SpeedRacer

The kit from Hooker is the same as the old Scarab conversion. It places the engine much farther forward and up higher than the Jags That Run (JTR) kit. The headers are long tube with one of the left hand side tubes in two pieces so you can fit it around the steering shaft. IMHO the JTR conversion is far superior.

Chelle changed to RHD on her Z car conversion to a Ferrari 250 GTO (along with a bunch of other things including stretching the chassis and adding a BMW V12). She is not using the Z car dash but you might want ask her what was involved with the mechanicals, wipers, wiring, etc.

Sorry, I don't know the answer on the HP rating of Dayton wire wheels but I have had their wire wheels on my GTO for over five years now and never had a problem. I have a 327 SBC that puts out around 400 HP with a Camaro WC T-5 and 3.70 LSD. I do love to do smoky burnouts on occasion. The wheels are 72 stainless steel spoke wheels with real knock-offs. Most old road race cars got rid of wire wheels because of their weight and maintenance - not because they failed. You were always tightening the spokes and trying to keep the rim straight. Dayton’s do not require such "tuning" to be done. You are right that some wire wheels had problems handling excessive torque because of their drive method. These were probably spline driven on the cars output shaft. Splines on the outside of the shaft and matching splines on the inside of the hub. To solve this problem, Dayton uses a very large diameter "spline" on the back of the hub matched to a drive hub on the car. This allows the wheel to handle significantly more torque but whatever you do, do NOT let them get loose! It will cause a major problem.

Hi Ben, Somebody used to make a Daytona coupe kit for the Z as I have seen a couple of completed ones on the web for sale. eBay had a pretty good looking yellow one a few months ago. Sorry I don't know much about them. However, IMHO the best Daytona Spider kit is the old McBurnie one that mounts on an old Corvette chassis. That's the kit that was on the original Miami Vice TV show. Of course I am somewhat partial to the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO kit for the Z car.

John is a great guy and I am sure he will answer you if you ask him your questions. I think you will find that he knows a lot of potential customers start out as "lookers" or "tire kickers." I haven't seen his Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona kit but I have bought other items from him for my GTO kit and they are very high quality. From personal experience, I have found that John stands behind his products as well. If you build it, please let us know how it turns out and what you think of the kit.

Don't do it because EGR really isn't a good thing. Exhaust Gas Recirculation introduces "inert" gas (exhaust) back into the intake manifold which lowers Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) by lowering combustion temperature. BUT, you want higher combustion temperature as it generates more horsepower and improved fuel economy. The auto manufactures have to walk a thin line because emissions are somewhat like a seesaw. Both unburned Hydrocarbons (HC) and partially burned Hydrocarbons (CO) go down as cylinder temperature goes up but NOx goes up as cylinder temperature and pressure goes up. So, they introduce some exhaust gas back into the intake manifold when the engine is under light load to help reduce NOx. SO, fuel economy as well as HC and CO emissions will probably be better on a properly tuned engine. NOx will be higher but its primary (although there are others) pollution effect is that it causes ground level Ozone - visible smog.

Uhhhh.... mine is red......or maybe it's that hardly anything left is stock.

Motorsport Auto http://www.thezstore.com/ or if you want used The Z Barn http://www.zbarn.com/

I think Ron Jones sold his 240Z but it was one of the fastest _ 8.56 @ 160+ MPH in the 1/4 mile.

Hey smash - It was a lot of work but I think you can make an Alpha 1 GTO look pretty good. I suggest you contact Tom Edwards at Scorpion Z Cars as he probably has the best kit going since he is the only one to offer a trunk option. http://www.scorpionzcars.com/ Sometimes Tom even has a turn-key car ready to sell. You can also try Jeff at Stable Autoworks http://www.zcarkits.com/ BTW, all of these are descendants of the original Eagle/Alpha kit with modifications and tweaks over time.

Injecting above the throttle blade at idle is no problem. The GM TBI (Throttle Body Injection) did that from the factory. Since the throttle blades are never really completely closed, you just have to make that the fuel is properly atomized and it should work fine. That setup from Lumenition looked pretty good. http://www.lumenition.com Maybe you could fit the injectors on the bottom side of the DCOE so you wouldn’t see them.

Like I said, we don't live in east Tennessee yet but, come the end of next month, we will be moving to an old retired folk’s community there. http://www.tellicovillage.org/rg/ We own a lot there for quite a few years and will be about 30 miles SW of Knoxville just off I-75. We have vacationed there many times and I can tell you that it is gorgeous. Great Smokie Mountains, lots of lakes & rivers, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, four seasons but very mild winters. You will find inexpensive housing, no income tax and very low property taxes. Knoxville is also the home of the University of Tennessee so lots of young folks and culture. Best of all, nice friendly people and lots of car nuts. BTW, the Summer Nationals are held in Knoxville and they get around 3,500 - 4,000 custom cars and Hot Rods that show up from all over the country. Yup, there may be a few "smile challenged" women around but there are some southern belles that will absolutely knock your socks (or something else) off.

Good news - it's been done before - bad news - I don't know about DCOE's. The Hot Rod guys have been gutting carbs and putting injectors in them for a while now. I have seen quite a few at Hot Rod shows and you can't tell they aren't carburetors. I think the most popular is the Vintage Speed version with what looks like 3 2bbl Stromberg 97's sitting on a small block Chevy but there are others out there. A DOCE is an expensive carb but you could talk to them and see if they would do it.

We are moving up the road about 60 miles to Tellico Village next month. BTW, like Florida, Tennessee is one of the few states that doesn't have an income tax. You might want to try this site http://www.bestplaces.net/ and select the "City Compare" option.

Call around to your local automotive glass replacement shops. They came to my house and installed a brand new windshield (I provided the new rubber gasket) for $108.75.

Well I am going to recommend you consider a crate motor - Pace Parts http://www.paceparts.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=132 will sell you a brand new GM 350 SBC for $1,429.95 (+$100 if you don't have a core) w/free shipping!!!! It even comes with a factory warranty. Yeah you have to add intake/carb, waterpump, distributor, etc. but it's still a great deal for a new motor.

I believe Getrag (a German Company) was introduced here in the 1986 and up Pontiac Fiero. GM has used their transmissions in many FWD cars since. I had a friend at GM who was a powertrain engineer and he went over to Germany to work on the Fiero project. They have a US office just outside Detroit on Mound Road - I go by it all the time. They have made transmissions for Porsche, Audi, BMW and a few others for years. I think they even make a 6-speed for Chrysler trucks but I'm not sure.

We haven't heard much from Chelle in a while but she might want to add to this. I believe that Chelle extended the front of the Z car chassis on her car 7" and that is why the BMW V12 appears to sit so far back in the engine compartment. She has done an amazing job on that car and her car will end up looking more like the real thing than any other Z based replica I have seen.

I agree on steering clear of eBay rebuilders. Pace has great prices on GM crate motors http://www.paceparts.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=132

iscone - I'm glad you said "Problem with alot of kit cars is they always look like kitcars, generic or fake. They never have the same "damn that's a sick car" feel to them" and not ALL kit cars look generic or fake. It takes a lot of work and $$$$ to do one right and that is were most people come up short. You might consider converting your Z to a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO. The proportions are not exact to the original but they are esthetically pleasing and the best part is that it runs and handles like the great Z car that is underneath. I love to drive mine on trips and it is faster than the original as well!

Yes, it's a kit car designed by Lee Noble in England via South Africa called a Noble M400. You can pick one up from 1g Racing http://www.1gracing.com/ in Ohio. The February 2006 Road & Track magazine has write-up on it where the say "The M400 isn't simply fast. It's sick fast." "Nimble and light...." "This was proven by the 1.01g it pulled on the skidpad and 72.4 mph through the slalom, both records for R&T."

I would be glad to Ol' Timer. Maybe they should call me Ancient One since I have a couple of years on you. My daughter thinks I went to school in a covered wagon, up hill both ways in a snowstorm. Anyway, it is an original Alpha 1 GTO. You can tell by the fact that the hood is farther forward (and doesn't fit very well) so the kit uses a cowl panel. BTW, I have hundreds of hours in mine just trying to get the hood to fit right. Also, the radiator opening is slightly more squared off in the corners than the later McBurnie modified nose. It also doesn't appear to have the fiberglass rocker panels that Jim Simpson (Blue Ray Engineering - Rhino) added later.

After you get the casting number off the back of the block go to this web site to find out what it is http://www.mortec.com/castnum.htm BTW the MORTEC site has pictures of where you will find the casting numbers on the block (and heads).

A PCV system is actually beneficial for your engine. A lot of combustion by products get past the rings and seals and end up in the crankcase. Harmful vapors can break down and dilute your oil and cause corrosion of engine components. The PCV system helps to keep the crankcase and your oil cleaner for a longer period of time than the old "open" breather systems by drawing a lot of the “bad†stuff back into the intake. This is one reason why the car manufactures have been able to extend the length of time between oil changes. I would highly recommend that you keep the system.

A small block Chevy (SBC) will fit behind the front axle if you use the JTR (Jags That Run) method and mounts http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Datsun_Z_V-8.html You can stand in the engine compartment between the radiator and the waterpump - and that's a long waterpump on my engine.