My posts have been far and few between this summer as a busy work schedule has kept me out of the garage. I finally got around to pulling the cover off the Wagon for the first time since my last race wknd over two months ago as I had just put it away dirty and left it in the corner… Last time out I lost fifth gear in my close-ratio Comp tranny and so I needed to pull it out. In its place I installed my ‘spare’, a 280Z five-speed that has similar 3rd thru 5th gear ratios. Of course 1st and 2nd are really low for racing and it’s a brass synchro box instead of steel synchros, but it will do while I get the Comp rebuilt. Problem is the Comp tranny uses a flanged output shaft, while the Z box uses a splined output shaft, so I had to prep a fresh driveshaft for the trans swap. I took a stock 510 4 speed driveshaft, had it shortened to fit in the IRS Wagon, put in some new u-joints, and had it balanced up. South Bay Driveline handles these duties for me and does a great job. While I had the car up on the lift, I removed the 4.38 welded r180 diff and put in my spare 4.11 welded r160. I finally got a NISMO Comp LSD unit for my 4.38 and will work on getting it ready while my trans is getting fixed. Next race wknd will be in Sept with VARA at Buttonwillow Raceway.
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