SHO-Z

Please add another Name to the Ballot "None Of The Above" a sure winner this year!

I am at work in Alaska and my car is in Arizona, so sort of hard to get this dimension. How wide is a 280z hood?

The intake can be turned around. I got that far on the conversion before I quit due to parts issues. The top of the timing belt cover needs to be trimmed. If the engine does not have EGR, non Calif, the EGR casting needs to be ground off smooth, with EGR will have to have the hole welded shut after grinding. I cut 6 spacers out of 3/8" Fanolic Plastic to raise intake to clear. The wiring will have to be lengthened and shortened to fit the new location. I emailed you some pictures of the engine with the intake turned around. Also here is the best information I found on putting a SHO in anything you want. http://members.cox.net/rdgrauman/Healey.html Good Luck on the conversion.

I saw this car at his shop several years ago. From what I remember the front end of the car is tube construction. The fiberglass was thin and was made for racing not street use. The rear was the racing one under fenders and quarter panels on his web site if I remember right http://www.arizonazcar.com/fender.html . A sub frame of tubing might be required to support the front end. It could be a simple job to reinforce the front section with fiberglass mat and rope on the under side. I was looking at using head light out of one of the new Dodge Mini Vans and molding them in as a possible light selection. But never checked the contour to see if they would work.

I uses a 70s Trans Am Spoiler. The center section was a easy to fit and mold in. The ends are made of a plastic that is hard to get Bondo to stick too evan with roughing up the surface and drilling holes in it. I had to fiberglass them in after trimming and reshaping the ends. Hey I got it for $30 off of ebay and spent days doing the mod.

I've noticed that a lot of answers to post have nothing to do with the post question. It seam that a lot of people just want to add something of no use to the original question. I would support keeping to the original topic, It would shorten the reading when doing a search for a topic.

The original post tells it all; It is two 2†electrical conduit threaded coupling and two 10†long 2†pipe nipples. I had both end of the treaded all of the way down leaving about 2†between the threads. I then cut them half and split them longitudinally. I did the same with the couplings.

I really have not driven it that much since I installed them. I am in the process of getting it ready to paint. But from all indications they are working out well. One modification I am planning on is building an lower perch for the spring to rest on. I do not think that I will have any problem as installed, but any mod can always be improved. And I want to remove the lower stock perch at that time.

Check the rocker arms on #1 cylinder against the timing mark on the crank. At one top dead center both valve should be closed at the other exaust valve should be closing and intake opening, both are open slightly. That will check the cam timing. The distributor can be 180° out. Switch your plug wires 180° and try that.

If it has spark and fuel it has to be timing. Either your Cam or distributor is off.

I would start with a header for a Z, shorten and modify as needed. It is a good basis to start from and has the exhaust flange. From there add 90° as needed and a collector box.

I TYPED IN "240Z V8" ON EBAY AND YOUR CAR WAS NOT LISTED. YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHECK IT OUT.

I really do not know if I am burnout or burned up on my convertible Z project. I did the original conversion in Washington but now live in Arizona. I really do not feel like working on a car in 100° ++ temperatures so I try to do a little here and there on the car. I installed and molded in a ground effects kit. The building contractor doing some work in the back yard somehow backed into the Z. it was over in the corner where I put it completely out of the way while I was out of town on business and put a 4†crack in the bumper and broke it loose all the way around. So had to spend around 8 hrs repairing the glass on the bumper and remolding it in, in 100° ++ temperatures. Installed a modified spoiler off of a 70s Trans Am and side vents. The last project was filling in the side marker lights. Molding in plastic parts to metal is a real pain with the differential expansion between the metal and plastic. It will look great for a few days and then just start cracking between the two, never had this problem in Washington. I have yet to find glue that will hold the upholstery around the windshield in the Arizona temperatures, fine it the winter and fall off in the summer. Started a SHO V6 conversion, but had to give it up due to the wrecking yard not able to locate all of the parts needed. But did get a full refund after I took back the engine. I think I am burned out on the project, where I used to enjoy spending endless hours planning and working on the Z. Of course it is not fun sweating your ass off working on it. Now I dread working on it. I really only have the final prep and paint to finish the body, but have no enthusiasm to finish it. Now the big decision should I sell the Z and find another interest or keep plunking away and finish it?

Use your current top as a mold and build a removable fast back hard top. Then you can have it both ways. I wish I had done this on my cnvertible z.

It is funny how different age groups look at different car designs. Being one of the older Z owners I like the smooth lines on a car. To me the 250 GTO is one of the prettiest designs out there. For pure sports car the best has to be the Cobra. I really am not into the sharp angles and cut designs that are on some of the Japanese hot rods that are around now. But that design in what the younger generation in into. What most of us do have in common is that we are not satisfied with the original design and want to improve it to fit our style. Body kits are a great place to start and there is no law that says you cannot put your personal modifications and touches.

Have you checked to see that you do not have the timing 180° out. If you have spark and gas it should at least fire. Try squirting some starting fluid into the intake and see if it will fire. If it doen't fire your problem is in the ingition system. If it tires to run on the starting fluid and dies your problem is in the fuel system. Check and see if you are getting spark at each plug. I have seen the rotor in the distrubuter stripped before and cause a car not to run.

I saw this in the 60s in LA. A VW bug with a 426 hemi in the back seat. A 5 hp Wisconsin engine behind the driver with a straight pipe out the back. It had real quiet mufflers on the hemi. It sounded like a VW running on 2 cylinders. With the slicks on the back and sound of the Wisconsin everyone that didn’t know said “Who are you kidding!†until they saw this thing burn out.

You might want to look at Arizona Z Cars, he has a ZX body kit. http://www.arizonazcar.com/bodies.html

I posted this over a year ago. I started and stopped a SHO conversion. The information on the Healy is great for a source of what you need. As you can see below getting all of the parts together is the real trick. I have just returned the SHO motor to the wrecking yard that I bought if from. After 4 months of waiting, 3 wrong bell housings and no transmission, I have given up on this project. I did receive a full refund on the motor and parts. What Went Right. 1. When I bought the parts, everything from one source, I gave them a full list of everything I needed, including year and model. I kept a copy of this for my reference. 2. I learned a lot about the engine and wiring harness. The SHO is very tall. To install properly the pan depth needs to be shortened about 1-1/2†at least to get around 3†of ground clearance. To install correctly the firewall need to be notched to clear the water outlet and the rear of the air plentum. This will move the motor back enough so the harmonic balancer will not be sitting directly on top of the steering rack. 3. With the right books and patience the wiring harness is not as bad as it looks. 4. When I confronted them that the transmission is a 1994 T5 shown on my list I received my money back even with my modifications to the wiring harness. What Went Wrong. 1. I didn’t wait until all of the parts were in one pile. I accepted them in a piecemeal order. The motor one day the drive shaft, bell housing another. 2. I really should have gotten better dimensions of the engine. Take pictures of a motor out of a car from all directions and take them with you and get ever dimension that you might need marked on the photo. If I had to do it again I would have the wrecking yard initial my list of needed parts. I would have done more research on the dimensions and weight on this motor. I am still planning on some type of conversion for my 260Z convertible but will do more research next time.

While not a coupe anymore here is how I reinforced my Z convertible.

You might want to try to find one of the Ski Racks that fit and wre boted in on the side of the rear hatch that were around during the 70s. They were designed to hold 2 sets of skis. With some modification you could and some Yakima parts you might get one to work.

Or you can do it the cheap way. I modified a 70s Trans Am Spoiler that I bought off of ebay for $35 including shipping. The center section was a breeze to fit. The ends were quite a bit of work. The plastic that they are made of filler does not want to stick to. Had to drill small holes in it and cover with fiberglass after cutting it down. I just molded it in after that.

Well technically it is not a roadster in is a convertible coupe. To be a true roadster according to some books I have written around 1915 it has to have side curtains and no roll up windows. A soft top with roll up windows is a convertible coupe. It is a project in transition to keep my sanity. [/img]

The straightest path that the air has to follow the less flow loss will occur in the induction system. The check out all of the high performance cars before fuel injection and some after for their induction systems. All of the straight 4 and 6 had side draft carbs. There were also some V8s that used side draft Webers trying to keep the air flow in as straight a line as possible. Another thing on the 4 barrel manifold is the clearance between the hood and the top of the carb. I have down dual draft down Webers on my 260z and the air cleaner height is restricting flow. I would go to SU if I was not planning on an engine conversion. The less turbulence inside of the air cleaner the more air will flow into the engine. There are a lot of variables as to size of runners and how they are transitioned that will effect the air flow. Remember that an engine is an air pump; the more air the more power.

I used a welder similar to that one my convertible project. I would weld great on minute and would weld like crap the next for no apparent reason, and this was with gas shielding. I was lucky that it was borrowed. I spent more time working on the thing trying to get a good bead than welding. I have now purchased a quality welder for new projects. I welded for almost 20 years on piping and should have known that cheap welding machines are a pain to work with.