Newby Q's - what to look for in a V8 Z?

[DCZ]

Other than a hot blond

 

What would you look for when looking at a V8 Z that is already converted?

Besides the "normal" Z rust/suspension stuff - are there any V8 specific things to look for, such as:

 

How do you tell whether it is in the JTR or Scarab position?

 

Any way to tell whether the driveshaft angle is correct without driving the car and feeling for vibration?

 

How to tell alum. heads vs iron - do they just "look" like aluminum?

 

Any way to tell a 305 vs 350 vs 383 etc from the outside?

 

Any particularly bad or good carb/intake to look out for?

 

Any suggestions appreciated!

[grumpyvette]

to tell iron from aluminum heads,get a magnet aluminum heads don,t stick to magnets very well iron heads do!

 

The best way to tell what engine size your dealing with is to pull the #1 plug,and remove the rocker arms from that # 1 cylinder so the valves stay shut, turn the engine to BDC (by hand with a breaker bar) and fill the cylinder with marvel mystery oil then insert/screw a section of 3/8" fuel line into the spark plug hole and turn the engine to TDC (by hand with a breaker bar)as the oil pumps out into a burret and measure the amount of oil the cylinder holds(remember a slight amount of oil will remain in the cylinder,

 

305=about 620cc

350=about 710cc

383=about 780cc

400=about 815cc

 

after checking leave the spark plug out and reinstall and then re-adjust the rocker arms on that #1 cylinder. let the engine idle for about 2 minutes with the spark plug out to blow out the remaining oil (yes its loud but it wont hurt a thing)then stop and reinstall the plug and everything will be fine, but if the guy signs a paper GUARANTEEING ALL YOUR MONEY BACK IF ITS NOT THE SIZE ENGINE HE SAYS IT IS (NOTARIZED) then you can wait till you get home to check it, but check it at the first possiable second and pay by check or money order so you have proof what you payed and get everything in writeing with witnesses.

EDELBROCK,HOLLEY,and DEMON carbs are better than QUADRAJET CARBS IN MY OPINION and almost any weiand,or holley, or edelbrock intake is beter than a chevy cast iron(MAGNET )intake or offenhouser intake. but the performer rpm,victor type ans stealth intakes are the better common intakes.

[DCZ]

Thanks Grumpyvette,

 

Can't wait to see the look on the seller's face when I pull out the MM oil!

[Miles]

You want to minimize correcting other peoples mistakes. Here are some problems we found with a converted Scarab V8 Z my son bought:

 

Check the wiring: Make sure that wiring modifications were done correctly. We found that most of the engine bay wiring was chopped up and installed wrong. It took many hours tracing schematics to rewire the car.

 

Check the suspension: While rebuilding the rear brakes we discovered that the drivers side rear strut and brakes were from a later model Z and did not match the passenger side strut/brake assembly. We had to replace the driver's side strut and then proceed with rebuilding the rear brakes.

 

Confirm parts installed or work performed on the car: I could not confirm most of the claims the owner made about the car.

 

Look at the craftsmanship of the conversion. If it looks like a chop job you may have problems.

 

If it is a manual trans has the clutch been rigged correctly?

 

We had planned on rebuilding the car when we bought it, but the above items had to be corrected/changed along the way adding to the time and cost to complete the project. The engine was in the scarab position with a four speed trans that had the shifter positioned right up against the dash. We set the engine back and lowered it from its' scarab position and added a Camaro T5 trans and a Datsun R200 differential. The car is a now real joy to drive.

 

For my own conversion project I bought a very clean stock 72 240Z. Everything works on the car so I can focus on the fun stuff.

 

Miles