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Careful - Sorta looks like that brace will interfere with the LS1 dipstick.

That is an excellent George Washington quote. I'm not a big history guy - didn't realize GW was so articulate. I'm registered Independent. Don't see why everyone isn't - especially in NC. Each election, I get to pick which primary I want to vote in. In 2000 I asked for a Rep ballot so I could vote for McCain. In 02 I asked for a Dem ballot so I could vote for Blue (Dole was a lock, didn't like her or her fellow carpet bagger Bowles). It's a great setup. That's also a pretty good Dustin Hoffman quote. Really, really didn't think he was all that sharp. He must've been drunk for the Grammy's. And does anyone honestly think that this Iraq situation is not driven by oil? Even if this goes well and the US gets nothing tangible of benefit (Halliburton contracts notwithstanding), except for the receipts for 100s of billions on the war and the rebuild (which we will have to foot entirely), we will still benefit TREMENDOUSLY. The theory is that a stable Iraq will participate in the world economy and bring it's oil production up - way up. The Saudis are very shrewd and have armies of economists and diplomats in an attempt (mostly successful) to set oil prices at just the right level to maximize their income. (this is not a bad thing at all, but that's a separate discussion). An oil producing Iraq (with lots of new equipment and infrastructure) will need money. Lots of money. They will set the price accordingly. They will max out supply and prices will fall. 500 billion dollar tax cut? Heh - that is NOTHING compared to a $5-10/barrel drop in the price of oil. Right now there is minimal output from Iraq. It's an untapped supply. Bush feels that bringing that supply to the world will boost the economy tremendously - and it will. I just can't help thinking that these plans are not going to unfold the way this administration thinks they will. And alot of good people are going to get killed. (And if anyone thinks my being a pessimist in this situation makes me anti-USA or unAmerican, well, all I can say is Right back at ya. And damn, I can't believe I am posting in here on this subject, but this is really a pretty good thread.)

Can you believe I'm just waiting on guages to drive mine? I can't - seems like such a stupid thing. A detail. I did drive it around the block - that was pretty thrilling. Very glad the clutch works - I was worried about the freaky slave setup. I'm too poor to pony up the $150 for EFILive, so I am only able to use it in the 15second shareware mode. It doesn't register any oil pressure. So, that has me worried. I have a location for the FBody guage-pod circuit board scouted. And I have one set of gauges (oil and temp) assembled, the other 3 partly so. Probably 8-10 hours of work left. The wait is killing me.

I know in NC, when the car is over a certain age (ten years?) or 100K miles - the mileae statement in the title transfer is no longer required.

I got all the pics you sent - I just haven't had time to do anything with them yet. No Photoshop on this PC. Does look like your motor is positioned very similarly to mine.

Well put, Strotter.

I'll add a synopsis of my standard rear brake comment to this thread: the rear 280ZX calipers are expensive and SUCKY.

I find it interesting that most people (at least those who talk about political things) on automotive related boards (the ones I frequent) are mostly conservative, pro-government types. There must be some correlation there. I find these kinds of discussions difficult to resist. Yet I also find that discussing things on internet boards is an entirely futile effort. Something about the remoteness and relative anonymity of it I think. People talk about things, but invariably they only further reenforce the beliefs they held before the discussion. I do agree with alot of what livewire said. I also think that as a general rule, people should absolutely question the motives and policies of the government. That's one of the primary foundations of this country.

That pic you have shows a stock LS1 T56 hydro setup. I have this on my car. It is a pain in the ass. You want to adjust? Too bad. Gotta pull the tranny. You have a leak? Pull the tranny. You need to bleed? Big mess. I really wish I could use a normal, external slave.

I got my LS1 with 34Kmiles, a 4L60E, PCM, etc. for $2K. It had some damaged parts (from the wreck) that cost about $200 to replace. I had my PCM tweaked for another $300. That was a tough call - a one time $300 charge, or $550 for the ability to tweak and tune at will (LS1Edit). You can "duplicate" an LS6 with an LS1 by replacing the intake and getting the heads ported (or buying some). The aftermarket for LS1 is pretty big for such a new engine. There's lots of parts available. There's also an aftermarket LS6 intake cast from Aluminum which can be port matched to the heads. Either one costs about $400. I think the only thing going against it is the limited availability of parts/info on the swap. As an engine, I'd say it's unmatched in price/performance. In my Z, I anticipate some nice little gains over stock via a much less restrcitve intake and exhaust. (I am slightly biased)

Well, there is this from http://www.johnscars.com: So, it is possible, with a little bit of extra modification. Clearly if you have the will to put an entirely different drivetrain in your Zcar, some mods to interior sheetmetal and plastic are no big deal. I guess I'm wrong-a-roonie on my prior statement. But then, my reference here is that the LS1 in my car is pretty close the firewall (maybe 1/2 inch forward of JTR), and my shifter comes out here: Note that I had previously cut the shifter hole in the tunnel to accomodate a 280ZX 5spd. Were it not for that mod, the shifter would be touching the metal (and 1st, 3rd and 5th would be blocked) . I know the 280Z has shifter hole in the tunnel a few inches farther forward of mine (240Z). I dunno - if my motor was 3 inches farther forward, that hole would be really, really opened up and my fusebox would have to move (which it has recently anyway). I guess I was also going on info from that looooong Scarab thread I mentioned. As I recall from that discussion, the major proponent of the scarab swap maintained that the the manual was not an option (?). FL327 had a scarab style SBC swap with a 4spd manual. I dunno - is the shifter farther back with that transmission? At any rate, I rescind my earlier statement - or at least clarify it to apply only to the 240Z. I'm very, very anxious to see pictures of Phantom's install.

As others have mentioned, there is a big thread here someplace talking about the Johnscars SBC swap. The executive summary on that is Pass. It's basically a very expensive version of the Scarab swap. There is also a REALLY BIG thread about the Scarab style mounting position. The executive summary of that is Depends on what you're purpose for the car is and also it probably doesn't matter that much. However, the scarab position (over the cross member instead of behind it) can only use an automatic trans - no manual.

Just to be clear, the coolant does not need to go thru the throttle body, BUT, don't just cap off that line. You need that line to end up back in the radiator as it is apparently important for coolant circulation thru the heads. (temporarily, mine is capped off - long term, mine will plumb to the upper rad hose). Oil pressure - check on LS1tech.com. I recall seeing a thread on how to prime an LS1. (I'm sure there's good tech on LS1.com, I'm just damned if I can find it - ls1tech.com is excellent) If you want a sanity check, try hooking up an ohmmeter to the pressure sender and crank it over. If you get no reading (and you're game for a mess), try removing the sender and turning it over. If you get no oil spraying out of that hole, your motor is in big trouble .

See if you can get the yard to blow torch out the rear frame area of the donor car. They might go for it since removing the subframe that way is more expedient (and a little more fun). That way you end up with the a reference (the J30 frame and attachment points for the subframe) for your fabrication. Building up your Z's rear frame area to accept the new subframe is not going to be a simple task. But then, compared with all the work of coilovering, disc-braking and CVing of the stock Z setup, probably be less work overall. And cheaper. And you end up with that cool-ass multilink setup.

Those are also available at the chain auto parts stores. Saves shipping at least. They are more expensive, but should last longer - in theory at least. I must be a geek because I must say, I am impressed when I see those big ugly Cadillacs when their blinkers go on. Very binary: On/Off. No fade in or out. It's a wonder I haven't slammed into one yet (deer in the taillights??) I doubt the bulb replacements would have the same drama though - I haven't bought any cuz they too 'spensive.

This the full unit including R&P? If so, what gears available - 3.36?

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You could always "cheat" - just install the rotor, then position the caliper on there (with pads) and clamp it down with compressed air. Position it radially where you want it (the ebrake cable is the limiting factor) and then clamp the rotor in place. Then just use some cardboard to make a template. When I made my ZX caliper brackets, I started from that drawing that Dan Laurizio provided. But the clamping technique was used for final tweakage. I had the rear struts off the car, but I think you could do it with them still in place.

So, the teflon liner is effective? That Al wire is soooo soft. I would never have thought that pushing the wire thru any kind of a liner would work. So, I presume you already had a tank of Argon? Do you use that for steel as well?

I'm less knowledgeable than Terry, but I do know that the very minimum requirements for Al MiG welding are a Spool (No way can you reliably push wire thru the liner), Argon gas, and a very accurate heat and gas pressure setting. Typical Weldpaks have None of these. Mine has a stupid A B C D heat setting, rather than infinite. The regulator is completely non adjustable. Well, you can adjust it, but there's no guage (only an empty/full guage). Also no spool. Metal liner. As Terry mentions, I have heard/read that steel and Al don't play nice. As in, you can't use the same wire brush to clean parts with. Don't get me wrong, my weldpak is a great tool. I've run miles of wire thru mine (seriously - many, many miles, owned it for ~12 yrs). But it is not meant for such tasks. TiG. You know, speaking of unobtainable tools, I have, for the past 10 years or so, responded the Exact same way any and every time anyone asks me what I want for Xmas or Birthday. Plasma torch, or TiG welder. My needs are simple. Unfortunately, so are my means....

I did take apart one caliper and the piston was not locked up or anything. But it just would not "auto" adjust the ebrake. Then I saw Terry posting on the subject (this was well over a year ago) and I gave up and just bought rebuilt calipers ($130 each!!!). Plus, if you just have the calipers, that's only half the battle. You also need brackets. I made mine. If I had it to do over again, I would just get Ross's 240sx kit.

The only other "junkyard" rear disc swap is to use Maxima brackets or aftermarket or homemade equivalents and then use 280ZX rear calipers. You think 240sx calipers are expensive? The 280ZX units are crazy. And forget buying junkyard calipers and rebuilding them. That's an exercise in futility. They have a strange cylinder witihin cylinder arrangement for the ebrake adjustment that is impossible to get working once it fails. As someone who has done the 280ZX rear caliper swap, I strongly recommend the 240SX alternative.

You really need to try a search first.