MikeJTR

I have two cars that are being used to develop the ZX V8 swap. One is simply a cut-up chassis that allows me to test fit engine and transmissions, and take pictures that cannot be taken with a whole car. The other car is a complete original ZX that will hopefully be used to make a V8 conversion manual. I don't think headers can easily be made to clear the ZX power-steering box. To make a long-story short, the ZX rack-and-pinion steering can easily be added to a car which originally came with a steering box. Most 1982 and newer ZX's came with power rack and pinion steering. All 1979-1981 without power steering came with manual rack and pinion steering. To convert a ZX to rack and pinion steering, the following parts are required: crossmember with steering rack and tie rods steering shaft, complete to the rubber coupler that attaches to the steering column. The parts required for the rack-and-pinion conversion can normally be purchased at the pick-your part wrecking yards for less than $200. I have noticed a number of ZX's at the wrecking yards, so availability of the parts is not a problem. One more note, the power rack and pinion uses the same hydraulic pressures as the steering box, and it is about the same pressure as used in Chevrolet Camaro's .

The cast-iron Vortec heads use normal ports (not D-ports)

JTR has recently begun offering headers for the ZX with rack & pinion steering. See the following link. http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_DATZX_Header-RackPin.html

The third style of prototype headers for the driver's sides was left with iflyfast1 on 12/10/04, who has a John's Car kit. He told me the header fits fine. At this point, the headers should be ready to sell in 2-4 weeks. We don't know the selling cost until the other costs of prototyping are taken into consideration.

I don't mind you posting in public -- it's free advertising! We have a ZX chassis we are using as a fixture for designing the mounts. As usual, everything is going slower than expected. For the most part, the "design" of the mounts is done, but there are some adjustments that have to be made on the "production parts". As we have told people on this forum, JTR is a very small business. After we design a part, it goes to a metal fabrication shop which makes "production parts." The motor mounts and tranny mount should be ready to sell within two weeks, and they will work on the 1986 Firebird/Transam 305. We don't know what the pricing will be until the fabrication shop tells us what they will cost. The problem we have with selling the parts for the ZX at this time is that we haven't actually done the V8 swap on the ZX, and we haven't made a swap manual for the ZX. We have a complete original ZX for doing the manual, but it will probably be a year or more before the book is done. Installing the transmission mount will take several hours. It requires removing the original brackets in the transmission tunnel, and installing new brackets rearward of the original brackets. It is a lot of work, and may scare people. We will sell the mounts with some rough instructions for installing the engine mounts and the transmission mounts. We will post the instructions on our website so that people will understand what they will be getting into before purchasing parts, but the website may not get updated for several months. We don't expect any problems with the engine mounts and transmission mounts -- they allow adjusting the engine front-to-back and side-to-side for a variety of applications, but as everyone who has completed a swap knows, there is a lot more to a swap than bolting in the engine and transmission, and we will not be able to offer advice over the phone or email, and we don't want to people to get involved in the swap unless they know what they are getting into. This forum has been helpful to many people, so if you find yourself in a bind, someone on this forum may be able to help. Also, if you don't like the parts, you can return them for a refund for up to 90 days. Our email address is Mike@JagsThatRun.com

See the attached link which shows the JTR radiator installation instructions for mounting the radiator in a 6 cylinder Z. http://www.jagsthatrun.com/6-cyl-Datsun-chapter/12-Cooling_System-7.5.pdf For people who do not realize this, JTR is a very small business (2 brothers and an answering service than answers the phone when the phone line is busy). Only one brother answers the phone, the other brother (MikeJTR) has personality problems, and is not allowed to speak to customers. I'm sorry, I don't have any pictures of the new radiator brackets mounted in a sbc V8 Z, because we only began selling the new brackets this year, and have not had a chance to photogragh any V8 cars with these mounting brackets. JTR has not had a V8 Z for over ten years, and the books are updated by getting information from local people who have V8 Zs. To help answer your question, the front-to-back dimension of the upper bracket is nearly three inches. If you add the thickness of the Taurus radiator, this should give you the information you need to know to determine if this set-up will fit in your appliation. We now have the aluminum vertical flat bar in stock, drilled and tapped for attaching to the upper and lower radiator brackets (you will still have to drill and tap holes in the flat bar for your particular application). We began offering this when we made the ZX radiator brackets because of different mounting requirements (see following link): http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_DATZX_Radiator_Kit.html If you order the radiator and mounting kit, we can add the 2 aluminum flat bars for another $10, however, this information is not on our website.

The Corvette LT1 hub and the Camaro LT1 hub are the same. Also, the harmonic balancer/pulley is the same between the Caprice LT1 and the Camaro LT1, although earlier Camaro LT1 harmonic balancer/pulleys did not have the provisions to run the engine driven fan pulley available as an option on the Caprice LT1. In other words, you only have to purchase the Camaro/Corvette hub if you want to run the "alternator only" kit. I'm curious to find out if you want to run the "alternator only" kit to eliminate the ac compresor and the power steering pump on the Caprice LT1. The reason is because JTR (that's me) is working on an inexpensive idler pulley kit to eliminate the ac compressor and the ps pump on the Camaro LT1 engines, and the Caprice LT1 engines. It basically consists of a steel plate, two idler pulleys, and some spacers and hardware to bolt onto the cast aluminum accessory brackets used on the Camaro and Caprice LT1 engines.

Magnun Rockwilder, Please don't post comments that you ordered a JTR book and haven't recieved it, unless you also state that you did not order it from JTR. Based on your previous posts, it appears that you ordered a used book from a member of this forum. Furthermore, the books are normally updated every year or so, so if you get an old book, it may not have current information which could save time and money when doing the swap.

JTR is working on ZX V8 mounts for the 1979-1983 cars, and they should be ready within a few weeks. The ZX V8 mounts will have slotted mounting holes to allow positioning the engine front-to-back and side-to-side. The mounts will work with car which have rack and pinion steering, or recirculating ball and roller. Headers are currently available for ZX's with rack and pinion steering. See attached link for ZX parts: http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Datsun-ZX_Order.html See attached link for ZX headers: http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_DATZX_Header-RackPin.html

JTR makes a radiator kit for the Z cars with the L series engine. The instructions are on the following links, and show the amount of room for an electric fan. Aluminum radiator kit: http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_DATZ_Radiator_Kit.html instructions: http://www.jagsthatrun.com/6-cyl-Datsun-chapter/12-Cooling_System-7.5.pdf To answer your question, I doubt the Taurus fan will work in your application.

There is nothing wrong with the John's Cars LS1 Z kit, and the price is reasonable. If you have an LS1, and are in a hurry, get the John's kit. We are working on an LS1 V8 mounting kit, but it requires relocating the alternator, and that can be costly. The LS1 mounting kit we are working on is more for people who want to use a truck LS1 style engine such as the 4.8, 5.3, or 6.0. These engines weigh about 70 lbs more than the LS1 due to the cast iron blocks, but they have aluminum heads and weigh less than the LT1 engines. They also put out more power than most LT1 engines. The truck intake manifold and water pump have to be changed to the Camaro LS1 parts. Due to different mounting bosses on the cast-iron truck engines, the Camaro alternator brackets will not fit on the truck engines. The reason we got involved with the LS1's is because of MAS 280. His times slips and dyno runs convinced us we could market 1-3/4" headers. Also, our radiator and radiator mounting kit work well with the LS1. MAS 280 is very talented, and he made his own mounts and alternator relocation parts. I don't want people to jump into an LS1 swap and think the LS1 swap is easy or inexpensive. After the engine/transmission is installed, there is still a lot of work to do including wiring, computor programming, fuel system, cooling, exhaust, etc. Again the John's cars mounting kit is good, and we don't think we can offer anything significantly better or less costly. We think that we can offer better parts and prices on the headers, cooling parts, and air cleaner ducting.

Sanderson is making the LS1 Z headers for us. When you talk to a salesperson at Sanderson, the sales people try to be as helpful as possible, and offer the lowest price. The 1-1/2" block hugger/street rod headers you used can be made to work in the Z with hammering, and some trimming, but as you mentioned, the passenger's side outlet is too far rearward, and is too close to the starter for comfort. If you can leave a car at Sandersons, they can make custom headers, however, shorty custom headers can easily exceed $1000. As an example, the semi-long tube prototype headers for MAS 280's LS1 powered Mazda RX7 has exceeded $2000, but we are paying for most of this because we believe we can recover the costs by selling copies of the headers to others with LS1 RX7s. See the following link for the forum on this subject, as well as the photographs of the work being done. http://www.torquecentral.com/showthread.php?t=25045 The 1-3/4" headers we are working on for the LS1 Z car address the issues of the problems you are experiencing with off the shelf headers. MAS 280 had Sanderson make custom 1-3/4" headers for his LS1 Z, as did LS1 Z. MAS280 and LS1 Z paid about $800 for their headers. We used MAS 280's headers for the prototyping work. When the headers are made in production quantities, the price will drop almost in half.

I don't think the Corvette pan is the best pan for the Z car because the Camaro LS1 oil pan has plenty of ground clearance, and doesn't need the wings on the side to keep the oil in the pick-up area. According to reliable sources on this forum, the 1-3/4" headers on the LS1 provide a substantial power gain on the LS1 engines, compared to the 1-1/2 and 1-5/8" headers. JTR has been working on 1-3/4" headers for the LS1 Z V8 swap. This past weekend, the 2nd generation prototypes of the 1-3/4" headers were test fitted into a Z car with the John's car LS1 mounting kit. The design of John's car mounting kit makes it a bit more difficult to run headers on the driver's side than the mounts others on this forum have used to install the LS1. Hopefully, the 1-3/4" headers will be available within two weeks.

The LS1 headers are going through the second prototype stage. As per MAS280's advice (and expertise), we are having 1-3/4" headers made, and we used MAS280's headers for the prototyping. The headers are being made so they will work with the John's Cars kit, as well as with the mounts that MAS280 made. One set of the 1-3/4 headers are with iflyfast1, who is using a John's car kit, and another set was test fitted in LS1240Z. The passenger's side headers are done, but the driver's side needs some more adjustments to work with the John's Cars kit. MAS280's mounts position the engine a little more rearward than the John's Cars mounts, and this makes it easier to run headers because as the engine is moved rearward, the steering shaft gets further away from the engine. The headers will probably be ready to sell within a few weeks, but we don't want to sell them until we are sure they fit into the cars using the John's cars kit. The expected price is about $350 for plain, and $475 for ceramic coated.

JTR just started making radiator hose tees for the LS1 engine vent tube. The size that should work best is 1-5/16" x 5/16" The tees are shown on this link, but the page has not been updated to show the 1-5/16" x 5/16" size. http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_TPI-TBI_Brass-Tees.html We also have brass hose splicers in various sizes so that molded hoses can be cut and spliced together for a good fit. LT1 and LS1 engines normally use 1-5/16" hoses. These sizes are not shown on the webpage, but we now carry them. http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_TPI-TBI_HoseSplice.html

The book has an error. The bellhousing on the left is the Camaro bellhousing. The latest printing (Feb 2004) corrected the error.

As of the Author of the Z V8 manual, I want to clarify a few things about the purposes of the set-back position. First, I like this site because of the input and feedback. The people on this site are smart, creative, and enthusiastic. I have learned a lot from this site, and I have met a few of the people who post on this site. One of the problems with writing a book, is that sometimes, people think I know more than I know. As I have told MAS280, he knows more about the V8 Z swap than me. I am sure other people on this board know more about the V8 swap than me. The people who know me understand that I am just your average middle aged nobody, who works out of a home, and has a small mail-order business (JTR Publishing/Stealth Conversions). I mention this because the engine swapping business is not nearly as large or profitable as many people think, and what Scarab accomplished in the 1970's was really quite amazing. I published the first edition of the V8 Z book back in Febuary, 1990 -- over 14 years ago. In 1990, I compared the set-back engine position with the Scarab position (which was first done in the mid 1970's). The Scarab kit was (and is) a good kit. The Scarab was designed over 30 years ago, and a lot of things weren't available today, such as the T5 or T56 transmissions, block-hugger headers, inexpensive aluminum radiators, or powerful electric cooling fans. The Scarab kit, with the mounts, custom bellhousing, custom headers, custom radiator, custom fan shroud, etc, was quite a kit. I owned a Scarab around 1986. It was a fun car. My biggest complaint was the car did not have an overdrive transmission. The set-back position came about because I wanted to fit the Camaro T5 overdrive transmission into the car, and I wanted the shifter to come out of the stock shifter hole. That is the primary reason for the design of the motor mounts. I also wanted to run a big engine-driven clutch fan because I didn't trust electric cooling fans in 1990. To hype (or sell) the setback engine position, I mentioned the advantages of keeping the weight distribution close to stock. As some members have correctly pointed out, the 3-4" setback accomplishes no more than moving the battery to the back of the car. In the 1970-1978 Z cars, it is not difficult to move the engine rearward. I am currently working on a V8 manual and mounting kit for the 1979-1983 ZX cars. It is not as easy to move the engine rearward enough in the ZX to make the Camaro T5 shifter come out of the stock shifter hole. In the ZX book, I am trying to more fully explain the purpose of moving the engine rearward. Thanks for the Hybridz website. I hope I explained the primary purpose of the engine set-back: the shifter position!

One more thing you should be aware of is the availability of radiator hose tees that can used on the upper radiator hose to connect to the steam vent tube. JTR/Stealth offers the Tees on the webpage: http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_TPI-TBI_Brass-Tees.html While not shown on the webpage, JTR/Stealth also has the hose tees and hose splicers in 1-5/16", which fits the LT1 hoses and the Chevrolet radiator the best.

JTR now has the water temp adapter fittings for the heads with 1/2 npt fittings, and 3/8 npt fittings. See attached link: http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_DATZ_Wat-Temp-Send.html

JTR is working on the LS1 type of motor mounts. It may be a couple of months before they are in production. One thing to note is that the 4.8, 5.3 and 6.0 truck engines are based on the LS1, and according to a reliable source (MAS280), an LS1 intake manifold can be installed on the truck engines, which will provide enough hood clearance so that they can fit in a Z car. A 5.3 truck engine puts out more power than a Camaro LT1 engine, and the 5.3 truck engines are less costly than the LS1 engines. The truck engines have aluminum heads, and they appear to weigh less than a Camaro LT1 engine. A 6.0 engine from an Escalade is rated at the same horsepower as an LS1, but weighs about 70 lbs more due to the iron block.

Read this chapter on V8 Z cooling: http://www.jagsthatrun.com/V8-chapters/V8-DatsunZ-Cooling-System.pdf

JTR/Stealth does sell parts to make a T56 drive a speedometer cable, but it requires the customer to do the machining, or pay someone to do the machining. The parts are shown on this link: http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_T56-005_pp6-3_6-4.html The machining instructions are on this link: http://www.jagsthatrun.com/T56_tailhousing_instructions/T56%20TAILHOUSING%20instructn.pdf

JTR/Stealth has ducting that will work on the TPI, LT1, and LS1 applications. See the attached link for examples. http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_AirClean_Ducting.html

The cable x box is a sophisticated way to drive a speedometer when using the LS1 (which does not have provisions to drive a speedometer cable). Another option is to use parts from JTR/Stealth which allow the LS1 4L60-E (or LT1 4L60-E) transmission to run a speedometer cable the old fashioned way -- with speedometer gears. The parts are shown in the book, Chevrolet TPI & TBI Engine Swapping, but they should be posted on the JTR website in the next few months. The cost of the JTR parts is about the same as the cost of the cable x box, but the parts are much simpler, and less likely to break.

You should be able to use Camaro LS1 radiator hoses that are shortened and spliced together. If you are using the JTR-Camaro style radiator, you will need a "Tee" to splice the vent tube into the upper radiator hose. LS1 Z is using a JTR radiator and upper radiator hose tee on his car. JTR has a variety of hose splicers and hose tees. While not shown on the website, JTR has 1-5/16" hose splicers and hose tees, which fit the LS1 hoses better than the 1-1/4" or 1-3/8" splicers and tees. See the attached links: http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_TPI-TBI_Brass-Tees.html http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_TPI-TBI_HoseSplice.html