Phantom

Did a search & came up empty. I'll keep the civic in mind. Thanks

I have a '77 280Z. Just replaced the compressor, drier and all the hoses during the LS1 conversion. It still has the original evaporator, condenser, and expansion valve. The pressures on the system are 150 psi discharge and 15-20 psi suction. This indicates probably a high pressure loss across the expansion valve which may account for the weakness of the system. Anyone else replaced their expansion valve and seen an improvement in AC performance? If so, where did yo get the valve?

My '77 280 minus the crash bumpers but with the MSA Aero II kit weighed exactly 2,800 lbs on a certified truck scale. On the same scale after putting in the LS1 and T56 it now weighs 2,830 lbs.

Got into it with a Z28 this morning. It was closer than it should have been but I got him. Rolling start - he had automatic and I was in second - bad choice. He jumped me right away but the LS1 finally started winding out and I pulled him as I was shifting to third. I work with the guy so I'll track him down later and get his side of it.

Took the car in for a once-over last night. I've put about 350 miles on it in the last 9 days. Corrected a minor wiring problem and trouble-shot a few other minor problems. Checked tighness on all the hose clamps, mounting bolts etc. Car has no fluid leaks, no gas, no oil, no water. Couple hose clamps were loose but all are tight now. Suspension and drive-train were tight. You can see in the rear suspension bushings where the tires have been trying to drive it forward so they are seeing the load but handling it. Rear sway bar is just touching the main bolts holding the lower trailng arms on but not getting any noise out of it. New Mustache bar is solid and repositioned R200 has done wonders for wheel hop. Notice that check engine light is intermittent. Probably a bad bulb socket as we're using the old "fasten seatbelts" light for that function and it's been sitting there 25 years and corroding. AC is not as strong as it should be but with 150 psi discharge and 15-20 psi suction it is probably a bad expansion valve. I'm going to get a new one and see if that doesn't help. Car drives good. It is predictable and appears to be really solid at this point.

What!!!!! I was told it was cancelled!! I was planning on being there. Oh well, maybe next time! Besides, there is absolutely no way I'm ever putting the LS1 on a wet track. It would be bad enough with the old L28 - a disaster with the LS1. Well, I'll be at the Cowtown Z Club meeting this Thursday night. I don't even like street driving in the rain but I'll do it to get it to the club meeting if it is raining Thursday like forecast.

Your differential will either be a 3.36 or a 3.54, dpending onif you had an automatic or a standard, respectively, in the 260 originally. Need to check it out,though, as it could be an R180 rather than the R200 and will be borderline for carrying the torque of the V-8. The 3.54 will have you turning about 2,900 RPM in 3rd at 60 MPH if you have stock diameter tires.

Not for a while guys. I need to have a better feel for the car and I want to get it back though John's shop to redo the headers, fix the T56, and make sure the back end of the car is holding together before I nail it at the strip.

I had the swap done at John's Cars, 800 Jaguar Lane, Dallas, TX (214) 426-4101. His real specialty is V-8 swaps into Jaguars but he did a really sweet job on mine. I'm using the 3.70:1 R200 LSD out of a 87-89 Turbo 300ZX. The rear end doesn't break the axles - the engine torque breaks the half-shafts and u-joints, if you heavily abuse it. We'll see how mine is doing in another 4-6 weeks when it goes in for its check-up / upgrades.

So I'm tooling down this frontage road and, just as I start to turn off, this black Mustang GT rumbles by sounding real good and emblazoned in BIG RED letters across his rear window are the words "Imports Suck!". Did I have the LS1 280Z? Of course not - I'm out with my wife in the NA '83ZX getting gas and ice in preparation for the trip out to Motorpsort Ranch tomorrow. Then, coming back to the house, I get passed by this old chevy pickup. I couldn't even keep up with him. It took less than a week for me to be spoiled. TOMORROW - the LS1 will be out and about again.

Had a great time at the local Sonic. they had a car show with over 100 street rods, muscle cars, etc. and even an Elvis impersonator for entertainment. Had a guy ask me if I'd take $30k for my car. Told him YES! He didn't have it though. Man, the LS1, er LS6, Z I could build for $30k. Don't get me going.

Hey man - I love animals! They taste great!

Holy Cow! That's more than my whole LS1 conversion, parts and labor!

Went through my first tank of gas and averaged 16.5 mpg. Considering the "rides" I have been giving and that I really can't use 6th right now I'm not too upset. I figure once 6th becomes an option and I behave myself a bit I can probalby boost that up to around 20 for the routine commute to and from work. Time will tell.

Weather has been crappy the past couple days so no way to play. Got a couple Fbody guys pretty excited but couldn't oblige them due to other priorities of the moment - like turning in to get my inspection sticker! Still haven't seen the Cobra guy but I'm looking. Even the strip between the nursing home my mother is in and my house came up empty for toys last night. I'm actually having to behave myself because opportunity to misbehave isn't knocking.

Know what you mean. Texas weather is a lot milder than Ohio but we still have our bad days in the winter. that's why I'm keeping the stock '83zx. It's going to be my bad weather car. For really crappy weather I'll use the wifes 4x4 Grand Cherokee. Rained again today and still drove the hot rod. Got on it a bit harder today with good results. Still being VERY careful, though.

I ws asked that question when I called Top End this AM. My car has never been wrecked, not even dented. I'm wondering if maybe it is a metal fatigue sag that occurs over twenty years? I'll find out when I jack it and loosen the bolts and see if they line up then. If they do I'll proceed with the install and then probably have to take the car in for a four wheel alignment to ensure things haven't moved too much.

Guy, You better get going. It's June already and it will probably be starting to snow up there in a few more weeks.

Maichor, Sure - come on by. I have a "quick" 7-10 minute loop I can take you on. Sent you my phone number offline. Chip, Thanks for compliment. Can't reveal header mfg. until I talk with John. They are custom made to his specifications and they are not perfect yet. They will go back to OEM at my next shop visit and get tweaked a bit and then ceramic coated.

I ordered strut tower braces from Top End Performance. They arrived yesterday. There will be some minor fit issues because my strut towers appear to be about 1/4" closer together front and rear than the bolt holes in the braces allow. I'm going to try jacking the car and see if they "spread" a bit. Here's the interesting news. It's like the front one was made for the LS1!!! The cross member passes just behind the oil fill tube cap so it can be removed with no problem. The gussett between the cross member and the firewall brace on the passenger side covers the oil dipstick - EXCEPT - it has a 1" diameter hole in it that will allow me to bend the tube over about 3/8" and have the dipstick come up through the hole. Unbelievable! BTW - the braces themselves appear to be very well constructed and come with all the necessary mounting hardware and are powder coated in black.

it worked like a champ! Gotcha! No fender-benders for this guy. Second gear starts, shifts at 2,000 RPM, and never more than about an inch of throttle. I have a whole new respect for guys who drive high performance vehicles every day and the inclement weather skills required.

Hey - I want some of those kill stickers too!!! Maybe we could get some of the magnetic type? Mustangs, Z28's, T/A's, Supras, Hondas, etc. I'm not sure I have enough space on the front fender for them though.

Thanks for the compliments guys. The finsih detail you see is why I went to Johns Cars to get it done. That is the kind of detail work I saw on his Jaguar conversions. You're right about it looking like it belongs there. A person who doesn't know that it's supposed to be an L28 under the hood would just think I had it cleaned up nice. The radiator is the original Datsun radiator but recored to 4-rows. The fans and shroud are out of the same Z28 the engine came from so the fans plug into the OEM wiring harness and control from the ECM just like the Z28. Engine temp locks in at 180°F and stays there. Engine is bone stock except for edited ECM, the air intake you see and headers. Trust me, it is as much as the car and driver can handle. Spot - I think you meant Sunday at Motorsport Ranch right? If so, yes, I'll be there.

Go to my album on this site for photos of some in-progress and finished installation.

Dave, Saw your car over on the MSA site. Very nice write-up. Maybe you should apply for the Zcar.com car of the month too. You could reign on three sites simultaneously.