Trbulnt

Thats exactly my thoughts. Heck my first car was a 72 cutlass with a 15x10 rear rim/tire combo that were useless in the snow and I still managed to get where I needed to be. I probably will never buy a 350 or 370 as I am more a G35 fan. I recently sold my 05 G35X which I regret but it allowed me to get the wife her SUV she wanted so it was worth it. Thanks for the input.

Ok before I get yelled at for even contemplating this, it is only a temporary plan. I already have a Z31 that is in the middle of a SBC swap, and am in the market for a new daily driver. It is my goal to own a Z from each generation and this would help me accomplish that. I came across an 81 280ZX turbo that I am going to look at tomorrow morning. The downside is that I would need to drive this car through the rest of winter in Wisconsin. Now I have snow tires I can put on plus some sand bags in the trunk. I have driven all kinds of vehicles in all kinds of weather and am not afraid to actually drive this car in snow. I am just looking for some real world feedback if anyone does or has driven their Z in the snow and how it actually handled. I don't expect it to be the best vehicle due to its lack of weight but figure with the right tire setup it would be manageable for a few more cold/snow months. Thanks for any insight!

Are your battery cables making good contact with the battery? If you can wiggle the cables while they are attached to the battery than that is your problem. May sound dumb but this may be your problem.

+1 on getting the battery tested. If it has a collapsed cell it will still have trouble starting the car while being jumped. Another point to check is the power wire going to your starter. Make sure that cable is not touching the engine/trans at all. It could be shorting out. This can be tested easily with a voltage gauge. Set the gauge to continuity and touch one lead to the positive battery cable and the other lead touch the engine block if you have continuity here than somewhere you have a positive short to ground.

I had a thread going in the Other V8 forum and have since decided to go with a sbc T5 swap as it fits alot better than the 472 caddy engine I had intended on swapping in. I am basically following the same steps that Alf did with his V8 Z31 with the exception of the T5 trans. Here are todays pics of mocking the engine and trans. The exhaust pieces supporting the engine are not permanent they just happened to be the correct height.

The GM T5 trans is held up by the crossmember just not centered or bolted to it. I might be able to make it bolt in as if it were stock!! Next test fitting will be with the engine attached to it.

Have 350 SBC and T5 trans with zero time to test fit! At least I have the parts!! I am hoping to retrofit the stock hydraulic slave cylinder to work with the GM T5 trans to keep things more simple. Anyone have any luck with this? I suppose this thread could be moved to the Gen 1 & 2 GM swap area also.

Oil Pressure sending unit is usually located just above the oil filter. I would remove the factory unit and compare the threads with the unit that you received in your kit. If the threads are different than take both parts to any autoparts store or hardware store and tell them what you want to accomplish. This can usually be done with a brass adapter.

Most intercooler installs are designed around the front bumper/lip. Otherwise you will be doing some cutting of the stock parts.

^^Yeah I almost decided to make it fit just so no-one could say "I told ya so". I will be doing a 350 sbc with a T5.

Well the time finally came to do some more test fitting and I have come to the conclusion that the caddy motor will not fit without more modifications than I am wanting to do to my chassis. The transmission is a whole different story as the tunnel will need to be cut and raised which I am also not willing to do to the car. Therefore I am going to go with a standard 350 sbc for now with a manual trans.

Oil will not pour out as the seal goes around the crank which is above the oil level.

I have surfed the cad boards but never joined any of them. I do miss that truck.

Thanks for the pics and info. I spent alot of time in the garage this morning trying to get the motor and trans in. Ended up removing the trans to realize that the motor is still just a tad too long with all the accessories hanging off the front. I am not saying it won't fit yet, just need to remove more items and try again later. The width looks ok so far.

Hood is removed. Car is on jack stands, I have s tall engine hoist. I removed the stock VG complete with all accessories and turbo with the trans hanging on it with no problems. The 472 will however be test fit with all accessories removed to help with clearance.

That is a BEAST!! I always wanted to turbo my previous cad project. I had an 84 Chevy C10 long bed truck with a 500 on lots of spray in it. Not trying to jack your thread but I love me some caddy power!!

I will be doing more test fitting tomorrow with some exhaust manifolds and the rear sump oil pan. I too keep saying its too wide but my caddy loving friend swears it will fit. I know we can make it fit, I just don't want to be hacking up my engine bay to accomplish that. So more pics on Monday!

There is alot of support for the 472/500 caddy motors, and they make great power in return! Stock this 1969 motor makes 375 hp and 525 ft/lbs of torque. Now add an intake that actually flows some air plus a cam and a carb and I am going alot faster for alot cheaper than the VG30. I am not bashing the VG engine just for my personaly vehicle a V8 is the direction I want to go.

More engine bay cleaning. Removed the rest of the A/C, and heat shields. Brought home a complete 69 472 caddy engine with trans. Did some measuring and its going to be very tight in there. I don't want to modify the engine bay for this swap so if it comes down to this engine being too big than I will pursue other options.

That is great!! Congrats on the new toy.

Well I was told to start my own thread!! So here goes. The car is a 1986 Nissan 300ZX Turbo, I am the second owner of this very clean vehicle. I had originally intended to upgrade the stock VG powerplant, but after crunching some numbers have decided to go the motor swap route. My engine of choice is the 472 caddy engine. My previous truck was powered by the same engine with alot of nitrous and it was a blast. This car being lighter and more agile should up the fun scale quite a bit. The current plan is the caddy motor backed by a manual trans with the rear end still being researched. I currently have the stock motor/trans pulled and my test block sitting in the engine bay. I am awaiting my oil pan to ensure fitment. Well with all that said here are some before and current pics. That's it for now. I am hoping to get back out to the garage this week sometime. I am open to any and all criticism and have received many from the nissan purists whom believe that anything but the VG30 is the worst thing in the world in this engine bay.

I too have been been running caddy motor swaps in a few G bodies for a while now. This being my first manual trans attempt. I feel that the lack of weight in this car will help me run the muncie trans. The only T56 capable is a TKO600 which is big money and I am not trying to be cheap on this build...just frugal. Worst case I will just stuff a TH400 behind it. This car is not being built for drag racing, rather more for driving/road racing. It will be used as a testing device of sorts. There is a racer in puerto rico that runs an R230 rear swap with some nice custom axles that are holding up very well which my be the direction I head. I have to get the motor in first. Good luck on your project! I am excited to see your progress.

What exactly are you putting this in? I only ask since I am working on something very similar! My project is a 472 in an 86 300ZX. I am still in the test fit/fabrication stage but so far everything looks like it will fit. The block does not have an oil pan yet as this was the initial test fit. The plan is to run a Muncie M21 behind the caddy with the biggest question being the rear end and what to do about it.