phocion

I did a board search for "T5" (upper right hand corner, use quotes to eliminate the t56) and found several threads Seems like they are all on Gen I/II Chevy engines, but your mileage may vary.

Ok, I am absolutely not a transmission expert, but there is a lot of tranny/ls1 info on LS1 tech, including a pretty informative discussion on your T5: http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/manual-transmission/137289-ls1-t5.html Second, there are a number of transmissions that seem to be "the" option, depending on your desired uses. If you want to stay automatic, and use it for general purpose and highway driving, the 4L60E is popular. Straight line track stuff people seem to stick to the TH350. Standard choice is generally the T56 6 speed. Personally, I am in the process of shopping around for a transmission rebuild place that wants to sell me a rebuilt T56 and give me some swap credit for the TH350 that I have. My general tactic has been to call the shops, tell them what I have, and what I am looking for, and ask what their price would be. Some places will work with you, some won't, but I stick to specialty shops because they generally know what they are doing. I'll pick a steering arm or a door out of a junkyard, but a tranny is a different beast for my level of experience.

Thanks Cable, that is an interesting and cheap method! I have to figure out if I have the room to drill/tap the engine in the bay, otherwise it is cheaper to just replace the entire front end accessories than to get a lift and go through pulling the motor.

2nd Savage. If the car was good with the Z motor, then it should be good with the LSX, assuming you don't beef it up to the limits of the block and run the hell out of it. I the few bad LSX stories that I have heard started with "so I added a second turbo". I don't see any real "track" car being a good daily, because you sacrifice a lot of comfort for weight, but if you just want a car to drive with more of everything when you push the loud pedal, then the Z/LSX seems like a reasonable choice.

So, I feel like an idiot, but I bought a Lokar flexible transmission dipstick for a TH350, and there just isn't enough room between the body and the tranny to exert force to push it into the mounting hole. I spent 45 min before I decided I should come and ask if anyone ever tried installing one, and see if there are any suggestions. I am guessing I might have to fashion some sort of open ended angled wrench to pull down on that bastard from underneath, but any other ideas are welcome (unless they are pull the engine and tranny, I really don't want to do that for a dipstick if I can help it). On the plus side, the lokar oil dipstick went in with no problems

Not sure if anyone cares, but I didn't see this on the for sale board, and it sounds like a beast. I wish I had waited a few months before picking up my project, this would have been a preferable power plant/tranny http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/cto/1853440104.html That dyno run sounds sweet!

Yea, I have found things here and there that have me scratching my head, but we are all familiar with the caveat emptor standard on cars. Since I was waiting on parts, I figured this would be a good time to test the bracket clearance I knocked out a cardboard mockup from their schematics, and it does indeed appear to impact the strut tower. So, I look at that as $200 towards getting a hood fabricated.

Not really shady, I checked it out before I laid down cash and knew it would not fit without serious rubbing. Alternator also impacts the hood, so I have been debating lowering it with a bracket or using a wider recreation of the datsun sport cowl to lump over it and leave it stock. I guess different people have different versions of what "fits" under a hood. My version of fit requires clearance to avoid any contact, even under stress, so this carbed engine does not "fit" under a stock hood. If I had it to do over again, I would probably wait for a FI v-8 conversion, because I have rebuilt the carb, and I am still fighting with the damn thing to run consistently. On the other hand, it is my first carbed engine and has been a good learning experience, so I consider it a wash. edit: here is the alternator bracket I am looking at. I think that it will fit under the hood, but I want to mock one up to be sure before I order: http://www.kwikperf.com/lsx_alt_only.html

Not to quibble, but I bought that car, and the hood does not clear the air filter. I am guessing that pic was taken sans carb. I am not saying it is impossible for a carbed LS series to fit under the stock hood, but that particular one does not. I am currently looking at hood options, with my front-runner being a recreation of the Datsun sport cowl.

That first pic was perfect, thanks! What a great find on your part, and I appreciate the offer to check it out, but I should be able to use those pics to illustrate what I am looking for at a body shop. I didn't want to get just-another-beefy-cowl and ruin the lines of the car, and I think this particular scoop is complimentary to the body style.

That Datsun competition hood scoop is exactly what I need, that bulb in the front should just clear the alternator, and it has a really unique look! I also can't find anything like it in the reproduction hood scoops If I can get that fabricated onto my hood, I can avoid the swap parts or alternator relocation costs, and I need to get it modded to clear the carb anyway. Could you do me a huge favor and take a few pics of that scoop with a ruler in proximity? I can't find a white sheet or specs on it anywhere, and I would like to have a reference so I can get as close to stock as possible. Ahh, project car, how you vex me!

Well, it is my clearance issue now, which you were kind enough to address in another thread The hood does close, however it rubs on the top of the alternator. Given the movement of the engine with revs, I am still deciding which method I want to use to lower it.

I was afraid that the most direct solution would involve replacing a bunch of the front end, but I am guessing it is better to make the swap now than constantly work around it. Thanks for all the detail, I appreciate it! I guess I'll put sourcing those parts on the to-do list... Incidentally, what cowl did you use? It looks like most of them gain clearance only in the center, where the alternator hits more to the drivers side.

Greetings! This is my first post and I did search and read the FAQs, but didn't find what I was looking for, so here I am I have a slight problem with the hood clearance in a 240z with a LM7 sporting the stock alternator mount, and I was curious as to whether anyone on here had the same problem? I have been looking for brackets to replace that enormous aluminum tower that the alternator sits on and lower it into a more suitable position, but so far I have only found 1 company, KWiK, that makes a relocation bracket for the LM7. They must know they are the only ones, because they want nearly $200 with shipping for this: Anyone have alternate bracket source ideas, or can you suggest a shop in the greater LA area that would be capable of fabricating this for less? I don't want to swap out the pulley and pump etc, so moving the alternator seems like the best bet currently. Hell, good fab shop recommendations are welcome as I will have to get the hood modded at some point in the near future. Here is a pic of how oddly tall the factory mount is: