KatoKid

I prefer the JDM fender mirror look but I need to get through engineering and rego first so need to fit some compliant mirrors but dont want to drill holes in my doors to mount conventional mirrors. ......so has anyone seen a Z with these Rod style mirrors fitted to the door frame....http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-LONG-ARM-PEEP-MIRROR-OUTSIDE-SIDE-REAR-VIEW-DOOR-FRAME-HOT-STREET-RAT-ROD-PR-/330817568385 I actually like them and could be convinced to keep them if I can make them fit properly and if they are legal. Thoughts....

Thanks. The hot dogs are a really tight fit to get around the diff and get them as high as possible. One of the most annoying things is that when you go to do the final welds everything moves from where you tacked it....irrespective of how many tacks you had on each join! I had to redo a couple of sections because I was working on 10 - 15mm clearances in some areas and it moved so much after final welding. I'm wrapped with the ground clearance, means I can go as low as I want without thoughts of damaging or dragging bits of exhaust everywhere!

Hi Darius. Yes, the lowest point is under the diff. Hot dogs sit about half an inch lower than the chassis rails but bear in mind that the 240 rails are about half the depth of the 260 rails. David

Thanks gents. Didn't know that Gareth, thanks for the heads up.

More of.....

Exhaust is virtually finished, just need to make the front mount for the rear muffler and do the O2 bungs. Its been a much bigger job than I anticipated. Making it a dual system makes it much harder because you have to mirror everything ...if its a single system there is no reference so it always looks right but as soon as you introduce a dual system you can see where things diverge or converge or don't match and look pox if you don't take the time, especially so for this rear section. If I was doing this again I would do it in mild steel and coat it, stainless is just that much harder to work with. The welding bit is fine its the cutting and fine tweaking to get a no gap join so that you can fusion weld is the really time consuming part as stainless is so much tougher (hardness) than mild. Anyway I'm pretty pleased with the way it looks....just hope it is quiet enough and sounds good!

Thats like saying a drag queen needs to wear high heels to complete the look ...either way its just wrong.

I'm in!

Some serious skillz masked by some seriously demented dudes! Faith in your mate behind the wheel...or faith in Allah?

With you Brad....just saw the update on your 1600 on PF....yehaa!

Hot dogs and first hanger is completed. As recommended by Mick Bellinger Ive used generic "Toyota" rubbers which use 10mm push on rods. Ive used cheap mild steel rods for the top rods that have been welded to my modified suspension/front diff mount cross member as they will be painted but had to spend $70 for 10x stainless rods for the lowers. Mounted at 45 degrees it relies on the weight of the system to keep things central. There is some lateral movement as expected but its not enough to be a problem (I think) given the tight tolerances (I'm working with half an inch as minimums) and they are nice and soft so hopefully should provide good NVH insulation. Its not easy to see but there is a step down from the exit of the resonator to the inlet of the hot dogs, required to optimize the ground clearance for the resonator and the positioning of the hots dogs to clear the R200 diff. Also required was the turned in exits from the hot dogs to clear the the rear suspension. The step down loses me some about half an inch of ground clearance but cant be avoided. The mate I borrowed the TIG from needs it back for a few days....so nothing else till late this week.

It 'll foul what? Its a 240 with the small dia struts and Ive got rolled lips and 0 offset 16 x 8 , seen plenty of cars with this combo and 225/50?

Hi all. As above I'm hoping to borrow a rim and tyre (16 x 8 with a 225/ 50 or 45) to check clearance for my exhaust where pipes will come up to the rear muffler behind the back wheel. Only need it for a few days. Thanks. David

Thanks guys, Ive always done exhausts in mild steel and stainless is a lot harder to work with but the end result I think will justify it. Craig, all valid points. I'm pretty sure some heat wrap of some kind will be required but I will drive it a bit to see how I feel about it before going that way. Gordo, it is tight under the diff but its also tight everywhere so no big deal. Ive tacked up the hotdogs and pretty happy with how they fit, they will cost me half an inch of ground clearance compared with the rest of the system but because they are virtually in the same arc as the rear wheels speed humps etc shouldn't be a problem.

Bloody brilliant Vorn! I'm biased but I reckon 920 looks great. Must be a great feeling to get to this stage, keep it up.

I lashed out and bought Vibrant Performance V bands from Summit and very glad I did....very well made, full stainless (cheaper stuff isn't) and they have this really cool flip on flip off quick connect feature for the T bolt. I couldn't tell you how many times I have removed and refitted them in the process but it was heaps and they work brilliantly. I borrowed a BOC Inverweld 140 http://www.twi-global.com/industrial-membership/industrial-members-showcase/products/boc-inverweld/ which is a small portable machine. Its really a stick welder but can be set up to use as a TIG however it has ZERO features (hand or foot amperage control, pre flow, post flow etc) that you normally find in a decent TIG. I had never TIGed before so figured I would tack it with this and have someone experienced finish weld but after a bit of mucking around and going down to 1.6mm tungsten's I found I could get a pretty decent weld from it so have decided to do it all myself. As long as you get very good joins with no gaps you can just fusion weld with no filler, most of the time I enjoy it but every now and then it gets a bit ugly but Ive learned heaps and pretty confident now.

So, I haven't been completely idle but life and work just keeps getting in the way...I have been plugging away on the exhaust system. As Ive stated previously the factory M3 exhaust system is a dual 2" system all the way and the aftermarket systems pretty much replicate this but go up to 2.25" all the way . Everything I read says that Bimmers drone like crazy with a large single and lose the signature Bimmer note if you go away from duals so I was pretty committed to staying with this format if I could make it fit..... with the condition that I had to have good ground clearance. I didn't want to use chambered type mufflers so I need as much length and volume in the straight through designs as I could fit under the car and hope that will get me through rego and still sound good and be nice to drive....we shall see! Mick Bellinger in Tassie has been fantastic with advice and built a custom stainless mid pipe resonator and rear muffler to my plans. Resonator is as long as space would allow, there will be two 12" hotdogs under the diff and then into as large a rear muffler as possible with dual inlets merging internally into a single 3" outlet. I bought a bunch of 304 mandrel bends, V bands, hangers and other stuff and got into it. The factory headers are double 3 into 1's with the secondary pipe being 2". In order to be able to remove and refit the headers in the car I needed to have flanges as close to the end of the secondaries as possible, there was little room so V bands were the only way. Down stream from the V bands it goes straight into a 2" to 2.25" cone and then eventually via many bends and sections into the resonator. The two bits of wood in the photos are there to position the resonator while I built the engine pipe(s) and they sit hard up on the chassis rail for the front one and the back one is spaced down the corresponding depth of the rail so the resonator sits level in the car. After many hours of work I'm very happy with the engine pipes and the resonator fitment. Ground clearances is not compromised at all ....but things may get a bit warm inside the cabin as it is tucked up very high and close to the tunnel ...Peter Allen, I share your concerns about heat but clearance is something I cant live without...heat is...I hope.

Calling Jamo, where are you?

Beat me to it Gav! Just watched it. This is the sequel to the earlier posting. Love the rusted out dog legs....me thinks not so much junkyard either as I spotted some pretty new looking rear discs!

Thanks Lurchos

I would be interested in the box if its a 71A with the flanged output.

Lurchos......agree this can be relatively high cost and probably hard to justify if you have to farm everthing out. My rack was $250, rack rod ends $140, Robco was very reasonably priced, engine came with a PS pump so I reckon all up the conversion including hoses will be less than $700. Ultimately its up to the individual but I'm looking to build a car that is a 70's car in look only, everything else has to be as contemporary as possible and drive like a modern car.

Tai, pretty well everything you will need can be found here http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,7174.0.html

Hi John. Yep that is from my PS thread. The image you posted doesn't look like an SW20 rack to me. The reason I didn't use an SW20 rack is that the port which sends fluid to the left hand side of the rack piston was right in the middle of the left hand S30 rack mounting bracket. Not a big deal but would mean fabricating a new left hand mounting bracket which I didn't want to do from and engineering approval perspective. The WRX rack works a treat, Ive driven Jamo's and its feel is as good as anything factory, Why frig around with anything else if you want to go hydraulic? For you I would just go with the electrically assisted rack and be done with it. They seem like a good thing. DF I c

Yay...Road Kill with a 240Zeeeee!