Wagz

Good article. Definitely explains a few things.

Great mod! Those mirrors look great on your car. Just like they were designed for it.

I could check to see if he would be interested in building an adaptor for the LS1 version. He already has blueprints for the LT1 version to the Lakewood bell. I'm not sure he wants to go through the design phases again. I know the input shafts are different in the '93 to '97 versions versus the '98 and newer trannies. I have no idea what else is different. He would have to have pretty precise measurements from the trans and bellhousing to develop the design. I'll run it by him and see how interested he is in new development. He is pretty much a Chevy guy. I'm not sure how much Mopar or Ford background he has. Stay tuned.

I had a conversation with my engine builder about my plans to mate my '97 T56 to my older style (2-piece rear main) block. I was planning on ordering a custom bellhousing from Weir Hotrod Products. He told me that he has built adaptors to mate T56 trannies to early style Corvette and Camaro bellhousings in the past and still has his blueprints. He suggested having an adaptor CNC'ed to mate a Lakewood 15000 bellhousing to the T56. His 'guestimate' was about $125 per adaptor plate plus the cost of the Lakewood bell. He suggested that the best setup would be a 10.5" clutch, 153 tooth flywheel and small pocket starter to maximize clearance. Any thoughts on the setup? Anyone else interested in an adaptor plate. He is willing to have a run setup on a CNC mill if more people want 'em. Buy the way, this guy has more than 30 years experience building stock car and drag engines, has worked for Sallee Chev. and does free-lance research for GM. I trust his work completely.

I performance tested Lone's idea. The damn pen kept rolling off the console every time I went around a corner. Note to self: Get more post-it pads for longer road trips and swipe a pen chain from the bank...

Trevor - I'll second Tomahawk's request and volunteer to post any useful information on my site. I am in the middle of planning/fabbing subframe connectors and would love to see this more closely.

Jim - Too funny. That is EXACTLY the situation when I was welding up my buddy's exhaust system last week. Flange on a new cat on a rusted out POS.

I'm building a GTO replica so, I was planning on a push button starter coupled with a keyed switch or some other type of ignition lock-out. I haven't gotten to the wiring phase yet, so I'm not sure how I will put it together yet.

Coming from someone who posted a very similar question a while back; If you can afford a decent welder, buy it and start practicing! Until a month or two ago I had never so much as touched a welder. Early this spring I picked up a nice Millermatic 135, ordered a basic welding video from the Eastwood Company (very helpful)stopped at a scrap yard for some different guages of material and started welding. As I was told by several guys here (Lone, Tim, etc.) it is more art than science. Practice is what it takes. Since then I've begun work on SF connectors, welded-up an exhuast system on a friends car, repaired the frame of a hide-a-bed for my in-laws, etc. It is a lot easier than it may seem. Having a welder and being able to use it has been great.

This is where I send my 11 yr. old step-son to learn about a lot of things. Sometimes, it's much better at expaining basic concepts than I am. Great site.

If it's do-able, I'm in as well. Can't beat the price.

I've read that the hyperinvisibus components REALLY take a lot of weight off a motor! BTW - Great post. That guy has more patience than I will EVER know. Good examples for creating molds and plugs...

Looks great. I like the stainless vent. What do you have in mind for the opening over the intercooler? Can't wait to see the finished product. Keep us posted.

Suhwwweeeeeeeeeet!!!!!!

I love this place. You can post a question before you go to bed and sleep soundly knowing that in the morning you'll wake to a solid answer from experienced professionals. I wish I could get answers to all of lifes questions that easily. Long pump it is. Thanks for the input.

I think he used to live across the street from me. What a moron.

Is there any advantage to either one that anyone knows of? Clearance to the radiator is not a problem in a hybrid, especially if using an electric fan. I've read about headaches getting alternators/brackets to align, but these can be overcome... Does it really matter which one you use?

The Velo Rossa Kit is a good one. I plan on buying from them. There is also Stable Auto Works and Thunder Ranch I would be cautious with these guys. I've heard KitCar.com recently posted a warning on them.

I just did the exact same thing with the engine and tranny out of my '71. I put one post on the zcar.com site and had a ton of responses. I sold the engine, exhaust, starter for $300 and the 5spd. tranny for $250. I was able to sell to people in my general geographic location and not have to deal with shipping. Good luck.

If we can get the details worked out I am DEFINATELY IN on a "group buy" if S&S is going to set up a run of these tweaked headers. Otherwise, I was planning on going the Flow Tech block hugger route like Mike.

Grumpy, to say that you are a fountain of information is a gross understatement! You're more like Niagra Falls... You need to pull all that vast knowledge you have together and write a book (or two). I'd buy 'em for my garage related library. How 'bout a new section on this site called "Grumpy's knowledge bank and web links"

I am almost certain the top on the light blue Z in in the first link Douglas posted is adapted from a Fiat 124 Spider. I've owned a few Spiders and it looks very familiar. I believe I ran across a write-up a while back on convertible tops for 1st gen. Z cars that talked about using the Fiat top.

Scott - Like Nezzie, I live in Oregon. I haven't ordered my parts from John yet, since I don't have a proper place to store them. My project suffers from the "Might as well..." syndrome. You know: "As long as I'm rebuilding the motor, I might as well put in a V8 and a 6 speed. Of course, I'll need to upgrade my suspension to coil-overs. And if I'm gonna have my suspension off, I might as well upgrade the brakes to vented rotors. Ooooh, and I'll need to have 5 lug hubs..." I should have had this thing done by now. This car is the poster child for project scope creep. I've built a website to document my progress, but there isn't much to share yet. Keep us posted on your progress!

Cool. I'm considering the bed liner coating too. Looking forward to seeing the pictures of yours. Keep us posted on the Painless install. I bought the 18 circuit harness, but it will be quite a while before I get to installing it.

Hey, Scott - I'm planing on building the Velo Rossa, but I spent some time agonizing over whether I should go coupe and have a more original 250 GTO replica or go with the Spider. I finally decided to go the Spider route. I've talked to and visited John Washinton's shop (Reaction Research) in Tempe and was impressed with him and the quality of his work. His Velo Rossa kit can be adapted to a more true to original coupe design. In his marketing materials and installation manuals, he mentions that he has worked with customers who wanted his tilt front-end and the Stable Auto Works rear and that he and the Stable guys have no problem working together. I've called and talked to the folks at Stable as well, and they were patient with my questions and willing to talk to me. I had a more difficult time reaching the folks at Thunder Ranch. When I did get in touch, they were not nearly as willing to talk about their product and basically told me that if I want any info on their kit, I should purchase the install manual. I know they've been around a long time and Tom McBurnie has a pretty good rep, but I want to know they are going to support me after I buy the product. I did intend to buy their install manual (as I did from the others), but I decided not to after that phone call. Anyway, Thunder Ranch may save you $800 bucks, but I would be a little leary about how well they will support their product after the sale. Maybe I caught 'em on a bad day. For Ferrari emblems and such, check here. There are always posts on this site for Ferrari parts. Have fun!