Scottie-GNZ

You might also want to check oil pan clearance, especially if the 4.6L has a front sump. A lot of the newer hi-tech engines now come with aluminum oil pans which are great but probably makes it more difficult/expensive to modify. Scottie

Stony, is your friend with the 1.8L and SDS named Mark? If so, Mark lives in Orlando and we are good friends. His Silvia is just awesome. He ran 12.0 @ 119 with lots of wheelspin. The 1.8L is out of the Silvia and is going in a stripped down older 200SX with another 100hp. We are looking for 10.0s or better. The Silvia is getting an RB25 and I believe he also has an RB26 crank. Of course, if it is not Mark, at least you know there is another RHD Silvia from Japan with a 1.8L turbo, 720cc injs and SDS ------------------ Scottie 71 240GN-Z http://www.mindspring.com/~vscott911/gnz.html

Morgan, point of clarification. The GN driver's dise header flows towards the rear with a crossover pipe that goes under the rear of the engine and up into the rear of the pass side header. That header flows forward and dump UP with the turbo sitting on top of it with the proper support of course. Seems like you are going to a lot of trouble to avoid a u-joint in the steering rod and that is common practice on street rods. MOF, ever look under the hood of real Cobra? Even with the crossover pipe on top, the engine setback will still provide a beter F/R weight distribution over a stock Z with the L6. ------------------ Scottie 71 240GN-Z http://www.mindspring.com/~vscott911/gnz.html

If you run a single turbo and retain stock type exhaust manifolds, you still need a crossover pipe of sone type in order to have the exhaust from both banks drive the turbine. Scottie

Frank, I have a hard time believing that relocating the fan has anything to do with the fumes. If anyone knows better, pipe up. Eye-watering fumes are typically exhaust fumes or being very close to a gasoline leak What you did by relocating the fan is to push air through the radiator instead of pulling it. Z-cars are infamous for exhaust fumes as a result of the rear end design. I would think your problem is more along the lines of a bad hatch seal, taillight gasket not sealing, a hole in the floor Yes, a hole in the floor. The Z has a lot of holes in the floor in the rear deck for the fuel venting system. If one of those is unused and unplugged, you suck exhaust fumes into the car. ------------------ Scottie 71 240GN-Z http://www.mindspring.com/~vscott911/gnz.html

BillyZ, the companion flange and adaptor disc are one unit and is installed/removed no differently that you would for the companion flange by itself. No slide hammers. How hard it is to install/remove depends on smoothly it slides on the stub axle splines. As for duplicating it, if I had a supply of companion flanges, I MIGHT be able to convince the machinist (the same guy I bought my GN drivetrain from and also a Z fanatic) to make some. He might not want to do it. Since the disc is CNC-machined, he probably still has it in the computer. However, he and I would have a big concern about being held liable if the fabrication was not properly completed. I hope folks can understand that. ------------------ Scottie 71 240GN-Z http://www.mindspring.com/~vscott911/gnz.html

So glad you brought this up. I think it is an excellent guideline as long as we, street-driven cars, set our sights towards the low number. Anything above that introduces so many variables and it is mind-boggling to think that an engine with the same displacement could produce the hp number on the high side. When I ran my L28T, I ran 17# boost on the stock wheezer, err Turbo. According to my hp formula based on ET, MPH and weight, I had 288hp. According to Corky's formula the low hp number is 280hp. The last time I ran the GNZ, my formula said 388hp and the Corky's low number is 417hp. Again, the numbers are dead on because I had spoolup problems with the GNZ and no traction with the L28T and both affected the ET making the hp number lower. If I can match Corky's low number with the GNZ, that should get me 10.90s There are so many variables. Turbo size, I/C efficiency, headwork, octane, etc, and if you can get the right combination, thats when the fun begins. I highly recommend the book, "Maximum Boost" by Corky Bell. It is a must for anyone running or thinking turbo and great information to better understand and clear some myths for the non-believers Scottie ------------------ Scottie 71 240GN-Z http://www.mindspring.com/~vscott911/gnz.html

Euro, as for my intake, it was done for aesthetics. I feel you can do that kind of stuff when you can back it up . When you install an SDS, all that crap on the intake is not needed. If 300-325hp is your goal, then here is a little advice. First, the turbo is a t3/t04 hybrid. Do not get hung up on a performance cam for a turbo engine in that hp range. You can go a long way with the stock cam and it will do fine for what you want. Remember that all you know about hi-perf cams in a N/A does not apply to a turbo engine. Take any funds you had allocated in a cam and put it in the I/C. DO NOT GO CHEAP ON THE I/C . Focus your funds on the programmable system, the I/C, fuel system (injs, pump and FPR), exhaust, clutch and suspension/brakes. 300hp is useless (actually dangerous) if you cannot put it to the ground or stop. ------------------ Scottie 71 240GN-Z http://www.mindspring.com/~vscott911/gnz.html

Here is a list of the components I use to build the system: - R-200 diff - 280ZXT CVs - 280Z stub axles and companion flange - Adaptor disc. The disc is machined with an indent to have the wheel side of the CV to fit in it to prevent side movement. It also has 6 holes threaded for the CV to be bolted up to it. The other side of the disc is then precisely welded to the companion flange making sure it is true. Installation The disc/flange is installed on the stub axle and the disc has the appropriate sized hole in the middle for the big axle nut. The 280ZXT CV slips into the R-200 and the wheel side of the CV is put in the indent of the adaptor. Bolt it all up with Loctite on the bolts. There is no adaptor needed on the diff side. The CV pairs are not equal length so care must be taken which goes where. The drivers side CV goes on with no problem. The passenger is a little tougher but can be done w/o removing the control arm. I find it easier to just remove the 2 bolts from the front of the control to give that extra fraction needed to slip it in place. The disc is beefy enough so it could be machined thinner. I am certain there are better ways of doing this and I strongly advise "hackers" to not build their own. The disc was CNC-machined and the fitment and welding done by a reputable machinist. The car is in the air and if anyone is interested in seeing what it looks like with everything in place, let me know. Also, I was comtemplating coilovers for the rear just so I could get clearance for taller and bigger tires. While I had the rear suspension out to fit the CVs, I went ahead and did the JTR spring perch mod with the 280ZX 2+2 springs. I can now fit any diameter tire, and I am talking about monster 28" diameter, on a what I would guess looks like close to a 6" backspacing. Again, if there is any interest, let me know and I will shoot photos. This is by no means an endorsement for not getting coilovers. I had a purpose and this is going to suit me well. ------------------ Scottie 71 240GN-Z http://www.mindspring.com/~vscott911/gnz.html

It is just threaded and I use loctite. With the car in the air, I decided to pull out the rear suspension again to install some different springs. Took me less than 2 hours to completely remove both sides, swap the springs and put everything back together. A lot of that time was spent removing/installing the CVs. Believe me, those suckers are not going anywhere. One thing that helps is the indent in the adaptor to prevent any side movement by the CV. ------------------ Scottie 71 240GN-Z http://www.mindspring.com/~vscott911/gnz.html

Do not remember if I have ever shown these, but here are some shots of my CV adaptor that I use with 280ZX stub axles. ------------------ Scottie 71 240GN-Z http://www.mindspring.com/~vscott911/gnz.html

The post that just wont stop Euro, if you have decided to go L28 turbo, you will have more help than you could ever dream of. Let me start out by saying that the 280ZXT is a very poor example of a turbo setup. WTF!!! Before you throw something at me for that statement, I mean as it comes from the factory. Check out my website and see what you do with the some of the stock Nissan components and a little ingenuity. http://www.mindspring.com/~vscott911/scotties240zt.htm BLKMGK, check this out: http://members.tripod.com/~grannys/markcorbett.html ------------------ Scottie 71 240GN-Z http://www.mindspring.com/~vscott911/gnz.html

Jeromio, that would $30/pair. I paid $16/ea for Neapcos and Myron paid $12.99/ea for Brute Force. ------------------ Scottie 71 240GN-Z http://www.mindspring.com/~vscott911/gnz.html

BillyZ, I continue to be amazed at the varied results using halfshafts. I did not use regular u-joints but Derek Grubb does and he is running mid-10s with small slicks. I used solid u-joints in my halfshafts on both the L28T and GNZ and had no problems with banzai launches and mid-11 second ETs. I switch to CVs and Myron installs my halfshafts in his monster and snaps them with street tires. Go figure. $175 is way too much. If the halfshafts were not damaged, invest $60 in a set of solid u-joints or consider the CV swap if the interested parties on the forum can agree on the best adaptor solution and do a group purchase. ------------------ Scottie 71 240GN-Z http://www.mindspring.com/~vscott911/gnz.html

James Thagard (last name sound familiar?) ran 120+mph with his 2.8L turbo. He has since built a 3.1L turbo, and built up an auto trans for it. He expects to run high-10s at 125+ mph. He has not been to the track yet but so far everything is holding up on hard street testing. He is planning on coming down to Orlando on the 12th to test the car. We will know then how a VLSD holds up under race conditions with sticky tires and an estimated 400+hp. ------------------ Scottie 71 240GN-Z http://www.mindspring.com/~vscott911/gnz.html

My advice is to wait for an 86-87. The longblock is basically the same but Buick made major advancements in the engine management in 86 and the tuning potential is incredible. You may be able to get a pre-86 for less but once you start tuning it for more power (and you will), thats when you see the difference. The 86-87 engine was rated at 247hp and was grossly under-tuned. One of the "Performance Recipes" to get to 300hp has a total cost of $900 which includes good tires, free-flowing exhaust, boost guage, and trans cooler, all items you should do as part of the swap. $75 was spent on air bags, n/a to the Z. The rest of that major investment was spent on, GET THIS, 160* thermostat, modify wastegate rod to adjust boost, K&N filter and a chip upgrade. This is on pump gas and 16# boost. Race gas, race chip, 20+# boost and diligent tuning and you can be rewarded with another 75-90hp for about $250 for a tuning aid with datalogger and $50 for the chip. Makes you feel guilty sometimes No swap kits available, but lots of free advice. ------------------ Scottie 71 240GN-Z http://www.mindspring.com/~vscott911/gnz.html

Euro, as Mike stated, this site is the place to yak about alternatives and if a 3.1L is what you want, then go for it. HOWEVER, I need to throw in my $.02, FWIW. Before you make any decisions, you must have goals. How will the car be used? How fast/quick? How much hp/torque is it going to take? What is it going to cost? Do not shell out $$$ and discover later it is not enough. You made a couple of statements that obviously did not come from first-hand knowledge. The uninformed continue to equate engine displacement with physical size. Because a 5.7L V-8 is more than twice the displacement of a 2.8L L-6 does not make it bulkier. If by bulk you mean size, then that is dead wrong. There is a motorcycle that I am beginning to see more of on the streets of FL called "The Boss Hog". It is powered by a SBC and it just continues to amaze me how really compact an SBC is. If by bulky you mean heavier, that is correct but easily offset by it being placed lower in the chassis and BEHIND the front wheels of Z. The result is equal or better F/R weight distribution than with the L-6. As for turbo lag, I wont get into a long dissertation. The 2 primary reasons people have turbo lag are: the wrong size turbo, not unlike an NA engine with a "top-end" cam and long gering and (dont laugh) bad exhaust leaks before the turbo. Turbo lag is an old wives tale that is slowly dying out as evidenced by the increasing number of V-8s that are dropping superchargers and going to a properly configured turbo setup. ------------------ Scottie 71 240GN-Z http://www.mindspring.com/~vscott911/gnz.html

Arif, not all R200 companion flanges are the same. The best is the 280Z unit and you must use the companion flange and stub axle as a set. So, in order to go to the bigger flange/axle set, you must remove the R180 flange and axle. Assuming the strut is still in the car, remove the flange and entire brake assembly, attach a slide hammer to the studs and bang away. It sounds crude but the only way I know how. While you are at it, perfect time to replace the bearings. ------------------ Scottie 71 240GN-Z http://www.mindspring.com/~vscott911/gnz.html

What is the ratio on the R230? ------------------ Scottie 71 240GN-Z http://www.mindspring.com/~vscott911/gnz.html

Ross, I can understand the fascination of the TT, but just the mere mention of the word "cheap" implies there are some budget constraints. Before you guys go off on a TT tangent, first understand everything involved in doing that swap and account for every expense. I came very close to doing that swap in my '71 and was able to get the drivetrain for a reasonable price. After I did complete analysis of the swap, the cost of the drivetrain accounted for less than half the total cost. You have to contend with electronics (a big deal with the TT), and remember the 1st "T" means Twin, not just twin turbos, but twin everything. The turbo plumbing was too much of a challenge. I am also a big fan of the Z31T. Unless you just have to have "that look", I would freshen up the bottom-end, port the heads, get a decent turbo, I/C, exhaust and upgrade the fuel system. That will match or exceed a stock TT and you will have money left over for "show". ------------------ Scottie 71 240GN-Z http://www.mindspring.com/~vscott911/gnz.html

Check the classifieds on zcar.com. I believe there is someone that makes them out of aluminum and it looks pretty nice. Mine was made by someone in GA and it is a quality piece but it was a nightmare getting it delivered on time. If you are in no rush at all, then I recommend him but be forewarned. ------------------ Scottie 71 240GN-Z http://www.mindspring.com/~vscott911/gnz.html

BTW, Greg is a personal friend, very knowledgable in Zs, GNs or anything that goes fast and he is a super nice guy. Dont tell him I said that ------------------ Scottie 71 240GN-Z http://www.mindspring.com/~vscott911/gnz.html

Rick, you need solid Us in the stock axles OR CVs with an adaptor. ------------------ Scottie 71 240GN-Z http://www.mindspring.com/~vscott911/gnz.html

Rick, it seems like what works on one Z does not on another so its like flipping a coin. I have had good luck with the Neapco solid Us. I, like you, do more drag racing with the Z than anything else. I launch with 8# boost on a t-brake with sticky DOTs and then a V-8 Z puts that same axle set in his car and they break testing on the street with street tires. Go figure. I suppose any parts store that sells Neapco should have them, but I bought them from a driveline shop. My recommendation is to move towards the optimal IRS setup of an R-200, 280ZXT CVs, 280Z stub axles and adaptor. You already have the R-200 and stub axles, leaving the CVs and the adaptor but ironically that is the sticky part. The issue is, what is the best adaptor? If you are new to the forum, check out the excellent articles in the Tech Info section and look at past posts in the "Brakes, Wheels,.." and "Drivetrain". When you are done, you will be totally confused like most others but have a better understanding of the issue. ------------------ Scottie 71 240GN-Z http://www.mindspring.com/~vscott911/gnz.html