Phantom

ZFAN: I sure did! I got to him just before the national convention in San Antonio. He was going to take it down there to sell. I've known Jerry for about 18 years now and live about two miles from his house and from his shop. I concur - he's the greatest. Going through the major boo-hoos this evening. Dropped my car off to start the engine swap and I'm already in withdrawals. Plan as of now is to have the old drivetrain out and the mounts for the new one set by the 20th of this month so I can get it painted. That means the really fun stuff will start in August.

Mine is out of a 87-89 300ZX turbo. It is used and cost me $400. I understand the used units are hard to come by. I have developed a real confidence in used Nissan parts over the past 10 years. I haven't been burned yet.

Tomahowk Z: I'm not positive but I believe all the turbo ZX's had LSD's. I'm not certain of the ratio either but most likely in the 3.54 range. Someone here or on zcar.com should know for sure. Mike C: If your source doesn't come through for you call Jerry at All Z Car Specialist. (817) 483-0383 He seems to always be able to come up with a good used whateever I need.

Brought Zack home for his last wekend in the garage for a while. The 3.7 LSD is installed and working realy well. Jerry over at All Z CAr Specialist in Fort Worth did an excellent job. He used David Linfoots modified parts to allow me to keep the finned cover - it looks really cool -and also put in some new bushings and a new front mount. No more "clunk" in the back. Not quite as quick now as with the 3.9 but that will change a lot when the LS-1 goes in. Monday evening the big transition starts. Wife is already going through "transportation withdrawal" as I've been using her car to get to work. I've started taking photos and twisted the arm of one of my younger sons friends who is a true computer geek - and proud of it - to build me a web site I can put them on. More on this later. Again - thanks for all the information y'all have been so free with. I hope I can return the favor as this project progresses.

Lone: Nope - Phantom handle came from the way I used to appear and disappear at the Z Club of Texas. I'm originally from Idaho so my Navy handle was a definitely uncool "Spudman". Lone Star 1: Thanks for all the good info. I've already printed it out. That should definitely save some trial & error. Understand the busy part. My whle life was on hold until we got through my oldest sons wedding on June 8th. I finally have a daughter - and she's a good one!!!

Thanks for the tranny info. Lone - not to worry - I'm a retired Naval Aviator. There is a saying: There are old pilots and there are bold pilots - but there are no old, bold pilots. Reality check - the tires are rated for 150, the ground effects are probably not attached securely enough to the car to go above 150, and a stock LS-1 isn't going to to develop enough HP to get much over 165 anyway. I think I'll major on the 1500 RPM at 60 and be very happy with that. Thanks again guys.

I haven't started into the heater hoses yet. Might just use a right angle hose that will get clear of the engine and then come forward. Will figure out the final when doing the trial fit on the engine. I agree that an inch among friends is not going to be critical on engine placement. The key issue I'm looking at now is ensuring the shifter comes up the existing hole in the console as far back as practicable. Let me start over on the T-56. It is out of a '94. I assumed it had the .62:1 6th. Was it between '93 & '94 that they changed the ratios? Back to fitting to the LS-1. The '94 unit is not a cast-in-granite must use at this point. What years/models should I be looking at for full LS-1 compatability? Thanks for the responses. This is really helping!!

The 280 is currently in the shop getting the new 3.7:1 differential and a thorough rear suspension go over. I was introduced to the LS-1 donor car on Tuesday. The '98 Camero evidently went spinning out of control and managed to severely ding all sides/corners of the car. We started the engine and it purred like a kitten - and it has a real 3,427 miles on it. The T-56 is out of a '99, gently used, donor car and will have the .50:1 6th gear. Questions: Gauges - What do y'all recommend for the speedometer and Tachometer? Obviously the speedo & odometer need to be converted to electronic vs. mechanical and the tach needs to be for a V-8. I figured I'd convert the other gauges over to white face if that is what is available for the speedo & tach. What has been used out there so far? A/C fittings - How did you handle the A/C lines that come out through the firewall on the drivers side of the L28? They rather interfere with a good back location for the LS-1. Timing - No need to hate my 8-12 week schedule. It went up in smoke. Looks more like 16-20 weeks now. More later.

Your rear end math is backwards!! If you go from a 3.54 to a 3.90:1 rear end, the 3,000 rpm will go to 3,305. That is not the way you want to go unless you're really in to burning the rear tires off the car once you get the engine re-awakened. Concentrate on getting the engine where you want it and then research the differential. Mine is getting a 3.7:1 (removing a 3.90:1)tomorrow in preparation for the V-8. It will have a T-56 behind it, though, so at 60 mph it will be turning only 1501 RPM. That's the advantage of an overdrive (.50:1) transmission vs. one that has a 1:1 final drive ratio.

James: My first new car was a '70 'Cuda (Plymouth Barracuda) with a 340 in it. It was one hauling machine. Top end was around 140 mph - drag & gearing limited. HP was a very real 300. I embarrassed many a 390 Mustang and 383 equipped muscle car with it. First set of tires lasted 16,000 miles and the second set lasted 19,000. It is a first cousin to the 318 - both of which are among the finest motors Mopar ever developed. I'd run a 340 against a 350 any time. Phantom

If you decide to go with the T-56 - that .5:1 6th gear is really nice - you'll probably want a 3.7:1 LSD R200. You can get them out of '88-'89 300ZX's. Wrecking yard is good source. Check the links & yellow pages. You can probably find a yard that specializes in Z's somewhere in your area. T-56 is a relatively expensive transmission but it basically is bullet proof and, after all, it is a SIX speed. I just love the idea. My '77 started out with a 4-spd. - then went to an '83 5spd. with 3.90:1 R200, now going to LS-1 with T-56 & 3.7:1 LSD R200 - 10 year project so far.

Well - it's starting. I've got two pages of general notes put together plus the cross-member and risers arrived today from David Linfoot for the 3.7:1 LSD R200 installation in my '77 280Z next week. I've also touched base with the body shop for the engine compartment paint-out. They're going to strip & paint the engine bay, repaint the MSA Aero II front spoiler (it's all rock chipped), and take out a small dent in the hood for about $350. Next week I go to the conversion shop and set the timing for the engine/tranny swap. That phase should actually begin either the week of 7/1 or 7/8. This site has been a wealth of information and I thank y'all for that. I'll document the change-out as best I can and post a weekly progress report with as many details as possible. I don't have a web site so I currently am not able to post photos. Maybe later?

Log onto www.zcluboftexas.org. They are a 500+ member strong z-club and will have considerable resources to point you in the right direction. Several of their members drive Hybridz's.

Go to www.zcar.com. They either have it on the links page or someone on the sight can point you to the company that will sell you a shop manual for your 77. They aren't cheap but they have all the wiring diagrams in them at a size that can be read. You can also call your local Nissan dealer and ask them for the US company that provides the older shop manuals that are no longer in print. If they don't know they can give you a number for a regional or national Nissan office that will know.

For what it is worth - the LS-1 aluminum block 350 is actually lighter than the stock L28 I-6. With it setting mostly behind the front axle it should give the car very neutral handling and definitely not overload the stock suspension. I'm personally going with the LS-1 and fully expect the resultant hadling to be at least equal to the original. Phanotm

I've run the gearing charts for a T-56, 3.7:1 LSD & 225/50-16 tires. It works out to 220 MPH at 5,500 RPM in 6th (.5:1). Fourth gear (1:1) would be 110 MPH with that set up. If you can locate some 3.23:1 gears you could get it to 126 in fourth at 5,500 and 168 in 5th (.75:1. My stock L28 Z with 135 rear wheel HP will do 125. 300 HP should push that up to the 150-170 range, depending on gearing.

240/260/280 - It really doesn't matter if you're going to do a V-8 swap. You'll be changing everything on the car anyway. It all really depends on your end goal for the car. I have a '77 280Z and I personnally prefer it over the earlier models because of the extra strength that comes with the additional steel. Mine is being built as a daily driver rather than a 1/4 mile machine so reliability and comfort are strong considerations that I'm willing to sacrifice the .3-.4 seconds in the quarter for. For what it's worth -the EPA standards for the '77 model are 750 ppm HC and 7.5%CO (the '78 is 650 & 6.5%). Neither were required to have a catalytic converter except in California. You should be able to tune any well-built motor to meet those requirements. My stock L28 with 200,000 miles on it got 70 ppm HC and .02%CO on it's last ever emmissions test.

As an added sidelight to the turbo idea - be sure to use an LT-1 and not an LS-1 if you are planning to boost the engine. Ford found out the hard way that the aluminum block tends to deform under high boost and went back to the iron block for the new HO Cobra. You also would really want an engine with a compression ratio down around 8 - 8.5:1 if you are going to boost. Compression ratios higher than that limit the boost pressures, and resultant HP, that you can achieve without detonation (also known as dieseling. Phantom

I'm going to be dropping an LS-1 with about 3,600 miles on it out of a '98 Camero into my '77. Obviously I have no need for the power steering pump. Anything special about deleting it and modifying the belt routing? Any problems with any of the other accessories?(alternator & A/C compressor) I'll be able to get anything I need from this car so, besides the engine, FI system & its harness, what else should I be sure to pick up? This is an automatic car so I'll be getting the T-56 separately. Do the 4L60E and T-56 have the same driveshaft? I'd like to use the one out of this car if possible. Phantom

I'm starting an LS-1/T-56 conversion on my '77 280Z the last week in June. The engine is out of a '98 Camero and has 3,600 miles on it. I expect it will take 8-12 weeks. The first thing will be installing the 3.7:1 LSD and confirming that the half-shaft universals are in excellent condition. Then it will be motor & transmission pull time. After new motor & transmission mounts are installed and the engine bay is cleaned up it goes to the body shop for engine bay paint out and some minor body work. Once the engine bay is all pretty it gets the engine, tranny, wiring harness, air conditoning, etc. I'm working with John's Cars in Dallas on this. We have a general agreement at this point - I work with him on the transplant and he develops a manual for the LS-1 conversion. I know the reservations many board members have on his current LT-1 manual and the "forward positioning" of his engine mounts for the LT-1 conversion. As he succinctly put it, however: "This conversion will have as much in common with an LT-1 as a Ford V8". I'll periodically post on the board to document the progress on the conversion. If you can be patient, there may be a manual available this fall on the conversion. Just think - all aluminum V-8 with gobs of torque and HP and tame as a pussycat. I've been toying with this for four years and now it's going to happen. Phantom

Thermostat temperatures are relative and are usually determined by engine design. You will note that the newer engines run temperatures up around 210°F. A higher thermostat temperature will actually improve cooling in an engine. That statement should freak a few people out. Heat rejection is based on several things but the differential temperature between heat exchange mediums (coolant in radiator and air) is one of the primary ones. The higher the differential the more heat can be rejected into a given amount of air. A good example of this is when someone has a 160°F thermostat installed and the engine "overheats" in hot weather by rising about 20° above the normal thermostat set point. The engine/radiator have found their heat rejection equilibrium point which happens to be higher than what the thermostat was designed to control at. Engines also run more powerfully and cleaner at higher temperatures. Ideally they wouldn't be cooled at all but the current technology materials can't take those temperatures. Using a lower temperature thermostat is usually done to bandaid some other problem on a car - timing is off, etc. Recommendation - run the highest tmeprature thermostat recommended by the OEM for that radiator/engine combination.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I feel much better now about the rear end in this car. I'm currently running a 3.90:1 non LSD out of an '83ZX which is too low for the V8 and doesn't have the much needed LSD function. I replaced my suspension about 4 years ago with the Nissan European spec springs (1/4" shorter but 15-17% stiffer than the US OEM versions) and KYB struts all around. Guess my original springs were really "sprungs" because the car height raised about 1" with the "shorter" springs. I also put in new bump stops and a new differential mount (rubber not solid). I think that part of the car is pretty solid at this point. Luckily for me I've got one of the premier Z salvage yards, All Z Car Specialists, about 3 miles from my house. The owner, Jerry, and I have known each other over 15 years so parts are relatively easy to come by. I'll check with him about the 280ZX turbo LSD/CV joints and see what he can do for me. Thanks again to all for the feedback. Phantom

I'm initiating the preparations for an LS-1 installation in my '77 280Z. I'm going to start from the rear and work my way forward. I'm currently planning on installing an '88 or '89 3.7:1 LSD R-200 to mate up to a T-56. I'm confident it will handle the stock LS-1 HP. My concern, however, is the half-shaft universals. Recommendations? I've heard a lot about Spicer? Sources for recommended universals? Rough cost? Any help will be greatly appreciated! Phantom

Dominic: You might try www.junkyarddog.com. YOu won't get 400 HP but you can find 300+ HP LT-1's & LS-1's that are fuel injected and you can get them, the T-56, and the entire wiring harness for the $5,000 ou want to spend. You just have to be carefull. Phantom

Silicone Boy: R U carb. or FI?