Well, I get my first check Friday and it's a full check. I have located some rear shocks at a local parts store and will be picking them up for the low price of $53 after tax for the pair. As soon as I have secured in my possession the rear shocks I will be heading over to a local tire shop and I will be having two Falken Ziex ZE512 tires put on the rear....one pair at a time per check. I was going to order the same tire in a 215/60/15 but he has a full new set at the shop of 205/65/15's....I told him that my factory size was 195/70/14 and that I wanted to keep the factory circumference so my spedo would be correct or at least very very close. He rolled the Falken next to 3 different brands of 195/70/14's and the difference was well within range, at most there was a half inch from top to bottom with one of the tires, the others were almost spot on. So I will have new rear shocks and two new rear tires...man i cant wait to get off work tomorrow!!!......There will be pics.

 

hmm.. thats funny.. i dont see a T5 tranny on that list....

 

Dude, I totally would get it right now but it seems like every time I get money people want it...I.E. bills and what not...my first two checks are spent and I haven't got them yet. The shocks and tires are a 100% must right now...like I said if you can get money from someone else for it, go for it....I really am not sure when my cash will be "My Cash"

 

that wasnt your attitude before.. it was.. man it would so awsome if you could save it for me... well... i sorta saved it for you. lol... either way price has dropped i aint picky... so hopefully in a couple weeks youll want to start the 5 speed swap. that or someone else will... but for now sales seem slow.. i gues people dont like to work on Z's in the winter.

 

I do want it....I have to make sure all my bills are good and the car is good...shouldn't be long...3 or 4 weeks? I think I have a way to cut down on shipping, I may have it shipped to Kingsland Ga where my best friend lives and the swap on the weekend...he is a user on here (JB's280z) Jeremy. It's one state closer to you so that might help me out alot. What are your thoughts?

 

might be... ill ask my dad what he paid to ship his tranny... i still got the tub made up to hold it.... ill ask him. he shipped oout to cali i think swapped his 4spd for a 5spd for free.. somethign the guy needed for racing. ill ask him today i think i remember him saying something like 50 dollars.. and that was to have it picked up at my house i might be able to take it to work where its a routine stop for pick up and save 10 dollars.... we will see. shouldnt be to bad.

 

Yeah that sounds cool...if you can find out how much it weighs that would be cool...I think the T-5's are like 70lbs or so with no fluid...which if you want can empty...I am going to put fluid in it either way. What did you finally drop the price to? $25 for the tranny?

 

haha.. you wish... umm.. prolly around 225 shipped... around there... not to sure. i want 200 for the tranny.. ive been thinking around 180 though... we shall see once shipping price is for sure...

 

Ok...of course I would prefer the lower price....but let me know what you want to do....I will try to put a little aside from tomorrows check and the next one if I can and I will go from there on the next checks...I get paid once a week so I will do my best not to treat myself to anything nice till I get your tranny.

 

soudns sweet.. ill let you know what shipping was for my dad. till then. later

 

you guys shoulda just went to chat, woulda been easier! good work thxone. good part aboot the job is, if ya keep it, more money comes, bills get paid, then you finally get money for the car. its a dangerous cycle

 

205/60/15 is stock tire size for 15's.
Don't get 205/65/15.... get slightly undersize instead of slightly oversize. 225/55/15

anyway, good price on the rear struts. Those are the easier ones to install.

 

thxone.. i think i finally sold the tranny along with all the other stuff for a full manual conversion.. if for some reason it doesnt work out with him ill let you know... but he is willing to bay the second i ask him. so thats why he has first dibs. sorry bro.

 

It's ok Snow. Well I got the tires, the struts and rented a set of spring compressors....what a mess!! The tires are taller so that lifted the car a bit....then I put the struts on...the old ones were F@#KED!! As soon as I lowered the car I knew something was amiss. That car was so jacked up in the back that it looked like an old 70's muscle car with air shocks!!! I was so pissed! I **** you not the tires sat like this \ / I wanted to puke! Well I called to see if I could return the struts but then I did some thinking....the new struts are the same size as the old ones so I came to the conclusion that the springs were to blame. Solution....I removed 1 and a half coils off each spring...PERFECTION!!!! Now when I hit bumps and pot holes my teeth don't crack. My friend even said the ride was 100 times smoother.

I did go with 205/65/15's and drove by several road side speed boxes and the spedo is only off by 1 mph. I was going 45 and it said 44, 35 was 34 and 60 was 59 mph. This is what I wanted it to do, so now I can save some money on gas and I shouldn't get any tickets for speeding unless I really want one. Also, for those looking for tires, the Falken's ZE512's grip very well and feel very stable so far in the rain and dry roads. $58 per tire and 60,000 mile rated. Tread wear 420, traction A, temp A and V speed rated. Here is the pick when it was all jacked up....I will post the better stance tomorrow...it's dark and scary outside right now so I will wait.



Here is the car after I cut the rear coil springs, it is raised in the rear enough that when I get the new front tires it should sit level.

 

looks good thxone, good to hear its safe now. just dont get blown away by that tornado, err whatever is there right now.

 

If you're ever needing a T-5 still I've still got my T-5, Clutch, Pedal Assembly, and driveshaft. So if you ever need to drop me a line and we can work something out.

 

Yeah we had some rough weather over the past few days...Lady Lake Florida is where I sold my '67 Fairlane and that's seems to be where alot of damage was done...I hope everyone will be ok.

Duowing, I will keep you in mind...sounds like we may be able to work something out...Buckeye to Buckeye.

 

Was that first pic, before you cut the coils, taken after you drove the car?

When you put new struts and springs on, you need to drive the car a bit to get the suspension to "settle".

The same thing happens when you put it up on a rack and fully unload everything. A trip around the block should get it back "down".

Anyway, good job.

Cheers,
lww

 

I had actually put about 30 miles on the car before I took the pic because I also wanted to test the tire/speedo thing to make sure it was correct. Yes it is before I cut the coils. I am happy to say that the rear tires now sit almost perfectly straight up and down, squats ever so slightly when accelerating from a stop, and handles turns now like nothing I have driven/owned. This is the first independent, rear drive/ rear suspension, car that I have owned and I am glad I have it now. Before the new tires and struts in the rear I would have to take left turns slow and wide because the rear would hop, now it digs in and feels so nice and stable. There is very little body role when taking turns and I have noticed myself driving the car a bit harder and I like it.

On a side note, I have been watching the gas gauge and I must say I am pleased as punch...I put gas in the car and had exactly 1/2 a tank before I started driving it with the new tires. I noticed that after using 1/8 of a tank half way between a 1/2 and a 1/4 tank I had gone 54 miles, something I had never been able to do. I am estimating that I used about 2.5 gallons if each 1/4 is about 5 gallons on a 21 gallon tank...these are just estimates...I figure I am at about 22mpg in the city with moments of spirited driving. So I am sure the car is running fine....I can't wait to do the header so I can get a new O2 sensor and new full exhaust, I am thinking 24-25mpg in town then.....but what about Highway driving...what can I expect? It amazes me how much more you can like a car just from replacing the tires and struts!

 

squating is good when accelerating.. means you got power and good weight transfer.. will hook up better.

 

yes but my car squats real bad, then you get massive rear camber on these cars, thus creating crappy launches that steal your fwd momentum. your acceleration is actually directed down instead of fwd! thats why coil overs are so nice, but im just gonna go with some real stiff springs.

 

Oh, I forgot to mention...MY CAR RIDES SO NICE NOW!!!!! Coming home from work today, at a stop light next to my friend, I punched it and it started sliding sideways...it was raining.