pparaska

Thanks, grumpyvette. Yes, I will be checking the lash after letting it warm up and recording all of the lash settings that are present hot. I have a few hundred miles on the engine since I set them hot (about 500 miles after starting the engine). Stupid to wait that long, I know. After I know what the existing hot lash is for each valve, I will pull the intake and investigate the lifters and bores. If the lifter bores are o.k. and the lifters all are intact with no missing material or rollers, the cam will come out of the engine in-situ, and a replacement will go in. I will have the lifters (Isky Red Zone) rebuilt with Crane's bushing upgrade, and then get a new cam in there. If there's lifter bore damage and/or lifter material/needles missing, the engine will come out for a thorough cleaning. It sounds pretty ominous, and it's the reason the car came from Daytona Beach (Sanford) FL to Lorton VA on the autotrain from the recent Z car convention down there in Daytona. I limped it home from the autotrain station in Lorton and parked it until I can work on it. Thanks for the input on the cams. Why Crane doesn't list the LSA always makes me chuckle, but I know I can add the intake and exhaust centerline numbers and divide that answer by 2 to get the lobe separation. Then Crower leaves out what the advertised duration checking height of the lifter is. Ugh. In looking at the cams you suggested, I see they are hydraulic rollers. Any idea how to gage the overlap numbers calculated from the advertised IVO+EVC events (@ 0.004" tappet lift) against advertised IVO+EVC overlap numbers using a solid cam's 0.015" or 0.020" "advertised" event numbers? It seems that what you would really want is the IVO+EVC events just as lash was taken up to do a comparable overlap calculation using 0.004" IVO+EVC events for the hydraulic. Of course, no one gives you the events at lash takeup. Comp Cams at least lists the advertised (either @0.015" or 0.020") duration numbers, 0.050" durations, and 0.200" durations, if you look in their master lobe catalog. I've used Excel to do a 2nd degree polynomial fit to those 3 data pairs to then calculate the duration at lash take-up. The durations are usually 5-10 degrees more than the durations at 0.015" (advertised) or 11-15 degrees larger than the durations listed for 0.020" (advertised). However, I have no idea if this is the correct thing to do, even if the curve fit was excellent that close to the end of the take-up ramp on the lobe. David Vizard told me: "The overlap estimator was for a hydraulic or the actual seat duration of a flat tappet cam," when I asked how to use his "Overlap Estimator" figure on page 62 of his article "Be a Camshaft Expert," from the July 2006 Popular Hotrodding article that pretty much introduces his "get the LSA right, pick an overlap, and calculate the needed duration" method I spoke of earlier. The article is here: http://www.compcams.com/Community/Articles/Details.asp?ID=-2026144213 So to me, that would mean to calculate the overlap for a solid lifter cam, one should use the IVO+EVC events just as lash is taken up or about to open up, respectively, for those events. It would seem that if you use that estimator for a solid cam using 0.015" advertised or 0.020" advertised duration numbers/events, you will be underestimating the actual seat timing overlap, versus a hydraulic cam, but 5-10 or 11-15 degrees, respectively. Does that logic sound correct? I also realize that the low LSA with a smaller duration lobe resulting from using less overlap will mean that I close the intake valve sooner and I can run into too-high Dynamic Compression Ration (DCR) issues. Indeed, this may be one reason to open up the LSA a degree or two, just to keep out of trouble with detonation on pump gas. Either that or retard the 105 LSA cam 4-6 degrees to get the DCR that a 110 LSA cam would give. I've played with Desktop dyno, using the 112 LSA 274/280 low-lash solid roller from Cam Motion that I already have, at 4 to 6 degrees retarded, and the DCR does lower considerably, as well as boosting the high rpm power significantly. But that's just a simulation program that is known to have some issues. Thanks for listening and adding more to this thread - I'm hoping to make it more in depth with this deep discussion of how to calculate overlap (using lash-take-up duration), and what the effects of overlap on street engines with solid or hydraulic cams will be.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I bought a 92 Eclipse GSX new (just got rid of it - total beater!!!) and recently got a 91 Galant VR-4. My only complaint with that design is the balance shaft belt that breaks easily and falls into the timing belt causing it to jump time and crash the valves. I had that happen to the GSX, and when I got the VR-4 it had just happened to it! The Evo X is coming with a replacement to the 4G63: the aluminum 4B11T: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_GEMA_engines Nice thing is that the timing belt is now a chain! Lighter and more powerful too!

Are we sure that the ads that google sends to hybridZ really from the IP of the user? I don't think so based on my reading. I think it only has to do with the content of the stuff on the hybridZ site. But then again, the photo of girlfriend/wife thread got pretty risque at times, so I can see how the ads would show up based on that alone.

Glenn McCoy, who lurks here and has a Nalle Cobra Daytona bodied V8Z, and I will be coming down to Daytona. We leave Sunday and will end up in Florence SC. We will be coming into Daytona probably mid to late afternoon on Monday. If I get my Z finished, I will also be going to Sebring for the driver school there as well.

That's what I hate about leaving last - no one to rescue me! LOL

Glenn McCoy (Nalle Daytona Cobra replica on Z chassis w/ 383 SBC) and I will be driving down Sunday to SC and stopping overnight, then from there to Daytona Monday. I hope my Z is back on the road by then! Sorry we'll miss you guys as you will be ahead of us. Us old whimps don't want to do the trip from MD to Daytona in one day. Geezers! I know!! LoL

You, sir, are correct, of course. Those pesky thread subscription emails and dealing with some admin issues brought me to the site when I posted that, and then I saw your post from the main forum menu and had to look. I'll bring the wire, connectors, etc. and we can tackle it in the parking lot in Daytona, eh? LOL P.S. The engine is still a shortblock on the stand. Call me a procrastinator! LOL Hopefully I will have it together and installed by Sunday evening.

Oh, like I have a spare hour in the next 2 weeks to do that mod! LOL Thanks for checking it out for us. I need to do it - but then again, I've been driving around with them working incorrectly for years and got used to the comments. LOL

I knew we could wear you down! LOL

Understood - Just remember Mike Knell and company continue to grow this swap and others. Years ago, if you wanted a pinion flange yoke for a 2.0" R200 diff, you had to make one yourself. Now Mike found a supplier. I was glad to see that - and gladly bought one as I had sold mine with the driveshaft and trans... I doubt you'll ever see the JTR guys get rich on this stuff. So think of it as supporting the ongoing V8 swap stuff they do. Cheers,

Well, we've seen people ask for xerox copies of the manual. It's always false economy not to have the right documentation. The other issue is that people that do the swap and buy the manual don't want to sell theirs. So the supply is not so huge anyway . $40 is 2 magazine subscriptions, a few cartons of cigarettes, a few cases of beer, maybe one fillup of the tank here in the US.

I had a TR3550 Tremec 5spd (a "weak" version of the TKO, TKO500, TKO600 that they put in the Cobra R Mushtangs in the mid 90s) in my V8 Z. I never liked the shifting feel of it. But I had a short shifter lever on it with a Pro 5.0 shifter. I sold the setup to Glenn McCoy, who put it in his V8 Z, and the longer shifter lever made a huge difference in the shift feel. Another thing I didn't like about TR3550 5spd was the 3.27 first gear. But you can get the TKO600 with a taller 1st. I now have a GM WC T-5 with G-Force 9310 gears and shaft in it. I look forward to a nice smooth shifting tranny that can handle the torque, that's light, and has a nicer gear ratio set. The thing is sitting in the tunnel as I write this, propped up waiting for me to finish the engine and install it - only a few weeks from the ZCCA convention trip!!!! LOL I work best under pressure! The only way I'd go for an automatic in a Z is if it was set up for competitive drag racing. Just my opinion.

I'll echo what BRAAP said, and I'll add this - if you're too cheap to spend $40 on that book, then you'll be too cheap to do this swap in anything close to the "right" way as well. I'd reconsider your thoughts or just throw in the towel right now. Think what a trip to the parts store will cost in the last hours of the swap - My bet is that you'll spend way more than $40. And if you buy the JTR book, you'll find many ways to SAVE multiple times that $40 dollars.

I LOVE the sounds of those engines!!!!!

Thanks, Jeff. Somebody PM'd me and nicely said I'd forgotten to, uh, PUT IN THE LINK!!! LOL http://videos.streetfire.net/video/9c8dbd72-80cc-4c61-b961-999f00ebd358.htm

I love this commercial. Make sure your speakers are on and turn them up! (oops - edit - here's the link! LOL) http://videos.streetfire.net/video/9c8dbd72-80cc-4c61-b961-999f00ebd358.htm

Back in 1979, I was a senior in high school. A friend, who had a 68 GT500 Shelby fastback (428 Cobra Jet, automatic, white with blue stripes) told me of his friend that owned a hair salon. I needed a cut and the place I usually went for a cut of my near shoulder length hair went out of business. The friend with the Shelby told me the guy was cool, a car guy, and if I was lucky I might see the owners smoking hot Venezuelan wife there that would make the trip all worth it (it WAS!) She had to be the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen and few women compare to her to this day. Ooops I got sidetracked didn't I! LOL Anyway, the salon owner cut my hair as we discussed the car that he had, right out in the parking space outside the big full glass wall to the place. It was a white 280Z. He was telling me it was turbocharged, etc. etc. At the time I was driving a 70-1/2 Camaro with a 327 I had built the summer before. It was fun but I walked to the beat of a different drummer - the car had wide Corvette rally wheels and wide tires all the way around and was lowered for better handling. I was into handling when my buds were putting more air in their Hi-jackers to make the rear end come way off the ground to try to look like a funny car. Don't get me started! So the Z was pretty entertaining. He let me drive it and the car was tight and the turbo gave it a decent amount of power that made it all very interesting.... The October 1980 HotRod Magazine arrived in the mail not long after that. There was an article about a Dentist's Bright Porsche Red Datsun Z with a turbo 327 conversion done by Scarab. The car had all Scarab stuff, etc. - Jim McNamar's car reminds me of it... I was HOOKED. A sexy looking car with hotrod power that handled too! What else would a teen-aged guy want!? (well, besides a hot girl friend, which I had already). I ordered the Scarab catalog and got all of the literature. And then decided that it would have to wait - it all cost so much, even the kit! For a high schooler anyway... I totaled the Camaro in the summer of 1980 (the 327 engine and Turbo 400 trans were still good though!). I bought a beater 6cyl 1968 Chevy II/Nova and drove it for a year or so. But I remembered that Z in the mag. I dropped the 327 into it and found out what a NON-handling car that setup was. My grandmother died and left me a few thousand bucks. I called up the hair-salon owner to help me find a decent 240Z. I found my Z - a 1973 240Z in 110 orange/red. All stock except 72 SUs. Drove it through much of college, until it became really unreliable (electrical system, rust was really bad, engine had a head gasket leak). It sat for years and a college buddy that had a 240Z convinced me to get it back on the road. I drove it for another 7 or 8 years and took it off the road for rust repair in the engine compartment. Then the plan started taking shape - way back in 1993 or so. The 327 was built for it and I started the frame rail replacement and subframe connector fabrication. 11 years after starting the project, it hit the road. It's been a fun ride! And I finally got that "Scarab" Z I dreamed of. Well, my version anyway!

Wouldn't it be funny if Dan made that change!

I measured a static 35amps on high with my Mustang GT fan (I think the motor is the same as the Taurus fan). On start up, it has a transient that goes quite high - over 70 amps that I could read with a typical mechanical movement meter. I never got geeky enough to hook my oscilloscope up to see what the trace was . Good point on the alternator thing. I'm running a CSI 130 GM alternator and I burned one up in 12K miles of use. I will be looking into a better option and will look at those Police Package Alternators.

BTW, I disagree with the graphic in the post above- that is from Comp Cams and I think that if you read about pushrod length (even threads here) that the numbers are all screwed up in that diagram. The roller should touch the valve tip at (1) at both base circle (zero lift) and at max lift, and should touch at the farthest extent (3) when at MID lift. (2) is seen 4 times per opening/closing cycle, usually near lift 1/4 lift and 3/4 lift. What they show is for a too-short pushrod, and the sweep across the valve and the side loads on the valve guide will be higher than optimal. Of course, I'm willing to listen to other points of view.

I also have a tight lash solid roller cam from Cam Motion. The motion is actually quite intense, as far as 0.020" to 0.050" and 0.200" durations, i.e. mechanical intensity. The lash ramps are gradual though. I've gotten good feedback from people on Cam Motion cams - that they spec a very good grind for you, then go into their shop and grind it on the blank of your choice, even one with a pressed on cast iron gear for distributor gear longevity. I personally don't like squishy valvetrain parts and I don't mind at all lashing the valves a few times a year, if that. And the noise is not really objectionable - in fact I enjoy it . BTW, Cam Motion does sell springs from many manufacturers and they are knowledgeable about what springs to spec for their cams. Comp has been slowly increasing the breadth of their beehive spring selection, but not to the point they have anything for my spec yet. I'm using a fairly stiff setup for street, about like Michael's specs. And yes, I have a spring tester to be able to test them off the head periodically. I'd like to get an on-the-head tester too. But if you buy a cam from one of the manufacturers, realize that many of the big name brands test their cams with a Spintron machine and dyno and really investigate the dynamics. They will have a good idea what springs will work but aren't any stiffer than needed.

Since it's the same exact block mounting as the 327, 350, 400, Gen I Small block chevy, bolting in a 283 is what is covered in many of the threads here and int the JagsThatRun.com swap manual. So all your searches for Gen I SBC swap info here will apply to the 283 swap. Good luck and have fun!

I'm using the small 153 tooth flywheel blow proof bellhousing from Sonic/Tilton: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=99928 It mounts the T-5 "straight up", not at the 15 or 17 degrees tilt that the OE F-body T-5 aluminum bellhousing does. Yes, you then have to create a tilted mount for the rear of the trans for the rear isolator mount, but I think it's a good option, especially if you want the safety of the blow-proof one. Note that it's not SFI rated like the Lakewood ones.

You'll have a lot more issues with the sender getting uncovered (being dry, in an air pocket) and giving false readings if it's in the intake manifold. Due to this, I paid Canfield and extra $25 for them to do the CNC programming to put temp sensor holes in my heads. With these cars the radiator opening is generally not the highest point in the system and requires you to do what Glenn McCoy told me is common for the old Fiats: Jack the front of the car up until the radiator opening is the highest point in the system. Start the car and get it warmed up. Rev to about 2000 rpm to clear the air out of the system and keep adding water. Don't some cars come with an air-break type bleeder that is in the thermostat housing or something that constantly bleeds out the air? Anyone know of such a part?