MikeJTR

It is my belief that the tire grip (or friction) is not very dependent on the width of the tire (or tread). One reason to run wide tires on race cars is due to heat dissapation. When tires get overly hot, they tend to lose grip. Wide tires have more surface area exposed to the air than narrow tires. In road racing, it is very easy to overheat tires, which is one reason why wide tires perform better when road racing. Wide tires also change the "feel' of the car, compared to narrow tires, with quicker steering response. My own experience with wide tires is that they pick up more nails than narrow tires.

The mounting kit for the ZX is different than the mounting kit for the Z.

http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_DATZX_MountingInstructions.html

I have been following this thread, and many people have brought up some good questions and good ideas. The primary reason to move the engine rearward was for the shifter position with the T5. This required modifying the hood latch bracket for distributor clearance, and the engine had to be positioned low enough for the distributor to fit under the modified hood latch bracket. Another reason I positioned the engine low was because in the late 1980's, electric cooling fans and 4-row radiators didn't work very well, so I used an engine-driven cooling fan with a 4-row radiator. By positioning the engine low, I could run a 19" engine-driven clutch fan and a fan shroud from a Monte-Carlo. Modern plastic/aluminum radiators and modern electric cooling fans do a great job of cooling the V8 Z, so there is no need to run an engine-driven cooling fan. I agree that when using an automatic transmission, the swap would be easier if the engine were positioned more forward. It may be a good idea to raise the engine, as this would also help with header clearance. I believe the JTR ZX engine mounts will work in the Z car -- they won't allow the engine to be moved as far rearward as the Z mounts, but they do offer adjustability. I am currently working on different transmission crossmembers for the Z cars that will be similar to the one in the ZX. The new crossmembers will accommodate the T56 and offer more room for the exhaust, but they will be more difficult to install.

The fact that the string blows back into the engine compartment when the fan is turned off indicates the cowl induction hood is the problem. When moving at speeds over 40 mph, the ram air should blow enough air through the radiator, that the eletric fan is not necessary at speeds over 40 mph. Also, based on other statements you made with the previous fan, it makes me wonder if you had wired the fan backwards.

I would like to see a picture of your car, engine compartment, and hood. It may be easier to diagnose the cooling problems. Recently, I had to deal with a cooling problem on an RX7 3rd generation with an LS1. It turns out the hood was the problem. Instead of air coming out of the hood at highway speed, air was going into the engine compartment through the hood, and not through the radiator. Sealing the hood vents cured the problem. Scottie GNX also showed an example of hood vent problems on his car. Again, please provide pictures.

You should also check the small bypass hose on the thermostat housing. If it is plugged, the thermostat won't receive hot coolant, and it can cause the problem you described. If you have removed the bypass hose, then you need to drill a small hole in the thermostat to allow some coolant flow through the thermostat housing so the thermostat can receive engine coolant.

This is just a shameless plug for JTR. The JCI LS1 kit is a good mounting kit. JTR, however, does offer headers, an aluminum radiator, and air cleaner ducting that will work with the LS1 Z. http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Datsun-Z-LS1-V8_Order.html

A Chevrolet dealer should be able to get the radiator. Also, there are some Chevrolet Vans that use a radiator that is similar to the Camaro 4-cylinder radiator.

The JTR book (page 5-11) recommends a flat bar for the T56 transmission crossmember. Using the JTR crossmember with the T56 will cause the T56 to be about 1 " too high in the transmission tunner.

The Camaro LS1 (and LT1) radiator is too wide to fit between the stock Z frame rails.

Thanks for posting the above photos and information, it helps clarify some confusion. There are a number of different fans and shrouds used on the Ford Taurus, which is causing confusion. From what I can determine, the fans you show are from front-wheel-drive cars. The lower photo is a fan from a Ford Taurus, as well as a front-wheel-drive Lincoln. The Lincoln/Thunderbird fan I mentioned two weeks ago is from rear-wheel drive cars, and has an 18" diameter blade. The fan shroud more closely matches the radiator shown above. Because of the larger size of the blade, it can move more air with less amperage (15 amps low-speed, 25 amps high-speed). Also, because the fan shroud has a larger hole for the fan, air can move more freely through the shroud at freeway speeds. I'm sorry, I don't know how to post pictures on this forum.

I just measured a JTR radiator with the Volvo/Taurus fan, and custom (prototype) fan brackets. There is about 4" from the front of the radiator (where it bolts to the Datsun) to the back of the fan blade (in the area of the upper intercooler pipe). Would this fit in your application?

I doubt the Zirgo fan would help you. It only draws 10 amps. The thin blades (compared to the Ford Taurus or Volvo fan blades) don't move air as well as the thicker blades. I believe the CFM ratings of the Zirgo fan are both exaggerated and meaningless. On another note, I do like your car, the pictures and video are quite impressive.

An extremely powerful and thin fan that fits between the JTR radiator and the 6-cylinder engine, is the fan used in the Volvo S60, S70. These can be purchased on ebay. Normally, the fans on ebay have broken controllers, but these are normally removed, and power can be wired directly to the fan motor. The shroud is about 17" x 24",and the overall thickness is slightly less than 4". The fan is 16" diameter, and the thickness of the fan/motor is less than 3-1/4". The fan draws about 30-35 amps, and is being used in 1993-1995 LS1 powered RX-7 with good success. We are looking at making a universal mounting bracket for this fan, so that it can be used with our 6-cylinder radiator kit.

The fan/shroud from a Lincoln Mark 8, and 95-98 Ford T-bird will also fit on the radiator pretty well. It uses a larger fan than the Taurus, and in my opinion, it fits the radiator better than the Taurus fan. These can be found on ebay, if you want to see what it looks like.

JTR has radiator hose tees for connecting the LT1 and LS1 steam vent tube. See attached link: http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_TPI-TBI_Brass-Tees.html

Modern single-row aluminum radiators cool better than old 3-row radiators, especially when running electric fans. See the following link for info on the V8 Z radiator: http://www.jagsthatrun.com/V8-chapters/V8-DatsunZ-Cooling-System.pdf

Here's some info on driveshafts, u-joints, and flanges: http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_DAT_driveshaft_flange.html

These headers will fit the 1979-1983 280ZX with rack and pinion steering: http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_DATZX_Header-RackPin.html

The Taurus one-speed fan is fine for the V8 Z. It uses a longer motor than the 2-speed fan. The longer motor on the one-speed intereferes in many engine swaps, but there is so much room between the engine and radiator on V8 Z cars, that the one-speed motor is fine. The Taurus 2-speed fan is actually overkill. You could run it on low speed, and it would cool 99% of the V8 Z cars. When using electric fans, it is important to run a radiator that doesn't restrict air flow. Some of the thick 4-row radiators restrict air flow, and cause cooling problems. Another Ford fan that works well, and can look at better in the V8 Z car is the Lincoln Mark 8 fan (also used in 92-97 V8 T-Bird). It fits the Camaro-style radiator a little better -- it has a larger diameter blade, and taller (and narrower) shroud than the Taurus shroud. It appears to use the same electric motor as the Taurus 2-speed fan

The 2005 GTO uses the Tremec T56 6-speed, which is basically the same as used in the Camaros. There are some slight differences in the shifter location, and the hydraulic release bearing. A Camaro T56 shifter can be installed onto the GTO T56. One member on this board has a GTO LS2 going into the Z. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=108634

I once bought a Datsun 510 for very little money because of an overheating problem. The owner of the car told me that if the car sat overnight, it would overheat within 10 minutes. But after it overheated the first time, the car would run at normal temperatures for the rest of the day. The cause of the problem was that the thermostat bypass hose was plugged, and since there was no circulation to the thermostat when the thermostat was closed, the coolant would boil over before the thermostat sensed the hot coolant. After the first boil-over of the morning, the thermostat would open enough to allow circulation, and the car would run fine, until the next morning. This is an example of temperature spikes that occur in engines before the thermostat opens, and allows circulation through the engine and radiator. In the older engines, the bypass hose allowed coolant to flow to the thermostat housing so that hot coolant would open the thermostat. Drilling a hole in the thermostat, to allow bypass flow (through the radiator) can eliminate the problem, but the engine takes longer to warm up. Older engines had temperature spikes that would go up and down, until the thermostat stabilized. If you have a radiator with large tanks that hold a lot of coolant, the temperature spikes of the large volume of coolant going through the engine when the thermostat opens, can cause large temperature spikes, until the thermostat stabilizes. Modern engines reduce the temperature spikes by using inlet sensing thermostats and small radiator tanks (would hold less coolant).

4L60-E and OEM T56 are the same length -- they should be able to use the same driveshaft.

The Volvo fan is a good fan that fits the Corvette style radiator almost perfectly in 1993-1995 RX7 V8 swaps, but it is a little bit wide for the Camaro style radiator, and a little short (top to bottom). The Lincoln Mark 8 fan can be used with the Camaro style radiator, and the shroud fits very nicely (with some trimming).