DaleMX

Thanks, I see it now Duh. I hate asking stupid questions. I have a manual ordered and should have it next week. I'm just trying to get the car running good to use it for a while before I install my LS1 into it. Maybe today I'll just say forget it and pull that chunk of iron out of there. Dale

Were is the PCV valve on a 78 280 located at? I feel dumb asking but I cant find it and I dont have a manual. Dale

Oops, my bad. I did not know the call of Z31 or Z32. To me a 300ZX is a 300ZX. Sorry if I caused any trouble. Dale

Ok, Check this out. http://hybridz.org/nuke/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=28464 Dale

I am having so much fun. Just trying to get the car running well enough to evaluate it is harder than expected. Not that I cant do it, more like "try to find the parts". Local auto parts stores can order parts, but I decided to call around and find some and struck out. Guess I'll order parts tomorrow (Distribuitor cap, All brake components). P.S. Got my LS1 kit from Johns cars today too! Dale

Well the kit is here. That was faster than I expected. I dont even have the brakes done yet. Thanks John! Dale

Well my plan is the following. 1. Fix the brakes. 2. Get the existing engine running good. 3. Fix the turn signals and headlights. 4. Rip out the old stinky carpet and lay down some cheap indoor outdoor carpet for now. 5. Get a seat cover. 6. Put in a rollbar. Then I will drive it for a while and get a feel for the car for a little while, and then: 1. Install the LS1/T56. Then I want to work out all the bugs before I start doing the brake upgrade, suspension upgrade, and body work. That should give me some time to think about what I really want in the car. Dale

I bought a 78 280Z on ebay last week and recieved the car today. It's a little rough, but pulling the carpet shows no rust, the battery tray area is good, the frame rails look good also. Everything else is in rough shape, like the brakes and the engine is running rough. The tags on it were from 1994 so I guess it's been parked for 10 years! It still runs! Tires have good tread but look 10 years old (dry cracking). The turn signal switch and headlight wiper switch is loose and turning on the steering column. The high beams dont work, and the carpet is dry rotted. Time to get started on the LS1/T56 project. Dale

I talked with John's cars today and they said my stuff should ship in the next day or two. I'm a little excited about it. Gotta get the brakes right first and I want to put a sump in the gas tank. Then after I get it running for a while the plan is to pull it all apart, put a new roof skin on to eliminate the sun roof and get it painted as black as I can get it. The interior will go to a medium shade of grey. Then I gotta work on wheels, coilovers, etc... Hey! This is fun! ........Kinda.

John's Cars, Inc. http://www.brokenkitty.com/zcar/zcar.htm Phantom, you are soooo right! I don't need any fighting. I'm too old for it anymore and bruse too easily. 1 1/2" primaries wont work for me. I need 1 3/4 LT's if possible. Sounds custom. I have a set of Pacesetter LT's in my basement and a set of Mid length Mac's for the LS1. Maybe I can alter those a bit and make a fit.

I have ordered my mount kit and will evaluate the rest of the swap from the manual. Some of my questions about the swap: Should I just sell my aluminum driveshaft from the 99 firebird and go with Johns? Am I time and money ahead to go with his Transmission mount, Radiator, and header set? Will women fight to ride with me in my new LS1 Z?

Personally I would pass on the 305. The pistons are too small to use aftermarket heads without shrouding the valves and there is really no room for expansion. Go 350 and at least and you will have a ton of options in the future.

I think your right. I went ahead and got the Texas brown 1978 280Z. It's a little rough but it's running. Here's a link. It will be recieving a LS1/T56 that is in my basement. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&category=6187&item=2473344151&sspagename=STRK%3AMEBWA%3AIT I should have my hands on it in about 2 weeks. Dale

Thanks all, I'll check out the Duluth car. Not sure what that swap he was talking about is. I need to get started on something soon so I might go with one of these 2 cars. Dale

I'm in Cumming, Ga. around Hwy 9 and Campground road area. I'm going to go Sat and take a look at the car and make a decision. I want to get started on this project but if I have to pay extra to get a good car brought in for AZ or TX I will do it. Thanks all! Dale

Here's a link to the other pictures he sent me. It is a word doc file with about 10 pictures in it (that's what he sent to me). If anyone that wants to see it cant open it, I will extract the pics and make them jpg's. http://www.circuitflex.com/Datsun280z.doc Thanks again, Dale

The battery tray looks ok, so does the other rail as far as I can tell. I have not seen the car in person, just pictures so I am a little concerned. I can post the other pictures he sent me tonight before I hit the hay. The car has been stored under a carport so it wasn't left out in the rain. I can weld ok. Thanks for your help so far,

This is a picture from the front to the rear of a 77 280Z I'm looking at for an LS1 conversion. Does this look typical or is this a rust bucket. I believe this is the only rust spot on the rails. Thanks for your help, Dale http://www.circuitflex.com/Framerail.jpg

I did a search on "6.0 heads" on LS1Tech.com and found quite a bit of info on them. If you go over there do the advanced search and search within the Internal Engine section. Dale

After studying all the possibilities for about 4 months I decided on the following for mine. TR230/224 111 lsa, CC 918 springs and titanium retainers, yella terra rockers, CC hardened pushrods, Rollmaster double timing chain setup, LS6 intake, 30 lb. injectors, billet fuel rails, 225 lph fuel pump fed by ½†fuel line and a 3/8†return. Ported throttle body. I also purchased LS1 edit and EFI live for the monitoring and tuning. The cam lift was in the .570 range so I shimmed up the spring’s .020 to get a little extra pressure. I know that Jason at Thunder racing has taken these springs (shimmed) and the 230 cam to 7000 many times with no problems. His new love it the Trex cam on stock heads. He has a dyno graph at the 450 RWHP mark with it, but no one else has duplicated it yet. I went with stock heads but had an ASA racing shop put their 5-angle job on them. I did this because I am waiting for the results from the new AFR LS1 205cc heads (should be available in May). I would think my setup should make a good 400+ as is, but with the AFR’s I should be around 440 to 450. There was a car in Arizona owned by a guy that goes by VERBS over on LS1Tech.com that had a set of stage 2 TEA heads and the 230 cam and he was making 440 RWHP. He went to a bigger cam and different heads and was having a hard time breaking 425. He was very disappointed. I’m not sure if he has worked it out yet. LS1’s can be touchy and attention to detail is very important for good results. Do a lot of research and go with a proven package.

Phantom, That is good info, just not up to date. LS1 stuff changes all the time and by the time they print it it's outdated. 400 RWHP is old hat now. By the way, just leave the screen in, your tuner will thank you. I had Janzer port mine and powder coat it at same time. I'll post a pic later, it's a nice unit. Edit: Here it is. http://www.circuitflex.com/Janzer.jpg Dale

Experts dont recommend porting the MAF! The throttle body is a no brainer and usually adds 6 to 8 RWHP. Do a search on LS1Tech.com Dale

From what I understand, upgrading the injectors should not be a problem as long as you tune for it. If you dont then the increased fuel will make you run so rich that it will fuel wash the cylinders (destroy the rings). Also the lb per hour is dependant on the the fuel pressure. The 30 lb ford injectors I installed on my LS1 are actually 36 lb at 58 lbs. If Im not mistaken your running an LT1. Best advice would be to find a good LT shop and get them to do the upgrade and tuning on a wideband. This is a usefull LT1 forum http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=31 Dale

I can tell you that it is very easy to get 374 to 400 rwhp from an LS1 setup using stock heads. You will need a good set of headers and a free flowing exhaust, an aftermarket cam of 224 to 230 duration (Thunder racing has some nice setups with dyno sheets) with matching valvesprings and retainers, hardened pushrods, an LS6 intake, and some tuning. Optional would be a ported TB, Smaller crank pully, kaytec chain set, ported oil pump. Same setup with aftermarket heads can pull 425 to 450.

LS1Edit is a computer program for tuning and altering the LS1's PCM and is generaly used in conjunction with EFI Live, a monitoring program. Rather expensive. I bought the program last year for around 600.00 with a cable set up for one VIN. This is a very valuable tool for a modified LS1. You can adjust about everything. You can also screw up everything too! Go over to LS1tech.com and check out the tuning section for details on these type of programs. I have my cat over temp turned off, VATS turned off, spedo adjusted for my 3.73 gears, injector size scaled, idle speed adjusted, speed limiter set to 160, CAGS speed set up super low, fan on temp lowered, etc...