lesd

My cars swap was done in the 1980's . The law was different then. I'm not too worried either, but just as gun laws changed rather quickly, you never know what may happen to smog laws. Laws that only effect a small number of folks ( like guns, hot rods ) are easy to switch out on you. So I'm protected a bit more with my grandfathered BAR sticker, I guess. -Les

Wayne, Thanks for your informative post! I looked at your sticker, and it is pretty much the same as mine, but I only have the PVC box checked. Also, the B/A box has a B in it, whatever that means. If it's true that I can legally swap in the LT1 , and only have the PVC valve, that would be rather amazing ! I would guess that you still can't add in enhancements like turbos and still have it legal. Since these laws only effect a very small group of people, ( read: nobody cares enough to patch the loophole) , maybe it would work. How many HybridZ members have BAR stickers, I wonder? -Les

Wayne, Mine has the pillar sticker, but it only states the year ( 1964 ) and the size ( 327 cu in ) of the engine. There is no list of smog devices. Is that list included on the same sticker on your car ? My 327 has an open air filter, I don't know if it was BAR'ed with that, or if the previous owner had a totally stock looking engine during the BAR inspection. I'm hoping that if I get pulled over with the new engine I am preparing, the turbocharged LT1 , the officer will be enough out of his element ( of dealing with ricer kids, etc ) and just be satisfied with the BAR sticker in the door. But my new engine will certainly not have the 'thermostatically controlled air cleaner' ... More like a bunch of intercooler plumbing and silicon hose couplers. I'll keep the 327 and the 4 speed tranny all as a long block, ready to 'snap in' if I have to get it back for smog reasons. I really don't want any of this type of trouble. There are heavy fines that can be imposed as well, I should remind everyone. Another thing to worry about: The now can possess and crush ( that's right, CRUSH ) you can if they get you for 'street racing' . American, the land of the free... -Les

This thread got me wondering.... My '73 has a B.A.R. sticker in the door jamb that states that it is registered with the 1964 chevy 327 c.i. engine. So am I grandfathered with this sticker ? Having said that, I am building a '96 LT1 turbo motor for the car. If a CHP or a street smog inspection trap pulls me over and pops the hood, I don't think they will like what they see. I do plan on keeping the 1964 327 around for good measure, if the 5hit really hits the fan Maybe pointing out the door sticker would help, but I don't know anymore. I'm going to baby that sticker from now on... -L

The problem of insuring it as stock is when you have a big accident, of the type where a lot of money is involved. The investigation will nullify your policy because the car was 'modified to be a race car' or similar wording. So everybody drive safe !

Headlights ? I can't seem to see any! Looks real nice !

I have done a bunch of searches, but alas , I think that some members are holding their cards *real* close to their chests when it comes to specific details on the engine bits that they used :cool:. Perhaps I missed a thread ? -Les

Wheelman, for the ECM I decided to go with an aftermarket one, the Wolf 3d. I got it for a good second hand price, and it offers a lot of features. It is speed density, so the fuel map can be tuned to whatever you want as far as fuel enrichment goes. Since I don't have a base map, I guess I'll just be careful and tune it with the wideband O2 meter. The O2 I have does data logging, so I can use that to help tune. Some systems, like the FAST ecm have a direct way to tune the fuel maps based on a target F/A number, and holding the load constant and hitting a key for 'zapping' the mixture to the desired value. If anyone can give me a good basic ignition map for a boosted Chevy V8, that would help me get started when it comes time. I'm a bit more concerned about running too much timing, since the O2 does not help much in that department. I was going to use LT1 edit, I even purchased it a while ago , but my GM ECM is MAF based, and that would be undesirable for a turbo engine. Thanks for the cam info, you are right, I may as well just get an LT1 cam. Les

Meister: No wastegate ! holy smokes, that must be interesting! So does the torque curve behave like a procharger, with not much on the low rpms, and then a big kick ? I had a VW bug a long time ago, and it had the same setup. It loved to detonate, until I put an old carter knock control on it, that box worked pretty well. How much compression are you running ? Silicon: Why do you say external wastegates? Fitments issues? Did you tune the engine, and do you have any recommendations on timing during boost? What's your CR and boost at the moment ? Still wondering about the cam. Maybe I'll just get a so called turbo cam from compu, or an RV cam from Crane. The reason I asked about SBC cams in an LT1 is that they are a lot more plentifully. ( and cheaper too ... summit sells their own branded ones that are made by Crane also ) I'm making my final shopping list for Santa this week

Did the fuel injection stump everyone ? A couple of simple questions to add : Can non-LT1 cams be used in an LT1 ? What boost are the other chevy hybrids running ? Since my heads are 53cc , can I get the compression down a bit by machining out the combustion chambers in the heads a little ? I want to keep the CR to 8.5 .

So I've been slowly getting things for my engine build to replace the 327 that is in my 240Z at the moment. The goal is a redline of 5500 , auto trans. , street driven car ( weekends, not daily ). I haven't decided if it will be single or dual turbos. I am leaning towards the twins, TO3s with integral gates. I will be welding my own plumbing, TIG'ed stainless and aluminum. I have a T72 if I go single. Boost target will be about 12 - 14 lbs. W large intercooler. Transmission will be a 4 speed auto, built 2004r or similar OD tranny. My LT1 is out of an F-body, 1996. AL heads. So here is my bits n pieces that I've picked up so far: Pistons: Speed pro turbo,forged, 844-L2441F, about 8.7:1 at 58cc's Eagle H beam rods. Wolf 3d EMS ( I will tune with wide band ) Ford 38lb injectors ( I think I'll need 42 lb injectors , however ) Stock crank. ( heard it's pretty strong from the f body forums) What I still need: ARP stud kit for heads and bearings. Gasket set, Should I worry about O ringing the heads? Valve springs , rockers, etc .... what should I do here , keeping in mind that the motor will be relatively low revving. CAM !!! ( I'm lost here. trans stall will be mid range since the car is light. ) Bearings ( should I let the machine shop get these for me ? ) Rings Oil pump Cam chain kit My main mystery is what to do with the heads and cam. I want to keep the stock AL heads. Keeping the rpms to 5500 should help save money here as well. Any advise most appreciated! -Les

So what does it say ? I wonder of people in Asia have english slogans on their cars, and roman character tats on their bodies ? I dig the lights! -Les

aero problems with the Z, as far as net drag, are a little overrated. The total frontal area is not high, so it works out to be OK. Somewhere here I saw a thread devoted to this, and it included a table with the CD times area, CDa I think it is called. 'Back in the day' when Los Angeles was known for fast cars, there was something called the bonsai club ( sp?) . These guys would go out on the freeways and make 200 mph runs at night. They checked traffic with CB radios. 500 - 600 hp should be all it takes for a 240Z to hit 200. I don't recommend trying this. Does the 240Z have front end lift issues at speed ? Just curious. Anyhow, it sounds like it's best to keep the Z at under 120 mph. -Les

Sport bikes and Z06's on a clear open freeway are a challenge. A stock Z06 goes to about 197 mph. Any Hybrid Z's hit that ? On a track or dry lake bed ? Almost the 200 club. -Les

Ya, it is nice to have the comforts of a new car. I am building my car as a weekend car, so I feel I can give up the solid feel. When I close the door of my 240Z, to me I always think it sounds cheap, like a tin can. But tin cans are very light .... I get way more looks than a $70,000 corvette, and mine is not that tricked out yet. Your exhaust system is the best looking setup I've seen. Dare I ask how much that cost to fab up ? Is it all stainless ? WOW ! -Les

As I contemplate my LT1 engine plans for my 73 240Z, I have some basic questions I must ask myself. Other than an interesting engineering hobby, what exactly is the performance envelope that I will be able to reach? As all of you probably know, the level of performance that you get with modern cars is pretty damned high. I'm not even talking about the Z06 Vettes, I'm talking about the kinds of cars that housewives are driving. Take off the chip ECU limits, and these cars go 130 mph to 160 mph , all while listening to the CD player and the navigation system telling you where to find a Greek diner ! I'm researching the transmission I want to use, and find that the overdrive is like *mandatory* for comfortable freeway drives. You have all seen the muscle car guys out on a nice Sunday afternoon, motoring down the freeway at 65 mph while most of the traffic is passing them up. God help them if they have to drive a few hundred miles like that. No way I want to be stuck in that category ! Other that auto-cross driving, I would bet that the V8 Z drivers are 'game' for an occasional freeway roll on type of situation. Sometimes, if the freeway is empty, and everything is clear, it may get a little over the speed limit! There is no white line that shows 'it's over'. Now we are talking European style car performance here. As in the basic " how fast does it go? " Have others experienced this mph freeway situation, say along side a Viper/German car/etc? Just some random thoughts! -Les ( 73 240z , 327 right now, soon to be LT1 )

Mike, I'm in the same place you are, looking for the best trans. for my car. I agree, the OD is a must. The 200r4 has an even taller OD , and I still want it shifting auto for me in city traffic, so I think at this point I'll go with a 200r4. The nice thing with the 4L80 is that I would think you don't have to spend as much beefing it up, as it is already pretty strong. I have the 3.15 R200 rear, so that will help as well. I hate over reving an engine. I want a 'modern car' type of top speed capability, if you know what I mean ! -Les ( 73 240Z with 327 4 speed for now. LT1 in the works)

I'm not 100% convinced that a shallow sump welded to the tank would be enough, without some flaps or other tricks to keep the fuel in there. On a car with a carb, the carb bowl takes care of fuel bubbles. I'm scared of bubbles in a fuel injection system, as I think it could lead to some dangerous detonation when the cylinders get only 1/2 a fuel shot. Turbo makes it even more sensitive. Maybe I'm being overly cautious, I don't know. -Les

Not sure if this has been done here, but here is my idea : Mount a coffee can sized surge tank inside the normal 240z gas tank. Have a low pressure fuel pump feeding it with that pump fed from the low point of the 240z tank, but outside the surge tank. It fills the top of the surge tank. The EFI pump feeds from the bottom of the surge tank, which is always overflowing with fuel inside the 240Z tank. So even if the gas sloshes around a lot, there is still a quart or so of surge tank reserve to keep the air out of the EFI system. No space taken up by external surge tank. The "cup always run-eth over" safely inside the main fuel tank. The low pressure carb type pump should flow at least 4 times the flow needed for the engine, so it can refill the surge tank ASAP when it gets starved on it's intake. Keeping air out of the EFI system is very important, as even a momentary lean out due to air can cause detonation on a turboed engine. Thoughts ? -Les

So my choices seem to be a well built 200-4R , or the 4L80 with the manual shift kit. ( or an electronic control box ). I have not seen any posts from anyone fitting the 4L80 in the 240. I do want to push the motor as far back as possible with the LT1. Since the distributer isn't the limit, the limit will be the fat case of a 4L80. Would the costs for 500 ft lb torque spec be similar on these two choices? The torque would most likely be the most at the overdrive gear, at speed. Maybe the gear ratios of the 4L80 would be better for the Z ? Thanks for your advice ! -Les

Thanks, I did see the megashift info, it does look promising. I don't think they are out with a design yet as far as I can tell. Maybe if I had the signal timing diagram with the signaling sequences, I could implement it myself. Heck, I'll bet I could sell a few at a $300 price or so. The parts would cost about $80 I would guess. But I'm spread too thin with the car project anyways, sheesh. I noticed that the Grand Nationals used the 200-R4, so with a light car such as the 240Z that *built* trans should be fine, I would think? I want to run drag radials to help with the traction limit, but even those will break free to limit the stress on the transmission to some degree. I want to go with the most bang for the buck, with it still fitting without too much hammering out the tunnel. -Les

Well, the 160 is at the local dry lake bed, of course! How about the 75 on the freeway? Blue hair ladies passing the grey haired old skool dudes in the V8 Z's ?

One thing to think about is the overdrive, and the need for it. I have a 327 in my Z , with a BW 4 speed. The rear end ratio, according to the pile of receipts I got with the car, is the rare 3.15 R200. My car is already in 4th gear at the end of the on ramp of the freeway. There is no way my current plans for a more modern engine will be stuck with the 1:1 tranny ratio. I really hate having that "I'm revving to high, and want to shift" feeling. Reminds me of seeing old school muscle cars on the freeway, and they are putting along at 70 mph, while all the housewives are passing them at 80 mph in modern cars. Begs the question: what should the tach read on a v8 Z on the freeway, at 75 mph ? How about at 160 ? -Les

Thanks for the response, Jake, Do the non-electronic manual shift kits for the 4L80 have any mechanism to soften the shifts for light throttle shifts? Seems like you would at least need a vacume input, otherwise the light 240Z would shift way too hard. Anyone know how hard of a fit the 4L80 would be in a 73 240Z? I wish I had a description of the PWM signaling needed to control the trannys, I am pretty handy with micro controllers for running stuff like that. -Les

What auto tranny would you recommend to put behind a turbocharged LT1 in a 240z ? I am using an after market engine management system, and it won't control a 4L60E . I can get an after market transmission controller, but I'd rather not pay $700 for that if I don't have to. The car will be street drive, with rare 1/4 mile track tests. I must have overdrive. Thanks, -Les