Cable

This isn't my first rodeo, I didn't find anything helpful. Thanks anyway. Anyone else?

Hey guys!! As some of you know I am in the process of swapping in a 454 into my 280z. I had planned on ditching the stock gas tank in favor of a fuel cell, but now I am considering keeping the stock gas tank and just modifying it for my needs to maintain the 'stock' look. The new motor will require much more than the stock Datsun fuel tank pickup can provide. So, here is my question. How would I go about installing a 1/2" I.D. steel tubing inside my stock to use for a fuel pickup? The tank will be completely drained and boiled before any installation is attempted. Thanks for the help guys!!

That's odd, my buddy has a GER and loves it. I've personally run: -Summit Racing house brand (okay for a street only SBC) -B&M (junk) -TCI (currently in my '86 K5 Blazer w/700R-4, good truck/towing converter) -ATI (awesome converter) -Coan (just as good as ATI IMO, but cost less).

Hey Cole, please post some pics of your setup. Sounds awesome, I am highly considering a Weiand 142 mini-blower (stock legal version) for a stock 350 in my '86 K5 Blazer. It has a factory rating of 8.0:1 compression from the factory, which is more like 7.5:1 in my experence. The truck already has full length headers that are ceramic coated and SMOG legal too. Anyway, the motor only has 50k original miles on it. I figure I yank it, clean it, re-paint it, swap in a new SMOG friendly hyd flat tappet cam and lifters with a blower happy 114 LSA. I'll also swap out the stock valve springs, retainers, and locks for some new, higher rate replacements (along with new valve seals). I'll end up leaving the stock valve rotators out though. The stock Q-Jet will receive a rebuild and some tweaks as well. Mainly modifing the stock Q-jet so it will flow its full 750cfm instead of the weak 600cfm (made that way from the factory). Secondary metering rods will be alot richer, and all soft plugs will be epoxyed closed. Lastly, a larger needle and seat will be installed to allow more fuel flow if required. Of course 91 octane will be used as well. Some might say that the stock cast pistons wouldn't last with a mini-blower, but as long as I keep the boost under 6 psi, I highly doubt I'll have any issues. Plus, my '99 GTP is supercharged, has stock 8.5:1 compression CAST pistons and its running 10-11 psi on 91 octane (no knock or pinging) with a 3.4" pulley (stock is 8 psi w/a 3.8" pulley).

Oh, I had planned on at least 3000+, I was just saying the cam will want at least 2500. I think I am going to go with a Coan 10" again. It worked nice and only had 7-8% efficenty loss on the top end. Converters like TCI and B&M are closer to 12-15% loss.

Well I didn't end up working on the heads, but I did finally sit down with my cam designer at Lunati to get my custom solid flat tappet cam specs laid out. The cam will be a street/bracket "Sleeper" cam in my 454, plus will be an awesome nitrous cam should I choose to use it down the line (I will ). Good idle and exhaust note, great power. Will need at least a 2500 stall converter, but that's no biggie. Power 2500 to 6800. 600HP should be easy after tuning. How big my smile will be is anyone's guess......

Not a JTR setup either.....

I think a diff cooler would only be helpful to those going through the twisties. Personally I don't think I'll ever need one because the only time the diff will be 'worked out' is a quarter mile at a time. Other than that even the car itself will only see the streets on Spring, Summer, and a few Fall Friday nights. Hardly a reason to have a diff cooler in my case.

I think is used the mount to the M-bar, then the diff cover so it not only spaces the diff forward, but also raises the diff so the output flanges don't interfere with the lower control arms. I am I correct or way off base? Did you have to modify the rear subframe at all to fit the diff? If so, do you have any pictures of the finished mods? Thanks?

Personally I think I'll need the solid type axles considering I'll have the brute torque of a Big Block 454 pushing on one side of the them and the resistantance of Hoosier QT slicks on the other side.

Hello, have you made any progress on sourcing the custom length axles needed? I emailed Ross at MMS and asked if the axles he is offering is based from a Q45 or 300zxtt vlsd since there is a width difference between the two. Thanks.

I got my R230 from a 300zxtt. I haven't installed it yet, but will be done by the time the 454 is installed. Pics of the R230:

I haven't measured, but the exhaust ports appear to be just alittle above stock. They don't require longer bolts on the outside row, but the port is shaped so it kinda goes around the bolt hole boss. Hopefully I'll get some time this week to break out the sanding rolls, discs, and carbide bits and take care of the last bit of polishing and de-burring I want to take care of.

If you have the R200, I doubt you'll have a problem with the diff. I have a R200 currently under my 280z and I was pushing 450-500HP with a nitrous powered 383 and never had a problem. The only reason I am going with a R230 is because of the VLSD. Although it doesn't hurt to have a beefer rear diff when you are swapping in a 454 big block Chevy either.

That's interesting, I figured the driver side would be more hassle because of the steering shaft. I guess we'll know soon if they will work 'as-is'. If not, I might 'bite' your ideas and perform the same mods in order to use them anyway. Performing the mods is still better than forking over another $350 on a different set that I don't know for a fact will work either. I already have a mini-starter, so I am good that way.

Actually my father has had them for years. He bought them from a speed-shop (Super-Shops) that was going out of business in Bakersfield about 8 years ago. He wanted them for his '59 Chevy truck that he was swapping a 396 into. Then we decided to swap out the front end with a '70's Camaro sub-frame so he'd have all the modern disc brakes, suspension, etc. So being that we went with the Camaro clip, these headers wouldn't work with any car/truck with the crossmember directly under the engine. With a little Z that's not a problem. Long story short, I was in Bakersfield on Friday and I remembered to ask him about the headers. He just handed them over with the agreement that if I couldn't use them, give them back. If they work, they'll save me $350+ I am going to bead-blast them so they are clean and semi-rough to the touch. That way the high-temp paint will have something to hold on to when I spray them.

Damn CarDomain, takes their site 48 hours to update after I load new pics into old slots. Anyway, its fixed now. Enjoy!!

......and here are the headers I plan on using, they aren't Sanderson's. I don't know who made these headers. I do know they were made with top quality steel tubing and parts. The flanges are nice and thick, around 3/8-7/16" thick, the welds are smooth and deep, and the bends are top-notch mandrel. According to my measurements, they'll fit. Soon I'll do a mockup with another 454 and some junk heads and see where I am at.

By popular demand, more pics: Here are the heads as I got them, soon I'll have some completed pics of them:

As you might of known, I was planning on building another SBC after the 383 went south. Then I ran into a local circle track racer who found out that I had a cherry 400 sbc block. Long story short, he offered the complete, balanced short block 454 for trade straight accrossed for my BARE 400 block. After a careful inspection, I agreed. Sure, no problem. I've broken up your post to allow easier reading later. Why Pro Topline's? Mainly price. I got a brand new pair of them to my door for $650. I dare anyone to beat that. Plus a buddy bought some a year or so ago and they look great. CNC machined out of the box. I bought a pair of Merlin's a few years ago and they looked horrorible out of the box. Casting flash EVERYWHERE. Anyway, they are rect/square port heads. I went with iron intentionally. Its been proven over and over that iron heads will make more power than aluminum heads if everything else is equal. You have to run one more full point of compression to make up the difference with an aluminum head. While it is true that a pair of aluminum heads is about 75 lbs lighter than a set of their iron counterparts. I don't think the the weight difference alone is enough reason to buy a set of heads, especially when they cost a whole lot more and make less power. The cam choice isn't set in stone. I still have to check piston to valve clearence. I like roller cams, but not the cost, low roller lifter life, and special $$$ parts to go along with. But yes, it is a big grind, I've run it before with a 454 and a set of factory large oval ported heads, I made 600 HP @ 6000RPM and 540TQ @ 3500 RPM (engine dyno, not chassis dyno). The funny part is that's not even the largest grind Lunati offers from the UltraDyne catalog. My stock Corvette pan is just under 8" deep. I wasn't worried about clearence because my exhaust hangs lower than the frame. Thanks, I am now waiting for my buddy to blueprint my Melling 77HV oil pump. When finished it will have exacting clearences for max efficiency and the pump will be modified so that when the oil pump bypass opens it will 'vent into the pan instead of back into the pump. This will keep 'spark scatter' from happening that high volume pumps are known to cause because of the pump working against iteself.