rwwisnesky

Update to my emission problem. Met with the air program vehicle evaluation tech center today. Technically my 1978 with a 2000 LS1 would require: 2 cats; 4 O2 sensors; egr; check engine light; fuel tank sensor, obd output; and god knows what else. I have a single cat; charcoal canister and 2 O2 sensors. The tech said what I did is what he would have done and filled out a DR 2365 form stating the car would be tested as follows: "engine has been replaced with a 5.7L V-8. required equipment for this vehicle is an oxy sensor (2) and a cat converter. air system is to be marked N/A. test as a 1978 (tailpipe). I could have kissed him !!!!! My cat is gutted, engine blew insides of cat out the tail pipe, but i passed my HC PPM was 68 against a limit of 400. Those LS1's are just incrediable.

Last year my 1978 Datsun passed emissions because it was tested as a 78 Datsun. This year in Colorado they are testing as the year of the car or the engine which ever is newer. Therefore mine is a 2000 LS1 from a Trans Am. If I have to put the egr etc back on, has anyone ever had to deal with that. The computer has all that stuff removed, so i assume if its on it doesnt have to work. But without it, can it pass the test. Any pearls of wisdom???? P.S. the header wont accomodate the egr plumbing. Thank God for the government, they are here to help !!!!

I used the Sanderson headers and put the engine in with them on. Not much room to work on them after the engine is on.

If you use a Tilton, make sure you get the short one unless the washer bottle is not the same as the 280z. The long one would not clear the washer bottle so I had to get the shorter one. Also, if you take the push rod out of the Z master cylinder, you can swap it with the Tilton and will not have to tap the end on the peddle.

Since my last comment, I gave up on the xbox I got from JCI and put a autometer speedometer into my 1978 280z. I removed the gauge from its case and put in into the 280z case so its fits and looks original. I moved the hi-beam, and brake warning light to the tach opening. I used a small auto meter tach and put leds around it and used the existing case also. The jci modified tach was never reliable. Soooo, I preserved most of the original look. Wish I had used the full size tach, and dealt with moving the warning lamps and turn indicators somewhere else, or even put them into the autometer. Should finish putting the dash back in this week.

I replaced my brake master cylinder with a 280Z original. No problems and it FITS !!!

I guess it comes down to how you want to spend your money. I added KYB gas shocks and new bushings, nothing else. Since the weight is about the same, you really dont need to change anything except worn parts. The original Z's handled just fine, now it can go fast too! Unless you live at the track, it seems like money better spent else where.

The sensor in the pan. I want to hook it up to a warning light when the oil level is low. Think I can rig it up thru a relay so it will work.

What did everyone do with the engine oil sensor on the LS1 when putting in a 280Z. My harness came back with no sensor connector on it. I am thinking of a way to set it back up to turn on a warning light on the dash when oil is low, but not run it thru the PCM. Any ideas???

Well you are off to the project of your lifetime, and to do it right is timely and expensive. I owned my 78 Z since it was new and restored it with a LS1 with t56 six speed. Car had 58k miles and no rust and was all original. With parts and paint job (I cant paint) but I did all mechanicals, I probably put in $20k. That said, I bought a backup car in California that was stored for 20 years. Does not run, but all original, no rust and 82k miles on it. Im getting too old for another. Great shell if you are in need of one.

Janaka, nice setup!! Do you recall the guages you used. Autometer has a bunch of them. Also, did you need a separate sinding unit on either guage.

Little more detail on the x-box. It takes the LS1 transmission's digital input and converts it to a signal that drives a small electric motor. The electric motor in turn spins the seedometer cable allowing you to keep the original unit. It is programmable based on rear end ratio and tire size. Clever idea, works great. Lately mine has been "jumpy".

Mike, thanks for the note. My first option is to fix it. I will fuss with it some more. I mounted the X box at the firewall just below the steering column, thought it a spot with almost no curves or kinks. Now I can kick the cable when it goes to sleep. I will keep trying. Thanks and it has been a while since we talked.

I wanted to save my original gauges after the LS1 conversion, so I bought an X box converter. It has been about 2,000 miles and the speedometer has become "jumpy". For those of you that went with new speedometers, what did you buy, what diameter, did you perserve the brake light and high beam indicator and find a black face. Long question, thanks in advance.

Johns cars for almost everything. JTR for headers and radiator. Lots of pictures on my web site