banditzed Posted January 4, 2022 Share Posted January 4, 2022 I am finally getting back to working on my LS swap after 10 years of it sitting. I initially installed my LS using John's Car's mounting kit several years ago. I have since put Austin Hoke's mount kit in. My original Sanderson shorty headers would need mods to work and I'm looking at Hawk's and CX racing long tubes. Leaning towards the CX ones as they appear to fit tighter under the car and in the engine compartment. I realize they are smaller primaries, but I'm not worried about finding the last few horsepower. I'm using a C&R 26 x 19 double pass rad with bar and plate oil cooler, does anyone know if I'll be able to route oil cooler lines between the block and headers? This would be very tight with the Sanderson's. I'm pondering the Silvermine electric power steering kit. will it clear either Hawk's or CX? Read in a post that on a 280, the EPS hangs a bit below the dash, this may be an issue for me as I have a prosthetic left leg and with no ankle joint I have to deliberately put my foot higher on the clutch pedal. Also looking for opinions on cooling fans, any idea how many CFM a LS would need? Running A/C, so there will be a condenser out front also. The core is 22 inches wide, and looking at Spal catalogue it looks like I can just squeeze one 10 inch and one 11 inch fan on a custom shroud. Combo would be well sealed to the rad support and ducting between the grill and support will be installed. I'd like to run dual fans, so the trinary switch on the A/C will trigger the second fan. Thanks in advance for any ideas, opinions, and pictures, Martin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonH Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 Congrats on Picking it back up! I would suggest you force libricate your engine again after sitting for 10 years. I can't comment on the headers and electric PS - But I can comment on the Radiator Fan. In my talks with a Holley guru over on ls1tech he conviced me to go with a C7 Z06 radiator fan. When I purchased it it was $239 shipped. Its a 3000CFM at full tilt fan and is pretty massive. It has a built in shroud which with some trimming I made to fit on my core which was a universal GM core from eBay for $150... The fan is a SPAL unit, with built in -PWM controller. All you need to do is get the proper plug kit for it as well as suitable size wiring (I used 8awg power and ground wire) Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banditzed Posted January 12, 2022 Author Share Posted January 12, 2022 DonH, Thanks for the C7 fan idea, I will look into it. Hoping someone can chime in about headers, my biggest concern is which set, Hawks or CX racing will give me the most ground clearance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoulderCharles Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 I have the power steering in my 280z and it clears fine. The unit sits internal so it won't interfere with the headers. It was actually quite simple to install. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawrence B Posted January 22, 2023 Share Posted January 22, 2023 Banditzed, glad to see you resume the swap. You indicated that you began with a JCI kit (John's Cars, Inc./Broken Kitty), but have since switched to a Hoke Performance swap kit. Do you have any information/pictures regarding the JCI engine mounts, particularly for the driver's side of the car? I'm asking because I am trying to determine if the JCI kit can be adapted to work with the Gen V LT1 (the direct injection engine found in 2014 - 2019 Corvettes and 2016 - current Camaro SS vehicles). The JCI kit was designed to work with the LS1 (Gen III) and will presumably work with the Gen IV LS engines since the engine mount boss locations did not change from Gen III to Gen IV. On the HybridZ forum, I've seen pictures from Guest Grenade300's LS1 swap (from way back in 2007) for the passenger side mounts. The JCI engine mount is very far forward on the block; it's sitting under the forward-most exhaust port. This engine mount only utilizes the two forward-most engine block mounting bosses (the two rear block bosses are unused) and then connects to bolt holes originally occupied by the A/C bracket at the very front of the engine. I haven't come across any pictures of the driver's side engine mount, but I am wondering if it is also positioned very far forward on the block. If it is very far forward, this will probably shelve my idea to use the Gen V LT1. Thanks for any help you can provide. Lawrence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted January 25, 2023 Share Posted January 25, 2023 Lawrence, The JCI kit was developed on my '77 280Z back in 2002/2003. My drivers side mount for my LS1 is centered below the front two exhaust port which obviously puts it in the front half of the block. I have a great photo of the passenger side mount but don't seem to have a good one of the drivers side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briguy280Z Posted January 29, 2023 Share Posted January 29, 2023 Hey All I used the JTR kit for my 280z conversion back in 2001 when I was going to put a SBC in college. Then I got a killer deal on a LS-1 and T56 package with all the accessories. Then I made a custom crossmember for the corvette mounting style. But now that the car is back on the radar I’m ripping it all out and installing an apex-engineered front end crossmember to my Tecno Toy Tuning front end suspension. I need to find a supercharger to install on the car. Any ideas https://www.apexengineered.com/s30---240z--260z--280z.html https://technotoytuning.com/nissan/280z/gtx2-front-lower-control-arms-and-tc-rods-datsun-240z-260z-and-280z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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