MrWOT

Go to google and put "french military victories" just like that with the quotes in the search window, then click 'I'm feeling lucky'.

You should get the Heating and A/C cert too, that's what I just finished. When you complete it you can legally purchase R12 from any auto parts store

Hmmmm, power AND s'more making abilities... I think I'll buy one

http://www.lateral-g.net/sandlin/ And I quote the website... "Hp/Tq numbers coming after its final tune. Currently, it's well over 800hp with a very conservative tune!!" Gotta wonder what that kick in the pants feels like when he reaches boost threshold .

Thanks all! I really appreciate the input, I tend to have a tendancy to get in over my head when I really want something, so I felt it best to get experienced opinions. Looks like I'll pass on this one, I'll keep an eye out for another. I'll wait until I have some experience with fabrication and welding before I tackle one like this, heck my final goal is to build a full tube frame (see there's that over the head thing again ). Anyway, thanks again all, I can honestly say I've been a member at over 20 car forums, and this one is the best for 'real' support I have seen.

Actually, I timed myself, the entire swap took me 11 hours on a test bed consisting of stripped 75 280. That was with some troubleshooting (first time wiring a harness 8) ). I figure about an additional 6 hours to strip the engine cmpt of whatever I buy. Of course the test bed also had no wheel wells or firewall, so the whole thing will be reevaluated before I attempt an install anyway. The roads I drive aren't bumpy at all, but they are mountain roads and it would put stress on the frame. How much labor is involved in the reframe? From the sound of it, looks like I may have to pass.

I've finally made my engine selection, so now I'm shopping for a Z to shoehorn the engine and trans into (don't ask for what combo, it's a secret, for now.... ) And I've come across a 1976 280 (I choose the 280 for it's added structural strength, may go with a 240 and beef it up depending on how hard this is to repair), it's in decent shape (I think) but has pretty harsh rust damage in the subframe under the passenger and drivers seats. Pictures of the car and the rust areas are below, the rust is pretty bad, I need to know how difficult this would be to fix. I am pretty good with engines and electrical work, but I've never done anything with body or welding. I am taking my first welding course this fall, I need to know if this is a feasible project REALISTICALLY. This car will have to suffice as a daily driver as I have no capacity to store two vehicles so it would be driven while under repair. Can it be done, esp by an ameteur? I will have access to a full welding shop about 5 hours per day. IS this the kind of work that you can do stop and go in this kind of timeframe? If it isn't be brutally honest please, I can't afford to get saddled with something I can't complete, as I will have no backup vehicle in the meantime, and getting one isn't an option since I have nowhere to put one I don't have a problem with waiting for a different car if this isn't something an ameteur should tackle. Thanks. Pictures of it here http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sammuelmuel/album?.dir=/2d29&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/sammuelmuel

You got yourself a deal

You missed the whole point of the idea. The point is to give the hybrids to people who use them JUST for transportation, not for pleasure. That way the majority of miles traveled (for work) would be clean miles. If you want to keep driving your current car, it's not like they would stop you. It's just a thought anyway, not like the oil companies would ever allow the goverment to do it

Thanks! Answered enough to get me interested in looking into it more. Propane is very easy to get in CA, and many gas stations sell it, as well as hardware stores. Only concern is the altitude issue, since I drive into the mountains on a regular basis.

Well, I've been poring over what engine to build up for my Z project (engine first, then worry about the car, I'll MAKE it fit ) and I thought about turbos, and having already had both a powerul turbo car (1986 mustang SVO @ 23psi ~360hp) and a powerful NA car (1991 taurus SHO @ 312hp) my original idea was to build the SHO motor with twin turbos, unfortuneatly it appears I can't make it fit without having extensive plumbing and either horizontal intercoolers or rear mounted ICs, so I went back to the drawing board. That's about the time when my father gave me a ring and asked me to go shopping for a new truck with him. I of course immediately suggested the new Nissan Titan as I wanted to take a peek at the motor. Much to my surprise the motor was badged as a VK56DE, a VK45DE being the powerplant in a Inifini Q45 and packing about 340hp and 305ft/lbs. Now I was expecting great things from the truck as it also featured dohc, and it performed fabulously, LOTS of torque, smooth accel and redline of 6k. I did some research and found that the VK56DE is the same block as the VK45DE, so it begged to me a question.... How would the VK56DE perform with the VVT heads from the VK45DE? I figure it would require some headwork to open up the combustion chambers to lower compression a bit, but with the 45 heads and a recalibrated computer to give proper A/F ratio, a 5.6 liter dohc with vvt sounds pretty damn appealing to me! This is the link where I discovered the block is the same, it has a good rundown on the titan too, if your so inclined. http://www.ai-online.com/issues/article_detail.asp?id=235 Below is a graph of the hp and torque curve on the VK56DE, linked to infinitinews. Torque is excellent, now just open up the breathing with those 45 heads and even better low end with the VVT, imagine the possibility! Not to mention the 6k redline... drool.... http://www.infinitinews.com/nissan/2004vehicles/armada/power_chart.pdf I figure it would be very close, if not over the corvette LS6 numbers, I'm thinking if they can do 400hp and 400ft lbs out of 5.7 pushrod, a 4 valve 5.6 should scream with proper breathing! Now someone rich go do it and tell me how it works out http://[/url]

Well, it kind of begs a question doesnt it? If the Vk45DE and VK56DE are the same block, what kind of power would the 56 make with the 45 heads on it with a recalibrated computer for fuel delivery? 5.6 dohc with vvt?! Not to mention the 6k+ redline.... starting this topic to the 'other engine' board too..

Curious as to a few things... 1. What kind of in tank pressures do you see on hot days? (100+) and how does the sytem cope with altitude? 2. I would imagine a backfire would be VERY undesireable so what kind of valve overlap do you run? (cam profile) 3. How does the system respond to sudden changes in vacuum? (throtle response) 4. How many km per litre? And how dependant is your mileage to altitude/temperature? Okay, that's all I can think of for now... Alright, I lied, I thought of another one 5. Do you use any kind of fuel pump? Or do you rely on tank pressure? 6. How low can you run the tank before vapor lock? 7. What kind of check valve does the system use? (to keep all the gas from escaping if the engine should be stopped during a period of valve overlap) OK! OK! I'll stop now... I promise...

jmortensen, Just to answer your question, I think you have made an error in thinking. The price of water can fluctuate all they want it to because we depend on water, hell, we kinda die without it right? In the case of gasoline, if we simply don't need it, the price will come down to make it more attractive, it's simple business. Oil companies will lower the price of gasoline simply to try and maintain current market share. Every person who converts away from gasoline is a net loss over a temporary loss in profit due to price drops. Think of it this way, would you rather have a customer that buys once then stops completely at a price of $50? Or a customer who comes back a few times at a price of $30? What we could really use is a government rebate program, trade in your current vehicle and get something like 'good condition' blue book value of the car towards the purchase of a new hybrid, tax free. Something to think about. Not to mention the government could then sell the cars back to parts suppliers on a 'parts only' stipulation and a fresh supply of car parts would become available

How much did the kit cost you? Just curious since propane is actually cheaper then gasoline atm

You know, people complain, but IMHO gas should be MORE expensive. If gas cost $4.00 per gallon alot more people would start looking into things like gas electric hybrids or biodiesel. Once the demand for gas began to drop off, the price would drop leaving the gasoline for enthusiasts like us, IE the people who drive cars for the sake of the car itself, not just for a mode of transportation! Of course, the meantime while waiting for the trend to conversion would suck, but lets face it, in order for prices to drop, people have to WANT to use an alternative for gas, which means the alternate must be cheaper!

Depending on how your particular carb is calibrated you might have high enough vacuum to pull off your main jets. This is not uncommon for some carbs, just depends on how your carb is slotted or drilled. Could also have the float level too high causing fuel to spill from main jets at idle. When you rebuilt it did you use a new needle valve?

That would be a turbo or supercharger

Murray, the gas into the manifold when you move your foot has to do with your accelerator pump, depending on the carb you can adjust it with anything from a screw or nut, to changing a cam in the pump. It's a normal thing, and a good thing as well, otherwise when you romp the gas the car would lean out.

Yeah, but that's just braking! Think of the extra mass acceleration wise! Not to mention the stress on the shafts, count me out of that one!

Okay, I have a bit of a question, I see the 'cam kit' seperate from lifters and rockers, so what the hell did they give you for $730?!

Good lord, do you realize the kind of stress that kind of rotating mass would make?! Even with magnessium those rim have GOT to be at least 30 lbs each.

Timing, hands down.

Been trying to get ahold of him to procure me a Z, but I've emailed him repeatedly starting a week and a half ago and nothing . I've tried all the reverse lookups and can't come up with anything, so I'm hoping maybee somebody here knows him? If so please either tell him to check his damn email , or tell me how to get ahold of him! For the love of God, I'm stuck in a 91' toyota corolla, at least help me out of pity!

So the spacing IS the same! It can be done then, but the head will have to be drilled and tapped for external provisions. In the best case you need to make a 'water manifold' for each side of the head so you feed it evenly and have more even tamps, I'd recommend feeding from the exhaust side as it will help with more even temps. It can be done, and HAS been done with other engines/heads. I'm amazed with all the knowledge here that noone has done it to the L block... Take the Ford 2.3L lima block. The guys over at turboford.org took a volvo 16v head that ONLY has the bolt pattern right, bore spacing is a little off and oil/water holes DON'T match, and a couple of them did it anyway by tapping the head and using external oil feed from a tee after the filter. If they can do it, so can we! all you need to figure out is how to fit a belt to the contraption. OF course, I'M certainly not going to be the first to try it Oh yeah, you can see how the ford one was done here --> http://www.4bangerturbo.com/volvodohc.htm should give you an idea of whats involved. I imagine at least SOME of the coolant/oil holes match up, but as I don't have the heads, I can't be sure...