Lason

Dr Hunt, have you already done a ladder bar setup on a Z? I ask because Im about to re-do the rear end of my Z and thought that a 4 link would be the easiest way to go due to space constraints. By my measurments the ladder bar crossmember would be close to the back of the front seat mount using a 32" standard ladder bar. That being said, the 24" 4-link would be right at teh back of the rear seat mount. Like I said, I havent even began yet, Im working on rust repair on the floors and some subframe connectors at the moment but your input would be appreciated.

Yep, although most tracks looks past that I still cringe at the idea of a halfshaft breaking half track and causing a 9 second car to go airborn, hence why my car will be a solid axle from the get go.

Well IMO, I wouldnt just mini tub it. If you going to have to build a whole new rear frame for a solid rear then just do what I am doing. Run you some monster meats under the back and never look back. That way if later on you want to drop a high hp motor in the car you wont have to re-do the chassis to handle it. I thought about mini tubbing enough to hold a 10.5" slick but figured I might as well go all the way, it will cost the same amount anyway.

I dont know. It doesnt look like that pass side manifold tucks in quite as tite as my JTR headers. Also like you said, you cant see the drivers side but it would have to dump further back than the pass side to clear the steering. It MIGHT work but it would be tight.

I just happen to find a engine dolley in my GF's garage when i was helping her move and WOW those things are nice. It looks like the one that Zerrari GTO posted from Northern Tool. As far as welders goes I just got a Hobart Handler 140 from Northern Tool and I am loving life. There are SO many more doors open to me now. BTW, it was $500 and I wasnt even planning on getting it but after walking around shopping for a hoist I said screw it and finally bit the bullet.I was going to go with a Millermatic 175 but the 110 input voltage from the Hobart is nice because I dont need a dedicated 220v plug in my garage to run it. That being said it cant do some of the work its bigger brothers can do but for $500 it will be just fine. Like you mentioned welders re-sale dont drop so you can buy a smaller mig and upgrade later as needed and sell your old one for not too much less than what you paid for it assuming you take care of it. Btw Hobart and Miller are the same company but and their parts interchange for the most part. Hobart just uses plastic in some places where Miller uses metal but if you need to replace something Im sure the metal miller piece will work as an upgrade. If you do get you a MIG look at getting a nice auto darkening helmet too. I was gonna dump $250 into a miller mask but found Northern Tool had their own brand auto darkening adjustable mask for like $69 and I HIGHLY recommend it. ESPECIALLY for the money! welder http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product2_6970_200306073_200306073 Mask http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product2_6970_200311850_200311850

I refuse to use a 700r4 because I have blown way too many "built" 700's up behind mild motors. I was going to use the 4l60E only because I had it already but planned on switching over to a th350/400 later on after I grenaded the 4l60E. I decided on megasquirt for 2 reasons. First off it is cheaper. To build the latest version which is the MSII on the 3.0 board will cost me about $250 for the ecm, $40 for the relay board and about $50-80 for wiring. My new harness will be at least 1/4 of the size and complexity of the original. JUST to get the original harness trimmed down and get rid of the emmisions, a/c, gauges, etc etc will cost a minimum of $400 plus another $150-500 to get the ECM reprogrammed with no emmisions. I will then have to get a prgram like HPTuners or EFILive to tune the LS1 from there on out so that will be another 650-900 JUST for the software to do my own programming. Second reason is the stock ECM can only do so much, especially considering I have a '98 ECM/harness. Even with the aftermarket programming I cant run a speed density setup unless I go to a '99+ ECM and harness, which is more $$$. The megasquirt can do all that plus can control nitrous, boost, etc etc. Only problems with MS is as of right now it cant run the coil on plug setup found on the LS1's. I have researched it and will be running a EDIS 36-1 trigger wheel, coils and ignition module found on 4.6 ford motors to overcome that. Other problem as I said before was it cant control the tranny but they also have a add on card to control tranny's coming in a few months. So in short, Im going with MS for simplicity, added features and cost Thanks for the info Zgad, thats at least some relief and congrats on your recent good times in that thing. That thing is FLYING!!

Got a '73 240Z and Im about to drop a LS1 into it. I just recently decided Im going to go megasquirt on the LS1 instead of the factory crap but that leaves my 4l60E with no computer to run it. Its the weak link anyway so Im thinking about putting a th400 in to take care of that problem but am unsure about if it will fit physically or not.

Thats not going to work. The waterpump is spinning the wrong direction. That motor will quickly overheat if run like that. Sucks too because that is a slick looking pulley. **EDIT** After reading the story he machined a new impeller as well to facilitate the water pump spinning the other way. Kind of like using a bazooka to kill a mosquito if you ask me though. That is WAY too much work for what he acomplished but more power to him!

Yep, that is exactly how I was going to do it. I was going to just keep the stock tensioner pulley where it is and get another one to go where the one by the alternator is considering the stock pulley is smooth. Great info though DaleMX.

I got my LS1 on the ground right now and have removed everything except the alternator and it seems pretty straight foward how to route the belt. That being said I havent actually put a belt on it but Im sure it will work and still use the stock tensioner on the upper pass side.

not to mention just the prices and selection of gears and diffs for say an 8.8" vs a R200. Also a solid rear can and will leave just as hard if not harder than a IRS setup if it is setup correctly, ESPECIALLY on the track. Also considering 8.8"s were in every V8 stang from '85+ they are truely a dime a dozen and the aftermarket is huge for them. I plan on a solid 8.8" with ladderbar/coilovers on my 240Z as soon as soon as I get the LS1 in and running and stiffen up the body with frame connectors and a cage.

Exactly, great parts at a bargain but STILL $13k. Only thing that let me down about the motor is the cast pistons. I mean who in their right mind puts TITANIUM rods and a forged crank in a motor only to top it off with some cheeseball pistons. I know the whole piston knock thing and you can run tighter tolerances with cast but still. Thats just crap.

could be a bad pump too. I have seen a lot of holleys do the same thing. From what I can tell the pumps motor gets hot and the fuel pressure drops due to the pump not being able to keep up. Oh yeah, watch that reg. Had one a few years ago just explode while I was tuning my carb. The top just shot off of it and shot gas all over me and my motor. Ill never use mallory crap again even though I did like their pumps.

"Sorry - no matches. Please try some different terms."

You do know that most threads over 2 years old (I think) dont have pics anymore right? I have done many searches on here and its so frustrating when you find what your looking for and you get a "Not found" error when you click on a link to a pic that looks to be hosted by hybridz, like an attachment.

I have broken too many GM T5's to ever trust one again. Truthfully unless you can get one and get a GFORCE kit put in it I wouldnt bother. Like DaveyZ said, the only option is the WC model but I have seen a few of them broken behind mild motors so I guess it depends on what your gonna do with the car.

Which BTW, BLOW THE DOORS OFF any other SBC ever produced in flow numbers. LSX motors are some potent mice that are only getting more potent. I guess thats why Im throwing a LS1 in my Z

While that is true flow WILL hurt your numbers even with the mythilogical "perfect" setup. But we are talking box stock I would be willing to put money saying that motor would make more power with vortecs than with double hump's or some other old skool iron head. And Zerrari GTO, I agree. The aluminum heads will help with weight on the nose of the Z so it is a double edged sword.

I like it BUT black engine bays just look cheap to me. I guess Im used to seeing everyone rattle can their engine bays flat black that it just got old.

Just get you a set of vortec heads. They are iron but they are dirt cheap and flow BADASS! Only pitfall is you will either have to modify the heads for older carb'd intakes or run a vortec style carb'd intake. I have seen those heads make everything from 175hp in stock applications to over 400 with very little work.

my good friend owns a 11 second Talon so quick imports are nothing new to me. Losing money on the street? Ihave lost money on ONE import in 7 years of street racing. A low 10 second VR4 Galant from HELL that looked like crap. The point I was trying to make was comparing a QUICK AWD import to a powerful V8 or "gobs of power" when it only puts down 300hp is apples to oranges. That being said I DO have a comeback to your "steamrollers out back" comment. Have you ever seen a 10.5 car? Neighborhood of 1500hp on 10.5" wide slick and running in the 7's on the 1/4 mile is something even a AWD car cant laugh at. Dont knock rear wheel drive cars, they WILL bite you on the ***, street or track.

LMFAO!!!! Your kidding right? Please dont ever compare an import to V8+ horspower, that makes me hurt from laughing so hard.

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