Phantom

Somehow I managed to survive my two weeks of purgatory in Maui and return to my little spot of pardise in Texas. Interesting observations: 1) Only saw 10 Z cars, 1-Z32 and 9-Z31's. No 240,260, 280, 280ZX, or 350Z's. 2) Saw twice that many new Mini-Coopers 3) Saw A Bricklin - remember them? It was actually driving down the road - very obviously had the original red paint job. 4) The mountain 10 miles from where I was staying is the second wettest spot in the world - 450" of rain/year but it didn't rain on where I was staying once in two weeks. Amazing the climate changes & number of climate zones (10) on an island with the combined area of Vermont, New Hampshire & Connecticut. 5) Variety of marine life was phenomenal. I got face-to-face with some sea turtles while snuba'ing at 25'. Also saw an octopus, a spotted brown sting ray (rare) and got too close to several moray eels. Dang they're mean looking! Obviously saw a plethura of various tropical fish. 6) Rode a bicycle down the steepest paved road in the world. It dropped 10,000 feet in 38 miles. We covered it in less than two hours hitting speeds as high as 37 mph and only had to peddle a total of about 200 yards. My Z car experience paid off here. Checked the brakes on the bike before starting off and had them give me another one when I discovered the front brake didn't work on the first bike. 7) Obviously got lots of good sun - too much one day - didn't need a flashlight my last 3 days there - just lifted my shirt and illuminated my path with the red glow. Amazingly - didn't call home once, didn't get any calls from work, didn't check anything on the internet once, and don't yet even know what's going on with my Z project. What's even more amazing is that we were there long enough that my wife actually was ready to come home. Total victory.

Guys!!! It's a lot easier!! Take a drill and drill a hole into the center of the shock. That will allow the oil to drain out and you can collapse it back to the rear body panel. Saves having to remove them, drop the fuel tank, etc. Takes 20-30 minutes. I did this on my '77 to install the MSA Aero II kit - see link

Jettblackx - I just sent you an email. I live in Arlington and am having John's Cars do an LS-1/T-56 conversion in my '77 280Z

Pete - I didn't realize you went around "feeling yourself". I'm not sure I can 'handle' that kind of insight.

Mike - about the 'other' issue you mentioned in your original post. Just one word of advice - ICE - and as much of it as you can handle. You'll regret it if you start thinking macho 'cause you're not hurting. I did and ended up with a pair of large overripe avocados hanging down there. Not a pleasant site or feeling. Bib, black and hurt like ......!

I have 3.7:1 LSD from 87-89 300ZX turbo with std. u-joints.

Better hurry Spot - I'd sure like to see them before I hit the friendly skies to Maui next Thursday. Don't you love folks that take what you have and then act like they are doing you a favor when they finally pay what they agreed to in the beginning? I guess it takes all kinds. Grab 'em by their heels and shake the change out - Gots to pay for those Z parts & keep th eproject rolling!!!

Hmmm - maybe we need an acronym definitions page?

Bryan, It went fine. Clear skies and high 80's. Had about 50 cars in the show. Mine was the only Z and I was up against C-5 'Vettes. Didn't have a prayer. Spotfitz was there and took lots of pictures and PROMISED to post them - you reading this Spot? Lots of people learned the definition of a "redneck" before the day was over. 4-5 hours in the sun will definitely light up the skin. Best of show was a '58 Chevy Impala with 465 ci and standard something on the floor. Nice mix of classics, rods & sportscars - if you consider a 'Vette a sports car. Also ran from totally stock to wildly modified. One class winner was a Willy's pick-up with blown 454.

I assume that you're talking about the big black ones on the roof?

It's a G-nose conversion. What looks like an air dam is actually the front tire.

LS-1 is an all aluminum 350. It is significantly lighter than the iron block LT-1 and basically has nothing in common with it, including overall dimensions. It is also a bit lighter than the original iron block Datsun L28 which is why I chose it for my conversion. The LS-6 is the modified version of the LS-1 used in the Z06 Corvette. It has different heads, etc. and obviously makes more HP. It and the LS-1 share the same block and many internals. I would not by a plain block LS-1 and then try to build the engine. Parts are much more expensive than an LT-1 or other SBC and harder to come by. If you want to build an engine from scratch stick with an iron block SBC. If you want the aluminum block LS-1/6 then you need to find a donor car that you can strip the engine, wiring harness, ECM, etc. out of and try to walk away with a few $$ still in your wallet.

Ivan280ZT - interesting - We have a girl who just came over from Croatia to attend our churches Bible school. She also is 20. Now what are the odds that, of 4.8 million people, you would know her. Her first name is Antoana. Know her last?

Totally green with envy. I'm anxiously waiting for the day I get to do the same. Congratulations!

OK - to sum up it appears that the following has been suggested: 1) Open up exhaust to 3" single or 2.5" duals. 2) Seal any open areas around radiator 3) Get a belly pan under the engine bay 4) Get the timing right/fix the points/the new iginition After that, evaluate if you need a new fanor radiator.

Is that a fuel pressure gauge I see in front of the air cleaner in pic #3? Nice to see you are running fully instrumented. It really helps when troubleshooting.

Grumpy, I went through your references. Absolutely amazing stuff in there. Didn't have a week so only had a chance to skim through just a bit of it. Truly awesome.

You have to enjoy scratching your chin and saying "what do I do now!?!" with an LS-1 installation. It can be done. Lone Star 1 is a living, running example of it BUT there will be problems with finding a spot to locate your accessories - unless you give up on AC, exhaust routing challenges - especially on the drivers side, serious decisions about how you're going to do your fuel injection pump, pressure regulator, and tank, how you're going to route your heater hoses, how you're going to "hybridize" your gauges - LS-1 trannies have electrical outputs for speedo & odo - and the list goes on. If you want a relatively straightforward, reasonably priced conversion go with the LT-1.

Maichor, Thanks for the info. Really hoping that this can be done without having to get headers custom fabbed. I've been quoted prices of $1,500 to $2,500 to have that done. That would significantly increase the cost of this installation and would push me hard toward doing something more about relocating the steering arm. I am hopeful about some of the options though.

Contact Maichor. He has already built a cross member very similar to your design but using channel. I concur with Jeromio - you should not use flatbar for this application. It has too much ability to flex. I would recommend channel over square tubing, though, because it won't give you a hidden spot where moisture can accumulate and eventually cause rust through.

Reverse psychology works every time!!!

It has 400 links to performance automotive companies! www.bomis.com/rings/Mauto_parts-performance-recreation

Cyrus, I have not done what I suggested - yet. I noticed with my stock set-up that the hose from the hard line to the slave cylinder was the same hose used for the brake lines at the wheels. That gives you a few options. One would be to buy a set of braided hoses from MSA and use an adapter on one end - or buy a single rubber hose from NIssan and use an adapter. Another would be to go to an actual Hydraulic shop - not an automotive - and have them build a custom hose - probably not braided - for you. The hydraulics folks have all kinds of hose - like those used on backhoes & such - that can take tremendous abuse that would be a good material to use. There are several good shops here in the DFW area but I haven't started trying to source the part yet.

Cyrus, Have a hose made that runs between the two that has the specific fittings on each end. Any hydraulic shop should be able to do that for you.

Lone - JBA is one I am going to try. First blush has their headers at about $900. That is a bit more than I really wanted to spend but may have no alternative. I'm going to follow your suggestion, though, and stick with headers,if possible, rather than the original exhaust manifold because of increased air flow. Thanks to all for suggestions!!