zgeezer

I watched a friend put my LT1 with automatic into a V12 Jaguar coupe. He used John's Broken Kitty kit. Followed John's instructions, used all stock Chevy Lt1 parts except for the manifolds, which were earlier SBC parts with AIR. Passed the sniff test and approved by the referee station. Not difficult, but a lot like going to DMV: it took time and three visits before the outer smog stuff was all approved. The lesson he learned was to buy every thing at one time from the donor car. The Jag was originally equipted with dual cats... so he had to include dual cats and hook up the before and after cat sensors. I learned that the best first step is stop by a referee station [hard to find and sometimes an appointment must be made] describe your swap and your vehicle. The staff will often provide you with a list of precisely what will be required of you. Great to get this before you start collecting parts. Bear in mind that there are differences between LS1, LS2, LS3, or LS4. If your engine drops cylinders [LS2] like DOD you can expect the referee will expect that it would be fully functional. They are very sensitive to changes or deletions in the power module [cpu.. whatever]. There are lots of horror stories about California Smog, but it is doable. They can be very anal about the proper smog equipment. Don't expect to use any part other than the exact part for your model engine. If any part on the swap is not original and year correct and does not have a BAR waiver, it most likely will not be allowed. An example: John's swap requires the use of SBC ram's horn exhaust with AIR fittings. The LT1 manifolds have AIR fittings, but the manifolds are not ram's horn. The referee station accepted the ram's horns, but only after some discussion [begging, crying, & whining] about BAR approved headers with the AIR fittings. So... Again, the best advice I can give you is to talk to them before you have your vehicle up, get their opinion of what you would need and follow it. Finally, don't even consider using a truck engine. Not permitted and they know where to look to make the ID. I would look for a complete LS1. Go for it. G

Are the headlight assemblies, not the headlight "buckets" that are shaped like a sugar scoop, interchangeable from left to right. If not, how do I identify one from the other? Thanks for any information. G

I'm sure I have a pair. No rust, painted flat black, $40 you pay shipping. Need a couple days to take them off the bumpers. g

The driver you want is a 2004-2005 MazdaSpeed Mx5 with a hard top. Turbo/6speed/torsen differential/Bose radio and ALL the MazdaSpeed good stuff for suspension. A little more than 3grand, but you'll love it. Otherwise, just sift through all the CRX ads. Their prices are going up, but if you look you'll find a good stocker or, better yet, a nice one with a Turbo Integra up front. Good gas mileage for both of these cars and 90+ trap speeds a given. My Mx5 pulls 26mpg @80mph (steady speed 1500-5000 feet elevation). g

If you're looking for the piece that supports the front "neck" of the differential and provides mounting points for the rear lca's. I've got one. $50.00 with shipping to Calabasas or $20.00 and you can pick it up here in Indio. No rear brace. g

Go to Dragon car parts on the ebay and look at their on line catalogue. At about the third or fourth page, they list Z serial numbers with the year/month of production. Your chassis number will tell you if you have a 240, 260 or 280. Don't start talking to any licensing authority until you know you have to deal with them. Speaking very generally, they are not going to be your friend if you have a "grey market" Z. Get the facts yourself and go from there. Also hit the search button. If the door and engine compartment plaques do not match the chassis number, my bet is that the car is stolen. Be suspicious. You may be building a race car only. g

Is any part of the Series I windshield wiper mechanism [not the motor] repairable? Specifically the splined stubs on each side are very loose and I would like to rebush them if possible. The rubber boot that seals the splined stub has long since "gone south". Are these available? Is there a provider/supplier for the entire mechanism? Finally, is the mechanism from a 280 swappable to the 240. g

I have the bracket/ac compressor and assorted a/c lines. However, they are off a 5.3 LM7 truck engine. Stored for 5 years in a box... very low mileage. If they are usable send me a pm. g

One photo being worth a thousand words. Silver is a Series 1 240Z; black is a 280Z. Overall length is the same for both shafts. g

I've compared my '70 with a '71 and a 280Z shaft. There are some differences, but they are the same length and same spline count. The complete 280Z should replace the 240Z shaft. The differences are interesting. Although the 280Z shaft is of heavier material; the splines are the same. The entire steering shaft consists of two parts: the long rod half that contains the ujoint to connect with the Rack; the other is a "T" shaped piece that connects to the Fabric/rubber ujoint at the end of the steering column. This "T" shaped piece and the Rack end rod are of different lengths between the 240 and 280s. If you use the short "T" with the short rod, you have a steering shaft about .5 inches shorter than stock. If you stack the long "T" with the long rod you will have a steering shaft about .5 inches longer than stock. Based upon my machinist's opinion, you can press out the Datsun ujoint and then mate it with the Subaru cross joint. I've not done it, but I did measure the two and asked my machinist if would fit. He thinks it would. If this is so, all those loose early steering shaft ujoints could be repaired by pressing out the cross-element out of the Subaru universal joint yokes and pressing them into the Datsun yokes. Maybe someone out there will try this. I think I have photos up on my site in "Albums" here on Hybridz.org g

Ten years ago, I sandblasted my s30 well past bare metal. Two quarts of POR (Silver) applied with a 2 and 1 inch brushes covered my entire tub. Both sides. It covers well. POR and fiberglas screen repaired all my small rust holes.... none larger than quarter. It sat in the open for one year before I applied the tie coat. In the sun, it is photoactive and turned an ugly yellow/green dry heaves sort of color. After five years [yep, I know ALL about the "while we're here, let's do this or that" syndrome. Three years ago, I painted the entire tub with a quality two stage paint. Some of that paint in different locations has delaminated down to the POR Tie Coat. After much review and discussions with real paint professionals, the delamination from the POR tie coat of the finish paint and primer [which didn't show up for the first year] is the result of very sloppy preparation and surface cleaning on my part. This week, I refit my engine and massaged the tunnel for transmission and shift rod clearance with a 5# single jack. I got "real ignorunt" in reshaping the tunnel with that BFH. The paint, undercoat & primer all separated. The basic POR is still there with no indication of cracking or chipping. There is no rust anywhere on the tub. POR is not inexpensive and it is not the easiest coating to work with. It does brush on easily and covers quite well. I'm sure there are other products that will do the job.... at least in the short haul. In my experience, if I were to do this over again, I would explore newer tech, but in the end I think I would do it with POR. g

Thanks for the photos. But I have a question about the geometry. My transmission is 2004 5.3 Truck version of the 700R4. I understand the Park position to be at 8:00 o clock and the selector arm moves backward to about 5:00 pm for L1. I note that your photo shows the select lever is mounted on the bottom arc. Is your PRNDL sequence reversed to LDNRP at the shifter? G

Why use the 280ZX? You have the right bracket. Now go back to that Maxima and take the rotors and backing plate. Flop the bracket right for left. This mounts the caliper to the front of the car. Flop the Maxima brake calipers so the bleed screws are facing up. The devil in the detail will be adapting the parking brake to work. Every thing else is pretty much a bolt in. If you use the Maxima rear disk and backing plate your disk brakes will clear just about any wheel combination. Datsun had a plethora of different calipers that will bolt to that bracket. You really will be looking for a caliper that has a straight pull for the parking brake. G

I have two or three heaters with dealer installed AC and the levers and cables that go with them. My cables terminate in a step/offset that you would call a "z". If you are interested in buying these send me a pm and we can reach a price after I pull them all out of storage and make an inventory. g

If they are not adjustable, they are not MR2 seats. Good looking though. g

I think those are Toyota MR2 seats. They look a lot like mine, which are in storage. The headrest appears the same and the insert back and seat, likewise, look alike. What did you do to install them? g

I've just cut up a 240sx tank and thought about that. I took measurements and here's my opinion. The two tanks have a similar shape, but the SX tank is much wider and a bit longer. If your need is an in-tank fuel pump mounted in a sump that will probably alleviate if not out right cure fuel starvation then I suggest the following: 1. The cheap route is to cut off the top of the 240sx tank and mount it on the 240Z or 2. take the high end road and install an ATI "black box" in your existing tank. Some one on this forum sold the mounting ring needed. I simply installed the 240sx pump into my 240Z tank. Search this forum for the process. It's been done and if you have both tanks out and before you, it can be done in about 3 hours, counting clean up and guzzle time. Wash tanks with soap/detergent not solvent. Tape all openings, but one vent on top. Fill tank with CO2 or fill with water up to one inch of top vent and toss in a few small chunks of dry ice. Cut tank with cut off blade on an angle grinder. Check insurance before beginning, kiss the wife/girl friend/significant other goodbye, and commence mixing vapors with sparks or flame. You might survive. What I am saying is: don't rush into this work. Make sure both tanks are dry and vapor free. Gas vapors are heavier than air and will sink to the lowest part of the tank and stay there.... for a long time. You need to purge them. z

Yeah, I think it's a question of passion. My project Z will probably roll under its own power sometime this year, for the first time in ten years. It has been that shop class I couldn't get into in high school. Stripped the old girl bare butt nikked, pounded on the metal, found and destroyed more bondo than I thought possible to hang on sheet metal. Sometimes, no work on her for 3 or 4 months. Shopped every JY for 30 miles around and made a number of good friends: owners, cheap bastards, poor folks, professionals, and those who were maintaining some "old friend" they had had for years. You meet them all in junk yards. If they are looking for the same Z part as you; then, you have a competitor for a dwindling supply of parts and, maybe, a potential friend. After all, don't all great men think alike. If the thrill is gone, move on to other things. Over the years, I've dallied with '71 Ranchero, a R100 Mazda (with a 13B bridge ported Rotary... what a hot fervid and short love affair that was) that I still dream over, and a number of other new modern comfortable cars: all forgettable. Like life itself, taking on a project is both a quest and journey. In the end, it is more about you than it is the car. Cull your flock. Make some other Z lover's day and follow your passion, where ever it might lead you. z

I just cut the top of my early 240Z tank to install an in tank pump. My intake tube does not have a sock or filter at all. It just runs from the side over the top of a small divider to about 1/4 inch above the bottom of my tank. Just to one side of the drain plug. You may have sediment in your tank and that is being picked up. Drain your tank and see if that helps. g

Back in the Dark Ages before the magic of DOS, my form letters would refer to an enclosed "Self Addressed Envelope" enclosed with my monthly statement. The undercover Grammar Police, posing as two of my clients, sent me rude, inconsiderate, and downright nasty letters suggesting that envelopes are inanimate objects and have no ability to "self address" themselves. The proper phrase being "pre-addressed" and "pre-franked" envelopes. They not only questioned my education, but suggested that my IQ number was probably in the high two figures. I was shocked. Yes, I was also hurt. I changed the form letters. I also became very aware of spelling and grammar: something I thought I escaped when I graduated from high school. I really appreciate the generally high level of communication skills I see on this site. g g

I have a Series I 240Z and both the light combination switch and the turn/high/low beam switch are toast. I need to replace them. What are my options? There used to be a thread addressing this issue with a swap from other Nissan models. I can't find the thread. My local JY just received in a 280Z with both switches "intact". Are these directly interchangeable with the 240 ? I understand that the 280Z column is different from the 240s, but it looks as if it would be a simple unbolt and bolt back in type of exchange. I wish to keep the plastic modesty covers . Thanks for any information. g

There is a plethora of companies that provide stand alone engine/transmission looms. Even GM is in the game. Spearco has been around for a number of years and has a good reputation. I bought a stand alone GEN I csb TPI loom (break out box, actually) from Ron Francis Wires a few years ago. Nice. Mounted the ECU in the trunk and ran the sensor wires from the engine to it. Clean install. I believe they have a similar unit for the GEN III engines. Street and Performance out of Mena Arkansas has much experience in GEN III and IV swaps, including looms. Take a look at their website: hotrodlane.cc g