Michael

Why don't you convert the Rabbit to RWD?

Your first challenge will be locating a suitable Z-car. In the Midwest (Kentucky is almost the Midwest) first-generation Z's are very rare. In the 5 years that I've lived in southwestern Ohio, I've never seen one on the street.

It all depends on your application. For a street car, it's entirely possible to have a 400 ft-lb engine with no subframe connectors, no cage, and no strut tower braces - and not notice any problems - if the car's performance is never tested in a controlled situation. On the other hand, skilled drivers will notice chassis flexure even at much lower torque levels, for example in road racing. Probably the best approach is to build the engine and drivetrain, install everything in the car as-is, drive it, and then use your judgment on what structural improvements are required.

E36 3-series BMWs (1992-1999) are becoming a pretty good deal. If you want a RWD sedan or coupe – and especially if you want manual transmission – there aren’t many alternatives, at any price range. Rumor is that BMWs are definitely less reliable than Japanese cars, and on par (or slightly better) than Detroit products. The problem is that parts are MUCH harder to find than even for Japanese imports, and various quirks in German thinking make even simple repairs relatively difficult (example – replacing the fuel filter). So when they do break, fixing them is a chore. Known weak points are the water pump (plastic blades break off), fan clutch (sticks, so the fan is always spinning, and the coolant temperature stays low), engine management computer, induction coils (intermittent failure – computer doesn’t register a trouble code, but ain’t no spark in that cylinder), the aforementioned brake warning light, and occasional poor workmanship in interior trim (for the earlier models). Pre-1997 6-cylinder cars don’t have much torque below 3000 rpm. Automatics from that era (not sure about 1997-up) have significantly worse published acceleration specs than manuals. Weight specs are ambiguous; some sources cite 2866 lbs for the 1992 318, ~3050 for the 1992 325, and about 100lbs weight gain for 1995-up. A friend of mine weighed his 1997 M3 – came out to around 3150 lbs. Other sources cite similar numbers as the above, but with a full gas tank (that’s about 100 lbs difference). 1993-up cars have “VANOS†(variable valve timing of sorts) – it’s supposed to increase midrange torque. Mine is a 1992 325is, 5-speed – bought last spring for $4600, 110K miles. E36 BMWs have comparable acceleration to 3.0L V6 Hondas, Toyotas and Nissans of the late 1990’s, but overall “driver feel†is superior. They’re not the best value if you just want a comfortable, well-performing compact sedan or coupe, but like I said, if you want RWD and don’t want a Mustang or Camaro, there really is no alternative in the American market.

It all depends on your objective. If your objective is success in competitive racing, the “quality of one’s equipment†is secondary to the quality of one’s skills. If your objective is pleasing yourself upon mashing the gas pedal – any gear, any rpm – on a deserted backroad in some forlorn countryside – then high torque, low weight and good traction are what matter. And there’s no such thing as “too much†torque. If my car’s eventual engine lives up to the promise of its chassis, and the tires and suspension can reliably put the proverbial power to the pavement, the car would probably achieve single-digit 1/4-mile times. But so what? That is not my objective. Racing is fine, and I respect those persons who achieve competitive success in racing – in any class. But if we limited ourselves to building machinery consistent with our skills as drivers, or our needs as operators, we’d generally be driving Cavaliers and Neons – or in some cases, lawn tractors.

Please don't take this personally, but if you possess the skills, experience and resources to complete this project in a reasonable amount of time (years, not decades) and reasonable cost (10's of thousands $, not hundreds of thousands $), then you probably already know what strategy is best, without needing advice from others. That said, the general consensus is to ALWAYS start with a solid car as the basis for your hybrid, rather than repairing a severely ailing car. Repairing a car in poor condition - for purposes of becoming a reliable, high-performance vehicle - only makes sense if the particular car happens to be very rare, or your access to other candidate cars is severely limited.

Some others... Will the JTR kit work in a 280ZX/300ZX? Who makes a bolt-on roll cage for my Z? What 5-speed transmission can I use/can handle the power/is cheapest What's the absolute minimum cost for a bare-bones V8 swap? How long does it take? What quarter mile times do you guys get? Will my car beat a Mustang/Camaro/EVO/DSM?

More on the Pro Topline heads... I found some flow numbers for the Pro Topline 320cc heads. I don't know to what extent the flow would differ for the 290cc heads - hopefully, the only significant difference would be at the upper extreme of valve lift. lift intake exhaust e/I 0.1 75 62 0.827 0.2 158 118 0.747 0.3 230 160 0.696 0.4 286 195 0.682 0.5 342 229 0.670 0.6 380 248 0.653 0.7 403 265 0.657 Intake flow compares favorably to ALL oval port heads (including AFR 265cc) at 0.600" lift and above. Below 0.600", the AFR's flow better. The Pro Toplines also beat most rectangular port heads with intake volume below 340cc. The only downside is the slightly weak exhaust numbers (relative to the intake numbers) - e/I ratio could be better (AFR's get around 0.80). Certainly the idea of an aggressively split-pattern cam makes sense. I'd also consider some exhaust porting. How far did they raise the exhaust port location above stock? Most aftermarket BBC heads, except for Edelbrock, raise the exhaust ports 0.300" or more, for improved flow. Sometimes this causes header clearance issues.

Those headers look very similar to Hooker block-huggers. If the, the driver's side should clear OK, but on the passenger's side the collector will interfere with the frame rail. This happened with my car, and my 454 is centered in the engine compartment; in the JTR method, it's shifted over the the passenger's side by something like 3/4". My solution (or rather, the solution of the guy who did the roll cage install in my car) was to notch the frame rail, then weld in a sheet metal patch. Now the collector cleared the frame rail, but the collector flange was still in the way. This was solved by cutting off the collector flange, welding in an extension to the collector, with a 90-degree smooth bend, then welding the collector flange onto the end of the bend. It's still a tight fit around the starter (I should get a ministarter), and definitely causes heatsoak problems, but clears the frame rails OK.

A late 1970's 454 from a motor home will require some work to convert it into a performance engine. The block, crank, rods and balancer should be an OK foundation. But the heads are almost certainly "peanut port" (casting number begins with 236) which flow about 235 cfm at max lift. This is fine for a motor home, but not enough to support a level of horsepower commensurate with the whole point of going to a BBC. So, you're looking at heads, cam, valvetrain, intake, carb, and headers. I started out from a similar position - a 454 from a 1978 Chevy Suburban. Spent many, many hours porting my 236 heads - got them up to around 265 cfm, only to learn that my porting job weakened the heads near the valve seat area, so that when the machine shop pressed in new valve seats, one of the heads cracked. That is November 2003. Since then I've been looking for cylinder heads. Oh, and BTW, what are the flow numbers from those Pro Toplines?

Wherever you do end up living, at some minimal level you have to feel like you're a part of the community - otherwise you'll be miserable. I'm not talking about civic activism or joining the local moose lodge. But you do need to consider yourself as having certain basic attributes in common with a large crossection of the local populace. For instance, if you're a born-again Protestant who enjoys hunting, drives a big truck, and smokes a pack of Marlboros every day, you'll be utterly miserable in San Francisco or Boston. I'm miserable where I currently live, because I feel completely alientated from the community. Simply put, my core beliefs are fundamentally inconsistent with the prevaling norms - from politics and religion, to taste in culture, to manner of speech. But I live here because my job is here. Let's see, how many years left until retirement?....

I live 25 miles southeast of Dayton, Ohio, in a rural area. 5 acres, 2800 ft^2 house (well, that's counting the finished walkout basement, which the state considers square footage for property tax purposes!), 4-car garage - worth about $210K. It was worth the same or slightly more when when I bought it in the summer of 2001. Dayton is in decline, caused by a mixture of decline in manufacturing and family farms, failure to adapt to the high-tech economy, endemic racial tensions, and the lack of high-paying jobs. I've heard plenty of rumors about automotive mechanics being out of work (even those with ASE certification), because there's a glut of guys interested in the skilled trades. I moved here about 5 years ago, from Los Angeles. Those people itching to leave California should try moving to the Midwest; a couple of years out here, and you'll be crying to come back! I had no choice - my job transferred me. Anyway, in the 1990's Los Angeles was a tremendous real estate bargain. Prices more than doubled in the past several years, but I don't think it's a bubble - it's a rebound from the late 80's-early 90's decline and 90's stagnation. Of course, the Midwest is a great place if you have school-age children, are socially conservative, prefer a relaxed pace of life and don't mind the brutal winters.

Ditto on the above. Typically, the problem is not only in toe angle, but also in camber. Check the gap between the spring lower perch and the tire, on both sides of the car. There's a good chance that on one side the gap is something like 1/4" larger than on the other. The same problem (camber, not toe) is also commonly found on the front end. And the solution is the same: swap strut housings from another car. In the front, this is very easy (takes maybe an hour per corner). In the rear, it's considerably more work, assuming that you reuse your original control arms. Bottom line - it's a very common problem.

This guy is a tenured professor. Tenure basically means that he can't be fired for any reason, short of being convicted of some crime. The question to ask ourselves is, "what was the faculty committee thinking when they granted this guy tenure?" Now it's too late. The concept of academic freedom would become a joke if professors get fired over expression of their views, even if those views are insulting and distasteful.

At times like this I console myself by reiterating my usual saying: "I'm proud to belong to the half that makes the top half possible". Tim - back when I lived in LA (late 1990's), I saw Opel GT's in similar condition in the Recycler for around $5K.

Project BBZ – congratulations on finally making good on the screen name! The big block is definitely an unusual swap, and not for the faint of heart. A few questions on your choices of parts…. 1. Heads. Why the Pro Topline? Are those rectangular-port? Did you settle on iron heads because no comparable heads were available in aluminum? I have been looking for suitable cylinder heads for my 454 for about 5 years (literally), and the best choice seems to be the AFR 265 cc heads. Unfortunately, they still haven’t entered production, as AFR shifted its attention to the LS1 market right after announcing the BBC heads. The second best choice, for my application, is the Dart aluminum oval-port heads (269cc), but those have disappeared from catalogs. 2. Cam. That’s a very healthy cam for flat-tappet lobes! I’ve been looking at a “low lash†mechanical roller cam with around 0.630 lift, 240 duration at 0.050â€. 3. Intake and carb. Is yours mostly a “street†application? True, it’s a 454 in a 2800 lb car, but for running below 3000 rpm.... Anyway, I have a 750 cfm vacuum-secondary Holley atop a Performer RPM oval-port intake. 4. Oil pan. How deep is that pan? I started out with a 9â€-deep pan, stock for a Chevy Suburban (which is what the engine came out of). It hung slightly below the frame rails, with the engine mounted to the frame rails (not the JTR method). Now I have a 8†deep pan. Anyway, good luck with your swap – sounds like a great project!

Well, here are some further steps.... 1. Limit sales of kerosene, gasoline, and other gas-station hydrocarbons to 10 gallons (for example) per person per week. Otherwise, people might use those chemicals to make bombs, or to commit arson. 2. Limit sales of fertilizer only to those person who can prove that they are farmers. Farmers would have to show a special farmers' license, stating the acreage of the farm. Customers would only be allowed one pound of fertilizer per acre, per month; otherwise the fertilizer might be used to make bombs! 3. You're not allowed to rent a cargo van, unless you can prove to the rental agency that you're actually moving (from one residence to another). Doing so requires a special "relocation license", which is issued at a maximum of once per six months, per person. 4. In an effort to curb obesity, everyone is issued a "fast food ration card" by the Department of Health and Human Services. It has stamps for french fries, hamburgers, etc. To buy food at McDonald's, you have to show them your ration card; with every purchase the stamps are torn off, and if you have no more stamps let, you can't buy any more hamburgers, until the next month. 5. To encourage civic-mindedness and to promote physical exercise, the Department of Labor opens special labor camps. Volunteers report to duty for 8-hours shifts, doing work such as highway construction, digging ditches, repairing sewer lines, etc. Work is unpaid, but for every 8-hour shift you receive an additional fast food ration card.

Also, since you're interested in a Gen VI BBC, keep in mind the differences between the Mark IV (1965-1991) big block and the Gen VI; for example, the flywheel bolt pattern is different. If you do go with a Gen VI, consider the 502 instead of the 454.

This is really, really cool! And such a poke in the eye of the purists! (BMW purists are even more ornery than Datsun purists). I have a 1992 E36 coupe. It truly is an aesthetically beautiful car, but indeed the power (especially the low-end torque) is unpleasantly vapid. I don’t want to jinx my engine by pondering a swap (just yet), but when that puppy finally chews its last bone, and Hans and Fritz will want to charge $8000 for fixing it, it’ll be time for a LS1 swap.

For something like two years now, AFR has been advertising the oval-port cylinder heads for the big-block Chevy, but they still haven't brought them to market. I'm tired of waiting for AFR. The next best choice for my application is the Dart oval-ports, but for some reason the big mail-order houses (Summit, Jegs) don't sell them. And they've disappeared from Dart's own web site. Does anyone who still sells these heads?

Late 80's or early 90's BMW 3-series (325 - stay away from the 318 ). They get around 25 mpg highway (18-20 city). A late 80's E30-series should be under $3000. My 1992 325is was $4600.

Not to change the subject (much), but how's the recoil on that 30-378 Weatherby?

I don't race and I don't know much about suspensions, but I did observe approximately 3/8" of side-to-side motion at the frontmost end of the front tires, as my 280Z was lifted on a hoist (that is, from 100% sprung mass resting on the tires, to 0%). That's approximately 1.8 degrees of toe angle change, per wheel - an amount that sounds excessively large - large enough to warrant corrective action. So, I did the JTR crossmember mod. I have not driven the car since, and can't comment on the relative benefits.

Maybe this is the engine gods' way of saying that now you should go big-block?

What are the odds that the Hemi would ever be available with a manual transmission?