Guest illushynZXT Posted January 8, 2002 Share Posted January 8, 2002 Its funny for me to think how long the board has been up.. and how many 302 Ford swaps have been made.. and how not a single person has made detailed designs on the stuff they had to have fabbed to complete the conversion. I've run across a second 302HO that I learned already belongs to me. My mechanic and I had some miscommunications in the past and now I own two. One for my 82 Bronco (that I'm still too lazy to drop in), and one just sitting on a stand all nice and pretty... waiting for the heads and intake to be bolted on... (which was the original rebuild for the Bronco). Well, since things have been tilted in my favor with the acquisition of an 83 280ZXT, I would really like to drop one of my 302s into it just for fun. But after much research, I have seen that not too many of the people completing this swap have left a nice trail for the others to follow. As I understand things, unless I'm in a world of my own creation, the V8 swap is a pretty much straightforward "drop-in" task.. minus the fabrication of mounting components and the driveshaft. Why doesnt someone, when they're doing a rebuild or such, pull apart everything they had to fabricate to complete the swap, and have some detailed drawings that the others can use to take to a machinists shop to have cut.. then on from there someone might pick up the ball and begin to make "kits" for the differrent Z styles as has been done for the SBC. And from everything I have read, I would go GM with the conversion, with the available kits and much documentation.. but why spend the $$ for a 302/350 GM when I already have a Ford 302 sitting in front of me? Just a random idea, from a purist thats having evil thoughts of a 302 Ford under his 83 280ZX's bonnet. Feel free to flame me if I am wrong.. as I am new to the whole conversions process.. and would like to learn.. before I give up and put a complete LD28 into my 83 just for shitZ and giggleZ. -il82 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted January 8, 2002 Share Posted January 8, 2002 Valid point. Personally, I don't ever see anybody repeating my own install. It was set up for racing only originally, and now seems to work good for the street too, BUT, your average do-it-your-selfer will want something more conventional in the way of an install. With that said, I'll repeat an earlier post. Very soon, I am pulling the engine to replace the internals, and when I do, I will be making templates of the engine plates (front and rear). But then, the headers (home made) would need some attention there too, and no template can be made for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 400 ci 280z Posted January 8, 2002 Share Posted January 8, 2002 i understand what you are saying. i was wanting to use a chevy engine but my uncle gives me a call one day and says "hey do you need an engine" i just said sure. it was out of a 77 trans am so instead of spending the money to buy a chevy i am going to build this one. i know not very many people have done it so it will be kinda differant. i dont know what this has to do with yours put i just felt like saying that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 8, 2002 Share Posted January 8, 2002 I would be more than happy to share some info with you (email me). But have you checked out SCCA's, Alsil's, Blueoval's (and some that excape me right now) websites and have you conducted searches on this board for information? Just about every swap is a prototype. Different needs, wants etc. to make the car the way YOU want it. I must have done months of research before I even considered the Ford swap. I was gonna go Chevy because of the documentation but after the research decided the Ford was very fesible. Anyway IMO figuring it all out is half the fun. Regards. Jumbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dp351zcar Posted January 8, 2002 Share Posted January 8, 2002 The reason I have not posted yet is I don't have anything to tell yet. Soon I hope. I don't have a web site so I can't post any pics but I will answer any questions anybody has. The state my car is in I can't take anything more out of it, it's all gone. In fact I can stand in the spare tire well and suprise, my feet are still on the ground, the well is gone. I can pick up the front or rear of my car with very little strain on my part, its that light. Give me a couple of weeks and I will hopefully have my engine mounts made and I can email the pics or drawings. I am tring to do something my way. I am doing a lot of this I think the ford guys are like me, they don't want to do something everybody else has done already over and over. Plus there good reasons to go ford, and the weight of them is a good start. Don (a first time ford guy) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74_5.0L_Z Posted January 8, 2002 Share Posted January 8, 2002 My swap works very well, but I made it unnecessarily complicated. If I were to do it again, I would do some things different. I would place the engine exactly where I have it, but would do my mounts differently. Therefore I haven't wrote up the install. I have describe through various posts the position, and angle of my engine, which components I used for clutch actuation, and which headers, etc... If I ever get my mounts to a point where I think they are optimal, and easily copied then I'll do a write-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest illushynZXT Posted January 8, 2002 Share Posted January 8, 2002 Well, it would be great just to get something.. wether its optimal or not. Just a base to start from.. blueovalz's conquests would be great. When he pulls everything out.. just get a base to start from that could be shared on here. Then the many many creative minds we have out there can apply it to their own Z and make it how they want. Just that in my particular case, my mind isnt so creative as to come up with the stuff from scratch.. I can take a base from a ZX and make it my own.. but making it to start with.. I'm just stumped. I'm used to driving less than optimal hardware around town. Being forced to "make it work" is my forte. So the engine isnt centered perfectly and the car is nose heavy.. big deal..so I adjust my driving style. Least when I pop the hood at the SuperLube all the greasemonkeys will drool at the monster under the hood...even if it isnt perfect. hehe.. the more I think of this, the more I want it. -il82 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted January 9, 2002 Share Posted January 9, 2002 I believe Alsil's site (Al Silvera) has the mount information. From there, the rest is hooking the motor up to the car via gas & electrical. ah, if it only were so easy... I think the main reason why guys don't pull everything out once they install it is because of the amount of time they spent doing the work in the first place. Having to reinstall the motor and trans is not my idea of weekend fun. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74_5.0L_Z Posted January 9, 2002 Share Posted January 9, 2002 One thing you should keep in mind is that the mounting for the later ZXs will be different than for the early Zs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 10, 2002 Share Posted January 10, 2002 Davy, you are so right.... I dread having to pull the motor. It's like you put it in and build all this stuff around it. Not that I wouldn't or couldn't do it... I just don't want to! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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