Phantom

This is the toughest part. Speed = $$. If money is really critical then you probably want to go the turbo L28 route and start with a stock 280ZX turbo motor - if you can find one. If you have a decently equipped shop/garage and are really handy then other options become available. Definitely use the search option and spend a few hours diligently reading up on the options.

Take a look at the Ford brake fluid. It's very close to the Motul and definitely less expensive.

I think "sportwagon" is the correct term to use for the staion wagon version of the Subaru WRX. Anyway, had one pass me on the way to work this AM that was an electric blue with the Subaru insignia painted on sides and back in white - and huge! For grins I stepped on it a little and pulled even with him with a lane between and just cruised there for about a minute - which was all it took for him to nail it and go zooming off. Subarus can do that to, right? The zoom, zoom isn't just limited to Mazda? Thought - oh what fun, so I stepped on it again and fell in behind him until he dropped back down to 75 and pulled over a lane. By then I had downshifted from 6th to 5th so the revs were up a bit when I pulled alongside again. This time, however, I looked over at him once, pulled it down into 4th and nailed it. The LS1 was suddenly in a happy place and the car just picked up its skirts and bolted. Ran it out to about 5,800, shifted to 5th, and put the pedal down again. About 7-8 seconds into the run I looked down in time to see the speedometer needle sweeping rather quickly past 130 and shut it down. Dropped the car back to about 70 but never did see the Subaru again.

Yeah, I'm getting ready for a Track day at Texas Motor Speedway in Frort Worth on May 14th. I've got stock drums inthe rear and the non-vented Toyota 4x4 upgrade in the front. I've gone with the Porterfield R4S pads and will be flushing my brake fluid the week before.

Mike, I'm running a torque tube design on my car. My T56 is tied to the R200 via a couple 3" channels turned leg in with a fairly elaborate mounting system on each end. Works very well.

Click on link in my signature. Car is running on 16x7 Center Lines with 225/50-16 Yokohama's. The car is not lowered at all. Compare it to the look you want.

Back in '87 I installed a fiberglass air dam that had 4" rubber extension on the bottom of it. It went down to within 3" of the road. Then I took the black rubber trim molding used between the floor tile and the cabinets in a kitchen and installed it between the wheel wells to lower that area to about 3" off the ground. It looked great and was very practicle because the rubber would flex for speed bumps, etc. I think I got the spoiler out of a JC Whitney catalog but I'm not certain any more as the car and all my records for it got stolen in '89. I do know that it wasn't Motorsport Auto or Victoria British.

Hey Mike - BS in mechanical engineering with an MBA from Syracuse University. Used to have a Top Secret clearance based on the full SBI due to drilling with a Pentagon CNO Unit and COMSEVENTHFLT back when I was in the reserves. Next time they have a job open where I can stay home and work on honey-do's let me know. It will save onme having to move too!!

I would evaluate the position. If you can use the existing wiring and have it look good then why do the extra work. If the wiring is rough and you're changing the location of the senders siginificantly then pulling new wires either independently or through the LS1 harness may be the way to go. Just think it through so the engine bay doesn't become a spaghetti nightmare with wires running all over the place. That really ruins the look of an otherwise excellent conversion.

Wood to Iraq, steel to China - better than bombs & bullets?

I don't remember them all but you would also need: 1) the leads to the fusible links on the passenger side fender, 2) the oil pressure sender 3) the coolant temperature sender 4) the pick-up off the alternator for voltage 5) fender marker lights 6) turn signals 7) horn 8) 78 & newer the level indicator for the brake fluid 9) control/power wire for the windshield washer

The Z Club I belong to is sponsored by a local Nissan Dealership. They help with car shows, give discounted rates on parts, etc. They also give a discounted rate on service but, unless the car has an OBD II port, they can't work on them. That rules out anything built before '97. I called them about a climate control problem on the '77 280Z and the answer was they had neither the FSM nor a mechanic familiar enough with the car to work on it. I called them with the '83Zx when it failed emissions and they told me they didn't have a "5 gas analyzer" nor were they going to get one which means they can neither help on emmissions problems nor can they properly tune one. Sure glad we have a few good "old-timers" with shops in the area that can actually fix one. Makes me feel real good about my OEM Dealer support. I'm just glad that not all the dealerships are this way for the lucky few that have a good one nearby.

You might also contact AL at http://www.chipsbyal.com and see what he would charge to edit your ECU for you. Unless you are planning on several rounds of "tweaking" a one-time charge will probably be less than buying LS1 edit.

I've agonized over this a half dozen times. Direct ship tire pricing plus mounting costs & balancing locally vs buying at higher price from local dealer. Every time I have gone with the local Discount Tire dealer. Here's why: 1) I can also get a road hazard warranty which is really handy when the car is a daily driver. 2) They wil rotate and balance the tires for free every 5,000 miles 3) They will fix flats for free. 4) I establish a relationship with a local that will go "beyond the contract" to keep my business. 5) If you talk with them a bit they will generally come down to an "equivalent" price which adds even more value to 1-4.

Yeah, I remember my first test in Dynamics - I got a 32. Knew at that point I was in trouble so studied my butt off for the next test on which I got a 28. THe Prof was grading straight university scale so, at that point I had no chance of passing. Stuck it out through the end and failed with flair. Took it over the next semester with this dried up little Japanese prof named P.T. Sun. His claim was that he may not teach us dynamics but he would "teach us to think like an engineer". He made one comment one day that turned the light on and I got a B+ in his class without even working hard. Amazing the difference the Prof can make.

A couple things to remember about college. 1) Always ask around because frequently the prof's will invoke a huge curve to keep their pass rate where it needs to be for the statistics to look right, and 2) Prof's are chosen based on their own academic performance and their ability to publish (attract revenue), NOT on their ability to teach. These are general truisms at nearly all schools except for a few very expensive privately funded ones that can actually afford to hire educated teachers, rather than mostly useless professors. There are always the exceptions - and generally they are really exceptional. Unfortunately they are few and far between. The system can work, though. Look at me - an engineer that can actually spell!

I guess being in Texas has spoiled me. I wouldn't touch it.

Major traffic hazard with reflected sunlight. Great if it only comes out at night!

I was looking at the one in my Suburban last night. contrasting and comparing it to the LS1 in my Z. What really amazed me was the height of the intake. It has to be 5-6" taller than the intake on the LS1. Won't that be a problem for intallation in a Z? Can LS1 intakes be swapped in to reduce the height? Has anyone thoroughly evaluated (completed) this swap? It seems to be a really good engine but obviously comes with it's own set of challenges.

There doesn't appear to be a shortage of reasonably priced LS1 & LS6 engines with either the T56 or the 4L60E on Ebay. There is, of course, the standard risk factor with used engines from far away. With that many listed, though, that should be an indication of potential local availability. Prices look much better than when I got mine too. What got me was the 500+HP LS6 currently going for under $3k.

http://www.zcarparts.com for starters. That is for Motorsport Auto in Orange, CA. (8000) 633-6331. You might also try http://www.victoriabritish.com.

An don yew fergit it!

No problem on my LS1 conversion. #1 is a bit tight behind the AC compressor but, other than that, they're pretty easy to get to.

First things first - The LT6 and LS6 are not the same motor. The LS1 and LS6 are closely realted - especially if you can get a 2001 or newer LS1 which has the LS6 intake. THe LS6 has some differences in the block internals that make it a bit stronger and capable of higher revs. It also has a different intake and heads than the LS1. The JTR stuff will be basically useless for an LS1 or LS6 conversion. You need to talk with http://www.johnscars.com if you want components for that swap. You can always figure it out for yourself and fab hte stuff up yourself if you're so inclined and have the time. THe component parts are not cheap but save lot of time, figureing and redoing because of mistakes or oversights. Several LS1 conversions have either been completed or are in progress right now. Do a search. The LS6 swap, from an installation standpoint, will be the same. To my knowledge there is just one of those in progress right now.