speeder

Saweeeeeeet! What a unique, well executed, and very good looking customization.

The compressor on that turbo is a T04R, 70 trim, 66.5mm., capable of 75lb/hr. The T3 Stage 5 turbine is almost as big as a T4's, and a more modern design. It's probably the biggest hybrid you can get. My power figure (3.0 stroker) was made at 17psi. I'll make this one off-topic comment and let these guys get back to RBs- Z-Gad and I have found that big turbos (Seemingly too big for the L by conventional wisdom) do well on L-motors, somewhat making up for a lack of head flow capability (my theory anyhow) . He is running a T72 on his, and making in excess of 400rwhp on a stock F54/P90 with an Isky turbo cam. I really need to get cracking on my next (non-L) engine, one with better head flow capability.

I have that same turbo on my L - only mine has a stage 5 T3 turbine - The "Super 6" on James' site. I like it. I'm making more than 425 rwhp. You will probably need an upgraded turbo cam to fully utilise that big compressor on the L-motor. JT, I'm jealous of those numbers. My dinosaur is maxed out, while you are just getting into the sweet spot.

If memory serves me correctly, the British Rover company bought the license for this motor - and built many cars powered by a 3.5 L version. I wonder if there is any support (aftermarket performance parts) in the U.K.?

I have had a plan for some time to use my Electromotive's auxilliary rev limit engaged by a switch on the clutch pedal, like this: Clutch pedal in = low rev limit (launch rpm) Clutch pedal released = high rev limit A shot of nitrous to speed spoolup for launch? Hmmm. That could be a good thing too.

Thanks! My front end came without headlight buckets or flares. I added those. Lots of itchy/stinky work to get the piece straight and fitting. The hydraulic struts I used are something I picked up off the rack in a parts store - selected for the right size and suitable mounts on both ends. I think they are quite a bit shorter than the Z hatch struts. Any "worn out" strut that will fit can be used.

I have some pictures of my tilt front end on my website http://rick.thebowersplace.com It is the (no longer made) Arizona ZCar one -piece front. Look under "Car Pictures". The website is way out of date concerning car configuration... My hinges consist of matching flat plates, one attached to the car, one to the hood on each side. I use a hefty (1/2" diameter) clevis pin secured with a hairpin clip through the two plates to make each actual hinge. Note that the actual hinge point is very low in order to make the air dam clear the floor when the front end rotates up. I used some hydraulic struts to hold the hood open, but found that there was too much tension, so I just gutted them and used them for simple stops. I use 4 hood pins to secure the front end near the cowl area when closed. The complete assembly can be removed quickly without tools by just pulling the pins at the hinges and at the hydraulic struts. Although very light (about 35 pounds), the front end is really bulky and awkward to grab hold of and lift/carry, so I have a cable through a pulley with 4 hooks on the end that enable me to lift the front end clear and store overhaed when working on the car. I'll be building a new tilt front pretty soon - to match my new rear flares almost done - by connecting the Reaction Research 280YZ front fenders, hood and air dam - I plan to use the same hinge construction but build some integrated side latches to eliminate the hood pins. Tilt front ends have a nice "gee whiz" factor and really are good for providing access while working on the car. After I got this car done and before I dinged up the paint by driving and carelessly wrenching in the shop, the car won "best in show" at a local Z car event, based mostly on the front end work. Let me know if more pictures of the hinges are desired.

This is the 3" downpipe I built for my T5'ed 280Z. My Stage 5 T3 turbine housing has about 2.8" outlet. I took a pie - shaped piece out of the tubing at the turbo flange and carefully shaped/bent it back together and welded to make the taper down to the turbo's outlet diameter. The flange was ported for a good match. The pipe sort of makes an S-turn down through the available space with 3 pieces of mandrel u-bends - 2 of them "about" 45* and the remaining one (the piece in the middle visible in the picture) just a very slight bend to give the necessary smooth S shape to rout the pipe outward around the T5. Dunno how "good" this pipe is, but it did get the connection between turbo and exhaust made with minimum bends and smooth transitions. Is a 3" worth it? Probably not on a stock L28et, but if you're building a downpipe out of mandrel bends, it's really not that much more trouble to do than a 2.5" one - just one more bend, making the transition to 3", and very careful measuring/jigging.

That would look nice in a red RX7....

It's air dam, damn-it! I've also been looking options for eliminating the center bumper section. That doesn't look half- bad.

Reminds me of the time many years ago when my grandfather was working on an overheating problem with his Chevy. Not being a very skillful mechanic, it took him several days to work his way down to a bad thermostat, which he replaced. He then put the old stat in his bench vise and for several days, every time he walked by he would stop, give the vise another crank tighter, and cuss at that bad part. He then sent the flattened, demonic thing to its final end in the trash can with an extra burst of verbal abuse. As a young teenager at the time, I thought this was pretty amusing - and it's still one of my most vivid memories of Grandpa. It's good for the soul to exact revenge against an inanimate object that's caused you grief....

Reaction Research's website talks about 18"rims and low profile tires on what I assume are coilovered cars. Also, 18 inchers' sidewalls hit further up the stut where it has more of an angle inward and more room. to wit: "allowing for use of up to 12 inch wide wheels and up to 335-width tires. Exact clearance is determined by the type of suspension (racing coilover vs. stock vs. live axle, etc.)." and "Ted's wheels are custom made and are 18" diameter x12" wide. They have a 25" x 11.5" Goodyear racing slicks." Believe me, the big, bulgy Mickeys are a way tighter fit, and at 13" section are wider than those wimpy roadrace tires. I have serious extra room with my 18 inch roadrace setup compared to the 15" DRs...

Based on my recent actual test fitting, Stock (non coilovered) struts will be a Very tight fit with the 325/50s. I can say with 90% certainty that they will not go in there. Like I said, I have wheels with an effective backspace of 4.75" and have 1/4" (maybe a little less) clearance from the spring perch. Your proposed backspace of 4.5" would increase my clearance from a coilover to 1/2". You will be super close to (if not in contact with) the stock spring perch. A wider rim will spread the tire's section more, so this clearance with 12s will be even less than with my 10 - inchers. Careful measuring is in order.

It even has the screaming chicken on the hood... Way Cool!

Those DRs are Mickey Thompson ET Street - Note the 13" wide part! That is about the max tire width (on any rim) the YZ Flares will support. There is about 1/4" clearance to the coilover on the inside and the outside tire sidewall just tucks under the lip of the flare. I adapted my Arizona ZCar 4-lug brake sets to the Mustang 5-lug pattern with 1.75" thick 2-piece adaptors. This makes the Mustang offsets (About 1" or something like a 6" backspace) fit well on the inner side with my coilovers.

I'm in the process of installing 280YZ rears on my car - Making space for 325/50-15 drag radials (27.7" tall X 13"" wide) on 10" Weld pro-Star rims. My effective backspace (wheel + spacer) is 4.75". My car has coilovers and this combo fills up the YZ flares. I doubt that I could have made these fit without coilovers. I have set up the car (5-lug spacer/adaptors) to utilize late model Mustang wheels - Rear street setup is 17X 10.5" wheels with 315/35-17, Rear road race is 18X 10" with 305/35-18. After making room for those bigass DRs, these fit with no problem, and there is perhaps 1" additional space outward. In the future I will be getting wider/lighter wheels for Road Race - and will fine tweek the fit under the flares with wheel size. In making plans/calculations for wheel-tire fit,It's probably best to start with the desired tire size and work back from there to wheel and flare fit issues. BTW, I also have the 280YZ front fenders/hood/air dam and will be connecting them together to make a new one-piece front end. I am truly in bodywork hell, but this should be worth the effort when done. I was hooked after seing Bill Coffey's sweet race car. I'll post pics soon.

Sweet! I wish you had done yours first so I could have copped your design! I had originally planned to do similar (eliminate the M-bar and build a subframe for tubular heim-jointed LCAs that incorporates the front diff mount), but wimped out and took an easier route. I'll be watching this, Jamie - Excellent design and execution.

TimZ and I both use the McCleod Hydraulic Thowout Bearing (Bolt-on bearing housing on mine) and have had good results.

I will be able to provide some input to this when I escape from bodywork hell - I'm currently cutting metal and doing big rear flares to fit my 325/50-15 Mickey Thompson ET Street DRs. I have the G-Force T5 from The Gear Box and an R230/Z32 CVs/MM Billet Stubs installed, and am pretty sure that all this will hold up to my 434 rwhp/ 473 tq in dragstrip abuse. One thing I can report is that with this transmission I no longer shred 3rd gear like I did to two Nissan T5s with my old engine and lots less power... Again, what I like about the super T5 is that it's significantly smaller/lighter compared to other high hp-capable trannys, and provides a nice shift feel with the right aftermarket shifter/synthetic lube. I also shamelessly plug Kevin at The Gear Box... First Rate guy.

Funny thing about examining carnage like that... Horrifying and fascinating at the same time. Sux that it happened though.

Corvette .

I use a SS "Race Series" oval 14" Magnaflow with a 3'' exhaust, stock rear mounting, on my turbo L and it's rather loud. Not the quietest one around, but OK with me. Good performance and sound "quality", IMO. Note that large turbines are louder on Turbo cars...with my old T3 stage 3 in a .63 AR housing the exhaust was nowhere near as loud as my current stage 5/.63. I also noticed an increase in exhaust volume when I installed a freer-flowing exhaust manifold. (Old BAE cast iron, ported.)

You got that right Joel - Especially this time where we had to make a WAG on the startup EFI calibration - That monster started up on the second rev of the starter, and with a couple small tweeks to the raw fuel curve and it was free - revving well. Damn we good! Positively evil sounds from the open downpipe resulted. Not a big reach to predict that Mike's gonna like this one.

Here's the scene of the donor short block extraction. I was going to post this under the SEZ Thread as: " I think I can get this ready".

Glad to hear you made it! Blown motor's no problem when you have an army of Z mechanics (and a spare short block) to help. Not to mention the excellent teamwork and coodination! Hey, I also get credit for coming up with the idea of getting Ken's motor to swap.