wfritts911

I'm not 100% sure beacuse I dont actually have his mounts, but it looks like the passenger side JCI engine mount might hit the header since it bolts further forward that the F-body mount does. If you relocated that alternator to the lower f-body position, you could flip the headers upside down/forward facing and I bet they would fit. Would just need to relocate the coils off the engine. -Will

^ Yup speedo cable, no need for it with the T56. -Will

Monster stage 2, unless you like to break drivetrain parts then go with the 3 . What master cylinder are you using? I would go ahead and replace everything and get it done, new slave/TOB, clutch/flywheel, pilot bearing. People are big fan of the LS6 clutch as well for better stock replacement. But I love my monster clutch aside from the fact that it eats everything behind it. If I could do it again I would go with the Stage 2 Monster and never look back. On the stage 3, when the clutch starts to squeak cause it gets glazed over, Monster literally tells you to stop driving like a girl and go beat on it. Any company that tells you to beat on their clutch, thats good enough for me. Dunno how different the F-body stuff is from the LS2 stuff though. -Will

I'm looking for the little clips that go on the end of the E-brake cable, then connect to the lever on the backing plate/hub/drum/whatever with the pin/cotter pin setup. I tried to grab some off of what I believe is a 280z as well, but possibly an earlier model, but it used the style that couldn't come off the cable. Mine has a little slot that you can turn it so it comes off the cable. I actually just need one but would buy two if needed. Also would be interested in some 280z half-shafts as well, my LS1 likes them for breakfast. Also would be interested in the stub axle that goes into the diff and the companion flange that goes on the hub. Just need one of each, they don't even need to be any good, I just need the flange side to take measurements off of so I can start making adapter plates without tearing my car apart. Trying to stay on a budget, especially for the stub axle/flanges, as I don't technically have to have them. Thanks in advance guys, just shoot me a PM. -Will

Well apparently you can't post more than 2 videos in one post, so I couldn't put my video of me breaking my 3rd U-joint in that post, but here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaVk7JGoTl8&feature=plcp -Will

Well I finally decided I should stop being anti-social and update my thread. I've been busy with work and what not this summer and haven't been keeping up with hybridz very much lately. Not a whole lot has happened with the Z since I last updated it, like I said I've been busy and lazy lol. Some of the stuff I'm going to post will probably be out of order, but it may not be. But lets jump right into the cool stuff. So I made it to Branson for Z Fest back in June, it was a good time, bunch of Z cars, etc. I was the only V8 Z there aside from a 350 TPI swapped S30 with a big procharger slapped on the front of it, but it wasn't tuned at all unfortunately because I bet it ate babies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But anyways, the place the event was at was apparently being shared with a group of stunt biker guys. They had a big section of the lot blocked off for stunts and what not. By saturday night the bikes were done and most of the car guys are just hanging out, drinking beers, etc. Then next thing ya know, a Z32 pulls out into the blocked off lot and proceeds to do what any car guy in an empty lot wants to do. So after that Mat(FlatBlack) and I are wondering if we can go down there. Well after another car goes down Mat decides to go. So I wait and keep telling myself I don't NEED to go down there(U-joints suck as yal have seen, and I'm 4-5 hours from home, and 2 hours from Mat's house). But of course I let the temptation get the best of me and I go fire the beast up and go wait in line. Let me tell you the hood exhaust knows how to get a crowd pumped up for a V8 smokeshow lol. But videos are worth a million words. If you want to just watch me, you can skip to 11:40, but the other guys did pretty good as well. At 12:25 the car died on me, think I sloshed the fuel around to much because I only had a quarter tank or so. This was all in first gear, second gear would have been crazy. They also turned the lights off right before I went out because the people putting on the show didn't want us to do it I guess, but I didn't know that at the time, I just thought they wanted to see the flames. Which I was also disappointed you can't really see the flames. And I didn't break and axle! So Z Fest I decided the Duralast Gold U-joint was pretty strong, so I proceeded to go test its strength at my local drag strip. The first time I went out I ended up running a best time of 10.6 in the 1000ft. Generally you add about 2-2.5 seconds to make that 1/4 mile time, so I would say it was good for 12s. That was still babying off the line and shifting kind of easy. I ran 4 or 5 times the first time I went out and somehow didn't break. So of course I go out the next weekend as well. Ran a 10.4 my second or third run, launched a little harder that time, pulled a 1.9x sixty foot still bogging off the line. Go out the next run, launch a little harder, didn't bog as bad but still had more in it. Got in the "drag racing" mode and wasn't paying attention to my shifting, popped the U-joint shifting to second . Same spot, drivers side outer. The Duralast Gold U-joint in its defense is pretty stout, but couldn't stand up against the almighty Monster Stage 3 clutch...that thing is brutal. But anyways, videos . Here is my 10.4 run: And here goes U-joint number 3: Apparently you can't put more than 2 videos in a single post, so skip down to my next post to see the video. Watch for sparks hehe The car has 9s in it in its current state, but needs axles to be able to do it. However the next time I go out, I will have headers and be tuned as well, so it should be a 9.5 car no problem. oh and all that racing was still with zero gauges. No Tach, speedo, oil, temp, nada. You know you know your motor to well when you can race it without a tach lol. So right now my car is back under the knife. The interior is tore out, the exhaust is off, the only wiring left in the entire car is a couple of ground straps and the headlight/tailight pigtails. Its going to get all new wiring, headers built, floors with get painted then possibly covered with some sound deadner(sp?) or just carpet. The console is getting deleted and will get carpet over the tunnel. A/C is going bye bye, think I am going to go with universal Summit Racing heater so I don't have to try and keep the stock air controls. Just going to route it to defrost and the feet. I will probably build a front console like someone on here did out of MDF then cover it in vinyl like he did. Use that to store my radio, CB, switches, etc. The car will probably be getting a fuel cell as well since I am going to cut out the rest of the spare tire well which leaves the stock tank floating. The dash will be getting fixed via great stuff and bumper repair, and then getting stuffed with some speedhut gauges(Theres almost 2 weeks of work I'll never get back, but they sure do look nice). But here is my car in its current state: Wireless harness! Got the air intake kit from JTR Headers!!! Not really, pool tubing from Home Depot to mock up my header tubes. I realized my motor mount design sucks, it goes right through the middle of where my headers need to go. Interior...not This tar based crap sucks. Dry ice helped some, but still...its terrible If someone wants to be as cool as me I will sell my "custom" exhaust manifolds for cheap lol Still got a lot of chiseling to do I also went out and bought another death trap on wheels, it just has a couple less than the Datsun. Its a 1985 Honda Nighthawk 650. Everyone always asks me why I never buy anything newer. I tell them because paying for registration each year is for chumps No room for exhaust Upper radiator hose setup, just cut a few inches out of the stock hose and spliced it together Lower hose took the same half of a stock LS1 bottom hose for both sides, so I had to buy another one, then spliced them together. My front accessory belt, nothing on it but the alternator and a couple of idlers. No keys, push to start. Speedhut gauges. They sent me the wiring for a volt gauge instead of a temp gauge, so I called them and they said they would send the temp stuff right out, no questions asked. Customer service gets a thumbs up so far, given my stuff shows up lol. Don't know why I went with the 200mph speedo, because I'm pretty sure the Datsun would fall apart, or take flight long before 200mph. But I think my days of pegging the needle are over. And my wiring harness workspace. Stripped out a lot of pins from the PCM, just needs some splices redone and then prettied up And that's all I got for yal today. If you managed to make it this far and actually read everything I thank you for caring about me(Or its probably just my car) that much. Look forward to more progess coming in the next few weeks, school starts back the 21st, and the Datsun will be up there(Hopefully lol). -Will

Impacts don't need much CFM if you are just using it of and on(like not removing 16 wheels in 5 minutes). You should be fine with what you have. As far as impact guns go, I like the Ingersoll Rand guns, and you can find some one ebay for a decent price. -Will

Just a heads up, LSx head bolts are torque to yield, and are not meant to be reused. Just pointed that out since it looks like you kept track of which bolts go where. Also if you look on LS1tech, you can find stock heads really cheap. Also have fun cleaning the graphite head gasket material off, it is a real pita. I would advise either putting the head bolts back in, or stuffing the holes with paper towels to keep crap from getting in the holes. I used a plastic ice scraper for the majority of the scraping, it worked but took a while. Definitely use the MLS gaskets instead of the graphite ones when you reassemble. If you don't plan on it, it wouldn't be a bad idea to replace the slave cylinder/TOB/Pilot bearing while the tranny is out. Also you say the number 2 cylinder and possibly some on bank 2, the cylinders are numbered 1,3,5,7 on the drivers side and 2,4,6,8 on the passenger side, unlike that crazy Ford stuff . So if I have it correct, the number 2 cylinder you mention is actually cylinder 3. Just though I would point that out as well. Anyways looks like you will be making some good progress in the coming weeks. I am going to try and make long tubes as well, but I might end up chickening out an making shorties lol. -WIll

Woo! Another LS build! You made the right call going LSx swap, I promise you won't be disappointed, they are fantastic motors. If you have a welder, I wouldn't hesitate to build a trans mount. Mine is literally a piece of flat stock with a little raise tab to bolt the tranny to, its a cake walk to make. Why did you decide to go with the high mount alternator? The stock F-body location fits. I see you are planning on doing custom headers, you look like you are aways off so I will probably have mine built before you, so keep your eye out for my header build thread. Also if you are confident enough to fab your own headers, I wouldn't hesitate to go ahead and do your own motor and tranny mounts. My build thread has pictures of how I did mine, and I like the way they came out. As for the radiator, I used a radiator from a Chevy G10 van with the V6. It was dirt cheap off rock auto(Like 70 bucks), is the exact same physical size as the radiator JCI sells, and has the same core thickness as the stock LS1 radiator. Only difference between it and the LS1 radiator, is it is about 5 inches shorter so it fits in between the frame rails. The LS1s by nature don't seem to run hot, I don't have a temp gauge atm to confirm, but unless you are doing some road racing or something, I dont see it being a problem. The stock upper hose fits if you take a section out of the middle, and I used the same half of 2 lower hoses for the bottom. Oh and I like the paint job by the way! Looking forward to seeing more progress! -Will

When in doubt, just hit the problem spot really fast, you won't high center then . But I cant vouch for the Z motor, but my LS1 pan hangs about an inch below the crossmember, and I definitely plan on making a plate of some sort to go in front of it protect it from giant rocks and other road debris. Probably won't make and actual skid plate underneath it as that just lowers clearance even more. -Will

Aww I'm blushing RebekahsZ!! As for the budget LS swap, it can be done. I didn't spend very much on the actual swap parts, I spent more on the chassis parts than I did the swap since I bought pretty much just a shell. Granted I also didn't count the price of my motor/tranny/wiring since I had it from my wrecked firebird. The deal is, if you buy a 5.3, the intake is probably too tall. The oil pan probably wont fit either. The 4l60E from the truck MIGHT fit, but I believe they are wider than the T56, but I seem to recall reading someones thread where they used the auto tranny. If you can find a T56 for 400 bucks, buy everyone you can lol. If you get the wiring/ecu for the motor as well, and it is as easy as my LS1 wiring was, you shouldnt need to send it off to anyone. I gave power to 5 wires, and soldered up a VATS bypass box, and it started right up. Granted that doesn't get you gauges or anything, but if you are handy, you should be able to figure that out. The wiring seems really intimidating, but if the truck stuff is as easy as the LS1 stuff was, the harness is almost standalone as it is. The driveshaft runs 290 from JCI to your door, not a bad deal and it seems like a quality piece. Although had I not been under a time constraint, I probably would have forked over the extra 100 bucks for a 3 inch aluminum one. If you are looking for a bolt in motor/tranny mount setup, that runs another 400-500 I believe. I made my own mounts, and wouldn't hesitate to do it again if I was doing another swap. It took me a weekend to get my motor mounted up, and only cost time(Which I always consider free) and maybe 20 bucks worth of metal. Tranny mount was a piece of cake, maybe an hour or two. Then you have the exhaust, I took the redneck way out and turned some manifolds up through the hood because I couldn't make them fit facing down. It was cheap, but is a very temp fix. I think had I had the 98-99 F-body manifolds they would fit. All the little stuff at the end adds up quick, i would probably say another couple hundred for odds and ends. Radiator hoses, wiring supplies, oils, etc. The swap could definitely be done on a budget, but you have to be willing to do almost everything yourself, no farming out work. Just doing the mounts pretty much pays for that LM7. But all I have to say is research, research, research. Read through my build thread, along with RebekahsZ's, and Sunnys were both really helpful. I would say, not factorying in the motor/tranny/harness/ecu, you could probably do the rest for under 1000. If you don't have a welder, add another 1000+ to that for mounts and exhaust. It wouldn't be a bad idea to try and get an entire parts truck. that way you know you have everything for the motor. Like I said above, you can't do enough reading before you start. Read, read, read...and when you get tired of reading and searching, read some more. The swap isn't hard, but if you aren't really familiar with your car and the LSx drivetrains and motor swaps in general, it will be difficult. LS1tech is great site for any info on wiring and any other info pertaining to the powertrain. Hope I didn't discourage you here, I would definitely spend the money on the LSx swap over fixing your little 6 banger The LSx swap is a blast!(When you aren't breaking things ) Damn I wrote a book didn't I... -Will

Z Fest is May 30th-June 2nd. http://www.bransonzfest.com/ . You should definitely try to make it out with the car, would be nice to have a couple LSx Z's in one place. Oreillys(sp?) sells radiator hose couplers if you decide to change from the pipe. -Will

I don't think you can really change the T56 gear ratios without pretty much getting a totally new transmission. As for hitting 80 in second, with your M12 gearset, you will need a numerically low gear. http://www.f-body.org/gears/ is a good gear calculator to work with. I just tested using 275/40-17 tires, which are about stock firebird height, 25.66 inches in diameter. And with a 6600 RPM redline, and your 2.07 2nd gear, you can hit 80 at 6500 rpms with a 3.0 rear gear. You would be a lot better finding a T56 with the 2.66/1.78 1st/2nd gear respectively like the F-bodys have. Using my transmission gear ratios, the same 6600 redline, and a 25.66 tall tire, you can hit 80mph at 6600 rpms with a 3.54 gear. I'm not sure what the stock LS2 redline is, but 6600 RPM should be doable without any problems. But I would just play around with the gear calculator, but trying to reach 80 in second with your 2nd gear ratio will need a really numerically low gear. -Will

Build looks great man! If your car is anything like mine, you would leave an axle on the track for sure! Those 275/40s don't mess around(Ask me how I know lol). Definitely sitting pretty low, but it looks good. Don't know when you plan on moving, but you should try to make it out to Z Fest in Branson this summer if your still going to be in Kansas. Where abouts are you moving to? -Will

What axles are you planning on going with when you go with the R200? What is the difference between the R180 and R200 axles? Wolf creeks site shows that the axles fit the 160,180, and the 200. Is it just the length that is different? -Will

Thats some "posi" hes got in there, I need to get me one of them! -Will

Dreco, Glad my "interesting" exhaust could bring you out of your cave, it definitely turns the heads around town also. RebekahsZ, So far its 2 U-joints down, and one tore up axle in the process. Managed to get a new u-joint installed yesterday...I hate u-joints. The flanges on these cars arent flat where the tool rests, so it kept going in crooked. Managed to get it in "good enough", probably won't last long anyways. I told the guy at the parts store that I would probably be brining the joint in Monday split in half hehe. He then asked what it was going in, and I told him that was classified(Gotta keep that warranty lol). The autozone "solid" joints do look much beefier however, so maybe I won't split this one quite as easy. Half shaft safety loops will be built next time I go home so I stop tearing up my undercarriage and my brake lines. -Will

First off the build is coming along awesome. Waiting for parts has to be the worst thing ever lol. I'm jealous of your axles by the way, but you definitely made the right call upgrading, my LS1 eats u-joints. And as RebekahsZ mentioned, you are going to love the LSx swap! -Will

You will love the 3.90s. I had 4.10s in my Firebird and loved them, but if I had to pick another gear I would have went with a 3.9x ratio. The 4.10s made the Firebird insane on the street, and really helped launching at the strip. With the steeper gear you don't have to actually try to launch as much, I would just roll out off idle pretty much and it climbed revs so fast. Useful when you have crap tires. As for the diff seals I ordered some Timken side seals from RockAuto for a good price, sure they have the pinion seals also. Also if you google there are always 5% off codes floating around. You have a lot left in the car, just need some more seat time. P.S. Next time get some videos at the track! -Will

Well unfortunately I have something new to report, even though I have lots of stuff I need to put up here just need to get un-lazy and take pics of all the things that happened during the swap. Ill list the good news first I fixed the brakes, apparently the coupler in the brake booster line is a one-way check valve...well guess what dummy put that check valve in the wrong way...ya this guy lol. Easy fix though and now they work much better. Another good note Kim sent me another wheel last week, should be at my house tomorrow I believe. Maybe he won't ask for the incorrect wheel back and I can have an almost full size spare hehe. I also made seat brackets for my firebird seat(Which I actually took some pictures of!), wasn't to hard although I just made the front brackets, didn't get around to the rears, but now my seat isn't flailing around. Also put the 4 point harness Mat had in the car back in, so now I feel like I'm driving a racecar around . I will let the pictures do the rest of the talking. Now for the bad news. I went cruising with a buddy of mine going towards a local state park about 20 miles away. I end up coming to a T stop sign from a local road onto a main highway that happened to be on a pretty steep hill. I stop before getting to the stop sign because we were trying to decide between left and right. Well long story short, I start to move after coming to a stop, and lay into it after the car starts to move a bit. No clutch dump, no drivetrain shock from shifting or slack, just straight off idle torque. I want to say it was just about to turn the tires over to do a burnout(Which was my goal, of course ) and I hear the snap, clunk, clunk, clunk sound that is becoming all to familiar. Sheared 2 ears off the u-joint and fortunately didn't tear the yoke up this time so I will just be replacing the u-joints once autozone gets them in. I ordered the non-grease-able ones so hopefully those will be a little bit stronger. This was the u-joint off the shaft I pulled off the parts car, no idea if its factory or what. Pictures. My buddy with his jeep towed me this time, little bit more respectable than the V6 'rustang lol. Sure am glad I kept the tow strap I bummed from Mat last time I broke an axle. Soon as I'm out of school for the summer the exhaust will be taken care of, and I will probably try to go to the 280zxt CV axles because those appears to be much easier(read: cheaper) than the 300zxt axles. Really starting to feel like an import driver as I have a set of spare axles coming in the mail tomorrow, unfortunately they are back home, not up at school . They will remain in the trunk at all times along with a 14mm wrench lol. That is all I got for yal today, I got my poly trans mount in so hopefully I can remember to snap some pics of my tranny mount and RT style mount while I'm down there. -Will

Wow that sucks man...glad you were ok though, it looks beat up pretty good. Time to get back to work and build another, better, one. -Will

Not sure if I've posted in your thread yet, but that car is gorgeous and seems like it runs as good as it looks! What color of blue is that? Thats similar to what I am thinking about going, or a burnt orange color. We definitely gotta meet up when you come to Arkansas. -Will

Thanks man, sometimes you just gotta make things work, its definitely a temporary thing though. Oh FYI to anyone else wanting to be a badass and have hood exhaust, I think the 98 vette manifolds are the only LSx manifolds you cant just flip upside down, the EGR tube they have run across the top hits the head bolts and covers the spark plug holes. I ended up having to cut the manifolds off at the flanges and weld them on upside down. I took 100 dollar manifolds and turned them into scrap metal pretty much. On a side note I made it back home today, car drove great although the headache I got on the ride home was probably from the exhaust, it gets annoying pretty quick when your going 70-80. -Will

Ya I thought about doing on of the legit dash caps, but I would rather try and fix the dash first, then if I can't go with a cap. I guess its kind of a workmanship thing for me, sure I could buy a cap, but being able to say man that dash looks good after it had 15 cracks in it is something I like being able to do. Plus if I ever need a job at an interior shop, I'll have my resume in the parking lot -Will

I ordered a master cylinder off RockAuto yesterday so I'm hoping that is the problem with my brakes. And it really isn't that loud just idling or cruising, but if it has load on it then ya its a little loud . As for the axles, I really don't think the stock LS1 requires new half shafts, I think its the U-joints that are the weak link. But unless there is a joint that is up to par, I guess CVs might be the only option. I will say I feel like an import driver already, I'm breaking axles and starting to look at keeping some spare axles in my car at all times lol. I feel like there has to be another option besides CVs since I don't think CV's are actually needed, we just need stronger U-joints in the half shafts. Dropping 500+ on CVs is not something I'm really looking to do right now -Will