Horatio

Soooo, when will you be manufacturing these for sale?! I'd definitely be interested! Great job!

ahhh screw it! I'll hit it with some rubberized coating before welding then take what i get. I don't plan on driving it in the rain much anyways and it'll be garage kept. Guess if it's taken nearly forty years for the rust to happen like it is that it'll be alright!

MONZTER, Have you considered something like this? Opinions?

New question for ya! What the heck is a wand? Is it for an HVLP sprayer or something I can attach to a rattle can. I'm thinking i'll just have to have a decent sized hole and spray the heck out of the inside with some rubberized undercoating.

I thought about drilling some holes and shooting in some runbberized undercoating or something like that... hadn't considered plugging with rubber plugs though. Kinda concerned about being able to cover the entire patched area though. I figured I wouldn't be able to coat the back of the piece with anything before welding it in... possibly inhibiting the weld from taking? And, still have to worry about covering the wleds on the insdie areas to keep them from corroding? Any other advice from anyone who has made this repair or similar ones?

Hey ya'll Question for ya. I'll be repairing some small rust through areas at the rocker (driver and pass side) right in front of the rear wheels. I'll be welding in new patch panels. How do I treat the back side of this fresh metal to prevent it from rusting out again in the future. After I weld in the patch panels the inside will be sealed in and I won't be able to treat/paint the surface to prevent rust. Any ideas? Thanks.

Aggggghhhh! That makes me angry as hell just to look at it. Can't imagine how i would feel if it were mine! So sorry. No worrie though. People like that always get it in the end! What kinda wheels are you running? Size? Look really nice. Have any other pictures? I likey!

Dudeboy, Your engine bay looks nice and clean. Is that rattle can black?

No grinding necessary for me. I cut the welds on the engine side of the "ears", used an air hammer to cut through the spot welds, then beat the $#%^ out of the "ears" with a 4lb sledge till they popped off. Worked pretty well! Here's what I have now. Question is whether or not I have to cut any of what the ears were attached to to fit the T56?

Here's a pic of what i'm talking about. I have only cut away the "ears" so far. Yeah, I was aware of the differences in the trans mounts between 240's and 280's. Still got the wrong one from JCI though. He fixed things pretty quick for me though.

That's good news! Looks like ya'll are running 280's. Don't suppose you know of any differences between the 240's and the 280's that may force me to cut the "strap" in my 240? Final fit with engine will tell but I don't have the drivetrain yet and want to have the underside ready to go. Thanks!

Sorry for the late response ya'll.... Been away at a conference. Maaaaan, Ya'll are downer's!!! And I had my wife nearly talked into it too! I know you're right though. And there's plenty for me to work on while i'm waiting for the right donor car! Thanks for all your advice/honesty! Here's a couple pics of my project:

I was daydreaming on my way in to work this morning about my car and how to get my LS1/T56. I can get a 60 month used car laon at 4.25% right now. No problems with approval. I figure i can pull enough off a donor car to make payments on that without a problem. Add on top of that extra payents along the way and it shouldn't be a problem at all. I know, I know!!! Stay away from the loan... I can hear my wife rolling her eyes right now!!! Thing is, there's no way i can drop between 5 and 8K on a car right now out of pocket. I figured this may be a good way to secure my donor now... and i'm dying to get my car going! I'm not necessarily in a hurry, but it would be nice to at least have the engine/trans so I can get working this summer! Now, be easy on me... cause i'll guarantee i'll have a fight on my hands when I bring this option up to the wife!!!

Yeah, I've already parted out a '77 280Z and had the left bay of the garage tied up for several months. Pretty sure the wife will be REALLY happy to have another car in there as well. Donor car sounds like the way to go. I'll need a low mileage 1998 or newer Z28/firebird. Seems to be more low mileage pullouts than cars out there. I've been considering getting a low interest auto loan to buy the donor. Problem I see with this however is what happens when i'm done parting it out, get rid of the shell and still don't have a title for a car that's technically gone and that i'm still paying for?! There's just sometihng not right with this idea but I can't seem to put my finger on it! Any thoughts? I'll assume that if I were to default on the loan (not likely) that the bank would have rights to my Z??? I had a salvage yard out here take away the shell to the 280Z I parted out without a title. Wonder if they'd be mroe reluctant to take away the shell of a newer car? gvincent, sounds like you made out pretty well. Seems like there'd be plenty there for me to sell to recoupe much of the cost, particularly if I get somethin with some simple upgrades, a nice set of wheels, and in nice condition. Thanks for the input! Still not sure what i'm gonna do.

Can someone tell me how much of the "strap" i need to cut off in the trans tunnel to clear the T56. I busted off the "ears" but have read that the passenger side clearence is really tight. There's a "strap" that's about 1/2 inch off the trans tunnel that the ears were attached/welded to. I'll assume that I have to take some of this off as well? Can someone tell me how high I need to cut this off in the trans tunnel to mount the T56?

Trying to decide if I should get a parts car or a pullout. Can anyone out there who has bought a parts car enlighten me on the recouped cash from selling leftovers of a donor Camaro/Firebird? I'm willing to give up the time to part something out but really don't want to get into it if I won't get much back from it. Looks like average donor in decent condition is running around 6k-ish (high mileage though). Pullouts look like they're running around 3-5K-ish. Sooo, i'm guestamating i'd have to recoupe around 3K to break even if I buy a donor and part it out? Doesn't sound too unreasonable.

True. Looks like you'd be needing th extra weight in the rear of that car anyway!!

I like that diamond plate look! Must be heavy though. Demideon, hadn't even considered building above the rear pan like you did. I've been considering options to have a lid that would seal over the fuel cell and battery compartment. I was considering something like you see on hatchbacks where a hatch cover lifts along with the tailgate door when it's opened. maybe even just have a hinged door with a latch. i was thinking I would have o drop the fuel cell and battery a bit lower than flush with the rear pan to accomadate a cover like this. Your way of building up rather than droping it down may be a solution to that! Thanks!

demideon, you have any pictures of your setup. i tried clicking on your yahoo link but it's saying yahoo pics has been shut down. Guess my space for the dual exhaust would be limited by the width of the fuel cell I choose. I've seen them where they are nearly square and others that are longer/rectangular. Suppose if I were to choose the rectangular version and install it perpendicular to the rear driveline then that may give me the room i need for the dual exhaust. Puts a bit more weight towards the passenger side. Keeping the battery withinn the wheelbase isn't much of an option at this point. I'd really like to have it out of the engine bay to help redistribute weight gain from the LS1. Minor (about 30lbs) in know, but i figured pushing the battery weight to the back would help to get things back to near stock weight distribution.... not to mention the engine being set back farther than the I6. I've already promised the wife long "slow" drives down the Blue Ridge parkway so the passenger floor pan is out of the question!! Anyone with photo's/ideas of below deck instalations in the tool bin areas?

Thanks, John. I'll do a bit more research on battery options. I've glanced over a couple threads where dual 6V batteries are used in the tool compartments. Anybody using this setup with advice/warnings?

Buddy of mine just suggested putting the battery on the passenger side and mounting the fuel cell at the center. Battery to help offset drivers considerable weight!! Fuel cell placed as close to the diff as possible. Thoughts?

Hey everyone, Need some opinions/criticism. Planning an LS1/T56 swap. i'm planning placement of a fuel cell (still not decided on which one) as well as relocating the battery underneath the rear deck. I've seen lot's of folks drop fuel cells in but have only found one with both the fuel cell and battery below the deck (this one had the battery on one side/driver and a small tank on the passebger side). I'd like to most of the mass towards the center of the car and over the rear driveline as much as possible. So, here's the question: I have been considering either: Putting the fuel cell directly behind the diff and placing the batttery behind it? or just the opposite... Battery behind the diff and fuel cell close to the rear end? Obvious problems with the fuel cell being closer to the rear end is a hard collision from behind and more wieght in the rear of the car with a full tank. Would ya'll think it's better for the fuel cell to be in the front or the battery to be in the front?

Doesn't look too bad... until you get into it. Guarantee there's a heck of a lot more work there than what you think. IMHO, part it out and take that cash and save for something a bit less swiss cheese like! Like JSM said though, if you've got the skills then go for it and more power to you. I'd be nice to see it get back on the road rather than to have it crushed! Best of luck to you!

Yeah, he asked me about the trans crossmember too... if the bolts were parallel or perpendicular to the ground. Pretty sure mine were parallel (a '73 240). Not 100% sure though so i'll be running home this afternoon and double checking. Finally making some decent progress on my project. Car is stripped and ready for minor body work/paint. I'll be sandblasting/painting/reassembling the front end this spring. Body work this summer, and tearing down the rear end/building support for below deck fuel cell and battery. Plenty to keep me busy this summer! and..... still trying to figure out how to fund the purchase of the drivetrain!!!! I'll try to post some pics here soon of my progress. I've been snooping around here for a couple years now. Really appreciate everyones help so far!

Sent in my check for my LS1 JCI engine/trans mounts. Just got a call from JCI. Said he needed my VIN #. Anyone know why he needs this before he sends out the kit? No biggie, really just curious!! Maybe he's just trying to keep tabs on what cars his stuff has been put on?