Guest Z-rific Posted September 11, 2003 Share Posted September 11, 2003 I drove my new V8 conversion home late last week. I haven't posted in about a year, so let me reintroduce my situation. My '78 was in the shop for about 11 months! Here's what all they did to it: Pulled the L6 and tranny Stripped the engine compartment bare (no wires or brackets). painted it Cut and balanced driveshaft Dropped in the 350 w/ 350 tranny Installed electric fan Connected all wiring, linkages and hoses Built a trans. crossmember and plate for the shifter Pulled the tank, emptied it and replaced fuel pump (I may be forgetting some things) I am in the process of going through it all and fixing some minor mistakes and finishing things they didn't do (gauges, tuning, etc.) I had them use the Scarab style mounts, which I may change in the future. The engine is a '79 4 bolt main, with hi-compr. pistons, an aggresive cam, Perofrmer inake, Hooker super comp headers and a Q-jet on top. The TH350 has a very strong shift kit and is linked to a B&M ratchet shifter. I have installed flares/body panels on the drivers side and am doing passenger side now. (I have still yet to see flares like mine. I got them from a guy who bought them for his 240Z in the mid 70's from Sears, he thinks). Tokico shocks and springs are in the mail and are the next step. New carpet is partially done and a new dash cap and console are ready to go in. New wheels and tires on the way also. I'll try and get some pictures in the next week or so of anybody is interested. Just wanted to say a big "Thanks!" for the ton of helpful info I've learned from this site. Me and that "Search" function are like best friends. I look forward to getting a ton more help in the future and helping others when I can. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted September 11, 2003 Share Posted September 11, 2003 OK, that's all well and good, but where are the pictures!!!! Also, why the SCARAB position, and why a TH350? Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Z-rific Posted September 11, 2003 Share Posted September 11, 2003 I knew those 2 questions would come up! I went back and forth from Scarab to JTR about a hundred times. I chose Scarab mostly for ease of installation, cost, and ability to bolt on the Hooker headers with no worries. I wanted the shop to have a 1,2,3 install. Also, I knew I was using the TH350 so shifter placement wasnt a problem. And, the forward position looks more like a natural fit (for me). I won't be autocrossing, and I wasn't sure if the lower center of gravity/weight distribution would help me too much. Having said that, I knew it would also be possible to go to the JTR setup without too much hassle. I went TH350, again, mostly for cost purposes. My car will be a short distance/every other day driver, so I'm not really worried about an overdrive and highway mileage. By the way, that darn shift kit may be a little too much. I may have to tone it down a bit. The car chirps tires going to 2nd and 3rd under any moderate acceleration. (Don't have the 265's on it yet). I'm getting a digital camera in the next few days. I just need to learn hot to post pictures and find a image hosting site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denny411 Posted September 11, 2003 Share Posted September 11, 2003 Why did it take so long for the garage to complete the conversion? It seems to me that half of that time should have been sufficient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsommer Posted September 11, 2003 Share Posted September 11, 2003 Sooo tell us the cost, not that I'm not that interested but others have inquired about shop rates in the past. Post some pics too I'd love to see what a "shop" can do. I'll bet your're all grins too after waiting so long to get your car back, congrats ds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Z-rific Posted September 11, 2003 Share Posted September 11, 2003 Exactly why it took that long is beyond me. The shop is a salvage yard/auto supply shop and they take in projects like mine on the side. My guess is that the Z was last on their priority list. The guy who worked on it is kind of a friend, so I didn't hassle him too much. I certainly didn't want to get on their bad side, as I didn't want to have shoddy work done just to shut me up. But yep, I was all smiles Bear in mind though, I've already encountered a few "short cuts" they took that I'm fixing. But I know I'll have more confidence in the car if I have gone through it completely on my own. As far a sprice....well, he made me promise not to tell anybody how much I paid, because he swears he would never do it again for even twice as much as I paid. But let's just say it was more than $2000 and less than $2200. That was for the motor/tranny/elctric fan/ exhaust system/misc. parts; the whole bit, minus the headers and motor mounts. (The engne has about 3000 miles on it, and it has a 1 year warranty). He basically cut down on the price due to unreasonalbe amount of time he had it in the shop. I wish I had a digital camera, so I could show pics. I would also like you guys to see the flares and try to identify them for me. I'm working on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsommer Posted September 11, 2003 Share Posted September 11, 2003 That's not a bad price!!! Seeing how I've got 3K+ in just my engine!!! ds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heavy Z Posted September 11, 2003 Share Posted September 11, 2003 Congrats on your Z. $2k is worth it big time IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Z-rific Posted September 11, 2003 Share Posted September 11, 2003 Yeah, I'm tickled pink with the price. There is a side of me that would like to have done the work myself. If I had a little more room and a few more tools, I may have gone that route. But for that kind of money, I'm glad I didn't. I'm not happy with how long they had the car, but i'm very happy with the price and the work quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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