John Scott

No or as little rust as possible! It took me almost a year to find an acceptable donor. Zs are notorious for cancer, take your time. JS

Don't defeat the lockup or you'll be done with the tranny sooner than you like. There are also kits (toy shop transmissions CA 909-620-5849)that make sure lock up engages when you shift to fourth,much better than a dash switch you might forget. 4th gear in lock up the most critical to lubrication. Also good to have switch deactivate on braking or it bucks at low speeds in fourth. The improper TV cable setting and lock up mistakes give the 700 a bad reputation. They really are nice trannys. JS

With all the computerized ignition and fuel on those things you'd think thats where to look. Backfiring at start has to be ignition? Are these engines crank fire or do they still have distributors? If it were an older vehicle, I 'd guess at the timing gear/chain. Starts running poorly then progresses into a barely running engine. Old test used to be to put a rag loosely over the intake, with the coil wire disconnected, and turn over the engine. If air blew past the rag from the engine you could bet the timing had jumped. Common with the old nylon gears, hard to buy with the newer engines. Good luck! Hope you figure it out sooner than my last fiasco. Its the $#%@# when its yur daily driver! JS

Al, welcome to the site. You're from Colorado?? Which city? There is a ton of information on the site, but having an easy to access JTR book is really going to help your conversion. A few of us have taken on the conversion w/o the JTR book. All I can say is that after doing it the hard way, I would have saved hours of time and frustration had I bought the book first. I wasn't fortunate enough to know it existed, and even though I don't run a v8, most of the information would have been priceless. Figuring out the wiring by trial and error, from a poor schematic AND being colorblind was a battle in itself. 5 years after my swap I still went ahead and got the JTR manual. The little things like speedometer gears and pointers you might not consider was worth the price for me. Great reference. JS [This message has been edited by John Scott (edited November 25, 2000).]

I don't know whats going on for sure. My truck needed some waranty work and had to drive the Z for a few days. Nasty cold so I drained the oil and put in some watery 5w30. I've been waiting for the new rear metering block so I dreaded putting it back together the way it was. For the 4th time I blew out every passage with carb cleaner, and noticed a really small nick in the top of the block where the bowl seals. I burnished it back out and put it together, threw in some big jets... 5:30 AM Acura on my tailpipes all the way to I-25. Dusted him off on the on ramp, and punched it for old times sake. No hesitations, misses, nothing but great gforce! All day long I would give it hell just to hear it wind up to 7K again. 2 casualties, my original 85 alternator fried and the cheapie chrome thermostat housing started leaking. Luckily my job was only about 15 or so miles from NAPA. New parts and it runs like a charm. Anywhere in first exploads the rear tires. Rolling on in 2nd is a kick at just the edge in and out of traction. Cold days are just like nature's intercoolers. So what happened to my carburetor?? Could a little nick ruin the bowl seal ruining the metering? Fianlly worked out a blockage? New block is on the way. I'm still baffled. JS

Its also interesting to note what others are running successfully. Chevy, with all its R&D puts a 600 vacuum on its 330hp crate motor while the 430 hp ZZ430 350 comes with a 750 vacuum secondary. Who knows Myron, maybe you'll be looking for dual dominators! JS

Mike, Absolutly check your local Nissan dealer. I checked on gear sets and posis a while back. Its amazing what they still can get. Also, our local dealer located 3 or 4 clutch pedals nation wide and shipped in a couple of days when Motorsport couldn't produce for over 2 months. When ever they say "back order" I go elsewhere. JS

Myron will be the one smoking the tractor tires and pulling the front wheels from every intersection JS

I've been conversing with Earl Parker from Parker Carburetion, a guy who has lots of carburetor experience from saturday night special, to Nascar. Has been very willing to help me resolve my carb. problem (not yet). He claims its acceleration that wins races, meaning your carb must be producing power throughout the rpm, not just cabable of a top mph. His way of figuring an optimum carb is to determine the absolute lowest rpm that you need it to perform and engine displacement. Obviously a track racer and drags will have different applications. I've read the circle tracks guys like a carb thats right on the nut for cfm or slightly smaller, and drag racers just the opposite. JS

Welcome to the site and congrats. on your find. Sorry to hear about the Rx7. Great cars! Fist of all get the Z v8 conversion bible the JTR manual. You might as well take care of all the little problems at once. Getting the engine back to the firewall will give you way better balance, near the 50/50 mark. If you're planning on much highway time look seriously at the overdrive trasmissions availible. The T5 will hold in mild v8 applications, but doesn't last under drag style launches or shifting. Consider using the T56 since it is really strong, and can be found in two versions, 400/450 ft/lb torque and an aftermarket with 400 ft/lb rating. The aftermarket uses the T5 bellhousing and is a simple swap. They cost more than the T5 but you can run more power through them w/o worry. Also the 700R4 has a good .7 overdrive. Look for the later versions 87-up, from z28 or vette as they have the 4th gear that stays in at full throttle. You might as well get it set up right. You'll be amazed at how capable Z8s ( and super/turbocharged 6s) are in every performance aspect. There are plenty of hot dog handling Zs out there. Just need the right parts. Hope you can take a little banter on the Viper! Since they (the later ones with the V10 have such a strong performance reputation, many of us would love to have the opportunity to run against one. Again, Welcome. You'll find good people here with good advice on nearly any subject. JS [This message has been edited by John Scott (edited November 17, 2000).]

Yeah, bigger isn't always better, at least in carbs. I found that a moderately built 400 ran twice as strong with a 650 than my 780 or 850. I really wanted to have that big honkin 850 in there though. My 400 probably had 2/3 the hp you're pushing, so its hard to say. I'd like to hear how the experiment goes. JS

Myron, do you have access to a smaller carb? You have the Gtech. Give a 650 a spin! If you haven't run a smaller cfm on it yet, you'll be amazed at the off idle response. Smaller bores have higher velocity. And you thought you had traction problems now! Still, knowing you have one healthy motor, I'd bet 600 won't be enough. Your 355 might have a big appetite and need way more. Can't remember, is your carb a vacuum or mechan. secondary? Vacuum secondaries work on a wider range of applications. JS

Satisfaction for some of us is not always going to be maximum hp. I think its obvious who is going to win the power wars. The L6 fanatics have their reasons for sticking with them. They were one of the coolest cars on the road when they first came out. Many just want to stick to the same platform. A previous post was making some pretty big hp claims for the 3.1. The post Mike was referring to may or may not be typical results, but is probably at least in the ballpark for a street going 3.1. JS

Peter, My regulator works the same. I also found that 4.5-5 psi was perfect @ idle. Much higher caused a surge from too much pressure at part throttle. I don't know how accurate the pump psi/boost psi rule is, but your 12.3 reading must indicate its keeping up. The hp levels do seem low for that much boost. Something is holding it back, cam profile? Carb cfm? JS

zlover, Welcome to the Hybrid site. Also note there are no kits or manuals for the GNV6 swap, but some fabrication skills and Scottie's good advice will get you rolling. BTW I moved your fender flare question to the paint and body forum. JS

Mark, I kept getting a unknown site message whenever I tried powerdyne.com. Maybe it was down for a bit. ATI has a new self contained p1sc, gear driven. 2 sizes 9" and 10,5", still noisy!. The abuse the drive units have to endure make me sceptical of a belt system, especially if you're running harder than the manufacture's own offerings. What kind of warranty do they come with? I think you're in the ballpark for 8-12 psi in the 8-9:1 comp range. JS

Also a really good article on nitrous in the Chevy High Performance June 2000 issue. Pretty much covers all the previous disscussions and good safty tips. JS

A while ago a57oval gave me a pretty long email on how it was done. Peter, please share with everyone. JS

They are a pretty neat unit. Quiet! I read somewhere they were limited in the big boost #s. They had two models a low boost street version and a better higher boost model Check on the upper end one. They also used to have only 2 pulleys to choose from, but maybe they've added more options to the list. Tell us what you find. I saw one on a BMW once. It made some good hp. *Upon further research, I read a few letters from upset powerdyne users. (All products will have thier bad apples) Complaints ranged from broken internal belts, blown units, to low boost #s. (I still side with ATI and their gear drive, noisy but strong) For a v6 to produce good hp, you're going to need boost. I would research powerdyne carefully. Also their website: powerdyne.com has been inactive?? JS [This message has been edited by John Scott (edited November 13, 2000).] [This message has been edited by John Scott (edited November 13, 2000).]

Peter, Really clean set up. You answered my question as to whether it was possible to mount a 600 procharger in the setback position. I've seen other prochargers on V8s here, but never with the engine in the "proper" location. Do you have any flexing in your brackets? What pulley are you running to get 14 psi? 8rib? I'd love to do a procharged V8 but was intimidated by the sheetmetal work. What would you do differently? Also, about your Holley blue pump. I've had good success with the Mallory 140 and same regulator you're using. Post the dyno sheets. I like to see how and when the 600 makes it power. JS

I moved the previous post to the buy/sell forum. Since this concerns a six cyl six, we'll see if it gets any responses here. JS

Talk about your hot cars sounds like you have a lot of unburned fuel or late combustion exiting the engine. Check your timing for severely retarded. Also that your mechanical advance is working in the distributor. By 3000 rpm it should be fully advanced. I hope you keep some marshmallows and good fire extiguisher handy. JS

I've seen some shops that will run cleaner through the injectors under pressure. They need to be removed, of course. Maybe the amount/concentrate of gas additive can't remove the 3 years of gunk in them. Just an idea. JS

Chris, the 4.3 in its stock form was used in the Gran Mark series. 7000 was considered a safe rpm for the stock rods and crank. In a previous engine swap, Toyota Hilux, you wouldn't believe the abuse I gave the engine w/o failure for 150K miles. I've prepared my crank and rods, by the Chev. power manual. Indexed, crossdrilled, rods polished, shotpeened, high end arp bolts, and run a Fluidamper, all balanced by the best in the area. I also run 7.5:1 forged pistons. My Machining bill would make any V8 proud . I agree with you on the V8s. On most stock Chev.s I wouldn't take them past 5600! Back to my carb. I disconnected the secondary side and it revs great. Everything has been blown out for the 3rd time inside and out. I have a clean shot from the jets to the boosters. All air bleeds are clear. All gaskets new. The thing is and always was really clean. Something is ruining the secondary fuel distribution. Now I want to try a different metering block. I was wondering if any will fit as long as it came from a double pumpr? Mine has the non-pv metering block. Not the plate, but the block w/o machined area for pv and idle circuit. JS [This message has been edited by John Scott (edited November 05, 2000).]

600 dbl pmpr. Rear metering block is w/o pv. JS