Guest Anonymous Posted March 12, 2003 Share Posted March 12, 2003 Has anyone used the Johnscars. com conversion kit? How is it compared to the JTR kit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted March 12, 2003 Share Posted March 12, 2003 Try searching and you will see this has been discussed at length. IMO, the John's Car's kit is expensive, and getting the JTR book is important anyway. Once you see how cheaply you can do a JTR conversion, as opposed to the John's Car's version, you might jump to the JTR conversion. Many of us feel that if you're going to do this conversion, putting the engine as far back and as low as you can (I.e., JTR) is best anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators SuperDan Posted March 12, 2003 Administrators Share Posted March 12, 2003 I made the mistake of using the John'$ Car'$ kit before I found out about the JTR mounts. Don't waste your money. -dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zfan Posted March 15, 2003 Share Posted March 15, 2003 John's cars is here in Dallas. They make a kit that mounts the engine about 4 to 4 1/2" from the fire wall, hell even my Scarab Z is only 3 to 3 1/2" inches away! Go JTR when starting from scratch!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted March 15, 2003 Share Posted March 15, 2003 One member was working on an LS1 kit with them that sounded promising. He was quite happy with the potential outcome, but don't know if he every got it finished. I would be more than a little interested in such a kit if it makes the LS1 install as straight forward as the JTR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted March 20, 2003 Share Posted March 20, 2003 That would be me. Car is still in John's shop but has engine & tranny in. It is looking like it may actually be driveable in late April or early May. The layout does put the LS1 3.5-4" in front of the firewall but it makes the AC & heater connections accessable while setting the engine where only the accessories actually sit in front of the front axle. I actually have a few digital photos in case someone is interested. It is within about 2" of qualifying as a mid-engine car. He also has a set of headers that work and an AC compressor that fits high on the driver's side in a conventional layout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted March 20, 2003 Share Posted March 20, 2003 To me the fore-aft position of the engine is not as important as the weight distribution and whether a T56 shifter is positioned correctly. If the aluminum block LS1 is lighter, than being farther forward might be the correct position anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted March 20, 2003 Share Posted March 20, 2003 The T-56 location in my John's Cars installation has the shifter coming up through the shifter hole within 1/4" of the original 5-spd in my 280Z. 240Z's would be different. The LS1 /T56 is obviously pretty light as the nose of my car is sitting high with the engine and transmission in. Even when I leaned my 235 lbs on the radiator housing it still seemed a bit higher than it was with the L28. I had a discussion with Bobby Archer, Bobby Archer Motorsports, last week about the possibility of retuning my suspension and actually having to go to lower spring rates in the front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted March 20, 2003 Share Posted March 20, 2003 Phantom, that sounds pretty cool. Any idea what the kit will cost after it's developed and offered to the public? Since the LS1 is lighter, moving it FWD a few inches to make the accessories clear the crossmember and rack doesn't sound that bad - especially if the T56 shifter comes out in a good place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted March 20, 2003 Share Posted March 20, 2003 As others have mentioned, there is a big thread here someplace talking about the Johnscars SBC swap. The executive summary on that is Pass. It's basically a very expensive version of the Scarab swap. There is also a REALLY BIG thread about the Scarab style mounting position. The executive summary of that is Depends on what you're purpose for the car is and also it probably doesn't matter that much. However, the scarab position (over the cross member instead of behind it) can only use an automatic trans - no manual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted March 21, 2003 Share Posted March 21, 2003 Pete, No idea as to cost yet. I had a preliminary discussion with John a few months ago and his goal is to not develop a comprehensive installation guide and all the parts. He sort of indicated that he's willing to let JTR be the guide for sbc swaps but he will provide the basic components for the LS1 swap that are not available over the counter and a bill of materials of the others he used to make this swap work. It would be aimed at folks who already have a fair degree of mechanical/electrical ability and can figure most things out for themselves. At this point the only really custom items are the motor, transmission, and AC compressor mounts. Obviously the driveshaft may be included and possibly the headers, although the headers for my car are a special version from a well-known header mfg. He may find that he has to put a final tweak on them to fit exactly right and then they would also be included as an offering. All the parts he is developing are well thought through and stout. I'm getting unbelievably antsy as the car is starting to come together. Jeromio, I assume that you are referring to a scarab position for an sbc / 240Z only working with an automatic. My LS1 / T56 installation has the heads sitting close to where I hear everyone say a scarab mount head would sit but the T56 shifter is located beautifully in my 280Z. This is going to be a killer install when it is finally done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Look A Z Posted March 21, 2003 Share Posted March 21, 2003 However[/b'], the scarab position (over the cross member instead of behind it) can only use an automatic trans - no manual. Is this really true??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted March 21, 2003 Share Posted March 21, 2003 Well, there is this from http://www.johnscars.com: If a manual transmission is a must for you, then use an overdrive! Manual transmission installations are likely to require enlarging the hole in the tunnel for the shifter and reworking console. The T5 is your best combination for availability and reliability. If you desire the 6-speed from later GM cars, the only obstacle is its lack of a mechanical speedometer output - but we've got the answer. So, it is possible, with a little bit of extra modification. Clearly if you have the will to put an entirely different drivetrain in your Zcar, some mods to interior sheetmetal and plastic are no big deal. I guess I'm wrong-a-roonie on my prior statement. But then, my reference here is that the LS1 in my car is pretty close the firewall (maybe 1/2 inch forward of JTR), and my shifter comes out here: Note that I had previously cut the shifter hole in the tunnel to accomodate a 280ZX 5spd. Were it not for that mod, the shifter would be touching the metal (and 1st, 3rd and 5th would be blocked) . I know the 280Z has shifter hole in the tunnel a few inches farther forward of mine (240Z). I dunno - if my motor was 3 inches farther forward, that hole would be really, really opened up and my fusebox would have to move (which it has recently anyway). I guess I was also going on info from that looooong Scarab thread I mentioned. As I recall from that discussion, the major proponent of the scarab swap maintained that the the manual was not an option (?). FL327 had a scarab style SBC swap with a 4spd manual. I dunno - is the shifter farther back with that transmission? At any rate, I rescind my earlier statement - or at least clarify it to apply only to the 240Z. I'm very, very anxious to see pictures of Phantom's install. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted March 22, 2003 Share Posted March 22, 2003 Jeromio, You have mail. Sent you five photos today. All are 400-500k in size so was unable to post here. If anyone can tell me how to reduce the file size (1200x1600 resolution) I'm all ears - er - eyes. Phantom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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