Mikelly

I used either 18 or 20 guage steel sheet and welded it to the 2X3 boxed subframe. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I'm not sure it will work, but give it a try. The other issue is the fact that the T56 clutch setup is a "Reverse Pull" set up. You'll have to just give it a try. After reading Lee's last note, it might be easier to do than what I did, but I'm not sure. Lee, send me some pics. Tapping the clutch pedal rod was no big deal, but I suppose knocking out the studs that mount on the fire wall and drilling new holes wouldn't be a big deal either.... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

That sounds like some extra work to mount the Mastercylinder. If you are plumbing for a T56, you should consider using the Tilton 7/8th bore unit. It only cost $60 and works great. Have Summit or any other speed shop make you the 3AN line I mentioned in my tech article and use the modification I recommend on the slave cylinder and your troubles are over. There are a few steps Lee did for his appliucation that you can cut out in the T56/Chevy install..... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Rewired my system and finally got the gauge in place and the sensor mounted.... Anybody using this unit? How close to the drive shaft weight did you have to get yours, in order to get it to read? Mine is not picking up yet!!! Everything else is in place and the car is ready to role again! Just want to program the Speedo and auto calibrate it. Also, if you use it, did you auto calibrate it or use the formula to come up with manual numbers??? Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Myron, Exactly how much do you have in your transmission fiasco now? Didn't you JUST rip that 700R4 out last month? Now again? Dang!!!! Reminds me of the 7 times I dropped my T56 when I couldn't get the flywheel/ Clutch Pressure plate/ Release bearing squared away.... Come to find out it was a balancer plate I was wrongfully told to use. Mine cost no money to troubleshoot, only time....and lost hair! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Zdr. in Roanoke, Va. did convert a car to power steering using an RX7 steering rack and pump and it was a big pain to get engineered properly. Doc told me he would never do it again, based on the complexity, cost, and time. Good Luck! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I'll send everything to Superdan and let him post it here on the site under Tech. As for the clutch kit, I used the Centerforce Dual Friction unit and the Centerforce SFI flywheel. Cost of the clutch kit is $515, and the Flywheel is $260. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk [This message has been edited by Mikelly (edited March 28, 2000).]

....I finally got the gauges wired in properly and the car put back together. Went to start it up and the float on one side of the carb hung. Thank god I only turned the pump on to prime the lines...not the ignition! Shot a quart of gas into the intake, flooding the plugs and doing in the oil. 9 quarts of fresh oil, cleaning and drying of the plugs, and blowing out the cylinders finally allowed me to get the beast fired up again. Sounded good having her back to life. Now it's time to go out on a little hunting spree of my own!!! Wouldn't you know that they are calling for rain the next few days! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Mikes Measurements are about right. I noticed that I really didn't need to do much to mine after the fact, but hammered it anyway. The drivers side is wide enough, but the passenger's side is a tight squeeze. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Dan, I have the article and pics and I'll send it to your e-mail address. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I'd also throw in a word of caution here. All fiberglass is not the same. I have bought stuff from JC Whitney in the past and the Glass was very thin and had LOTS of air bubbles in it. I saw the tilt front end in their catalog a few years ago and wanted to buy it. I'd love to hear what the quality is when you guys get it. Might change my mind. The GOOD glass I have had experience with has come from Import Performacne Products, MSA, and Arizona Zcar. I have also owned Glass from JCR and it was top notch! Just be carefull and make sure the stuf you get is THICK and not Wavy....! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Mine are 15X8 wheels and my 225s fit perfect. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

The other factor to figure in is the changes in actual tire diameters between brands... I'm gonna upgrade my wheels to 15X10 in the rear and run a Yokohama 285-35-15 in the rear, and a 255-45-15 upfront. But for now I'm stuck with 265-50-15s in the rear and 225-50s up front. That combo is still gonna push some serious numbers with the 3.7 and the T56. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Owen, It cost me around $230 for the front yoke, spicer joints and the fabrication and balancing of my driveshaft here in Fredericksburg. I wanted an aluminum unit, but the shop I worked with advised against it. They had several examples of Va. State Police car (Crown Victoria) units that had failed on them during persuits... I found that very interesting since I thought that Aluminum shafts were the trick way to shave a bunch of rotating weight.... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

A good multimeter and test light come in handy when dealing with a rats nest of wires like I have wrestled with tonight. Seems my headlights were causing the wires at the switch to get warm. I had to tear out the steering column wiring and test all the wires to see where the suspect smoke came from. Funny thing is, no melting insulation in the wire... Just hot enough to cause the solder to get hot and emmit a little smoke... Now that I have that issue resolved I can go back to wiring in the gauges. I should be driving again by this weekend! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I have an electronic unit that will pop it open. However, it isn't installed yet. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I would cut out the complete pan and run frame rails the way Pete did his. We did my car in a similar fashion, but I like Pete's frame rails. Mine are straight thru without contour. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I had my motor built by BowTie Performance in Bristol, Tennessee. They built a 4 bolt Bowtie block, Dart aluminum head, Hydraulic roller valvetrain, motor from oil pan to intake, including port work, Port matching the aluminum Victor Jr.intake, screening and painting the block for $3900 shipped. My build was done with a scatt crank, LT1 Rods, and Keith Black pistons, using Zgap rings. The motor was buttoned up with ARP bolts and studs. The way I see it is this: I could have built this motor myself, but one small mistake could have cost me more than the aggrevation. I let the pros do it and that allowed me more free time to get the car ready for the conversion! Also, I priced the parts in Summit and Jegs, and I wouldhave saved $600 had I built it myself with mail order parts. That was not worth the headache. As for not being able to say "I built it myself", I figured doing the rest of the car covered those bragging rights! Mike [This message has been edited by Mikelly (edited March 20, 2000).] [This message has been edited by Mikelly (edited March 20, 2000).]

Accorkding to that little gadget, my car will do 245mph at 5990RPM..... WOW!!!!!!!!!!! Big factor is weight, aerodynamics, HP, weather. Interesting little bugger... Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I clicked on the above link and you are right in their identification of the part. However, my identification of the part came first from Matt Millen, then from Chevy. Hope that yours works, but the item I modified must be the skip shift solenoide because it will not work if the solenoide isn't modified properly, and that was the only item I modified. My car has been driven with no transmission shift issues related to the Skip Shift. I hope it works for you. Good Luck! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk [This message has been edited by Mikelly (edited March 20, 2000).]

Owen, The pic you have, the item you have marked speedo is the skip shift solenoide. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk [This message has been edited by Mikelly (edited March 19, 2000).]

Owen, Checked my pics archive and I don't have any of the left side of the trans....Dumb huh? All I can tell you is get a haynes manual and it will show it. Get the 92-97 Fbody manual and it points out where it is. Other than that, it is just forward and below the part you describe which, by the way is the reverse lock-out. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

....Gone to Sunny Florida to the Walden School of Cycling. I'll be back on the 18th, so good luck on all your respective projects. JOB1 for me when I get back is to get rid of suspect wiring in the dash, and get the car off jackstands! Got to get it out on the street again, the warm weather is killing me!!!! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Rocky, Go to www.jagsthatrun.com and buy their books on the V8 conversion to datsun Zcars, and the fuelinjected manual as well. Don't worry that you have a ZX, as most all of the info applies to your car. Before you buy or do anything else, I would get those manuals and read them thoroughly. This will give you a good idea of IF you can or want to get into a project like this. It is no small task, and takes two of the following three things: Time, Money, Know-how. If you have Time and know-how, you can get by on the cheap. But without Know-how, you better have a lot of Money! I'd use the two-seater, strictly personal preference. We are here to help! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

YUP, welding the gears is a common known practice in racing circles. Lots of guys in the ITS series weld up the rear of Zcars to get a cheap posi. Circle track racing is OK for doing that, as would be Drag racing I guess. However, if you want a car to handle in the twisty stuff, don't do this mod. One of the big complaints by ITS racers about this mod is rear wheel hop and over steer in curves. The sweet thing about a LSD is that the proper torque load is there when that independant wheel needs the extra torque, but not when it is unloaded. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk