Ray

Got MIG ???? just weld it back... also I would look for other problems... take a tape measure to the front of the car. It may have been in an accident and that wasn't found... you may find other problems...Z's bend real easy....

Having grown up in California I understand the smog issue... but this is a little out of hand... I thought the chassis dyno smogs were way out there... I can't wait to see what the lawyers do with this one... Enjoy the land of the fruits, nuts and tree huggers....

I don't understand how... the balance is different as is the bolt patern and the mounting pad... If I remember GM went to the one piece main in 85... if you are looking at doing a t56 get a later block.. there are aftermarket cranks and other acc. available for them..and you save the cost of the Centerforce Flywheel.... Good luck...

I still say buy the whole car... get the r230 and the trans, find a freind with a dealers tag and then get the listings for some insurance auctions, why let the wrecking yard make a grand off of you for pulling the motor......

They look like a cobra mirror.. take a look at the cobra repo sites if I remember correctly there were two sizes... good luck.

Try some of the on line parts dealers....

10 months so far,,, I have stripped the shell recliped the front and bent and welded a cage. I have also cut out the spare tire well and replaced it with sheet metal. Most of the body work is done and am in the process of painting it now. Crazy fun... full cage, roller cam 350, T5, r230, 300zxtt wheels, supra brakes (thanks terry) custom made fuel tank for dual exhaust, It might have been faster if I had made one from scratch...

Terry how did you shape the rear window ??? and what was the cost...

I forgot about the valve seals,, I probibly still have a set or two in the attic. I used to be really good at changing them... Make sure if the motor hasn't been run in a while lube the cam and followers, also make sure the valves are free. L motors also have a problem with the oil rings sticking...ATF works good for freeing them up. Alot of us have put together cars when we didn't have any money, and the rest of us are just cheep like me....

Had this same problem with my Camaro... You handled it the best way I have found. Usually it is some Cop with an attitude or envious of your car. I have had them walk up to the door talking like I am some 16 year old punk and when they get there and talk to me there whole attitude changes. It is still interesting how "some" cops act when they think they won't be confronted about there behavior... Good luck and if that doesn't work get a good cheep Lawyer it is cheeper than hasling with the tickets... [ August 13, 2001: Message edited by: Ray ]

I had the same problem a few years ago.. I found a good 2.8 out of a zx for 100$ and just swaped it... If it is a driver this shouldn't be a problem... BTW most of the fuel ingection motors have very little wear even with alot of miles....Good luck

Why don't you guys in the San Fran Bay Area all get together there seem to be alot of you.......

What is the weight of a Q45 motor all dressed out ??? Is it lighter than a SBC...

Q45's have been arround for over 10 years now and I have seen alot of them in wrecking yards and I dont ever remember one even having the motor pulled out... they arn't a hot item.. most wrecking yards would be hard pressed to sell one.. So getting one cheep shouldn't be a problem might require some looking or be willing to buy a whole car that is wrecked. As for the adapter they make one for everthing else why not... you will have to run some aftermarket computer and deal with the variable valve timing.. but if you get one cheep why not use the factory computer and then spray it and see how long it lasts could be a neat experiment... I agree with the others if it is like most other Nissan motors it will have a forged crank and a real strong lower end. Good Luck

What about the Ferrari style dash used in some GTO's does anyone have some good pix of some that are available??????

I know 100 hp from a cam swap sounds like alot but look at the specs for the cam on the 250hp motor. they have a lift like 398 and a short duration... It was designed to work in trucks and heavy vehicles.. I had one in my one ton they fall flat on their face at about 4500 rpm.. and go into valve float soon after.. with a Hot cam kit you can rev the motor to almost 6k. This makes the motor perform like it should.... Good luck great choice.. WARNING you have to lower the valve guides on the vortec heads to run this cam....the max cam a stock vortec head will take is .475 with out the retainer hitting he guide. There is a tool sold by powerhouse that will shorten the guide and enlarge the spring pearch all at once.. if you are using the LT4 springs that come with the Hot Cam kit you will need to cut them down... BTW Scrogin and Dicky had the GM version of the performer RPM available as a take off for 120$. They do alot of custom crate motors and have alot of new parts that were pulled off to install aftermarket stuff....you just have to call and ask...

If you are looking at doing a carb turbo take a look at this group.. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BLOWTHRU They mostly do ford stuff but the info is the same....

If you have several shells... Take and isolate the speffic pannel you want by trimming arround it so that all that is left is the edge of the adjacent panel where the welds are. Then use a small very hot cutting tip on the scrap edge quickly. This will get rid of one side and keep the part you want to keep in tack with little or no warpage. the goal is to melt off the area between the spot welds quickly...Now one more time quickly... then use a grinder to clean up what is left. I have tried the drills, great once they are new cobalt works best but they dull due to the face the weld surface is hardend in the welding process. now remember be careful and the goal is to heat it quick so heat doesn't transfer to the panel you want to save... try it a few times and you will get good and it is quick. Now if your car has rust or you dont have a small cutting tip. You can trim the panel the same way just use a grinder on the welds. This is the only fast way I know. I learned this after drilling out all the spot welds that attach the front clip to the firewall.....that took forever....when I got the good front end to weld to the tub and expairmented, ended up using this way to trim the parts clip and it worked great... BTW a Sawzall works great for cutting Datsun sheet metal nice and clean..... Good luck

With your present combo you may want to look at the GM fast burn heads and the Hot roller cam... 450+hp and you can use your lower end... Now if you are building another motor go with the AFR's and buy a zz4 short block and a big roller cam..

Having grown up in the San Fran bay area (Brentwood) I agree. I have been to GM Sports Salvage and gotten raped.... I am even shipping FI parts to a freind of mine in Stocton by Southwest Airlines because of the price difference.. That and Southwest will ship anything just bubble wrap it and they will put a sticker on it and ship it.. now you have to go to the airport and pick it up but if it is under 75lbs they will ship it cheep for air freight....like I said look arround...you may have to order it or get it shipped but you will also save alot....

Just noticed dave's response.. Remember the prices vary alot depending on the area... example in Houson 4x4 parts are cheep because 90% of the trucks are 2 wheel drive... now up where you are the opposite may be true... so location makes a real difference when you are looking at 10 to 15 year old parts. Out west where Dave is a 20 year old car will look brand new and the ecomony is alot better so the prices will be higher... So look arround....

Depends on what you want... the 5sp trans here go for 400 to 700$ complete 700r4 autos a little less.. the motors 300-1000$ depending on if you want the injection or not. The wrecking yards are real proud of TPI, but if you can get a 305 out of a carb (pre 87) camaro or a TBI they are alot cheeper... they are the same basic motor, the TBI's even have the same roller cam as the TPI's... Now I agree with buying a complete setup that you are sure runs good.... If you want to go the cheep route look for a 87-92 camaro rs with a TBI 305 and a auto or 5sp... they are all over the place and are real cheep wrecked...get one that runs and you can drive that way you can check out the drivetrain before you swap it.....if you have to have a 350 look for a 88 thru 95 pickup... the real difference is a flat tappet camshaft and compression ratio. The truck motors work real good with a carb in place of the injection due to the 8 to 1 compression ratio...put a little bit of a cam in it and they run good..... Go to a few tow away auctions or insurace auctions and take a look. Down here if it doesn't have a TPI on it it goes real cheep...a couple of hundred bucks and you can get a good 305 and 700r4...up where you are there should be alot of rust buckets with good drivetrain that you can buy cheep and drive a little to make sure the motor and trans are good then do the swap.....this is also a better way because you get all the little stuff that you may need and you get to sell what you don't need. just look for a small block car with an overdrive trans.... beware of pre 87 700r4 auto's.. they only have a 7 vane front pump and are prone to have problems... One of my best tricks is go to the wrecking yard that don't get any traffic the ones out in the middle of no where that arn't on a hotline. Most of these have stuff that isn't picked over and isn't going anywhere.... take notes and offer some lowball price for what you want. The owner will refuse... wait a month and go back 90% of the time it will still be there....then offer the same amount again...(ex if he wants 800 offer 200) always take cash and know what you are looking at( don't take there word for it, most of the time they dont know what it is out of...)... when I buy motors or trans I offer the core fee first which is usually 100 to 200 for trans and 100 to 300 for motors depending on what it is.... Now the core price is the most he will get from a core buyer for that motor or trans ( injection stuff wont be included for this price) ... Most yards have a buyer that comes by every so often....so the owner or counter man will know what he can sell it for if you offer him 50$ more he will usually sell it.... now this only works on stuff they can't sell easily... remember the more traffic a business gets and the better the location the more product he will move. So if you try this tactic on a high volume yard they will laugh at you because they will sell it in a week or two anyway... Be patient and take your time. Look alot and learn what is out there and the going price on stuff in your area.. Some times the best people to learn from are the ones that dont have what you want... They aren't going to sell you anyting so they are much more likely to talk....learn what the differences are year to year and model to model. This way when you do go to buy you know exactly what you want.... Good luck if you have any more questions we are always here....there are some other good scroungers here most of us are far enough away from you that we don't mind telling our secrets.....Later Ray

If you are going the cheep route get a late 80's camaro with a roller 305 and a 5 speed and swap them into the Z... I have seen several of these combo's real cheep ... remember even the RS Camaros had roller cams and the 5 speeds are WC T5's....you should be able to find a wrecked car for cheep.... if you get the later 80's cars they all had serpintine belts....If you are real creative use the FI if not just throw a intake, a Qjet on top and change the dist. and go.... or better yet and probibly cheeper carb 305 and 200r4 out of a 80's Montecarlo or 350 and 700r4 out of a chev PU and then change the cam intake and etc...Good luck...lots of options...the cheeper the better...

opps... [ July 30, 2001: Message edited by: Ray ]

Nice swap.. post some pix... as for your stumble look at the optispark unit and or your plug wires... Several people I know have had trouble with them or had them completely go out... Also don't forget the plugs, the best thing to do is get it scoped and ohm the wires....Good luck....Nice to have you in the forum....