Bartman

It seems like it would be a better idea to put it in the upper hose or the heater return hose so that it doesn't heat the water before it enters the engine. More info from JTR: LT1 Steam Vent Tee The LT1 engines use a reverse flow cooling system, and the rear of the cylinder heads have vent tubes to purge any steam pockets that form during engine operation. Without the vent tube, steam pockets would form, and the cylinder heads would get localized hot spots that could damage the cylinder heads. The reason to install the vent tube into the upper radiator hose is so that you don’t need a radiator with a special fitting for the vent tube. The tee that is typically used for an LT1 engine is the 1.25" x .38" tee, which is installed in the upper radiator hose. http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_TPI-TBI_Brass-Tees.html It would also seem to be a good idea to install some sort of manual valve at this location to allow any air trapped in the system to be bled off.

Here's some information regrading the steam vent Steam Vents: The LT1 has strategically placed steam vents at the back of both cylinder heads. Since the heads are the hottest part of the engine, pockets of steam can be more easily generated there. The steam vents are connected together by a crossover vent tube at the back of the heads, which directs any steam and a small flow of coolant to the front of the engine where it flows through the throttle body, warming it for improved cold weather performance. After passing through the throttle body, most of the steam is condensed back into liquid coolant and returned to the system. In LT1 B/D-cars, coolant exiting the throttle body is passed directly into a pressurized coolant reservoir where any air remaining in the coolant is completely scavenged. In LT1 F-cars, coolant from the throttle body connects to the heater outlet via a vented "tee" connector, where any trapped air in the system can be bled off manually. Eliminating steam pockets and foam in the coolant allows for more uniform cooling system performance, preventing hot spots and potential overheating. I got this information from this link: http://www.theherd.com/articles/lt1_cool.html Based on this information I think the steam vent should be moved and maybe the heater outlet would be the best candidate for those of us running heat.

You may be correct. Here's a diagram from shbox.com that appears to show the steam fitting in the top hose.http://shbox.com/1/93-94_hoses.jpg p/n 10256244 looks like the lower hose without the T-fitting and p/n 10197675 looks like the top hose with the T-fitting. My engine looks a little different now, but it still using the same hose setup. Maybe I should change mine?

Search for "LT1 low mount alternator" and you will find a bunch of discussion regarding this issue. Many people have wanted to do this and it appears that no one was able to make it happen.

There has been quite a bit of discussion regarding tire widths for rims with 7" advertised width. I'm run 225/45-17 on my 17x7 rims and I believe they are the widest recommended tire for a 7" wide rim. Although that's the widest recommended tire there's been some testing that suggests you can actually get better traction going with a narrower tire such as 215. These threads discuss 17" rims, but I think the data would be similar for 16" rims. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=112952 - expecially post #2 http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=113577

Sounds good and it looks like you figured out a solution to prevent ground clearance problems. It looks like you removed a piece from your front framerails. Did you install any additional structure to compensate for that? Now you just need to watch your legs when you get in and out of the car to make sure you don't get burnt.

I just installed the same spoiler on my 240Z and it looks great. MSA just changed vendors on this item and it took over a month to get mine. Hopefully they will have them in stock now, or can get them a little quicker. The price has gone up, but they still gave me the price listed on the web site.

The Taurus fan is definitely the most bang for the buck; and is probably the best solution regardless of the cost. There isn't a problem using your PCM or trinary switch on your Vintage Air to engage the fan, just make sure to use these signals to power your relays. You'll want to use two relays to handle the load, especially when it first starts up. Regardless of what fan you decide on, you should still use a relay instead of powering the fan directly.

Your car looks great, but I notice that in your pic's the paint looks darker on the rear part of the fender and the front part of the door. Does it look that way in person, and if so why?

I don't have any pictures, but I installed an Optima Red behind the passenger seat. Part of the battery is in the stow away compartment and part extends out into the area behind the seat (the battery is too big to fit completely in the stow away compartment, and I wanted to still allow the passenger seat to go all the way back). Obviously I had to do some cutting to make this work as well as build an aluminum cover for the part that extends into the passenger area. It took some work, but I'm happy with the results. For access to the terminals, all I have to do is open the stow away compartment lid.

Mine got here today, and I'm really impressed with the quality: I was planning on taking it apart and painting it...but it looks too nice to mess with.

Yes, I only used the shoulder piece of the 260Z/280Z seat belt and bolted it back onto the 240Z lap belt. I just used my Dremmel to slice the rivet in half and then used a nut and bolt in place of it. The 240Z lap belt already has a hole that was used to connect the non-retracting shoulder belt. I don't remember the size of the bolt, but I got the largest that would fit without binding. I used lock-tite to help ensure that the nut would nut come loose on it's own. If you don't trust using a nut and bolt you could always have them riveted together just like the original. You could also drill the nut and bolt and keep them together with a cotter pin.

I'm running a 160 degree stat and have my fan's reprogrammed to turn on at lower temperatures. I can't say my problems have anything to do with the radiator at this point, but Jason's comments definitely caught my eye. Do you guys think that all else being equal that the JTR radiator would be comparable to the Summit aluminum unit? I have AC and live in a pretty hot area (well over 100 degree's in the Summer), so I want the most bang for the buck. I'm not in a hurry to buy another radiator, so unless there's a compelling reason I don't plan on doing this anytime soon. That being said, If the Summit can run really run 15 degree's cooler than I would consider that to be compelling.

260Z or early 280Z belts do fit and it's been working fine for me.http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=102085

Fair enough and yes I'm just talking about running hotter than I like. I haven't given up yet, but I may try switching radiators in the future. What's compelling to me is that gretchen/jason had a problem and it seemed to be resolved when he switched from the JTR radiator to the aluminum Summit one (changed electric fans as well); then later on he had a hole in the Summit radiator and temporarily switched back to the JTR one and the problem returned. I didn't make a connection to my problem and the radiator until I read this; and now I'm wondering. Anyone in the market for a radiator should give this some serious thought. To the original post, the JTR manual states "the genuine Chevrolet base radiator for the 1984-1986 Camaro" is the junkyard model to look for. Here's the link for the entire cooling chapter from the JTR book: http://www.jagsthatrun.com/V8-chapters/V8-DatsunZ-Cooling-System.pdf

The pieces below the headlight buckets are the valance (I believe it's comprised of three pieces), and for most front air dams they are removed...but not all of them. It looks like the one from eBay requires the valance to be removed. It appears that it has the mounting tabs that allow it to be bolted to the bottom of the fenders. I believe the piece that you refer to as the valance in your post is actually the cowl.

I plugged my #3 similar to the way Mike described. I removed the fitting and filled the hole with a rubber expandable freeze plug that I got from Pep Boys. The rubber plug is sandwiched between metal plates with a metal stud that goes from the back plate through the front one. When you tighten the nut onto the stud the rubber plug expands to ensure a good leak free seal. Just another option for you to think about, I know that threading the opening and installing a threaded plug would probably be the best solution.

My install is somewhat unique in that I have tilted my radiator back in order to install a custom Ram Air system over the top of my radiator. I'm also running AC which makes it significantly harder to keep cool. Before I upgraded my engine I was running the same cooling setup except now I switched to an electric water pump and upgraded the stock Camaro radiator to a new JTR radiator. I know there are many people using the JTR radiator, including myself. but it sounds like we have good emperical evidence from gretchen/jason that shows the aluminum radiator from Summit runs cooler than the same setup using the JTR radiator. I have no reason to bias the results, and I don't think gretchen/jason has any reason to do so either. I just want my cooling system to provide me with the best possible results within reasonable cost restraints. If switching to a Summit aluminum radiator will allow me to run 15 - 20 degrees cooler, then I'm willing to make that change. The cost seems pretty reasonable at $169.95.

Interesting information on the JTR radiator. My engine is an LT1 and it seems to run about 20 degree's hotter since I switched to the JTR radiator from the stock 84-86 Camaro radiator. I never even considered that it could be from the radiator so I've been trying to figure out anything else that could make it run hotter. I've already switched electric fans thinking that might be the problem without any noticeable difference. What's really stumped me is that it runs cooler when it's stopped or at low speeds than when it's running at highway speeds. Now I'm wondering if I should switch radiators again.

Paint looks great, and the ghost flames are a nice touch. I'm curious to find out about the grille, as I like the way it looks.

I think the JTR book recommends the 1984-1986 4-cylinder Camaro radiator. I was running the Camaro radiator, and when I upgraded my engine I went ahead and upgraded to the JTR radiator. Now it actually runs hotter than it did before. I was thinking there must be some other problem, but you think the problem could be specific to running the JTR radiator?

I wouldn't remove any of the body trim unless you're going to repaint your car. For the same reason I wouldn't remove the rear bumper either. Once your ready to paint then you can think about those types of modifications. The way it sits right now I think lowering the car would help as well as doing something with the front end. The front end doesn't look finished without a bumper. I would suggest getting an early 240Z bumper or somehow filling in where the bumper used to be. It compounds the problem when you have to run a front license plate, and you don't have a good place to put it. Maybe getting the fiberglass front bumper like what MSA sells would work for you.