BLKMGK

Without proper aero considerations I've been told the Z begins to get airborn at around 160mph. Mike Kelly and I talked about this as he's got big MPH goals. If this is something you're looking to do - say 200mph - talk to Mike as he had some ideas for keeping it on the ground. Front spoiler a must, belly pans and other things possibly needed. Seems the Z makes a nice wing!

Speed costs money, there's no way to get around it. An LT1 is a very nice motor - parts on it like injectors, intake, sensors cost big bucks - why would a wrecking yard sell it complete for less? The T56 I've got, by itself, cost $1700. The built motor will cost closer to $4500. I'm not adding up the other stuff - I'd cry! Check out the price of NEW T56 transmissions from GM and you'll see why they command such prices from the yards. Crate motors with decent HP cost nearly $4k. Yes, you can do this cheaper but it'll be carbed, you'll have to consider lower HP, maybe build the motor yourself, and it wouldn't be with a T56. Unfortunatly there's no free lunch...

JTR was also VERY critical of that piece as I recall. Noisy, heavy, BIG! They pretty much reccomended that folks stay away from it. The T5 and T56 seemed to be their favorites. Sometimes you get more than what you ask for when you get something free

Any opinions on the cooling of the Griffin vs the GM F-body radiator with the plastic tanks? They both cost about the same and I know one of them fits fine I can cancel the Griffin pretty easily since it's backordered but I'll want to make a decision "soon". It sure seemed to fit into Mike Kelly's car pretty well. Hrmph! Anyone else running this radiator?

Ryalc - Mike measured his "26X19" radiator and it came up just over 25! That's why I ordered mine - I've got a 72 with the SAME spacing you've got. Uh oh! You got one and it was actually 26 inches? Aw hell. I didn't go with the 24 since I figured that this was with tanks and all and by my measure I've only got just over 24 showing through the front frame thingy (smile). Mike - anything you can add to clarify?

It's a bit more money but... have you considered the T56? .5 final overdrive and the first gear doesn't look too evil. I snagged mine from flywheel on back including masterslave for something in the $1700 range. It's much tougher than a T5 and nowhere near as notchy as the TKO. It IS heavier though but I honestly think it's worth it since many Zs have low rears and short tires...

I'm going to use the Autometer 5 inch speedo - electrical - with the stock sender. I'll match it up with the 5inch Monster tach too. At this point I'm waiting to see if they get the Luma series in production otherwise I'm using the Ultra Lites. I liek th elooks of the Phantom series but the tach features I want come in Ultra and I like it. They'll make custom guages but I'm not sure I want to go that route (shrug). What's this about a Ford master? I've ordered a Tilton 7/8ths master for mine from Pegasus. I also spoke to a guy who claims to have done several swaps and he says to use the 1 inch master (sigh). I'm sticking with Mike on this one

For an intake take a look at Mike Kelly's pics. He's got an air cleaner ala the old ram air 442 or Ford racecars (Galaxy?) that had intake tubes run to the headlights. Mike's run his right to the radiator support for a cool intake - great idea if you ask me and those boxes are advertised in lot's of car mags at a reasonable price... [This message has been edited by BLKMGK (edited July 11, 2000).]

Honestly? I'm figuring I might have to spend as much as $500 for an LSD R200! Does Reider sell just the LSD or do they sell entire diffs? Just need to figure out what I'd need in addition to anything I get from them. Looking for as close to turn-key bolt-in as possible. I'm learning about the Z as I go and I'd prefer to break as little as possible along the way Any info you turn up would be appreciated! Anyone else interested in an LSD diff? I believe these are probably stronger than wrecking yard diffs if setup correctly!

I'll admit to being dirt ignorant where fusible links are concerned - I've just never worked with them. Have you got pics of your car's wiring setup anywhere? Sounds liek I've got a bit to learn about wiring a car correctly Also, what's the MAD URL? I've been having a heck of a time finding an ad for them lately and have yet to search for their site. If you've got it handy along with maybe an URL for your car I'd appreciate it. Thanks for the skoolin'!

I honestly believe that a blower is a far easier task than trying to do a turbo or worse two turbos but power-wise it would be much faster! So... http://www.rewarderheaders.com/turbo.htm spotted that while researching headers for my car through a link someone else here gave me. They do custom setups too it seems...

Thanks for the note about the little strap! It's an inverted U looking thing over the nose of the diff - right? I swear I saw nothing like that under there. Hrm, maybe it is time to hit the hardware store for some cable! Will probably not do any more bushings until I swap in an R200. Hope to hit the scrap yards in about two weeks looking.... Until then I'll take it easy - thanks for the warning. T56 will have a strap

Aw shucks - you had me excited! The "limited edition" car is the all white one with the viscous LSD. "Minor mods" doesn't mention the adapters and whatnot. As I recall the person who figured out how to make that one work is only just now documenting how to do it! I'd like a tried and true clutch LSD thanks. *sigh* Thank you for pointing this one out though, I mean it. I was trying so hard to open up another browser window or two that I locked up my computer P.S. Couldn't resist asking him about the "minor mods" and linking the VLSD story and the subsequent posts to ZCAR. Yeah, I was a bit of an ass but geez it just doesn't sound all that "minor"! [This message has been edited by BLKMGK (edited July 10, 2000).]

This doesn't bode well for my '72. Stock hood right? I've just sent a note to the original owner of my car asking for a paint code, if I can get it a fiberglass hood may very well be on it's way... Any downsides to running the back edge of the hood up that far? How's it look?

Thanks, I'll check them both out. I think I may have seen Sanderson in Street Rod - cast headers right? Hrm, will check them out and see. Appreciate the leads! Still wondering about those truck headers They look liek 5.0 headers for SBCs and I already know 5.0 headers fit for the 302 swap... Not much in the mood to experiment though - just follow the recipe and drive the sucker!

Go blower. Twin turbos make more ultimate power but would need to be custom fabbed and cost at least as much as a blower. I sthis EFI or carbed? ATI makes kits for th eSBC including carb'ed kits. I don't know how well they package under the Z hood but another member has done it so he'll be best qualified to ask. Personally I prefer intercooled boost but it's more money and you've got packaging issues to deal with. I've been quoted about $1750 for an ATI SBC carb kit sans intercooler and I can hook you up with the folks that gave me that quote if you would like. 'Course there is one other option if you don't need the power all the time - NOS. Have you considered this?

Called both Jeg's and Summit looking for the 26X19 Griffin radiator - both are talking 2-4 weeks backorder (more towards 4). If you're wanting one you might want to plan ahead.

I think it's a cool idea. One of the guys at work actually asked me why the heck I'd put a V8 in an old Z when the newer 200240SXs were all over the place. Emissions man - and weight. Anyway, I'm not sure about how to fit the engine in but I'd start by measuring the engine bay. If it's close to what the Z is you're going to be doing okay - if it's much smaller it could be difficult. Figure out if it will PHYSICALLY fit first. Then pay attention to where the steering crossmember is - it may get in the way too. As for the rear - it was mentioned on zcar.com that one of the 200 series cars - maybe the 240SX? had an R180 rear I think - posi and a 4.10:1 ratio too. Find out what rear is in your car and how it mounts - you may be able to simply "upgrade" to an R200 Z rear and be done with it. Less cash if you can afford to do that anyway. Check out the later model 300ZX rears too - that would be a good swap too if the R200 won't mount. Subaru and Lexus also have independant rears... Last but not least - you sure you can't find a nice 240 or 260 up there You're going to be spending a bunch to invent a new wheel on this other car ya' know... [This message has been edited by BLKMGK (edited July 10, 2000).]

Replacing the bushings has helped SOME. It actually sounds a little like the binding I used to get with SouthSide bars on my Mustang. I've nto driven it enough yet to be sure it's really helped so we'll see. Very ominous sound!

I wish I'd known about the effort to get a group buy together. I need an LSD and if someone could've offered a complete ready to roll unit at a decent price I'd have been all over it. $1100 + rear + gears is waaay out of the realm of sanity. Pete I'd be interested in the LSD you mentioned, I've tried searching here to no avail tho'. An LSD out of a first gen 300ZX may be what I wind up with - IF I can find one. I don't even spot them on the street around here (sigh). Hee's another source for tire sizing -> http://www.powerdog.com/tiresize.cgi

Anyone found a block hugger bigger than 1 5/8ths in a hugger style? Other than cast that is Some of the truck headers for the newer style trucks look like they might fit too but I'm not big on experimenting and owuld like to find something proven to work. I've asked the builder not to use AP heads in order to avoid fitting problems - hope he remembers.

Would love to see the schematic. I've not got A/C on my car but I want it I've yet to find a fan but I've got folks looking - how much did yours cost and where did you source it? Pretty incredible load on the alternator! Why did you fuse the ground side instead of the hot side? I'd be worried about something shorting out the hot lead and smoking the wire from the short to the battery. Come to think of it - Painless Wiring's headlight harness has a fuse in the midst of the relays but no fuse up near the battery on the hot lead - will have to fix that! I try to fuse everything as close to the battery as possible, bad things happen if something shorts right at the battery (shiver).

Pete, what did you finally end up doing with your fan? I'm hunting a Mustang fan myself and would be interested in knowing how your setup worked out. Thanks!

Thank you Dan! I did spot a couple of grammertypo tpye errors but oh well. Appreciate you zipping it up there so quickly!

Just for you.... I've got an empty tank in the garage and I got up off of my rear and measured the sender for you (smile). 80 Ohms Empty, 10 Ohms full. Sender is in decent condition and seemed to work when I parked the car so hopefully that'll give you the data you need. Looks like you'll have a bit of a cushion when the guage you buy reads empty so that's probably cool. Go for the fuel level guage - that's what I'm doing. I'll give up the Amp guage no problem, I don't like all that juice going through my dash anyway. Just not enough places to put guages in this car without tacking them on someplace (sigh). Will add more myself if I have to but am hoping to keep guages to a minimum. Oh yeah - this measurement was from a 1972 240 so YMMV if you've got something else in your garage... [This message has been edited by BLKMGK (edited July 09, 2000).]