Jesse OBrien

Well, I've finally torn down the 240z, bought a replacement engine, and am in the process of righting the wrongs I've come across, so I figured I'd start a build thread. For more detailed information, visit my site here: http://madnessmanual.logolessstudios.com/category/projects/anger-project/ Basically, the history of the car is a big old mystery. I bought it with a 283 swapped into it, drove it most of the way home (towed the rest of the way), and drove it around for a bit. A few things were done very right, but for the most part the car is all wrong. Here's a short list of what I'd like to finish before putting it back on the road: replace welded r200 swap out dead 283ci for new (to me) 350ci complete ground-up rewire circuit breakers in place of fuses custom ignition module (replace key, not replace distributor) [*]patch rust spots, cover with primer [*]fabricate a tail light assembly [*]t5 or t56 transmission [*]replace front and rear suspension [*]regular maintenance brake job replace all fluids [*]replace funky fuel tank with a fuel cell [*]paint stock wheels This may not seem like much of a "build" but I want to make it right before making it big and scary.

It seems like choosing heads are a bigger decision than a camshaft. I currently have a set of 3890462 heads and 333882 heads (both came on engines I have now). I'm having a tough time getting the 3890462's off the 283ci (I'll probably buy a torch tomorrow, pb blaster isn't loosening them enough) but I'm considering just tossing those on the 350ci block (that currently has the 3338882's on it. According to the casting number, I think the rochester carb is an 650cfm, but that seems a little big for a stock GM carb. I like the way it works, but it's currently loaded with vacuum messiness. I've gutted the car and found lots of nasty coverup jobs and twisted floorboards, so it looks like a good portion of my budget is going toward a decent welder, some sheet metal, and a creative application of brake lights. I've changed my current engine goals to "get it on the road". It seems like the stock 350 block, fuelie heads, rochester carb, and performer intake manifold will accomplish that goal the best. That way I'll have time to focus on the chassis, and probably build an entirely separate engine on a stand. I've put both th400 transmissions up for sale, and I'm hoping to get a t5 to bolt up for this for now (I've found a few semi-helical gear kits that got me excited about the t5). I need to start a build thread for this car. ... off to do that now, but as always, any suggestions will be taken completely to heart.

I had been looking into a lot of older rear light setups, I think the most likely at this point is an older (69 or so) set of fastback Mustang rear lights.

As much as the damage doesn't look too severe, it probably is. The inside of the wheelwells is structural (almost like a strut bar, across the middle of the car) so there's a good chance that there's frame bending going on. The cosmetics don't look like an obscene amount of work if you have a grinder/plasma cutter and a welder, but I'd pass on this one.

All I did was take the broken 280z lights out, and the dying Escort gas tank. I've got some welding ahead of me.

Suggestions?

This project is nasty! Why's it squirreled away in non-tech?

I found this local domestic rice on craigslist today. It was once a fiesta.

That's how we finally got it onto the car. Now it gets to come off and go on the glass instead.

I knew there was a trick to it that we were missing!

Budget for the engine is going to be income / 4 - wheels, so assuming I spend around $2k on steel wheels and nice wide tires, I'll have around $3k to spend on the engine. I figure $3k gives me some wiggle room and I can do a moderate N/A build with that, assuming I can reuse as many parts as possible. Correct me if I'm off on that. I can always extend the project by a few months to increase the overall budget but I'd really like to get this back on the road before our short rainy season begins. All this is coming out of my fund that's set aside for it, so I'm hoping to just order all the parts I need at once late next month (when I've nailed down which route to go) and go to town for a few weekends installing stuff. For the time being, my ground-up rewiring project and body work are taking priority, along with trying to find a t56 that isn't beat to hell that is a reasonable price. Does $3k sound reasonable?

... wow. How did I dig this up and not even know it? me = fail.

Whoop. Apparently it is. Edited that out, since it really wasn't necessary anyway. I've definitely met more upstanding cops than the few pricks that tend to stand out in my memory more than anything. A bad cop does make you feel violated, powerless, and frustrated pretty quickly though. A good cop makes you feel like an idiot for what you did, since you know (and knew) that it was wrong.

I always give truckers room in general. Either they're crazy *edit* people who're suffering from severe road rage or exhaustion and they'll run you right off the road... or they're not, and I'd feel bad for putting them in a stressful situation with a little car right next to them (that, in all likelihood, they don't even see).

because the less weight you're hauling around, the better your gas mileage (all other things being equal). It also means you're required to produce less power to go just as fast, which allows for you to increase gas mileage once again. In a daily driver, mileage + driveability > all.

You know, I hadn't heard of that law before. To be honest, I'm not even sure it existed in either NH or MA, but there really aren't enough multi-lane roads out there to make it worthwhile or common knowledge IMHO. I do get a certain sense of satisfaction seeing a person driving their beloved vehicle paying more attention to their surroundings than other people, especially when it surprises me (let's say a riced out civic that's being driven like a mechanic lovingly built it, not like it was stolen). As much as certain police officers have really gotten under my skin lately (by acting wrongfully, from my opinionated standpoint) I'm really happy to have you guys around and have no problems with giving respect, whether it's a wave at a stop light or plenty of room when you're enforcing laws by pulling someone over. Please remember that you define a location more than anybody else, though. I'm happy to live anywhere that the cops treat people fairly, like people. I've lived in too many places where they seem to be against the common population for no solid reason (Vallejo, CA for instance). It makes me sad.

All right, since I'm really not sure what I've got (and haven't looked up the stamps yet... I'll get to that tonight) I'm just going to throw up some pictures, and maybe you knowledgeable folks can help me out a bit. Please bear with my inexperience, I'm doing my best to pick up all the info you guys are throwing out, and think I'm doing a decent job at it but I just wanted to see what else I can get out of you for advice. Here's the intake manifold. I'm not sure how to differentiate the RPM from the standard Performer (or whatever other models there were). It definitely says Edelbrock Performer on it, though. Here are the two carbs I have, from the bottom. The left is the edelbrock that came on the 283 (probably in a kit with the intake manifold, is my assumption) and the right is the Rochester that came with the 350 (stock, I'm assuming). I don't know what kind of power handling they're going to be good for (or what kind of fuel economy) but it looks like the Rochester could be worth keeping.

I did a little looking around on Summit, and have come up with the following: http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=SUM-CEDL402&view=1&N=700+ complete set of alu heads for $1600, includes everything but carb. http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=CCA-K12-422-8&autoview=sku COMP cams kit for $1k, still requires a valve job (seats, guides, valve resurface) I could also just rebuild the engine and not build it up, but that's considerably less fun. I've been toying with a few different ideas, but I'm interested to know what you guys would suggest.

Thanks for all the extra reading, guys. At this point I'm planning to rebuild the heads from the ground-up before slapping them on the 350, and I had been looking at Comp cams already. @Grumpyvette: I didn't want to give you the impression that my whole goal was to get a lopey idle. That was meant as a target goal, done correctly. I'm really just hoping to make some respectable power without putting gobs and gobs of work into this engine, and from what you've explained, that sounds completely doable.

Ok, I just did a BUNCH of reading (not just the article you linked to, but all the questions that stemmed from that). You've basically confirmed what I figured to be true. The lope just isn't realistic unless I go hardcore build. However, I did a little math, and based on the heads I'm using (64cc), I should be running around 11:1 compression, depending on the head gasket I decide on. That should put me in the lopey area. As far as intake and exhaust go, I don't see much restriction there at all. I have the edelbrock performer intake mani, and what amounts to open headers (dual 4.5" side-dumps), so my plan is essentially to let the engine breathe as nicely as the bottom end will allow. That probably means carb rebuild (possibly rejet), valvetrain rebuild/upgrade, and new cam. I was hoping that'd get the scary lope I've only seen in firebirds and camaros (and sometimes even mustangs around here) but that's starting to sound a little unrealistic for a daily driver. In any event, thank you very very much for the info, I'll be digging around the net looking for a few more reviews and re-reading the Goodwrench build a few more times.

I know this is kind of a newbie question, but bear with me. I'm in the market for a new cam for my 350 in my daily. It's probably going to see more time on the track than on the street, but I want to keep it driveable while improving power and getting that scary lopey idle that always gets me off. I'm planning on using a rochester carb that came off my 350ci, and I honestly don't know what cfm it's rated for. Now, my question then becomes: What is a reasonable lift and duration for stock fuelie (camel-hump) heads? Is it necessary to upgrade the valvetrain for a cam upgrade, or only for serious builds? At what point will I need to upgrade my fuel system from the mechanical pump I'm currently using? Is there anything I'm missing? Now, I did search and found a bunch of info, but very very little of it was geared toward the sbc specifically. What have you guys used for your builds? How successful did it turn out? Any info you guys can offer with all your collective experience would be greatly appreciated, and any questions that I should be asking myself would also be put to immediate use. Thanks in advance!

Wow, you guys got that stirred up? Nobody has a problem with discs or drums here. Basically, both work equally well for the street. Discs are more cosmetically appealing, and require less work per brake job than drums do. Drums (generally) require less regular maintenance. I'm sure your brakes were neglected, just as mine were. I totally hear you on the obscene 4.5" dual side-dump exhaust. It was there when I bought the car, and made me chuckle. The really funny part is that I'm still planning to do dual side-dumps, but using 1l motorcycle cans. Still kind of silly, but we're all allowed to do silly things. Being aware that a certain upgrade doesn't make a whole lot of sense but doing it anyway is what we're all about though, isn't it? So by all means, kick ass with discs (coincidentally, I have rear discs too... that doesn't make them a BETTER idea than drums, though).

So you're shunning a part that failed from neglect? Discs fail from neglect as well. That's why the service manual recommends regular inspections of all braking equipment. I'm not trying to point fingers or anything, but there's nothing wrong with drum brakes unless you need heat dissipation.

I really like that option. I might actually be able to make one of those myself. First though, I need to figure out what's still holding the dashboard on. I swear I removed everything that had been holding it. Looks like there's something attaching it to the steering column, but I don't want to end up pulling the steering column, just the dash.

I ended up getting a generic 350 for cheap. Even came with a nice Rochester Quadrajet. I also did a bunch of gutting and removing of extras. More info here for anyone who wants to follow up: http://madnessmanual.com/2008/07/15/anger-project-upgrades-to-a-570z/