Z-8

What are the differences in steering with these two set-ups? Is one harder than the other? Or are they just mechanically different, but do the same job? In San Diego they have a good selection of junkyards, and it would be no problem finding one down here for my '79. EDIT: Defrag didn't say what he was using, I'm putting in a LT1, if that makes a difference also(vise pre '92 engine).

simply breathtaking!

Well, you could learn to brake..., just kidding around man. That sounds like a first timer, and pretty ballsy to pull off. Go for it.

Did you try pulling the starter off and just hot-wiring it to get it to run while not connected to the engine? I tried this when I was trying to find a reason why my starter wasn't turning on with the ignition. It spun just nicely, and I found out that I had a bad ground wire. I hate electrical problems. But I beat this one.

Hey man, sorry to hear about your dad. Mine has always been an insperation with my mechanical work. Thats a very nice looking Z you got. I've got a '79 280zx, and I've got a LT1/t-56 waiting in my garage. If you need some advice or something on giving some TLC, or whatever, drop me a line. I've been in the Navy since '98, and am now stationed out here in Whales V@gin@ . It's a blast.

They wern't re-running the article, someone had sent in a letter(or e-mail) asking about a small block making big horsepower, and great MPG. They printed the main details from an e-mail sent from the guy who built the engine. And then they mentioned something about making more horsepower with it in a future article.

How about the LT1? It's distributor is in the front. That might fix that problem. And of course if you go with a 6-speed....

Your car sounds awesome man!

If you can't break it in at least close to 500 miles, I'd leave the old one in. Besides, at this Super Chevy event, if you destroy your old clutch(are you planning on racing or something?), it's all good because you have a new one. It doesn't make sense to risk breaking a new clutch like that. That's my 21 pesos.

Just wanted to put my two cents in on the original topic. I had plans for the engine in my '48 chevy, being told it was a 350 built by DEI(didn't really know what that was at the time), but come to find out about a year later it was actually a 283! So knowing what your starting out with is diffenetly the way to go, it will change your plans. Now the other topic, I see the flaming going on, and it might be a little excessive, but the newbie's should take a little time to search. So a little ground needs to be given on both sides.

Good luck man, it looks pretty mean.

Thats pretty much what I'm doing. I've got a '95 caprice cop car engine, and a t-56. Those are going into a 1979 280zx. It's going to be fun getting it all smog legal out here in california. I might go on a hunt for those rare places here that don't have smog laws. That would be cool.

When I first started doing this LT1 swap for my '79, I told my dad. And his first question was, "Why don't you put a Hemi in it". Didn't really have a good excuse. Except for cost. I know you may not neccesarily be talking about a hemi, but whatever. So I'll keep an eye on this project, and send some links to my dad. Good luck with it man.

Alright here it is, word for word: "To calibrate the tach, it must be removed from the instrument panel. The wires do not have to be disconnected from the tach, but the ignition must be turned off. On the back side of the tach case, there will be a slot about an inch below the hole. With a very small screwdriver, turn the slot about 45 deg clockwise. The tach is now calibrated for a V8. This adjustment should be checked with a tach known to be accurate. Again, be sure the ignition is turned off when turning the adjusting slot." From the picture in the book, the hole for the slot is 3/4 of the way up the tach, and a little to the left(looking from the back). I hope you haven't tried this yet. Let me know what kind of Z you have, there are a couple of different ways to hook it up after that.

My best advice is to start learning. Piece together a good collection of tools, and parts that you need. Over time it can add up pretty nicely. Searching this forum, plus others from whatever kind of engine you choose, will teach you a lot. I'm sure whatever engine you want, probably someone here has done it. The JTR manual is great, plus I got haynes/chiltons from the donor car I got('95 chevy cop car). For you it would be better to get a whole donor car so that you get the smog parts also. Hope you find something you like.

I believe the JTR manual discusses this. Something about a 1/4" or 1/2" turn. Don't really remember off the top of my head, my books at home. If nobody responds by the time I get home, I'll read it, and post again.

Yeah, your going to have a few things that need to be taken care of when you go over your engine. I got a LT1 from a '95 caprice cop car, and when I pulled the cam out, one of the lopes had been ground down about an 1/8". I rifled through the lifters and found one that had a portion of the roller look like it had melted a little. So there are going to be some problems. But when I dropped it off at the machine shop, they said it was one of the better looking used engines that they have ever seen, so that was cool. I went with the small cc304 cam, I also switched from 4l60e to t-56. Good luck with your build man.

One thing to note about the CSR, it has 4 little bumps on the edge that need to be dremeled into the waterpump housing. Just take your time, and do many trial fits. That took me all evening to do. I also got the cloyes double roller. Haven't been able to start the engine up though, still in short block status.

I would agree with checking your grounds, I had a problem like that once, and it was because of a bad ground. Hope you find your problem.

Welcome to this message board, Hashi. I'm going to say this now, and as nice as possible. You need to do a search for your information before asking a question as general and broad as this one. There are a couple of posts at the top of the menu that go over rules and should be read before posting any messages. I'm sure you will find most of your answers with a little time in the search menu. Hope this helps you out.

That really blows, I was rearended by some old lady once. Man was I pissed. Luckly she just bent the bumper, and that was an easy fix. Did this lady have insurance? What did she hit you with? Well, glad to see your ok(you are ok?)

How did mounting the computer there work out?

You making any parts for the ZX's??

Phatz, I'm going the way of having 350-400 hp on tap, and a little of the giggle juice. If course the giggle juice is a little down the road, but I'm sure I'll be happy with the power my worked over LT1 will put out.

Does anyone have the info downloaded from this site? I click on it and it just comes up saying that the site was not found. I was able to go to the main page, but looking around, it didn't make any sense to me. Any help would be apprciated.