Mike C

If you are not breaking the R180, you shouldn't be breaking U-joints, either. All of the CV conversions that I have seen done were done when switching to an R200 diff, then using the 82-83 2+2 or turbo halfshafts. The turbo/2+2 flanges will work with the 280 stubs but if you want the stronger 280 stubs you will need Ross C (modernmotorsports.com) 280 stub CV companion flanges.

Well, after all that you actually know what to look for on Z's! That is one advantage to buying a basket case is that everything needs to be fixed, and you know it! As for your wish, not gonna' happen unfortunately.

Cool. You should have a lot of fun with it and in no time you will be intimately familiar with it! I like Eckler's Corvette Parts but there are stacks of other companies out there. Get a Hemmings Motor News for a wide selection of not-so-mainstream Corvette parts dealers. Vette magazine or Corvette Fever are good places to start. Honestly, I like the 84-85 cars the best of the C4s. If I bought another C4 it would be a 90-91 with the TPI motor, 6 speed, but still retained the round taillights which I think are WAY better looking than the oval ones that the base car ripped off from the ZR1 in '92.

In order to find the limits on a bike, you have to exceed them... This said, the best thing you can do is get a $1000 dirt bike and spend hours and hours planting your noggin in the sand... Then when the bumps and bruises are fewer and further between, sell it for what you paid for it and get a street bike. Your knowledge and experience will allow a much better perspective on your purchase. IME, enough crashes in the dirt can really minimize the pain and agony you experience on the pavement. And you can concentrate on riding without worrying about Buicks.

Interesting. Haven't read Smokey in ten years I bet. Sounds like he's saying you are better off running a single exhaust? That in itself is a subject worth pursuing. (4 into one + 4 into one with a Flowmaster y pipe kind of + 8 into 1, at least eventually!) I think the advantage to the flate plane crank is that it was stronger when they used twisted forgings. Now that non-twist forgings are common, that is gone.

This would be more appropriate in the Drivetrain section...but, for a Rookie working with differentials, your best bet is to buy a complete diff with 3.54 gears and just swap it in place of your 3.90 diff. This is probably the cheapest way to go, also.

Brand new I would say it was worth $1000. You will have to have LT1 heads. Give a look on eBay as you should be able to score a set of aluminum ones for between $200 and $400. Even less for iron. I think what you will find, though, is if you want to go FI then all of the extraneous parts will eat your wallet up. If you want to run a carb and only an alternator, you can get the GM 4 barrel intake, a conventional distributor, and fab your own alternator mount using a short ribbed belt. This is what I plan eventually for my Z as I have two LT1s but only 1 accessory drive, fuel rails, and computer.

Motorsport Auto

I had troubles with my tail lights in my '72. Turned out to be the Molex plug underneath the passengers side of the dash. This is where the rear harness attaches to the front. Unplug and then reconnect all of the plugs and this may improve things significantly. Also, headlight woes can sometimes be traced to the plug in front of the rad support where the headlight harness plugs into the main harness. Turn on the headlights and put your fingers on the fuse box circuits for them. If they get hot, they are the source of resistance in the circuit. This can be improved significantly by removing the fuse box, pushing the fuse holders from the plastic box, cleaning them with contact cleaner then using flux to solder the fuse holder to the spade terminal where it is just riveted now. You can even rotate the fuse holder on the rivet to mechanically "clean" the connection before soldering depending on how loose the rivet is. IME, this is the most important mod you can do if sticking with the OEM 240 wiring setup.

I would try and find a body shop that has a pin welder. They weld a pin onto sheet metal and use a puller to pull the dent, then just cut the pin off and grind smooth. I would have the pin welded on, then heat the edge of the dent cherry red, and pull it out! Another option is to weld your own pin that you can attach a slide hammer to and do same thing. I think this is better than drilling a hole and having to fill it back in. After you get it straight, I would think about putting a skid plate on the bottom side of the header.

Exactly what I was saying by the VISCOSITY of the fluid. Maybe I should have thought of a better way to phrase it... The most important factor is AMOUNT of fluid. Keep your trans full for best performance and life expectancy. Look at the T5 where they switched fluids from 80w90 to Dexron II ATF. This was done because the thicker oil could not adequetely penetrate the needle bearings used on the speed gears when they switched to the "World Class" designation. They changed the style of syncronizer as well (to paper cone) in order to have them function with the new characteristics of ATF.

Z32 TT or old Porsche 911 turbo.

That's what I was going to say... Do you have a 4 corner idle setup or just the front? Pull the carb and flip it over to make sure that to get sufficient airflow that you have not uncovered the transfer slot. If you have just front idle circuit you can adjust the rear throttle blades for more airflow allowing you to cover the transition slot in the front. This will make your idle mixture screws function again. If you need more airflow at idle and have 4 corner idling then you may have to drill the throttle blades. If memory serves, however, your cam wasn't that big. If that is the case, most like adjusting the throttle blades on the secondaries will solve your problems. From the underside of the baseplate there is a set screw that you can turn in. I have hear that this can be pulled and put in from the top of the baseplate so the blades can be adjusted without removing the carb, but I have never tried it. You can attempt to experiment by blocking the rear throttle blades slightly open, dropping the idle screw WAY down then adjusting your mixture screws again.

Why? Usually the first mod somebody with flat tops does is pull them off and swap on round tops. They will work, but they aren't near as good or easy to work on as the round tops.

The Nissan rods are stout. I would R&R the rods with ARP bolts and pony up the $ for the forged pistons. If you have the money for pistons and rods, you should have almost enough for pistons and ECM. You just have to put a value on your time. You will break more stock pistons without intercooler, but at same boost levels the forged pistons should hold you until the intercooler goes on. I'd get tired of pulling it out all the time...

Usually the requirement for a bronze gear is on a steel billet camshaft. The iron gear is not compatible and excessive wear of distributor gear and cam results. If you have an iron cam the stock distributor gear should be fine.

The Pertronix does not kill the tach. The MSD does. No real reason to do the Ignitor IMO if you are going to run the MSD. Just get a later mag pickup L6 distributor and use it to trigger the box. Get the JTR manual and follow procedure for swapping 280 tach into your car using 240 gauge face. Then just plug the tach wire into the tach terminal on the MSD if memory serves.

I believe that the synchronizers use the viscosity of the fluid to help match speed on shifts and not the lubrication. They are not really clutch packs but lots of little teeth that just cause the sliders to fall into alignment when moving the shifter handle. They are made of brass in order to be the wear item so that when shifting gets notchy, you can replace synchros and not have to replace the sliders and speed gears.

DRK is correct, it is an easy swap from your 4 speed to the 78 5 speed. There are two different 4 speeds, however. The early trans has a 3.5 first gear and the later has a 3.3 which is the same as the early 5 speed. I have always heard the way to know which one you have is that in years where 5 speed was an option the 4 speed had the 3.3 first. 240's and 260's had the 3.5 first, so I'm not sure on your 76 as I think 5 speeds were first option in 77? The overdrive will be worth the swap IMO, however. I have a late 5 speed in my 240 and it makes the car a LOT more driveable on the freeways.

If 12's are your goal with a 6 speed, I would just buy a donor 94-97 6 speed Z/28 and use the engine and trans from it and sell the body. In the end this will be less $ than buying a crate motor and the 6 speed and all of its components separately. If you don't want to do the FI, you can use a carbureted intake with either the optispark or a conventional distributor. This method gets you aluminum heads and a hydraulic roller cam in addition to the manual trans and its associated parts. You should be able to find a driving car for about $5k or a wreck for about $3k. Sell parts and have the wrecking yard haul off what's left. (Make sure and get a title!) Another option would be one of the dismantlers like Billy Graham Camaro/Firebird parts. There is another one in Dallas I believe.

The 58cc 'vette heads on the truck motor should net about 10.0:1 with the dished pistons. 12cc is about 1 pt. in general. 76 to 64 would get you about 9.5 and 64 to 58 should bump it to about 10. If it is a used short block in only fair condition, the added compression will do it in pretty quickly. The Vortecs flow better but require a different intake depending on what you already have, and their 9.5:1 should be more friendly at the pump.

If you haven't got one yet, Costco has Optima red tops for $99. Everyone I know who has run the Optimas has been extremely happy.

Like I said, that's the one WITHOUT the bolt on stick. Get the Hurst (either one) or the Pro 5-0. BBK makes one and so do some others as well. You may want to go buy a Mustang mag if you have the Nissan or Ford T5 (you've still never said...) otherwise, just order one of the others from Summit.

I think Moser Engineering or Dutchman motorsports could help you out. I have dealt with both with no problems FWIW.

I had an '84 'vette. I paid $5500 for mine also, but that was in 1993! All was wrong was a hydraulic clutch master and a little wear and tear. In general a pretty fun car with the most phenomenal tow truck style torque delivery. Parts are not cheap, but no worse than any late model vehicle as far as that goes. Engine is by far the cheapest repair... Electrics, especially warning lights, check engine, door ajar, all the stuff in the center console area is a pain in the A$$. Same goes for the erratic instument cluster. I always planned on doing an aluminum panel with autometers and eliminating all of the LCD BS, although it does look kinda' cool. I put about 40k miles on mine, and got it with 120k. Failures were" Alternator pulley (this is common supposedly, but seems retarded...), smog pump, failed PS pump seals, harmonic balancer shelled, water pump, everything with a pulley on it EXCEPT the AC compressor ironically enough. Steering rack was a mess, but it which wasn't too bad a project. I lowered it while the rack was out as the front leaf spring has to come out and it was all apart. I went to 17" Centerline billet stars and a Dynomax muffler setup with stainless tips that point straight out the back. Made the car look 10 years newer, it was amazing. I broke a circlip that retains the stub axle in the diff and when I had it out I rebuilt the Super T-10 as well, but not the OD unit. When the OD crapped out I planned on a Tremec swap, but I really wanted a TPI car and the trans was going to be so much that it was better to unload it (I got what I paid for it)and buy a car with TPI and 6 speed already. I bought my '64 project instead. Be forewarned, wheel bearings are expensive at $250 EACH and that headlight motors will eat the plastic gear but new gears can be had for about $20. Actually, I would think you could pick this car up for less money than $5500. If it has really good paint and only moderate mileage it may still be a good deal, but I would think a TPI car could be had for about the same dollars. The crossfire would ROCK in a jeep... It was a fun daily driver that would hang with lots faster cars stoplight racing. Something to be said for 12" wide tires and IRS with the torquey L-83.