requesting help and a bitch slap if necessary

[Guest dancaprar]

First off let me say that this site kicks royal ass. Secondly the pieces of art that you guys are building do the same. Now that I am done with the brown nosing let me get to the meat and 'taters of this post.

I am the proud owner of a '94 Chevrolet Z28. I bought it with 150k miles, T56(all hail), and the CAGS that so unfortunatly came with it. I rectified the CAGS issue 2 days after I purchased the aforementioned piece of machinery. I had enjoyed my V8 torque for nearly 2 months(quite a record for me) before something happened. I hit standing water on bald tires that I was en-route to replacing. Next thing I know the rear end is up front and everything is topsy turvy. Long story short the car is totalled and the the engine and tranny are free of any contractual obligation to power the Z28....I then got myself deployed to one dem stan cunt-ries 2 days later. With me enjoying the intense heat of the 2nd hottest country on earth I stumbled across this site. I lurked and lurked and then I convinced myself. 240Z with a LT1 T56 combo. Now, I consider my self to be in the above average group of the general population when it comes to engine knowledge and I am well aware that FI is NOT the best option for a first time hybrid, due mainly to the cost/difficulty of tuning said FI engine to the specs of a super light car(something like $300 for LT1 edit and then what ever time it takes to get it running properly). Please prove me wrong if need be.

My goal is a daily driven 240Z LT1 T56 combo with better handling then a Z28. From my understanding, stock 240Z suspension is not up to that task. Here is the kicker...when it comes to suspension and chassis I dont know a damn thing...other than the 240 would need MUCH more structural re-enforcing to handle even stock torque so I am in the process of BLEEDING this site dry of any and all suspension and chassis related information and ya'll are proving VERY helpful but I would like to know if there are any other sites or books that would expand my knowledge in this area. I dont expect this project to be completed or even started for some time now. I am just dumping all my fish in one barrel before I load the howitzer. Thank you for what ever help you can give.

Yours truly,

SrA Dan Caprar

 

 

P.S.

This post will also go into the suspension and chassis forum to ensure maximum responses since I believe this post to pertain to both V8 chevys and suspension and chassis... PLEASE prove me wrong if I have made ANY inaccurate statements in regard to the handling prowess of a 240Z. Thank you.

[Guest Grenade300]

Well, first of all, the search function at the top of the page will provede a lot of useful information. Second of all, if you go to a site called http://www.jagsthatrun.com there is a book there all about how to swap a small block chevy into a 1st gen Z. It covers almost everything you need to know. There is also a book entirely on TBI and TPI swaps that will touch on a lot of the information on for the LT1 and T56. In my opinion, both of these books are required reading. The TPI and TBI book even tells you how to overcome the VATS(Vehical Anti Theft System) which has to do with that black chip in your Camaro key.

There are a few options when it comes to the rear end of the 240Z holding up to the torque of the LT1. There is some debate as to whether the stock R180 diff can handle the power, however the halfshafts are almost certain to give out if you drive hard or want to do some upgrades to the engine. You can either weld in a solid axle like some have done, buy a kit from http://www.modern-motorsports.com and use a 300ZX/Infinity R230 diff and halfshafts, or upgrade to a '75-'89 R200 Z-car diff. This is just a quick rundown. Trust me you don't want to do this unless you have the place, time and lots of money to do it. And if you use the search function you will find answers to questions that you didn't even know to ask yet.

 

Oh, and by the way, I hope I am not overstepping onto Tim's turf here, but double posting is not the thing to do in this forum.

[Guest dancaprar]

Looks like I will be deleting my other post then. I would like to stay on everybodys good side. Thanx for the heads up Grenade300.

I have the JTR V8 conversion book on its way but I didnt consider the TPI and TBI book. Good call, one of those lapses of thought process I guess. So far so good. I will try to search a little more for specific questions but so far I have just been reading post to post. Good stuff guys.

[Tim240z]

Dan,

Welcome to the Board!!

If you have any questions on site 'do's and don'ts', a list of rules and regs are listed at the top of each forum. Now that's out of the way!!....

http://hybridz.org/nuke/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=34144

 

 

For editting the LT1.....get TunerCat and a cable from Andrew at AKM Electronics.

TunerCat = ~$90

Cable = ~$90

Much cheaper than LT1 Edit and you aren't limited to one PCM, so you can tune your buddies' cars for some extra $$$.

I am using that exact same drivetrain (model and year) in my Z. The FI wiring is not hard to sort out at all.

As mentioned above, get the manual from JTR, use the search function as every question you have has been asked and answered several times.....

If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM, or email me.......

Here is something to get you going:

 

http://www.tunercat.com/

 

http://www.akmcables.com

 

http://www.andywhittaker.com/ecu/ecu_software.htm

 

 

Tim

OH, and here is your :malebitchslap:

[Tim240z]

Here is Terry's post from the other (duplicate) post, which has been deleted:

 

 

This is only one opinion, but I feel the Z unibody is sufficient in terms of chassis strength for a HybridZ streetcar. This is based on other cars of larger size, and supposed greater strength. I used to drive a '72 Cuda that would twist and shimy a lot worse than my Z does. IMHO, a street HybridZ needs little reinforcement on account of the new powerplant. My 240 worked well with the SBF (okay, it dosen't have the torque the LS1 has, but cut me some slack) even before I installed the cage. I owe most of that to the front strut bar reinforcement, and the solid mounting of the engine and transmission. After doing that, it seemed the cage added little to the needed rigidity. Tire choice will determine more than anything else where you need specific reinforcing. Narrow tires (anything smaller than 245's in my opinion) will slip before damaging torque to the chassis takes effect. An R200 differnential out of the latter Z and into the ZX model will handle the torque, and the updating to CV jointed shafts should take care of that weakness. After that you should be in good shape. I feel the Z is way more robust than it needed to be, which is to our advantage. It sounds like you've got plenty of time to read up on previous posts and make an intellegent decision on what to do.

[deMideon]

Another option is to go with a 280Z, a lot more structural reinforcment than the 240.