Guest DRK Posted February 4, 2002 Share Posted February 4, 2002 I finally bought the car today after months of discussion and research. I bought one of my high school buddies first cars, a 78 280Z. It is silver with black interior and has 124k on the clock. I jacked up the car and it is structurally sound. There are a couple of small rust spots in the lower front fenders behind the front wheels. Typical spot for Z's. Now for a decision on the motor and transmission. Mostly likely going to be an LT1 with T56. I found a 97 with 61k on the combination. Can't wait to get started, but working 60+ hrs a week doesn't leave much time. I bought the JTR book from Summit a couple of months ago and it is a wealth of information. This website is great. DRK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted February 4, 2002 Share Posted February 4, 2002 My non conversion 1978Z is a sister to your car with silver exterior and black interior. There is some misleading information in the JTR manual. The Camaro radiator is a #952 Modine unit that they combined the v-8 and 4 cylinder models (20 inch core and 1 3/8 inch thick.)Do not try to fabricate the water temperature sending unit when you can buy a conversion fitting conversion at a parts store or industrial hose and fitting supply house for a lot less. My manual has true dimension templates that can be copied and placed on the steel. The cross member and frame rail spacer is not to scale though.The clutch master cylinder bore size recommendation is too small.I f you have doubts about any thing ;research this site and ask questions because there is a lot of collective wisdom shooting thru cyberspace.I usually try to answer the easy questions like the quality and type of air to install in street tires. Caution do not use any of that foreign stuff cause you do not know who has been breathing it or p assing it around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted February 4, 2002 Share Posted February 4, 2002 Good luck on your new project! Be disciplined as you posible can and do the work on the weekends or your days off. It will most likely take longer than you think it will, but just get the car running first and you'll be much happier doing suspension mods and the like AFTER the conversion is done. Just my $.02. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted February 4, 2002 Share Posted February 4, 2002 Nice to have another Hybrid in the works! If I had only one piece of advice to give it would be: Be careful of the "while I'm at it..I might as well..." syndrome Have a good plan of attack before you get underway. There's obviously many things that should be done while things are disassembled, rather than going back later, but be careful of 'scope creep'. I am busy making that 'mistake' daily. Just can't help myself....somebody please me!, or me, to get me back on track! Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted February 4, 2002 Share Posted February 4, 2002 Tim, I started making that mistake over ten years ago - and never quit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted February 4, 2002 Share Posted February 4, 2002 Come on guys. The reason we do it this way is because it is the most fun. The little stuff is what makes it great. No one wants a dirty old engine in there. Also, I know that I probably would never take it apart again if I started driving it. Who wants to pull out a perfectly working transmission just for a little paint? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted February 5, 2002 Share Posted February 5, 2002 Tim & Pete speak the truth. I should have never lifted a bottle of spray paint or polish when I bought the Camaro motor. $600 and 2 years later it is still not finished. "I might as well now get the headers powdercoated while I am at it..." Stuff like this is what happens. I almost think it would have been easier to have just installed the motor in the car and drive it for a while, before detailing and upgrading the crap out of everything! I have been seriously (foolishly?) considering actually polishing my WC T5 tranny!! Can you believe it?!? I got the stupid bug and I get further and further behind because I end up nickle and diming myself to death instead of ponying up for the big purchases that matter! Couldn't I have waited to detail and upgrade once I built a running car that I could enjoy for a while? Is there no end? Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted February 5, 2002 Share Posted February 5, 2002 Craig, I can see we have the same view point - the fun (for some of us) is in the DOING. I spent many hours on Saturday using that AL brazing rod that Tim Hepburn found for us on Ebay making a custom TDC pointer. It was fun. But later that weekend I got around to real work and pressurized the shortblock oiling system to find a few weeping oil galley plugs on the outside of the engine - so much for forward progress. Project Creep is my middle name. Heck, that's why I refer to my Z as a "snowball". It's been a fun trip though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Scott Posted February 5, 2002 Share Posted February 5, 2002 DRK, welcome to the madness!! hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah! JS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Shasteen Posted February 6, 2002 Share Posted February 6, 2002 Madness...did somebody say Madness(?) Just do what I do when I start a project car; put the car up on jackstands...then just plant daisy's at each corner of the car. This way if/when you cant afford the time/money to work on it-at least you can work "around" the car....everytime you water the flowers! it should give you some kind of a sence of accomplishment! Kevin, (Yea,Still an Inliner) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted February 6, 2002 Share Posted February 6, 2002 Ah, Pete, I knew you would understand My car is currently is storage as I and my family prepare to move across town into a bigger mortgage. I am STILL day-dreaming about my Z, looking for the right parts and slowly accumulating the pieces of the puzzle that will one day be my dream Z car. I can't stop myself from searching Ebay daily, logging onto this forum for the latest tidbit or find my way over to the "transportation" section every time I stumble into Books-a-Million I love the process. Ain't it great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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