Guest soulfly454 Posted September 25, 2002 Share Posted September 25, 2002 ok i know u guys have talked about the pros and cons of all the conversion kits but im gonna go ahead and see if u can help me out i bought my car with the conversion already installed its an old scarrab conversion and ive heard that its supposed to really mess up the handleing and i didnt think to much about it intil i lost toal control of my car and slammed into a mail box then a ditch (and it had to be a cops ditch too) and i was wondering what i should do becouse now my cars on the lift i nthe garage gettin the entire front suspension fixed cuz its all bent and broke to hell i want to know if i should stick with the scarrb kit or go ahead and either build my own jtr kit or order it or if ishould just tweak and up grade the stock suspension i was also wondering whats the best upgrades i can do the suspension i know i could put thi somewhere else but u guys seem to know the most so i thought id ask u and by the way ive got a 283 in my z and dont try to persuade me to change it cuz i love that quick revving thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPMS Posted September 25, 2002 Share Posted September 25, 2002 Originally posted by soulfly454:ive got a 283 in my z and dont try to persuade me to change it cuz i love that quick revving thing Hey, if you like it, that's your business. I don't think anyone here has any right (or desire) to berate your engine choice. On the Scarab positioning, that's been the subject of many past debates. I think we've pretty much reached consensus, though. There are Scarab cars out there which outrun JTR cars at the track, and there are JTR cars that outrun Scarab cars at the track. Theoretically, the Scarab has about a 4% greater front end bias than similarly equipped JTR cars, which isn't all that much. Put your battery in the hatch behind the rear axle and you've made up a good chunk of that weight difference right there. Either JTR or Scarab has a better weight distribution than just about any American musclecar. I'd say that if you had an accident in the car, it was probably not the fault of engine placement. I'd look at your suspension setup and your tires, as well as your driving ability. I'm not trying to be a prick, but driving a high powered, lightweight car can be a handful. Usually in these cars, the weakest link is THE DRIVER. I've ended up in my share of ditches, but it was always my own fault. I should have known better than to enter the corner that fast, I should have paid more attention to weather conditions. I'm the one with the brain, not the car, and if I hit something inanimate, that's MY fault. In short, my advice is to replace your struts and bushings, check your springs, and make sure you've got good quality tires. I hope you get your car back in one piece soon! Post some pictures of the damage, if you can. I'm a sucker for crash pics... Just my .02. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zfan Posted September 26, 2002 Share Posted September 26, 2002 Nothing wrong with a 283, they scream as I know as I had one before. What Scott said is correct. Fix suspension and mount good tires. Not much difference between scarab and jtr Just my opinion. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl327 Posted September 26, 2002 Share Posted September 26, 2002 man sounds like you really messed it up good. i had a scarab, and didnt miss handling at all, battery in trunk, alum. waterpump and manifold, bushings, kybs, big big sway bars and eibach springs had me major handling something vicious, i had some push, but i think its more the one legger diff than anything, mustve been doing something nuts to spin that car, or driving too far past your limits, z's whip out and come right out of it like a vette on the throttle, just lovely. good luck with your suspension work, i would leave it scarab, believe me, its a lot of money to convert to jtr because of "well, once its out, i might as well" it will end up costing you close to the conversion price. i say get it back rolling and enjoy the ride, address other issues and if you really feel you need that extra handling and space in the engine bay, you go on and you jtr it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted September 26, 2002 Share Posted September 26, 2002 Agree with the other guys. It waswn't the motor in the scarab position that put your car in the ditch. Repair your damage. Upgrade the parts while you're at it and then have fun driving your car - maybe a little slower near the cops ditch from now on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCZ Posted September 27, 2002 Share Posted September 27, 2002 Hi Soul, Sorry to hear about the ditch - a COP'S no less! I looked at that car before you bought it and unless you worked on the suspension, I would doubt that the engine placement had anything to do with losing control. As I recall, it had no upgrades done to it at all. Ditto the brakes. Now is a good time to finish the conversion properly. Stiffer springs. Good strut cartridges. Poly bushings all around. Bigger front sway bar, maybe add a rear. Check the condition of the frame rails (rust!). Lots of options on brakes but definitely MUST do something to make them better. Search the archives on this site if you haven't already, there is a LOT of good info. Fix your suspension right and you won't believe you ever drove that car with the current setup! That is a sweet engine but it won't help you if the car won't go where you point it! BTW, there is a Z swap meet in Greenville this weekend - you might be able to score some parts there. I think there are details on www.trianglezclub.com in the events section. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest soulfly454 Posted September 27, 2002 Share Posted September 27, 2002 hey guys thanks for all the help and im going to stick with the scarrab and just fix up the suspension and DCZ could u tell me where the swap meet is i would really like to go see some of the local z's and hope fully get some pasrts for my z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCZ Posted September 28, 2002 Share Posted September 28, 2002 The info I have is 10AM - 4PM this sat 28th at 194 W. Forlines Rd in Winterville NC. The guy in charge is at this email dragon@greenvillenc.com Don't know if I'll be able to make it but if I do maybe we'll meet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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