danj Posted April 6, 2004 Share Posted April 6, 2004 After 2 1/2 years in fabrication (and don't ask how much $$$$), the 83 ZX is on the road and in the testing and tuning stage. Basically it has a 383 stroker, Edelbrock Pro-Flo EFI, 700R4 tranny, aggressive street/strip Comp cam, Pro-Comp guages, Lokar shifter, aluminum radiator, braided fuel and brake lines, hi-pressure fuel system, and various goodies to support the set-up. As expected there were many bumps and problems to be solved along the way. The biggest hurdle seemed to be running a free flow exhaust system with the existing power rack steering. I regretfully gave up my power rack steering at the insistence of the fabricatior to allow the use of free flow headers. This was done with the thinking that manual rack steering would be OK. As it turns out the steering is very stiff and the car no longer handles like a sports car (more like a delivery truck). The steering column has a relatively sharp angle going through the header tubes, which may be contributing to the problem. The rest of the problem may be in the rack itself. I am not sure if it could be converted back to power rack at this point. To my knowledge the manual and power steering set-ups are different on the 79-82ZX models, and the 83 is a different animal to deal with. Has anyone run free flow headers on an 83ZX or converted to manual rack with success? Would like some input, suggestions and/or pics that might guide me on this. Any help would be appreciated. Dan H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danc Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 danj Good to hear you are on the road after such a long time. Mine took about 10 months, but I was hitting it pretty hard almost everyday. I have an 83 SBC/700R4 also with Power R&P and Heddman Tight tubes; which are not full length. The passenger side wasn't a problem, but the drivers side was completely reworked with the steering shaft running between the last two tubes (6&7). I've running an honest 430 H.P. and didn't find the headers to be a big restriction issue. I'm running 2 1/2 inch exhaust pipes into a flowmaster Y with a 3 inch out to a flowmaster muffler in the stock location. Good luck on getting it dialed in. Mine has been running since November 2001, and I pulled the engine/ trans out this year to clean up the wiring and install a Bowtie Overdrive Stage 2 700R4 to replace the "other" 700r4 that was a constant source of problems. Have you made any suspension modifications? Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danj Posted April 7, 2004 Author Share Posted April 7, 2004 Dan C. Thanks for your reply. I tried to send you an email recently but it was returned so I guess you changed email addresses in the past year or so. You made a wise choice to keep your power rack & pinion. I lost a lot of handling and drivability for the sake of the small difference of running full flow headers. Edelbrock estimates that I am running about 500 H.P. with my set-up. The EFI gives me a lot of variables in setting up the fuel and spark modifiers. The only changes I made to the suspension are new Tokico struts all around and polyurethane (not sure of these spellings) bushings everywhere. Car seems to sit a tad higher in the front after the conversion. I'm going to take it to a performance tranny shop soon to be sure I have the throttle valve, convertor, etc properly set up. What convertor are you running? I am thinking about upgrading to a 3000 stall TCI or equivalent. The car surges in drive at idle. Next decision is performance street tires. Thinking of Yokohama AVS ES100 tires (VR speed rated). Do you have any pics of how you ran your tubes and where the headers flow past the power rack? Dan H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted April 8, 2004 Share Posted April 8, 2004 Glad to hear there is another SBC 280ZX on the road! 8) Yours sounds like quiet the beast too! I have headers on my car but I have the gear box p/s system on my 80' ZX. I had to make a header for the drivers side though. There doesnt really seem to be an easy way around getting headers into a 280ZX with a V8 in it. Guy Oh yeah and where the pictures! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zfan Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 I have a 383 sbc in my 71 240Z and I may say your goona fly Enjoy the ride! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danc Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 danj: I hear you on the $$$$ and time. I'm sure you will ultimately be very happy with your set-up once you have it dailed in. I've owned my car since 3k miles and really enjoy driving it more than I ever have. I'll take a photo of the left side hedder for you. I'm using a Bowtie Overdrive Level 2, with a 2400 RPM convertor and their TV cable. I just got mine running again over this past weekend and haven't gotten thru their pressure test set-up yet, but they have been really helpful and everything else sounds good when you say it fast so far. I'll let you know how it works out, but do check out their web site for info.. I'm using Eibach Pro-Sport and Tokico struts (adjustable on the back). Used to squat real bad and it's great now. I'm also using a B&M 82-92 Camaro console model Mega shifter and it looks factory.. I did change E-mail and you can reach me at dchildress1@woh.rr.com. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 Hey danc... Can you post that pic of your header? I think other 280ZX V8 guys in the future could use that info. It would have been nice to see a custom header before I made mine. Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danc Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 Tried to upload some photos to the phot album but had no luck. What is the best way to attach the pictures??[/img] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 Did it say why it wouldnt let you upload them? If you continue to have problems you can send them to me and I will post them on my website. Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j260z Posted April 15, 2004 Share Posted April 15, 2004 once the photos are in the photo album you have to right click on them, go to properties and copy the location. once you've done that then you can put the location between the tags and it will show up in the thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danj Posted April 20, 2004 Author Share Posted April 20, 2004 Dan C. How is the Bowtie convertor and TV cable doing? I had also purchased the TV cable kit but have not installed it yet. I'm taking the Z to a tranny shop next week to see about going to a higher stall, perhaps 2500-2800. Dan J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danc Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 danj: No progress in the last few days. Out of town for work. I plan on getting it running and through the Bow Tie Overdrive, pressure test and test drive to validate their warranty. I'll get more pictures of the header at different angles, the B&M Megashifter, and some others that may be of general interest as well. The WEB site is a great idea and I commend your willingness to do that. I'd be happy to contribute whatever I can. I put together a grocery list of piece/parts I used a almost 3 years ago and looked it up today. It's still there under the subject: ZX SBC conversion using MSA mounts. I posted it 27 June 2001, and it may have some helpful info. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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