DavyZ

Ambrose, the engine has way too much cam IMO for "street" use. It is actually made for racing--either pro-street or drag. If you pop in a more streetable cam with less duration, say about 222 degrees @.050 inches. The price is a little steep for my taste, BUT it depends on what YOU want. The car may be beautiful and worth the money. To change it to JTR spec is not difficult or pricey, but who knows about the tranny? Just food for thought and my $.02 David

John, sorry that your posts were flamed regarding the Mustang II suspension. Although the forum is here for the free expression/opinions about Z cars etc., people still have opinions--but the way they are expressed can make all the difference...

"The Fabulous Lungfish???" Well, it's better then "The Incredible Mr. Limpet" Mike Kelly's site has a write up on a bigger gas tank, so you'll want to check that out. I think his is 22gal or bigger if I remember correctly. Also, I agree with the gas mileage assessment above; you should be getting better mileage with your current setup. Since you're on the web, go to Summit Racing--they have many size tanks in stock at good prices. David

Just do a lot of measuring and document everything. I don't know of any Mopar swap as of yet, but it sounds really cool. CarCraft had a write up last month that talked about the Pontiac 455, which is in effect a SMALL BLOCK, and shares many interchangeable parts with its smaller brethren--it even weighs the same! Good luck with your swap--should be a ripper in that ZX! David

Welcome, Steve! You will like this forum immensely and find it very useful. Glad to see you have finished your project, or are 95% finished anyway. I echo Dave's sentiments about the airdam--don't get a fiberglass one unless you are VERY careful parking the car. I find myself always parking the Z's fragile snout too close to everything, so my car is not lowered right now either, but I have a urethane airdam anyway. Maybe someone else will chime in regarding your bumpsteer question. Cheers! David

Razor, if you decide to dump the heads, just send them my way David

If you could post it in the forum, then everyone (550+ members) could take a crack at it.

The compression is on the high end of streetability--you will haveto run premium gas (no biggie) and there is an outside chance that you will possibly have to use an octane booster. If your engine was built properly with adequate heads, this might not be an issue. You will want to have a good solid ignition system too. The engine sounds like its a winner and a VERY good deal. I have a little less $$ in my engine, but have over 150 hp less (groan). Think about it! Sounds like a deal to me. If you don't purchase it, can we beat you with a rubber hose? [This message has been edited by DavyZ (edited February 22, 2001).]

I seriously doubt you will have any overheating problems due to a overbored motor, especially a 355. Most Z overheating problems are caused by lack of adequate cooling (lack of enough radiator and/or fans w/shrouding). My $.02

Yeah, I've been thinking about the 377 motor after thinking loooong and hard about the 383. I know I'll run into some flak here, but the 377 just seems to make more sense in a light Z car. The only difficult thing is to find a premium 400 block--not only are they getting harder to find, but many have issues by design. But still, man what a combo!

Nion, Craig from Ideal-Z who frequents this forum often, wrote an article on swapping seats that you might find useful. He has also given some insight and opinions here, just check the archives under "idealz." Otherwise, visit his website Ideal-Z.com David

Both of these seem to work, Terry. Thanks for posting them. The pictures help a lot of people here--many never even post! Cheers, David

Now THAT is a cool story, Terry, but your hood has all others beat hands down!!!!! David

Dan, thanks for the info--but what's the name of the yard? The local pick & pull in Newark has soooo many Taurus's last time I was there, but most are the 4 banger type. David

Welcome to the site! Even though yours seems to be a "finished" car, there is always more to be done!! Most of us have ongoing projects, but some of us are lucky enough to actually drive our cars. Glad yours is that way! Stick around and have some fun with us... David

Curtis, where and when did you get the hood? Could you post a picture for everyone? Outside of an exploded drawing, I have never seen one of those, especially installed on a car. Thanks!

Hey Sharkman, Arizona Z won't do squat in returning my messages so I'll ask you--is the kit as nice as the limited view front end picture we see on their website? Was it worth it? Could you possibly get some pics, even preliminary ones, on a paint & body thread? I really wonder about that kit, but all I see is front end only. Please help us out if you can. Thanks, man. David

Thanks for alerting us to the picture, Mike. That is the best one so far for showing how the fan mounts up to the radiator. It looks like you used simple sheetmetal screws that mount through the top aluminum "backbone" of the radiator.

I feel your pain, man! Hope you are successful next time around!

Locutus, I think most of us would agree that the JTR conversion does not apply to the 280ZX. The 280ZX seems to be as cheap, or in many cases cheaper than the Z in this part of the country, even though they are newer. I think the ZX is a more comfortable car by far and more "refined" in it's driving demeanor. A 383 conversion in a ZX would be an excellent driver and I really think I could get into one. However, I'm in love with the raw simplicity, lok, and weight of the 240Z. And as Lone said, the cars don't have smog issues at the moment... David

I have a feeling that these were special units made a long time ago. It would be a real find if you came across one now. Don't hold your breath!

My bad--I didn't read correctly: he did say ZX, not Z. Kevin is right, you need the tach from a Z, not ZX, to make it work right.

I have read that if the urethane is impregnated with graphite it will be quiet. And, get this, if you use lube it screws up everything and it will squeak!(?) If I have it in writing from a company that this is true, I'm willing to take everything apart and replace the rubber and then put it all back together assuming it will work. If it squeaks, I'm fit to be tied! The urethane bushings on my Volvo squeak regardless of whether there is lube on them or not. They are not silent and have never been silent. I'm wondering if the graphite laden bushings are better? If so, I'll get some for the Z.

Bmison, you're in Oakland? I work at Broadway VW in new car sales. Come in and say hello sometime. David

Since no one else has answered this post, it looks like you've got it all. You might want to pull the tach out of the 280--if I remember correctly, this is what you want according to JTR. The tach from the 240 doesn't work with HEI if that's what you're using. Hope this helps. David