deMideon

I have a dual 2 1/2 exhaust with flowmasters... a VERY aggressive sound. I'm not real sure if I want to go to a single muffler or not. quiter would be nice in some ways but now people look at my Z and say what the hell is that! I kinda like that. No one can mistake it for a V-8, but it in no way resembles a muscle car and I am enjoying that part a lot.

I did this with my 280... As far as the lines go, you do have to get the exact model otherwise the bends ect are very different. The 240 and 260 would probably be close but I would bet that the mounting points are different, the 240 and 280 are way too different. The 280zx is completely different from a 240. About the only thing you can take off of a 280zx and put in the 240 is the drivetrain.

Heh... at normal driving speeds 30 - 60 is behind the steering wheel and the the spacing between like 30 - 40 is very small and harder to read while driving... not that I can see it since it's behind the steering wheel!

Thanks! When you start from a shell it helps! Yes the are the autometer all are electric except for the oil pressure. The speedo was very easy to setup with the T-56 once I figured out how to do it ! Although I went with the 200mph one... dumb move, should have gone with the 160mph one. Much easier to read at normal speeds!

Well. I am pretty much finished with the conversion. Have the car running really well. I'm absolutely amazed at 1: how fast it is... about 4.5 sec 0 -60 and I should be able to get it a little lower. 2: how well balanced, how solid the body feels, how nicely it handles. It is also very easy to control. I was worried about having a problem controlling the wheel spin. No problem at all. I almost always am doing exactly what I want to with it. I've driven it in the rain, still very easy to control, no excess spin etc... Great car!! I still have to roll my front fenders a little more, maybe even have to do a little cutting... I also got it weighed at a certified truck weigh station. Really easy as it had 2 section so you can get total weight and front and back weights. This is with a SBC 377, T-56, and about 16 gallons of gas, I was not in the car... Front - 1340 Rear - 1520 Total - 2860 Not bad at all considering when I beefed up the body I probably added almost 50lbs of steel!!! I also added a few more pictures to my album, under finished!

I guess it just depends if you think peeing your pants is exciting!

I'm probably putting down about 400hp.. I do have an aluminum flywheel too, so that drops the low end torque a bit. I am also using a T-56 trans so I can feather the clutch as well. Anyway I am finding that the car is very easy to drive on the street, very very fast as well. I haven't quite gotten my launch figured out yet and I am at about 4.5 sec 0-60! I'll probably be around 4 seconds once I get better. Heh but it looks like I am getting about 12 miles per gallon!

So no one knows anything about this one?

Personnally, I always do them separately. I don't usually like someone elses choices, more from a quiality standpoint than anything else. $650 is a good price for all of that. But I guess it depends what you want to end up with.... Make sure you get it balanced at a good machine shop... the cheaper pistons etc are often so out of balance it will cause a very poor running engine!

I tried it the first time with +12v on it... I'm really glad I didn't toast the speedo!

In order to remove the isolaters you have to build plates. It's not terribly hard if you can weld! It does drop it about an inch and if you ensure you have the cup at the right spot when you weld it to the plate you won't change your caster or camber!

I thought people might want to know this... In order to get an Autometer Speedo to work with the T-56 trans without having the computer, all you need to do is ground one side of the sensor in the T-56 and connect the other end to the speedo.

Has anyone used this yet? It sounds like it will work well for higher HP engines but I have not been able to find enough info on it. Thanks!

The other thing to think about is that when you build the L-6 turbo for 400hp you are seriously decreasing the reliability of the engine. That's why I went for the 377... I have 450hp and a reliable engine. I can also inclrease the HP when I want to!

Well I do have to say that after talking here on the board about the 377 with everyone, I think I would have gone with a stroked 400, vs destroked. The gains associated with de-stroking do not sound like they would really be noticable and with a stroker you end up with more HP overall. So I think if I were doing it over it would be stroked (I'm not quite sure what disp. you end up with!). Although I do like that I have an unusual engine! As far as progress... I have to figure out how not to burn up the solenoid on my starter... it's within about 1/8th inch of my exhaust pipe... and I need to get a vaccum gauge to setup the carb right. Then it should be a lot more fun! I also need to troubleshoot my headlight system... it's not working right.

Well, got the fan working (I didn't hook up the ground!), hooked up the MSD right so the car shuts off now, and removed the remote filter assembly. Really amazingly fast and I haven't even gotten into setting up the carb or anything, it runs really well though so it will only get better! Now I need to finish enclosing the fuel cell and battery in the back, insulate the back and put the interior back together! Oh and I think I blew a rear brake line!

My 377 just dropped right in... I didn't need to slot it or anything and it's within 1/2 inch of the firewall.. perfect for me!

I got it running today!! Well kinda.... The fan didn't go on and I couldn't shut the engine off (think I wired the MSD wrong), the remote oil adapter is leaking, the front end REALLY needs aligned, and something scrapes too easily underneath.... But Damn it sounds good!!! I drove it a little, but it is so squirrelly I didn't really want to go to fast. But It's together and it runs!!!

That sounded like fun.. hopefully I'll make the next one! I have the Z together but the timing is wrong, and the lights and brake lights don't work so... getting closer but no drive yet! Let me know when the next get together is.. I should have it done then! 450hp should be fun too!

It really depends pm the tire manufacturer etc. Take a look at Tire Rack: http://www.tirerack.com/ They have a specs listing for almost all of the tires that shows rim width range. It is different for different tire, brands, and models. So take a look!

Heh... Thanks but if my Z still isn't running I will be in the garage trying to get it finished! I don't have much left to do before the first startup. I have to built my exhaust and I have a float stuck in my holley... Then we'll see what else doesn't work!

Well !@###@$$!!!!... If it was next weekend I would probably have my Z done!! I don't think it will be driveable by this weekend... Let me know if ya move it!

I checked through full susp movement and it does clear!

Ok I took a picture of my sway bar mount... take a look at the photos link in my sig...!!! (here you go Mike kZ)

Sure! When I go out to finish installing the sway bar today I'll make sure I take the camara with me!