Guest Anonymous Posted October 23, 2002 Share Posted October 23, 2002 Has any1 used the z car chevy converstion kits from Johns cars Inc? Im setting up my chevy 327eng right now and searching for the mounting and driveline parts and the odds and ends befor i complete my 327. I found the kit at http://www.johnscars.com/zcar/zcar.htm I thinnk the cost was around $700 excluding things like drive shaft, rams horn manifolds ect. any1 used this kit? if so how did it work for you and was it durable and worth the money? thanks Im on a total $3000 budget for this progect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted October 23, 2002 Share Posted October 23, 2002 Do some "search'" on John's Cars. The name has been brought up many times and I do not remember anything positively in favor of. JTR seems to be the choice around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted October 23, 2002 Share Posted October 23, 2002 Hey Z4Life, Sense I am still in the research stages of doing a swap, I too look into the Johnscars swap. One afternoon I took the time to drive to Dallas to get the "Teach me, Show me" book the advertise on their website. After talking to the guy at the counter for a couple of mins, he took to the one zcar that they had converted. It ended up being a 280zx with what was a very nice setup at one time. Now, it's just a rusty paperweight. After taking a closer look, It's pretty much just a beefed up crossmember, or a Scarb type of swap. The engine was mostly appart, seeing as they had borrowed parts to fix the Jags that they were converting. If your looking for a quick swap and compromising handling, Then that might be what your looking for. If you are looking to retain most of your stock handling, then spend the $35 and get the JTR (Jags That Run) book. After you study that about 100 time, you could buy their kit which is cheaper or have them fabericated per the patterns that they provide in book, it's alot less cash out of pocket. Johns cars are the masters at the Jag, not the Z. and the guy addmitted that to me. I am look at a 350 or 383 swap, unless mu Bro-in-law the insurance adjuster can score me a totaled 2003 Ram 2500 SuperDuty, then, that's out the window. GoodLuck with your swap- Kyle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted October 23, 2002 Share Posted October 23, 2002 Jettblackx - I just sent you an email. I live in Arlington and am having John's Cars do an LS-1/T-56 conversion in my '77 280Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest digitalz Posted October 23, 2002 Share Posted October 23, 2002 do yourself a favor and get the JTR Manual. Seems john's cars prices are high to me. the complete jtr kit minus the speedo cable is between $250-$300 i think. for the speedo get a autometer with the electronic sending unit. calibration is quick and easy just drive a couple of miles and it's done. have not seen a john's cars kit lately but, his kits were based on the scarab mount position. imho, go the jtr route cheaper, better weight dist., good handling... kent ps. i think i heard it here, jc kits=expensive junk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 There's a big discussion here about the Scarab mount position vs. the JTR. Lots of info, and IMO, the conclusion is a wash. Although, I did mount my motor in the "JTR" setback position. Now, separate from that issue, but more to the point: If you are interested in the Scarab-style V8 mount, John's kit is overpriced to say the least. One of the major advantages of that mounting style is it's utter simplicity. You use the stock Datsun trans mount and a couple bolts to attach Chevy motormounts to the stock Datsun towers. So, anything beyond $20 for such a "kit" is really a waste. So, am I saying the John's Cars kit is a ripoff, without having even seen it? Nooooo, I wouldn't do that ( ). I'm merely trying to apprise you of the situation. I don't think the JTR manual is all that amazing - but for the price ($35) it is really is more than worthwhile. You really have to buy one if you are thinking about this swap - $35 is such a ridiculously tiny amount weighed against the magnitude of the project. And Mike Knell even includes measured drawings in there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 I'd have to agree, however I will zip my lip for fear of another round of scarab vs jtr here, the last one was ugly and not worth more bandwith really. That said, I agree totally, the JTR kit is very cheap and effective. The only thing to be said for the scarab position IMHO (IN LARGE PRINT) is missing the hoodlatch. From any sort of logical engineering having the motor by the firewall makes it closer to 50/50 weight distribution and in most cases thats so from the scale weight of JTR style cars. I've seen a early "kit" which is very much like what I bet John's is using (and I could be corrected, this is a guess), but the kit consisted of like a aluminum block that was just a spacer from the Datsun mount and to the chevy motor mount. Using like a TH350 you can use the stock datsun mount (that could I suppose be considered a advantage to the scarab style car). Anyway cop the book, read it a few times through and then just do it, you won't regret it if you really want a V8 conversion. Just an opinion on the above stuff, but I think the numbers show the JTR style kit is more used in more V8 Z cars that the others by far (at least from most examples I've seen on the net and I've seen alot of them.) Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Regards, Lone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted October 25, 2002 Share Posted October 25, 2002 Thanks for all the info and reply's. I dont have a shop or the tools to fabricate any parts, just basic garage at home thats why the johns kit caught my atention. I need basicaly a ready to bolt on prefab kit from the box. Maybe i should call around first and get some details befor ordering anything, after all i do have some time befor my 327eng is ready. Oh.. and the car im working with is a 1983 280zx non-turbo with the crappy digital dash very nice car, i just need more power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted October 25, 2002 Share Posted October 25, 2002 Check out: http://www.hybridz.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=002322#000000 which references this HUGE thread: http://www.hybridz.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=001259 The only other advantage (that I can recall) to the Scarab position is that the engine is up further, pulling the oilpan away from the road. There HAVE been incidents where the 7.5" OE depth oilpan has been smacked or ripped open on JTR conversions. I tried to get around that with a 7" deep Corvette pan (now NLA at Chevy). Another alternative is a 6.5" deep Canton road race pan. Hooker Headers still makes the mounts and headers to do the Scarab position swap. But the JTR mounts are not much if any more $$.` Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted October 25, 2002 Share Posted October 25, 2002 If you're intested in a Kit, http://jagsthatrun.com - Mike Knell sells all the parts to do the conversion. Also, I think MSA now has a kit, no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted October 26, 2002 Share Posted October 26, 2002 There is the MSA kit as well, it is setback like the JTR kit, but they have everything in pieces, but MSA is expensive if you buy everything. But it is an alternative and I've heard they're trans mount is better, I donno. Theres probably going to be some level of fabrication required anyway you look at it. Have you thought about waiting for a already built hybridZ to make it self available? Regards, Lone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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