TomsCoupe Posted December 25, 2004 Share Posted December 25, 2004 the turbo is the easy part. Just find a place where it fits and make the piping to work with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman47 Posted December 25, 2004 Author Share Posted December 25, 2004 Sorry guys ive been working hard on the kit, The more i have been though the better my hopes are for it. I am really starting to realize the advantages we have on the checvy guys. This hot rod specialist who is helping me is a wealth of knowledge and not just knowledge from his head, but good old expiriance in the field. He brought over a buddy who races in the gt-1 class and his crew cheif who use to race at the 24 hr le mans. I used to be sold on the whole irs deal until I met this guy. Think of this the c-5 vette is probably the best irs in terms of strength wieght and availibility. Well it suprised me to know that in speed gt challenge and trans am racing they remove the irs in the vette why, weight savings strength and putting power to the wheels. He told me a stroy about a race team who ran vettes with irs and the most tricked out ls1 [dohc] you could imagine. But they never could beat the steeda stangs who used a 2001 body with a gt rear end [solid axle] and a 5.8 liter pushrod engine. So they went to chevys engineers and asked them why they couldnt get a leg up on these ford guys and they said " IRS is a street feature, while it is easier to setup an irs system to handle well, if you do the right setup for a solid rear nothing can beat it." They admitted that the only reason IRS was made was for low HP cars where it didnt matter about putting the power to the wheels. Think about it irs only came into light after the whole front wheel drive craze. Low eco cars that had a smoother ride. So to make a long story short the vette team dropped in currie 9 inch rears and went to tricked out carbed engines and they beat there own times on the track by an average of 6 second`s a race with a average speed of 86 mph. That is almost 3/4 miles advantage. IRS was made for a smooth ride. The pros know to swap out there irs. So my original plan was to fab in a kit so any of us could drop in a cobra rear irs system to solve these r-180,r-200 problems and stop this r-230 price craze. But Now that ive talked to the experts, Im fabbing a kit where you z guys are going to be able to drop a 9 inch rear in the car with as little hassle as possible. Dont know prices yet but will keep you informed. Think about it thought a corvette irs system runs 2 grand without all the time and effort to convert it to the z. A cobra`s even more. A bullet proof 9 inch can be purchased at a junkyard for 150$ or complete from currie for about 400-750$. But they are bullet proof handle up to 2000 hp in some cases. Are system is going to be most likely a 4 link type suspension with some mod`s. But back to the motor swap Ford engines are lighter and older engine componets are stronger then chevys [351w rods crank pistons are rated to about 450 rwhp] The only thing chevy ever had on ford were there heads but know thanks to abundance of aftermarket parts they are tied on the heads. So when a chevy guy says its cheaper to build a chevy hi-po engine that is not true anymore.My car the piolit car that we are mocking everything upto is going to have a 351w with twisted wedge heads and a t-66 turbo with a super t-10 and a currie rear end and we will see if any of the chevy guys can beat me on the track with there stroked out irs cars . Anyways guys thought i`d update you and tell you that our ford engines are going to be pressed up against our firewalls safely and lowered a hair for pure weight ratio balance. The guys at jtr did great but just as they took the scarab and made it better we are finding the advantages of ford engines and making the jtr kit better. Dont qoute me on this but since we can scoot our engines back farther I believe it will have room for a turbo or super charger up front. Also we are trying to build a mor solid mount one that doesn`t bolt into the old crossmember section but one that fits directly to the frame for better [stronger applications] The le mans guy is a chevy die hard but he agrees with me in saying that the ford small block will give alot more advantage to its user than the chevy. Chad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dp351zcar Posted December 25, 2004 Share Posted December 25, 2004 I like the idea of the solid rear but I think the 9" is overkill. I was looking at a 8.8 and I think that it is plenty strong for the for the weight of a Z. I mean look at the times some of the mustang run with a stock 8.8. The reason I was looking at the 8.8 and not a 9 is the weight diffrence plus I allready have one from a mustang. Another question is do the 8.8 and the 9" mount up the same to the car the same? If they do than which to use is a moot point as you could run either one. Just a thought. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 305240 Posted December 26, 2004 Share Posted December 26, 2004 Wow! This is interesting. I see it's time to do some heavy duty thinking about the rear. I can pick up the 8.8 out of the stang I got my engine out of pretty cheap. I havn't swaped out my R180 yet. May as well go to the 4 link 8.8. That would solve a lot of problems. Thanks for the heads up tip in the straight rear....So that leaves me with a whole rear disc set up for my Z. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZROSSA Posted December 26, 2004 Share Posted December 26, 2004 A Solid axel can work very well on a race car on a smooth surface. Four links are nice as well. If you are going to use the car on the road where more suspension travel is needed then a four link can sometimes bind and give you a bit of a fright. I think a three link can work better. On rough roads the independed will be more comfortable as well as handle better when set up for the conditions. You will also get more traction from a irs in the rough. Douglas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted December 27, 2004 Share Posted December 27, 2004 Here is a link to some info on the Mustang 4-link, the problems with it's design and how to solve them. http://www.miracerros.com/mustang/t_suspension.htm I always thought an IRS was better in every situation as well. I did some research not to long ago when looking for ideas regarding my next project car and determined that it has more to do with how things are setup than one design vs another. One thing an IRS does provide is more adjustability in alignment settings such as camber and toe-in/out that a solid axle cannot. Think about using a Watts linkage and/or 3-link rather than 4 or 5 link. They are better designs that avoid the inherent bind up problems of the 4-link. I'm curious about whether a torque arm will fit in the Z driveline tunnel. I'm really glad to see this project progressing as I plan on doing a SBF Z sometime in the future. I probably won't go as far as swapping a living axle rear but I want a Ford power plant. I would like to see someone do a Modular engine transplant at some point as well although I think it will be difficult to get one in a Z because of the width of these engines. Wheelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PROJECTRB240SX Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 I WOULD LIKE A FORD KIT IF ITS REASONABLE..... I'M INTERESTED IN USING THE WC-T5 BEHIND A 302. ANYWAY LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU GET IT ALL SQUARED AWAY.... PROJECTRB240SX@HOTMAIL.COM THANKS, CHRISTIAN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman47 Posted January 5, 2005 Author Share Posted January 5, 2005 Its going great guys, Ok 1st : We are trying to think of a front and rear crossmember system. Like the old ford y-blocks that had the bolt in the front towards the radiator this will not come with the base kit but only for windsor and hi hp 302/289 over 300 hp [only recommendation] We believe that by doing this it will make more othe front end a box rather than a triangle and thus make it alot stronger. So for the guys who dont know about the old y-blocks picture the 2 motor mounts towards the firewall [back of engine] then picture another crossmember {only 14 lbs} near the front located by the radiator with a motor mount there so when your high hp engine spins up its not putting all the rotating wieght on 1 motor mount. Then when you get traction and the front part of the chassis flexes it will use 3 mounts instead of 2. Also during decel. 2nd we want to make sure that this kit is 302/351 friendly aka minimal fab work for you guys... Thats why we get paid the big bucks We were afraid that since the deck height is taller on the 351 we may have to notch out the towers so we are placing the engine lower 1 1/2 inches this will solve that problem and also help hood clearence and majorly affect handling it will lower and push back engine. Lower and further back than the jtr kit means better handling. 3rd the rear will have a watts linkage with we think a 4 link from comp engineering. We are trying to figure out how to use the same strut towers. 4th I am basically tearing up my unibody and making the chassis bulletproof so eventually we will be selling all kinds of weld on and bolt on parts that would seem radical to some but a must do for a long lasting reliable car. For example we may eventually make a rear clip for the z where we give detaild instructions on where to cut your entire rear unibody section [seems like alot of work] and replace it with a already fab`d rear frame rail with sheet metal on top and strut towrs in a differant location so you can just seem weld a few seems bolt a few bolts and have the right mounting points for a 9inch from currie with coil overs. It sounds way out there but trust me if you want your car bulletproof radical mods are the only way so im trying to think of all the major problems and make them as headache free as possible for you guys. I have been trying to build my car for 2 years and im so tired of the aftermarket z company`s ignoring the problems [rear diff, chassis,old metal etc] Im treying to make the average joe able to make a mclaren caliber car for a fraction the price. Im planning on putting 10,000$ into my car and be able to take 120 k corvettes and i will thanks to the guys at the fab ford and a few trans am racers ive meet. And hopefully all my mistakes and bugs in my car will make our kits perfect and easy for you guys. Thanks for the constant support guys Im doing this for all us hybridz lovers who cant a foord shelby cobras or Vettes Chad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra_Tim Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 I would like to see someone do a Modular engine transplant at some point as well although I think it will be difficult to get one in a Z because of the width of these engines. Wheelman I am going to take some measurments tonight to see if the motor will even fit between the strut towers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TAyres Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 Bump for updates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman47 Posted January 15, 2005 Author Share Posted January 15, 2005 Update hopefully tommarrow got surgery due to broken nose hopefully will be able to update Chad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TAyres Posted January 27, 2005 Share Posted January 27, 2005 Bump for updates? Or is this one gonna die? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Leah Posted January 30, 2005 Share Posted January 30, 2005 Just brought home my 1972 240z last week. I have a 98 Cobra engine (4.6 DOHC) sitting on a stand waiting on my project. We plan to begin putting this together soon. It'll be a tight fit but we think we can make it work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman47 Posted January 31, 2005 Author Share Posted January 31, 2005 Ok boys not to long now before its buttoned up...but i need a rough head count of how many guys are seriously interested in a jtr/ford kit for around 500$ this depends how many kits im going to have fabb`d. So if you are serious say "I" So far its just going to be 289 302 351 in 240z 260z and 80 until i can get a zx and 4.6 to mock up. But otherwise its going great also I would like and ford guyz with v8`s to send me pics of there cars/motors so i can put them in themy manual. So if anyone wants to show off send me the pics. We also have a export brace that will fit the fi 302 and carb`d 302 351. Also If any of you have special needs or wants tell me while im fabbing maybe we can turn your dream to a reality. I want to pick all your brains. From bumper to bumper ifdeas would be great. You provide dreams we will try to make em ....Also i have chevy 327 with holley matedt to wc t-5 1000$ or winsdor takes it. Chad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PROJECTRB240SX Posted January 31, 2005 Share Posted January 31, 2005 I Want One But What Will My $500 Get Me? And Will This Accept Efi Manifolds Such As The Gt40 Or The New Bbk Multiplenum, These Are The Tallest Plenums I Can Think Of And I Have A Bbk Plenum On Order? Thanks, Christian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudypoochris Posted January 31, 2005 Share Posted January 31, 2005 im definetly intrested but this package incude more than the motor mounts for $500? if so is there a way to just get the motor mounts, or is the $500 for only motor mounts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra_Tim Posted January 31, 2005 Share Posted January 31, 2005 Just brought home my 1972 240z last week. I have a 98 Cobra engine (4.6 DOHC) sitting on a stand waiting on my project. We plan to begin putting this together soon. It'll be a tight fit but we think we can make it work. PLEASE take pics man.... I have a Z car with no motor... but I just dont have a Modular motor sitting around that I can test fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sulla Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 I am interested but would like to see a list of parts included, photos etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rival5 Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 I'm interested. A list of parts would be nice, I'd like to know what my 500 bones is going towards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BOOMER-Z Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 I'm interested, but you'll need to provide specifics (parts lists, drawings, pics of the parts and the installation) about what we're supposed to be getting for our $500. Also, assuming you plan to use a seperate crossmember similar to the "alsil" mount, please address steering shaft clearance (I don't want to have to cut it) and exhaust clearance (block-hugger headers clearing the steering shaft and T/C bracket) issues which always seem to surface when installing a SBF in a Z. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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