Paz8

Deja, I ran 5/16 hard brake lines for the trans cooler, 40 inch length ends up about even with the front on the engine, lines are fastened to engine at two places. I used a B&M super cooler on the trans without the rad. connections. I live where it does get cold but the Z doesn't come out to play in cold weather so there is no need to warm up the trans fluid. I know there are different opinions about not running through the radiator but I have had no problems with the trans or engine temp. over heating.

Your diagram will work , but what about high beams? Fix your stock set up, there is a relay in the relay box that controls high/low beam, looking at the box from the passengers side fender it is the left relay towards the engine. Check the connector under the dash by the steering wheel, to see if it is burned or dirty, up front check for a good clean ground connection for the head lights.

That 4L60E probably has a 3.08 low gear, which is plenty low enough, my ZX puts down about ten feet of rubber when it shifts into second gear with the shifter in drive position. Your going to like that combination it's fun to drive.

Deja, my ZX which is heavier than your Z, has a carb 350 and an 700r4 auto which is almost the same as a 4L60E, and 3.54 rear gears, I run a convertor from a trans am firebird about 2000RPM stall. With your stock LT1 you don't need to worry about a bog off the line, you'll be more worried about keeping the car from going sideways. Use the convertor that came with the trans.it will work fine. You have a good combination for highway speeds, it will spin less than 2000 rpm at 60MPH.

If all else fails just unplug the moduel over the rear pass. side wheel well. Try your audio system it should still work. The voice warning system MUTES the stock audio system and comes through the drivers side frt. speaker when operating correctly. When installing an after market stereo this does not happen (muting) so you end up burning up the talking lady, because the stereo overpowers the audio output of the lady, PUFF.

The dome light and Voice warning system are two different sets of contacts in the door switch, I think. Pull out the switch and spray it with contact cleaner. The wire color is blue with yellow stripe, it goes to ground with door open, you can disconnect that wire at the door switch and tape it up and see if the lady goes away, if not there are some diodes in the circuit and it gets more involved to trouble shoot.

This may sound alittle dumb but, do you have a GROUND strap from the engine to the chassis and is it making a good connection ?

Pre 1980 SBC had the dipstick on the drivers side in the engine block, it's not an issue with headers if you use a dip stick that goes directly into the block (no dipstick tube). However, given a choice I would go on the pass. side, not as cluttered over there.

I am running a 750 Holley on my 350 and it works well with 3.54 rear gears and 700r4 trans, good snappy throttle response. I ended up going one jet size lower in the primary and left the sec. alone. Is the carb new or used ? Someone may have set it up way too rich, if it's new it should be close to being correct right out of the box. Use a vac gauge to set up the idle mixture, set for highest vac reading then go a hair rich with the screws. Spark plug heat range also plays into carb tunning, it takes some trial and error to get everything worked out, better too rich than too lean.

Is the choke connected and working?

I also live in Pa in a Smog test area, here is how I got around the emission test requirement.I titled the ZX as a Classic car, this way it is exempt from emissions inspection. As a 1983 it would need a smog pump and cat converters to pass emissions, needless to say my SBC 350 has a PVC valve as the only emissions equipment.

All good advice for you here, You have two seperate problems, your dash lights, brake lights and four way flashers will operate without the key turned on, the turn signals need the key in the run position to work, two different power sources. As mentioned, check your turn signal flasher unit, check your ignition sw., without the engine running turn the sw. to the run position, is everything else working, heater blower motor, etc., if not jiggle the key around and see if it runs, you could have a bad ign. sw.

I have done some welding on cast exhaust manifolds and found that if you heat up the area your welding it will mig weld OK. The hotter you get it the easier it welds, let it cool down SLOWLY when your finished welding.

I used a tee fitting off the back of the Holley carb went to the brake booster and the pvc valve, use a short piece of hose (think it's 3/8 in.) to the carb, then the tee facing left and right, run to the booster, don't forget to use a check valve in front of the booster, then run the other way to the valve cover and pvc valve. Set up works perfect and looks good.

280aden, back to your question, use the rear and half shafts from the turbo car, that way your going to have a stronger drive line. The extra weight of the four seater chassis probably won't make much of a difference with a well setup turbo L28 and manual trans. Your going to need all the electronics and wiring from the turbo car. PS Thank you for your service to our country.

According to the info I have 81 to 83 ZX's have the following rear gears, Auto trans 3.54 R180, turbo 3.54 R200 rear, manual trans non turbo 3.9 R200. You want the stronger R200 rear, from everything I have heard about turbos is that lower rear gearing does not allow the turbo to spool up properly because the engine revs up too quickly, the turbo can't reach it's peak rpm as fast as the engine (turbo lag). I'm sure someone else has a different slant on this topic.

Your flux core welds look better than my first welds, wait till you get a gas bottle, you will be amazed. Migs seem to like clean steel at lower voltage settings, try cleaning your steel alittle better, I sometimes use a scotch pad to buff up the weld area on thin gauge metal. Have fun and try not to weld everything you own together.

Run the fuel pump circuit through an oil presure switch so it shuts down if the engine stalls,(like the JTR manual shows) once the carb has fuel in it there is plenty fuel to give it a shot of gas to start the engine. Unless your car is for racing only a toggle switch only to shut off the pump is not a good idea, what if something happens were the engine stalls and the car is one it's side or upside down, you will have gas running until you think about turning it off, if you are able to.

I agree with the 1310 rear U joint, that's the way I went with the adapter flange. You use the Ford drive shaft (if it fits the trans end), the drive shaft guy will shorten it and put a new rear yoke to match the 1310 rear U joint. Push the trans end yoke into the trans all the way and pull it out about 3/4 of an inch to measure your length. I would not suggest this as a "do it yourself project" it needs to be right the first time.

Yea, I think the Z car jack goes under the rocker panels to lift the car, I'm a little concerned about doing it that way just incase something went wrong, wouldn't want to dent in the rocker panels on the exterior.

That damage is caused by some jerk mechanic lifting that Z on the rails, even with non rusty rails they will be damaged. The rails are actually "floor supports" not frame rails. I replaced the floor pans and floor supports in my ZX by myself, it's not rocket sceince but takes up alot of time. Now, if I take the car somewhere where I know it needs to be on a lift I tell them it can be lifted only from the front and rear crossmembers only, which is a pain, but that's how I do it myself when I work on the car. This is a common problem with Z cars.

I'm not about to get into a pissing contest here, your right, nothing wrong with your idea, but I am intitled to my opinion even if you don't agree. Welcome to hot rodding, I've been swapping engines and building street rods since the 1960's. In your post #13 you said you can fab anything, why not build a set of headers for your car??

All those mods you mentioned are PROVEN to work SAFELY.

I also have an unused set I'd part with.

The 82' or 83' rack will bolt right up to your crossmember, why do you want to make things hard on yourself ? You use the Chevy PS pump and adapt the high pressure line to the steering rack, end of work, you have power steering. If you use a different rack, the rear mounted steering rack needs to be about even with the top of the crossmember or the engine oil pan will rest on it. Even with a mild SBC V8 in the zx will move fast, I wouldn't want to worry about a "homemade" steering system at about 100MPH.