blueovalz

The 23mm was off the original first generation RX7. I had to lop off the ends and redo them, but I think that was all that was needed. Terry

The steel uprights on my Z were replaced with a 1/4" aluminum plate the is roughly the same height as the steel uprights it replaces and about (don't have the car in front of me) 21" long (as wide as the original mustache bar). Anyway, the plate has 1.5" aluminum angle (steel angle bolted on would suffice too) welded to the top of it, thus allowing this plate to be bolted to the bottom of the unibody crossframe that rides over the diff from wheel well to wheel well. This aluminum plate is bolted at the original 4, 10mm (I think) bolt holes used to hold the OEM steel uprights in place, and also the threaded holes left when the mustache bar mounting studs are removed. Thus a total of 4 smaller and 2 larger bolts hold this vertical plate in place. The placing of this plate can will be such that it aligns perfectly with the back mounting surface of the R200 cover plate where the two cover plate studs can be placed through two holes drilled in this plate. These holes can be drilled at any height (which I put as high at was physically possible to keep the halfshafts horizontal on my lowered body). Anyway, at the bottom of this plate is where I bolted the OEM steel suspension bushing bracket for the rearmost lower control arm bushings. Again, it is held onto the aluminum plate by the orginal holes that held this steel bracket to the OEM steel uprights. Lastly, I used a modified RX7 front bar (23mm) to bolt onto this plate also. The mounting of the body bushings for the sway bar are mounted on the outermost ends of this wide aluminum plate so that the bar rides behind the diff. Thus one plate, which just happens to line up with all the attached pieces will work. With the differential solidly mounted on the front mount, this plate cannot flex fore or aft, and with the wide stance of the plate, the two combine to form a very rigid surface for all parts attached to it. The plate has two large 4" holes cut through it on either side of the diff to add air flow around the diff. Also the plate helps as a heat sink to pull the heat off the diff cover. I have been very satisfied with the rigidity of this plate. It transmits a bit more noise into the car, but Hot Rods aint supposed to be quiet. Terry Oxandale

On a surface with any dips in the turns, my initial response would be you must be doing fine, because if the car was at it's limits in the turns, and if the suspension truely did bottomed out, you would not have the smooth transistion to oversteer that you have discribed. You will have no doubt in your mind if you happen to bottom on the stops in a turn if it happens. As far as roll bars, I was fortunate to get a 27mm/21mm bars when you could still get this size, and I always liked it. At this time I currently use a 25mm/23mm (but the arms have been shorten which stiffens the bar) and 200lb springs, all working well together. I would think the general concensious of the members here would be that a larger bar(s) would would benefit you (again, depending on what you are trying to do with the car). Terry

without looking at my reference material, I would say the the 280ZX turbo (cv-jointed) shafts will pop right into the R200 (but cannot vouch for the 300ZX shafts). I assume you are wanting to do put these half shafts on your '76. If you do, you may find problems on the wheel side. The 240 axles will accept the outboard spines, but the later 280 spline are a different size (even though the bearing journals are the same size). Terry

Hi guys As DavyZ said, I was gone a few days (thanks David). The body was done by hot glueing floral foam onto the metal parts of the body that I wanted to modify. There are two kinds of floral foam. A soft crumbly (will not desolve in the presence of resin) and the hard crispy (will desolve in contact with resin) type. I used the soft stuff at the time due to the large areas of coverage. After the blocks were glued on, I used an idiot stick with 36 grit paper and sanded to body to the final shape wanted. This fine foam dust will irritate the respiratory tract somewhat. Anyway, to maintain symetry, I cut out templates from corrigated cardboard. Then I worked this template into the foam (both sides of car with same template) to the desired depth and then pulled it back out of the foam. I then sanded the foam down until the grooves left by the templates were gone. This way both sides (fenders and quarter panels) were the same shape and size. Big point to remember is that when you do this just remember that the thickness of the fiberglass must be subtracted from the foam shape to get the final outside size of the final fiberglass pieces. Once the foam was the correct size, I layed up about 4 layers of 2oz mat (total thickness of about 1/8"). I did not use a fancy chopper gun, nore any specialized fiberglassing tools. In fact I used a short knapp paint roller to squeeze out the air bubbles caught between layers. Anyway, the lay-up of the entire body took 1 afternoon, and the sanding, finishing, and painting took 2 years. TIP: learn about glass with a book or two first, then make small parts like hood scoops, vents, etc first to get a knack for the temperature/hardener relationship, and then work up to bigger parts. On the hard (crispy) foam parts (smaller parts) I would cover the foam with a single layer of 2" masking tape to provide an insulating layer between the resin and foam so that the resin would not desolve the foam. Overlap the tap only a small amount, and rub the overlaps to make sure they are tightly sealed. When finished, the foam can be broken out or melted out (with lacquer thinner) and the part finished. On my Z the hood, fenders, doors, quarter panels, and deck lid are all fiberglass. These were done as one piece, and then cut up (thus they all matched up very nicely). The air scoops, radiator opening, and vents were added after the main body was finished as well as the underlying reinforcement to keep the parts from flexing very much. Sorry for this long post, but I wanted to get as much info as possible out to you guys at one time. Any particular questions can be answered at toxandale@spp.org until I get the computer on at the house. Terry Oxandale

Here are some tips that may help you to see if this will work and how well it will fit. I made a jig using square steel tubing (or 2x4's cut down) to represent the Z frame rails. Then I bolted the crossmember and swaybar onto the two rails, and a fake firewall on the back.I made this simple and light jig in one afternoon. Then I took an empty block (only about 120lbs) and positioned it in reference to the jig to see what and where the mounts would go, check for header or exhaust manifold clearance, oil filter, and check oil pan clearance. You will find out real fast if it will work. You may then want to detail the jig a bit by representing a steering arm, sway bar and any other obstructions that may cause problems. You will find this will simplify the headaches and midnight screaming (neighbors arn't too crazy about that one) by letting you get a good idea of potential problems before you get too envolved in the job. I actually had all the parts built to install the motor before I actually pulled the six out. Terry Oxandale

Heat is real important here. Unfortunately, the case aluminum, and therefore, the amount of heat (torch) applies must be limited. Get it nice and hot first, then twist on it. Terry

I installed a full cover dash that lasted for 10 years with no cracking or deformation. The key to successful installation is prepping the OEM dash. Many times the OEM dash will be raised where cracked. First, use a solvent to remove any silicone or oils on the dash (do this first to keep from sanding any oils and silicones back into the surface of the dash). Then make sure you sand (I used 36 grit on an idiot stick) the OEM surface completely flat (Knocking off the high raised spots next to the cracks), then once all this is done, you can trial fit the cover, trim any place that may not be fitting perfectly (mine needed timming around the glove box and A/C outlet), and then glue on. I had to use 1/2" X 6" X 3" plates of steel to set onto the cover to keep it down on the OEM dash correctly until the adhesive (silicone) was set. Terry Oxandale

My V8 Z has a jack tube running laterally from left to right side spaced exactly half way between the axles. With the car setting on these tubes (bar through tube sitting on stands)I can bounce the car onto either axle with only a few pounds of pressure. But I have the battery in back, and 45lbs less in the front than stock due to the engine swap. In other words with no driver weight, my car in particular, is exactly 50/50. Terry

Is this a "front steer" rack? Most racks these days are rear steer (rack is behind the axle centerline) and thus would make the wheels turn opposite to the input at the wheel. Terry

Many examples of live axle cars with excellent smooth surface handling are everywhere. Where the IRS advantage comes in is the unsprung weight at the wheels, which aids traction in bumpy or less than ideal road surfaces. The camber adjustment is also very important, but as said earlier, a correctly setup live axle suspension can be hard to beat. Terry

Just my .02 worth. I built a 302 using the 2v Cleveland heads. They were fantastic for this displacement. The port sizes are bigger than the 351W but smaller than the 4v Cleveland heads. The torque will be very good for the street 351ci displacement with moderate to good upper end with the proper components to go along with it. It is a closed chamber head too. Don't discount this head, it is really just shy of optimum in the porting compared to the overly large (IMHO) Cleveland heads (street duty). Terry Oxandale

Like Pete said, 2 hoses exit the T/O bearing. They are about 10" long. I drilled 2 holes in the bellhousing to exit these hoses. I also used a Girling 3/4" master cylinder which has about 1.125" of travel, which works out great. As far as the plate is concerned. If you only use one plate (front one obviously) it can ride right on top of the OEM Z rubber mounts on the pedestals with the use of simple "L" brackets. This will locate the motor about 1" forward of the firewall, and give you plenty of room for certain types of exhaust. In fact, depending on which side you mount the "L" bracket on the plate you could have several inches of room to play with on the longitudinal spacing of the engine. I believe the shorties will cause some problems with interference with the firewall unless you immediately bend the exhaust downward at the joint, to run under the firewall where your dead pedal is.

I currently support the engine in my Z with 2 engine plates I made out of 1/4" aluminum plate. I do not have any templates, but if this is the way you want to go, and you have the engine out to where you can get easy access to the front of it, I could talk you through making at least the front plate. I don't think you will need a rear plate unless you are going to do some heavy duty driving (drag racing, etc). Terry Oxandale

My entire engine, trany, and rear end are all solid mounts (used to race this beast). I would be extreemly cautious about a rubber front mount and solid rear mount, because the aluminum cover will crack if the the front mount flexes any. Use all rubber or all solid but don't mix them. In my particular application, I used 1/4" single, very wide, aluminum plate that replaces the two 4" wide steel suspension supports, the mustache bar, and the sway bar supports, all in one piece. The diff cover bolts onto the middle of it, and the sway bar bushings bolt onto each end, just above the rear suspension pivot points (rubber bushings). To mount this plate I simply used 6 bolts. 4 that held the original 4" wide steel uprights to the chassis, and the 2 bolts that held the mustache bar in place on the chassis. With the front diff mount being solid, it makes for a very stiff set-up. Unfortunately, it does make a little more noise this way, but it is not objectionable. Terry Oxandale

When my engine was in my old '66 Stang, I had a 4.11 rear that drove about 3800 rpm at 60mph with a 1:1 4th gear and normal (205/60R14) tires. I cannot see how 5 grand at 60mph is happening with any Z rear end. Perhaps the torque converter is slipping more than ususal or the tach or speedo is off (wrong speedo gear in the transmission). My 4sp Z with a 3.54 rear never went past 4 grand at 60mph no matter how small the tires were. With a 22" tall tire, the rear wheel rotates at about 916 rpm. Multiply this by the diff ratio, and you get the engine rpm (provided you are in a 1:1 gear ration in your transmission). With this in mind you would have to have a 5.45 ratio rear gear at 5 grand at 60 mph. Something else is amiss. Terry

The long one is only about .4" longer than the short one, the the difference is only on shaft part that is inserted into the diff. Both should "snap" in when inserted correctly, and not be able to pull out without some amount of prying first (once they are correctly installed. Terry Oxandale

High horsepower is great, but in these little cars, lots of torque can be more fustrating than fun. My 302 is a moderately high rpm hp motor with less torque on the low end of the rpm range, which even with 315/35R17's, I still can have traction problems. I can't even image what more torque and less traction would be like. Terry

The Ford rack is about 41" wide. This is with about 3" of the 9/16" threads on each end. Some racks on the T-birds have a longer treaded portion, but the inside edge of the threads to the inside edge of the threads on the end rods is 37". If you use 1" of threads for your rod ends on each side, then you have 39". Now you have only about 3" on each side left for the rod end.This makes the rack a little on the long end, but can work with the right kind of fabricated ends.

FYI. Those peened axle nuts that are a pain in the rear to remove can be replace with the ZX self tightening flange nut. This can then be removed at a later time without damaging any of the treads on the axle. Terry

Pete has a good reply here. I would like to add that with the extra fluid transport of the larger 7/8" master cylinder, you also will have a decreased mechanical advantage. The ratio in bores is related to the mechanical advantage of the system. Increase the MC bore, or decrease the SC bore and you decrease the mechanical advantage (higher pedal pressure). I use a high pressure pressure plate on my T-5 equiped Z, and found that I had to use a 3/4" inch bore. Anything bigger started bending rods and flexing the firewall. The biggest limitation of the smaller bore is that the stroke must be long enough. Pete was correct in that a 1" stroke (in general) must be used. This is where swapping parts is tricky. The ratios of MC to SC are important for correct "feel" and operation. Terry

McCleod makes, or used to make, a good quality hydraulic throwout bearing that slips over the input shaft/front bearing retainer of the T-5. It can be used with a 3/4" (the OEM 5/8" will not provide the necessary amount of fluid) hydraulic master cylinder which I bought from Girling. It (the master cylinder) used the same bolt pattern as the OEM part, but needed some tinkering on the under the dash part to mate up with the Z pedal. The feel is not noticably different from the original feel, and it has been a reliable part for over 10 years now.

I used a T-bird power assisted rack (I believe it is the same as the mustang rack)from '84 I believe. Anyway it was too long, but this was good because each end had 4" of 9/16" treaded rod. I had to cut about an inch off each side, screw on a spherical rod end and put a 1/2" grade 8 bolt through the steering arm and the rod end. Long story made short, but this rack has almost the same steering ratio as the Z rack had. I think I remember slight differences in the length of these treaded ends, but they all seemed to long (T-bird vs Mustang).

My experience when I swapped the L24 with a 302 was the L24 weighed 428lbs complete. The 302 weighed 380lbs complete. This was with the aluminum J302 Motorsport heads and an aluminum intake. This encluded the alternators and exhaust manifolds on both engines.

Pete Paraska alerted me to what appears to be a wonderful sight (thanks again Pete). Just wanted to say Hi to all. Its been a long time since I published the data, but I will try to participate in helping anybody with a 5.0 conversion. My originally published data is at www.Zhome.com, and some pics were in an old Z-car publication some years back. If possible (I'm not computer literate) I would like to get this same text published on this site for you guys. I do not have a web sight available for better pics, but would be happy to help anyone with some if needed. Take care Terry