defrag010

so, you haven't built a 305 the right way and gotten any first hand results to decide with? Friends not liking 305's doesn't mean that every 305 in existance, even built to the hilt, will suck. Your 350 with 305 heads was a dog because there isn't that much of a difference between mild 305's and 350's, especially with stock heads. The gain of higher compression w/ the 305 heads is negated by the poor flow and small valves. I don't know why you think there are no heads for a 305, because any head that will fit a 350 will fit a 305 (you even said you had 305 heads on your 350.. duh). Even the 2.02/1.6 valved heads will fit on a 305 with anything over a .030" bore. Like I said, a good set of heads with a cam/intake/exhaust on a 305 won't be that shy of a 350 in power output. A gen3 doesn't have anymore performance potential than a SBC. The reason people worship them is because they have alot of power in stock trim due to great flowing heads and pretty aggressive stock camshafts, and the 5.7's and some 5.3's are alum block. 5.3's are Very similar in size to a 305. They have a .040" bigger bore, and .182" more stroke. What sets them apart, is like I said, the high stock power level from its good flowing alum. heads. The real builders out there know what you can do with a 305, and the only people who say otherwise are those who haven't done anything and are naysaying them only based on what other people have said. I've built a few semi-wild high comp high rpm 305's for people that have spanked 350's and even a 377, and you never would have known it was a 305 unless they told you.

I was bored with nothing to do at work today, and got to playing with a L28 crank and block I had laying around. I got 3.500" of stroke (roughly 89mm) out of the crank when I was done welding/indexing/grinding/heat treating it, and bored/honed the block out to 3.5532" (a little over 90mm). After that, I used nothing but modified OEM parts from other makes of engines to make a 3.4L shortblock. It uses dished cast eutectic pistons w/ coated skirts that have been known to withstand over 70hp her piston easily/safely, rods that will easily withstand 75hp per rod, and both at up to 7000 rpm. It has a 1.5:1 rod/stroke ratio, and the pistons sit .011" down in the hole. It will handle as much power as any stock L28 will, and I've used many cranks that I have modified with the same process many times with no casualties. The beauty of this is that you can get off-the-shelf forged pistons and forged H-beam rods for this rather cheap, while only having to modify the rods a little bit. The only custom piece is the crank, and if I can do it then any other competent machine shop can do it too! the only reason I'm posting this... is because I only built the shortblock because I was bored at work and wanted to keep busy yet explore new possibilities with old motors. What would someone give for a shortblock like this? I know (from trying to sell all of my old L28 parts (which is why I had the extra block and crank!! I couldn't give them away!!)) that there aren't alot of L engine buyers out there, but I figured it might be worth selling if I could at least get my time's worth out of it?

everyone has an opinion, but I'd like to know what kind of results you got from your all out build on a 305? you have actually had a built up 305 to do a comparison with, right? I don't know about you, but every "hotrod" 305 I have built for someone is only short about 40-50whp at the most to an equivalent 350 with the same parts, and the powerband only lags by about 700 rpm. What are your opinions on the new gen3 5.3? It's got a little more stroke, but actually has a smaller bore than the 305... and it still makes a buttload of power and people love them. My point is that this is a perfect example of the "stigma" that is associated with people using stock smogger 305 motors, but doesn't hold true for people with modified 305's. Heck, one magazine took a stock shortblock, put a mild cam/vortec heads/intake/exhaust on it and it was putting down like 420somethinghp on their engine dyno... that's not too shabby at all for a low comp stock shortblock with just boltons, considering that you do the same thing to a 350 and it would make about the same or a little more power. There is a builder here who builds 305's for circle track guys in the area, and his motors are way up in the 550-600 hp range n/a... but of course, they all have hilborn injection and all out race parts.

if it's an OEM crank, then it has to be a 2 piece seal because there were no 1pc 400 motors. However, you can use a 2pc to 1pc seal adapter for using a 2pc seal in a 1pc block.

which junkyard?

PnyPwr, did the stock oil pan fit on the crossmember?

I don't know about the 99+.. the guys on corral.net say that the 99+ conti motors have the duratec v6 bellhousing pattern, and that the block only has one motor mount boss. I have a 1995 continental intech dohc motor, and it has both motor mount bosses but I'm not 100% on the bellhousing because I don't have a tranny with a modular pattern available to check it with.

I scored me a mark8 pullout for a few hundred bucks, I'm thinking about putting this in my zx!!

they are all over e-bay for between 150 and 175 dollars for four.. just type in "4x114.3 adapter"

I was just thinking of drilling the threads of the caliper out smooth, and putting either helicoils or time serts in the hub mount that are the right diameter.

The 40 shaft might be weaker because of it being the same diameter as the 35 shaft with a bigger turbine to support.. the CHRA's will interchange and accept both turbine shafts, so I think that might be why the dodge guys are breaking them.

I have done alot of reading/searching on it, and people say it's not possible because the caliper is threaded and the mount on the zx are not. Other than the threading issue, is there anything that prevents it from working? I can take care of the thread issue as long as the caliper will still mount the same way as it would on a Z. I'd assume I would have to do the same 4-lug Z31 rotors w/ spacer as the Z also?

well, I know a few people had said they looked forward to this swap, but I took the 4.3 heads into work and ported and rebuilt them real nice, and had a sy/ty guy come in the shop and offer me more than I paid for the whole 4.3 pullout for just my rebuilt L35 heads and resized rods!!!!! I had to take it. I sold the 4L60 for 300 dollars, so I actually made money. I had a third gen camaro buddy give me his old L03 305 pullout for free, so I'm going to use the extra money I had saved up and the profit from the 4.3 sale to build this up. I'm going to sleeve it out to 4.00" bore for 335c.i. of high rpm doom! I found me another daily driver, so I want to hop this one up now. motor parts I have so far: -crower 3.335" Billet ultralite small journal crank w/ big block snout -billet 4-bolt main cap conversion w/ 1pc main stud girdle -6.125" carrillo H-beam rods -4.00" bore wiseco proplite pistons, 1.2" comp height -patriot "procomp" 195cc sbc "vortec" style alum. heads (260cfm@.600" intake) -edelbrock air gap w/ injector bungs installed -vortec 75mm TB w/ square bore adapter -LS1 plastic gas tank w/ intank walbro 255 -65K HEI billet dizzy Parts I need: -fuel rails -adjustable FPR -megasquirt fuel ECU -built 700R4 (ouch) -R200 rearend w/ LSD -zero balance big block damper -cam -gear drive/timing cover Still have alot to go, but Im alot farther along than I anticpiated!!

Are you sure about the shaft? I talked with saul goldfarb from goldfarbinc "turbocharging and diesel injection" about making a 35/40 hybrid, and he said that the shafts were the same diameter, with just the HX40 having a bigger turbine. I'm not saying you're wrong or anything, but I researched holset combinations for a few years and never read anything about the 35/h1c shaft being larger than the 40/h1e shaft.. do you have the measurements on the difference in shaft size?

so the fronts Will interchange?

305's aren't as big of a turd as everyone will tell you. they always mention its small bore and what not, but the 5.3 gen3 motor has a smaller bore than a 305, and people are real quick to reccomend that motor. A good hopped up 305 with nice heads, intake/exhaust system, and a nice cam will make Nice power, and wont be that much short of a 350 in power levels with the same boltons.

I am hoping that they are shorter in length, so that I can instal them in my zx strut housing and run my drop springs without worrying about bottoming the shock out.

no one knows if they have different lengths?

holsets have been getting popular with all makes of sport compact turbo imports for at least a few years. In 2004, I was looking for some cheap diesel turbos to use on my DSM, and after a few months of information exchanging and researching/collaborating on dsmtuners, Bullseye Performance started making turbine housings for the HX35's that would bolt up to a stock 4g63 manifold as a new 'venture'. Before that, research had only showed very few people who were using holsets on small displacement gas engines, mainly the 2.3 ford guys. Since then, holsets have exploded in popularity mainly because they are cheap and because they are sized real good. Everyone has 'em now. I bought three holsets back in 2004 off of ebay, and I paid 89$ for a rebuilt HX35 with no turbine housing, 115$ for a complete good HX40, and 50something$ for a complete H1C... now, you can expect to pay double or more than that. I thought it was a really good budget secret until the whole internet started finding out about these.....

I found a good deal on a set of new front and rear strut cartridges for a 70-74 240/260. I have a '80 280zx, though. Will these cartridges work in my 280zx?

I put up a legit ad for a new L28 crankshaft, and within an hour someone marked it as SOLD!... what the hell?

I already have a set of S10 swap headers that I would like to fit. Plus, my steering now has about 1/2 turn of play each way, and it replacing it not only fixes the steering problem but might fix the header problem. If it doesn't fix the header problem, then modding the header to fit will be no biggie. I put modding/making headers as the last option because I work 8-5 and go to evening classes from 5:30 to 8:50 and the only free time I have is on the weekends. I do most of my stuff at work in my free time because I don't keep many tools and machines at home (they are all at work), and making a new set of headers would not only take forever like this but the boss wouldn't be happy. He wouldn't mind if I brought a header in and modded it, but making new ones would be wasting alot of work time.

I'm still going to do it, I just initially wanted opinions on whether or not there any options with the stock gearbox setup. Putting a new rack in isn't anything major like making my car a convertible or something.. its not hard, and just because something isn't 100% bolt in doesn't mean it isn't going to be reliable. Anyone who thinks otherwise shouldn't be swapping v8's and q45 rearends into their cars. Welcome to hotrods. Since the subaru rack into a Z has been "proven", then what's the big deal about making a dsm rack work in a zx?

I haven't found any zx in the junkyards here that don't have the gearbox type like I do, otherwise I would just get one. I would rather get a known good rack and fit it in than spend forever searching for one or buy one blind and have to use a whole new crossmember. It's not hard to make mounts, thread the ends, fit the shaft on, and adapt lines from the chevy pump.. especially when I work at a machine shop and can do any kind of fab work needed. Its ironic that steering is mentioned as being home made when we're putting v8's, q45 rearends, s13 suepension, etc all in these cars!

I've got a dsm friend who is measuring up a 1G rearmount steering rack, and if it's close in size I want to try and fit it. It's got the gearbox mounted on the rack and it's real small, so there would be no gearbox to get in the way of the middle two exhaust ports.