Phantom

Just got in a set of the white face gauge conversion pieces and the 4.0 watt dash lights to replace the lower wattage ones there. This will be my first time tearing into my dash - other than the clock. Any advice on how the gauges come out and do's or don't to avoid issues in the process. I'd rather learn from others than make all the same mistakes - or maybe some new ones. Car is a '77 280Z with a stock dash with no dash cover.

You can find about 88 photos of various parts of the build here: http://www.photobucket.com/280Z28

I was going through some old drawing folders and came across these photos of the torque tube set-up. They could be more detailed but this is what I have at this point.

Here is a view of the back deck area of th4e car. You can see the rear strut tower brace, the Alpine 10" ported subwoofer in a custom enclosure and the Alpine 500 watt amplifier. Looking hard you can see the Alpine head unit. The system has a 1000 microfarad capacitor under the deck behind the drivers seat, a 6 disc CDE changer behind the drivers seat, a pair of 5" round speakers in the stock side panel locations right behind the seats plus there are 6" speakers in each door with 1" tweeters on the A pillars.

Yeah - I'm in Redfing, CA right now so it will be a while before I can post any pic's.

That's neat about the gas tank. It's been waiting for you for 8 years since the motor got pulled for my car. I used the KISS principle on my conversion so I stuck with the stock tank and fuel lines. John used a Y pipe into a single exhaust on the original conversion that dyno'd at 311 HP and 326 ft-lbs torque. A few months later I had it taken out, installed an X pipe and ran duals to the rear but rolled them over to the drivers side into a single muffler in the stock location. I also kept all the stock gauges to keep that aspect simpler.

78LS2Z - Yeah - I stuck the old Texas vanity plate on it for the photo. I have a "collector vehicle" plate here in Washington. It was a one-time fee with no renewals for the life of the car. The other nice thing here is that there are no inspections or emissions tests on the east side of the Cascades. The car is finally up for some attention this winter. It's gone 8 years and nearly 35,000 miles with nothing but oil changes and it's starting to make a few interesting noises. Say "Hi" to Jerry for me if you get back by the salvage yard. So when did you start the LS conversion?

RebekahsZ - Let me know what you're looking for picture wise. I've posted quite a few here on this site but can take them of specific areas of interest. As far as the motor mounts go - it's been 8 years since I worked with John to develop the kit. The only thing I remember was the issue with the driver's side to ensure the mount would allow passage of the steering shaft. Not everything done on my car made it into the kit, however. The best example is that mine has a torque tup setup that locks the transmission to the differentialusing a pair of 4 or 5" channel rather than using the rear transmission mount found in the kit.

Here are two historically significant LS1 powered Z's. The one on the left is owned by Phantom and was the development mule used by John's Cars, www.brokenkittly.com, to develop the first commercially available component kit for the swap into the S30 body. The one on the right is the one that Grenade 300 used to developed his install manual for the JCI components. It is now owned by DarthZ and has already been significantly modified and is slowly getting a wide body kit grafted on. These cars are owned by father & son and now reside in Washington state.

Auxillary - sorry about weighing in so late but i've been busy shooting muskrats and other non-z stuff rather than lurking here on the forum. Having worked with John I know that he is very thorough in his designs. I also no that these cars are over 30 years old and few are the way they came from the factory. When I started reading the trhead the first thought I had is that something is out of alignment. I firsted looked at your crossmember but it didn't appear bent but then the forward frame rails could be off a bit - especially in a 240. The JCi kit is designed to set the driveline slightly toward the passenger side - the same as the original L28 - er - L24 in yours. It's time to tram your suspension points and get them squared up with where they need to be. Once that's done it out to go together well. The 73 240Z that Grenade 300 used to do his manual off had a badly bent front crossmember and he moved stuff around to accommodate it. That crossmember is being replaced by DarthZ now and the driveline is being squared up like it should be. That being said, widen your view area and look at everything that could affect the tranny mount - not just the tunnel and transmission. Hope this helps.

WTB parts for a 1993 300ZX cinvertible. Need parts specifically used for the convertible top plus a few miscellaneous interior parts. Contact me via eamil if you have a convertible your selling for parts. Thank you!

FWIW - My car was completed in 2004. I have driven it as a daily driver for 36,000 miles since then with 0 issues with the ECM mounted on the firewall just below the glovebox.

Not sure how all heaters are set up but the ones I have personal experience with do not circulate the radiator coolant unless heat is called for. That, to me, is the same as having the ports plugged. Also, if the heater ports are looped then part of the water pump output is just looping back without doing any cooling. Don't see how that can be beneficial.

A little family support available here. My 280Z was the car JCI used to develop the original LS1/T56 kit components. My son, DarthZ, has the 240Z that Grenade 300 developed his installation manual from. If you have not yet downloaded the manual you should definitely do that and read through it. As to doing it right the first time I can definitely help you avoid mistakes. As a thought - the stock T56 has an electronic speed output while the Datsun used a mechanical cable. Oops. Two solutions: 1) By a CableX converter that will take the T56 output and then use it's electric motor to drive your speedometer, or 2) get a modified tailshaft for the T56 that has a mechanical speed output. Of interest, my LS1 was rated a 305 HP by GM in the 1998 Camaro Z28 but, with a set of headers, an ECU retun to the 2001/2002 parameters, and a K&N air filter mine is putting 325 to the rear wheels and about 340 ft/lbs of torque. These engines are awesome. I'd stay away from drive-by-wire. The mechanical throttle mechanism on the LS1 is easily adapted to the Z and eliminates one more electrical circuit. Also - if you get your engine from a donor car be sure to get the radiator cooling fans & shroud too. The one out of the '98 Z28 was almost a perfect fit for my 280Z radiator and it allowed me to just plug the fans into the engine harness and let the ECU control the fans just like in the donor car. With a 4-row radiator I have NEVER had an overheating problem.

Bottom line on your question - the answer is no.

My LS1 conversion uses the original 3-row '77 280z radiator recored to a four row and the fans and fan shroud out of a 98 Camaro Z28. The fans & shroud are a perfect mate to the Datsun radiator and plug right into the LS1 harness and are controlled by the LS1 ECU. I have been running this for 8 years now and 35,000 miles. I have never overheated. It has run on 1 fan in 100 degree Texas weather with the AC on and it did not overheat. It has been through dust, rain, snow, etc. and it has never failed nor overheated. Everyone keeps trying to do something great when something very simple is absolutely bulletproof. I don't know where anyone got the idea that the aerodynamics of the S30 causes overheating. Stock S30's don't have overheating problems although some were known to get vapor lock if a heat shield wasn't left in place. The right radiatior and fan will keep the engine from overheating. Again - mine is a case in point. I ran it flat our in four 30 minute sessions at Texas Motor speedway and the only thing that got overheated was my brakes. The car can sit and idle in hot weather with the AC on full and never overheat. It just does not overheat. I have no experience with your system but the warnings are pretty explicit about the type of duty they were designed for. As long as you're going to only drive your car on a asphalt track for no more than an hour at a time you should be fine. If you are planning to drive the car on the street - the place where you will actually have the most fun - then I'd forego using it and get something more generally usable.

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I took my boat to the local boat storage/repair shop in town the other day. I was asked to drop it back in the storage area. When I did that I saw a 240Z sitting there that I had seenthere two years prior. One tire had gone flat and had been flat so long that the tire (which looked like it was hardly used)had cracked completely through. It is a brown 240 with a butterscotch interior. the dash has only one 6" long crack in it and the rest of the interior is solid except for a pretty worn driver's seat. The body is complete with no dents or obvious rust. Glass is all solid. On a lark I thought - "I'll give it a shot" - and use dthe ignition key to my 280Z on the door and it unlocked the car! Once open I popped the hood. Engine bay is intact and it even had the huge 70's vintage AC compressor. I wonder - since my key opened it up - does that make it mine? :<)

Guys - My car is the 280Z that JCI used to develop their kit. I worked with John for about 14 months to get the conversion done and refined. I basically have all the components he currently sells except for the transmission mount. Mine has a prototype torque tube style set-up that he decided would be too complicated for most people. If you have questions about locations, etc. I can take photos of what has been done on my car and send it to you. Email me directly.

Yeah - one more thing. Another drawback to long tube headers is ground clearance. When you use those you give up the ability to go over speed bumps without hanging up your exhaust. It's also true about the shifter location. In the JCI position the T56 shifter comes up within 1/2" of the stock shifter location. If the information about the motor being mounted further forward is correct that will cause problems there - even if you recut the hole it will also require a new, bent shift lever to keep it out of the dash in the odd numbered gears. It will also affect your PMI if you do any track work. In the JCI position the engine is almost entirely behind the front axle giving it more of a mid-engine performance. Also, in that position the total wieght change of the car (LS1 & T56) is about 30 lbs. and all the weight is gained on the rear wheels. It might be a bit different for the 240, though, since the L24 is probably a little lighter than an L28.

Jehannum - thanks for the input. Wonder what the electrical connection was to my differential when I changed it out? I thought it was the speedo but I guess not. Anyway - looks like it's time to give it to Nissan and get ripped. Don't have the time to go after it myself.

Kept my heater - and the AC too. Then again - I drive my car every day that I can which has added up to about 130,000 miles in the last 18 years.

The same thing I've done most work days since 2003. I drove it to work. Quite the novelty to have a project car that is actually driven on a regular basis!

I have the exact same exhaust set-up on my '77 280Z as kjones except I'm using the JCI headers.. I have been running it since 2004 and have been very pleased with the sound levels and performance.