maichor

Wow! Most newer aluminum radiators are 2 core. How fat is that thing?

I kind of went the other way and used mostly Firebird parts because I had the whole car as a donor. 1972 240Z with a Velo Rossa Kit. 1)2001 LS1 From a FTA WS6 with 10K miles. It came with LS6 intake and I run an ASP underdrive pulley. 2)T56 stock with Pro 5.0 shifter 3)Custom cross member welded to the original and bolted to the engine rails. Corvette sytle mounts. 4) I used the LS1 fuel tank, Gauges, brake booster and master cylinder, modified stock wiring harness by Speartech and reprogramming. Small GM alternator and pulleys from Street and Performance. S&P 1 5/8 headers to 2.5 dual exhaust with X-pipe then to 3" Power effects mufflers and tips. I got the 240Z mid '01, and the LS1 about 2/02. Everything but body work is complete, but this may be a never "finished" project. 5) Carrera coilovers in front with Z31 hubs and Toyota 4X4 Brakes. Rear is a complete transplant of 300ZXtt brakes, VLSD R230 with 3.7 gears, custom Moser axles and 240SX subrame and multilink suspension. First drive impression and exhaust here: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=96038 Some early build pics here: http://photos.yahoo.com/maichor75104 Some other photos here: http://www.geocities.com/maichor75104

Please include: 1. Year of motor/mods 2. Tranny 3. Kit used or explanation of your custom mounts. 4. Any special accessories or parts needed for the swap, including fuel, wiring, etc. 5. Date you started on the project, date finished 6. Other car mods (suspension, brakes, etc.) Optional: Pictures and miscellaneous info!

Oh, yeah Briguy! He sold me some GM service manuals. I haven't seen him on in a while. And since you mentioned a club, which may be too much to ask given we are spread out so much, but we could start a thread. I'll put one up an see how it goes.

I don't know his name either. But, you have to know who Lonestar1 is, so here it goes. Lonestar1, Gary is from Mesquite Texas. He was the first to complete the LS1 swap and did it all himself with a crate LS1. He has a beautiful blue Z with white racing stripes. He has an auto tranny, stall, and a few bolt ons. If by a few bolt ons you mean a supercharger! He has the only Supercharged Z that I am aware of. It is a magnacharger and he says the car is scary fast now. There you go!

Hey, LS1 Z, you forgot LoneStar1, Jeromio, Cyrus, and me (Maichor). I am so hurt and offended!!!! Not! As many have said, John's cars has a kit. If you are interested in doing your own mounts, I suggest you read our marathon thread on the LS1. This thread predates the John's cars kit and has good info from those that have done it from scatch. Not essential reading if you use a kit, but good info nonetheless. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=67949

I would have to say that overall, it is smooth and stable. Especially launching and during wheel spin. Cornering feels tight and crisp with very little body roll. Trying to slide the rear out under was more difficult than I imagined, which makes my wife happy. Unfortunately, the only time I drove the car before the makeover was with completely shot springs and struts on all four corners. Seriously, the car looked slammed and it had stock springs. The bad news, Bumps. I have driven on some poor roads and things feel very stiff. It handles like a race car, not a luxury sedan. I have yet to replace the front struts, that should smooth things out a bit. I will let you know once that is done. Also, I need new tires on the rear. The 335's are not meant to be on the 10.5" wheels. I am going to go down to a 315, that will straighten out the sidewall and should change the feel as well. All in all, I am very pleased.

You will need the hub carrier from the 300ZXTT to work with the S13 Subframe "carrier" and your axles will need to be shortened. I narrowed up the subframe 1", you could probably go 4" shorter max, but you would have to take it out of both sides and it would not be as pretty because you would have to cut some of the supporting metal. That would leave your track 1.5" wider than stock in the rear, or .75" per side. PM me if you want a better description and we can talk on the phone. I recommend getting new custom axles from Moser at your desired length. Shortening and reslpining the hardened steel is a machinists nightmare. After several quotes, I gave up and got new axles. Also, to save a little money, you can use the cast iron hub assembly from the 90-96 Q45. There is virtually no demand for these and I picked mine up cheap. You have the option of keeping the Q45 brakes or using the 300ZXTT brakes. IF you are upgrading the brakes, I would find 300ZXTT hubs with brakes and buy it all, remember to get the 300ZXTT lower control arms. Good luck.

I agree with the returnless setup. No problems here. Hey, that vette filter return would make my fuel lines a little more compact. One correction though, NOT ALL LS1's are drive by wire. The Camaro, Firebird, Trans Am LS1's are all CABLE throttle bodies. You can easily swap to a cable TB if you want, it still has a throttle position sensor that will work with the ECU, but it would probably be just as easy to rig your pedal to send the appropriate signal. I run the stock Firebird cable rigged up to the stock gas pedal and it works fine.

Oh, by the way, the real GTO's have vents that open and close, here they are closed. It looks good both ways.

I wouldn't worry about cooling, I have not cut the opening out yet and I have not had any problems. I do have an aluminum 2 row radaitor and F-body fans, but they hardly ever run. My buddy suggested I close the rear recesses also, but I like them.

Blue73Z, I do like that motorcycle color. See how it almost looks yellow in direct light and orange/brown in indirect light. That might save a bundle over someone trying to reproduce a $15,000 paint job as on the hot rod for $2000. I wonder what that color looks like in the sun? This will be a fair weather driver.

Thanks, for all of your ideas. Keep them coming. I love the silver as well. I also saw a metallic grey that looked very good. The only reason I didn't jump right on the silver was because it felt like copying a masterpiece. Every VR owner knows that was Steve Graber's car. I wanted to make my own. With very few VR's I could be the ONLY orange one. The orange I have pictured in my head, I can't seem to reproduce in photoshop. Blueovalz is right, if the orange or yellow is not the right shade, it can look bad. I also agree with letting the woman pick the color. She was the one that started second guessing the blue. It looks ok, but a little out of place. I am going for the updated look, mainly because I cant find wire wheels wide enough. Custom wheels are $$$ and the Cobra R's were the cheapest thing out there, but they have grown on me and I am pleased with how they look on the car. Below the blue car is a better example of the orange I was thinking of. Something that changes dramatically in the light.

I like the way light colors show off the lines, vents, curves etc. The dark colors show off the accents and the chrome very well. I love the black, but it hides the vents and and front openings a little and shows off body imperfections. Red is hot, but I am not going for authentic Ferrari. I won't have any badges etc. And, like someone mentioned before, I have never seen orange, it would be unique. Here is a photoshop and some other colors. Any votes for orange now?

Well, I guess it is finally time to start the body work. I have most everything assembled and the car is running great. I originally handed paint color choice over to my wife. She chose Indigo Blue. Dodge and Ford have similar colors. Here is our Cherokee which pretty much the color we were thinking. Here is my car as it is in gel coat glory. We saw "Rides" last night and we really liked the burnt orange color on one of the coupes. It was metallic with a lot of pearl and depth but popped in the sun. How do you achieve that look. Here is a rendering of the color used by Chip Foose. DO YOU LIKE AND WHAT OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR COLORS?

Most junk yards want $300 for the diff alone. Most charge $100 for a pair of CV's from a TT. It is a very fair price, not a deal to beat all deals.

Welcome, This kind of goes against what you are asking, but since I have an LS1, here is my opinion. Take it for what it is worth. Slapping a carb on an LS1 defeats the whole purpose of going with the newer generation small block. If you want a carbed motor, don't build the LS1. Parts are much more expensive (although getting cheaper everyday). But, what I would do is is build the LS1 and keep the fuel injection and ECU. You will not be sorry for enduring a slight wiring headache to get fuel economy, big power potential, and tuning ease. And, with GM slapping LS2's in just about everything, they are going to be a dime a dozen in about 5 years. That said, the LS1 prices are dropping fast. You may want to start over and get a complete junk yard LS1. I bought a wrecked 2001 Trans AM for $4500. After parting it out and keeping the motor, I got an LS1 with 10K miles for about $2000, spent $1000 on pulley setup and headers to make it fit. That was 2 years ago. A sweet deal back then, but if you look long enough you can find better deals now. Just my $.02, good luck.

No damn 240, I have lots of pics posted in this thread: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=96050&highlight=maichor+240SX Hope that helps. Corzette, thanks for the heads up. The pics are misleading. Take a look at this view: http://www.theadairvillage.com/isapi.dll/c/content/f/viewproperty/siteid/jNsLAQ/contentclass/PICT/contentid/ZZZZZZSO/propertyname/Original/~/EXHAUST_037.jpg I have about 4" to the tires on either side. What I am most concerned about is that it runs just 2" from the plastice fuel tank. I need to put an aluminum heat shield there. And sure, you can have a ride but it won't feel fast compared to your beast. Are you running the 383 yet? We move back to Dallas in April.

Made a little progress yesterday. 1950 Pontiac syle taillights by Vintique are right at home. What do you guys think.

That is all true, except my tires are 335/35/17's and so it is more like low 90's at redline. I never went over 85 though. Just WOT acceleration rowing 1st, 2nd, and pulling part of third. I will have to take it to the track soon. I may have to put a roll bar in first. Anyone know the rule for an roadster?

I guess I better clarify for those who imagine me weaving through traffic at high speeds. I do not condone crazy driving. I am very careful. We were on flat, straight, divided road and I never passed or ran up on another car. My car probably feels so much faster to them because it is a no roof roadster and very windy. I also never got out of 3rd gear. I don't think they were really scared, they just were commenting on how quick the car was. My point was that their impression was that the car was super fast and my impression was that I need more top end. Yes, once again please drive safely.