Project 540z

I broke down today and bought another project. It was actually meant to be my “tame” daily driver, but the starter went bad on me on my way home from a place called Chico, CA and as things turned out it’s a project. I’m going to let the pictures speak for themselves, but I bought a 1973 240z with upgraded disc brakes all around (the most important upgrade, if you ask me), really crappy suspension (a travesty that will soon be remedied) and a 327ci SBC v8.

Oh, and it’s louder than the Devil screaming at the top of his lungs. More info to come after I make space to get it in the driveway.

13b update

New Eee

I just received my new computer that I ordered specifically for ProjectCRX, and I have to say it’s quite breathtakingly utilitarian. It’s smaller than most external DVD players, has precious little storage space, and runs linux right out of the box. My hope is that I’ll be able to use this thing more efficiently on the bus and (to a lesser extent) BART (train) during my daily work commute).

For those who’re interested in the Eee, check out:

• The unofficial eeeuser.com is the most comprehensive online resource for the eee.
• The official site also has a bunch of good info.
• You can purchase the eeepc right now on Newegg (subject to change).
  
• There’s also an interesting article on the EEE upgrade options that people have hacked in.
  

RX7 Donor

I got an offering price on the two RX7s (one salvage but running, the other streetable as-is) of $5000 for the pair. It’s more than I’m really comfortable spending, especially with the fast-growing tool budget I have laid out (just the oxy-cetaline torch and tanks get expensive, not to mention a jack, hoist, and miscellaneous wrenches that I’m missing).

I’m going to head over and get some more pictures, and hopefully hear them both run. I’m hoping to make a counter-offer with cash in hand and get something closer to what I want to spend in the end. After all, cash talks. So does the owner’s wife, who just wants them off the lawn. By then, I’ll have either sold the truck or junked it. I’ll have to see which will yield more money.

Until next time, good luck, and take lots of pictures!

Jadkar’s CRX

The Jadkar CRX was my first inspiration to start tuning a CRX. Before that, I was just planning to buy a CRX and drive it. He was nice enough to take some time out of his busy schedule and answer a few questions for us. For more information on Jadkar’s build(s), visit his gallery here.

Rotational Mass

Suspension geometry is a crucial component in the inner workings of your babies (cars not real babies…) but also just as important as your suspension are your wheels and tires. They aren’t there for just looks. Newton’s second law of motion states that:

The relationship between an object’s mass m, its acceleration a, and the applied force F is F = ma. Acceleration and force are vectors (as indicated by their symbols being displayed in slant bold font); in this law the direction of the force vector is the same as the direction of the acceleration vector.

Is that set of 17’s you’ve had your eye on for a couple months going to really help your performance, or help you in the opposite sex sector? Rotational mass for dummies means that if you keep going bigger and bigger with these tires, it’s going to be harder and harder to stop because there will be more mass (metal in your rims and rubber in your tires) rolling forward and not wanting to stop… if your are like much of your fellow car enthusiasts that are more GO then SHOW. Then this is something that will weigh very heavy on your heart. So next time your thinking of going big or going home….maybe just keep your eye on those JDM 15’s that would just make you “look better” maybe your wrong…and in the long run it could help save your life.

Photo courtesy of robmcm, used under Creative Commons license.

What happenened to the design?

What happened to the design?

To know more about why styles are disabled on this website visit the

Annual CSS Naked Day website for more information.  You get to bask in the 48-hour block of nekkid-ness today!

Team Integra

Team Integra has a great write-up on how they converted a 94/97 Integra GSR into a RWD beast. It’s mid-engine, but a lot of the work they put into this applies directly to what I’m doing, so I thought I’d throw up the link and point out the specific parts that caught my eye.

The first page of the build is here, where the basic project is outlined, and the index can be found. A bunch of cutting and aligning takes place here, and it’s interesting by and large, but doesn’t specifically apply to ProjectCRX2.0. In any event, they have a great writeup and focus on all the right things (like suspension geometry). I highly suggest reading up if you’re doing something crazy and insane like I am.