wheelman

Pop N Wood, I was under the impression that the bumpsteer problem was caused by the relative length differences in the control arm and the connecting rod. The difference in length comes from them not being parallel and/or having different pivot points. Am I wrong in this and if so how? When I look at the front of my Z it appears that the control arm and connecting rod are parallel but the control rod pivot point changes when the steering wheel is turned and they no longer remain parallel if the suspension is compressed. I thought the idea of moving the control arm pivot point on a lowered car was to make the arm and rod parallel again when the suspension is in it's natural static state. Again am I wrong in this idea? Wheelman

J260Z, Elongating the holes in the motor mount is primarily for shifter placement. The LT1 has no problems clearing the stock Datsun hood latch no matter how far it's set back. The spacers can be used to provide more hood clearance for an engine with a tall air cleaner or intake manifold. Wheelman

Can you tell whether the noise is coming from the top or bottem end of the engine? When was the last time you adjusted your valve lash? It could be lifters that are out of adjustment. Wheelman

If you really think about it though, 7.4 miles for one of these systems is very good. Think about what they are navigating through, this isn't a freeway system with boundaries that are marked very obviously. These things are navigating across a desert area with little or no roads and have to find their own way. I think it's very good. I've worked as a programmer doing embedded equipment control work for most of the 20 years I've programmed and I can truthfully say the software on these things is very difficult to develop. Most of my embedded work has been with scientific lab equipment that lives in a controlled environment and the software gets very sophisticated. These units are dealing with a non-static environment through which they are asked to navigate at speed. That takes mucho processing power and a tough vehicle. It's intriguing to speculate about where things will be in 20 or 30 years. Look at how much more processing power computers have today vs 10 or even 5 years ago (Moores law). Now extrapolate that into the future and we'll have computers monitoring and running everything for us, that is if we don't run out of energy before then. Well not in 20 or 30 years but go out 50 to 100 and new energy sources will have to be developed. Wheelman

There must be something about not checking oil with this generation. 2 friends of my son have done the same thing recently. I'm in the process of rebuilding a GA16DE from a 92 Sentra right now. The kid ran it dry of oil and it spun a rod bearing. Another kid has a late 80's early 90's Dodge Sunbeam, I think, that he siezed on the freeway. My son has seen this happen and learned his lesson. He checks the oil in his car regularly now. We're planning to rebuild it this summer but he is still keeping an eye on it, he understands that the more it's damaged now the more it costs him later. Those GA16DE's are really built. This thing has the main bearing caps for 1-2 and 4-5 ganged together as single pieces. They certainly aren't going to move. Unfortunately this thing really chewed the rod bearings and there was bearing material everywhere. It's at the machine shop right now being checked out and I'm having them clean the head real good. Anyway the parents of the kid with the Sentra aren't even making the him pay for it!!!??? Well at least I'm making some $$$ on the deal. Wheelman

Aux, Your last paragraph hit the nail on the head, in fact we just rented pleasantville. I guess where I was coming from is I get tired of all the in-your-face attitude in the media and the younger crowd. I find Hybridz to be a refreshing change from the other forums and don't want to see it degenerate. The morals of our country are changing and not all of us are comfortable with that. The change is reflected in the language we use, how we treat each other and what is accepted as "OK". I agree, this forum is equivalent to a bunch of guys standing around drinking beer and talking cars and I like that aspect of it but let's just not let it degenerate to the lowest common denominator. I need to ammend my comment from earlier to say that I'm totally against vulgarity simply for vulgarity's sake and flame wars, etc.. but a little colorful language can be accepted. BTW in my day the equivalent slang term of today's dick was ass, so now you can be a dick and an ass at the same time?!?!?!? Wheelman

Terry, I've thought about this several times myself and here's the conclusion I came to. When a word is "beeped" out it's in a certain context and my mind automatically fills it in. This is why I, just like you, find MTV and it's style of programming objectionable and frankly worthless. The same thing happens when we are reading posts and come to a F off phrase or $ in place of S. I'm no prude and understand that we all have our days where we need to vent but I would much rather not have to wade through more "colorful" language than necessary, especially on a technical forum. I also agree with what jmortensen had to say about being civil to each other. We aren't a bunch of 3 year olds that have to degenerate to name calling and temper tantrums and in my opinion anyone who exibits that kind of behavior here should be warned and then banned if they continue. This site has an amazing amount of technical information and is a terrific resource that we should strive to protect from pollution with un-needed trash. Just my $.02 worth, now I'll step down from my soap-box Wheelman

Ugh is right. That interior and the stuff in the bed would have to go as well. Crush Velour and gold color no less, just doesn't do it for me. Wheelman

The first thing you should do is get a copy of the "Jags that Run" (JTR) Datsun Z V8 swap manual. The manual is biased toward Chevy engines but contains tons of good info that answer most of your questions. I can't answer the engine questions but I'll give you my input on tranny and rear-end. Tranny: Don't plan on using the Datsun transmission. If you go with a Ford power plant then use a Borg Warner World Class T5 from a V8 mustang. It will fit in the drive tunnel and be an easy bolt on. The most difficult part will be replacing the cable clutch mechanism with a hydraulic slave cylinder, but it's been done. These trannys can handle about 300 ft/lbs of torque so unless you really build a stout 289/302 it should be fine. Rear-end: Your 280Z should have an R200 differential which is more than strong enough to handle the output from a 289 or a 5.0. The gear ratio should be 3.54:1 unless it's been swapped. The half-shafts should handle the power as well and if you really want some strength you can convert to CV joint axles from a later ZX. Hope this helps. Wheelman

80LT1, You're right about no button on an LT1. The cam has a ridge machined on the front and uses the retainer plate you mentioned. Wheelman

Nic, I did a little searching on the net and found this picture, it's a 1980 Camaro drivers side manifold. Will this work?? I think it might clear your steering box. Ken W. edit: Here is the link to the online store where I found it. http://www.1aauto.com/1A/ExhaustManifolds/-/-/PLP1390114

Nic, I looked at that ebay listing and can't see the picture well enough to say if it's the correct one or not. If your really interested in them I'd email the guy asking for some better pictures and that he measure the distance between all the bolt holes for you. I'm pretty sure the passenger side one is not going to fit based on that picture though. I don't think it will clear the starter. I don't know for sure if Pontiac was using the same V8 for the firebird at that point as the Chevy used for the Camaro but I think so. Sorry about all this hassle man, I know how it can be to try and find the right part and always come up short. Ken W.

Do you have the 7th edition of the JTR manual? On page 14-7 it shows a manifold from a 1980s series Camaro, Caprice and Monte Carlo that might work for you. Other than that the only other suggestion I have is to look at 80LT1's web site. I think he either custom built a header or used a header on the passenger side and a manifold on the driver's side. You might try PMing him as well, He already solved this problem and should have some pointers for you. His engine is an LT1 so his solution may not work but it's worth a try. Ken W.

Nic, I think I know what the problem is, maybe?? I just looked at the heads on my LT1, the engine those manifolds came from. There are 2 extra bolt holes that are in front of and behind the normal mounting holes. The headers I bought don't mount to these extra holes but the original manifolds did. The measured distance between the 2 outside (furthest apart) bolt holes is 19 inches, the distance you measured on your heads is from what are the normal 1st gen mounting holes. Unfortunately I don't think there is a solution to this unless it would be possible to drill though the mounting flange at the correct location to mate up with your existing bolt holes or drill and tap your heads at the correct location. I don't think either one is worth the cost for those manifolds. I'm thinking you want to find yourself a set of rams horn manifolds to use on that engine. They are shown in the JTR manual. I'm the person who sold those to you, if you are willing to cover the shipping both directions I'll refund your money. It cost me about $17.00 to ship them based on the package size and weight. Ken W.

kc280zx, I did some research on this topic last summer when I was going to buy a 280ZX from a neighbor to put a 302 in it. The problem you might run into is that the distance from the firewall to the front crossmember is 3 inches shorter in the ZX than a Z. I wasn't able to measure the placement of Al's crossmember because I didn't own the car or have a 302 at the time. I also think you will run into issues with the steering rack. On a Z it's in front of the crossmember on a ZX it's in back, if it has a rack rather than the recirculating ball configuration. I'm not familiar enough with the recirculating ball setup to comment on it. The other thing to keep in mind is you will need to find a double sump or after market oil pan with the sump in the rear so it will clear the crossmember and steering parts. When I was looking at doing this I thought you might be able to place Al's mount right behind the existing crossmember, cut the stock mounting towers for clearance and get it in that way but I don't know if it would be far enough forward to clear the firewall. Get out a tape measure and find out. This is a topic many guys have asked about and it would sure be nice to know if it would work. Another thing to measure is hood clearance. I've seen some posts where Al's mount was a tad to high if a person wanted to use the Ford EFI on certain engines in a Z and I think the ZX hood provides less clearance but not sure. Do the measuring and let us know what you find out. I think the Ford 302 in a either a Z or ZX would make great package. I was headed that direction myself until I ran across a great deal on a Chevy LT1 from a retired Montana Highway Patrol car. I test drove the car before purchasing it and this engine litterally threw this 4000 pound beast down the road, I can hardly wait to see how it performs in my 240Z. Ken W.

I don't think it was a bad copier. I looked at copying the pages before I made my mount plates and found the measurements listed in the drawings do not match the drawing. Just to verify I remeasured the drawings for the plates last night with a caliper and they are wrong. The largest deviation was 1/16th inch and the smallest was almost 0. All of the dimensions varied from the listed value though. These can't possibly be precision drawings, especially the way they are printed. After I measured mine the first time I decided I would just cut and drill based on the values. I didn't get it perfect but it's a whole lot better than the drawings. I also haven't mounted mine yet so take that with a grain of salt, I may find out they are way off. Ken W.

Datsun also made a car not sold in the US called the 1600 which is basically a 510. follow this link to see: http://www.rallysportnews.com.au/cms/A_100507/article.html Ken W.

Dan, You're right we did hi-jack this thread so I PMed you with other follow on questions. Sorry to hi-jack. If anyone else is interested in my other questions for Dan let me know and I'll either start another thread or the admin can make it public some how. Ken W.

Thanks Dan. What about the requirement for a VSS? I'm not going to use the 4L60E that is in the donor car and I'll be removing all the smog equipment. Do I still need a VSS?

I've looked at the stuff on the web and have seen several mentions of using a MAF sensor but none of the circuit diagrams show it. Have any of you guys seen anything or tried it. I've been considering using MegaSquirt instead of the stock PCM on my LT1. I'm just exploring the idea write now but it seems to have merit as I could do away with the requirement for a speed sensor and also reduce the cost for tuning software. What do you think? Is it worth a closer look or should I stick with the stock PCM which I already have? Ken W.

Maybe I jumped the gun on doing this. The car is a 1973 240Z so it's not exactly new. I had reached a frustration level that lead me to say what-the-hey I'm going to try it. The threads look fine on the studs that had the locking lugs so I think everything will be OK. I plan on swapping for disk brakes on the rear anyway so the studs will be replaced at that time. Now I'm having a hard time getting the drums off. They have pretty much welded themselves to the hub. I really need to get a propane torch so I can heat the drums up a little to break them loose. I know these are aluminum so I need to be carefull how hot I get them. Anyway, wish me luck. Ken W.

I was able to remove some locking lugs I didn't have the key for. I've been fighting with these lugs on and off for months now. I tried grinding the side so I could get a wrench on them, vise grips, pipe wrenches, hammering on a socket and drilling holes in the center to insert screws to grab hold of, nothing worked. I had given up on these things and decided I would eventually tow the car to a tire store to have them removed. Right around christmas time a friend of mine came over a brought a mechanic friend and he suggested using my air chisel to remove them. I just had a chance to try it tonight. So I put in V shaped hammer bit and placed one of the points into part of the key shape and then aimed the chisel in the direction of rotation to remove the bolt. After a minute or two of pounding the bolts turned and I was able to remove them. So if any of you have locking lugs and no key try using an air chisel to get them started then grab with pliers or your fingers to finish. I hope this helps someone other than me. Ken W.

Dan, I believe the manifolds he bought come from a Gen 3 engine (Vortec 5.3L or LS1), but I could be wrong. Ken W.

GoldenRaven, That top manifold is from an LT1 correct? I have a set I pulled from a 1995 LT1. I'll sell them to you cheap if you want them. Make me an offer. I can send some pictures if you'd like me to. Ken W.

iskone, The graphs in the review showed actual wheel speed in RPMs. Each lline was one wheel and showed that the wheels were effectively turning at the same RPM with the PG installed where as one spun while the other rolled without the PG. What your asking for would just show how much the tires slipped relative to the pavement. This wouldn't show the performance of the PG but the traction of the tires. The whole point of the LSD is to transfer power to both tires in such a way as to reduce uneven power application to the ground. If both tires are spinning there's nothing the LSD can do, it's already performing it's function. Ken W.