wheelman

GVincent, Which plug wire loom and wire set are you running? I bought a set of LT1 wires and have burned a couple because they are to long and rested on the headers. I'd like to route mine the same as you have yours. Wheelman

GVincent, It's pretty much impossible to get an LT1 thermostat in backwards. If you installed a thermostat for a Gen I SBC it might be backwards but thats the least of the problems you'll have, the stats are totally different and a Gen I version will cause big time cooling problems in an LT1. I agree with MikeJTR about the fan, if it has 3 wires it's definitely a 2-speed fan. I inadvertently wired mine wrong and managed to burn up three 40 amp relays before I figured it out. It's possible to use it as a single speed fan by wiring the "working" circuit to the high temp control from the PCM and then set the trigger temp low enough to kick it on when you want. I finally wired mine that way and it works fine. Wheelman

OK, you guys have listed the one and only scenario where it might make sense to buy a car to save money on gas. The question is, How many folks are going to settle for driving around in a $1000.00 clapped out econo-box? Another good question, Is it possible to find a $1000.00 econo-box that won't be a major pain in the a$$ to keep running? The last time I spent $1000.00 or less on a car was for my daughter (1992 Honda Prelude with a JDM engine swap, bought it for $750.00 from a friend), so far it's cost us an additional $300.00 due to a broken timing belt and the ensuing head work, plus 2 weeks down time to get it running again. I'm sticking by my assertion that it's a false economy to buy a car just to save money on gas! Wheelman

I gave up riding street bikes years ago due to the people on auto-pilot and it's only gotten worse with all the morons yapping on cells phones, watching movies, messing with stereo head units, driving gangsta style and playing with a GPS while driving. It's really a false economy to buy a different rig just to save gas, even at these prices. When you consider the extra car payment, up-keep and insurance it takes a long time to reach a point of pay off, even if you're driving a car that gets low mileage now. The best way to save gas is drive less! Wheelman

If you want to experience a real recoil, fire a magnum 3 1/2" round through a light single shot 12 guage. That's the worst recoil I've ever felt and it made me think twice about doing it again. I can't compare it to a 50 cal rifle as I haven't fired one of those yet but I had the opportunity to fire a 50 cal hand gun and was surprised that the recoil wasn't worse. I wouldn't want to spend all day shooting it but 10 rounds wasn't to bad. Wheelman

As far as I know the LCAs are original. The camber changed when I installed the Tokico springs but at that point I don't remember feeling any binding. I ran the same ride height when I installed coil overs and again don't remember feeling any binding. The first time I remember noticing the binding was after installing the LSD. I haven't been under the car recently so can't say how far the right side axle slides into the diff carrier but it may stick out a bit more than when I had the open diff. Wheelman

My axles are OEM not rebuilt or aftermarket. In fact I need to replace the outer boot on the left side axle. Wheelman

I've dealt with this issue on my 240Z as well but it didn't appear (at least I didin't notice it) until after I intalled an LSD. My 240 started out with Tokico lowering springs and an open R200. With this setup there appeared to be no binding at all once I flipped the cages in the outer CVs. I then replaced the Tokico springs with coilovers/camber plates and ran the car at about the same ride height as before. Again I noticed no binding but I also found that I had to run the rear biscuit type camber plates at basically the stock camber setting. If I tried to set more negative camber the axles did bind when at full droop and full compression. When I installed the LSD I initially didn't notice any more binding than with the open diff but after a couple auto-x sessions I found the right axle would bind when compressed. It was probably binding but I just didn't notice it right away. I noticed the binding while driving home after an auto-x event, when the right rear was compressed by a bump the rear of the car would jump to the right. This is the really stupid thing on my part but I basically ignored it and the next day I put the car into a curb at an event. I was hard in the throttle around a left hand sweeper and the rear came loose. After much thought I'm convinced it was partly caused by the right axle binding up from compression. That along with the power being applied caused the rear to break loose and I slid into a curb. Anyway I've since rebuilt the car and replaced the right rear suspension parts. When I initially put things back together the right axle was binding a bit so I ground about 1/8" off the outer end and also set the rear camber at only -1 degree. There is no binding now through the entire range of the suspension. I might be able to add another 1/2 degree negative camber before it binds but the biscuit type plates I have don't provide adjustment that fine so I'm stuck where I'm at. The driver's side has always had plenty of clearance. One facter nobody has mentioned yet could be how far the right side axle slides into the diff before it bottoms out. I didn't measure the open diff or the LSD but before the LSD install I'm pretty sure I had no binding on the right side and have never had any on the left side. Both axles securely snap in so the clip ring is engaging. Edit: The LSD I run is a Clutch type Power Brute. Wheelman

Glad to hear it worked and thanks for the compliment. You know, this factor never even occurred to me when I assembled the shaft but I agree it should be considered. I think because the angles are so shallow in my setup there was very little chance of binding things up, In other words I got lucky. Wheelman

The link in my post is to a PDF file. Do you have acrobat reader installed? If not, install it and then you'll be able to view the document. If this won't work for people I'll convert it to a web page and relink it to this thread. Wheelman

You're right Jon, the only reason I did it was so I didn't need to make sure they were aligned after jacking up the car. Wheelman

You could also use zip ties to hold them in place, thats what I did until I switched to coilovers. It worked fine for the 1000 miles or so I put on the springs. Wheelman

Just tell those guys to wait until you fire it up and then decide for themselves if it has an electric motor, or you could say "Sure it has a starter motor, what else would you like to know?". Wheelman

Just to clarify what 80LT1 is saying, the transmission listed in that ebay auction is NOT, repeat NOT a V8 transmission and you do not want to use it behind your LT1. It will bolt up but it would not last long. As for the other question about the Z31 T5, you could make it work but the cost would be more than a good World Class T5. Yes an 82-89 Camaro bell housing will bolt to an LT1. I'm running that combination right now. Wheelman

GeKing, The stock Camaro bellhousing from the 83-89 years will bolt right up to the LT1, thats what I'm using with my WC T5. ReefsRocket, First off, MS is not a company, it's an open source project to build an engine control system, you can't call them. The website to start researching at is http://www.msefi.com. As for using MS with an LT1, yes it's possible but not as easy as a standard SBC. The Ford EDIS is an option but then you have to have a custom 36-1 wheel machined that works with the LT1 harmonic dampener. The optical portion of the opti-spark can be used to trigger the MS tach input without to much trouble but it takes some work to get it set up correctly. I've been wanting to give this a try but I have my engine running great on the stock PCM so don't want to mess it up. The one big advantage (maybe) MS gives you is the ability to rev the engine above 6500 RPM. If you find a 94-95 PCM it will be flashable, you don't have to remove an eprom chip to reprogram it. This ability and the right software (LT1Edit or TunerCat) gives you the ability to adjust all the settings in the PCM. You're asking good questions, continue to do your research before deciding on the direction you want to take. Wheelman

Ok, I've been procrastinating on this but I finally put together a document with some pictures of my Subaru power rack install. I used a rack from a 1999 Forrester with the stock GM pump that came with my 1995 Caprice 9C1 LT1. Here is a link to the PDF file with all the pictures. http://www.vikingds.com/zcarguy/Power Steering install.pdf If anyone has questions please ask them in this thread so we can continue to build the knowledge base for this swap. Wheelman

It would be cheaper to just get a JY harness and PCM than to put together a carb setup for the LT1, due to the reverse coolling you can't use just any SBC intake. Besides, the EFI system is really what makes the LT1 such a great engine, lose that and you might as well build a standard SBC. You might also consider just getting a PCM, they're on ebay all the time, and a harness from Painless Performance or one of thier competitors. It's a little more expensive but you know the harness is complete and new, not always the case when using JY parts. Wheelman

Concretevz, It's funny you should ask that, I finished the installed and took the car out for it's first auto-x event this weekend. I have some more in progress pictures I haven't posted yet. I really need to get them online so everyone can benefit, unfortunately I'm flying to San Jose tomorrow so I won't be able to get them up until next weekend at the earliest. Just a quick report of how the 1999 Forrester rack worked out. It's got a fairly light feel, comparable to a modern sports car, has pretty good feedback for a power rack and is much quicker than the stock rack. Last season I would come home from an auto-x event totally exhausted from driving the Z, it was a real workout. This weekend I still came home tired but not all from driving the car, other than fighting the g-forces . I can say that if I hadn't put the power rack in I would have a hard time enjoying an event with the new 265/45-16 Kumho VictoRacers I bought from Braap. They are working out great by the way!!! Some things I ran into that I will probably have to redo: I didn't get the rack as level as I want it relative to the cross member, the passenger side is a tad high. I also didn't get it quite as low as I wanted it, adjustable links at the steering knuckle or moving the inner control arm pivot point would help eliminate bump steer. I don't think I have any worse problem with this than the stock setup had. I raised my engine up 1/2 inch so the main pulley would clear the rack. If you used a smaller pulley or a hub from a Camaro or Corvette you may not have to do this. My engine is from a Caprice so it has the longer pulley hub which placed the pulley too close to the rack. One side benefit from raising the engine is better drive line angles. I didn't notice any difference from this while auto-xing but there were so many other things changed it would be impossible for me to tell anyway (in other words don't ask me and I don't want to debate it). Overall I'm happy I did the install, the Subaru rack works very well with the GM pump and the Celica inner tie rod ends and stock Suby outers. It also provided a ton more room for the driver's side header. Wheelman

Mark, Are you running a clutch type LSD, if yes do you know what the break away torque is? Can give the specs for your setup? Wheelman

I'm a programmer and use C++ everyday. Is your prof wanting you to use the object oriented features of the C++ runtime library or not? You could use the iostream classes if thats OK with him. This block of code would end up copying file "from" to file "to" #include ifstream source("from") ; if ( !source ) error("unable to open 'from' for input"); ofstream target("to") ; if ( !target ) error("unable to open 'to' for output"); char c ; while ( target && source.get© ) target.put© ; I know this doesn't answer your entire question but it should help with the file IO portion of the problem. Wheelman

My son is working on his car and has reached the point where he wants to do some things to the interior. I've always avoided that type of stuff so I'm not any help at all. Does anyone here have any suggestions for good books or companies to contact for ideas on materials and procedures? Wheelman

What Z are you working with? Your signature shows a Z31. Is there any room to mount in front of the radiator core support? It would be about as close to the injectors as you could get it but not really in the engine bay. Wheelman

There are several discussions about using a 10mm ring gear with a 12mm LSD, do some searching and you'll see that it is possible. I'm running a 10mm ring gear with a Power Brute LSD that has 12mm holes right now, I just made some shims that reduce the diameter of the hole to 10mm and bolted them together. Not that hard to do. You'll also find people that say as long as you torque the bolts correctly they won't slip and you'll be fine. Either way, it is possible to use the 10mm ring gear with an LSD that has 12mm holes. Wheelman

You can take the ring gear off the open diff you have in there now and bolt it right on to the Power Brute LSD. Your biggest problem is going to be finding a Power Brute for sale. It seems the factory that manufactured them was destroyed by a fire or earth quake so they are not made anymore. There are other brands, such as KAAZ, that should work but I have no experience with them. You could also get a Quaife helical diff but they're pretty spendy. Do some reading in the drive train forum, there's a sticky there that discusses this very issue. There are options but it will take some research the figure out which will work best for you. Wheelman

Deja, Just find an LSD center section and install it in your housing. I'm running an R200 from a 280Z with the Power Brute LSD center, non-finned cover and CV axles in my 240. Since you already have a 280 it should all bolt right in, that is unless you decide to run a finned cover. If you run the finned cover you'll need to replace the transverse link bar with one that mounts higher to clear it. It's really not that big a deal if you aren't road racing and generating tons of heat. The input flange 72240Z was referring to is only pertinent if you buy a later model R200 from a 280ZX or 300ZX. The input flange size is different and won't mate up with the drive shaft flange that JTR sells. If you just replace the center in your existing housing you won't need to change the flange. Wheelman