Mikelly

I run braided line in the right rear fender wheel well, avoiding the whole mess. When we originaly gutted the car, I ripped all the fuel lines out with the intention of re-routing them, which is what I did and my hard line only runs the length of the floorpan/ subframe connector. The rest is braided line. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I think it is called their signature series. I'll check my Jegs catalog or go through my file of reciepts tonight and post it aftr my bike ride! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

The Tension Compression rod runs aft of the lower control arm and is attached to the lower control arm with two 12mm bolts. The TC rod runs back to the frame rail and has a flimsy box shielding it. This rod has a bushing on the end with two flat washers. I would weld in new TC mounting areas with heavier metal or beef up the mount itself. The TC rod helps with deflection in the front strut. This helps each wheel track true with less individual caster, camber, and toe change. Critical to any daily driver or road racer! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I took the gas pedal assembly off the car and broke off the ball assembly to the pedal and as I suspected, a nice little hole was left in the end of the pedal rod. I had ordered a Lockar custom Accelerator cable form Summit and was able to run the cable end into the firewall with the end attached to the hole in the pedal and the other end connected to a Mr. Gasket linkage plate that holds the cable in place. All parts cost me less than $100 and the assembly looks SUPER trick! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Aside from Carbureted or Fuel injected power plants, what are other parts within the fuel system that you guys have modified? Fuel pumps, lines, fuel cells, tank modifications, regulators, filtration devices? I'll go first: At the rear is a RCI 15 gallon aluminum cell with vent roll over valve and fuel level sender installed. I also have a #an6 return line plumbed to the cell. Moving forward I have an #An8 line exiting the cell and running up to a cut-off valve then to a 6inch Canton fuel filter. After that, the braded line runs to a Mallory 140 Fuel pump. From there, the line snakes up past the suspension and to a hard aluminum half inch line that runs up to the engine compartment. It snakes thru the fenderwell via a 90 degree bulk head union and up to the Summit billet filter and then to a Mallory 140 regulator. At the regulator a #An6 return line runs to a 3/8inch hard line which returns back to the tank. Past the regulator is a Marshal presure gauge, then the fuel log, bradedand using #An8 fittings. The fittings on the Carb are Screened Barry Grant units that also filter crud out of the system. The carb is a Barry Grant Sport claw 750 double pumper. Notice that I have two filters and two screened fittings? I have suffered in the past from crud getting into a fuel system and reaking havok! I'm a little anal in this area! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk [This message has been edited by Mikelly (edited February 22, 2000).]

I have used my 1993 GMC Sierra GT (Lowered, modified 350 w/ tow package, minus coolers ...doh!) to tow my Z thru the blue ridge mountains and the one thing I can comment on is cooling. I'll spend money on a trans cooler and oil cooler before I tow any serious weight agian. Also run premium gas when towing. Mine pulled the car and a 1500# trailer just fine once I got 92 octane gas in it. I also recommend getting a trailer with electric brakes, twin axles, and load leveler if you can afford it! I couldn't, but a friend borrowed one for me to use at the time! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

If you have the ugly bumpers, that is the 74 1/2 model. I'm not sure of the exact date for the switch, but April seems to stick in my mind. That was the big switch to the new platform. I'd call up Dave at Arizona Zcar and see if he still has the Konis in stock, great price for them BTW! If he does, grab them! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Your best bet is to convert to Coil-overs. This will give you all the added benefit for wheel fitting and allow you a more custom tunable suspension. Also, the amount of work required to raise the purch and cut the srpings to fit would be more, and also ruin a set of springs. Factory Z springs are progressive in their weight compression. Unless you know how it was wound, you won't know if you are cutting off the firm or soft end of the spring. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Sounds like good advice. I also need to extract about a pint of fluid out. Seems to be a little too full, but I'll correct that at the same time I put the TRANS MEDIC in! Thanks! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I mentioned earlier that I have a 700R4 in the truck. Other than the filter and fluid, what maintenance is there to do? Mine has started to slip slightly but is there an adjustment for it, like with the older style trans...tightening the band??? Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

SpencZ, First, lets all tone down a bit on the posts. I think Michael assumed that others had read enough of his posts and knew that he is A: smarter than the average bear, and B: a freaking rocket scientist. Anyway, no harm, no foul. Now on to my reply to the cooling issue: JTR makes a few claims about aluminum radiators that aren't true. Aluminum does require flushing more often, but it isn't a big deal, because you should flush your system once per year anyway. Also, aluminum radiators are MUCH more efficient in general, same reason aluminum heads are prefered. Now, 2 core Vs. 4 core: This is a huge misconception. "Core" means nothing. What you should be concerned with is the diameter of the tubes. My griffen radiator is 19X26 and has 1inch tubes running thru it. It is BY FAR more efficient than the nice little 4 core unit I used to use. Always check to see what the size of the tubing in the Core is before you buy off on a 4core unit. Michael, You seem to have this project well in hand. What is your target time/speed in the 1/4? Sounds healthy. How hard was it to cut and move the firewall? Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

We have a shop in Woodbridge, Va that has a Chassis dyno and I plan to get my car to them by late March for final tweeking. This is really the best way to get the most out of tuning. I expect I'll find some big surprises then that I would otherwise not have found! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Dan, If what you say is true, save yourself some headache and trouble and replace the current mounts with a JTR setup. It is only $300 and the amount of handling and weight balance you will find is worth 10 times that cost. You should never, N-E-V-E-R put the motor three inches further forward. Driving a Scarab conversion, then climbing into a JTR conversion ....well there is no comparison. This is the exact reason I spent two years of my Zcar life toiling away on a tweeked out L6 motor. I drove a Scarab Z and it handled so poorly and did everything so BAD that I was a V8 basher for quite some time! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Back to Owen's original request... I'd focus on the TC mount boxes, the seems of the strut towers, the frame rail transition from the rail to the front Sub frame, replacing the frame rail under the car with one that runs from the front frame to the rear frame, and seem weld the rocker area beneath the car. Also, as others have found, check those floor pans. If you find any rust at all, replace them, because more rust is probably trapped under the rust proofing and sound deadening agents. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Being a certified welder, I'll state this as best I can so we all understand the differences in 220 & 110. There is nothing wrong with lower voltage welders. However, one big issue is fine tuning the unit to provide a more consistant and stable heat range. Because I was over seas at the time my cars frame and floor pans were done, I'm skeptical about the welds and will probably re-do them in the not so distant future. They look like the product of a poor duty cycle 120 welder in the hands of someone who didn't know how to get the most out of the unit. The higher voltage welders allow for greater lengths of duty cycle with less interuption of service, providing a more uniform and consistant weld, less fluctuation in heat. Now, there is nothing wrong with using a 120 welder as long as you know that you will need to take shorter and more multiple passes, and you will probably have heat consistancy problems which lead to holes burned in sheet metal. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I think it boils down to what you like. I have a 700R4 in my truck, which is a daily driver and turns 9s in the 1/8th mile. I also have a T56 in the Z and it is by far the best shifting and smoothest trans I have ever encountered. I drive my truck in traffic every day and it shifts well and is reasonably efficient. As for manual trans' in general, well it depends on what you want to do and how much HP you plan to make. A standard world class T5 will not survive in a 350+HP motor. It wasn't designed to. Tremecs are Notchy, but I'm told that you get used to them. I drove my buddies high HP mustange with one in it and I was missing shifts, but he doesn't, so Pete Don't panic until you drive it and get used to it. For my money, I still say, although expensive, the T56 is the absolute best trans for the swap, and gearing couldn't be better! If you go that route, read the tech article, print it out and leave it in the garage. You will need it! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I'm not familiar with John's, but my JTR kit came with the trans crossmemeber and all the parts I needed to install my motor. IT also came with a radiator support that I didn't use, opted for an aluminum mount. Anyway, Not sure what you are getting extra through John's, but JTR was my one stop, one order shop! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Owen, I'm using the T56 and an MSD 6AL. What I did was NOT do the JTR conversion to the Trans. Buy a programable Speedo from either VDO(very nice) or Autometer and get the additional pickup that mounts at the driveshaft and measures rotation there. The VDO unit is my favorite because it does an "AUTO CALIBRATION" which is nice if you swap out taller or shorter tires or change gearsin the rear. This means that you won't have to worry about sending the tail shaft off and the speedo works well and reads to 160! As for Tachs, I currently run a Mallory unit with built in Shift light and Rev limiter, but an autometer may be in my future! Just tap it off the MSD Tach terminal and wire it into the regular wiring harness! Mike Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

If it were me, I'd buy a front 1 1/8 inch sway bar, got mine for $160 with mounting hardware and urethane bushings, and then I'd get a set of springs and Koni "D" Strut cartiridges from Arizona Zcar. Beware though, those cartridges only work on later model 260s and 280Zs. If your Z came equiped with the ugly 5mph bumpers, you can use the struts. Struts and springs will run about $350. Other than that, I'd buy some lower control arm bushings and a solid Differential mount for the car. Go to www.victoriabrittish.com and check out their Gmachine bushings. You can do it in steps, but what I would do is buy all the pieces and then put it all on at the same time. One other area to consider is lower ball joints and tie rod ends. They get abused over time and should be replaced on any car if you don't know their age! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Depending on your welder, you might be able to dial in a fine tuned range and run seem welds. I'd run spots about six inches apart and then run the seem between the two spots. DO NOT CRANK THE HEAT UP. If you have access to a 220 Welder you will get a much better dial in for heat and get a more consistant weld. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I am a certified welder, although I haven't welded in over 10 years, and what Michaels friend says is true. CM tends to not recover well from the heat generated during the weld. Your best bet is to go with mild steel. Another issue to consider is if you ever decide to add on to your cage, say that shop goes out of business or you move...Everyone on the planet has mild steel in stock, CM is another story! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

I tried to use my two 10" hayden electric fans with a thermostatic switch on my Griffen 19X26 radiator and had to use a 6 blade semi flex fan instead. I'm not to sure how much HP you will lose, but that extra HP will do you no good when the radiator is belching fluid! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Yup, the carb is getting way too much fuel. I'd find out the jetts that are in it and back off two to three sizes on each. Also, you might want to put a cooler thermostat in that thing and try to get it running cooler overall. More power to be had in a Chevy running under 190 degrees. Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Dan, I can sympathise with you. The last L6 motor I built was a fuel injected motor with an electramotive ignition management coilpack and the factory nissan computer. The motor was capable of 250HP, but was super finicky. By the time I sorted it all out I was so fed up with electronics and fuel injection and that motor that I sold it and converted the car to V8 and went with a carb. Sometimes simple is best. I'd love to convert mine to fuel injection down the road, but I'm affraid of the exact things you have been going thru! Good luck! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk

Sumo, There are a bunch of brands out there that are identical in style. Be careful though. Fit and finish doesn't always go hand in hand. I'd also caution you to consider ceramic coatings NOT for heat protection so much as for life of the headers. I use Flowtech Ceramic coated block huggers and they ran me a bankrupting $180 complete with hardware! Cheers! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk