qwik240z

OK. So I bit the bullet and bought the T56. I will be running it with my R180 3.54:1 LSD. I hope It will hold up. I don't plan to abuse it. I guess I really wanted to shift the car. I now have a 2002 4L60E auto trans for sale. It is from a camaro and has 20,000 miles on it. It will come with the flywheel and the torque converter too. $600 or best off if you know anyone that wants one. Thanks for the help guys.

Hope everyone had a good holiday. Sitting around all weekend I have been thinking about my Z alot. Too damn cold to do any real work on it. As some of you know, I am installing the LS1 in my 240Z. The motor I have came with an auto trans but I am still thinking about that a true sportscar should have a manual trans(IMHO) and how much I enjoy rowing through the gears. I have a line on a low mileage T56 from a 2001 Trans-Am for a good price. I have heard that if using the 6 speed that 6th gear is a waste with the ratio of .50 and that a 5 speed is all you need. So that brings me to my questions. Of those of you with an LS1, LT1, SBC and 6 speed in your 1970-1978 Z car, how is the driveability of the car with the 6 speed? Is 6th a waste of a gear? at 70mph what rpm are you turning in 6th? how about in 5th? Also, is first gear a waste in a 2500 pound Z? Please provide any input you feel might help me decide. Your comments and opinions are welcomed.

I read an article in one of the Z car magazines that helped you to access the severity of the rust damage on your car and decide if you should use it or find another car to work with. The article was in an issue that was all about V8 Z cars. It used a point system and assigned points to the different areas of the car that are prone to rust to determine if you should consider that car for a project. It mentioned that the frame rails were one area (along with the firewall) that really should be in good shape as replacing the framerails can throw off the structural integrity of the car. It is not easy to replace them and keep the car square and true. I am in the process of installing an LS1 in my rust free 240Z (see it here: http://www.cardomain.com/id/qwik240z More Pics here: http://www.classiczcars.com/photopo...amp;ppuser=4628 ) and I would never consider a rusty car as a starting point for any V8 conversion. The V8's torque will push the car to it's limits. It seems that you are on a limited budget and are really trying to talk yourself into being able to use the car you have. How about posting some pics of the rusty areas and letting the guys on the list that have years of Z car experience have a look and help you to determine if it is too bad to use? I would hate to see you sink tons of time and money into a heap of rust when you could sell it or part it out and start with a solid car that will provide you years of enjoyment. Just my opinion but.........

If the frame rails are gone then there is probably lots of other rust you can't see or that has been bondo'd and painted over. If you want an LS1 you need to start with a car that has little to no rust. I happen to have a 240Z for sale in the DC area. It would make a great Hybrid. See the car and info here: Check out both links. http://members.cardomain.com/eastcoast240z More pics and info here: http://members.cardomain.com/eastcoast240zp2

Got mine on sale at the local Pep Boys for $120 last spring. Same as the Harbor Freight one. Folds up nice too.

Sorry, It's a 240Z. See pics and info here: For anyone interested the car is in Maryland and the asking price is $3500 or best offer. See the car and info here: http://members.cardomain.com/eastcoast240z More pics and info here: http://members.cardomain.com/eastcoast240zp2 Let me know if you need more info. David

OK. This is a shameless plug for a nice 240Z for sale on the East Coast. I have told some of you about it. Check out the classified for the 71 240Z for sale by qwik240z.

I don't know Dale. They look awful big. It will be worth a test fit but it doesn't seem like there will be enough room. I hope I am wrong as those headers look like they will make nice power.

I just had the same problem.

I have a space saver spare from a 1988 Maxima. Fits the car and reduces weight too.

I plan to run a 3" single exhaust on my LS1 240Z. I have not worked out all of the details of this but I would like to have duals merge into one behind the trans. My car is lowered and I plan to use oval shaped tubing to save on clearance. The oval tubing in a 3" size says the height is only 2 1/8" and the width is 3 1/2". It is expensive but it should do the job to allow more clearance. See it here: http://www.burnsstainless.com/OvalTubing/ovaltubing.html Any pros or cons to this?

Dale, Great news on you getting the mounts installed. They sure fit nicely, don't they? I was very pleased with the design once I got them in my car. I really like the Motor mount tower stiffening plates. Those stock motor mount towers seem pretty thin. Installing the mounts was one of the easist parts of this swap. Lots of hard work ahead. As for a couple of hundred of them, WHOA! Lets not loose our originality here. Maybe a couple of dozen. It won't be quite the same if everyone has one. SHHHHHH! It's a secret! LOL

Here is the a link to the eBay auction for the convertible kit with the subframe connectors. You can contact him and see if they sell them seperately. I would think they would. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4506342025&category=10076&sspagename=WDVW

I too am using JCI kit in my 240Z. I am using the Sanderson 1 1/2" headers. (should be fine for stock motor) Drivers side, no pounding necessary but I had to trim about 1/4" from the top back of the JCI mount. The passenger side does bolt right on but the outlet flange is very close to the starter. I need to send them back toSanderson, Jeremy said he can tweek it a little to provide more clearance and also he will have them coated for me.

I think my goals for my Z car are similar to those of the original post. I have had my car to the track for several track days (with the 6 cyl.) and I agree with most of the guys that say that your driving ability is the major limiting factor on the track. My Z's suspension is set up nicely with coilovers, camber plates, front and rear sway bars and strut tower bars, tokiko's, and Falken Azenis tires. Not an all out race setup but a good balance for street and track. I consider myself a novice to mildly experienced driver and I drive hard on the track. On the track days that I have attended at Summit Point Raceway, the instructors have said that I am driving the car at 7/10ths to 8/10ths. The car (with the 6 cyl) had about 200crank HP. It was not enough power to ever scare me or give me a feeling of no control. It was hard to get it to slide and it never felt out of control. On the street, I thought it was not so fast. My 2002 Maxima seems faster (more Torque) and once I raced my friend in his 03 Infiniti G35 and it was a so close you could call it a tie. I did end up winning but only because I have bigger balls than him and he backed off. I really feels that the LS1 is a great choice for the right balance of power and torque in a early Z car. I plan to keep the motor stock but after I relearn how to drive the car(wih the LS1), I may change my mind. I figure that a stock LS1 should net me 300 RWHP maybe a little more. Luckily, if I do decide I need more power, I can easily add it with bolt ons or a supercharger or some NOS. I recently had the pleasure of riding with Pete paraska for an entire day in his "Altered Z" That car seems fast to me but Pete says you get used to the power real fast and you want more. His car is about 375 crank HP and runs high 12's. The traction seems good and hard shifting produced minor wheelspin from 1st to 2nd and from 2nd to 3rd. Not like the video's of Darius' car. Too much power will be a waste if you can't get it to the ground. I guess the real answer to the question "how much power is enough in a Z?" is different for each individual and can change once you get used it.

Sounds great! Can you hear the stereo over the exhaust? I can't wait to here my LS1 growl!

13000 miles and only minor problems. Sounds great. Those windshield seals car be a real problem if the are not perfectly lined up. I had replace one in my 510 and it kept leaking at the bottom on the drivers side. My windshield guy was at a loss until we took a hose and blasted the area and saw exactly where it was coming from. Then we pulled the glass one more time and carefully inspected the seal. It seems that when the seal was produced there was a bit of extra rubber right in the corner that wouldn't let the glass sit all the way down into the seal. We trimmed it away with an exacto knife and it never leaked again. I hope my swap will be as problem free as yours.

Now that I see the pics from before, I really like the new ones. Your car looks way to nice for those purple vents.

Tim, I really like the looks of the cowl vents. Much better than the stock 280 vents.

We have a 94 Cadi Seville that my wife drives. We got the car from my grandmother. It only has 40,000 miles on it. That Northstar is one sweet motor. In stock form the car pulls really nice. It will cruise at 100 all day. I drove it home from florida last year and at first, I thought it was slow. Then I really pushed it on the highway and at around 5500 rpms it blew out a huge cloud of black smoke and all of a sudden it took off. I guess my gramdma had never opened her up before. While I was changing the plugs in it a while back, I thought that it would be a great motor in a Z but the wife would kill me if I took apart her car so I got the LS1 instead. I say go for it. I would love to see a Northstar Z.

Congrats! It must be great to finally drive the beast. That should be a great motivator to get it all finished. Keep us updated.