jeromio

Shortening typically costs around $50. You have to get it done at a driveline shop. Look in the yellowpages. Specific equipment is required because the shaft must be highspeed balanced.

My shifter comes up right where the stocker came up: Note that I had previously cut my tunnel to allow clearance for the shifter of a 280ZX 5spd. Mine and Phantom's cars are quite different though: 280Z vs. 240Z. Especially the trans tunnels. The early cars like mine have very tight tunnels and a shifter hole made for the 4spd which had a lever directly above the output shaft - farther back.

NooooooO! Oh Frontpage is soooo terrible. So very very terrible. I always amazes me that MS can be so successful while producing such horrible products. You should also avoid using Word since, as Scott mentions, all MS html editors add huge piles of extraneous, often buggy html tags. Unfortunately, I cannot personally recommend a WYSIWIG (What you see is what you get) graphical editor. I use either notepad or Dreamweaver (which is Excellent - the industry standard, but $400). However, do yourself a huge favor and check out this page: http://wdvl.com/Vlib/Authoring/HTML_Editors.html They list several free editors. The WDVL is an excellent resource and though I've not personally tried any of those tools, I have confidence in their recommendations.

I should probably wait until I have the service manuals in front of me (other PC), but I don't think the instrument clusters are directly interchangeable between C5 and FBody. They have different harnesses, etc. I'm sure you could get either to work, just a matter of head scratching. As to the years, I tink there is a big difference between 98 and 99+ for the PCMs. Actually, the 98 engines apparently have quite a few differences as well (things like the gaskets, water pumpe, some minor other parts). But yeah, the PCM's are physically different as well as the programming. 97-98: 99+: I think you should also post this question to the conversions board over at http://ls1tech.com. John at http://Speartech.com is very knowledgeable and he along with some other very smart people post over there fairly regularly. I am planning on making up some hybrid gauges using the FBody cluster. I'm gonna take it apart and adapt the inards to the datsun guages. It'll be highly unpretty. But I'm poor. In your case, I'm guessing that the Z32 guages are all electric - including speedo. Yes? If so, I think option 1 would be the easiest by far. No cutting and cloodging, just wiring and calibrating. I actually don't see the benefit in sending the harness to anyone for this purpose. All the gauge wires are pretty easy to find. I mean, if you are talking about sending him just the Guage harness (am I spelling that right?) so you can just plug it into the engine harness, yeah, that would make it easier. But, otherwise, just matching up the oil, water, fuel and speedo lines to the guages - that's pretty easy. If you don't already have some kind of LS1 shop manual (got mine, a complete GM factory service manual on CD offa ebay for $50), they've posted the PCM pinouts on http://ls1.com FAQ page.

I had my PCM reprogrammed. There were just too many niggling things to have to patch up. So, I went ahead and spent the three Cs. I have a BCM, harness ignition switch and key if anyone's interested. I think I paid like $50 for it. Meanwhile, since I am no longer pulling the engine in and out (I hope), I don't need that 8 feet of garage space for the hoist - and it's the rainy season. So, I unjacked the car, move it forward and then back up again. Except that I had a booboo - the crossmember slipped off the floor jack and so the oilpan came crashing down on the nice sharp cupped jack head. ;( SO, now I get to pay for a new pan, and get to spend time to R&R the thing. One step forward, 8 steps back. Didja know the gasket is $65!?! Pan'll prolly be $150. Just in time for Xmas.

Those brackets look very nice. Beautiful welds there. Curious about what kind of plasma torch you used. I used a friend's big honkin Lincoln and it had a REALLY hard time. Granted, my brackets were cut from a piece of 1/2 inch plate steel. I ended up having to do alot of manual cleanup. I think the 1/2 inch plate was waaay overkill. I welded mine on both sides - which also required lots of cleanup since the underside welds had to be ground way down in order to clear the hub. I also did my hubside as a complete ring - again, overkill. I regret this. Wish I would've done a C instead. Mine are at 90 degrees - caliper completely forward. I had no problems hooking up the EBrake cable. The only problem is that the amount of "pull" from the existing cable (meant for drums) is not quite sufficient to actuate the lever for the caliper. I had to remove the cable end springs and cut them in half. I gotta say, $75 for those sounds like a very good deal. Just make sure that if you do sell any of them that you make the buyers completely understand that there ain't no warranty or liability or nuthin. Maybe even state that these are merely hunks of metal that you might be able to use as caliper brackets, but you do so completely at your own risk.

I like it. I think it's fun. I've always been fascinated by slang and how it gets started. If you think about it, probably half of all language was, at some point, some kind of slang. I mean, take the romance languages for an example. Latin plus some local flavor and slang, sitr for a couple hundred years and you get French, Italian, Spanish. How about the word Car? That was slang. Do you walk around saying "Where are the keys to my Automobile"? Do you only refer to your progeny as children? I call mine kids. Language evolves and it's amost always the fringes of society that push it and shape it. Eventually society co-opts the new radical phraseology and it it loses it's cache, and then those fringers (artists, musicians, beatniks, hippies, hip hoppers, etc.) have to start all over again. Take away slang and you get some kind of time capsule society like the Amish. Ain't no Z cars in amish country....

I have the 280Z HVAC. I cut the nipples off my heater and soldered on some elbows. The 240Z HVAC is not really in the way. I'm using stock 99 FBody manifolds. Modified by cutting off the flanges and welding 2.5 inch tubing on the ends. Passenger side flange (simple aftermarket flange from Autozone) ends up being above the frame rail on the passenger side (end up with only about 3/4 inch of tubing tail there) and much lower down on the drivers side. There's hardly any room on the passenger side for exhaust. The steering shaft is the main obstacle on the driver's side. I'll be welding up the O2 bung on the driver's side manifold and putting in a new one. Same for the passenger side. Actually positioning the motor wasn't really a big deal. I just dropped it in there with the hoist and used a floor jack -lined it all up. Minimized the interference with the various obstacles. Then I mocked in the mounts. What was difficult was lining up the driveline angles. That was the thing I was most worried about and sucked up the most time. For the vertical plane, I used an angle finder I got from HomeDepot. I referenced the pinion flange against the face of the tranny output shaft. For the front to back I tried to line up the "invisible" line created by the crankshaft center bolt and the tranny output with the frame rails. I'm using all stock FBody accessory brackets. I plan on running the A/C. I am milling about 1/2 inch off the compressor bracket to get the compressor to clear the frame rail.

I dunno. But it seems very symmetrical. The two characters side by side have a sort of yin and yang to them, you know? Perhaps this saying is a verbal representation of that lexigraphical alignment. Which would sort of add to the philosiphicality of it. He hears what you're saying and, it sucks, but he is in agreement with you. Or, Maybe it implies the gesture you make with both sets of thumb and forefingers - like a director frames a shot. One hand is the "L" the other is the "7". So in that case, it might mean "in focus" or "aligned". A similar meaning to that given above. He gets the picture.

How about $40K into a downpayment on a house? Maybe take $10K and put it towards a Z - you could build a very nice one for that. Put the rest in a RothIRA. I'll be 50 before I can afford/justify that much outlay on any kind of a car (well, hopefully closer to 40). One of the things that attracted me to the Z in the first place was its high performance/cost ratio. If I had a nice $250K/yr income, I woulda just bought a Z06, rather than aggravate my wife (and often myself) with this (endless) project. But, since this is a thread about things automotive, I'll weigh in with my "No Carburetors!!!" statement. EFI is the only way. Go with an LT1 or even the LS1. Keep the IRS though. Just convert it to CV joints and disc brakes. No sense cutting up the car for a reduction of traction.

My all time favorite one is where he's in a classroom, and there's a little girl reading a book, and Dubya is looking up at her (with one of his typical expressions), and he's holding the same book. Except that his is upside down.

There is no question that CV joints are stronger than UJoints in this application (Z Car half shafts). There may have been discussion about whether the added robustness of the CVs are needed or not for a street driven car. But to my knowledge there's been no argument for Ujoints over CVs. Whether an LSD is required is a matter for discussion. There's not as much need for an LSD in an IRS application as there is in a straight axle. IMO, you really only see the benefit on wet roads or in hard transition turns. And those LSDs are crazy expensive. The used clutch R200s are approaching the price of a Quaife. I think the real issue is the gearing. With the current 3.54, do you like the off the line and highway balance - are the revs in the right range? If so, going to a 3.9 may not be so good. Especially with the T56. Your 1st gear may become an unusable stump pulling granny. For my car, I'm after a 3.54 R200. I'm even considering the R230 - primariy for the lower numerical gear sets. (Granted, I have yet to drive it )

Yes! What Tim said. Just mail your PCM to John at Speartech and have him do the swapper reprog on it. The inspectors have to hook into the diag. port, so you'll also need to get one of those, which I think John sells. But, as long as the car throws no codes, you should be golden. You won't need the 2ndary O2 EGR, etc. So therefore your "cat" could potentially be, let's just call it a "hi performance", low restriction model . There are lots of people in Cali doing LS1 swaps. You might try bringing up this issue on the conversions board at LS1tech.com.

I really like it. I've only seen 2 episodes though. Snarfty cars, hot chicks, chase scenes - what's not to like? I don't care if they wreck the cars. As long as it's a big action blow out. Like the CHiPs cycle landing on the 68 Mustang backlight. That was cool.

If you're intested in a Kit, http://jagsthatrun.com - Mike Knell sells all the parts to do the conversion. Also, I think MSA now has a kit, no?

There's a big discussion here about the Scarab mount position vs. the JTR. Lots of info, and IMO, the conclusion is a wash. Although, I did mount my motor in the "JTR" setback position. Now, separate from that issue, but more to the point: If you are interested in the Scarab-style V8 mount, John's kit is overpriced to say the least. One of the major advantages of that mounting style is it's utter simplicity. You use the stock Datsun trans mount and a couple bolts to attach Chevy motormounts to the stock Datsun towers. So, anything beyond $20 for such a "kit" is really a waste. So, am I saying the John's Cars kit is a ripoff, without having even seen it? Nooooo, I wouldn't do that ( ). I'm merely trying to apprise you of the situation. I don't think the JTR manual is all that amazing - but for the price ($35) it is really is more than worthwhile. You really have to buy one if you are thinking about this swap - $35 is such a ridiculously tiny amount weighed against the magnitude of the project. And Mike Knell even includes measured drawings in there!

Pete is very trusting - there's a phrase in that post that, with this context, is just ripe for re-contextualizaion... BTW, I guess I'm in this club too. I'll defer adding to the stories of pain and anguish though....

That'd be 0.8 liters.

You know, the LS1 fits in that car with the Holden oilpan....

Oh wait, I think I am confusing the issue. I got the filler neck off the tank, although it wasn't easy. (Actually tank off the neck is more accurate.) It was not easy, but doable. I can't imagine getting it back on - old and stiff. It was the getting the neck off the car that was impossible. Ignore my rantings...I replaced my datsun tank with a Camaro tank. You might try using a pan of boiling water to soften it up right before you try to reassemble things.

All the professional welders I know use the professional-style, autodarkening helmets. They have a re-breather setup so that you don't end up breathing in your own "exhaust" (CO2) and getting tired after welding for 4-5 hours straight. The fancy ones also darken quicker (measured in microseconds) and are adjustable. My personal helmet weighs less than the old static one I replaced it with - which is just coincidental. The darkening unit is not heavy at all (2 AAA batteries). That Hobart helmet looks good - that price looks even better. Autodarkening is really the way to go. If you've ever even been tempted to hold a part in position with one hand and then just squinch your eyes shut, then you really need to get one of these suckers. Makes everything much easier.

Removing it? No problem. Sawzall. Re-installing it? Not gonna happen. I tried to be nice with it. Wasted effort - 2 hours or so.

I've never dealt with the 280 tunnel, but I did try and put a 4L60e in my 240. I gave up and spent some dollars on a t56 instead. That auto is crazy fat, and the servo is in a bad spot, in a very sticky outy way. And then once you do make enough room for it, good luck with the exhaust routing....

Here's how you do it. Get the old Datsun stuff outta the car. Put it up on jacks. Go get a BFH. Go drink a beer. Maybe 5. Lay down under the tranny tunnel. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Think of all the bad things that have ever happened to you. All the mean things people have ever said about you. All the times you broke a bolt head off or cracked a manifold or lost a job or got kicked in the nuts or got dumped by a girl. Absorb it all. Now, realize that all of that, all the pain and hardship - it was all that tranny tunnel's fault!! Go at it! Beat the %$&^#!*# out of that thing! But that's not even really enough. You'll need three or ten such sessions. It can be therapeutic.

Yeah, what I was saying is that you should be able to use any R200 you want thru 87 (except of course the VLSD). But if you get say, a 3.54 from a 75 280Z, you will have to source a pinion flange separately. I'm guessing that if you use the 3.54 from a 81-83 280ZX Turbo, then you should be able to use the pinion flange that's already on the diff. I know for sure that the 75 flange won't work and that the 85 will. Where the specific break is, I have no solid knowledge (79 maybe?). I suspect that knowledge lives someplace in that big ol' Pinion Flange, Neapco Adapter thread from a few months back.