Dan Juday

Welcome Reese. Yes, you have come to the right place. We have people here who have done, and are doing that swap. Utilize the search function and you should find a wealth of info. In the threads you find you should also find links to personal pages that can give you even more info. As a foundation, all here will encourage you to buy the JTR book. Though it is a manual to convert the '70-'78 Z, much of it will help tremendously with your swap. The $35 you spend will quickly be recouped by avoiding common mistakes. To answer your question, yes, it is a very viable swap. And yes, emissions can be overcome. But be prepared, almost every first time swap takes twice as long as you figure it should, and costs twice as much as you budgeted. So dive in and read, read, read! Ask all the questions you can think of (after you have read all the search results). Note to the moderators: maybe you should consider a ZX/V8 forum?

I seriously doubt it adds any strength to the chassis. I took one look at mine and wipped out the sawzall! Besides, if you are installing a fuel cell you will likely need to weld in some brackets to mount it with. Just about any bracket welded in should increase the strength of body back there. But talk to some other guys here who have done it too. Mike Kelly and Terry Oxendale come to mind.

Pics of my rear bracing are up now if you want to take a look. http://members.home.net/zcarphotos/djproj_psweb1/pages/fbs01r15f21.htm

I disagree and agree with Davy, ah, in that order. I think $600 sounds a little spendy for a single. I'm paying less than that for duals, and it is a very pro job. But I'm with ya on the side pipes. Even though I'm going a different route, I think they look great on a Z. Some cars, with the right proportions, just lend themselves to side pipes. Worst thing Dodge did,IMHO, was pull them off the Viper.

I bought the JTR kit. Lazy won out over cheap on that one. Still, I thought it was a very good value for $325.

Hold on Justin. Don't give up on FI so easily. I have a solution for you. I bought a sump from Jeggs, part# 550-40757, $49.99 and welded to the bottom of my tank. I did not cut out the bottom of the tank to match the sump. Like the instructions with the sump said. Instead, I drilled two 1" dia. holes only. The bottom of the tank acts like a baffle, the sump like a purge tank. It works, it's cheap, it's easy. Meets all three of my criteria. Also, I have pictures, http://members.home.net/zcarphotos/djproj_psweb1/pages/fbs01r16f04.htm Right, it's not a Zcar tank. But it's in a Zcar now! Use the back and forth arrows, it'll make sense.

Thanks Dave, I'll print them out and give the to my muffler guy. Looks like I'll have to wait another day . Dumb muffler guy up and got busy. And I was stupid enough to tell him to take his time .

Got two things working against you. (1) You live in CA, and (2) your car is newer than '73. So, you will have to make it smog legal to register it. After you have cheeped on the conversion you will then spend too much money to satisfy the smog police. In the end I doubt you will keep the cost under 2k, and you will probably not be satisfied with the results. Sorry, don't want to burst your bubble. Just trying to be honest with you.

Hadn't heard about the crayons before. I imagine that with tubular headers, as opposed to cast iron manifolds, the temperature varies more, i.e. less mass to hold the heat. I seem to remember, correct me if I'm wrong Scott, the O2 was located very near the #7 port. I left the manifolds with the yard when I came to pick up the motor, so I could be off. I'll check my TBI/TPI book for pictures. Good point about serviceability Ross. Hope my piper is thinking about that now .

Scott, what school do you teach at in Lodi? I have a friend that teaches in Lodi.

Welcome Scott. (Oh no, not another Scott!) Just kidding. I never thought about the air pump screwing up the O2 readings. I have almost finished dropping a 305tpi in my '73 240. It was out of a '91 Trans Am. Mine is bone stock. It is in the muffler shop as I write this. Should get it back tomarrow. I used Flowtech, ceramic coated blockhuggers. They fit pretty well. A little close to some of the plugs. And very close to the water temp sensors in each head. Because of the coating, my O2 is going into the head pipe as close as posible to the flange. The best tech at the Chevy dealership in town said if can't put it in the header, put it as close as posible to keep it hot.

Hey Joe, I'm just over the river from you in Rio Vista. In California if your car is a '73 or older no smog inspection is required. This was a big factor in my choice when I went looking for a doner car. Once you start modifing the car you won't want to stop. And you wont want to be hampered with bi-annual inspections. If you decide you must have a newer car read and re-read the the section in the JTR book on this. I have owned a business here in California and have had extensive experiance with the state and local governments. I know that if I had to deal with them much over this I would lose interrest in the project and never finish.

I can't get that picture to come up. But I've done some mods back there. Mine is still in process, but I will be smoothing out the rear valance and removing the bumper. I cut out the rear floor and welded in braces and supports for the tank and battery. I'm hoping in a rear-ender the supports will give some extra protection for me and the fuel tank. When Eric's Zparts is back up you can see some pics.

Wait a minute. Didn't we have a thread a few months back about out of control exhaust systems? Running it over the roof ala Land Rover roll cage, or through the the firewall as a supplimentary heater? We have to be carefull what we say on this board. It looks like someone may be taking us seriously!

Scottie, I listened to Jack, 66coupe. I paid about $120 from Napa. It's very quiet. It puts out about 45psi. It was made to run an EFI 351. It does NOT need a "pusher" pump. That is a bunch of baloni. Ford uses a surg tank in that van in the same way it is described in the JTR manual. A sump does the same thing as a surg tank. Mine is mounted beside the tank, above the sump, and it happily sucks up the fuel. When I fired it off for the first time it self primed with only about a quart of fuel in the tank. You will need to buy adapters (Earl's and XRP make them) to connect AN -6. If you want more info let me know and I'll get you part numbers. Thanks again Jack.

Thanks John, I'm printing this thread and putting it in my archive folder for the car. Right now the clutch is working great. But thanks to you I'm prepared for the future if the plastic gives out.

Ya John, where is this mysterious aluminum slave? T5 and T56 owners want to know. Give us part#'s, phone#'s, URL's.

Eh, not my cup of tea. But I'm an old guy. Reminds me of some cheap Cragers and a can of spray paint. Must be a mockup though. Otherwise the back spacing would be, what, about a foot and a half?

Hey guys, Just had to tell ya'll. Got the 7/8 master installed today and it worked, just like you said! I bolted in a seat and drove it for the very first time. Uh, just up and down the driveway and back into the garage . Still no exhaust system on it. Boy, is that loud. Still, I think I did it about six times. The kids rode too. Scared them to death. Goes in Monday for pipes, on a trailer. But I'm going to drive it home! Who needs doors, fenders, a registration? Thanks again to the two Mikes.

A solid axle will twist with torque lifting one wheel and mashing the other to the ground. One gets good bite, the other spins. In your Z car the IRS stops all that at the u-joints. Even weight on each tire means even length scratch marks. Ah, is that essence of Goodyear I smell?

John Washington sells a kit with tops. http://www.reactionresearch.com/zspyder.html

Thanks Mike D. & Mike G. I'll order an 7/8 in the morning. Guess the muffler man will have to wait.

Sorry Pete, I'm using the the plastic Camaro slave modififed per JTR. Does that still apply.

Also, John Washington sells those lights for his Velo Rossa (250 GTO). http://www.reactionresearch.com/automotive.html

Mike, just for clarity. Are you saying the MC BORE is too small, and I need a bigger MC? Or, are you saying I need more stoke on the MC I have? Must be the first, right?