jeromio

Do a search for "neapco driveshaft" and you'll turn it up. I think Scottie posted the number, so you might narrow it down to just his ID (why can't we search by username instead of the ID number?). I called around and of the places that could get one for me, http://jagsthatrun.com was the least expensive.

Wow - I guess the ol' hybridz site has come of age. Our first Troll! I gotta believe dude was just kidding. I mean, otherwise, WTF? Has to just be some really dry wit action here. Right?

I'm pretty sure they're a different bolt pattern.

Just little sections of mandrel bent tubing. You can get them in 90 (els), 180 (Js) or 360 donuts. Then you cut sections out and weld them together to make your header. If I was a better welder, I would've been able to leave mine with exposed welds which I think looks way tough (like Thaggard's twin turbo header). But, since most of the time I'd get the odd lump here or there, I ground down most all of the welds smooth.

I have had a Lincoln for about 10 years now. Must've run at least 2 miles of wire thru it by now. As to the drill press thing - if ever you do get one, make sure you get one that can turn really slowly. Most of them that you find at Sears and Home Depot are meant for woodworking and spin too fast for metalworking. My friend gave me his Delta benchtop and it just eats up the drill bits.

Hey, that looks pretty beefy. Lots of room for exhaust too. I'm also looking at a similar kind of mount arrangment - up into the tunnel instead of bolted to the floor. What kind of trans is that - 700R? Which tail shaft housing are you using? [Edit: Nevermind, I just saw you're other post alluding to the fact that you've got a 200R.] [ October 22, 2001: Message edited by: jeromio ]

I made 2 sets of headers for my 55 truck project. The first set was awful and I chocked it up as a learning experience. The second set was much nicer (pics at http://jeromio.com/truck somewhere if you're curious - here's one: ). It was kind of fun. I bought J bends from a header company. There've been a few threads here recently about mandrel bend sources. Definately get 16ga or better - makes it easier cuz you get less burn thru. I used a big pipe cutter (the kind that looks like a C clamp with a round blade on one end and rollers on the other). It tends to slightly taper the cut ends. Then I used an exhaust tube expander tool with my impact wrench. This lets you sort of mate 2 pieces of tubing so there's a little bit of overlap. You'll need to ream out the ends before welding them together. A rotary cutter (Dremel type tool or die grinder) works well for this, although there are specific tubing reamer tools that you can get from plumbing supply stores. Anyway, the best and only way to get welding experience is to weld alot, so, go to it. Also, the tubing isn't really that expensive. The flange may cost you a bit though. You'll of course only want to tack the tubes to each other and to the flange. Then score it all up, maybe take some pictures, cut the tubes off the flange, do the final welds to all the tubes and then weld the tubes to the flange. The flange needs to be clamped to a piece of girder or something (you can get a little 2 foot section of girder for about $5-10 from the local steel supply) to make sure it doesn't warp. One thing to be very aware of (and a mistake that I made) when laying out your tubing is to allow for plenty of room to get a wrench in there for mounting the thing. It's pretty easy to be like "Yeah, this will bend over here and tuck around there and the tubes will flow all nice and even" and completely obscure the bolt holes of the flange. You'll have the added difficulty of the intake too - probably need a spare one to use for the mockups. Boy, that ended up being a looong reply.

If your're curious about what a 240Z crossmember looks like with no mount towers on it, click on my site. I did another test fit today. This time with the trans tunnel humps removed. I just used my air chisel and "cut" them out. Looks awful, but I resisted the temptation to doctor it up. Would've been lots of work for some cosmetic stuff that will only be covered up by a fat 4L60E. I had to unbolt the driver's side exhaust manifold: it exits directly on top of the steering shaft. The passenger side is too close to the frame too. Looks like I'm gonna have to "tweak" both manifolds. Not sure how LoneStar1 (Gary) was able to avoid this - different manifolds? I'm using Camaro units. Trans is really wide too. It's gonna be really hard to fit 2.5 inch exhaust between the tunnel and that wide-ass pan. Shifter cable mount is right in the way too - have to relocate that. Pondering my trans mount options. Rather than buy the expensive tailhousing and a rubber mount, I'm thinking of using the cross bolt part of the existing tailshaft which was used to mount a torque bar. Some L brackets and 2 pairs of poly (or rubber) endlink bushings should work pretty nicely. I'll use the top slot which will leave lots of room for exhaust. The passenger side motor mounting will be pretty easy. Driver's side has to route around the steering shaft. I'm gonna add a leg to the top of the frame rail on both sides to increase stability. The motor will have to sit at least a half inch higher than standard JTR in order for the alternator to clear the steering gear. I hope that's not going to affect hood clearance. Also, unless I really want to mangle the passenger side exhaust manifold, the engine is going to have to be dead center. I also have to decide where to put the PCM. I'm leaving my clutch M/C in there since I hope to upgrade to T56 at some point, so I can't put it there. It looks like I'll either have to cut a big hole in the firewall to route the harness thru to the inside, or else mount the thing where the service light is mounted currently.

I've had a goofy picture of myself in my profile (click the button above) ever since it became a feature on the board. Lots of other equally goofy photos of me on my site.

There's no one on this site that claims the JTR plates will work. They will not. Now, Lonestar1 used a variation on the JTR setback plates to mount his motor. The plates end up being very long though and must be anchored to the strut rod mount. These plates bear very little resemblance to the JTR plates though. They do mount to the crossmember towers, but they have "ears", welded perpendicular to the plate surface, that connect to the bolt thru style LS1 motor mounts. I am in the process of cutting the Datsun motor mount towers off my crossmember. The method I have chosen will require some more fabrication for the mounting, but less fabrication (or money - you can buy high mount brackets for alternator/ A/C compressor) for the accessories.

Lead, in the proper hands, can be used in much the same way as bondo. Except that the end result is more uniform and more consistent. I am in no way speaking from experience. It's an "artsy" process that involves lots of patience and, as far as I can tell, requres some mentoring by someone who knows what they are doing. There are some good videos though - check out the back of a "Streetrodding" or other such mag for ads. To follow up on the Maaco thing: yes, the finished results will look good. It's a "flash" job. Looks great, just like if you paint with some rustoleum your own self it will probably look great, for a little while. Then there will be the peeling and the fading. Let's have me just re-emphasize my original point here though: you can see external rust on your car. To me, that means that the actual structurally significant metal (floor, frame rails, rocker rails) have rusted as well. Please rigorously examine these areas and fix them before proceding with the cosmetic areas.

I can only hope that my car curse doesn't rub off on my son. The way that I have chosen leads only to madness. Fer instance, my wife (whom I have infected with my madness as she is enamored of her cool but flawed Travelall) has been talking with me about the "3rd car" thing - The "transport appliance" - ie, toyo camry or volvo. It just kills me. I completely agree with her - reliable, cheap, dependable. And yet I have sick fantasies about a datsun 510 or a Chevolvo conversion or a 60s Chevy sedan. I mean $10K can get you a helluva snarfty project. (and that's the whole point/dilemma. I have no capacity to separate transportation from coolness/project vehicle!). There's a whole world of wonderment out there and all I can think about are cars!!! Not healthy. I wish more for my son. The fact that I'm planning to drop $3K and lots of time/effort on a racing go-kart for the boy when he's 10-11 and eligible for sanctioned events is just not going to help matters either. He's just as doomed as me.....no helping it.

A junk yard elf! That guy is really, really small....

Yes, there's alot you can/should do to the car before, or along with, the V8 swap. Fortunately, there's alot of info here and on many other sites outlining inexpensive and fairly easy mods. The stock brakes on these cars are awful. Easiest is to buy one of the kits offered by members here such as Ross C and MikeG. Coilovers are key for suspension adjustability (height and spring rate) as well as added tire clearance. As to the LS1, have you checked out http://ls1.com ? Lots of info there and the occasional long block up forsale (guy named valvegod deals in surplus LS1 stuff - very good guy to deal with). I am putting an LS1 in my 71. I will have lots of documentation and measurements on my site as I progress. 300 RWHP with no mods and a light, all aluminum motor - very sweet.

The standard Maxima rear brake swap uses 280ZX or 280ZX turbo calipers and rotors. The calipers are switched side to side (left on right, right on left). If you're doing this, my advice is to not bother with used calipers except perhaps as cores for new or rebuilt ones.

What year is this car? Well, either way, I'll just jump right in and say that if you have visible rust, then your frame rails are shot. They are. No, really. Look again, and this time use a sharp tool like a scratch awl to poke around there. If the metal is good, you won't be able to hurt it, so try. My bet is that you'll be able to poke all the way thru in several spots. I would focus all of my effort on the structural areas firstly. The floors, the frame rails, rocker rails, under the battery - all the rust hot spots. As to repairing rust holes with fiberglass, it would take a great deal of effort to patch a hole with glass, make it straight, achieve a good bond between metal and glass <i>and</i> do it all so that your repair will last. It would be much better to (in this order, and this is of course referring to <b>non structural areas only</b> ): - Get replacement panels: fenders and rockers and such are available for Zs - Cut away the rust and weld in clean metal - Cut away the rust and rivet in clean metal and then lead it. - Cut away the rust and rivet in clean metal and bondo over it. Maaco and other such places that advertise paint jobs with prices ending in "99" are for people who want to make their cars look decent and then sell them immediately.

I'm in the process of doing one. I'll be posting progress (undoubtedly slow) on my site (see sig).

I was planning on doing this swap - ended up getting an LS1 instead. I'd guess the 7M swap would be easier than the LS1. As far as costs, you'll need all the stuff for the engine. That can add up fast. Little things. If you already have absolutely everything that the engine and trans need to function, then you're that much ahead. You'll need to fab some mount plates to line up the Supra mounts with the Datsun mount towers. If you're not adapt at this yourself, you can use some wood. Get everything lined up, holes drilled, etc. then take the wooden pieces to a machine shop and have them made out of metal. Maybe $100. You'll also need a trans mount. That might be a bit harder. At best, you could adapt the datsun member to the toyo trans mount. At worst you'd be looking at a few hundred to have someone come up with something for you. Driveshaft shortening/adaptation is usual around $200. I'd upgrade the radiator - $200 max (Griffin). Taurus fan and relay $60. Hoses - $30. Fuel pump and slosh tank and regulator and lines - $200 or so. I/C plumbing - $40-200. Ought to add another $500 just to absorb surprises.

There's some aftermarket companies that sell those kinds of fillers. I hate to say it, but you might try your local "import tuner" shop (you know, the place that sells the giant wings, the plastic "cross drilled rotor" covers, the big muffler tips, etc.). Or you might pick up one of those import magazines and look for an ad.

I'd guess it'd be pretty valuable. I want it, for instance (I have no dollars though). I'm guessing at least $400. But since yours is the only 3.9 lsd I've ever heard of, that's probably low.

As far as codes, MAF and EFI tuning goes, there's a company called Carputing that sells a software and cable package called LT1 Edit. It runs about $500. You use it with a PC and you can change pretty much any and all variables. Very cool. You can optimize for any condition and remap fuel/air ratios.

Is anyone else running a stock, 280Z A/C system with a JTR'd V8? My car is a 240, but the A/C system is from a 280Z. The relevant pics of the firewall in the JTR manual are of a 240 (No factory A/C obviously) and there's no mention of interference with the 280Z A/C system. These are just gonna be in the way. Anyone have a similar experience? It's going to really suck if I have to pull that A/C unit in order to re-work those lines.

I'll be the first to lay down the standard response on this question: there really is no "converting" an N/A L28 to turbo. The people who have turbo L28 motors swapped in an L28 turbo engine from a ZX turbo. If you can't find a ZXt in good shape, you can always get either an NA 280ZX (or 240 ) and swap in the mill from a salvage yard. Get the whole thing - wiring, ECU, etc. Probably take a weekend to do it - unless you go crazy and detail your engine bay or something. Or, like alot of people, you end up rebuilding the engine with go-fast stuff, getting a bigger turbo, upgrading to SDS, putting in an intercooler, etc., etc...

Someone posted a link to a web page featuring that yellow Z. It was a very fancy Flash site. I was all gung-ho to put a 7MGTE in my Z. They can be had pretty cheaply. Trouble was that I found myself adding in lots of hidden expensives like turbo, ecu and intercooler upgrades. Looks really good in there. I think if I'dve seen this article I might not have snatched this LS1....

What are 180 degree headers?