Here comes trouble

A non running 280 Z with little rust or none still gets $400.00 in the middle of Oregon. $1000.00 will get you a decent running 280 Z but this takes serious searching. I advertise WTB or Looking in the car and parts ads on Craig's List and get results if not flagged. I was given free a complete 72 F250 3/4 ton Ford with title and got $280. for it at the scrap yard with the wheels removed there. I still have the radiator and battery which was the only items removed for additional recycle.You can get a salvage dealer come right to your home to buy a catalytic converter and get top price if you call around from Craig's List ads ($75.00 for Z converters). I bought a 83 ZXT that would start (bad turbo) for $350 last year with no rust and a non running 81 ZXT with a little rust for $50.00. 240 and 260 Zs are getting hard to find but I know of a rust bucket 260 Z parts car in in Southern Oregon for $50.00. There still should be a bunch of old Z's in California for cheap still. Over four bucks for Arab's Gold in this area but just diddling around I made more than the insulting stimulus check with scrap'n. Better than watching high definition TV looking at the wretched humanity waiting in the block long line with me at the scrap yard. Thank the the politicians and administration for the mess we are in kissing the arse of the rag heads and non existent weapons of mass destruction and a hand full of terrorists. That's the for sure real facts from the back waters of Fall Creek, Oregon

Going bargain hunting at Garage Sales and cash in a few coupons at Harbor Freight Just paid $4.09 cents for a gallon regular. Used to get a full tank out of a five when I was 16. Now 20 bucks gets you 5 gallons.

Your fuel injected 280 Z is supplied by a high pressure electric fuel pump that is over kill for a carburater. The mechanical fuel pump boss is on most FI heads but is not machined out. I took off the valve cover and spread a cloth around the timing chain to catch filings and the drilled and hogged out the mechanical fuel pump boss with a rotary rasp to accept a 240 Z mechanical fuel pump. A low pressure electric fuel pump can be purchased to feed the carbs if you are not:iospalo: into hogging out:iospalo: a fifty cent piece size hole in the side of the cylinder head

with the name Larry Johnson ...............multiple lost property in my name in Oregon...........but none of it mine.........................some unclaimed child support payments in my name but not my off spring.

Please, send me a PM on your tinted ZX head light covers.

hello Terry............. a chance to see your "poor man's rear toe gizmo" again. I hope to duplicate that. I do not know about those springs and kick off pipes for race cars ($$$$$$$$$ maybe) but yours truly is salvaging those ZXT catalytic converter connections on the the ZXT's that I have been vandalizing. I have a thread on an economical SBC conversion for a ZX that few are reading for it seems the Hybrid Z population is going RBZEEEET ????? for conversions. My ZX /SBC will utilize a patched up single ZXT exhaust spliced with ZXT catalytic converter three bolt connections. (catalytic converters sold for scrap $$$$).aka Tomahawk Z , Larry Johnson from Fall Creek, Oregon

I have not posted in some time and have gone either nuts or full circle on my 250 GTO project by switching to another doner car. I bought the car for $450.00 last year because it was an incomplete restoration with a lot of parts and a complete $500.00 exhaust system beginning with a Motor Sport ceramic coated header. I have mounted an Arizona Z manifold and the 390 CFM Holley topped by low profile B&M aluminum air filters that have the square weber style filters on each side. The car will have an overdrive Maxima transmission that I bought for $250.00 and transfered that engine to an even cheaper Maxima with a 5 speed. The beater Maxima requires the cv joints and R 200 diff from a ZXT parts car now. Try to find a R 180 diff out of a Maxima that has cv joints. I will take the air conditioning system and water radiator from a ZXT parts car. It should fit. The dash is out of the ZXT and the dash is out of the 250 Project which should make the plumbing easier. The after market air conditioner is held together with a prayer and hose clamps. I will pick and choose the air conditioning parts and there is probably some of the interior ZX air parts that will not fit the interior of the Z project. I will lay up a Rod Simpson dash in a mold made when Mark Wagner loaned me his VR dash as the "buck" model for the Rod Simpson styled dash to splash and make my mold. I will have photos later..................

The modified original ZX tranny mount with the bolt hole in the center interferred with the 700R4 transmission's modulator. The Motor Sport mount could be used with the the poly rubber aftermarket GM mount that has three mounting bolt holes with the outside bolt hole attached to the Motor Sport mount.The 700R4 trans was temporarily bolted into the ZX. The universal throttle cable recommended by Arizona Z for their Holley conversion was attached to the throttle pedal. Great throttle cable. Obtained drive shaft from junkyard for partial payment voucher for van The ZX has been set aside to prepare the SBC V8 and engine bay. This preparation of muti busy work will take time and some parts scrounging. When the engine goes in, the welding of the motor mounts will take place if the tranny mount is located properly. If not, another tranny mount using a ZX trans mount will be modifed with the 7004R jacked into place. The cast iron manifolds from a Monte Carlo will be used since all the exhaust bolts are intact and in good shape. I have two other of these close hugging sets from the van and the Surburban SBC engine.The Surburban 350 SBC/4bolt main will go in the ZX. The Surburban SBC exhaust bolts were boogered The regular GM exhaust 2 into 1 of the van will be used with a single exhaust pipe from a ZX turbo which is big and should fit. I will take photos of these parts as the progress continues.. I bought a set of aluminum Holley valve covers for $30.00 and will powder coat an old Corvette style louvered air cleaner to match the aluminum valve cleaners. Throw economy to the wind, I cannot help myself on shiney stuff. I will be gathering up all sorts of parts to powder coat with the Harbour Freight powder coater. I have a double oven electric range obtained free from Craig's List. The silver powder coating color and luster is not that great to my eye but I found this aluminum spray "rattle can" paint that lays a fine final sparkling coat to the powder coating that is better than a clear finish. I discovered this during a grueling fitment of a Motor Sport Auto ceramic headers to a powder coated Arizona Z 4 barrel manifold on the 250 GTO project. One of the Motor Sport header pipes being cut or welded too long struck the Arizona Z manifold. The powder coated Arizona Z manifold done by myself was getting wear and tear from handling during it's grinding of the underside and trial fitting for fitment to the one bogus exhaust pipe of the Motor Sport header.. The aluminum paint added sparkle to the top of the man handled powder coated Arizona Z manifold.

My development was arrested late in 1979 but all the transmissions automatic 4/5 speed interchanged between the L block 4 cylinders and the Z and Maxima straight six cylinder engines. This interchage lasted throughout the 70's to about 1984. A look at the the top of the tranny which has two bolts to engine and the location of the starter should tell you. One thing to save to the tranny is the "throw out" bearing for height and fit purposes for other engines and the the arm for the throw out bearing. I have no idea about a 90's pick up but would guess it would not fit due to all the changes and the L engines were from way back

sometimes...........you just take matters into your hands and use the business end of sledge.

About 1/2 iinch was cut out of the Motor Sports transmission mount. The ZX original transmission mount served as a jig to establish proper width for the Motor Sports mount. I was not pleased with my welding on the cut down MS mount and decided to modify the original transmission mount by utilizing the Motor Sport tranny mount I cut the original transmission mount on both arms and spliced in 4 inches of 1/8 thick...3/4 X1 1/2 inch rectangular tubing to extend the original Datsun ZX motor mount for the 700R4 transmissiion. I will use the modified Datsun transmission mount and save the Motor Sports transmission mount as a jig fixture.. I figure that the modified ZX transmission mount will set the engine back about 3/8 inches more than the Motor Sport mount. I will find out soon if there is clearance for the 350 SBC set back another 3/8 inch. I hope so.................Shows that a lot of $$$$$$$$$ can be saved with some scrap steel, a little cutting/splicing and welding. I will measure the modified ZX transmission mount from the middle of the mount's bolt holes to the bottom where the GM rubber mount attaches. That way a person could obtain one ZX mount and cut the arms off another original ZX mount and then splice in and weld the 1/8 inch thick 3/4 X 1 1/2 inch rectanglar tubing to accept the 700 R4 transmission

For a one man operation and one part mold, I only work on one piece or buck at a time and brush the gel coat on. The stuff brushes on terribly but I mix the the fiberglass resin in the same container the gel coat was mixed in giving color to the fiberglass mat for the next two or three resin mixtures. This mixing of resin and gel gives a fairly uniform coat to the gelcoat plus adds color to the resin for awhile giving a little more color mixed in with the fiberglass mat. The mat is ripped up in small pieces where I dab the resin into the mat with a cheap paint brush of 2 inch which works best. Sometime the bristles can be shortened for better straight up and down dabbing with the bristle end of the cheap brush.(Harbour Freight cheapest brush works best as does used garage sale brushes. My hand laid coats with the brush dabbing are tight with no bubbles or dry areas of no resin on the mat or cloth. You can easily eyeball the high and low spots in the mat while applying. The fiberglass resin because of it's drying/curing process and wax rising to the surface requires to be finished in un-interupted layers of application.You can stagger the layers 30 minutes to 1 hour between applications. Do not finish half the lay- up and expect to come back hours later to apply more layers because you will have wax on the surface and the layers will easily split apart. I also use less and less hardner as the layers increase leaving a good long cure. White is the cheapest gel coat but coloring agents can be added. I buy the cheaper white and add the separately acquired coloring agent. Red is a great mold color to repair problems in the mold. Black gel coat makes the best part color to see flaws. I build the mat up to about 1/4 inch for the mold. Cloth can be added for additional strength so can metal strips or plastic pipe for stiffness or as a method to move or turn the mold on a rack I work fiberglass outside ..............period........ and at short intervals. Too much fumes.......You are high as a kite for a 30 minutes and the headache last for hours. I go to Home Depot for the angled metal parting strips. If a parting line is needed.........I use tin snips to form one side of the parting line screwed down with round large head phillips metal self tapping screws also found at Home Depot. I drill pilot holes through metal strip parting line and buck before using the screws. Wet plumbers putty to seal the other side of the parting line. When the first part of the mold lay up has cured on the buck to the parting line metal lip flange................ I "crack" and remove that first part of the mold, repair the screw holes, wax the the other part of the buck and newly created parting lip and lay the gel coat and resin to the second part and parting line lip or flange to completely finish the two part mold A two part mold in a one man operation should be done in two separate steps or separate days allowing the parting line flange to cure. The wax rising to the surface aids in waxing the new parting lip flange

I got this 83 Maxima that has a woman hidden in there that talks to me. My wife thinks I have a girl friend. The woman's vocabulary is limited and "The key is in the ignition" sounds a lot like nagging after the 25th time. "Shut-up crazy woman, I leave the key in the ignition to get the car stolen." One hour in a parking lot with the window rolled down and her whining, "the key is in the ignition" Some guys have all the luck and some guys get stuck with naggers

LOL .................80 LT1, I will make it fit. It is about 1/2 inch too wide but without it, I would not have a clue to build one. I still consider it a bargain. I am reading a lot of your old posts on this project. When I went to prison, I carried my JTR Bible with me and jam packed with notes. But "NO" it was contraband and confiscated. No freedom of religion with the Bureau of Prisons. Once the 700R4 is in, the project will slow down. I need a GM drive shaft. The old van's drive shaft was stolen. Not too bad since the 700R4 tranny was almost completely unbolted by the thieves and saved a lot of time in pulling. The missing starter got me slightly aroused but my arteries still needed a little flushing after all that prison food. I found the rebuilt starter for the Tomahawk Cobra. I found my $10.00 GM overdrive transmission cable shifter in the van that the thieves previously removed from the shop. It is great, because I am still finding these little treasure troves hidden all over my property. I am like a kid on a never ending Easter egg hunt. What is remarkable is a recent find of my parrot beak wire cutters with the 50 cents garage sale sticker still on it. The cutters are the size of the big bolt cutters. Can you imagine what they would be worth $$$$$ in the hands of a meth addict alongside a mile of a remote power line. A real miracle that they missed those but they were re-discovered in a shed very close to the back fence. Another miracle was the finding of my Airco two stage regulators (over $500.00 a set new. and special ordered). Seems the brass color was patina green. Duh ? I danced around a week after I bought them from a widow at a garage sale for two dollars. She said "he" brought them home from work. Just a little larceny in eveyone's heart. Why steal, you can find stuff cheaper on Craig's List and at garage sales.

Fellows, lead solder holds the Z top on. Those seam cracks near the sail panels are soldered on. What I suggest for a T top is a roll bar connected to the rear strut towers and the towers connected to themselves. Square tubing from the rear towers along the outside frame rails to the firewall with a little reinforcing going up the firewall. Connect the front strut towers to the firewall. For a stock motor and easy driving............ IMO... you do not need anything to re-inforce for a convertible or T-Top. But on the other hand I have a TomaHawk Cobra convertible and I welded in de beeejeezus of re-inforcement. Also a T-Top maybe prove to be energy efficient in a few years where you can forego bathing showers at home and get a good soaking in the Z.

CORRECTIONS.................................. 1.) The Motor Sport conversion tranny mount is not for a ZX but for a first generation Z. I have cut about a 1/2 inch out of the width to fit the ZX mounts and will modify to fit. (photos later) 2.)The engine that came out of the ZX was not an F 54 engine block but a 280 Z engine block. The block has a new flywheel and the torque converter is also new. A great addition for the ('84 Maxima)automatic overdrive Datsun transmission for the 250 GTO project. 3.) the 2 inch flat bar stock for the engine conversion mount is too wide to fit inside the outer flange cap of the Datsun engine mount. The 1/4 inch thick flat stock should be no more than 1 3/4" to no less than 1 1/2 inch which is the size of the 1/8 inch x 1 1/2 inch square tubing spacer. I modified the Datsun motor mount outer flange cap to accept the 2 inch Flat bar. I will eventually have the correct measurements on the conversion parts for the tranny and engine.

Let it go......................You probably took two years off your life fretting about a Pontiac. I wasted my time fretting about my Z cars when there was nothing I could do.

Here are some more detailed pictures of the 280ZX tranny mount........................................................................................ The latest aluminum scrap pile/copper wire netted $65.00 which came from other sources and not completely from the van

Let us not forget the scrap pile in an economy conversion during the beginning of this recession. The van parts could have been sold for more on Craig's List than the $50.00 parts voucher and scrap aluminum price but after years as an eyesore........it is time to say good bye halle visita before I decide , "What a good dry storage box that van body would make" . The van's rear tires and wheels are now on the front of the GMC pick-up that pulls the tow dolly. The picture show genuine Oregon green mold on the wheel. (LOL)

More photos of engine mount fabrication

This thread is about stuffing a Chevy small bock into a ZX and getting it to run first. The ZX is best suited for a V8 conversion because it has the parts that the Z owners upgrade to. The looks do not suit me as the first generation does, but the convertible ZX is beautiful car. I am not power washing the engine or tranny or adding polished shiney stuff. Oil grase and all go in as rust inhibitors (lol). My former projects were plagued with changes and add ons increasing the costs. The old Chevy van with the 350 SBC four bolt main and 700R4 was bought about 7 years ago for $350.00. I drove it home and it was surprisingly strong. The engine was good but the rear main seal was slinging oil. I will get a $50.00 parts voucher when the auto yard picks it up. The aluminum,wiring, catalytic converter, condenser, etc was high graded for further $$$$$$$$$ use, salvage or sale. I posted on here as Tomahawk Zee for years beginning when Owen began this website. At one time was designated as a "Hybrid Z Guru" along with Tim Hepburn. I was working on a 250 GTO and #8 Tomahawk Z Cobra. In 2001 I was arrested for firearm violations and three years later began a 3 year federal prison term. As far as I concerned the federal bureaucrats are out of touch with reality and control. I just finished 3 years of probation. After 3 years in prison I was totally "old school" on this web site and have yet came up to speed. (What is all this RB, DET, holeset stuff anyway) Out of prison, my projects were in shambles, parts stolen, you name it. For three years I could not bear to look at the Tomahawk Z/Cobra without losing my temper. I am re-building now and hopefully things will get done.

The 4 bolt 350 cubic inch V8 small block 4 barrel carb Chevrolet engine was bought off Craig's List a couple of years ago. This fellow was deeply into a lifestyle of Suburban Chevrolets. He bought a rust bucket Suburban for the engine in Crescent City, California and drove it back to Oregon without problems. Pulled the engine for a replacement in his daily driver Suburban. Gas prices were rising. He was out of the six mile a gallon Suburban lifestyle real fast.. He was located just a few miles from him and loaded up the cherry picker and compression gauge, paid him $100.00 the asking price. and packed the greasy mess home. I usually quibble and offer half of the asking price but this was a deal. Craig's List is the place to buy STUFF and is part of my daily routine to cruise the List's classifieds.

The conversion engine mounts will utilize the original Datsun rubber cushioned engine mounts. The Chevy pickup rubber cushioned mounts mounts (also pictured) maybe preferable for more strength. I used the Chevy tuck mounts and the Datsun mounts as a template for the transfer punches to establish bolt hole locations to the steel stock. The steel stock is 1/4 inch thick except for the square tubing spacer material. The 1/8 inch square tubing for spacers between the engine block triangular plate and the rectangle bar that adapts to the Datsun cushioned motor mounts is 1 1/16th inch high (spacer) and 2 1/16th inch high(spacer). The plan is to mount the transmission mount and bolt the i/4 inch thick triangular plates to the engine block and bolt the 1/4 inch thick flat bar to the Datsun rubber cushioned engine mounts. Then place the SBC V8 into the Datsun ZX and bolt the 700R4 transmission adapter into the Datsun tranny cross member mounting holes. From there the SBC engine adapter square tubing spacers can be fitted, trimmed and welded between the triangular engine plate and the rectangular bar stock bolted to the rubber cusioned Datsun engine mounts for a proper fit

Now here is the scenario: "Dad I need a fix real bad. You have enough money to rent these vids for you and mom but no crank for me. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you." "Son, you are 34 years old, live at home and never had a job. Your mom and I paid tuition for you for six years at 7 different colleges and blew all our savings. We owe $35,000.00 for your last rehab. We gave you everything you ever wanted and now it's tough love time." "Well daddyo, it is going be tough for you."

After removal the 700R4 appears to be rebuilt. The old van was part of the landscape after 7 years and required a car and pick-up in tandem to pull loose from the sod. About ten years ago )if memory serves me right, I bought this 700R4 tranny mount for a ZX for $10.00. I got busy and cut out my redneck perception of what the engine mounts consisted of from a Hybrid Z thread measurements and photos.