I HAVE decided, however, that it's feels like it's down on power compared to what I expected. Maybe only 200hp or so, but the dragstrip Friday will tell us for sure. It's almost certainly not a high-13 second car, if it is, my butt dyno is broke! There are a couple of potential reasons for this. 1) I have no formal air filter on the engine yet (see pics, that blue thing? a nylon temp filter) - it's on it's way from Eugene. Theoretically the MAF needs a smoother shot, and hopefully it does. 2) I'm running the J30 intake, which is more restrictive than the 300ZX. I did my first two lane road pass, and it took no time to get around him. I seemed to be able to pass him faster than it FELT.
Today was the first day I drove it to work, and the first morning drive. I need a heater, although fortunately it's not cold in the morning yet. And the car is certainly WAY TOO LOUD. Funny how a normal commute can de-emphasize power & handling! It has a LONG LONG way to go. I now have a fuel gauge and oil warning light, so it IS coming together slowly.
The car also is not bug-free. The rear diff HOWLS under deceleration, fourth gear CRUNCHES with shifts under full throttle, one of the new Tokico Illumina struts blew out today, and the tire on that side rubs under hard braking & turning, yesterday I noticed some vibration in second gear under full throttle, although in normal driving it seems okay. YIKES! The diff is a cheap and easy fix, but the trans!?!? The vibration will require looking in to, maybe it's the trans, too.
Since traction in first is nowhere near a problem, while swapping diffs, I will try a 3.9:1 ratio to see how much better if feels. Hopefully it'll add more "Uumph" to the feel.
Things to do yet : 1) Heater (have to fabricate some
custom stuff, as my trans tunnel is raised about 3")
2) Speedo 3) Tach 4) turn signals 5) H2O gauge 6) Front tire clearance 7) backup lights.
This, of course, does not include the aforementioned bugs. DOH!