PeterAllen

We just had time for a quick drink this arvo to chat about old times, but he's here for this: http://www.sydneymotorsportpark.com.au/event/porscherennsport/

Talk is around that Sandown will no longer conduct motorsport after November this year. If you want to have a run you may need to act soon.

A Bob Britton Lotus 23B has been added to the list but I'm still waiting to hear from owners who are actually bringing a Zed! Note: The weather forecast suggest things could be a bit iffy - I will post here at noon on Saturday to advise.

Peter B. Just noticed my upholstery matches the paint on your car!

Thanks chaps. Full travel on the driver's runner and three short on the passenger's match what I have. There is a distinctive dimple in the mechanism which acts as a stop on the passenger runner. By coincidence just the other day I took a vertically challenged passenger for a ride and she complained (a women - what's new) that her feet couldn't touch the firewall. I must say it's an issue I've never heard raised before nor given any thought to. Can't for the life of me get the seat back coverings to stretch enough to fit. Got an extra pair of hands coming tomorrow to try again. (edit) Sorry Peter I was two finger typing and missed you post above - yes, exact matching data.

I'm just re-covering the seats (a drama in itself) and noticed the seat runner adjustment on the passenger seat doesn't allow full use of the setting notches in the runner. I appears that it could, in theory. go back a further 3 notches but it seem to be coming up against a stop in the internals. I've not removed the driver's seat as yet to compare.. I must admit I thought there was plenty of travel when the seat was installed so I wonder if anyone has a seat out of their car can check whether the runners move so as to engage all the notches to determine if mine needs repair. Thanks.

Okay folks I really need to get some idea of who is bringing their Zed or an exotic along. There are a couple of people with exceptional cars coming (including an aluminium bodied GT40) so we have the basis of an interesting event. Please PM me or via mobile - Oh for one Juan Oh nein won ate sex seven.

Nice one. Wow, check this out. In the UK they've fitted these kits to Porsche 924s so I've just checked, out of curiosity, the price of a second-hand 924 here in Oz. I couldn't believe it, <$10k with only 25,000 klm on the clock, that's cheaper than a rusted S30. Not sure if a 924 would pull the skin off a rice custard but I'm still amazed at that low price.

Alex, if they were for my kit I'd be all over them and not mentioning them here, or elsewhere. With the scarcity and cost of Zed donor cars I don't think there is a market for these kits anymore, though I've always wondered if they could be easily adapted to another common donor. If mine was ever damaged beyond the point where I couldn't repair the panels I think I'd just take the insurance money and buy a Morgan, like I should have done in the first place 10 years ago.

If anyone on here purchases these moulds I'll be your friend for life. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Ferrari-250-GTO-Datsun-240Z-260Z-fiberglass-body-kit-mould-set-/282013399906?hash=item41a94efb62:g:~U8AAOSwXj5XGZ11

No worries George, it's just the result of sleep-deprived parenthood.

Such anti-semite behaviour is deplorable. The 'get-together' on the other hand is open to members of all faiths and atheist. I do however draw the line at Manly supporters.

You certainly have confused me, I can't even find 'this vid".

Is that 0.4 of a degree or 4 degrees? Is that 'x' axis only or compound? Curious.

A chap I know from the Clubman forum is coming up from rural Vic to Sydney on the 30th April and I'm trying to organise for a few Zed, Clubman or Cobra owners to bring their cars along for a get-together. When I did this for a chap from England a couple of years ago the turnout was very surprising. It was great to see so many cars turn up and the owners (motoring enthusiasts all) mixing. http://www.viczcar.com/forum/topic/11697-a-sydney-get-together-is-on-sun-23rd-march-2014/ The GTO has moved some way since then and while still a long way of finished it is drivable if people are interested in seeing it. The date is Saturday 30th April, around 1.00pm. No drinks or food supplied but you can use the loo. Location; Sutherland Shire (PM me for the address). It doesn't matter if you don't bring a Zed, come along anyway and kick a few tyres and listen to the BS.

Mark, I sincerely hope you see this through to the end. The effort you are putting in deserves a just reward. Fantastic, well done.

John. Give some serious thought to mounting heat shields outside the cabin, e.g. firewall and transmission tunnel. This is in addition to inside thermal cladding. One technique is to use nutserts which leave an air gap between the shield and the body. You're in a good place to consider this now while it's on the rotisserie. I can't stress enough to work with a 'complete build' focus - a holistic approach, to borrow 90s buss words. 90% of the angst and compromise I've had to settle for is because of clearance issues.

Ah, the ubiquitous coat hanger. What would a workshop be without them and milk crates?

John. As the saying goes, "love your work". Might it be worthwhile to use 5mm rod, or similar, to make a wire frame of the critical body areas, (e.g, the transmission tunnel opening on the firewall) that you can quickly drop on and take off the tubular chassis. It might assist is keeping the location of the shell relative to all the components you'll be attaching whilst the chassis is bodiless.

This will probably just confuse your decision-making even further but I'll post it anyway. The John's Cars Inc (JCI) mounts from Texas are the most popular LS1 engine swap. They actually sit the engine 25mm offset to our driver's side. JCI has never offered an explanation why this is so. Some have speculated it is to offset the weight of the driver in a LHD car and others suggest it simply allowed for the best fit overall. By coincidence when I installed the Holden LSD diff the input shaft is 20mm offset to our driver's side which creates an almost perfect sideways alignment with the LS1 gearbox output. I made the gearbox and diff mounts angled on the vertical plane to further ensure alignment. As a result I used Jurid couplings (rubber coupling) from the VZ SS Ute donor car on both ends of the tailshaft. Prior to going down this path I discussed this concept with a genuine drivetrain guru (Ford research engineer) and he stated the Jurid couplings were good if the compound angle of the tailshaft didn't exceed 4 degrees, i.e. offset on the 'x' axis and the 'y' axis combined didn't exceed 4 degrees. So, if you are struggling to get enough angle on the unis to avoid brindling you might want to consider actually straightening out the alignment and fitting Jurid couplings. Arr... the joys of hybrid builds!

We are talking Europe 1960s my dear chap, not vulgar America 1970s ... or any period in America for that matter. Pete, I have the cap, leftover from my Goodwood trip.

It is the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 next month and I'm following an interesting thread about some of its history. Here is the text from a few of posts which are relevant to this discussion: - "Peter Revson qualified for the pole in 1971 at record speeds. His time would not have been quick enough to qualify for the 1972 race." - "Were the rule changes or was just the development that fast in that time?" - "USAC allowed wings for the first time, so the wedge shaped cars of 1971 were now replaced with cars that had massive rear wings. I believe they were much slower in terms of top speed along the straights, but obviously gained enormously in the turns."

Jeff, I don't want to crowd your build thread but while you've got the welder out you might consider stitching the structural bits, e.g. strut towers and cross-member. It's best not to stitch the lighter panels, particularly fore and aft, as they can act as crumple zones to retain the integrity of the structural bits. A crumpled panel can be fixed a lot easier than a twisted structural member.

I settled on making three sections (the front rails, the floor rails and the rear up-sweep) and welding them together in-situ. It was far, far easier that trying to make a one-piece to fit. As you can see, I married the rear up-sweep more to the side of the rear cross-member - the second time around!

Jeff. Just make sure you have clearance for the rear roll-bar with the extended frame rail. I got caught and had to redo mine.