aprophet13

Hi guys, here's where I'm at- I'm trying to get underway on a v8 swap into my '73 240z. Car will be for street use/getting into trouble- nothing serious like autoX/track/drag. My plans are as follows: Chevy 350 engine 650cfm vac secondary carb MSD 6al ign Camaro t5 trans Custom driveshaft JTR engine/trans mounting kit JTR headers (maybe) Custom exhaust Upgraded fuel pump OEM radiator from v8 car I have been doing a ton of reading and already ordered the JTR manual but still have a few logistical questions. I found a good candidate for a motor, BUT it is a truck vortec motor. I've read there are 2 main types of flywheels- 153 & 168 tooth. Don't know which one this engine has. Since I plan on using a camaro T5 (I know these get a bad rap, but I think for a mostly stock 350 I should be ok if I don't abuse it?) I'm not sure about fitment. So, first question, 1) what kind of fitment issues should i be thinking about? As long as the flywheel is the right diameter it should just bolt up? My z is carb'd and this engine ill be too. So, second question, 2) Do you think my fuel system can flow enough for a 350? It has a return line so I'm assuming the pump isn't close to max capacity right now, which is why i wasn't sure if an upgrade would be necessary since i'm staying carb'd. I have a couple more, but lets start with these and hopefully reading the manual should answer most of them. Mostly stumped on the t5 trans fitment to what other engines. I've been reading a lot on hot rod forums but haven't exactly found an answer. Thanks, Adrian

I had a tick in my valve train- went to adjust the valves and discovered there was a missing lash pad. Ordered that, got it back in and reassembled everything. Now it runs great when I rev it and sounds really strong. Only problem is that if I let off the gas and let it idle it drops down to 500rpm, randomly backfires with clouds of black soot out the exhaust and then will eventually bog down and die in 20-30 secs. If I gas it and keep it above 1000-1500rpm it sounds/revs fine and anything above that it just sounds stronger. Only problem is at idle. Any ideas? I checked connections on the coil, dizzy, and plugs, and cleaned the plugs. My guess is that its too rich at idle? Causing it to backfire and eventually die.. Any help would be much appreciated. In the middle of trying to fix this, and my K-jet Volvo 242 turbo that has a misfire under boost problem. 2 many cars with 2 many problems lol Car is a 1973 240z with rebuilt L24/5speed with twin SU's. This problem only developed after I fixed the valve train tick. Maybe the carbs are out of tune now since the exhaust valve is actually fully opening now?

Haha yeah I realized this semester in school that summer is the time to make moves so I've been trying to get as much done as possible! A few updates: 1) Motor developed a tick after sitting for ~4 months while I was away at school. Finally got around to adjusting the valves and this is what I found.. Took the rocker arm off and there was NO lash pad on the valve spring retainer- the retainer itself was also gouged up. Ordered a new lash pad/retainer and should have it back on the road this week. 2) Fitting the wheels has been interesting: Left off here- Bent some shit- Cut some shit- And realized flares would basically be a necessity- So I got to chopping- Didn't want to wait for/pay for ZG flares that everyone runs, and I thought how hard could it be to make your own flares? Cardboard template Sheet metal cut out The shape is pretty much where I want it. Gonna clean up the cuts on the inner fenders and grind the flares down so they're shaped better/smooth. Then just rattle can them black for now. Left a little gap since I plan on going lower so it should be pretty fitted. It's coming along! Once the flares are black it should help to hide any imperfections as well, but THE WHEELS FIT!! Pretty exciting, and I managed to only spend ~$40- plus it looks a little more custom vs the standard ZG flares that IMO are a little played out. Things left on list: 1) Repair valvetrain to hold me over for item 3 2) Suspension- new arms+links+lower 3) v8 swap- carb'd sbf/sbc done on the cheap with 200-250whp being the goal (double stock hp should be a handful) 4) Paint- dark purple with either gold or black accents

FRONT: 195/55r15 on 15x9 et-3 fits on stock fenders w/o even a roll for me. Tire size can greatly sway the need for flares. REAR: 225/50r15 15x11 et-40 is taking a bit of work though..

Here's where I'm at with the wheels: got them mounted at some random tire shop on el camino- guy was super chill. Planned on rolling the fenders and seeing how close I could get to fitting them but even after cranking on 1 fender for a while I saw minimal results. I think I'll have to slit the inner fender skin and then I can actually roll/pull the outer lip- its not that far from fitting though. I'm ordering ZG flares with my first pay check so this is just a temporary fix.

Went up to CSM and then down to hillsdale mall for some pictures. Here's my friends' Flickr: So, the official plan is install the Techno Toy Tuning arms/links ASAP And I'm starting to save for/piece together a plan for an sbc 350/sbf 302 swap. Not even my ideal motor choice.. but dirt cheap and even 200whp would be double stock out put so it should be fun- stay tuned folks!

Saw a clean 280zx also in black/gold theme so had to take some twin (fraternal, I guess) pics And saw a nice 280z so, of course, had to get some pics with that Added some stripes on the driver side fender and I think I might redo them- maybe shift them forward a couple of inches. Idk, something looks off with them. And I love how the headlight covers capture the light at night..

Got the louvers, fender mirrors, and headlight covers mounted. For the louvers there is a strip of metal the hinges bolt to that slides under the window trim. Got them on without much difficulty, just took a while: This was the first iteration of the fender mirrors until my friend and I realized they might not have been facing the right way.. But they came out looking pretty nice Headlight covers were a PITA to get installed since I lost the mounting hardware in the move. Was anticipating removing the headlight buckets so the bumper came off and work began.. That's it for now- might paint it this summer, also have been doing a lot of thinking about motor choice and have recently been thinking carb'd V8 is the way to go, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Ya I've just been experimenting so I wanted to try both, although I don't mind it being asymmetrical. I added another stripe and some lettering on the passenger side. I think it evened it out and it looks a lot like an old fighter plane, which is the look I was going for. My friend taped the lights out with X's which I also think adds to the look. Final touch was another "HLS30" graphic on the ducktail- here's how it came out:

Well guys, back from the east coast and finally have some time to work on the whips. Got some gold plastidip and added some graphics to the Z. It will peel off so I'm just experimenting right now. I like the drivers side stripes- not sure how i feel about the passenger side circle. I want to add more lettering and stuff- ideas/suggestions? Going for a war plane/rat rod kinda theme so any thoughts are welcome. Plans for the summer are basically to get the SSR's mounted, some kind of paint change, and possibly some flares depending on how the wheels fit up. Also want to install the TTT arms/links but might not get around to this as its my DD for now.. Many more updates to come, thanks!

TLDR: Z31 turbo, want a 0-60 time of around 5 seconds and want to modify to whatever hp this requires. ~$2,000 to spend. Advice? I am looking at a 1985 300zx turbo and have a few questions... I intend on dailying the car mostly but have a '73 240z to cruise in when this is out of commission (swapped in a different L24 with a friend so I have experience wrenching on cars, just not efi) My funds would be split between this and the 240z so realistically my budget is around $2,000 not including the car I don't like setting a whp goal since its kind of arbitrary due to weight/diff ratio/dyno/etc differences I am looking for a 0-60 around 5.0 seconds (e46 m3, 07 STI, 350z, etc range) 1) Is this realistic? Given my experience level (want to do all work myself), budget, and drivetrain 2) If so around how much whp is a good goal? I'm thinking in the 250-300whp range? 3) If that estimate is realistic then are these modifications sufficient? My plans are as follows: Basic maintenance(t-belt, plugs, wires, etc) Stock bottom/top end Stock Fuel system Stock ECU Either maxing out T3 turbo or installing an HY35 I have MBC set to 13-18psi (what ever will net my hp goals) Ebay intercooler/piping stock intake K&N intake filter w/ resonator removed 3" turbo back exhaust w/ hiflow cat CA 91 Octane fuel (would love to run E85 but stock fuel system will be strained already without 30% more demand for fuel) possibly MLS hg/ARP studs just for insurance? I think I've been reading too much and have gotten a little over saturated. Some people say you NEED this or that, and I've seen too many conflicting opinions. I've looked at TONS of dyno sheets and stuff on Z31.com/Z31performance's dyno section, but most of those guys are way over my output goals. Sorry if I sound like just another kid asking what the minimum I can do for X amount of HP is, but I've read so many posts of people saying they made 300whp on stock ECU/long block/fuel system and am just wondering what is necessary/a good idea to upgrade to have a pretty reliable setup for my goals. Thanks in advance!! Adrian

Its surprising that the r160 would be a better alternative than the r180- I was doing some reading in the drivetrain section and the feeling i got was r160<r180<r190 and then the subaru r180 and the r200 were good options. I was mainly wondering if the r180 would hold up at it seems like a shaky yes, I'll probably end up going with either the r160 or r200. Thanks for the advice!

My other car is a volvo 242 set up for drifting and has a welded- doesn't particularly bother me and I didn't notice drastic wear because of it. But you're saying even an OBX unit in an r180 case would be sufficient? Because at that point I think I'd just weld the r180 to make the spider gears more stout. I also read that the axles aren't as robust- but would this be noticeable at my desired power levels? It just seems that people here swap to the r200 on impulse but I'm wondering if its really necessary. I'm basically wondering if my power goals and intended use would make the r180 feel like an achilles heel. Thanks for the reply

I have a 1973 240z with I'm assuming the stock r180 diff. The ultimate set up of the car will be an inline turbo motor with around 200-250whp. The car will mainly be a street car that will see occasional parking lot/empty street hooning. EG no super hard launches, no sticky tires (225 at the widest), and very rare clutch kicking/high revving. With that set up in mind with those intended uses, is the r180 going to be a hinderance or major weak point? I've read that the spider gears are a common point of failure. Could a welded r180 remedy this situation? TLDR- Could I get away with a welded r180 for essentially street use on a mid power (200-250whp) engine with skinny low grade tires? If no, I'm assuming the r200 is the next logical step (or Subaru r180?) Thanks in advance, Adrian