Atilla the Fun

Okay, here's the back story on this: My best friend owns an '87 300ZX Turbo with an auto and a stuck thermostat. It overheated and overheated, and now barely runs at all. But he found a job, and bought a fullsize Chevy pickup truck. He was gonna drive that while we fix his Z. But then the pickup's 350 engine had some problem. Well Brian had given me a running car at one point, so I owed him, and so gave him a good 350. We got that installed and running fine. So now the first 350 is sitting on an engine stand. Now, a year ago I got an LS1, and Brian said we should put it in his Z. I still have that LS1, and he still has the Z. Well, I discovered that there are no swap kits or parts for sale anywhere at any price, and I've done 26 or 27 different engine swaps. And I do metalfab pretty well. Brian is a computer programmer, and I've seen websites he's created. See where this is going? The 350 is going in first, and I make the parts while he makes the website under the name BaDspeed. (Brian and Dave). We split the costs and the profits 50/50. Then, once we get 20 people seeing the 350-into-Z31, and half of them buying while the other half asking for LS1-into-Z31 instead, inside of a week, that's all it takes. I can guarantee quality mounting parts for under $100/set. Brian set the number as 10, and we should be able to do all of that within 2 weeks of 10-hours a day, 5 days a week. Yes, I'm looking for requests I can show Brian, to give him a figurative kick in the butt. I'm not asking for cash deposits, only typed requests for quality parts at fair prices. He set the number at 10, so I'm putting this on 3 forums. 3 requests on each forum, then I show Brian. Otherwise it might take another year for his z to finally die entirely, and I'd rather get on this project this summer. I may be too busy later on.

Come on guys, 11 views and no comments of any sort? Now I'm curious what you were either hoping or expecting to read?

Assuming that 25.6" is when the tires were new and not mounted to the car, you should be doing 1957 rpm at 65 mph, and 2108 rpm at 70 mph. I had a '95 Z28 convertible, with the stock cam, and it regularly returned 23 mpg at 80 mph turning more rpm than you're geared for. Mine was an automatic, with 3.73:1 gears and 255/45R17 tires. You should be able to kiss 25 mpg any time you take it easy. Also, assuming you have the 2.97:1 first, you're geared just about ferfectly for a quarter-mile dragstrip. You do have enough gear to use the ZZ4 cam without taking a noticeable hit to mileage. Some years back, Hypertech did some testing, and found that the LT1s run best when shifted at 6200 rpm, stick or automatic. The stock rev limiter won't let you. But with the Hypertech programming in my Z, and running it that high for over a year, on a car that already had over 120,000 miles on it, I can ell you I had NO problems. I mention that because GM specifies you should not exceed 5800 rpm with the ZZ4 cam, due to it's Inverted Radius lobes. But I found a noticeable bit more mid-range torque when I tried the ZZ4 cam. If you prefer RPM over torque, you might like the HOT cam. But it's like an on-off switch, I suppose like a Honda VTEC. You can tell when it gets on the cam. And it will hit your gas mileage, around 2-3 mpg.

I'd like to hear from anyone and everyone who would be interested in swap mounts for the Z31s. Please specify whether you'd use the SBC, LS1 or Infiniti Q45 engine, and what you think a fair price would be. TIA.

Is it still available? Where in Idaho? TIA.

For '93, there were 2 different versions offered. The T56 had standard ratios of 3.36/2.07/1.35/1.00/0.80/0.62 with the standard 2.73:1 axle, or with the optional 3.23:1 ratio that changed to 2.97/2.07/1.43/1.00/0.80/0.62. Please report back on your rear tire size, and your cam specs. Oh, the easiest way to find out which version you have is to do 5000 rpm in first gear, hold that speed steady regardless of what your speedometer says,, but hold that indicated road speed, then shift to second gear. If your rpm drops to 3100, you have the standard ratios. If 3500, then you have the optional ratios. I can give you more info when you report back with your cam specs and rear tire size.

Hey, ignore me being new here, I'm experienced with this. But where to start? I guess with T56s. First, which version do you have, or do you even know? The T56 has been built with a bunch of different gear sets. For sixth gear alone, the choices include 0.50:1, 0.56:1, and 0.62:1. Next, assuming a 25" tire, such as a 255/40R17, and your 3.70:1 rear gear, your rpm at 70 mph should be 1741, 1949, or 2158, respectively. and even with 2160 at 70, you should still be seeing 24 mpg. Whether or not less rpm gives more mpg often depends on how wild your camshaft is.