RebekahsZ

No catalytic converters-this is the free state of Alabama. I might even put a gun rack in the back window!

Boost kills.

I'm at the point in my build where I'm going to be filling and bleeding fluids with the hope of hitting the key next weekend when my long tube headers are due in. Need advice on oil, antifreeze, tranny fluid and fuel/gas. Fuel tank is currently empty/dry. I really want to avoid cooking anything right off the bat. Engine trans combo is 2006 GTO LS2/T56, 13k miles (supposedly). Location/climate is Alabama. Any advice on favorite fluids or tricks to avoid problems during this phase are very welcome. I've had the motor in my garage for a year, don't know how long it was in wrecking yard since last run. I've done some searching about problems with bleeding the clutch, but folks tend to post their problems but don't usually follow thru with how they solved them (maybe they never do?). Any recommendations about how soon to change fluids in a motor coming out of storage are appreciated too. Is there anything I should do in terms of pre-oiling? When I changed the oil pan (6 months ago), there was a layer of clean oil clinging to the crank and everything looked perfect...haven't removed the valve covers or broken into top end of motor at all and really don't want to if I don't have to. I have done some searching, but I'm looking for the latest (and kindest) advice.

I'm finishing up wiring this weekend and will probably be connecting and disconnecting my battery a lot as I work thru my mistakes (I can't do anything right the first time). Anything I should do now (and in the future) to protect and show respect for my LSx ECU/PCM? I guess this thing has some sort of internal battery to maintain codes? This is my first excusion into a computerized car! I'm going to disconnect the three plugs into it until it is time to test the fuel pump, but once I hook it all up, should I do anything special before doing stereo work, etc other than disconnecting the battery? Please recall my earlier post titled: "Just burned up engine harness" in order to understand the idiot you are advising.

Wow! thanks for posting this! I've struggled with it too, but I wasn't nearly as rusted as yours. How the heck does a z-car survive in New Jersey?? You guys up there should look into to fiberglass chassis from England.

Z31 shortened half-shafts just arrived from JMortensen. Gonna try to get everything done short of installing headers (in the mail, I hope) over the next two days. Lots of little things to tidy up.

Wow, I had forgotten just how high a stock z-car is! Make sure to stay away from any springs claiming to be "progressive." The soft coils on a progressive spring just coil bind as if they were not there and you lose any travel that you have left. Stick with constant rate springs. When you go low, you also want to go stiffer rate in order to avoid bottoming out. Have a friend who just installed some Suspension Techniques springs and they worked out fine.

How much are those inner door panels?

I've only got 16X8 RBRs with 225/50/16s and they rubbed my MSA urethane airdam, so I had to pull back my caster some. With wheels 9.5 wide, if you hope to approximate JohnC's alignment recommendations, I would wait to cut sheetmetal and install any ZG flares until after you have your whole suspension mocked up with the wheels and tires installed. Then, just cut as needed (making sure to steer wheels back and forth and watch for angle that allows least clearance), then install flares. My buddy just did the ZG flare conversion only to find that he should have trimmed his airdam and mounted the flares farther forward to avoid rubbing. Now he has all those screw holes to fill-major pain! Now, he says he wants even wider tires-his fenders are going to look like swiss cheese! If you push the flare far enough forward to do the job, you might find a conflict with your side-marker light, then you'll need to fill that hole and move it either forward or up, or just ditch it altogether. The front of the front fender gets crowded in a hurry. Wheel width is really a matter of when you want the madness to stop. It is all for looks, anyway (which I can certainly appreciate) because how your car hooks up has as much to do with tire compound as it does with size. We have a couple of used tire stores in the area-could you pay such a place to trial mount a couple of different size tires for you (let them know you'll pay for the labor)? I have found that trial and error is the only way to get the tires you want, and that can get pretty expensive if you are actually buying NEW tires every time. I looked at that video-that car is sprung so high up that you could have put tires infinitely wider on it and not had it rub (at least in the front). If you want clearance for big hoops, you can always jack the car up in the air, then you won't scrub the fenders and the sky is the limit! According to Jegs/BFG fitment recommendations, 255-275 is your tire size range for an 8.5 to 11 inch wheel.

If the fender gap is just awful, get some 15" wheels with Goodyear Billboards-they are huge! Your low-profile modern tires may be responsible for the gaps. Most of my cobra friends hate the Billboards because they are a true, soft racing tire that pics up rocks and throw then at your pricey paint job.

I got really good at putting my motor in and out -better than sex actually (oops)! On my final install I was able to do it all by myself (maybe that is why it is better than sex) without chipping any paint. I've gone to poly motor mounts: the passenger side goes together easy-the driver side is a PITA. I'm really concerned about getting it back apart if needed to install the longtubes. I could never get the mount alignment right to the point that I could get the big long bolt to slide in easily. I finally sharpened the end to a tapered point and pounded away with my trusty hammer until it went in. Longtubes and pounding away-I've got to get my head out of the gutter-too much time in the garage late at night! With stock rubber motormounts, this was a lot easier. I read a lot of posts on LS1tech that said to keep the rubber trans mount as the poly trans mount transmits lots of vibrations.

Dude, you need professional help. I drove my Z-car for a couple of years smoking that bad-it keeps the floorpans from rusting. My neighbors just thanked me for keeping the mosquitos under control.

This weekends progress. Put engine in for final time (I think). I swear I installed and pulled that motor 10 times trying to get everything right. As everybody warned me, poly motor mounts were a PITA. I pray I dont have to pull the motor, or even lift it, to install the longtube headers. If I have to, I may just sell my longtubes off. They are at the ceramic coating place right now (or on the way). Don't know how long it will take to get them back, so I'm toying with installing the JTR headers that I have, just so I can get car running and start finding leaks, etc. Spent most of weekend finalizing passenger side wiring harness for the engine. This is the harness that includes the hot wire to the alternator and starter, and also includes the primary ground wire for the battery-engine and battery-chassis. I used the GTO cables and cut them down a little, re-routed wires for maximum exhaust clearance and to avoid the tight spot between the lower steering u-joint and the alternator. Soldered new lugs on the cut cables. After cables were all sized and trial fit, I wrapped them in split loom, then wrapped the areas close to the exhaust in header wrap and secured it with metal ties. When i can drive car over to buddy with a sheetmetal brake, i will make a heat shield between header and wiring. Wrapped starter in a heat-reflective blanket. Tomorrow, I plan to finish fuel pump wiring (I can't seem to get under car for this while sun is still shining! Then, I think the only wiring I will have left is to hook up speedometer and tach. Then, when I have time, I'll start making wiring harnesses for racing aids like 2-step and line lock. Then heater, wipers and radio, R200 LSD conversion with CV axles, shortened rear LCAs (when will this end!!!!). Clutch line is installed and tightened, motor is totally in with torqued bolts and a fully installed driveshaft. Tires are off for brake bleeding, then I'll bleed clutch line. Hope to buy fluids on Thursday and start filling on Friday. The coming weekend should be noisy-will post video if I can figure out how.

Flex lines to master cylinder done. Used front 240z stock flex lines. See before shots two posts back and after shots here. Hoping this mod will make adjusting the push rod between the vacuum booster and master cylinder easier. Also should make any vacuum booster maintenance easier.

LOVE the Torque Thrusts! Please post more pics of that setup on the Wheel Pics forum, please! If you just make your suspension plenty stiff with spring rate, a lot of this academic suspension stuff probably doesn't matter as much as we think. There is a video that shows just how little the suspension actually "works" somewhere on the forum shot from under the front fender while going around a track-try to find that and you'll be amazed. I'm no expert like JohnC et.al., but I think that once your static alignment is as JohnC recommends, you'll have little trouble with dynamic suspension changes. Beautiful car!

I'm a little sea-sick from the video and very sad for you. That is a VERY, VERY nice car. Why on earth do you have to sell it? I think about selling mine all the time, but I just can't bring myself to do it, plus nobody wants to buy a 40-year old car that is worth $3000 but has $30,000 invested in it! When you car sells, post again and we'll have a moment of silence for you, and a moment of rejoicing for whoever gets just a great machine, likely for much less than you have in it (time or money). By the way, your neighborhood looks beautiful. I think I'm going to run out and buy some new gauges-you really set a high standard.

Finally, the thumb is numb. I operated with it this Thursday and there were no untoward events! The nail is trying to peel back and I 'm catching it on everything. Gonna try some super glue between the nail and the nailbed so I can keep working on the Z-car on Saturday. Thank God it went numb-it was killing me!

Just got an email from Blake asking me to pay the $245 to pay for ceramic coating upgrade. He's ready to send them off to coating place. I gladly sent him the money via PayPal! Getting fired up! Will send pics when they arrive. Just bought a little heat blanket for my starter.

I'm keeping my front brakes stock with the addition of Portfield R4S compound pads. I've switched to Maxima rear calipers wit R4S pads, but only to make room for a second set of calipers for a "drifting" hand brake. I think that there is nothing wrong with the stock setup. Brakes should be matched to the weight of the car and the possibly the tire. You usually have your foot off the throttle when braking, so the size of motor doesn't matter.

So far, I think the welding slag in the ear would get my vote for worst, although the welding rod in the leg is a fierce comptetitor. Thread is not meant to discourage stories of car crashes. Flesh is flesh, no matter how you slice it. I did repeated novocaine nerve blocks to my thumb thru the weekend, but I was starting to turn my thumb into hamburger and had to come up with a better plan. Surprisingly, hydrocodone mixed with Darvocet is a pretty good (effective) mixture. I slept like a babe last night. Pain was tolerable on Loracet 10s today.

Think about running at an 1/8 mile track. I used to do 11 seconds all day long with a worn out 240z, all stock. (Just a joke for all the non-hybrid folks). Traction may be a problem. Why are you against a drag radial-some sort of racing classification or street racing issue? Drag radials are not much more expensive than good street tires and they totally rock, especially if you don't have an LSD. Not trying to totally thread jump you, but tires can really make a big difference in terms of getting the power that you make to the ground-cheapest power adder you can buy. Good luck with it.

I always see threads started asking how much it costs to do an engine swap into a z-car. I'd like to post the question another way: How much of YOURSELF have you donated to your z-car? I've seen lots of threads showing mechanical carnage, but none showing physical carnage. For example, I offer my latest car-work related injury. See pic. I was trying to increase the mounting hole size in a strap hanger in order to support my LS2 wiring harness at the back of the intake manifold by re-drilling the bolt hole with my drill press. Drill bit found a bur in the sheet metal, yanked stainless steel strap from my grasp and wound around the drill bit, pinching the pee out of my thumb. My thumb actually fit inside that wound up metal strap! Luckily the strap tore off the drill bit with my finger wrapped up in the sheetmetal rather than continuing to rotate on the bit, or it might have been more ugly. No cuts, just major crush injury. May take another photo later without bandaid, but right now if I remove bandaid it just starts bleeding everywhere. So much for getting car running by Sunday! Maybe next weekend. I tried to just wrap it up in masking tape and soldier on, but I can't seem to do anything without a left thumb. Finally went to my office and gave myself a nerve block, so it is tolerable for the moment, but I may wake up screaming in the night when the block wears off. The up-side is that my wife has to unbutton my britches so I can pee. It hurts like hades. Post your best z-car work related injuries.

It seems that we are all cutting up the fenders on our (relatively) rust free z-cars to add ZG flares. I love the trend and it makes a lot of sense to get tire clearance in those tiny rear tubs. But, is anybody tooled up for the next decade when we all decide that we want to unflare our cars? I remember when billet and Pro-Street were big in the street rod world, and now all those cars seem so "yesterday." Many of us will still be z-heads 10 and 20 years from now. What will we do?

Incredible. What a nice car. Great work. I'd kill to have that nice of a chassis.