Pop N Wood

Have to disagree with this one. You will move more air and get more reliable cooling with a mechanical fan and shroud. This is the JTR position also. Not trying to flame anyone, just sharing info. Look back through the archives where people have complained about overheating. Without exception they were all running electric fans. I personally prefer the look of the mechanical fan, just looks more "factory" but I realize I am in the minority here. Also the Mustang fan reportedly draws 35 amps at high speed. One hell of a draw on a 90 amp alternator. Better hope the bass kicker doesn't come on when the fan is in high speed. Also an aluminum radiator is great because they are light. But many guys get excellent cooling (and save some $$) by re-coring the stock Z radiator to 3 rows. But don't get me wrong, most guys are probably running an aluminum radiator with an electric fan. The set up works, just make sure you get the right radiator and fan or you will have problems.

The paint looked pretty dull in the pics. Also that engine is sitting awfully high in the bay...Scarab mount? And what does "no significant rust" mean? I have seen cars sell on this site for $5000 that (at first glance anyway) seemed as nice. But I could be wrong. If it looks better up close than the pictures show I might be tempted to go upwards of $8000 for it.

There are very real advantages to decreasing the volume of the intake path. Less lag and better throttle response. In this sense a water cooled intercooler is potentially "better" than air cooled since you don't have to route the intake plumbing to the front of the car and back. Also the volume of the intercooler itself can be less since water removes heat better than air. But without the ice you are may be right. The air to air exhanger could theoretically cool the intake air to near ambient temperature, whereas the water intercooler will have a slightly higher minimum temp (since the cooling water, without ice, can only be ambient).

Here is my vote for a mere $9000 http://www.theengineshop.com/engine.shtml Grumpyvette would be proud!!!

Mercury Marine.

Didn't Ron Tyler document a swap that was something like $1500? This was complete. The link I use to have to his site doesn't seem to work anymore or I would post it. Depends on how resourceful you are and what you have to start with. The biggest budget buster seems to be the "snowball" factor or the "while I'm at it" factor. You can do a no frills swap fairly cheaply. For example, JTR says get a complete motor and trans out of a late 70 carburated car and drop it in as is. They give a number of soemthing like $1000. But most people can't stop at that. It is when you start adding things like ceramic coated headers, custom gages and a few grand in wheels and tires that the expenses bloom. Paint alone could eat up a $5k budget (but that is not really part of a swap). In your case you have the majority of the expenses covered. I see complete LT1 engines and automatic transmission on ebay for $1500. This will get you near the 300 crank HP you want. Add another $300 for the JTR kit, $200 for a Griffin radiator (or get your stock one re-cored for half that), another $400 for exhaust, budget maybe $150 to have the computer reprogramed, $200 for driveshaft work and lets say $100 for a FI tank. The only thing left will be the gages and the swap itself. Offset this with the at least $500 you will get for your old engine and trans and it comes up to around $3300 (including the ~$1000 of labor). There are all sorts of misc expenses, but that is part of the labor. Not bad for a fuel injected, sweet running street motor. Just make sure the "guy" doing the swap has done a FI swap before and knows what he is getting into.

David Karey wrote Yeah, looking back I guess you did. Sorry, slow day. Just trying to fill in a little more detail. Wanted to point out that a bad temp sensor could affect the car when warm but maybe not as much when cold. Either way, fix the connector.

I want to know so I will bring it back up. I thought GM went OBDII in 95. By law I think they had to be in 96. Anyone know for certain when GM went OBDII? Also isn't that the easy one to reprogram? (LT edit?) Not doubting anyone, just want to know for sure.

Oil free = BAD Oil type = GOOD 220 volt = MUCH MUCH Better Vertical or horizontal? Doesn't matter if you mount the compressor in the rafters of your garage and run PVC pipe around. Some people don't like the PVC. Galvanized pipe cools better and will never shatter. But is more expensive and more difficult to install. With the compressor up high you can attach an air hose to the drain for easy draining. Just be sure to put a ground level switch on the power (or use a dedicated breaker).

My guess is the loose wire is cause the engine to run too rich when the engine is warm. When the car is cold the computer "puts on the choke", i.e. makes the mixture richer to burn better. Car gets warm, the computer needs to take the choke off. But with a bad connection, the computer may think the car is still cold so it keeps the mixture too rich. Sooo when the car is cold, it doesn't matter what the temperature sender is reading. The computer correctly enriches the mixture. But when the car is warm moving the wire disrupts the temp signal causing the computer to think it is cold. BTW, I am now sure about your Z but many cars use 2 temperature senders, one for the gage and the other for the computer. so your gage reading right may not tell you anything about the signal getting to the computer.

I honestly think they should require a special license to own and drive a 4WD. People don't seem to realize that stepping on the brake will only lock up the same number of wheels as the POS Yugo in the lane next to them. 4WD lets you go like mad but doesn't improve the stopping. Having grown up in Nebraska I was always impressed by the number of 4WD's in the ditch. They seem to be the first to go. And now in Maryland (where it doesn't snow as much or as often) I am scared to death of all Yuppies in speeding SUV's thinking the 4WD makes them invincible. BTW, few things are more fun than driving a FWD car with the rear parking brake on in a parking lot full of snow. Get up some speed in a straight line then turn the wheel 1/8 th of a turn and hold on!

Actually if you contact the DMV and complain about the tag they will revoke it. Hit the yuppie where he lives.

Man. You're not going to stick with the stock ram's horns exhaust manifolds? You'll lose a ton of breathing when you port the heads and add a bigger cam.

You might want to grab the yoke that mates the drive shaft to the front of the diff. IF I remember right they can be different, especially for the turbo cars.

I get nervous when I here people talking about using a long extension cord to reduce the welder heat. I can't believe this would work with a quality welder that uses a proper line current regulator. But maybe that is the flaw in my logic. Maybe low buck welders are just tapped transformers. I guess what ever works. Want to reiterate the execelent advice from Guycali. Get everything CLEAN. Were talking bare metal. The problem I have is with tall beads. Slowing down the wire speed causes the arc to snap and pop, requiring a lower heat setting to get the proper "buzz". This puts me back where I was. Tall beads. Once thing that does work is to follow the advice in a sheet metal book and keep a hammer and dolly near by. Weld and inch or two then hammer the still hot weld flat. Obviously can't always be done.

It's called Hooke's law. Here are some cartoons http://www.sciencejoywagon.com/physicszone/lesson/02forces/hookeslaw.htm This one is interactive and shows how the spring goes "nonlinear" if you stretch or compress it too much http://webphysics.davidson.edu/Applets/animator4/demo_hook.html Now what this doesn't say is what happens to the spring constant if the spring is shortened or lengthened. I have always been told (but have no idea if it is true) that cutting a coil or two off a spring to lower a car will increase the spring constant K. This is what Mudge said also. If this is true, than wouldn't it also be true that the longer, uncut spring actually has a lower spring constant? So if the turbo sping was wound out of exactly the same material than it should be softer? My guess is the turbo spring uses different material (thicker, different alloy or more/less turns per inch).

You said this is a donor car. Donor for what? If you are putting in a V8 than the stock transmission is an ebay item anyway. Or do you want this car for the engine and transmission? The Datsun 5 speeds are relatively cheap and not expensive to rebuild. I had mine done years ago and I don't remember it costing more than a clutch job.

Why do you want solid mounts on the mustache bar? The solid front mount has it’s advantages (since the stock ones break so readily), but what will you pick up by using solid vs. urethane bushings on the mustache bar?

The 305 may not be the best performance engine, but I have always liked the way the TPI runners look under a hood. The LT1's and LS1's runners don't have the same look. They just get lost in all the other piping (IMO) Besides, I am sure the 305 will produce enough oomph for you to lose your license in at least 49 of the 50 states. I would say all 50 states but some of the ones out west I am not so sure about. I am planning a somewhat similar swap. Stock V8 initially, then once it all runs right pull the engine for performance mods and while it’s out do the paint. BTW, your idea on a clutch prone to slipping may be a stroke of genius. But it doesn’t seem like a good idea to me (just an opinion). The thing is just going to wear faster, and I don’t see that helping much of anything.

Pressure gages usually measure differential pressure, i.e. the pressure difference between your intake manifold and the outside ambient pressure. So "0" means you have the same pressure inside your intake as outside of it. Negative readings means the pressure inside the manifold is less than ambient: a vacuum.

Ditto what johnc said, but I would question the assumption that a high compression engine will draw a higher vacuum during deceleration. The compression ratio can be increased by milling the head to create a smaller combustion chamber. However, I wouldn’t expect this to affect the vacuum in the cylinder during the intake stroke since this is more a function of the valve timing and the flow capacity of the intake path. Changing the volume of the combustion chamber shouldn't affect this.

Sounds like you have it covered.

I originally tried to get a full converage policy on my 25 year old Z. Along the way I managed to get an honest, independent insurance broker. He told me the only way to get full coverage on a car so old was to get a stated value policy. This required getting the car appraised, then the premiums would be based upon this value. He also told me (and this was the honest part) if I did all that and later made a claim, that (and I quote) "let's just say questions would be raised". A polite way of saying "good luck collecting". I don't have such a policy for just that reason. This is more a question of what will happen than what should happen. All I can say is get some legal advice before undergoing the expense of a court battle. Those people play by their own set of rules and what seems obvious to you may be humerous to them. And why do you think people fall down holding their necks when they get hit? Insurance companies are a lot more flexible determining appraised values if they fear a personal injury suit.

The early Z's did not have one. They had a solenoid switch that vents the tank to the intake when the engine is running and to the crankcase when the engine is off. Would be simple to recreate. The only real disadvantage to a charcoal can (IMO) is size. If it is installed in an out of the way place, then there is no great advantage to deleting it.

The gear is cogged for the diff, but the 5 speed may have come out of a car with a different rear end ratio. So changing the tranny will often throw off the speedo (mine did). If you still have the 4 speed, perhaps you could swap the speedo gears with 5 speed and get your calibration back. Be sure to get both the drive and cable gear. A link to I believe zcar.com has been posted giving the part numbers and ratios of Datsun speedo gear ratios and part numbers. Try a search. Should help you get what you need from the part place if your 4 speed gears won't transplant.