DavyZ

Tom, you have a nice looking setup with that car...your radiator looks downright beefy!!! David

I think his rear panel is just painted using a satin finish silver paint. The method used is just rudimentary body work--clean with good solvent (for the purpose of paint prep), sand with 400 grit or a little coarser grit, clean again with solvent, let dry and shoot it with your desired color. Am I reading/understanding your question correctly? David

I'm one of those people who thinks that engine combo is the "best." Let me put it this way, it is the one I want to build and I think it would be most effective in a Z-car. I thought about the 383 route, which would most likely be cheaper since this is an extremely popular motor with a host suppliers for it, but the other one seems like it would suit a lighter car more, at least in theory anyway. Perhaps someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but the chief obstacle to doing a destroked 400 is mainly cost and the lack of suitable blocks? That's the only real kicker as far as I know. The 383 is cheap in comparison, or at least one can build a 383 on an tight budget. When I looked at parts for the 383, it made me think why even question it? The cranks are cheap, so are pistons...I have yet to do serious research on the destroked 400, but it looks really good to me too. I think Kevin Shasteen is a lover of the same motor, so maybe he'll chime in! David

This was the very nice black Z I saw at the Palo Alto Show & Shine. It has a great smoothed body and an expensive mural under the hood (I wouldn't have put $3000 toward a surrealistic female air-brushed mural, but that's my preference--I noticed "she" was blond, like his wife perhaps...just a thought). The engine is yellow and has many polished parts. I didn't get a chance to talk to the owner, but I could tell he is very proud of his car! David

Whoa! It looks like the old mechanic was right! There's not much too it. Thanks for looking in the obvious(?) or maybe not so obvious fail-safe catalog, Lone! The old mechanic also said to just do your best in getting out as much of the old refrigerant as possible, but not to sweat it if there is still some in there. He said it is a misnomer that the entire system be absolutley cleaned before putting in the new stuff. In others words, the old and the new are compatible with each other--at least somewhat. Long, if you go for the install kit, according to the information I gathered you won't need the flush&clean kit... David

The magazines have alluded to doing tests on these things, but I have yet to find any articles written about them. They look good, and seem to have new features to make them the carb of choice...but not from a $$$ standpoint. A little on the high side for me, but if you want one Chuck, they look GOOD! Let us know how it runs. I'm going Edelbrock, and no I will not argue which is better, because it does not matter!!! David

Yes, Eric, it's always helpful to us to see some good work, good fabrication, and new ideas. Thanks for posting! David

They are truly fine looking units; very trick! See ya'll in LALALAND! David

DOH!!! I swear I'm losing it sometimes! Gads, my aching caffeine deprived groggy mind plays tricks on me. I swear I didn't see the first line which clearly stated that you were removing the drip rails. I'll just spank myself now... Good, I'm finished. Now, please post pictures of your great work in progress when you get the chance. Thank you. David

Don't tell us about that out here in Northern CA! I somehow think we pay more for Taurus fans. What gives? Jim, if that is the fan for the V6 A/T Taurus, then it's a steal! David

Long, I had a mechanic tell me that you can put the new R134a in there?!? This does not make sense to me, because I thought one had to change over gaskets and such, but he may be right. Try talking to some mechanics in your area, or search the web for info. David

Jim, you're absolutely correct. But with all due respect, your build up will be considerably more sophisticated than mine... David

283Z, I think your reasoning behind using the 283 motor is sound, and it will make a good swap. Your Z will live long and be reliable. Don't build a 265 since they have no provision for an oil filter... David

Frank, sounds like it's gonna be a winner! But let me offer this one suggestion, if you going through all of the trouble welding in all of those things to give your car the "smooth" look, why not do the drip rail along the roof too? Just remember to tack weld every so often behind you cuts so the roof won't completely detach and you'll minimize warping. David

Welcome to the forum! Sounds like you are on your way with a good car, bad motor! You NEED to buy the JTR manual--we have a link someplace in this website for it. It explains everything and even provides the drawings for the mounts, etc. Also they sell just about everything you need to do the swap. As far as trannys go, that is also covered. The T5 is a good tranny and is relatively cheap when you can find one--it holds up to mild 350s. The T56 is better by far, but more expensive. Read the JTR manual first, then decide how much you want to spend on the project, make your choices, and go from there. Good luck! David

Yes, Addco was the company I could not remember. Thanks for posting that, John. Price is right and from friendly JC Whitney no less. I may hit them up when the time is right... David

The T5 shuld be able to handle a well built 283 (288). It really comes down to torque--and the T5 is limited in that area compared to a T56. However, the T5 was able to successfully move around a much larger, heavier Camaro with a slightly larger engine. My money is on the bet that you will have no problems. As far as compression ratios are concerned, there are tables out there to be sure, and Kevin Shasteen. Talk to the people that sell pistons like Summit Racing or PAW. They should know. Also, if you know the cc of your heads, look in a Summit Catalog in the piston section--they should have compression ratios listed by the piston-types. Hope this helps. [ April 27, 2001: Message edited by: DavyZ ]

Maybe for class rules...Dunno. Pete, you should not cough up the $$$ for ram air box--your engine compartment is too sano for a lot of plastic, yes? Just get to fabbing your own out of polished aluminum sheetmetal or something like that. Heck, what a couple of more months on the back of 11+ years!!! lol David Sorry, Pete, I couldn't resist--you do the best work I've seen yet! You gotta know that.

It's a comin' right along!! Should look absolutely fab when it's finished. Those big wheels will fill up the well perfectly in conjunction with the flares; looks super!

Lone, you'd be right about that. JTR says it's "87 pounds as shown (with bellhousing and shifter)." David

You may want to call a place like Ground Control, or one of the suspension companies. MSA is a big retailer and they get their products from a sundry of manufacturers. Also look in the newspaper and online to see if anyone is selling a used one. David

The ones Craig sells out of his site, IdealZ as noted above, are made of vinyl and are of a very high quality. I thought about downloading the ones off the net and putting them on paper--but what a mistake since they won't look nearly as professional as the vinyl ones!! My $.02 David

Yeah, it comes down to taste: chocolate or vanilla, black or white, tastes great or less filling, that kind of thing. You can't go wrong with either, but make sure you get a coupe !!!!! LOL David

I'll be there too! I only have a regular camera, but if I end up with an absolute "must see" I will send it to Pete who will painstakingly make sure it gets posted Seriously, I'll get a scanner or something to make sure it works--no digicam yet! David It's gonna be fun..too bad you guys will miss it!! We'll miss you too!

Oooops, my bad on the wiring of the 280Zs. Thanks Andrew for correcting that info; I get a 1/2 star rating for that... Andrew, just so I'm straight about this, the extra room between the framerails in no way impacts the size of the spacers used in the JTR method, correct? I just gotta know! Thanks, David