Guest Casey240Z Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 Since I found a crack in my block I have been looking into several different engines. I want fuel injection, sick of the carb. I want a more reliable engine that gets better gas milage. MikeC gave me the idea of a Vortec 350 from '96-'00 chevy which can be had for pretty cheap. Has anyone had any experience with this engine or any information would help me out. Does anyone have any opions about this swap. I am also considering the LT1 or TPI so give me some ideas on which way I should go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zgeezer Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 Depends which "Vortech" you have. The Vortechs in 1/2 ton trucks (and others) with distributor in the back and throttle body injection are pretty much interchangeable with other CSBs if you have the complete engine and accessories. The major differnences are the head and intake castings on the truck engine. Different intake bolt pattern and somewhat different accessory bracketry. If you are in California and wish to run smog legal...look for another engine: truck engines in passenger car bodies is a big no-no. It will bolt directly in as regards motor and transmission mount locations. Common block headers will also bolt down. If you are referring to the newer "Vortech" truck engines they are Generation III and are the same design as the LS1, but with cast iron block, 5.3L or 6.0L and something really small on the order of 4.7 or so. The intake manifold is very different from LS1 in that it sits about 4 inches higher, A/C mounts on the passenger side ala LS1; but the other accessories mount on the driver's side and are staggered higher with the alt on top and p/s below it. Same problem in California: truck engines in passenger cars w/l not even warrant a "look see" by the referee. The 5.3 LM7 truck engine is cheap in this neighborhood: I paid $2,000.00 with transportation, with transmission, and every harness you could imagine for a 2001 with less than 20,000 miles. The actual placement in body of LS1's is well documented in this forum. The truck engine will be similar( some difference in exhaust manifold discharge). Stock Vortech pan can be used, but it hogs ground clearance sitting about 3 inches lower than the transmission pan. Hope this helps some. gw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mas28O Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 I used a 97 Vortec 350 in my car before, along with a small roller cam from Sallechevrolet that bolts right in and makes good power. Edelbrock makes the performer RPM for this motor(if you need it I will sell it cheap). All of the accessory bracketry from your old motor will bolt right in. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zgeezer Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 I got off on Vortechs and d/n note your California address. Actually, as you have a 1973 240Z with a CSB already installed, the world is yours. But dollar for dollar you are probably better off (my opinion) with a TPI and 700R4. They make great HP look good and there are no FI issues that haven't been ironed out or engineered and available on this forum or some street rodder hangout. And they are still cheap. LT1s, dressed out as a Corvette, are beeeeeeuuutiful in the Z. They sit low, will bolt into the same mounts and are dooable. If you want AC then be prepared to spend a lot of money with Chevrolet for the complete Corvette bracketry, including lower drive pulley or doing business with some good ol' boys in Mena Arkansas. If you go this route, consider shopping for a "B" body..Caprice, Buick Roadmaster, or Cadillac sedan..it's the same engine. I think the Cadillac or Roadmaster might have been treated better than the "F" bodies. Just my bias. Don't worry about iron heads unless you absolutely must have that "look" of aluminum. Iron flows quite well, thank you. Just remember that the LT1 is the end of the line for CSB. It is a bit of an orphan with some of the good things we associate with older CSB and some of the newer technology we see on the Generaltion III. The LT1 OptiSpark is a damn good idea, but flawed in execution. It sits behind the H20 pump and is very susciptable to water vapor. Chevrolet's cure came sometime before 1996. The 1996 and newer have a system of pulling filtered air from the intake, moving it through the Optispark and into the intake. If you go with an LT1 buy both the OptiSpark and H20 pump new and install while the engine is on the shop floor.l You'll be happy you did. gw gw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Juday Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 I've done the TPI and i'm doing a LT1 right now. I can say from experience that the wiring for the tpi is easier. Both motors bolt in with the JTR kit unlike the LS1. LT1 makes more ponies than the TPI and you don't need to mod the hood latch. There are issues with the bracketry on the LT1. No one's found a cheap way to add A/C to the LT1 yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mas28O Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 Dan I just put my throttle cable on today, and I found out that Acura integra throttle cable is almost a direct bolt in. The fire wall side of the throttle cable fits right in the Z-car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zfan Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 Vortech's are a good choice. You can gets gobs of hp. and torque and not spend alot on them. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Juday Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 Dan I just put my throttle cable on today, and I found out that Acura integra throttle cable is almost a direct bolt in. The fire wall side of the throttle cable fits right in the Z-car. Great info Mike. What year/model Integra? Have you hooked it up to the peddle yet? How's the operation? Pop out a few pics. This could save me a trip to Home Depot and the bicycle shop! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 Well I'm not sure if this will help any but here it goes...... I installed/am installing a 93 LT1/T56 out of Z28 in my 1980 280ZX. I have found that this is a very good choice for the ZX because of the lower profile intake and no distributor to deal with on the rear of the block. Now if you go LT1 I would buy a 95 because of 3 reasons...1) it has the updated optispark(distributor) and 2) it is still OBD1 so it will cost less to program and 3) you can program it yourself with software from TunerCat and a laptop! In 94 they made the compter with a reprogrammable chip until the 92(corvette)/93 engines where they still had a removable chip. So dont do what I did and buy a 93! I did update my optispark so I do have that but unless I change my harness and put on a 94-97 intake I am screwed out of reason 2 and 3! The cast heads do flow better but with a little bit of port work the alluminum ones will flow just as good and they weight 1/2 as much with for a Z is a great thing. So I would suggest buying a LT1 with alluminum heads or buy one with cast heads and buy some after market heads for it that are alluminum! Oh and I made my throttle cable with a Lokar cable. I will post some pics if you guys want? Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Casey240Z Posted July 15, 2003 Share Posted July 15, 2003 I think I am leaning towards the Lt1 for many reasons mostly due to the T56 trans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greimann Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 Just an FYI. I just remembered these pictures from MSA 2003 show. This company, Autobacs, was installing Vortec engines and shipping the cars back to Japan! Anyway, they didn't have a hood yet because the doghouse sticks up so tall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 FWIW, I sat in that car and fired the engine and revved it up. It's silky smooth and sounds great. The only drawback, as Dave mentioned, is hood clearance. Big ol' cowl will fix that Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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