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Don't laugh, but the alternative to grease is toilet paper. Yea, I've heard all the jokes, but stuff the hole with wet toilet paper and hammer a rod just a little smaller than the hole, in the hole and the pilot bushing comes right out. You have to keep filling the hole as the paper compresses, but keep it real wet and it will work. I actually use my steel clutch alignment tool without the centering piece. It's alot neater than grease and when the bearing is out just pop out the wad with a screw driver. No clean-up. There are a ton of one liners that come to mind, but seriously it works. Jody

Here's another great resource for 4th gen Camaro/LT1 info. http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech1.html

I've seen a truly stock LS1 WS6 with drag radials, a lid and stock gears run 12.6 with a 6 speed and an experienced driver. He likely has a big stall converter, gears, bolt-ons and real stickey tires. IF HE'S TELLING THE TRUTH about being a stock vette motor, and he's got a ZO6 motor, he "may" be getting into the 11's with light bolt-ons, gears and a converter. If he's deep into the 11's, he's lightened the car significantly or has a secret. (watch out for the hidden nitrous in the lid... very common with street racers) Or he's lying about being "stock". With your power to weight ratio and a decent launch, there is no reason that you can not hang with or beat him. Your biggest problem is going to be "stock tires"... If you are serious, you need to get something sticky under the rear. (Nittos aren't bad and you can actually get decent mileage out of them) Take it to the track. Besides being safe, there are no excuses or "opinions" about who won. Also, if you are serious, get to the track and practice! Getting down the track is ALOT more than just mashing the gas. Jody

Great, the pump I have is too large for the stock location and I don't want to put any steel with edges in the direction that may puncture the gas tank. I'm sure someone has tackled this before and come up with a decent solution. Jody

I am in the process of figuring out where/how to mount my external fuel pump. I am using a stock 78 tank and am planning on mounting the pump between the tank and the rear. Maybe creating a vertical mount that hangs from the underside of the car. I'm sure I can make something to work. Does anyone have pictures of their pumps mounted in this general area? Just wanted to get an idea of what others have done and any issues. I searched and didn't come up with much as far as pictures. Jody

Thanks trouble, I am not sure if my steering column locks... I never really paid attention since it is not running and the key sits in it all the time. (I'll check tonight when I get home) If it is a locking switch then it's probably out of an early 70's or earlier Datsun? So if it is a non locking switch, there is a possibility of the wheel to lock? If so, I'll have to make sure it's set-up properly. If the person that hacked the wiring did the switch too, I need to verify it's done right The wiring was spliced, hand twisted and covered with duct tape! Maybe an emergency roadside repair, but it was all tucked in and covered like it had been there for a long time...

Background, 78 280z, bought w/ no engine. LT1 is in and beginning the wiring. Previous owner had a "start button" installed under the dash jumping the black/yellow to the starter. I've been repairing a bunch of cut/hacked wires and decided to trace the ignition wires to get rid of the button start. I found that the ignition switch has the tell-tale yellow paint marker all over it and was obviously a JY piece. So it turns out that the "start terminal" on the ignition switch is in a different place than the plug. I moved the Black/Yellow wire on the plug and the ignition circuit seems to test out fine now. Were the ignition switches different over the years? Just want to make sure I know for future reference for compatibility when/if I need to find replacements. Plug (the way I found it) empty..... empty black/white ..... Blue/Red Black/Yellow ..... White/Red Ignition Swith Start .....Empty(no terminal at all) On/Start ..... Acc/On Nothing .....Power

Put the Z on a different policy or different company.

I also pulled my bumpers off and was worried about the gas tank being unprotected, so I took the mounts for the bumpers, cut the shock off and welded a piece of roll bar tubing between the 2 mounts behind the rear valence. It's a little tight, but it fit easily. Then I smoothed the rear valence. I feel a little better about putting this on the street. Jody

The Hurst has a bend at the base to bring the shifter toward the driver about 1"- 1 1/2" and back slightly also (F-body 4th gen model). I find the location very comfortable. Again... personal preference.

I have the Hurst, I like it... my son has the B&M and the throws are shorter than my Hurst. I have driven one with the Pro 5.0 and didn't care for the positioning. Boils down to personal preference. The Hurst shift handle bends toward the driver, the B&M is shorter and straighter, the pro 5.0 is also straight and taller than the B&M. As far as the stops in the shifter, the T-56 has internal stops so I think that it's not necessary on the shifter. You can't bend a shift fork due to pushing the shifter too far. Look around and see if anyone has one in their car and try the feel. Any of them are a better option than stock. Jody

Well since I had not connected any of the wires, I put shrink wrap on each of the lights. Looks like that will be better than paint. Just happened that I bought the Pro Comps also.. here's pics of my install. I put a red LED in the center for a shift light that I'll run off an RPM activated switch. Overall the install is very easy. DaleMX is right, the install is very easy. I was limited by the LED color selection at Radio Shack. There are smaller, less bright LEDs that I used for the high beam. I used Orange for the brake light and added a couple of more reds for my shift light set-up in the speedometer. Jody

I just completed my swap with the autometer gauges in the stock housing, but noticed that the LED's pick up the light from the backlighting and look like they are lit. I am going to paint the LED behind the face to prevent this with thick black brush on paint. Jody

That's the one I bought.

I'll try and make it simple... The LT1 PCM controls many things and after the conversion, some things may be deleted or altered. The computer must be reprogrammed. A few that come to mind... (nowhere near a complete list) Rear gear ratio CAGS (for the M6) canister purge EGR fans rear O2's for the OBD2's There are ways to get around some of the above things (resistor in the CAGS plug or rear O2 sims) but in general, there will likely be a need to reprogram. All that being said.... the reprogramming is the LEAST of your worries in a conversion. There are many people that can/will do a reprogram for you... there aren't many that will do the motor swap for you (and all the other things that come with a conversion) Jody

I hope to be bending the exhaust tubing in a couple of weeks. I'll post the results. Update on using a different brand bender. I used the Harbor Freight bender. We tried bending 1 5/8" tubing on a different brand bender, I think it was a Northern Tools bender. The 1 1/4" die is smaller (shorter length) and the pipe kinked when we bent it. We did not have the dies side by side to tell the exact difference, but there is a difference.

ARP Bolts!

Thanks for the replies, they will help. The tank looks rough on the inside, but still feels solid and is in excellent shape on the outside, so it is a good candidate for a recondition. They will replace the internal tank and lines if they are trash. I was also looking for the flow in the tank itself and the way the internal surge tank is used. How is it filled etc... I have a large external pump I am planning on using and I want to make sure I understand how it all works. Jody

I am sending my gas tank to get reconditioned and after rinsing it out and dumping a ton of rust chunks, I snapped a couple of pictures of what I could see inside the tank. I used a remote flash to take the pictures. There is a canister (surge tank I assume) in the middle of the tank. There are 4 hose connections on the tank, 2 on top and 2 in the lower side on the front passenger side of the tank. Can someone describe the proper flow of fuel to make this tank work properly. I searched and was unable to come up with the flow. Also when I bought my car, the fuel lines were not connected. A view from the hole where the fill spout connects. A view from the top hole where the fuel level sender goes in.

Great, thanks for the reply. The guy I spoke with was the owner and he could not have been more helpful and nice on the phone. Good to hear their product is quality too.

I finally pulled my gas tank and found that it is full of rust. (no real surprise) It had about 1 gallon of fuel sitting in it for who knows how long.... probably 10 years. Anyway I'd like to use the factory tank if possible and and am considering getting the tank re-conditioned. Has anyone used http://www.gas-tank.com/ or had their tank reconditioned. Looking for experiences. This place cuts the tank open, sandblasts/repairs rewelds the tank, coats etc... approx $250, 1 week turnaround. Lifetime guarantee.

Yes, I installed one. I am in the process of making my brake caliper brackets, so I have not buttened everything up yet.

I got my chevy pattern stubs from Ross a couple of weeks ago...

Sometimes people take this stuff too seriously.... I enjoy a good kill story occasionally ! Slam the hammer down on the road, you take a chance... Flame a person, you take a chance... post a kill story, you take a chance. Sometimes these things just "need to be done"

Bartman, LT1 cooling question/comment. The passenger side of the water pump is the outlet side and you have it going to the bottom of the radiator. That means your radiator is trying to flow up. I was planning on running my passenger side cooling over to the top of the radiator. Comments???