MikeJTR

What edition and print date is the Z book? Also, the book, Chevrolet TPI & TBI Engine Swapping, has information that will help with the LT1 swap, such as air cleaner ducting, cooling, fuel, knock-sensor relocation, etc. The header does contact the spacer on the driver's side, and the spacer should be ground down or filed down for clearance. The reason we don't go with a shorter header (such as the CC3) is because the collector is so close to the exhaust port, that they burn out much quicker than the longer headers.

If you don't run the steam vent tube, you will have cooling problems. JTR has brass hose tees for the LS1 steam vent tube. Use the 1-5/16" x 5/16" size. http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_TPI-TBI_Brass-Tees.html

What did you do to make the car run cool?

Take a welding class. Often, these classes are available at a local junior college. The cost is low, plus, you will get plenty of "free" steel to practice on and different equipment to practice with. The instructor will look at your welds, and tell you what you are doing wrong. There is more to welding than having a welder -- you will need eye protection, gloves, a jacket, and possibly, breathing equipment. Most importantly, the instructor will teach you about safety.

1987-1992 V8 Camaro's have the coil connector with the tachometer wire.

The crossmember is mounted up-side-down. To give you credit, if you tried to install it for what it was designed for (the T5 or 700-R4), the transmission would be too high. The T56 has the mount positioned about 2" rearward, and 1-1/4" lower than the mount for the T5. We haven't yet made a crossmember for the T56, but in the book, we show a crossmember that is nothing more than flat bar, with spacers, for mounting the T56. With the increased interest in the T56, we will probably have something available in the first quarter of 2006.

Just a note. The radiator in your car is not a JTR radiator -- we have never sold a copper- brass radiator. The radiator we offer is a GM style, with the aluminum core. See the following link of the cooling chapter from the V8 conversion manual: http://www.jagsthatrun.com/V8-chapters/V8-DatsunZ-Cooling-System.pdf Without trying to sound like a sales pitch (which this is), the radiator we sell cools well, and allows air to flow easily through the core, and this will help make your intercooler function more efficiently.

Joey was kind enough to let me drive his car. I didn't drive his car hard, I only drove it to check out the drivability, and the feel. When you step on the gas, it accelerates smoothly, and with no drama. Even though Joey's Z weighs more than most people expected, the car drives nicely, and doesn't have a tinny feel, like some stripped Z cars. According to Road & Track magazine, the published weight of a 1977 Z is 2875 lbs. Joey's car, which has a roll bar, stereo, larger-than-stock tires/wheels, a Q45 differential, beefy half-shafts, huge cv-joints, and a much larger-than-stock exhaust system, only weighs about 65 lbs more than the published curb weight of a stock 6-cylinder 280Z.

A TPI will fit under the stock 280ZX hood. See the following link for ZX motor mounts: http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_DATZX_MountingInstructions.html

I have a mig, tig, and oxy/acetylene. Like almost any equipment, the more expensive machines are typically better than the less expensive machines. But, as technology gets better, the low-priced equipment does remarkably well. I would stick to name-brand equipment so that supplies are easily obtained. If you are going to buy a welder, take a welding class first -- there is a lot to learn, and safety is the most important thing to learn when welding, or you could easily injure yourself and others. Many people believe tig welding requires special skills. My opinion is that tig is way easier than oxy/acetylene. Tig welding equipment is way more expensive than mig or oxy/acetylene, and that is why so few people have used tig. Using tig on steel is easy -- step on the pedal until a puddle forms, and weld. The low heat conductivity of steel makes it easy to control the heat in the weld zone. Using tig on aluminum takes way more practice because the aluminum is easily contaminated. Also, aluminum doesn't glow so it is difficult to determine how hot the surrounding metal is. Furthermore, aluminum requires more heat due to the greater heat conductivity -- too much heat, and the weld puddle will go all the way through the part. A problem with tig is that it practically requires you to put the parts you are welding on a welding table. With mig, you can weld the parts on the car. 95% of the time, I use the mig welder. For small parts requiring a small weld bead, I will use the tig.

JTR now carries three different driveshaft flanges to fit three different Z differentials. 2 with the 2 inch pilot, and one with the 2.25" pilot. They aren't yet mentioned on the website, but if you purchased the wrong part for your vehicle, call Greg at JTR on the week day, and he will take care of it.

"The bottom line is.........It's one of the best convertions to do.Power to weight ratio....it cant be beat." LS1240Z talking about a 1993 Mazda RX7 LS1 V8 swap. Actually, a 240Z with an LS1 has a better power to weight ratio than a 1993 RX7 with an LS1.

LS1240Z, I think the battery alone saved about 15 lbs. I believe your car was lightened by over 30 lbs, maybe even 50 lbs. For example, I heard from a reliable source that the stroker crank going into your car was lightened (maybe another 15 lbs). Oops, did I say "lightened stroker crank?" Add in the lightened flywheel (maybe another 10 lbs), lightened crank pulley (perhaps another 5 lbs), and other weight saving tricks you did not disclose, and the weight gain of 28 lbs that you claim could be off over 50 lbs. Don't forget to include that your car does not have catalytic converters. If you are going to drag my name into the "28 lb" weight gain of the LS1/RX7 swap, I am going to explain to others that the numbers cannot be trusted.

At the risk of offending MAS280 and LS1240Z, I will have to say the LS1 V8 swap adds more than 28 lbs to the 1993 Mazda RX7. For example, some techniques MAS280 used to reduce the weight gain of the V8 swaps included using a lighter-than-stock battery, small (lightweight) crank pulley, and a lightened flywheel. Also, some parts were not installed after the V8 swap, such as the belly pan, which does weigh a few lbs. Without giving away any secrets, MAS280 is building an LS2 stroker into a 1993 RX7, and one of the ways he is reducing weight is a single 3-1/2" exhaust instead of dual 2-1/2" exhaust. Part of the exhaust can be seen on this link: http://www.torquecentral.com/showthread.php?t=31345

The LS1 FD (93-95 RX7) is a do-able swap. I doubt the LS1 Porshe is as do-able. Torque Central is a good website to do research on the Mazda RX7 V8 swaps. http://www.torquecentral.com/forumdisplay.php?f=11 JTR makes some parts for the LS1 FD V8 swap: http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Mazda-RX7-LS1-V8_Order.html

Just a shameless plug for an inexpensive aluminum radiator kit for the 6-cylinder Z car which includes mounting brackets and hoses. http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_DATZ_Radiator_Kit.html The installation instructions show which hoses to use. http://www.jagsthatrun.com/6-cyl-Datsun-chapter/12-Cooling_System-7.5.pdf

The big advantage of using the JTR LS1 headers is that the LS1 engines respond best to 1-3/4" tubes. Most of the shorty LS1 headers are 1-5/8" and this produces noticeably less power than the 1-3/4", even with an otherwise stock LS1 engine. The John's car LS1 V8 mounting kit for the Z car is pretty good because it does allow the 1-3/4" headers.

I believe the best gasket to use between the cylinder head and the header is the stock LS1 tri-metal gasket (three layers of metal). For the collector, the copper gaskets are the best. Sanderson carries these gaskets, as well as Summit Racing. It also helps to use a 3/8" thick flange on the head pipe.

See the attached link for parts for the 1979-1983 280ZX V8 swap: http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Datsun-ZX_Order.html

"They look like they are rusting. WTF? I talked to JTR who advised me to use some aluminum polish on them. Tried that and it gets the rust off but the headers are REALLY dull looking and no longer shine at all." The fact that the "rust" spots were removed with aluminum polish means the "rust" spots were not caused by the headers being poorly coated. The "rust" spots appearing on the headers were probably caused by oil or other chemicals getting on the headers, causing some staining that does not affect the durability of the coating, and is no indication of poor quality.

JTR no longer recommends the Nova radiator. Sounds like you have old information. See the attached link for the new recommendations: http://www.jagsthatrun.com/V8-chapters/V8-DatsunZ-Cooling-System.pdf

The JTR book (Datsun Z V8 Conversion Manual), does not have any specific info for the ZX, so if are doing a ZX, the newer edition would probably not have the info you expect.