Phantom

Wouldn't fit in mine. Maybe if you cut everything forward of the firewall off the car and fabricate a custom front clip. That may give you the room necessary.

Thanks for the kind words guys. I've had the car 12 years now. The paint job is 6 years old. I figure I'll have to do it again in another two years as its starting to get a little beat up. Car is in the shop again but it's "supposed" to be back out this week. Transmission and exhaust work primarily. I'm really looking forward to going 'hunting' again.

FWIW - My '77 280Z, with a Camaro LS1 and T56 is 1,400 lbs. on the nose and 1,430 lbs on the tail. Using a transaxle will even more rear bias the wieght - besides adding a whole lot of work to end up with a less balaced vehicle.

John's Cars, 800 Jaguar Lane, Dallas, TX did the LS1/T56 swap in my 280Z. Dial (214) 426-4101 and ask for John. They do good work.

He never went for the fancy stuff - He took the simple and downtrodden which makes the Econoline a perfect choice.

I love it!! Wish I had that one for my car club.

Shifter location depends where motor is mounted. My motor is about 4.5" forward of firewall and the shifter is about 1/2" forward of where the stock shift came through on my 280Z.

I've talked with the two mfg's of steel wheels Jon recommended. One will "tack" the center in so I can trial fit and then finish weld or adjust and finish weld after I verify. Cost of wheel is $62 for a 19 lb. 15x8 and $15 S&H.

I have the T56 behind an LS1 in a 280Z. The tunnel only needed some very minor pounding in two areas and no fins trimmed on the T56. That being said, if I weren't going to abuse the car, I'd be better off with a WC T5. The T56 gears and the available differential ratios just don't work as well together as I would like. To have a useful 6th I need a rear end ratio that burns the tires in 1st & 2nd. If I adjust for a better ratio on the low end it is hard to find a place where the speed limit is high enough to run above 'lug speed' in 6th. That being said - I'm still glad I've got the T56 because I am going to abuse the car on the strip and I don't want a tranny that will shell on me when I get the stickier tires and pour it to them.

Retired Naval Aviator

Lone - BUMMER!! Guess it was better on the dyno than at the track in Ennis. Definitely keep us posted. I'm still planning on getting mine back 9/10. Will probably be 3-4 weeks after that before I get the DR's though due to ensuring proper wheel/tire fit. So what numbers did you get off the first three runs?

Just once. Best was a 13.2, 108 mph. Mojor problems with me not knowing what I was doing and getting the rear tires to hook up. Lone Star 1 ran an 11.9 that same night with his LS1 240Z with the 4L60E automatic. Mine has the T56.

Contact John@johnscars.com. He has motor mounts, transmission mounts, air conditioning compressor and mount, fuel pump and pressure valve, headers, etc. for an LS1 conversion. Click below to see the conversion on my car. From the donor car you will want engine, transmission, PCM, radiator fans & shroud, engine wiring harness.

Lone Star 1 - Cool - let us know how it turns out! On another note - have you replaced your half-shaft universals with the Spicer 'Brute Force' units or their equivalent yet? I think you have reached the limit of the stock units.

Generally the consensus is that the JTR conversion is the best documentation for the sbc conversion. If you want to go with the LS1/LS6 and have good mechanical/electrical ability get the parts kit from John's Cars. His is the only one currently available (almost) for those engines.

Davy, Yeah -I'm still trying to figure out how to rub it in in a nice way. Pete, I've been considering flares too but haven't been able to bring myself to do it yet. With the LS1 I just can't get enough tire under the car. I'd like to get up to about a 275 on the rear which means at least a 2" flare. Maybe when the car needs to get painted again. I've got 6 1/2 years on this paint job so it should time out about right after the brake & suspension work. Mike, I've found a couple mfg's of light steel wheels that will custom build to my specs for $75-80 each - delivered to my door so I may be set to go with a set of DR's this next time. 'Course with Gary being supercharged now it is no competition.

I can't believe it! I sent some photos in just for grins and got Z Car of the Month for August over at http://www.zcar.com. I originally held the title in February of '99.

Brad, 280ZXT wheels have a '0' offset and will put your tire into the fenderwell. Also, at 6" wide, they are just barely wide enough for your application.

Lone Star 1 - http://www.superlight-wheels.com makes a 15x7 with a 12mm positive offset that should work. You'll recognize their wheel design as it used to be fairly popular on the older Z's.

I've noticed a lot of HybridZ members like to use the BFG 235/60-15 DR's. The problem I've encountered is finding wheels that will fit those tires into a stock fenderwell without some kind of modification. If you go to http://www.superlight-wheels.com there is a UK company that sells a 15x7 wheel with a 12mm positive offset that should do the job beautifully. Old-timers will recognize the wheel as one that used to be pretty popular on the Z. They are about $165 each new plus shipping & handling. I'm still talking with them to gather more details.

Good news on both you guys! Keep up the progress and get those cars on the road!

Stock suspension, no modifications to the fender wells?

$90. MSA (800) 633-6331

Let's see. 124 kw = 167 HP. The Rio weighs 2403 lbs, about the same as a 240Z, but it has more HP than the stock 240. It still has more HP than the 280Z, or the normally aspirated 280ZX, or Z31 -plus it is lighter. At about 14.4 lbs/hp, it even has a slightly better ratio than the 3200 lb. Z32 with 220 hp which gives it 14.5 lb/hp. Fortunately the Zcars 6 cyclinder motors have a significantly better torque curve so they'll probably run with or even beat the Rio but the numbers indicate the little car is a bit more sprightly than most would believe - especially the Honda Civic drivers.

Incuding the original purchase price of my car, all repairs and all upgrades over an 11 year period I have about $31k in my car.