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HybridZ

life, liberty and the persuit of horsepower


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Hey Y'all,

After 7 years I've finall started on my Z-V8 conversion. I'm putting a 283 w/2speed powerglide in a 260Z. After mistakenly buying some of the kit from zcars.com I've found a few better places to look for info and parts. I know almost everyone here praises the Jags That Run book but I was wondering if any one has tried http://www.johnscars.com/zcar.htm

The site is a bit hard to navigate but I don't know about the kit, which sells for $695.00 and they also sell a book. Alot of the prices on John's and Jags are the same. http://www.johnscars.com/zcar/zcar.htm

The only real problem I have with the Jags kit is the transmission mount, which looks kind of mickey mouse, although nowhere near as bad as the Motorsport mount, as for John's I've never seen it.

I'm not worried about the motor mounts, I plan on taking a plasma cutter and cutting the Datsun mounts off the crossmember and fabricating new ones.

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I think John's kit is really the only way to go for an LS1 install, but from what I've heard I would stick with the JTR setup for a non LS1 install. The JTR setup is cheaper, has better placement, and has better documentation. You have several options for the transmission mount, but I think the JTR one works just fine.

 

BTW - Welcome to HybridZ

 

edit: Here's a thread by dat240zg who tried John's kit, you may want to contact him to see what he thinks of it...he may have swtiched to the JTR setup now.

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=112471

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I have heard a lot about these kits jtr. Why do people use the kits, When I built our z car, I used a front motor plate, pretty simple to install, then a mid motor plate for extra strenght and support. Made my own cross member. Used the hooker headers super comp made for a z-car. It is not that bad of a deal to make.

 

Ist note, get the headers 1st, setup a dummy engine (block) with heads. position it with the headers on. This will let you know the rest. Where the crossmember needs to be, motor plate setup and mid-plate setup etc.

 

Maybe I am so used to making stuff, I take it for granted. We are working on the S10 build up now. Installed dummy engine, ordered headers. Have to wait for them to come in and mount them before we procede with making any type of mounts.

 

just my opinion, but you know the saying......

 

John

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I have heard a lot about these kits jtr. Why do people use the kits, When I built our z car, I used a front motor plate, pretty simple to install, then a mid motor plate for extra strenght and support. Made my own cross member. Used the hooker headers super comp made for a z-car. It is not that bad of a deal to make.

 

Ist note, get the headers 1st, setup a dummy engine (block) with heads. position it with the headers on. This will let you know the rest. Where the crossmember needs to be, motor plate setup and mid-plate setup etc.

 

Maybe I am so used to making stuff, I take it for granted. We are working on the S10 build up now. Installed dummy engine, ordered headers. Have to wait for them to come in and mount them before we procede with making any type of mounts.

 

just my opinion, but you know the saying......

 

John

It all depends on what you want. I think that a setup for the dragstrip may not be the best setup for a track or street car. JTR designed a setup that puts the motor further back and lower for better weight distribution and handling. You don't have to buy their "kit", you can make your own mounts using their templates (or even using your own design). Most people prefer the "JTR" engine placement, and that's what most people are going with on their SBC swaps.
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I would have used JTR or even JCI's kit if it would have worked with my specific combo of engine and trans. Ended up doing it on my own (with lots of ideas from all the good members here), but I would certainly be a LOT farther along if I didn't have to do all the trial and error fitting of this and that.

 

It's one thing to have a complete shop with the right tools and enough free time you can invest 3 or 4 consecutive days working on the car. It is a lot harder when you have to sneak time in after your normal job and in between soccer practice and doing the wife. Not to mention hunting down the miscellaneous nuts and bolts or correct sized piece of steel.

 

For a part time hobbyist a “kit†can be the difference between getting the job done and having it string out for so long that you lose momentum.

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