Mike C

Sorry for the thread hijack... It is a 1970 GMC C2500. It is medium bronze with a white top. Original paint. Big block 402, TH400, factory air, power steering, power brakes. Disc conversion. Crower 270 cam. Proform HEI, JET Stage II 750 Q-jet. It has a leaf spring Dana 60 in the rear with 3.54 gears. 2 1/2" aluminized dual exhausts. It has a pullout Alpine tape deck with 6 disc changer, crossfire 4x100 running kicker separates and a 10" sub, all under the front seat. Full foam seat with orignal upholstery. Unripped! Rubber bed mat, Drawtite Class IV receiver hitch. Electric brake controller. ProComp ES3000 shocks. Original step bumper. 16x7" American Racing wagon wheels, 265 75 16 radials. Truck runs great. Gets 13mpg in daily driving. I bought this planning on keeping it forever, but with 3+ the dog now, I caved in to the extended cab thing. 138k original miles. The onlyu thing it really needs is a drivers rocker and a set of valve seals wouldn't hurt. Here's a pic. Shoot me an email and I can send you some more. I'm pretty firm at $4500. The Alcoas and the toolbox in the photo both are destined for my '02 GMC.

Good question. There does seem to be a lot of us. I like to chalk it up to good taste. Tim240Z has one also! FWIW, my 70 big block truck is for sale if anybody is looking for a clean tow rig.

Pyro is right on for a mostly stock motor. However, I would run the Energizer 266 from Crane. Specs almost identical to the Comp 260, but cam AND lifters the same price as just the cam from Comp.

There is no need to check contact pattern if backlash is the same before and after. Since you are not changing the pinion depth, if the backlash hasn't changed, the gears are in exactly the same position. Contact pattern is very difficult to read IMO. Especially with a used gear set. In order to get a proper pattern, you need to put at least 25 lb ft on the gear set. In order to do that, you really need the brakes attached so you can partially engage parking brake. I'm glad you bring that up, when I install a ring gear on a carrier, I put the case in the refrigerator and the ring gear in the oven set on low (about 150 degrees) respectively for 30 minutes. This way you don't take the chance of warping the carrier trying to torque the ring gear down since it is an interference fit. Another lesson learned the hard way unfortunately. My experience with gears has come from my Jimmy. 35" tires on 1/2 ton axles can ramp up your experience quickly. Something like 7 different ones. But moderation with the right foot has helped. To get the old bearings off, you can cut the cage off, then notch the race on two sides, a chisel should get it off. My feelings are that the new bearings would go on with just a few taps if they were heated and the case cooled. You will need a 3rd new bearing or get one of the old bearings off without destroying it to use as a drift to drive the new bearing down flush with the case.

Hi Tim, Been trying to keep my head above water! Work has me humpin' it, and a little person in the house takes some time as you know! I check in every couple of days, but have been trying to spend more time in the shop. I have my motor in the car, the diff is done, and my trans is installed and the mount modded. I need to get a driveshaft done and the accessories on the motor and hopefully can drive 'er again!

This is the first Nissan diff that I have done work on, but it's just like the rest of them when you get into it. My T&D depth checker wouldn't work, but the universal Proform one would if you were doing a new gear set. Since I wasn't changing pinions, this wasn't required. The shims are available from Nissan, and the factory service manual gives guidelines for changing shims to adjust. Just don't know how much $ they get for them or how long it would take! The Precision Gear diff I bought came from Reider Racing. At the time it was $550. It is made by Tokigi Fuji who makes the NISMO diff as well. Correct Mat! The old bearings work great on the press. I have a whole box of them. The side bearing puller came from Randy's Ring & Pinion. Dana differentials adjust backlash and preload with shims pressed between the bearing and the diff case. A PITA to adjust, but it's nice not having all the shims fall out when trying to re-install!

I think the ZX stubs are the same small size as the 240Z. Not how hard a swap to the 280Z style stubs would because of the different mounting flange length of Ross C's adapters.

After months of delay...here are pics of my install of my Precision Gear Limited Slip diff. I am installing it in a 12mm open 3.54 geared R200 that came from an '85 300ZX turbo. First step is to mount the case where I can work on it. Then setting up a magnetic base and a dial indicator perpendicular to the gear teeth, backlash is checked. In this case it was .005, or right on the mark. Then remove the open carrier from the housing using a prybar. Here we have the two differentials side by side, the open diff carrier, and the empty housing: Here is my side bearing puller and the puller in action: I re-used the original bearings for my LSD to save a few bucks.My donor R200 was from a low mileage burnout. Here I am pressing the side bearings on. From here it is back to the diff case. I was able to reuse the original shims for side bearing preload. I buttoned it back up and backlash was a right-on .005. If it was incorrect I was going to have to order shims from Nissan, so having that work out was dandy. Here it is ready to go!

Here is a pic of the diff itself. I shot this last year some time. I'll work on getting my other pics this week.

I have the Precision Gear LSD. It is made by Tokigi Fuji, as is the Nissan and NISMO diff. It is now installed in my '85 turbo 3.54 geared 12mm R200. The diff is in my car, but I need to have a driveshaft made and finish getting the engine and accessories hooked up. I took pics of the install with my old digi cam which uses PCMCIA card. I can't read the card on my USB reader and my laptop is whacked. BUT as soon as I can get the pics I will post a write up.

The LT1 starter is a gear reduction design. It is a planetary setup that is similar in appearance but MUCH smaller than the old style Delco starters. Much less likely to need a heat shield. I highly recommend these. You can get one new for about $150.

I like the T5 box myself, but othes claim the Nissan 5 speed is stronger and they prefer the ratios. The T5 ratios are very similar to the early Nissan 4 speed and have a better OD than the early Nissan 5 speeds. IF you do go with the T5, buy an aftermarket shifter. The Nissan T5 uses the same shifter as an 83-93 Ford T5. I bought the modded companion flanges to run 280zx half shafts, BUT that was before Ross C had the adapters that let you run 300ZX (first gen) half shafts. If I had to do it again, I would go that way since I still have not found reasonably $ 280ZX CV shafts.

Looks good Tim. Nice idea on the dual purpose engine stand. Chances are you won't need both of those at the same time. That "baby LT1" crank could make a cool 302 ci 2nd gen small block! And the heads could make MONSTER compression on a 350 ci motor.

Thanks for that link. Didn't think it had been posted before. As an aside, I have never seen such liberal application of Locktite! I wire brushed the ring gear bolts and did my best to clean out the gear. 12mm 1.25 pitch, same as the Z wheel studs (which is the torque spec I was going to use from the book, should be same.) but my tap and die set only had 12/1.5 and 12/1.75. And as usual, I had a better selection of tools than Sears...

Anybody have the torque for the 12mm R200 ring gear botls? My service manual is for a 76 so only 10mm! Thanks. Also, anybody have a single R200 stub axle that is not part of a matched pair or that the flange is damaged on? I'd like to get one to put in the vise to hold the diff while I torque ring gear bolts.

A zero offset wheel works best. IMO, a 16x7 with 4" backspacing is the ideal wheel all around on the Z. I have 205 55 16 on my car, but 225 SHOULD clear on most cars. Mine has been bonked on the left rear, and the outside clearance is slightly reduced due to poor body work.

Check out Surpluscenter.com. They have some cheap gauges, but they may not all match! Go to the Engines/Auto tab, then you will see the gauges link. I bought 6 SW vac gauges from them to build the ultimate triple carb synch tool.

It is from Reider. I have had it for awhile now. Just no time to install it. The pic of the calmini Xterra front diff shows a break like a detroit locker or 14 bolt along the spider gear shaft. All in all, I am happy compared to the $200 more expensive Nismo diff.

Several people have asked about my Precision Gear LSD. I am going to TRY and get it installed in my '85 3.54 geared 12mm R200 soon. It appears to be a very well made piece and I like the case break sandwiched on the ring gear better than along the spider gear shaft bore.

Really glad to hear everything came out OK!

Other options are an 83 Z/28 bellhousing that used a cable clutch, or an aftermarket scattershield drilled for the T5 that will use a standard mechanical arm. But why reinvent the wheel? Just do as suggested above and use the Camaro slave with the appropriate master. Details in the JTR manual.

The 5.7 should be the standard motor in the 2500 not the 454, at least they were up to '95 I know. I agree the extra cost of fuel could be important as the 454 will return about 14 mpg while the 5.7 can do as well as 17 on the road. Pulling a trailer, the mileage will be about the same, but the performance of the 454 much better. The 4L60E is just an electronically controlled TH700R4. Same as in my Impala. One thing you learn about the 4L60E having an Impala is they WILL crap out, and sooner rather than later. My car had one put in it under warranty at 75k. And it has never towed a trailer nor had to contend with 31" or taller tires. The Impala boards are loaded with guys who have done T56 or TH400 conversions because they have put 4 or 5 4L60E in their cars. My brother's '96 does not have a passenger airbag, so it may have been optional. I think 97 was the first standard pass air bag. The 96 had TERRIBLE brake problems as well. They redesigned in '97 I think. Regardless, the 95 and newer dash you will like a lot more than your 93 I think. The manual trans equipped trucks are few and far between, and I have heard mixed reports on the reliability of the NV4500. It is said to be bullet proof, but I know Dodge had LOTS of problems early on with theirs.

My two cents... The Vortec 5.7 is a great motor. Beware of intake manifold leaks. Most around 80k, but some will make 100k+. My personal opinon is DO NOT buy a 1/2 ton truck. You will regret it in the long run I believe. For the most part the Z71 is a sticker package geared toward a yuppie audience. It is better than the base because of the extra coolers and skidplates. Some of the 1/2 ton trucks have the semi-floater 14 bolt axle with 9.5" ring gear. If this one does, if shouldn't have any axle woes. If it is one with the 8.5" ring gear, you may have troubles depending on tire size. The rear springs are exceptionally soft in the 1/2 ton trucks, and you can expect to notice sag after as little as 25k miles. Also check the TH700R4 for noticeable signs of wear or if it is a warranty replacement. It is not up to the task of truck use. Buy a K2500 4x4, you will be happier for longer which translates into money well spent. At minimum it will have the semi-floater 14 bolt, some have the full floater which is indestructible. The 3/4 tons should also have the 4L80E automatic. Trucks around here sell nowhere near bluebook. The specials the manuf. are running on new trucks has killed the resale on used ones. Once again, JMHO.

The 280 tranny mount is identical to the 73 240 mount. The 72 and earlier 240 mount is different, but will need to be modded regardless.

The valve covers you are talking about were both on the Camaro and the 'vette starting in '68. They were only on the high perf motors. 302 in the Camaro and 350hp and up small block 'vettes. There is an older valve cover that is finned but does not have the oil fill cap, PCV hole, or emblem you are talking about. The were on the Z/28 until '74 and the L82 Corvette until 1980 if memory serves. They are both natural and black finished. The black ones were like 78-81. You can buy them from any Corvette or Camaro restoration place. They are expensive at around $110 apiece.