Anglias and Minis. Wrong! This machine has snatched glory from hairy-chested monsters such as replica Ford GT40s - get the picture?! John is justifiably proud that the car has been built entirely in-house and is frequently street driven. With a move to Silverstone semi-slicks he?s hoping for a bit more adhesion to further reduce lap times. And it?ll need all the adhesion it can get when John follows through with his plan to build a RB30/RB26 hybrid engine. ?I think it will arrive somewhere around 650hp (478kW) at the wheels and I want to make plenty down low ? 200hp (147kW) at 2000 rpm is what I?m after,? he says. Contact: Brisbane Tuning and Turbo Centre +61 7 3393 1588

for some reason when i first opened it i could read the whole article, then went to look at it again and thought i'd retry the way i found it, just type in rb26 260z in google and its about the third one down and it opens up the full article, atleast for now

http://autospeed.drive.com.au/cms/A_2655/article.html so similar to my car yet so not

well at some stage i'd love to paint the car etc, but dont really see the need atm, it still looks nice enough from a few metres away! so i guess ultimately i'd like to just focus on one thing at a time, therefore only upgrade one bit at a time, although i have a feeling this will be more expensive? so i can keep enjoying the car i think i will upgrade the seats just to some factory seats from a newer sports car (prob fd rx7) and the strut braces along with an LSD (should do the one from a skyline as they are stronger? or is it just they are more availible? need to read the threads more) and upgrade the brakes, which means i could also buy rims (prob will when x pays me back) is there any huge advantage to changing to a 5 stud pattern?

i love that colour, have been thinking of diong an olderschool version of it on my car. interesting choice to continue the black down onto the spoiler, have you got any more pics?

i have just organised my IBL for next year, i got the place i wanted to work at (http://www.cobaltniche.com) its in north melbourne so i dont know if i will drive in everyday or just drive to the station and train it, or ride in (possibily bus then have an old bike chained up to ride from the stop in the city to work, hoping it doesn't rain lol) and that is the only option which doesn't require use of a car to get somewhere. i'd like to take my car off the road sometime and play with putting another motor in it and just forget about getting rims for the moment (well probably need them to clear brakes needed to get engineers) and prob take a yr or so do it, however i could change the stud pattern and then get some second hand ones for now that suit it now pulling my car off the road would leave me with the no car issue (might stay working at dicksmith 1 day a week, or atleast a month so that way i can keep my petrol discount and some more money on the side, and really need a car to get around due to the great public transpot system around my place) this is where it sucks the crx was written off, and i was hoping i would get paid 50% more...in which case i was going to buy another similar car small car such as an aw11 mr2, and a family friend is currently selling one...or could convince my dad to get a new car and drive around his old corolla which is about to die, in the hope someone will go into it and write it off another option would be just to pay someone to do the conversion so i can have fun with it now, hoping they would only take a month or so to do it (wishful thinking?) i could survive without a car for that length of time, just i wouldnt learn anything about how stuff works. while if i buy another car so i can try doing the work myself, i can sell it when its no longer needed so isn't throwing money away as much the other option is do nothing on my car, drive it into the city when needed, and save enough money to not have to work much my final yr of uni, therefore getting better results (well that would b the plan), and then start working full time again (and do a conversion then, however i dont want to regret not doing it sooner). my current thought is to do the final yr part time over 2 yrs while working at the place i've got IBL at, but it depends on their workload etc i will probably c how the various commuting issues work out before making a decision as to what to do. my salary isn't huge (less than working at dicksmith full time ) just because of how competitive the whole thing is i assume, as basically i'd have nearly worked at this place for free due to how good an experiance it will be

why did u decide to go down that path? i assume they are adjustable by all the threads on it technotoytunings ones are (US?)$119 each and postage is $30 if ur happy to wait over a month, or $60 for under 2 weeks, but they dont have any triangular ones currently i haven't called len yet, i've been busy and lazy

wow i love rs-8 watanabes! they look nice, my only suggestion would b on the copy's to paint the bolt section so they look more similar ...now if only they came in 17" with a negative offset for less than 5g lol

sweet, thanks for the info! i think my car has the 280z body, but then nate told me it didn't at one of the cruises? but then i had to get the 240z struts modified to work, so basically i'm confused as to which type i'd order, i guess they can give me the length of it and i could measure the distance between the rear struts?

it doesn't pop open that easily or often, but either way you can tell the car is flexing! if it starts happening more often i might adjust it. thanks for the link to www.technotoytuning.com, i assume they are based in america? how much was postage of the items you've gotten so far? is it hard to install bump spacers? the pdk front brace looks very interesting

i just tried emailing him at sales@len-brennan.com.au and it was sent back to me, does anyone know another way of getting in contact with him?

I'm looking into what strut tower braces to purchase and after looking though the american based sites was wondering what similar things were availible here. I'm interested in a triangular type one as my bonnet often pops up going over uneven roads or bumps, so would like to try to prevent all the flex. i know that http://www.len-brennan.com.au/ sells some, and from the pics of his car he must sell a triangulated front one, does anyone know about the back? i'd b interested in something like this for the back to stop the beam just bending when compressed, does anyone know of a place preferably in melbourne that sells them? I'm going to ask len about his rear brace and the pricing of them both, is anyone here using them? also since mine is a 76 260z i assume i cannot purchase a 240z rear strut brace, but the front ones are the same? would 280z braces fit or are they different again? this is an interesting link regarding braces from what i've read so far http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=195399&f=135&h=0

good work and congratulations! we should have a cruise when your car and david's are both registered while ur in japan are you planning on owning a car so u can do a private import? i heard its about the only way to currently get a rhd clio v6 into the country

who owns the zed? shane or alex? his comment reminds me of this pic