Mike C

My old '68 Camaro drag car had an aluminum fuel line I installed, and it was always getting dented and dinged. I'll do steel next time.

Check out this built Rover V8, now displacing 5.0 litres and using the buick 300 heads. 300ci Rover V8

Gray Zee, You are in luck as you can swap the easily found welded bracket control arms in your car and TADA, you've got 'em! I want discs for aesthetic reasons as much as anything. I have heard that switching to cast iron drums makes a big difference in braking performance with a minimum of cost and trouble. Their are definitely gains in changing both ends. Vented discs and the ZX or Toy 4x4 calipers in front and solid discs in back. Ross' bracket and 11+ inch rotors seem to be the best deal to me as well now. (I have sent my $!) It also seems to be keeping with the trend of newer sports cars like the camaro and 'vette where the rear discs are actually larger than the fronts.

That's asking a lot of most needle and seats. I would get a pump with 8 psi max, more than likely 6 would be better for a stock motor. That pump is fine if you run a regulator. Q-jets are a little more tolerant of high fuel pressure than a Holley.

You'll see those quite oftern on Malibus and El Caminos of the same era also. I think even some full size cars got same emblem as well. Check out classic industries for bullet style nuts that you can put through blind panels if you want GM style emblems anywhere you can't get to the back.

I think you mean the fast burn heads as the reverse cooled LT1 heads won't work on a ZZ crate motor. I agree that the money is better spent on different heads rather than the cam swap. AFR.

Gearzone.net These guys should be able to answer most of your questions.

New or used? If you are going to buy new I would get the Tremec. If you want used, get a World Class T5 and rebuild it with the countershaft stabililzer from www.gearzone.net. Just don't rev it up and dump the clutch or speed shift it and it should hold up pretty well. Either way, go with the chevrolet trans as the adapters are extremely expensive to run the Ford. Buy the JTR manual for making a crossmember and making the hydraulic clutch work.

Have you thought about just using the Corvettes crossed flags? I like the subtlety of the 327 emblems, though.

Good point. You'd probably want to grab the whole control arm and strut assembly.

You will need the stub axles and the companion flanges from the turbo for sure along with the CV shafts. Make sure and get all of the bolts as well!

The ZZ3 has been gone for nearly 10 years. The new ZZ4 is 355 horse and they also have the ZZ430, 430hp but it is twice as expensive as the 355. They also have a motor they call the fast burn 385. As far as power gain, it just depends. If you move the torque band up enough, you could conceivably get 100hp with a decent perfroming set of heads, heads and suitable intake. With a 250hp motor with stock manifolds, intake and exhaust, it wouldn't happen. But if you already have higher flowing intake and headers and your restriction is in the valvetrain, it could.

Just remember, with the small bore of the 283, 2.02 1.6 valves are out. You will be yards ahead if you spend the $ on the newer design heads regardless. I don't like the etecs because they have the more leak prone intake design of the Vortec heads with its fewer bolts. Chevy high performance mag tested all of the iron eagle heads, 165, 180, 200, 215 and 230 cc. The 215 just lost out to the 165 for average torque below 4000, beating the 180 and 165. Their conclusion (and this has been my opinion for a long time) is that the cam has more to do with killing the low speed throttle response than the intake port volume did, because when you combine the large ports and a huge cam, of course low speed throttle response is killed, especially with 8.5:1 compression. Best bang for the buck for a small bore motor is the Dart SR torquer 305. The 4" bore and the ability to run the larger valve heads is worth a bunch. That's why a built 327 makes more than 15% more power than a compareable 283 even though it's only 15% bigger. A 302 is the best small displacement chevy hp/ci, but pistons will put you in the poor house. 350 with Northern Auto Parts high perf rebuild kit ($415 with forged pistons and Crane Energizer cam, this is a smokin' deal)and the Performer RPM heads makes for a super stout, reliable street motor. They will substitute any of the Energizer grinds at no extra cost. This will be cheaper than building the 283 even if you have to shell out another $150 for a core. Besides, the 3/8 bolt rods are much stronger.

That and a Hemi is twice as wide as a small block. What does that mean? Tube frame and alternative suspension and steering. That's the beauty of the SB Chevy or Ford swap. I bet a 340 Mopar might fit. That would be cool.

You can do this yourself if you have access to either a propane or acetelyne torch, jack and stands. Jack the car up and support the frame. Remove the mustache bar and burn the old bushings out. Wire brush all remaining rubber out while it's out. Let it cool. Wipe it out, add some lube and put the new bushings in and then hammer in the sleeve. Replace in car. As far as the front mount, buy the JTR book for description and photo. After replacing the stock mount with a new OEM mount, they just wrap a plastic covered steel cable (about 1/4" diameter)around the diff and diff crossmember 5 or 6 times and then clamp it with 2 or 3 wire rope clamps. [ August 07, 2001: Message edited by: Mike C ]

I put a set of urethane ones in my mustache bar when I did the r200 swap. You have to burn the old rubber ones out to reuse the sleeve. I think they were about $20 from Motorsport and I know Victoria British has them as well.

Wheel spacers are not the safest way to go...but if you have to , the best spacers use a second set of studs. The stock studs are used to mount the spacers by recessing a nut insied the spacer, then a second set of studs are actually installed in the spacer between the first and that is what the wheels are bolted to. I think the VW pattern is significantly smaller than the Z's pattern. As for me, I'd sell the wheel/tire combo you have now and suck it up and get ones that fit.

If you've worked with the stock Z brakes at all, having properly adjusted rears is paramount to a firm brake pedal. The master cylinder has a floating "plug" between the front and back that activates the brake circuit warning light if one side fails. That's probably where your pressure is going. Get the rear circuit completed and both ends properly bled then you'll know where you are at.

Start by fixing your electric problems. You could well be having ignition failure due to lack of electircal power. Next you'll need to check fuel delivery, but once again it may be electric if you have an electric fuel pump. Mortec.com has casting numbers which will give you a general idea what motor you have. Pull one of the valve covers and between some of the sturds you'll find the casting number for the head so it can be identified. Probably a 461 unless it has accessory holes in the ends in which case the 186 or 041 castings are the most commmon. Regardless, you've got a lot of work ahead of you tracking down electrical gremlins. Start by making sure you have good solid ground connections between the battery and the engine and then from the engine to the chassis.

I know that the T5 showed up in the '83 Camaro and was cable actuated. The T4 was in the '82 camaro. As far as the other cars, the T5 was around but I don't know if it was in them. I have heard that the 95 and newer 3.8 cars have world class T5's that use the Ford case and just have a special bellhousing for the 3.8s BOP pattern.

Hey Pete, unless they are just given' 'em away, you'll make more power with any of 1/2 a dozen aftermarket heads for less than $1000. The L98 head is only good to about 350hp, even ported with larger valves installed. True the combustion chamber is better and they are lighter, but compression should just about make up for the loss due to lower combustion chamber temps with the aluminum. And if it's not an 85 or 86 L98, you'll have to pony up for a new intake as well with the 87-94 bolt pattern. As far as the d-port exhaust, as long as your header tube is larger than the port, you should be fine. I'm not sure about the angled plugs. If you really want BIG power, switch from the mechanical flat tappet cam to a mechanical roller with 235-240 duration at .050 My camaro has a set of ported 492 and pushes 3500 lbs to mid 12's. The roller cam is the big difference. Check out David Vizards "How to build and modify SBC cylnder heads" from Motorbooks. The ol' iron chevy heads flow pretty good if worked over correctly. He has some 186 that flow 260+ cfm at .500

Check out this FAQ from an Oldsmobile board. It talks about converting GM external alternators to internal, but should explain connections.Olds Alternator FAQ

I was under the impression that you were talking about a 280Z and not a ZX. If ZX things are MUCH different.

I'm pretty sure the brakes are the same. I did this swap in my car but just used the r200 and the mustache bar. I kept my half shafts and driveshaft. From what I understand about the rear brakes, one of the best, cheapest upgrades is to switch to cast iron drums.

Thanks guys. The info that I have came from Reider Racing from their application chart for the limited slip that they sell. I am just trying to get second opinions before I invest my money in something I don't need. I already have a '78 r200 in my 240.