Phantom

Get the radiator shroud and fans along with the motor. The shroud can be trimmed to fit a datsun radiator that has been converted to a 4-row. That will keepyou plenty cool and allow the fans to be controlled by the LS1 PCM as in a stock application. Simplifies your install.

Just for info purposes, my JCI prototype LS1 conversion is still running fine with no problems with respect to the JCI components now over 4 years and nearly 30k miles later.

Looks like a perfect opportunity for a safety plug here. Most companies that mount tires now ask their customers to come back at least once, and some twice, to have thier lug nuts retorqued. Experience has shown that a small number of customers were having the lug nuts back off for whatever reason. I would suggest that we all take that to heart and take the time to retorque our lug nuts after about 50 miles of driving each time we pull our wheels. I'd be willing to go so far to say that, if everyone on this board would go out and put a wrench on their lug nuts this week, several would find some that are not tight. Let's learn from the tough experiences our own board members have had and keep it from happening to more of us!

Didn't know there was an LS1 driver in the pnhandle. I'll be at the Palacio on Perdido key next week - May 10-17. Unfortunately it will be without the Z.

Other than a 5 week stint in paint jail and a 14 month stint in engine penitentiary mine has been a daily driver since I got in in March 1992. I do relegate it to the garage during the winter months here in Washington as the deicing fluid they use on the roads is so unbelievable corrosive it wouldn't make it through another year if I exposed it. Two winters here completely destroyed the chrome wheels on my Z32.

Actually, the old style mothballs will boost your octane which, if you want to save a bit on fuel and buy regular and add the right amount of mothballs, is an option. It's a somewhat risky option but one never-the-less.

I went through one of these years ago with an oil additive that was suposed to decrease friction so much that I'd see "at least a 10% decrease in power consumption. It was for an industrial use. I convincced the salesman to give me his automotive grade lubricant to test in my car before I put it in my air compressors or extruders where I really couldn't measure it's performance improvement. To his dismay I already had five years of fuel economy data on my car. I ran it for three months. When I compared against the previous three months and against the same three month period the five previous years fuel economy had actually gone down very slightly which, statistically speaking, meant no improvement. I sent the information to the guy and never heard from him again. Fortunately for me the engine didn't fall out of the Z in the process. Changed the oil right after the trial.

Define "awesome". To a lowrider enthusiast that would be about 1/4" and to an off-roader it would be about 14". I'm running my car at stock height (6" at the frame rails) with 2 1/2" duals and have about 5 1/2" clearance at the lowest point.

Welcome to the LS1 club. Looks like yo have a well done conversion. It's nice to see a clean one when I've seen so many that aren't. I notice that there is a huge smile on your face at the track. It's hard to wipe it off when you're astride an LS1! Found your 60' time interesting as that's what I get with street tires and a 1,500 rpm feather launch. What are you running for rear end gears? I have 3.70's. I have trouble holding traction most of the way through second also.

Dave, At this moment I'm thinking I may hate you! Bill

A couple things. I'm not sure about other companies but USAA allowed me to buy back a totalled car. It was an '83 Sentra that was hail damaged. Body looked like the craters of the moon but absolutely everything worked fine. They paid me $1,800 for the car and I bought it back for $400. If all else fails see if they'll sell it back to you for salvage value once they've paid. That way you could probably net enough to actually fix it. I've considered the vintage car route with mine a couple times but was always put off by the milage limitations as my car was a daily driver logging about 8,000 miles per year. Here in Washington it hibernates through the winter so it gets fewer miles and that may now be wrth it. In the meantime, though, I had contacted USAA to confirm that I have replacement value insurance and that they nderstood what I have. Their reply was to have plenty of photos and keep my receipts and I'd have no problem. Having had to replace one car that was stolen years ago (another '77 280Z) I believe them.

Check this link to Auto Trader. This car is the same year, exterior color and interior. Mine has 19" wheels which are a 12-spoke. http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=c&rdpage=thumb&car_id=237653753&dealer_id=1391671&car_year=2005&model=A8&num_records=25&systime=&make2=&start_year=2005&keywordsfyc=&keywordsfyc=&keywordsrep=&keywordsrep=&engine=&certified=&body_code=0&fuel=&awsp=false&search_type=both&distance=0&marketZipError=false&color2=&search_lang=en&make=AUDI&keywords_display=&color=BLUE&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&min_price=&drive=&default_sort=priceDESC&max_mileage=&style_flag=1&sort_type=priceDESC&address=98902&advanced=y&end_year=2005&doors=&transmission=&max_price=&cardist=1951

Picked up an '83 Chevy Scottsdale that's been sitting outside for 25 years so is completely sun ravaged - dash is toast, upholstery is toast, and silver paint is down to a fine rust film. BUT - it has a good 400 engine & auto trans plus its a 4x4 3/4 ton with a snow plow on the front so perfect for maintaining the driveway in the winter and hauling trash to the dump. Today I got word, however, that my 9 month search has finaly ended. A guy here in town managed to locate and pick up at auction in Arizona a 2005 Audi A8L that meets my spec's. It's northern blue pearl effect with an amaretto interior, sport package & cold weather package. Most folks don't know that the A8L is the limo version of the big Audi and actually is the same length as a Chevy Tahoe. It has more legroom in the back seat than the front and a trunk you could camp in. Perfect timing in light of the new fuel prices popping up all around! My fleet is now at 5 vehicles and 4 of them have V-8's. The good news is that I'm only 3 miles from the store and 4 miles from work.

Scottie, Congratulations! My plant is closing this summer and I'm toying with doing the same thing. Just not sure that I can fully support my hobbies yet - Wife of 35 years who is NOT a car enthusiast, two Z's, house with 4 acres including a 1-acre pond and a 7-car garage complex in the barn that also has a second story efficiency apartment. No problem with keeping busy. Have plenty of muskrats to shoot that keep trying to nest in the pond, a sprinkler system that's always broken somewhere, 2 1/2 acres of grass to mow & fertilize that is home to what seems to be about 4,000 gophers, and then there's the truck with the snow plow blade that comes out in the winter. I think I'll go to the local JC and take classes in auto tech and have some fun. Anyhow dude - have fun playing with the toys - there will always be things around to occupy your time if you look for them. Bill

GM makes a bolt-on eaton style supercharger for the LSX. You can also get a kit from Pro-charger for their centrifugal superchager for the LSX motor. The GM unit is good for a 40% boost in power which would take my LS1 from 390 to 545 HP. The pro-charger is intercooled so it's good for 60% which would take my LS1 to over 620 HP. At that point I'm sure I could spin all the way through 4th! And these are the non-tweaked versions - crazies are already taking them upwards of 850 HP.

Congratulations! Looks like I'll miss your party. I won't be in Pensacola until May 10th. Need to get my regular fix at the Naval Air Museum. Your post brings back fond memories of my own winging in Corpus Christi. Bill Davis CDR USNR-R/1315

You might want to reconsider your front brake plans. i didn't find the stock size calipers/solid rotors very durable. I smoked the porterfield pads my first time on the track and left 50% of the pads on the track in two hours of run time. Ended up doing the 12.2" Willwood conversion on the front along with the 240SX/300ZX conversion on the rear.

Welcome to the club! You're going to really enjoy that ride. I've had mine on the street four years now and still enjoy the stares and comments. Bill

Dude, Did the same thing myself my first time out here in Washington. Broke the drivers side half-shaft universal which then proceeded to tear out the brake line, rip out the e-brake cable, and the beat the h*** out of the caliper. Good thing it happened on the 1-2 shift and not the 3-4.

I am totally drop jawed amazed! I own a 93 Z32 'vert and a 77 280Z and would have been willing to bet serious money that there was no way the Z32 dash would go into an S30. There is a huge difference in the widths of the two cars but I guess more so with the exterior than the interior? Gorgeous work. I'm completely green with envy at the craftsmanship.

You're correct - it's like a drive-shaft loop but for the half axles. Difficult to build because of the suspension travel but - from first had experience - very necessary. I blew a half-shaft universal and it really tore things up. Fortunately it was on the 1st to 2nd shift so I was going relatively slowly. It did about $800 in damage. Think what it would have done if it had occurred on the 3rd to 4th shift at around 90 MPH. Totally scary.

I'm currently the plant manager at Pactiv Corp. in Yakima. Plant has been here over 35 years and the corporation decided to shut it down. I'm looking at programs offered by Perry Technical Institue and Yakima Valley Community College. I'm a bit bummed because they don't have an auto body module in either program. For now though, engines, transmissions, AC & brakes will do. Kind of tired of working for someone else so figure I'll get some of the tools necessary to turn my hobby into a business.

I saw your post on your build plans. I see I wasn't able to pull you over to the dark side with the LS1. You using the same block and building from there? It sounds like a tough job - but I guess someone has to do it. With my plant being closed I'm looking at using state and federal progarams to go back to school and spend a couple years in an automotive technology program. There's real punishment for you. Fully paid ride to be trained for my hobby. You gotta love it.

Been daily driving my Z for over a month now here in Yakima. Sorry guys - it's been cold but that only makes it interesting trying to find enough traction to hold it straight. Sorry y'all picked the wrong parts of Washington to live in. I'll take a peeok at the Spokane weather this weekend. I'm going to be in Moscow Thursday night and then up to Coeur d'Alene for Friday night and a bit on Saturday before heading back to the barn. The wierd weather has me running on the cautious side so I'll be rolling in the Suburban instead of the Z32 'vert.

David, Do I get the impression you've changed jobs on me since I was last lurking here on HybridZ?!? Whazzup? Bill