DavyZ

Welcome to the forum! Sounds like you have a good plan and all the motors you need! If you have not purchased the JTR manual yet, I would encourage you to do so since it has some very helpful information in it and can help you with any swap you decide to do. Good luck! Davy

Zya, Auxilary and I enjoyed talking with your dad for a while and we appreciated his generosity and the heads-up you posted. 305 we DID NOT take due to lack of bodybuilding on our part... Also, we would have very much liked to see your car as well since your dad was impressed by it--after seeing his, we can only imagine... Guys & Gals, We had a great time meeting up with Arnold, Zya's dad, in Stockton. The drive was definitely worth it as we were rewarded by a tour of his sanitary garage (so clean you can eat off the floor--unlike mine where vermin run) and a photo session of the car. We almost did the "we're not worthy" skit from Wayne's World and almost took off our shoes. The car, even though primered with 14" wheels, is extremely clean and very well detailed. Of note are the professionally fabricated front 'bumperettes' and the ram-air induction system to feed the 385 cubic inch ZZ5 block with fast-burn heads. The plastic inlets on the modified grill are plastic storm drain units from ACE hardware or Home Depot! The engine sports a Demon carb and stunning Sanderson headers. Of course the actual air-filter housing is the popular Canadian built unit available from adds in the car mags; very functional looking I might add. The interior sports a subdued 'stock' theme, but the red trim and custom seat covers set off the interior quite nicely. Some of you may have noticed that the car is in fact a 280Z, and is in great condition--that is, it is now that Arnold is finishing up the car from it's origial 'less than perfect' shape. He even had the hood louvered. I asked how much it costs to have the custom work done, and Arnold told me each louver is $1.50/each! That sounds cheap until you figure out how many louvers there are in that hood... Lots of time, blood, sweat, and beers have gone into making the car a real runner, and it is currently set up for straight-line running, not canyon carving. The car has not yet been to the track, but the automatic tranny combined with the R200 on stock suspension, should catapult the Z down the quarter in style. (I was secretly coveting a ride in the Z, but oh well; maybe next time). After looking the car over, Arnold said "You guys should really see my son's car." Judging by the expression on his face, I think we really missed out by our time-constrained day. We would do it all over again, though Davy

Dude, that is some serious hardware for a pauper's sum. You scored BIGTIME! Very cool! Is there an estimated hp for the combo if you take Grumpy's suggestions???? I'd love to know. Demon Carb, Baby! Davy

Rick, welcome to the board! Since you have not posted this in the drivetrain forum, take this: and this Now to answer your question, the 700R4 is a great tranny for replacing your TH350. A number of guys run it and are happy with the results. I'm not sure how much hp your engine makes, but I would think the 700R4 can handle at least 400hp--but I'm sure the guys who run them can tell you for sure. Davy

I bought the brass fitting from ACE and went to a large machine shop with a photocopy of the JTR diagram--gave it to them and said, "I want that." Cost: $20. Savings in time & aggravation: Priceless. Davy

Owen, The whole assembly might be too big from the Beetle, but after removing the lens, etc. the internal assembly that actually holds the lights together is not so big. Before you decide against it, try looking at an assembly and seeing if there is a way you might be able to make it work. You could still use a clear Z headlight cover for a lens. Davy

Ditto on the Hyundai spare--check the wrecking yards; they should be as common as sand (almost anyway). Don't pay too much either--just call a few places and see what they charge. Davy

Craig, you are the MAN!! Davy

Chris, You are probably OK in keeping the stock harness (gasp) Yes, I actually said that! Fix it up and you should be fine. Replacing the fuse box is a WISE idea if it looks suspect at all. I'm a firm believer in replacing connectors and even upgrading to a more modern fuse box myself. The 280Z have newer (not much, but still...) wiring than the 240Zs. If you didn't have any other electrical issues other than the few wires mentioned, I think you'll be OK. The Painless system is for maximum insurance. If you can redo what you have, it'll be a cheap fix and, if it does not work out, you can always go to another harness like the Painless unit. Just IMO. Davy

You might be able to make it work, but consider that you'll probably have to redesign the front end somewhat to make it 'work.' The problem is doing a good front end that is proportionally correct for the angle of the lights with respect to the fron end. Just because the lights CAN integrate, doesn't mean it will look right. Sure enough, make certain someone plays with photoshop or equivalent to see if it looks ok. Davy

Welcome to the forum! That would be extremely helpful to the many guys that have inquired about such a swap. If you could chronicle the information about the engine placement, the mounts, etc. it would be extremely good for those guys pursuing those years of cars. Again, thanks for the info and glad to have you aboard. You can send the pics anyway you wish, even as an email attachment to one of the guys on the board with a write up in MS Word or whatever. Or, post the pics on a free photo site so we can log in to see them. The information will be most helpful. Davy

Thanks! Davy

Keep us updated! Congrats! Davy

quote: Originally posted by BLKMGK: Heh, don't let this thread die yet ...He told me there's a VW pump I can run on the Z as an inline comes from a "A1 Rabbit" and is made by Bosch? Ring bells anywhere? Might be worth us looking into here - he says it comes in a rubber sleeve and isolated mount so it's pretty quiet. He's got an in-tank Bosch pump for the Supras that supports tons of power but I think I'm going dual Walbro GS3341s. He claimed the Bosch only pulled 12amps though which is pretty nice!... BLKMGK, the "A1 Rabbit" pump is most likely a 1st gen VW chassis for the Rabbit and most likely the Scirrocco(sp?) as well. VW currently runs an "A4" chassis for the Golf (Rabbit). Davy

Gracias! Davy

It's called a "needle scaler?" I have never heard of one, but will look into it if it's as good as you say. Thanks for the info. Davy

Good to hear!! I'm glad that you found the problem--it did take a ton of work, but at least you know the system by heart if anything else pops up! I know this wan not the case, but i thought I should mention it anyway: always check to make sure that the actual connection for the ground cable is good--it can lead to headaches if it's not. Take care! Davy

That's where you will need to compare a few Z cars or go to the junkyard. The R180 is more slender (elongated up & down) than the R200. The R200 is almost octagonal in back. Also, some of the guys' sites here have pics with the differences. The LSD units have a finned rear cover that is unlike any of the non LSD units. Davy

So your constant 'encouragement' to Kevin made him decide on the BBC, eh? Man, hope he has figured out the $$$$ and the time this is going to take. Good luck in helping him do it--I bet you & Matt will be the ones doing a ton of the work--oh well, free Thai food & beer for life. Davy

Nope. All cars built 1973 and earlier are exempt from the yearly/biannual smog checks. You are good to go; just take the pink/title to DMV and register the sucker. Davy

Hiro, Don't get all the Dave's, Davy's, and David's mixed up! kc6wfs is Dave Booth--one heck of a guy and a great photographer! DavyZ

Try performace Z shops for the manifolds and linkage. It is out there. Also, ebay might be a place to look. Davy

Sorry to hear of your problem. You can make up for it with the lighted valve stem caps for night driving, or go with the neon light kit for under the truck. Even if they don't make your truck any faster, it will certainly look like it is, and that's all that counts, right? Davy

John, Scraping the undercarriage to remove the undercoating is a messy, time consuming job. Guys have done it with heat, etc. use the search function to get all the info--it has been hashed out numerous times. Make sure you check for extensive rust underneath and in the typical areas for a Z (rockers, battery box, etc). "How to Restore Your datsun Z Car" by Wick Humble is a good (read: perfect) reference tool for your project. The stock unibody should be strong enough for a crate 350. Consider the JTR kit or making one along those lines. If you want a manual transmission, the conversion is quite easy and you'll merely have to replace some parts on the console to have the interior be at M/T spec. Good luck with your project. Davy

Ditto on what Lone, Mike, and Dave just said. If you already have the car & engine & trans, buy the JTR book and use their schematics as a template to fab your own parts. If you have access to things like a drill press and a heavy metal bending device, you could purchase the materials from metal places for next to nothing. I found it easier (faster) to just buy the parts from JTR, but I could very easily have made them myself. One member did it for under $40! JTR gives suggestions on how to do the fab job yourself. Good luck!! Davy