Mikelly

Jim, See my original post??? Exactly what you said... Also, I'm building the 383 stroker to meet Grumpy's theory... God I hope he is right!!! Good points guys! Mike

John, Good info to have, but I still don't know why Steve and Ian were told that, and they don't want to move to an FI setup because of that issue alone... Mike

Hold on there sport... Just the chassis... The 75/76 had a ton of extra wiring and gadgets, plus the 5MPH bumpers were yet reenforced with additional metal side plates... So it weighs probably REAL CLOSE in chassis form, but more in full dress working moving vehicular form! Is that a word, Vehicular?? Mike

Man, after reading the last couple pages of this thread, it certainly puts life into perspective. I'm a gun owner, and have had an FFL license. I also used to be one of those federal officers another member suggested we all shoot in the head (Since we wear bullet prrof vests!). I don't want Larry in there anymore than any of you guys, and yea, I'm certainly disappointed at the system as well. But the last thing I would condone is butting up against the federal government. It is a loosing battle against a force with endless resources. I hope Larry gets out soon... And if you guys want to organize a fund for magazines, let me know and I'll chip in, or set it up through my paypal account... Just let me know what you want to do... This sucks on soooo many levels. Godspeed Larry, Godspeed... Mike Kelly

Yea, but supposedly it is a stronger block due to the webbing, and the higher content of something in the metal... I forget exactly what, I want to say Nickle, but I'm not sure... Anyway, the whole package is supposed to weigh 100#+ more which, as mentioned before, I don't see it, but someone supposedly weighed them and that's what they came up with I guess... Mike 8)

This has the makings of a VERY good topic discussion. Not sure I can answer your specific question, but one thing I've always tried to do was not focus on Peak torque or Peak HP. Although One L28 motor I built was extremely peaky and didn't perform consistantly. The Goal should always be to figure your target RPM performance range and match the torque and Peak HP to that range. In other words, I would much rather have less torque, but more of the torque I have available through a broader RPM range, and that range to spread into the peak HP zone. This gives a much better, more tractable and usable range for the motor to perform at. Add these two factors into the mix of a 2500-2700 Zcar, then factor in the range of gearing, both in the transmission, rear differential, and the tire selection, and you can see that LOTS of planning must be done, compramises made, and stuck to, or you end up with a project you may not be happy with as an end result (like the T56 in my 383 stroker project!). Now, I'm not sure what I just typed helps any, but I've nexer heard of X Pound = #Torque... I'm hoping to learn something as well! Mike

You can see what I did on the white car at http://photos.yahoo.com/dat74z I'll have to take pics of the grey Z, but basically it is the same with the front lower cross brace made of 2 inch square stock, which I think is a better look. Mike

Exactly... The radiator should float or sit in the "Craddle" as I call it. Let it have a bit of wiggle room. I'm getting ready to weld tabs for the lower mounts on BOTH my Zs and I'm actually gonna rotate the radiator forward, since I've removed the core support on both cars. I think the radiators are supposed to flow best when rotated forward 30 degrees. I'll have to research it to be sure though. Mike

Go here and you can see some with 17X9.5s and 275-40s on it with coil overs... http://photos.yahoo.com/dat74z Mike

Well you have to take the whole engine into account... The FI hardware included the TB and AFM. The 2.8 crank and block probably weigh more, just how much I'm not certain, but The guys at Rebello's told Ian and Steve that if we went with factory FI 2.8 over the motor they are running right now, that is would be an automatic 100+ pounds of additional weight... I questioned that number as well. Mike

My bad... they are CCWs... Mike

Good question, but it gets more complex... For instance, the later model 260 chassis is really the same as the 75/76 280. The early model 260 Chassis is like a 72/73 240. The 77/78 models are the heaviest chassis of all 9 years, as they have more metal in them in the trunk area and behind the seats. Steve and Ian are worried about the weight hit on doing an fi 2.8L motor as it supposeldy weighs over 100# more than a carbed 2.4L motor. Be interesting to find out for sure! Mike

If you go to your profile, there is a place for your photo album... You can upload pics there. Just be sure to follow the sizing guidlines! Mike

I think, Diggin' back in the cranium here, but I think that car no longer has those flares on it. Those guys were at the MSA 2001 AutoX school and those wheels are FIKSE's. They removed those flares back in either 99 or 2000 and had a custom shop HAND MAKE some steel flares after the car was hit in a parking lot and one rear fender was damaged. I'm going on three year old memory here, but I'm about 95% sure that's the story. Oh, and the new fenders are painted the same color as the rest of the car, as is the spoiler and rockers. That car is GORGIOUS in person, and I had a TON of pics of it that got gobbles up in a hard drive crash! Mike

Excellent comments LockJaw. I think we all learned something from this thread... This manor of discussion is why I STILL SAY this is the best place on the web! Mike

Well My track project will be heavy due to my getting carried away with the roll cage. I'm also on a budget for now until the house projects are done, and I'm about 9 months away from being completely done with those... SOOOO Maybe an aluminum shortblock would be the ticket! John, I'm not ready to step up to your challenge since I'm on the right coast and you are on the wrong coast, and driving a truck with a car trailer ALL THE WAY to Cali doesn't sound "FUN" right now... However, The car will see track time, and I'll report on it when We go. I still contend that a race prepped V8Z will bas AS LIGHT as an L6 prepped Z. But you are right. No one has built one and raced it at local events... YET. Now, If I could just convince Steve and Ian to drop a small block into the ZF Racing Left Coast Project car.... Mike

John, I like you, respect you, but you've mentioned this twice now and I have to respectfully object... I weighed my last 383 stroker package and the motor with aluminum heads, intake, waterpump, and smaller (Camaro) starter weighed 38# more than my L28 motor did. I don't know ANYONE who wouldn't want to upgrade the brakes on ANY of the road or track going Zs out there. So you can't really make that claim. The only area where you will gain significant weight on a V8 conversion is in the transmission. A stock 5 speed Nissan trans probably doesn't weigh 80#s. If you go with a T56 it will cost you BIG in the weight department. They weigh in excess of 120# easily. You will also pick up extra weight if you go dual exhaust over single. Jamie Taylor owns a Camaro and a Zcar both. Talk to him about how his Camaro handles poorly. He siad it floats even with the suspension mods he has to it. You FEEL all the weight of that Camaro. You won't feel the weight of a V8 Zcar. As for there being no V8Zs under 2700#... My car weighed 2780# with 15 Gallons of gas, 8 quarts of oil (Using an accusump), 2.5 gallons of water, and my 180# ass in it. That was with HEAVY Toyota four piston calipers up front, Dual 2.5 inch exhaust, a full cage, and some additional body work like flared and a rear Porsche style wing. You ABSOLUTELY can build a 2500# V8 Zcar. When I'm done with my two exisitng projects I'll take the digital camera over to the scales with me, and have a witness or two just to keep me honest, and I'll publish those weights... One of a stripped out 21 point caged V8 Race Z, and one of a street V8Z WITH power windows, door locks and a minimal 6 point cage/ interior. Mike

Rick, Welcome to the board. Bob H. Take a time out... I read your response and it PISSED ME OFF and I don't care ANYTHING about RB swaps. This isn't the type of site where you find something that annoys you and you put on your jack boots and jump all over someone... Now Rick, there is a TON of info here for your reading. Some of our members get annoyed answering the same questions over and over, the reason you got the response you did from Bob H. That IS NOT the image we want to portray here at HybridZ. Search on the respective topics you are interested in, which will take some time, and once you've read all you can stand, answered some questions, and developed even more, feel free to ask away! Mike Kelly

Yup, I've heard of doing that, but the suspension had to be dropped anyway since I'm swapping out control arms on the Grey Z, andf moving the others to the track whore project, so I went ahead and tapped it with the hammer... Very good results... Mike

So today while I was rolling the lips of the rear fenders, I was looking at how straight and nice the whole car was... This car had Pete's frame rails done, and had the trans tunnel JTR mod done without ANY abuse to the tunnel. there is almost NO rust in the chassis, with what little there is being in the rocker seam on the passenger side by the rear portion at the wheel arch to rocker joint... Just a light trace... I have ZERO in this car, and Chris had put so much work into it... It will make a SWEET project on the level of a Pete Paraska's Z comparison! I'm so glad no one took me up on guying it last fall! I took a bunch of pics of the frame rail mod... I'll try to get them up on my personal pics page later!!! Mike

Guys, Today I put the grey Z up on the rack, dropped all the suspension off it in preparation for priming and painting the underside, and while I was at it I took a look at rolling the fender lips on the rear fenders. I marked a section where I wanted to start at the rear, and stop at the front of both fenders. I then got out my mini sledge hammer and started lightly tapping on the innner lip working from the rear to the front... I used the rounded edge of the hammer to roll the lip... In 10 minutes I was done with one side and AMAZED at the results!!!! By the time I was done flattening and smoothing the whole inner lip FLAT against the inner fender I was AMAZED again at how easy it was to do. So I did the other side... I'm guessing I'll be abled to easily get a 255-40-17 under the back of the car, and MAYBE wider... More on this later and Pics were taken and will be up in my photo album later. One word of caution. You WILL damage the paint on your car by doing this. YOU CAN damage and deform the body of the car if you hit the lip hard enough to deform the outter lip... However, I was hitting it pretty hard with the hammer while resting the other hand on the outside of the lip of the fender just to get a gage of any formations... I had NONE. Mike

Sounds like a large capacitor. STAY AWAY FROM IT... Those things can kill you. I Would strongly recommend a tech call for service... This thing may be under warranty. Mike

I had to jab ya! Mike

Mark, you've been huffing the lala gas in your dental office again haven't you??? Who the hell is BIFF??? Check your rockers... then build the 383! Mike

Drifter, What is LAME is the fact that a guy spends his time to make something for the ZCAR community, only to get responses like "This is Lame, sell the whole kit". Here is a thought, make something for the Zcar community and offer it up. If you can't contribute, then just be glad that someone else is taking the time away from his family and his own hobby to make something for you, me, and all other Z enthusiasts to take advantage of... And if you need a source for the parts to complete his package, I'd be more than happy to sell you them... All in a nice package. Mike Kelly