Guest Locutus Posted February 14, 2000 Share Posted February 14, 2000 I need help doing a swap for my car. In fact the only 2 things that really bother me are the Engine mounts and the transmission crossmember. Could anyone that has done this swap offer me ideas on how they accomplished this, and drawings of the mounts if you have them. I am considering doing a web page for a ZX conversion since the only company that does a kit charges out the *** for it. I am all for sharing and pursuit of knowledge for all. Please reply if you have any ideas Thank you Locutus(Mike) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted February 15, 2000 Share Posted February 15, 2000 you will save yourself a lot of time and breath if you order the conversion manual from JTR .It gives you all the basic info you will need to do the swap.It has the drawings you need for the mounts and setback plates ect. ,,then come here for the other info,, these guys are all really sharp and mucho helpfull ,, good luck ------------------ 74 260, early 350,K.B.pistons,edelbrock manifold,carb,and cam,202 cast iron heads.Let the transformation begin. [This message has been edited by takman57 (edited February 14, 2000).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Locutus Posted February 15, 2000 Share Posted February 15, 2000 The JTR manual only covers the Z not the ZX the dimensions are different on a ZX so that the mounting plates that JTR's diagrams show will not work, I know this from research so far. But what I can't find is information regarding what the set back should be and possibly drawings of the mounts for a ZX as compared to a Z. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted February 15, 2000 Share Posted February 15, 2000 sorry mike, overlooked the x,, but I bet you are at the right place, somebody here knows what you need for sure. GOOD LUCK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted February 16, 2000 Share Posted February 16, 2000 I'D BUY THE MANUAL ANYWAY, READ IT, AND THEN READ IT AGAIN. Also, I think Motorsport sells the parts for a ZX conversion, and you can buy only what you need, not the whole kit. Trust me, but it pre-made, save a few hairs! Mike ------------------ "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted August 21, 2002 Share Posted August 21, 2002 where do you buy the parts motorsport.com? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted August 21, 2002 Share Posted August 21, 2002 MSA is www.zcarparts.com. There is a 280ZX sitting in the yard next to the garage at John's Cars in Dallas with a chevy V-8 in it. It is an old conversin, very nasty looking now as it hasn't run in years, but I'll take a look at it when I'm over there tomorrow evening and see if I can see anything worthwhile. You might consider contacting him for just the motor and transmission mounts and then go from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greimann Posted August 22, 2002 Share Posted August 22, 2002 There are a few pictures in my web site below. The mounts are pretty simple, flat plates. If you have a hack saw and a drill, you are in. Note that I have clamshell type motormounts, which work beautifully for this conversion. The other type of mounts, not sure what people call them, will need extra thickness on the mount to get the right height. Also note that the power steering box poses a problem in that it comes very close to the #3 and #5 exhaust port. The manifold listed on my site works great. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BillV Posted August 24, 2002 Share Posted August 24, 2002 Do the MSA mounts put the engine low and rearward enough? I'm not going to run a HEI on mine, so I want it as far back as possible. It seems like using the truck mounts puts it awfully high. Also, has anybody tried stock LT1 manifolds on a ZX? They exit in the rear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest potterma Posted August 24, 2002 Share Posted August 24, 2002 Greimann, Thanks for the pix on your site. Looking at the engine compartment, it looks kinda tight. If one was to run a crank-fired ignition, could one move the engine back a significant amount before running into the firewall with the bell housing or something else? Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greimann Posted August 24, 2002 Share Posted August 24, 2002 To answer the above posts from Billv and Potterma; I don't know what the MSA mounts look like, but if they were designed for a typical HEI installation, then the position is going to be pretty much how you see my rig. The distributor is about .75" from the hood latch. If you were to loose the HEI then you could go back another 2" before causing problems with the heater hoses. As far as using LT1 manifolds, I would say that the left side could be used, but the right side has an extreme rear dump that I think would be unworkable, especially with a setback further than mine. The rams horn works great for the right side. One thing to keep in mind when working with the ZX is what type of steering system you have. The steering box type (mine) allows the motor to be place lower in the car, but has tight clearance with the left side exhaust manifold. The rack and pinion presents clearance issues with the oil pan, but gives a little flexibility with the left side exhaust. During all of this fitting, you have to worry about hood clearance, which may preclude anything higher than an Edelbrock Performer + carb or TPI / LT1 style EFI. I believe this swap has not been nailed down to a discreet set of dimensions yet and anyone doing one needs to decide what induction setup, exhaust setup and setback is right for them. When I did mine, I wanted it to be a "real" car that was reliable, easy to maintain, smog legal and still fun to drive. That meant using cast iron manifolds and an engine position that allowed the transmission to be pulled without moving the engine. Every project has compromises, and you all have to figure out what yours are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest potterma Posted August 24, 2002 Share Posted August 24, 2002 Thanks for the quick reply Griemann! I don't think 2 inches is going to be enough to motivate me to look into much set-back initially. I've got the manual R&P, but I'm looking to upgrade to power rack. I'll look in to that once I've got the engine/tranny installed. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danc Posted August 27, 2002 Share Posted August 27, 2002 Looks like the "waterfront" has been generally covered on this one, but the answer to how the MSA mounts fit is: My HEI sets within 1/4 of an inch from the hood mount latch on my 83. There are two tabs on the front of the latch sticking out towards the engine and I had to use my handy-dandy Dremel to remove the one on the passenger side. I don't see how the engine could set back any farther in the engine bay at all. I had to massage the oil pan just a tad on mine (GM crate) to clear the power R&P housing in a couple of places. I have a GM "medium" rise aluminum intake with a Holley 770 CFM Street Avenger, with a drop base K&N 2" filter with an Xtream lid. I ended up putting a metal cowl induction scoop on the hood, but it would have fit without any hood modifications by using a "low" rise intake. Mine was real close as it was, but I did the hood as much for the induction of cooler air as anything. The most important aspect to me of how it "fits" is the driveline angle; which with some very minor tweeking of the trasnmission mount is right on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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