Mike C

I am a College student. Again. I am Liberal Arts Undeclared with 161 hours but will be transfering into college of engineering as soon as my grades come back! Don't you hate it when decisions you made in your youth come back to haunt you?

Awesome. I'm really interested in finding out if you get the larger outside stub axle setup to work out. Let me know when you are ready to get rid of the 3.70 LSD r200. I'll meet you in San Marcos!

If you are willing to spend more money, $90 will get you a '69 Z/28 air cleaner that has WAY more drop base than the aftermarket ones, and is MUCH better constructed. You can buy just the base for about $50 and use any top if you want one that matches your valve covers. Ricks First Generation has them as well as all the other first gen Camaro parts suppliers.

Only available in the ZR-1 Corvette or as a really expensive crate motor, there was never a big demand for aftermarket parts since most ZR-1s were bought by collector types. (Not all, I've got a friend who road races his in the Houston area.)There are aftermarket parts like cams and exhuasts, but they are STUPID expensive.

Congrats. I was checking out the photos. Sounds like my car! I even have a similar steering wheel, amp mounted in same location. Triple Del'Lortos on my L28 with E88 head (won't be transplanted until next month!) and I just got a Nissan T5 to replace the ZX 5 speed. Congrats on your car. I'm looking for an LSD and if I can find the 300 turbo setup, that's what I'll use. Other than that, if I have to buy one, I'll bet a 3.90 diff from a ZX. Great car, again!

You can get a pneumatic die grinder with a flexible extension as well. That gives you the option of running 1/4" shank carbide burrs.

You might get away with a 5 psi pump, but pressure should be 2 1/2 to 3 psi. Get an adjustable regulator. Chrome job can be had for about $25 with a dial marked in 1 psi increments from 1-5.

I did the r200 swap in my '72. All I used was the mustache bar from a '78 280 and the diff. I used my halfshafts and driveshaft and front crossmember. Their are two r200 mustache bars from what I can tell. One runs in front of the uprights (on my parts '73 with r200 real similar to the original r180) and the one behind the uprights that came off the donor 280. Get the right mustache bar as that will save big hassles with the driveshaft and won't monkey with halfshaft joint angularity.

Mine are 1" front and rear Suspension Techniques. They came from Summit racing for $229 for the pair I believe.

Will the 300zx T5 bolt up to an L series motor? SInce they were made more years seems that it is easier to come by.

In my experience, the adjustment of the rear brakes causes a spongy pedal if the shoes aren't out as far as they possibly can be before you put the drum on. It is amazing the difference in pedal between a tight set of shoes and loose ones.You can also adjust them with the drums on by removing the knockout. I work on so many cars I don't remmeber if the Z knockout is in the backing plate or the drum.

I haven't set up crush on the r200, but when replacing just a bearing, none of the critical dimensions should change. I would be inclined to use the method for other Hotchkiss style diff assemblies that I have gone through and would NOT just torque to a spec, but use all of the shims that were in it when you got it and torque until you get about 20 in lbs to rotate the pinion assembly with a new seal. If their is a NEW crush sleeve it may well take 137 ft lbs to start crush, but once it starts, it goes FAST and 137# on the bearings and races themselves can dimple or distort either one.

It will bolt right up, but I wouldn't do the turbo swap without the 5 speed. But if you do, let me know where to pick the 5 speed up, I want a T5 for my 2.8 NA motor.

Buy David Vizard's book. It is a wealth of info on how you can do a first rate home port job.

What year is the car and is it 305 or 350?

Do the vacuum leak check, but my next step would be testing the Mass Air Flow sensor. Can cause all sorts of drivability problems.

I assume you are just doing a ribbed belt and not interested in a spring pre-loaded serpentine setup? Doesn't your motor have the trick balancer? It will be really easy to get a GM ribbed belt pulley for your 1 wire alternator. Seems that digging through March's catalogs should come up with a setup that could easily be adapted Since pulleys could be redrilled and shimmed at the water pump assuming you could find a pulley to pilot on the crank. If your motor was NOT the one with the modded damper, whoever that is should have and easy time with the ribbed belt pulleys!

Congrats Adam. Sounds like most of my projects... I take it the clunking and thunking was the diff mount? Or the r180?

Might you have developed a vacuum leak somewhere? Have you done a compression check?

Oops! You're right James. I forgot that, and I've probably rebuilt 6 sets of SU! Looking down the front I forget they're on the back...

Running fine at idle but hot at speed is also characteristic of a car with a collapsed lower hose. Make sure your rubber is in good shape and that the expansion spring is still in the lower hose and not broken or missing.

I would start with the usual suspects. Put plugs in it. Make sure the rotor is not broken or that the cap is carbon tracked. Put you're ohm meter on the wires and make sure they are OK. Stick a fuel filter in it. Check ignition timing. Make sure you haven't gotten some water logged gas somewhere, etc.

I think the solid lifter cams need more duration to be compareable to the hydraulic in terms of OVERALL duration is to account for lash. Beacuse of the lash factor, the lifter moves further on the ramp before valve actuation happens .050 is .050 no matter what the cam. Using this as an example, a mechanical cam with 230 deg at .050 will idle much smoother and start pulling lower than a hydraulic with 230 @ .050, but make nearly equal power up high. And adding 10 degrees to the advertised duration the mechanical will idle about the same as the hydraulic but will stomp it in the midrange and top end.

The 186 casting is one of GMs best production heads. It is also available with factory unshrouded 2.02 valves and screw in studs, but very rare in that form. Get David Vizards book "How to build and modify small block chevy cylinder heads" a very useful text on small block heads. He tests a set of his own 186s that flow 270 cfm on the intake.

Awesome. Looks great. Someday I'll be turbo, too!