tmcnam

Hey, I followed the above suggestions i.e. pulled the tv cable in and out rapidly while at idle and got on it pretty hard while test driving. It started shifting pretty well though it still shifts a little high and hard. I'll again check the linkage and throw on my tv cable (homemade bracket) but so far I'm pretty happy. Thanks again! Tim

Thanks for the replies guys! I think you are right, it is probably a stuck tv valve. I'll try the above suggestions and if that doesn't do it I'll put in one of those Transgo kits (#SK700JR) which apparently takes care of this fairly common problem with the throttle valve on the 700R4. Thanks again as I can't wait to start driving this thing! Regards, Tim McNamara M.D.

Hi all, I took my Z out for a test drive today (1st time) and the tranny won't shift out of 1st gear. It is a 700R4 out of a '88 Suburban from the Pick-n-Pull and the fluid looked and smelled fine. I've checked the fluid level (while running) and double checked the TV cable adjustment and throw. After that, I've pretty much used up my transmission knowledge. Reverse works great and it seems to shift into 1st just fine. The only thing I did to it when I got it was change the fluid and filter. Any ideas how to troubleshoot this thing? I'm hoping that maybe someone has had this problem and knew of an easy fix or test to confirm the diagnosis without having to pull the tranny. Thanks, Tim McNamara M.D.

Hi, Glad you found this site. Nice work BTW! Whilst perusing your website I noticed that your 700r4 pages have been in my favorites for about a year now. Really good info. Also, what type (brand) of mufflers are those? Are they straight glasspacks are something else? How is the sound outside with them? I need my car to be reasonably quite (I'll be driving it to a Hospital some and they probably wouldn't appreciate a deep throaty rumble at 6am like you or I would!) Anyway, Welcome to the forum! Tim McNamara M.D. ps enjoy your retirement

Just got an order from them...they shipped out really fast and I got it within just a few days. Great service! (sounds like an eBay feedback but they really were fast). Tim

WOW! That looks great! I'm sure you had some time in that crossmember but it looks like time well spent. I love seeing these different ways of acheiving the same goal! Really nice work. Best Regards Tim PS I'm concerned that you may not have enough thread in those floor bolts. Seriously, are those stainless bolts with stainless nylon lock nuts?

That's true that it is much easier/faster to pay the few bucks and support Mike Knell (which I firmly believe we should). I happen to have a lot of aircraft tubing (4130) and bushing stock laying around and I literally made the mounts (spacers) in about an hour. However, I do have access to a lathe to quickly face the bushings, a mill w/dro to accuraetly (and quickly) drill a jig plate to hold the bushings while I weld them up with the tig welder...tools that aren't in everyones shop for sure. My motivation was that I like to build these kinds of parts but when I got ready to work in the shop these were the raw materials I had available (too impatient to order something and wait for it!) I guess I figured that someone could use a cutoff wheel/chop saw to cut some heavy wall tubing and flat stock then use a mig welder to tack it all together and have a set of mounts within an hour or so. Anyway, at the time, it seemed pretty quick and easy but I definately see your point! Thanks for the input. BTW, Pete, your car (via your website) has been a huge motivation for me. Beautiful work, beautiful car! Best regards, Tim

Okay, I feel like a complete idiot. After several days of fiddling with the ohm meter and the switch I finally decided to double check that it was mounted properly even though I would've bet a million dollars that it was aligned when I bolted it to the brackets. It took me 30 secs to remove the shift lever only to find that it was off (rotated) by a good 20 degrees. Once I aligned the marks in neutral I found the wires within 5 minutes. Bad news...I feel really stupid...good news...the engine is ready to go in for the last time! Moral- Check then re-check even if your SURE you did it right... Regards, Tim

GetZ, Thanks for the info but I need the pinouts for the Park-Neutral switch on the transmission. I'm going to just take the wire that goes to the starter solenoid and run it throught this switch so that the starter is interupted unless it is in Park or neutral (this was how it was wired on the original Datsun automatic transmission). I've checked every possible combination of terminals but cannot find the two pins that complete a circuit while in park and neutral. JTR shows the switch and gives the part number but doesn't tell how to wire it up...I think that I'm about to forego the park-neutral switch and just install the engine with no safety switch. Thanks again though for your input. Regards, Tim

Hi all, I've lurked on these forums for a while and got some tips on doing my conversion so I thought I would pass along some pics of my JTR parts because I thought they were easier (or at least as easy) to make as those shown in the JTR book (Mike Knell did a great job on that book btw). In any case it may give someone another option based on materials in hand. The first pics are of the motor mounts. I didn't have the required aluminum stock so instead used some bushing stock I had laying around and connected them with thin walled round tubing. I happened to have 4130 chrome moly but any thick wall tubing would work. Also, it may be much easier to use some flat bar stock to connect the spacers. Just about anything would work. I tig welded mine but only because it was 4130. For the tranny mount, I didn't want to buy a Caprice tail piece for my 700R4 and again, I didn't have a huge piece of flat stock aluminum (or mild steel) nor the capabilities to bend such a piece very accurately. I took the stock 280Z tranny mount (automatic) and cut off the end bushings. I then heated and bent a 1" square mild steel tube to fit inside the shortened mount (secured with a few short welds). After that I bent up some 2" x 3/16" flat stock I got at Lowe's, positioned the tranny in place and bolted the flat stock to the transmission tunnel. It took about 30 minutes to do the whole thing and seems to work well so far. I can shim to raise the tranny if needed and slot the center mount to adjust side to side if needed. I made some backing plates out of the flat stock and drilled them at the same time. Hopefully the pics are self explanatory. I realize this is simple/old hat to most of you, but this may help a newbie get going with some common materials on hand. Tim '76 280z w/ '99 vortec engine (heads adapted for higher lifts and GM 375hp cam--nothing spectacular) and 700R4 tranny

Hi all, I've installed a park neutral switch off of a late model Chevy onto my 700R4 per JTR manual. The part has 2 receptors for plugs- top having 7 prongs and bottom having 4. I thought it would be easy using my ohm meter to find the terminals I needed for the reverse lights and the park-neutral switch but I can only come up with the reverse switch. No other two terminals give me a closed circuit on the park and neutral positions only. I have searched this extensively and even tried to revive an old thread in the electrical forum but no luck. Does anyone know the wiring/pinouts for this type of switch? This is the last thing I need to do before I install my engine permanently and would like to get it done over the holidays. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Tim '76 280Z w/'99 Chevy Truck Vortec engine

Thought I would awaken this thread...does anyone have any info? Tim 76 280Z w/ JTR conversion, 5.7 Vortec engine from 99 Chevy Truck-almost finished

Hi, I feel your pain. I have spent hours searching for some basic dimensions of the MSA mounts and have come up with nothing. There is some good info here but for a lot of the basics you have to either shell out 300$ for 10$ worth of metal or build them to the specs of Mike Knells book (JTR), which sets the engine too low and too far back to be really practical (IMO)...just to be able to use a 5 speed (by the way, you still have to buy the book because it is loaded with good information!) For those of us that want a good daily driver that is relatively easy to convert and dont want to drag the pan, hack up the hood latch or put spacers under the cross member, we have the option of using the scarab style mount (a simple spacer) and rigging together some kind of a tranny mount or doing something between those 2 extremes. The trouble with the scarab is that the engine sets a tad high and also leaves a little space between the distributor and the firewall (hood latch) that could be used to set the engine back a little. I tried to get dimensions on the MSA mount hoping that it would set the engine back and a little lower than the scarab but not so much that you have to do all of the JTR mods. Needless to say, this forum wasn't much help. Again, a lot of great people on this site and a lot of knowledge but it seems mostly aimed towards LS1 or more advanced engines and JTR conversions and not so much towards a simple conversion. Also, be wary of asking questions...you'll probably get flamed for it. Most are really great (like PopNWood) but there are a few that have forgotten what it was like to be new to the game and assume that all the information can be found with a single search word (information that they know by heart and that they take for granted). They don't understand about links to nonexistant pictures etc. nor the frustration of not knowing the proper terms to search for. Luckily there are some great guys out there and this is not rocket science i.e. you can figure most of this stuff out for yourself...it just kinda sucks to reinvent the wheel. I hope you can find the info you're looking for and hopefully I won't get flamed too bad for giving you a noobs perspective. Best regards, Tim

Thanks Davy, I built a set of Scarab/Hooker type of mounts but just wasn't happy with the height of the engine nor the lack of setback. I have Mike's book but just don't want to go as low or as far back as he does. My 280Z is (was) a daily driver and I would rather have the ground clearance for the practicality rather than a slightly lower C of G. Basically, I want to move the engine as far back and as low as possible without changing the hood latch or changing to a small harmonic balancer. Seemed like the MSA mounts were a good compromise. I'm a 4th year med student and only get to work on the car about 1 weekend a month at most. I have welding/metal fabricating equipment available and hate to pay 2-300$ for ten dollars worth of metal and 30 minutes w/ a metal cutting bandsaw and a drillpress. I can prop the engine in place and take some measurements but that will kill a Saturday and I figured why reinvent the wheel if someone had already taken the measurements and made it all work. Thanks again for the comments. Regards, Tim