Bartman

Everything arrived from Vintage Air last night, and so far I'm very impressed. The items were packaged well and looked to be of high quality. I really like the upgraded control panel, it looks better in person than it does in the pictures. I think the polished dryer and bulkhead plate are nice additions as well. I started removing the dash last night and I hope to have the evaporator mocked up in a couple of days. Removing the old ventilation system, makes me really happy I'm getting rid of those old cables and levers and getting servo motor control technology. If anyone needs any specific pictures or measurements of the new equipment just let me know, otherwise I'll just post pic's after I start getting things installed.

I don't understand a 4 banger turning a Z into a mid-engine car. I think my LT1 V8 sits as far back as a 4 banger would. Is my car mid-engine too?

Oh no, this could get ugly...fast.

I guess it's just the "while I'm at it" curse. I was just thinking the other day that I painted that engine bay a year ago now, and I still haven't even started the exterior.

I think this post is actually a review of an R200 not an R230 (at the time it was thought the Q45 diff was an R230). Maybe the title could be changed to prevent some of the confusion?

What specific US paint is the same as the Tremclad paint he used? I know its from Rustoleum, but maybe the specific formulation of Tremclad isn't allowed in the US (EPA or ?). Do you think it would only work well with this specific paint? I would think your options for colors would be very limited.

In your first post you talked about the exhaust scraping. If that's what you want to fix, I would change your exhaust. The ride height is a personal preference, if you think you would like the look of it being a little higher than get coilovers and a taller tire.

Here's a pic of how John Coffey routed my 2.5" exhaust around the diff: Looking closer at your pic, something like this probably wouldn't be an option unless you changed your fuel tank.

I think the best way to get the ride height you want is to go with adjustable coilovers. It's something that you'll probably want to play around with until you get it just the way you like it. If you raise the car about an inch with the wheels and tires you have now, the space between the top of the tires and the bottom of the fenderwell might not look that nice. I think that you're exhaust looks a little too low. Maybe you could leave the ride height as it is now and get your exhaust tucked up a little higher?

A Q45 is a car model, specifically the Q45 Infinity. You'll find a few threads talking about what diff actually came in these cars, but most people now agree that they come with an R200 VLSD (viscous limited slip differential).

Take a look at this thread http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=101463

Based on the advice from VA and the fact that fastzcars uses a mini with "more than enough air for his car", I fiigured there's no reason to go with the larger Compac. I may remove my dash this weekend for my install so I can take pictures and measurements. I don't know when my parts wil arrive, but I'll be sure to provide an update when I get everything and start placing the evaporator. I think the stock blower motor unit sat down too far below the dash, so I the new evaporator with heat/cool/defrost will actually clean up the interior as well as provide superior performance. I think the penalty will be a loss of most of the glovebox.

I asked the same question in the Vintage Air thread I started a couple of months ago: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=105929

Here's a thread where MikeJTR talks about what he recommends for installing a T56 in a Z. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=94584

If you haven't seen it, betaMotorsports has a cowl induction hood with a 4" rise. http://www.betamotorsports.com/products/

The complete system would be a better choice, but I don't know if $4000 is a good deal. Can you hear it run, or does it come with any type of warranty? If you get a Corvette motor, the swap will be more difficult and JTR recommends sticking with non-Corvette motors. If you don't have the JTR book, get a copy and study where it talks about the differences in Corvette motors so you can make a more informed decision. Even if the motor does have a warranty, you may have to do a pretty quick swap to take advantage of it. Just things to think about.

Yes LT1's are reverse flow, cooling the heads first...but I think your description is backwards.Here's a good link that talks about the LT1 : http://www.theherd.com/articles/lt1_cool.html "All of this means that the thermostat housing is the INLET (opposite of most engines), while the water pump is the OUTLET. The water pump (outlet) on the engine runs to the top left (inlet) of the radiator. The lower right (outlet) of the radiator runs to the thermostat housing (inlet) on the engine."

I bet your neighbors are really happy! Great milestone and keep it up. P.S. - I didn't know we could upload videos here.

Who cares what we all think...get what you want. From my perspective, a V8 swap can be easier and cheaper than modifying an L6 (of course it all depends on what engine you actually choose, what you include, and how stock you keep everything else). How many threads are there with people that have highly modified L6's that have one problem after another? I think the V8 has just as high, if not higher wow factor than a highly modified L6. It all depends on who's doing the looking. My car still looks like crap, but when I take it to car shows the engine more than makes up for it.

PM sent. Vintage Air is very helpful, so I wound up purchasing directly from them. You pay retail prices which are listed on the web site: http://www.vintageair.com/DownloadsSection/Retail%20Pricelists/Retail%20Price%20Sheets%20(Rev%2009-2005).pdf The catalog is available on their web site as well: http://www.vintageair.com/catalog.asp

Here's a thread that talks about the potential gains from Ram Air. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=73396 My system should have the benefit of 'Ram Air' since the opening is in a high pressure area; but the actual performance gains could be very small if any.

From the factory these ram air systems advertised to add around 15 hp. I don't know what I may have gained, but the previous system was pretty good already. I do think this system is more efficient than the previous system (less turns, more direct, better flow for radiator, etc.). I did this change for several reasons, mainly to clean up the air flow, make more room for the AC system, and finally to put my unique stamp on the engine. There are many options, but this is the one I chose to use for my install; and I like it. I've also wanted to do something that from as far as I know...hasn't been done before. If others choose to do this or something similar that's still cool, I still feel good that I came up with this idea and it works well on my application. To know if I really gained any performance advantage I would've had to have done extensive testing before and after that I didn't do...but as part of this change I also added a compressor. BTW - I drove it around last night...and it felt like I added around 50 hp to the rear wheels.

I finished welding in my additional radiator support and installed the closed cell foam I bought. Here's a pic with the foam that will seal on the hood: There's only about an inch between the top and the filter at the front (both sides aren't the same because the engine is offset to the passenger's side). I'm thinking this will still be plenty big enough, especially since it is a high pressure area. Does anyone think I need to somehow improve the air flow? I'm thinking of not doing any scoop whatsoever. Here's a pic of the system installed: It seals up great with the hood, and all in all I'm very happy with the new setup.