Pop N Wood
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Posts posted by Pop N Wood
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Interesting information on the JTR radiator. My engine is an LT1 and it seems to run about 20 degree's hotter since I switched to the JTR radiator from the stock 84-86 Camaro radiator. I never even considered that it could be from the radiator so I've been trying to figure out anything else that could make it run hotter. I've already switched electric fans thinking that might be the problem without any noticeable difference. What's really stumped me is that it runs cooler when it's stopped or at low speeds than when it's running at highway speeds. Now I'm wondering if I should switch radiators again.
That tells me your fans are working fine. You just have an airflow issue at speed.
Use to be Z's had an airflow turbulence issue that caused them to heat up at speed. Datsun fixed this by installing a "chin pan", a bolt on sheild that went between the frame rails from the radiator back to the cross member. This smoothed out the undercar turbulence allowing smooth airflow through the radiator at speed.
I am putting a JTR rad in my car and the first thing I noticed is the JTR mounting position will not allow me to use the chin pan. I have not really decided what I am going to do about that.
My quess what you need to do is figure out a way to get the air to flow through your radiator and not around it. Guys have reported having luck by sealing the areas around the radiator and sheet metal so air can't go around the rad. Also make sure any shroud you may have on the electric fan allows air to flow through the radiator when the fans are off. A lot of those shrouds have flaps that let air through when the fan is off, but close up when the fan is on.
Do a search. There have been hundreds of ideas for improving cooling at speed.
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And I know better than to run a stock Z radiator... That's really asking for trouble...
In the dead of the 100*+ summer heat and humidity in Houston, TX, the first time I really got on it, or the first pass down the strip,
and my engine would have a heat stroke.
Don't believe me?
A member named Phantom was from I believe the Dallas area and never had a cooling problem with his V8 Z. See post #5
http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=113211&highlight=radiator
Good luck with your search.
BTW, the JTR radiator is one of the more popular radiators on this site. Why are so many guys running that radiator if it doesn't work?
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You want the energy suspension unit
http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/productitem_10001_10002_743960_-1_12694
They also have one in red (JEGS part number 355-3-1108R )
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The whole key to the Surge Tank Concept is to have the pickup to the main pump continually flooded with fuel under slight pressure to keep the main pump primed. The #75 Steve Millen IMSA car (Cunningham Racing) has two surge tanks almost the entire height of the car and 4" in diameter! ALWAYS had flooded inlet even if a big pocket of air was sucked by any of the booster pumps.
Are you sure the surge tanks were that large to help with fuel delivery, or to get around some rule limiting fuel tank capacity?
Smokey Yunick mentioned that racing trick in one of his books. They had a rule limiting tank capacity, so he added enough fuel line to hold an extra 5 gallons of gas.
Isn't the expansion tank plastic? I hope your metal shield totally seals the tank from the passenger's compartment and includes a vent/drain to the exterior.
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I accidentially mounted my muffler backwards too. Ran that way for years. Don't know that it hurts anything. It did allow me to mount the muffler farther up under the rear valence.
When I was in high school the hot ticket on mufflers was to get a Corvair turbo muffler, but to run it backwards. Not sure what that accomplished but we sure thought we were cool telling other people to do that.
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The knock could be detonation, possibly caused by a vacuum leak. Try backing off on the timing or switching to premuim gas to see if that helps. Not a fix but will help diagnois the problem.
I have read that oil in the intake can cause detonation also. Could you have a leaky head gasket?
Vacuum leak also comes to mind for a rough idle. Check all your hoses and get some starter fuild and/or propane to check for the vacuum leaks.
Like BRAAP said, could be 100 other things too.
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If you're able to, check the early carbs for excessive
play/wear in the throttle shafts.
This is the problem with not wanting "Z Therapy" carbs. The throttle shaft bushing wear out on the 40 year old carbs causing vacuum leaks. Not having a vacuum leak is what makes the Z Therapy carbs worth the money.
If you search around you can probably get a full set of carbs and linkage from the manifolds out for $100. But unless they have been restored with new bushing my guess is they will leak. Since replacing bushing is not something you can do yourself, you will be looking at several hundred dollars to have it done.
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Energy Suspension's urethane transmission mounts have a captive device built in. If they make motor mounts for a Z then that would be my solution.
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I saw that dyno book when I was searching for a pic of the book I posted. That is a really new book. Might pick that one up myself.
Amazon turned up a third book, but unfortunately it got flamed in the amazon review. Funny how people always complain about books having info that "can be found on the internet". Yeah, maybe it can, but sometimes it is nice to have it all in one place and hopefully from a trusted source.
The book I posted above says the cathedral ports came about because the designer mandated that the valve train be "in line", i.e. the pushrods could not be offset from the valves. That meant the intake ports had to be narrow to fit, so the only way to make them bigger was to make them taller. I have read other things stating the original designers were amazed at how well the head worked with the carburated intake. Something about how the heads were designed to work with the injector.
But the LS7 heads (and now L92 heads) have offset rockers allowing a more rectangular intake port.
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Yeah, I looked at it too and bookmarked it. Has a lot of good info. they said no 6.0L should be honed out more than 0.010 due to an insufficient bore spacing. But there are numerous posts on LS1tech talking about 0.030 overbores on iron block motors.
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I am not a big fan of moving the battery on a Z. Most V8 swaps end up tail heavy as it is. What Jon says makes a lot of sense to me.
One thing I absolutely think is a bad idea is putting a battery in the passenger's compartment. Those things are full of acid. If the car rolls over you risk having battery acid dripping on you. Or if the voltage regulator goes you could be breathing acid fumes. Plus batteries can burn up if the cables get pinched and short out. Running 8 feet of battery cable has to greatly increase the probability of that happening.
I guess if it was in a sealed box that was vented outside...
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Phantom has one on his Z.
The LSx F body cars have torque arms also.
Great idea on a car with a solid rear axle. Can really work to dial in the suspension.
But I don't see the point of them on a car with an IRS.
Maybe somebody could educate me.
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I don't know what the maximum bore is, but iron blocks are routinely bored 0.30 over.
Everything I have read about the aluminum blocks says they can be HONED out < 0.010 inch like said above. Hardly seems like it would be worth the expense of new pistons.
Basically if you want a bigger bore on an aluminum block, then you either need new liners or just get a different block. And from what I have read new liners is a risky upgrade. Better to just get an LS2 block.
But LS blocks can be stroked easily. That seems to be the preferred route.
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I have this book
Pretty much a must have book, even though it is a little older and doesn't talk about LS2 motors. They have a detailed section on how to pull an LS1 out of an F body. Has a good history of the design features in the motors. I learned a lot from this book.
I also bought the GM LS installation guide. Was like $40. It is primarily part numbers and has good info about the differences between the Fbody-Vette-Truck parts. But overall not worth the 40 bucks.
Beyond that I am looking for good books myself.
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For a budget build just stay with the stock Z radiator. If you recore it to a 3 row core it will easily cool a V8. Everybody thinks you have to get a different radiator, but there have been quite a few members who run the stocker so replacing the radiator is NOT a must do part of a V8 swap.
If you stay with the stocker, then I have heard that the dual electric fans off a Camaro will bolt right up to it.
Also I know necessity is the mother of taking chances, but I have never liked the idea of pulling a radiator out of a bone yard.
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You have the right end. I think it is just the wrong cable. They sent me the same cable when I ordered one for my 240. No way will that thread onto the back of the speedo. You need one with a threaded end. Just compare the new cable to the old one to see what I mean. If you don't have the old cable I can post pics of the ones on my porch.
I would have sent mine back, but I destroyed it before I realized it was the wrong part. Then I realized the one that came with my new transmission had the proper end on it, so all was good.
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thanks guys for all the explainations, i'll try to check it tomorow and see how it goes. another question is ( since i have two different U joints, front mustang one and rear Z one, does that have to do with the vibration due to the difference in sizes between the 2 joints? if i cannot fix the problem, would it be safe to drive the car like this since the vibration only occurs when i back off the throttle?
thanks
Yeah. I could see where that might be an issue. Especially if the joints are different diameters.
I don't think safety is and issue.
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Try work + house + wife + 2 young children. Doesn't get any easier.
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If the 72 is rust free, I mean really rust free, then $5000 may not be a bad price. A little on the high side but possibly worth it.
There are 100 different things that could cause an engine to stall out. Could be as simple as needing a good tune up or could be an electrical problem.
See if you can find an experienced mechanic who will take a look at the car for you. Doesn't sound like a simple car to learn auto mechanics on.
Also the pre 75's are exempt from smog testing but not from the smog laws. Big difference.
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you guy's can alway's buy an ls2 add a small cam and turn in some 10's....
I like that solution. AFR heads don't sound cheap.
LS2 also has the option of L92 heads.
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The drive shaft alignment geometry is really pretty simple. Just draw a straight line out of the transmission shaft and one out of the differential shaft. If those two lines are exactly the same distance apart, up and down, side to side, all along the line, then the drive line angles are perfect.
Here is one way to check your angles
http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=109413
The problem is U joints turning through an angle don't turn at a constant, smooth rate. As the U joint goes through it's motion, it kind of speeds up and slows down, speeds up and slows down. Try turning a socket universal joint by hand an you will see what I mean. The bigger the angle, the bigger the change in speed.
If you have a second U joint that is at the opposite angle, then the speed change is exactly canceled out. As one joint speeds up, the other slows down. If the angles of the two joints aren't the same, than the rear wheels will speed up and slow down just like the shaft. This causes the vibration.
The other thing to look at is make sure the rear U joint was welded onto the shaft with the correct alginment compared to the front U joint. Here is a picture to show what I mean
Aluminum drive shafts are suppose to be less likely to cause vibration since they weight less.
If you can't find a good shop, here is a link where you can get a custom made shaft done relatively cheap. Don't know what shipping would be like overseas
One other thing. How good is your front diff mount? If the diff mount is worn out, then under heavy load the nose of the diff can go up or down affecting the driveline angles. Make sure your diff, tranny and engine mounts are solid.
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Just win baby!
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This place is pretty strict about people doing some research on their own before asking basic questions. Things can get rather unplesant otherwise.
Go to the FAQ section and your frequently asked question has been answered. You should also read the rules, a sticky a the top of most forums.
Welcome to the site.
SBC swap: What Radiator?
in Gen I & II Chevy V8 Tech Board
Posted
I am not trying to talk anyone out of anything. I just get nervous having a JTR radiator waiting to be installed and want to make sure everything is OK. Plus I get bored at work sometimes.
I think two guys having issues is not exactly overwhelming empirical evidence. Especially since yours is a unique install that seems to cool fine when the fans are working at a stop, and if I remember correctly Gretchn Jason is running a blower. Actually if I am reading you guys right neither one is actually overheating, just running hotter than you like?
I am sure both of you guys are telling the truth and things are what they are. But I also know a bigger radiator will mask other problems that may exist. The JTR radiator is just an upgraded Camaro radiator. Hard to imagine how it could have less cooling capacity than the Camaro unit.