deja

My 77 has one too. I bought the car as a V8 conversion and from every thing I can see it was always a stick shift. I did not remove it during the LT1/4L60E automatic swap and I just finished my 300ZX LSD swap and left it in place. I do get a clunk every once in a while shifting from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd, usually on soft starts only. No clue yet what that clunk is.

I like the idea. I'll check it out Saturday. It won't be easy to do but I think it needs some contouring to break up the flatness and make it look a bit more professional. I've been thinking about doing something like that too. I was leaning more on keeping the block off as an extension of the lower fender valance and only covering to about an inch or so below my bumper.

You got that right. A couple years ago I painted POR-15 around my battery tray to kill the start of some surface rust. A year later I pulled the engine and was using a wire wheel on an angle grinder to knock off all the factory paint to prepare to paint the rest of the engine bay. When I got to the battery tray area the wire brush had no effect on the POR-15.

Regular POR-15 won't hold up to the sun. But I think POR-15 makes a top coat for that.

Look in the classifieds on this site. There are several people parting out Zs right now, I've had good luck there. I've got a lot of stuff off Ebay, Craigslist and some stuff the Z Barn in Tennesee, http://zbarn.com/ although they are difficult to get hold of at times. Z Car Atlanta is ridiculously high, I would use them only as a last resort.

36 year old wiring harness is never fun. I replaced my entire harness when I did my LT1 swap because I had had so many electrical problems. The Datsun wiring harness is a nightmare to work on, color coding is something Datsun just doesn't use so following a circuit can be difficult at best. Many of the connectors and sockets were very corroded as were several ground connections. If I were you I'd take apart as many connectors as you can and clean them up. Also remove any ground connection to the frame and clean them up too.

That dealer moved about 2 miles from my house, I'll run up there and see what they can do. Thanks.

Hey Mike, do you remember where you got them? Dale

Good idea, my rack is probably original. Thanks for your input.

OH, so its only the threads where the tie rod end goes that are different? So if I get 2 of these I'm good? http://www.courtesyparts.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=CP&Product_Code=48630-S30Z

I don't think I bent anything, the front spoiler and wheel took the major hit. It already has new ball joints so maybe its just the tie rod ends, that would be nice. Like you said I can get them local from any parts store. I guess I need to get under there a look closer at what all is really bad.

I managed to hit something huge the other day and now my car is pulling slightly to the right. So yesterday I took it to Kauffman Tire for a front end alignment. They told me my tie rods need replaced and doing an alignment would be a waste of money. WTF a different Kauffman Tire store did the alignment less than 4000 miles ago and didn't notice that, hmmmmmmmm. Anyway they could not locate the parts from their source. I have been searching on-line and have found nobody that has an inner RH side tie rod. Everyone had the LH side and the tie rid ends but not the inner RH side, including Black Dragon and Courtesy. What's up with that? Some searching here seems to indicate the same thing. Any ideas where I can get parts? I figured if I'm going in there I might as well replace everything.

You can eliminate the VATS feature in your PCM and remove the VATS module. But if you want the added anti theft protection this is how the VATS works. There are 4 inputs to the VATS, +12v always, +12v ignition switched in run and start, ground and 2 inputs from the resistor on the ignition key. There are 3 outputs, the security light, fuel pump enable and start relay enable. If you don't have the correct key nothing works! If you still want to use the VATS measure the resistor in the Camaro key, make a resistor to substitute for the key and installed it across the 2 wires that would normally connect to the Camaro ignition switch. I used a quick disconnect so I can remove it when I want to fully protect the car from theft. To eliminate the EGR all you need to do is block off the fitting on the intake. Not sure about the 5.3 but its pretty simple on an LT1. There are a few controls and hoses you can pull off as well, check a shop manual for your engine. You will also need to eliminate it from you PCM or it will pull a code. EBay had block-off plates but it’s easy to make your own, all you need is a steel or aluminum plate, a gasket and a couple bolts. Again I don't know about the 5.3 but on the LT1 once the engine is in the car you can't see the plate anyway so it doesn't have to be real fancy. Sorry no clue on the rear O2 sensors, my LT1 doesn't use them. But you live in Ccalifornia, don't you need to pass smog stuff? If so won't you need the cats?

Welcome to the board. I decided I wanted to run fuel injection for many reason, fuel economy being one. I have a stock '94 LT1 with a 4L60E overdrive automatic running through a 3.70 rear-end and get 18.5 mpg in town. I haven't taken it on a long enough trip to really determine highway mileage but it got 21.7 mpg on the only road trip I've done so far, 525 miles but that also included 5 runs on the drag strip. Of course the downside of the LT1 is it requires premium octane. As far as drivability it reminds me of my buddy's 68 Z28 as far as steering goes. It fine once you're moving but parking lot turns will pick you out of the seat! I'm getting too old to deal with that much steering effort. I can't compare it to the stock 280Z since my car already had a V8 in it when I bought it. But the lighter setback LT1 in easier to steer that the Scarab style the car had before I did the swap. PS is on my future project list.

I love Top Gear. Don't know when that was filmed but that CTS-V had the LS6, now it has a 4.4 supercharged V8 with 65 more HP.

I'm still driving my LT1 Z every day to work. Hey, it get better gas mileage (18.6 in town) than my truck and its so-o-o-o much more fun to drive! But I am retiring at the end of this month and am thinking about picking up something that gets better mileage as a grocery getter. But you have to do the math on how long it would take to break even on buying a car just because it gets better mileage. I'm also thinking about maybe building something electric as a fun project anyway.

According to Cadillac's web site you can get that v-series engine in both STS and in the XLR. XLR only gets 443HP but its faster I guess because it's lighter by 400 pounds.

http://www.cadillac.com/cadillacjsp/model/landing.jsp?model=stsv&year=2008

Holy crap! I rarely street race but every now and then…… This morning on the way to work I pulled up next to a pretty cool looking new Cadillac. The light changed and I started off normal, a bit quick. The Caddy did the same, at about 30 mph he kicked it and as a reaction I did too. He had a little head start but I thought I would just blow by him…WRONG. He didn't pull away but I wasn't really gaining ground either. Some curves came up pretty quickly and we both let up. I pulled in behind him at the next light, too much traffic at that point to continue racing. I looked at the emblems on the back of his car but couldn’t really make out anything I recognized. I saw this emblem on the left side of the trunk. When I got to work I searched Google. It was a Cadillac STS V-series supercharged 4.4L Northstar V8 with 469 HP. Granted it weighs 4200 pounds but 469 HP is 469HP and it sounded very cool.!

Sorry to hear that. Benn there myself in my Sunbeam Tiger. Standing there watch the car burn with no way to stop it was a horrible experience. Fortunately someone cam along with a fire extinguisher and put it out before the fire department arrived. But they still foamed the car. I guess since I got them out of bed at 4:00 AM they were going to do something! The carb and distributor were melted a all the hoses and wiring were shot but no real engine damage. Hope you get that lucky.

You may need to adjust the shifter cable. http://shbox.com/trans/A4_trans_linkage.html

I finally got around to installing the PS delete pulley. I had to re-tap the bottom hole in the Camaro accessory bracket to match the 3/8 bolt PSC provided. What's up with that? Do they not have access to metric bolts to match the pulley and spacer they chose? Anyway it wasn't too difficult even with all the accessories and hoses on the car, only the Bottom heater hose was in the way a little. Without a belt I drove it to O'reilly's to pick a new belt, its only a mile. First attempt was the stock Z28 belt but it is too long with the AC delete and the PS delete pulleys. My next pick worked. I ended up with a GATES K060615 V-Ribbed Belt (Standard) 6 Ribs 13/16" x 62 1/8". This is assuming you're not running AC and you're only running the belt on the passenger side like the Camaro does. I'm still trying to get the plumbing done for my AC. I am using the Bower AC setup on the driver's side and found GATES K060970 V-Ribbed Belt (Standard) 6 Ribs 13/16" x 97 5/8" worked better that the Goodyear version of the same number that came with the Bower setup because the Gates belt is a little longer so it was easier to get on. Thanks again Bryan for the tip. Anyone want a gutted LT1 PS pump......cheap?

Yep, because I wanted duel exhaust too. I installed a Camaro fuel tank with the built in fuel pump from my LT1 donor car. I picked up some truck flooring to make the flooring, its corrugation structure adds some rigidity to the floor. I also added a 1x4 brace across the center of the opening the add some bracing.

Oh, man that sucks. I hope they find your car. And I hope they find whoever took it and aren't real polite about arresting them without a "struggle". But 5 times???!!! Where do you live and where are you driving?

This is not mine, don't know the seller and don't know if its still available but I saw it today. http://atlanta.craigslist.org/pts/722747280.html