Phantom

Make sure you get the VIN number off the car that you got the LS-1 from. You'll need it for LS-1 edit.

If your 3.54 was too low I wonder what my 3.70 will be like? Maybe I'll be starting in 2nd a lot. At least it's a positrack driving 225/50-16's. Anyway, congratulations on getting it around the block. I'll bet you'll really be goin' nuts to get it finished now. Mine is looking like sometime in March which will have my 8-12 week project out at 8 months. Reality does set in after a while.

I second Tomahawk. Why would you want to go out and buy an intermediate V-8 you plan to replace when the car probably has a good L28 in it that you get for the original price of the car? Also, rust = cancer. The cure is obscenely expensive. You're only a few hours from DFW. If you want a rust free shell contact Jerry at (817) 483-0383 at all Z Car specialist and have him keep a look-out for you.

I'll stick with my T-56 with its .5:1 6th gear and the 3.70 rear end - especially since I might maybe someday actually run the car 3 or 4 times down a real 1/4 mile track while the other 99.45% of it's life will be spent as a daily driver. We all know a real man rows the shifter himself!!!

Actually my LS-1 / T-56 swap into a '77 280Z is still an on-going project. Maichor was over this evening and got a good look at it. If you are wanting to do this kind of swap I imagine that mine will be complete and John will have kit parts available this spring. I told him tonight I had to have my car in time for the DFW Hybrid Z meet that is in the early stages of planning for next March or April. At this point progress has been slow, even by John's standards, so it may pick up a bit now that he has significant $ from me and many of the knotty details worked out.

Go to www.geocities.com/z_design_studio/ It is a gearing vs rpm calculator that will allow you to determine what you have for a differential now and what new ratio you would like to have.

Contact Motorsport Auto at www.zcarparts.com and see what they have to offer. Might try Victoria British too.

John Radevich at John's Cars: John@johnscars.com has designed motor mounts for my LS-1 that works with the original 280Z motor mounts and crossmember. There is no new cross-member required.

Cody - you have got to get that car back on the road. I've been waiting 6 months to see it. Let me know if you're a bit short and I'll drive you to the auto store and make up the difference. It's absolutely a sin to keep that beauty parked. Seriously - let me know if I can help.

Yup, bought an SR-5 liftback new back in '80. Drove it 92,000 miles before I sold it in '86 to buy my first Z (77). Terriffic little car. Paint and body survived 3 New York winters with no signs of rust. Only thing that ever broke on it was the starter -the day before I sold it.

The reason the T-56 has overdrive 5th & 6th gears is GM's need to improve the highway fuel economy numbers on the F body cars & the Corvette. The .5:1 6th gear puts the engine at the very bottom end of its comfortable operating range (about 1550-1600 RPM at 60 MPH) and allows a shift to the .75:1 5th for passing. The difference in fuel economy running at a constant 70 mph on a level road at 1700 RPM or 2500 rpm is probably about 1 mpg. The aerodynamic drag which is the primary contributor and the mechanical losses in the driveshaft, transmission and differential which are the next most serious HP losses are all essentially equivalent through the speed range. The only difference is the internal friction losses in the motor. The biggest impact the lower rpm has is reduced wear on the pistons and cylinder walls but then there is actually more stress on the connecting rods and crank which can translate to shorter bearing life. Well, I'm confused - how about y'all?

Good thing it was only an eighth mile track. It would have been all one way in a quarter mile.

From the pic's the conversion is done with a Fluidyne radiator. Anyone with experience with that mfg?

Maichor, Sure - no problem. The car is at John's Cars, 800 Jaguar Lane in Dallas = across from Fair Park. I usually am down there every couple weeks on a Tuesday or a Thursday around 5:30 - 6:00 PM. Give me a call or fire me an email after Turkey day and we'll set something up. I'm hoping that the real engine and tranny - rather than the test fit ones will be in place by then. That would be much better to look at. Nothing like the real thing.

LS-1 swap easier than the classic 350 swap? Probably too good to be true. I think this one is one of the more challenging because of the size of the T-56, locating the accessories on the front of the motor, keeping the AC, the fuel injection requirements, trying to adapt gauges - especially a mechanical input speedo/odo to an electronic output on the engine. The ease of the swap is highly dependent on which car you use and where you place the motor. 75-78 280Z cars willing to use the same mounting location and brackets as mine will find the swap easier than it has been to date. It doesn't allow for adding power steering so that puts more work on the guys that want PS. In my case it is starting to come together very nicely. I hope in 2-3 months I'll be able to post some pic's somewhere so everyone can get an idea of what this conversion looks like. The key to the whole thing is the location of the engine.

Bump - see revised 2nd post.

NA 350Z in 2002, convertible 350Z in 2003, guess what they'll have in 2004? V-8?, turbos?

Some pics have been taken but are still in the camera and probably will be until the swap is complete. I bought a 27 frame disposable for the project and I figure that will pretty well document the general work. I haven't developed my website (homepage) either. At this point all I can really say is that he has this installation really well thought thru and a few parts and sketches from him will make it a lot easier for anyone considering this swap. The only fabricated, not off-the-shelf, parts that have been used so far are the motor & tranny mounts and the AC compressor mounting brackets. Everything else is a purchased part. The key to this all working is a willingness to mount the engine with the back edge of the heads about 4" forward of the firewall. That basically is what allows everything else to work. If it is mounted back very close to the firewall then none of the options work out. I've looked at the positioning of the motor and am extremely pleased with it. The PMOI should be no greater - probably less - than the the L28 that came out and everything is fitting very nicely. I will know for sure once the conversion is complete and I can get it on some scales. I know how much the car weighed before so I can compare. I'll also axle it for distribution. I'll also have a bill of materials that will identify the direct purchase items that wouldn't be included in John's kit anyway.

Got visitation rights with Zack for the first time in two months last night and things are definitely looking up. I think y'all will be a bit surprised. The test motor is mounted and the prototype motor mounts are complete. The header search ends this week with a special set coming in from a vendor that will fit both sides beautifully. Once the fit is confirmed the real engine and tranny go in. Here's the real news at this point. 1) The motor is mounted with a system that bolts into my chassis and original motor mounts - no welding to the chassis and the original motor mounts did not have to be cut out. 2) The steering arm did not have to be moved to mount the motor and the headers will clear it. 3) Both the alternator and the AC compressor are mounted on the driver's side and clear everything - motor, motor mounts, fender well, hood, etc. It took a special AC compressor and alternator but the fit is beautiful. An extra sweet part of the deal is that it uses the stock Camaro drive belt to run it all and the compressor is a super high efficiency unit that uses just a fraction of the HP the original Camaro unit uses. It also enables all the AC plumbing to run a shorter route down the drivers side rather than having to be routed down both the passenger and drivers side. 4) The shift lever for the T-56 comes up into the car about 1/4-3/8" aft of the original Datsun shifter. The sweet deal with the T-56 is that it's in without having to beat on the transmission tunnel at all - not one lick - and there is sufficient room for the exhaust. The rear tranny mounts are genius and required no welding to or drilling of the body for bolts. 5) As it currently sits the oil filter is about 5 3/8" above ground. I expect the car to settle no more than another 1/2" so it'll end up right at 5" clear. 6) The gauge problems have been addressed - all the stock Datsun gauges will be retained. Only major thing left to be addressed now is the fuel delivery system and, after discussing that briefly last night, that doesn't look like it will present any significant problems. I've seen several posts on this and other web sites about the John's Cars conversion kit and how the JTR kit/manual is superior and I need to throw my .02 in. I am amazed at how good he is in converting cars. He has addressed every issue in this conversion and pulled it off without having to butcher or beat the car up and also used off-the-shelf components the whole way. The quality of the workmanship is outstanding. The engine and tranny mounts are solid and well engineered. Lone Star 1 has dropped by and looked at this conversion a couple times too so I'm sure he can also add his .02. If anyone else is considering the LS-1 conversion I'd strongly suggest talking with John about using some or all of the parts he has designed or identified for this conversion.

I envy your wifes interest in the Z. I have a wonderful bride of 30 years but to her my car is "pretty but noisy, rough riding, smells, and has no power steering or automatic". Getting her to ride in it is like a special event around the house - kind of like her getting me to go shopping.

Mike Kelly - For what it's worth, that is exactly what I do if someone starts talking to me in street talk. I fire an answer back to him in tongues and see how well he interprets that. I've read a few mental short circuits in the eyes a few times when I've done that. Amazing how quickly someone will revert to a common language (English) when that happens.

Mike: The Alamo Autosports folks in Arlington sell strut tower braces. Lots of folks make their own. Do some searches and you'll find others on the web, besides MSA, that sell them. I was just looking at the MSA catalog Thursday night and, if the one they sell for $90 will fit on a V-8 conversion, it looks like a pretty nice unit for a reasonable price. Obviously no problem with the rear tower brace unless you've built a cage that goes through that area.

I think Cody needs a new handle - similar to mine. I think he's only made one Cowtown Z Club meeting and hasn't brought his car yet. I think he just took a picture like Sumo's and has us all faked out. Mike - If you go it will ruin you forever. It's abeautiful place - but really expensive.

So how many times have you told Tyler that "This will be your car someday" to keep him interested in handing you wrenches? Keep up the good work. Should have it done and looking great by his 16th birthday!!

Sumo, Mac nuts were really good - especially the sugar frosted ones. Nope - didn't even bring any back for myself - just a T-shirt for each of my kids and a shell necklace for my wife. Lot's of good pictures (I hope) and memories. Scott, Somehow I can deal with that. Cody, See you tonight