Phantom

That's kind of like asking what the weather will be like 3 months from now. What car, what engine, transmission, rear end, tires, etc. YOu've got to give these guys somewhere to start. Heck - I run mine on stock springs & shot KYB struts but I'm not a serious racer. What is your goal? If you want folks to spend their time and impart their knowledge & experience then you need to be willing to invest a little more than the 15 seconds it took you to type the question.

Hey Mike - guess you probably don't need that daily driver any more - huh. Maybe I should ake a habit of looking at the start date of each thread before I reply.

I bought an '83 280Zx for a daily driver when my 280 was undergoing the engine transplant. Loved it. Great AC (kind of important in Texas or Florida), power steering, and comfy seats. The L28 in it also has a much broader torque range than the S30's so it actually has pretty good performance. It's not going to be as competitive on the track as the S30's but it's going to be a much better daily driver as far as comfort and general performance is concerned. If you want one really cheap my son has the car in Fort Worth and needs to get rid of it to a good home. It looks like crap but still runs pretty good with the good AC and a decent aftermarket stereo. PM me if your interested and I'll hook you up. It would make the drive to Florida no problem.

I've always run NGK's in my Z's. Even the guys over on the LS1 websites recommend NGK's for the GM V8. Mine still has the original GM plugs in it from 1998, but then they only have 30K miles on them at this point. If I start seeing any breakdown the NGK iridium will be my first choice.

I always had a Leatherman micra on me so I could use it to pop the connector off the TPS and then huff & puff & blow the small amounts of water out of it. My reward would be an engine that would rev above 2,500 rpm on the way home. The other option is to wait an hour or so for the engine heat to bake it out. One of those aerosol keyboard cleaners would be a great tool for clearing it out. It ceratinly would keep me from getting light headed!

I drive it to the local car wash and pressure wash it with the engine degreaser selection. If it's just a bit dusty I use the pressure washer at home and hose it down. Then - again - the LS1 is just a bit more immune to water induced problems than the L28. With it I learned to stay away from the distributor and the other electronic control items. Also learned whcih ones to take apart and blow out after I washe dthe motor and had problems.

1) Not sure if you have an early or late model 260z but I know the late model gas tanks hold at least 17 gallons of gas. A well-tuned V8 will run 300+ miles on that - on the highway. 2) Depends on what you're looking for in the "handling". If you're talking about cornering, braking, etc. - it will literally blow an old chevy away. 3) Lack of power steering with the V8 depends. I have an LS1 and it added no weight to ther front of the car. An iron block will add some weight but not a lot. Lack of power steering- even with the I6 - will definitely improve your upper body tone. It takes a bit of effor tin the parking lot but no problem on the highway.

It's been a very long time since I've done this but, for starts, go to an Unbrako website. They make Grade 8 bolts and have the shear and tension/compression numbers you'll need for different diamters and threads. The weakest point in your assembly will be that small bit of threaded tubing that is not filled with the bolt. Keep that to absolute minimum and, since the bending and or shear moments really don't concentrate in that area, you should be fine. Not sure how to math that out but your prof should be willing to give you a little guidance there.

My car was the prototype for the JCI componenets and it uses the stock '77 tank and fuel lines. It has the higher pressure/volume pump in the same location as the original Z fuel pump. It's feeding an LS1 out of a '98 Z28. I've had absolutely no fuel feed problems on the street or the 1/4 mile track. I did have problems when I let the tank get below 3/8 full when I was doing hard cornering at Texas Motor Speedway. Above that was no problem.

Do I see a steering wheel extension in the car - or is it just an adapter? Please let me know if it's an extension and where you got it as I really need to extend mine 1.5 - 2". Also if you had to do any unusal modifications to get it to work. Thanks

Having owned and driven the S30, S130 & Z32 I really think the Z31 would be a great car - for a demolition derby. Seriously - I'm kidding. The Z31 has had a bad rap for years as being overweight and underpowered. Then again, doesn't everyone on this forum complain about Z's being underpowered? I've seen some really sweet Z31's and was sorely tempted to buy one I saw for sale in Branson, MO a few years ago. With what I've seen can be done with the VG30 I'd never worry about being able to build one that could really cook.

My son has been trying to get mine for 16 years now, ever since he took it for his first drive at age 16. Every couple months one of his emails reminds me that it has a good home waiting for it back in Texas.

Does the third view down - the full frontal view look a bit strange - almost like it is smushed and the hood power bulge is recessed instead? That withstanding this is a really nice looking rendition. It's obvious that a lot of thought has gone into it and someone actuall has some styling ability. If this is a 2008 version, though, I'd prefer the following: 1) Flush mount rearview mirrors instead of the door mount, 2) Similar styled flushed in bullet lights instead of the air catcher stock style headlight buckets, 3) Straighter lines across the front to have less area below the bumper line, 4) Shorten the hood just a little bit and make the car just a tad deeper (taller) with the height going into the body, not the cabin. It would give more interior room and also increase engine bay area a bit for some of those motors that are 'vertically challenged' in the curent S30.

Big Phil, Now up here in Washington on the east side of the Cascades you don't even have to get a safety inspection so you could just toss the bumpers, hammer on the hood & air dam a bit and drive like everyone else here. No big deal.

A company in southern California, Jags That Run, also commonly referred to on this forum as JTR. Google them. After that you need to spend several hours searching the Chevy V8 conversion forum. One of the first things you'll discover is that the Nissan tranny is not the way to go with the V8.

With over 35 years in engineering & manufacturing one thing I've learned. If is WAS fine and now it is not - then what has happened since then? Usually a good place to start looking. I've also found with the Z that common sense and knowing the car goes a long way when discussing a problem with a professional. Just because they get paid to fix a problem doesn't always mean that they understand the dynamics of a Z better than you do - or should.

Reliability. Remember - mine was professionally installed by JCI and they are totally anal about their workmanship. That is why the conversion came with a 12 month, 12,000 mile warrantee. In 28,000 miles I've had both fan relays suffer infant mortality but have been fine since. I also had a starter wire that was too close to the exhaust fry. Other than that reliability has only been affected by abuse - ie: broken half shaft u-joint from excessive wheel hop brought on by excessive use of the loud pedal. Please note the front/rear balance of the car I talked about in my first post. The car started with a 50/50 wieght distribution and then became tail heavy beacause of the T-56. Not a bad thing if you're a straight-liner and really not a bad thing because it's so small for other applicatons.

Gearing wise - with the torque of the LS1 and the light weight of the Z you could drive all day using only 2nd and 5th - but what fun would that be? I use all 6 gears running my 4 mile one-way drive to work. Heck - I even get into 2nd and sometimes 3rd gear in my driveway since it's 3/10ths of a mile long. With stock diameter tires and my 3.70:1 LSD the car will climb out from under me, melt the tires in 1st, and maybe stay hooked in 2nd. It will then idle down the road at 40 mph in 6th at 1,000 RPM. Yes, it will drive and even climb small hills in 6th at 1K rpm. The totally stock '98 LS1 on stock diameter/width tires will turn a 12.9@110 in the quarter which is much slower than most of the other LSX equipped cars here and it takes the first 4 gears to get it done. A lighter car would need 3.54 gears or use 5th at the end - or else go beyond 6k on the tach. I ran a 13.3 using a 2nd gear start. If you are doing autocross you can have a crazy time staying in 1st & 2nd or make it easier on yourself by running in 2nd. Top end in 3rd with my gearing is about 90 mph and 60 in 2nd - that would be using a 6,000 rpm shift limit. MPG - I've maintained a logbook on my car for 16 years and have a totally anal method for ensuring accurate recording of my mpg. Because of that I can tell you that it got 10 mpg when I was running it at Texas Motor Speedway and that it gets 24-25 mpg cruising at legal highway speeds. In combined city/hwy driving where it can get warmed up good it averaged 19-20 and for short, cold weather city trips it got 15-16. My car, however, weighs an even 3,000 lbs because of the comfort items I've added - A/C, soundproofing, leather interior, 500 watt sound system, etc. - so a lighter weight version would do slightly better around town - but probably not on the highway.

I have 28,000 miles of experience in my LS1/T56 280Z. The car has mainly been a daily driver but it has been driven hard at Texas Motorplex and at Texas Motor Speedway so it has seen duty on the 1/4 mile track and on the crooked track. Balance wise the car weighed 1,400 lbs on the nose and 1,430 lbs on the tail with 3/4 tank of gas and the MSA Aero II ground effects package with the LS1 & T56. The LS1 is lighter than the L28 and mostly sits behind the f4ront axle and obviously sits lower than the L28. It required no front suspension modifications. The T56 is a monster and is what added the weight to the car and also moved the weight toward the rear. You will never not be able to know what your motor is doing. Even with additional sound proofing I hear the sing of the LS1 at all speeds. tight track handling will pretty much be the same as with the L28 except for the ability to throttle steer which will be much greater with the LS1. Weight is essentially the same so cornering is very close to with the L28 and so is braking. High end stability is again the same as with the L28 which is totally dependent on suspension and any ground effects/aerodynamic work you may do. If you have specific questions feel free to email or PM me. Bill

Depends on your long-term goals. The 240Z is about 300 lbs lighter than the 280Z because of extra structure done in the 280 to improve it's overall strength. The 240 is a restorable car from a collector standpoint but not so much for the 280. From that standpoint I would go with a 280 if I was building a modified car with higher HP but, if I was going for a stock restoration, I would go with the 240.

Most likely the speedo cable. Check it to see if it has any lubricant in it at all. If not, lube it up, and see if your problem goes away. Also make sure it's routed properly and is not binding somewhere.

I know what you mean. I live off highway 12 in Yakima, WA which is a direct shot up over the Cascades past Mt Rainier. When I get burned out from all the work around here I make a run in the Z. It's quite comforatable at 80 plus with a few corners that require some serious downshifting. Lots of curves and conifers along with gorgeous sunshine makes for a great drive.

If you don't have a fan shroud then there is a significant part of your problem. I'm running a stock 280Z radiator recored to 4 rows from 3. I have AC and it worked fine for years in the DFW area. Even with only one of the two fans running it didn't overheat on 100°F days with the AC running flat out in stop & go driving. It ran even cooler if I could get up above 35 MPH. How thick your radiator is doesn't mean a lot. How many rows, the fin density, and the tube diameter is what matters. How did you determine which radiator to buy? Closing in the gap is not necessary if you have the right radiator and fan combination. It is a band aid.

Check out www.ricekiller.com. I believe there is a guy there called Whiteboy that either he or his dad have a V8 Z that is really quick.

Has anyone seen the Volvo development hybrid? It has a DC pancake motor in each wheel so it has no drivetrain or transmission. It can have either a small gas or small diesel to regen the batteries. Tests have indicated that it should run about 160 mpg. It's expected out sometime between 2012 and 2015 due to control technologie development necessary to fully control and synchronize the four motors.