Phantom

Contact Jerry at "All Z Car specialists" in Fort Worth, Texas. (817) 483-0383. I got one from him about a month ago for $400. He told me that they are rare - may be simpler in the long run to get an R230 out of a Z32 and do the CV joint upgrade while you're at it.

Jeromio, Another thought on vacuum. The 280ZX turbos had an electrically run vacuum pump to provide vacuum since a boosted car has a pressurized intake manifold. If all else fails you could pick one of those up at a wrecking yard and give it a try. It's one more thing to add to the car but it's not very big or heavy.

Cool! I'll look forward to the call and I'd really like to see the power steering set-up - maybe take a few pictures? I'm trying to gather a lot of info on how folks are doing this. Mine is moving to the body shop later this week. Going to get the engine bay all spruced up along with a fixing a couple cosmetic problems in the front end.

Actually, in Texas it's 25 model years. As of Jan 1 this year any car of '77 vintage or older qualified. '78 models don't qualify until Jan.1, 2003. Back to passing emissions - The testing is for HC (hydrocarbons) and CO (carbon monoxide). If you tune the car properly it will pass both of those without the equipment you've mentioned. Unfortunately, the inspectors are supposed to look and ensure that all the factory installed emissions equipment is there. If not - you fail. I guess it causes a lot less heartburn to figure out how to make the cars run well with emissions equipment in place rather than removing it and trying to figure out how to get around the inspections.

If you go with the Chevy LS-1 aluminum block engine it not only will sit further back and lower than the L28 but it is also slightly lighter. It will push you very close to a 50/50 weight distribution. I am working this project on a '77 280Z now but don't expect it to be done until late fall. I have access to an axle scale at work so I'll axle the car once it's completed. An interesting side bar is that my work is requiring routine trips from DFW to Henderson where we are building a manufacturing plant. I generally stay at the Courtyard Marriot on Green Valley. If you want to get together one evening and compare notes I'll be glad to set the time aside. My next trip that way is currently planned for sometime the week of August 12th.

Call one of the local emissions inspection stations. They'll be glad to tell you what the local laws are.

I'm always amazed at how many people work in customer realtions that have no ability to properly relate to customers. Obviously I will never buy from this outfit. Too bad you're way off in Georgia. I've got a Z salvage yard, All Z Car Specialists, less than three miles from the house. Any part I need and the prices are always right.

Jeromio, Oops - dense I am!! For what it's worth - the bottle will increase volume but will not amplify the vacuum. What you've got - you've got. It is exactly what it's called - a reservoir - so that there is enough vacuum to actuate the system. If the system has items that are hanging up the bottle won't make a difference. Letting the engine drop to idle where the vacuum is srongest will. Beyond that you are SOL. Haven't figured out the accessories yet but am currently planning on keeping the stock towers. I don't want to maodify any more than is necessary to do it right. May have some more on this by this time next week.

Thanks Jeronimo. I'll keep those points in mind when mounting the motor.

Thanks Jeronimo. The diagram really helps. Solenoid "D" controls the pot vacuum servo that adjusts the engine idle speed on the L28 when the Ac is turned on so it defiitel can done without. Solenoid S2, however, is used to turn the vacuum off whenever theAC system is off. It would be activated by the blower fan position switch. An item of note is the S1. It is a little plastic check valve so vacuum can only go one way. Not sure if it really does any good but it sure can wreak havoc when it fails or is installed backwards and it shuts down the vacuum supply. The vacuum bottle just acts as an accumulator so it doesn't affect the engine when a vacuum item is actuated. It probably can be done without on the LS-1 - unless the LS-1 has a vacuum advance as part of it's timing? If it does, I'd keep the bottle in mind.

Jeronimo, Since my FSM is with the car I didn't get a chance to read up on the solenoids. Do they control the position of the doors on the A/C system? Do they control anything else? How did you get around not using them? Also, what about the fusible links? Can they just be done away with or do I need to relocate them to a better position? If so, where did you move yours?

Jeronimo, I was looking at your engine mount system. Where does the exhaust route? Is it inside the bracing or between the brace and the fender well?

Hey Dan! I notice a Texas tag hanging on the wall in the background of the picture. A little Lone Star history there??

Well - I'm definitely committed now. The engine, transmission, driveshaft, radiator, oil cooler, associated hoses, exhaust, etc. are all out of the car. As it came out a lot of it basically fell apart. The entire exhaust was hanging by one nut at the header and a half-cracked through hanger at the rear. The engine mount washers broke in half as they came off. Other stuff was also about ready to go. I guess 25 years and 200,000 miles is as long as you'll want to go on an original system without tearing it down and rebuilding it. The good news is that the engine bay is solid - no rust, broken welds, etc. The new engine and tranny get trial fitted over the next couple days and then it's off to the body shop the end of next week for detailing of the engine bay and repair of a few other small items. QUESTION: I know the AFM and Carbon Cannister mounts can be removed to clean the engine bay up. Are ther any other little "tabs" that can safely go too? What about the mount for the fusible links and the solenoids involved in the vacuum system? This is a '77 280Z

Dominic, If you can come up with some high quality samples you should be able to sell your stuff through someone like MotorSport Auto in Orange, CA. That would significantly increase your potential sales volumes. The tentative pricing you've indicated looks like it will be competitive with OEM parts but in carbon fiber. That should be good enough to get the sales. I know I'd rather have the parts in carbon fiber because it solves the problems that the OEM parts currently have - weight, strength & durability. Keep us posted.

Cyrus, Do a search using LS1, LS-1, T56 & T-56 under this board and the other related boards. (see "search" in upper right quadrant of this page) You should find a significant amount of information plus several people who have done at least part, if not all, of this swap. I'm just starting the same swap myself so have a lot of questions and no real answers at this point.

CV's are Constant Velocity joints and are used in place of universals (U-joints) on the newer Z cars. I didn't think that they were used on US cars until the '90 and newer 300ZX's which use an R230 differential. Either Gary has a modified 280ZX or the cars sent to Australia were configured differently than the US models

The 280ZX turbos were all non-lsd and a 3.54:1 differential. The 87-89 300ZX Turbos had 3.70:1 LSD R200's. The newer 300ZX's had R230 LSD's. Check my post that's currently on the forum about the LSD being installed for additional information.

Balford: Talk to Lone Star 1. He has a low ratio R200 LSD in his car. I think around 3.23:1. He may be able to give you a lead.

I had 14" Shelby slotted mags with a 3.5" offset on my '77 when I mounted the Toyota calipers. The brakes cleared the wheels by .060", 1/16th of an inch. I had visions of that number becoming 0 under hard cornering so now I'm running 16" wheels & tires. I've talked to other people who had other types of 14" wheels and they didn't clear.

I attempted to e-mail you directly about your WS-6 LS-1 conversion. Not sure it made it through. Let me know one way or another. Phantom

What is still needed to get it to a point where it can be inspected and liscensed? What are you asking for it? Pictures?

Johnathan, You need to find someone local that will be willing to take you under their wing and give you good guidance and active help when you get to the tough parts. If you want to hire someone to do the work figure that labor will equal or exceed the equipment costs. That means, at best, you only have enough for $2,500 in parts. If you do all the labor yourself then the full amount is available for parts. Lets talk parts. The engine and transmission are just part of the equipment costs. You will have a new fuel pump and fuel lines. Does your car have AC? that would be a cost. If you go with a manual transmission you'll probably have to change out the master cyclinder for the clutch. You'll have to have a custom exhaust fabricated. You'll need a custom drive shaft and maybe a new differential. Etc, Etc, Etc. Take your time - do research - figure out exactly what you want to do and what will be required to accomplish that. Then keep going and get equipment costs, new - used - etc. It will take a while but you will eventually get there. Determine the cost before you walk the plank.

87-89 turbo 300ZX's had limited slip R200 differentials (posi-tracks) with a ratio of 3.7:1. Be careful of the '88 versions though. There was a special edition that year that used an oddball unit that doesn't have a good reputation. The nice thing about the R200's is they are very interchangeable with the older Z's. They are good for 500+HP. The later model differentials are R230's. They are capable of more HP but require significantly more work to install.

I had my totally stock '77 280Z on the scales here a few years ago. With half a tank of gas and no driver it weighed 2795 lbs. I'm going to do it again once the LS-1 with the T-56 is installed. That will be a while, though. Just got it started tonight.