Forces

I gave it my best....and now I wish that was the problem. I got so fed up with it that I pulled the whole thing down and away from the car to take a look. I wasn't pleased with what I found, and overlooked. The two teeth that the notches from the TC slip onto (you can see in the above pic) were busted off and sitting inside around the input shaft! The end of the converter was butting up against those loose pieces instead of fully engaging. I tried to pull the front cover off the tranny to see if those teeth are connected to the imput shaft or the front pump, but the plate wouldn't budge. Is there a specific puller tool to get it off??

I am in the middle of installing a TH350 into my 280z. The torque converter spins freely on the input shaft with the trans out of the car. The flex plate is mounted at the crank and spins when I turn the balancer bolt. Here is the problem: When I have the trans mounted to the engine, something is preventing the flexplate from turning at all, its jammed up or something. I have tried putting the trans into different gears, and it still won't budge. I tried turning the crank from the balancer bolt, and I also tried manually turning the flexplate with a flywheel tool that is made for this exact issue....still no luck. Is there a spacer or something that needs to be installed between the engine block and transmission case? I'm pretty much lost.

DoctorZ, I just mounted mine up a few days ago, as mentioned, all of the kits are pretty universal. I put the selenoid in just about the same spot as Seth mentioned, on the bottom of the door skin, about 10" from the rear of the door. that didn't run any interfence with the window, but the 280z doors are a little different than 240z's.

It's already gone. if you look, there was even loom on the vacuum from the power booster, not to mention the fuel lines, and positive battery cable. Thats pretty funny, because thats exactly what the bumper is. I am eventually going to do something different, but, I think I just gonna get it running for now.

I was under the impression that 383s and 400s couldn't be internally balanced......?? at any rate, if it was internally balanced, could you then run a dampaner designed for an internally balanced engine?

Lets see if this worked (not very computer savey.) The previous owner went a little crazy with shaving and wire loom....he loomed and shaved just about everything that he could.

The 383 is externally balanced, so I need to run a harmonic balncer on it. In the JTR manual, it mentioned using a 7.25" balancer or smaller. I have an 8" on my engine. I went to drop my engine yesterday, and I now see why you can't use the 8". It wouldn't clear the steering rack. I went to NAPA to get a smaller one and they couldn't help at all. The only ones that are <7.25" are for 3.8L v6's. ....Will that even work? Is there a year/model GM car that has a stock harmonic balancer that will work?

The wiring on the Z I recently purchased is shoddy at best....wires twisted together and taped over with out butt-end connectors or sodder(including the positive battery cable!) and a whole bunch of other stuff. This is an easy, tedious, but easy fix. My problem is that the car was wired with minimal relays. The fan, the fuel pump, the gauges are all manual switch opperated......So when I go to start the car, once it's got an engine, I flip switches. When I am driving, and want the fan to come on, I flip switches. The manual over ride for the fuel pump is handy, but not if it is the only way to opperate it. Electrical wiring, as far as correct relays, 'always hot' wires, key-on-only power sources, this stuff is all greek to me. any usefull tips, websites to read...etc etc? Seann

With the V8 Z conversion, Did you guys have to get the driveshaft professionally shortened and balanced, or is there a drive shaft out there that will work w/o hacking it down? I haven't seen much in the way of after market parts for driveshaft (other than the Chevy-Datsun flange.) Seann

I went to remove the windshield of my 240. Long story short, I had to cut out the rubber molding on the windshield with a razor and pop out the glass. I am now wondering where a good place to get a new seal is. I searched for a while just using google, and only came up with one site. Any suggestions? Seann

I went to check out this 76 280Z that had a 400 SBC in it that was being sold. He was selling it w/o the engine, but leaving the following: 4 row radiator electric fan electric fuel pump aftermarket tach brand new wheels and tires rear battery relocation TH350 transmission, and torque converter Fresh paint (Porsche Red) all the engine bay accesories to Chevy (like the water temp senser, throttle cable and bracket, and wiring) There was some other stuff that was done to the interior, misc mods. So....I already have a 383....this is perfect, so I picked it up for $1250. Best $1250 I have ever spent, the thing is in pretty damn good shape too. Next step, dropping the engine. I'll post some pics soon

Wow, thats a great site.....pretty much everything I needed to know was there.

On 80 and older cars (in portland at least) there is no visual. They aren't doing the dyno anymore because they couldn't afford it. So they just to a test for hydrocarbons and CO2 dilution at idle only. It's alittle more than just the sniffer, but not by much.

I have been searching around for a project to buy. I know that 74 and older cars are exempt from smog testing in Oregon. so I was looking at a 72 with no motor for an extreemly good deal (which is perfect). But now I have come across a 76 280 in WA. It used to have a SBC, but has been removed, leaving all the motor mounts, transmission, radiator and fan, drive shaft, exhaust, etc. in the car. (less hassle on my part to get the thing running). So I would be saving money by getting the 280z, but would still have to worry about emmisions. The motor that I have built will not pass emmisions the way it is (RPM performer heads are not smog legal for one) My question is this.....If I bought a WA car (no motor), do I have to re-register it (including emissions testing) in order to transfer the title from Washington to Oregon? Would I be saving myself the headache by getting the 72 and bypassing that whole emissions obstacle? My other option, if I go with the 280Z, is to build another motor that is smog legal and just pop that guy in for the smog test, and pull it back out when I pass, but that is a huge pain in the @ss. I already have a 305 sitting around that I suppose I could rebuild as cheap as possible and just do that.

I completely agree. I have made the mistake of buying parts very quickly without doing the propper research before, and it adds up fast. I've been crusing thru the posts, just seeing what people have done that has worked, and things that have not. My big dilema now, as metioned, is the trans. Are any of you running a TH400? how happy are you with it, without the OD. I know what JTR has to say about it, but I thoght I'd ask some of the people who are using these transmissions.

I'm actually going to pick up a 72 240Z in about a week. No motor or trans....1/4 of the work is already done . I would save the interior until later. I have redone interior from top to bottom: headliner, dash, seats, carpet.... the works. I ended up destroying it when I was working on the engine and transmssion from all the grime, oil and grease on my hands. But that was mostly my fault for not being more careful.

I am going to be having a similar clearance problem because of my intake manifold (Edelbrock Air Gap). I think what what I am goind to do is eith get a scoop, or just go with a cowl hood. I couldn't even get clearance when I had the motor in an 82 camaro...so I am positive I will have problems in a 240Z. While we're discussing JTR parts....I have heard that the reinforcement plates for the transmission cross member recomended by JTR (3"x6") is insuficient, and can cause the floor boards to warp and twist. Something that covers more surface area is a better choice. Anyone else notice this problem?

Thanks for the advice. I have done a bit more reading and I am thikning of just stregthening the frame rails and adding in some monte carlo bars at the firewall. I'm not building a daily driver, but not building a drag car either....it's a project to be driven when weather permits. Its not going to be driven by an 80 year old woman, so I want some extra security, But I'm not one for taking a rear wheel, high HP car around corners at 60MPH. I have also heard of people damaging the frpm from putting TOO stiff of suspension components in. Is that just dependent on how the car is driven (i.e. like a bat out of hell)?

This has been covered I know, but I read through Post "How much did everyone spend on their V8 Conversion? " and got a few ideas. Now I did some of my own ESTIMATED pricing on doing a swap. In the post mentioned, people were adding in price of paint, suspension, wheels, intereior, machine work, etc. etc. The price list I put together is just for the swap (parts) not including price of engine, machine work heads, and so on. My list came out to about $4,000. This includes radiator, fan, JTR conversion kit, radiator hoses, ignition, distributor, fuel pump, headers, gear reduction starter, Transmission (the real killer) and some misc parts. So in less words, I'm talking 4K just to start the motor in the car. The transmission....planning on using a 700R4, but all I am finding are trannies for, give or take, 1,200, but on some of the other price lists I saw in the post above, the price was a fraction of that...any suggestions? I planned on spending about $15,000 on the whole thing including the car (Keeping in mind I spent about 4 grand on the engine 2 years ago.) Maybe I'm just cheap, but that seems like a lot of $$$ for the swap, not including suspension, paint, interior, wheels, or the complete ENGINE. I guess what I am looking for is a good way to go about some of the small stuff that adds up. I read through the JTR whcih has some good info, and some that is not applicable. Example...as mentioned above the, trans price. Maybe I shouldn't look at prices. Just spend what I can and continue until its done?

Hello all. I am doing a little research into doing a SBC Z car project. I have a 383 stroker SBC that was for a different project that was I scrapped due to emmisions requirements in Oregon. It's pushing estimated 450HP at the flywheel and near the same in torque. I'm guessing that a Z frame without any modifications will not be able to handle that (suspenssion set up aside) . My other concern is the read end won't hold up. Are there any aftermarket set ups that are ealisly swapped out, or am I gonna have to get a 10 or 12 bolt and hack the axles? I'm guessing some others out there are running either a 383 or 400 SBC in your Z, what did you do? Any suggestions? Seann