pparaska

Jamie, here ya go : HELL YEAH! I understand fully. I'd never try that as I like things to be easy (SBC, etc.). But I fully understand what you mean about a legal import drag setup. To have a Nissan engine in the car, it would get alot more respect from both the spectators (not that I really care about that) and the "officials" making the rules as to what can run in what class. I wonder if there's something going on in Japan with that motor in the aftermarket - maybe that forged steel mongo crank already exists?

As far as I'm concerned, it's water under the bridge, bud. Don't sweat it! No grief here.

Hehehehe. Ah, someone who's never driven a carbed car - I bet there are a bunch of those! That's cool. Yeah, when the car's engine is not warmed up, you should be pulling the choke lever back (choke closed) and pump the gas 1 or two times. Then with the foot off the gas, crank her over. Should start fairly quickly, if it's tuned correctly and that choke is working properly. If you smell gas after cranking and it won't start, you might have flooded the engine. Easy, just put the pedal to the floor, push the choke lever forward (choke now open) and crank. This will clear it out and it'll start after a few cranks. Get ready to take your foot off the gas pedal though. You're running problems when cold should go away if you start it with the choke on (closed). Leave the choke on until the temp gage registers something like 150 degrees, then turn it off. Maybe shut it part way as it warms up too. Hope that helps. Glad this old geezer's knowledge about the old stuff isn't totally useless to the younger generation . [ August 07, 2001: Message edited by: pparaska ]

I like ANYTHING with lots of cubes - unless it's real heavy. Which is the only down side (besides the price) that I see with the Hemi - if handling is an issue. But if it was for drag racing, I say go for it!

Me too Drax. I put stainless bolts in when I replaced a headlight years ago.

Dan, being another small-displacement V8-er, I have done a bit of research on this. WIth a 283, and notably, the 3 inch stroke, too much runner volume will hurt the carb venturi signal - if you use a carb. I think the E-tec 170 would be a great head for the 283, if even a bit large. It flows even better than the vortec, but the 170 cc port will NOT be restrictive under 8 or 9000 rpm . Actually, the 170 etec is a great head for a street 350 or 327. Supposedly Car Craft has an article this month on the Etec 170 and 200 heads, on a 350. It supposedly (I need to get that mag) ran better on the dyno with the 170. A 195 or 200 cc head is almost too big for most 350s, from what I've read. I agree with your assessment of it giving you a soggy bottom end on a 283! The 462 has 160cc intake ports. It'd be a good head for the 283 also. But the Etec 170 would be my choice between the two. Lighter, excellent flow and chamber design, plus allow a bit more compression (due to the AL and the swirl). Well, that's the way I see it. But I'm willing to learn more - I look forward to more posts on this one!

Silly little question. What do you guys think of this: below the front side marker light on my dark blue Z? There will be no other shiny chrome, stainless or aluminum on the car besides the wheels: so I'm wondering what you guys think. I COULD paint them semi-gloss black or blue like the car, but I'm leaning towards leaving them chrome (just got them new from ebay).

As Mike said above, we are not here to hammer people either. This place is all about having a comfortable atmosphere and talking cool tech stuff about Z cars - engine swaps, suspension, brake, body mods, etc. Just watch, radtad will soon be seen one of our frequent, highly valuable members and this little hickup will be something to laugh at later. Best Regards, Pete BTW, I noticed I'm well on the way to 2400 posts - that's something like 5 a day since inception of HybridZ.org, I think . I wander what the signal to noise ration is...

Looks suspiciously like the 78ish Z28 Camaro fender vent.

Firebern, you're talking about something like the subframe connectors I made and put in my car. Check out the "Structural Mods" page on my site, if interested. Some like and some hate the solid mount. Too noisy for me.

Big old distributor cap, like 5"+ in diameter. Here's a shot of the top of my distributor cap (big picture, so here's a URL): http://members.home.net/pparaska/image/recentpics/1999July18/hoodlatchdistribv.jpg

Can't remember your setup - if it's an HEI, replace the cap and rotor, check the wires (with an ohm meter is best) to see if any are high resistance - should be no more than 100 ohms, I'd think - some are much lower than this. If the plugs are old or rounded center electrode, replace those too. Past that, it could be the stock HEI module in the distributor is breaking down - they were noted for falling down at high RPM. Get a Summit or Jegs catalog and pick a module and matched coil for the thing. And make sure you have a good sized wire going to the coil. I used the stock wiring to activate a relay on the firewall, and ran a #12 wire from the battery (fused) to the relay contacts, and then from the relay to the HEI power connector. This can get expensive. If you can get someone to put the car on a scope, they might be able to find the plug wire that might be bad, etc. But that's not cheap either. At the very least, I'd try the plugs, cap, rotor first, then maybe wires if you find one bad. The carb shouldn't care what gear you're in. Sounds like it's o.k. Might need some tweaking (different jets, power valve, etc.) But it probably is not your problem now.

Buy some good stands - probably $40 - not the stamped steel ones. Get a Propane bottle (~3.5"x10") and a Bernzomatic nozzle. Maybe $30? No need for an acetylene torc for this project - they're pricey too.

It'll involve getting access to a MIG welder and some 18 gage steel sheet, but it's not that bad. I made floor boards and subframe connectors - first metal work I ever did. Check out the "structural mods" part of my site for some ideas. Shoot those pics across and we'll try to help.

Look on the left frame of the main http://www.hybridz.org page. You'll find the chat room there near the top. Tonight is the scheduled chat session. I've used it a bunch lately to talk with ParaGod.

Dude, how fast are you going in 5th at 7000 rpm? Probably 140, right? WOW, kind of hard to believe it's actually turning 7000 rpm in 5th - the drag on the car is enough to overpower the engine in 5th (.68, I'd think). Anyway, a stock 350 may well top out at 5500 (in lower gears) for many reasons, probably mostly the valve springs can't close the valves fast enough and you're getting valve float. Next would be bad ignition (which you've mentioned - get that fixed first), fuel delivery problems, and low compression or a cam that just won't breathe well up there.

jeromio, I think all you REALLY need to replace is the seal when you pull the stubs. But for a high powered Z, I think it's a good idea to do new bearings too. While your at it, having the stub shot peened and magnafluxed is a good idea too (while the shop presses a new outer bearing on). If they are 240 stubs, and you will be putting lots of torque through it and hav sticky tires and possible wheel hop, an upgrade to 280Z stubs is also in order. Talk about a snowball! Started out just putting studs in, turned into different axles, new bearings, etc.! But if you are going to be hard on the car with sticky tires and a bunch of torque, it might be cheaper than fixing the damage to car and body that a snapped stub might bring!

quote: Originally posted by radtad: good i dont want to discuss the merits of the miata or probe. This isn't the forum for it anyway. That might be a topic for the "I'm tellin ya" forum, but since it's not about an encounter with another car with a HybridZ, some might say it doesn't fit there either. quote Nope. It just didn't fit. This particular forum is for the open minded discussion of Chevy V8 Z conversions. This site really isn't intended for the outright bashing of a particular type of car, although we do have other threads that will gravitate into those types of discussions now and again (SUVs have sprouted from a nother thread lately.) Sure, we all have our likes and dislikes. And even though we may not choose to mod a particular type of car that others think is the best thing since sliced bread, we try to realize everyone's taste is different. Heck, the V8Z used to be one of those black sheep, but it's gaining recognition as a valid project by more and more Z people (except for the true avid purists).

I doubt it would hold up long to that kind of torque. It's 10 spline.

Dan, the friction in the strut cartridges are going to play havok with this method. Plus it's difficult to measure the actual lever arms that the springs work at, and hence the wheel rate vs the spring rate. Some blown out struts could help MEASURE the wheel rate, I'd think.

I've seen Ross C say that the Hot cam is nice but not the best way to go. Ross?

1991327ZX (Joe), Welcome! Great to have you here. Scarp (Stan) is working on this swap, so that's two of you now here that we know of. Got any pics or documentation on how this swap is going? Cheers, Pete

Yes, I think the OD is .75 or .82 or something. I can dig the ratios up if you like.

Sorry, that thread had NO redeeming value and really ran counter to the spirit of this site. Contact me off line if you feel differently.

Tim, sounds like a blast! Please document it! Maybe offer a kit? Two small turbos on a 350 would be awesome. A custom crosmember might help the exhaust routing?