80LS1T Posted July 24, 2002 Share Posted July 24, 2002 I am putting an LT1 and T56 in my 1980 280ZX. I am planning on building it up to about 400-450HP at the crank. What I want to know is what kind of reinforcements do I need for my car? I would like to stay away from the roll cage if at all possible, but if that is what it is going to take then so be it! Thanks for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greimann Posted July 24, 2002 Share Posted July 24, 2002 What you need is based largely on what you intend to do with the car. Is it a road race only, drag only, street strip, or street only? I use my vehicle for street only and have found that tying the front strut towers to the firewall has made a significant difference in the rigidity of the front end. The braces are made from two panhard rods and brackets made out of 1x2 square tubing. Picture: http://home.earthlink.net/~dvgreimann/largeimages/enginefront.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 24, 2002 Share Posted July 24, 2002 GREIMANN Great "rod end" installation and placement! I did a tri bar set up but used flat bar with a hole drilled in it welded to the inside of the heavy wall round pipe rather than those fancy rod ends. I also incorporated the seperate attachment spacing to the firewall as you did since I could not see any benefit or gain in attaching the bars together to a single firewall mount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted July 24, 2002 Author Share Posted July 24, 2002 Well it will be street drive most of the time. I might take it to the track once and a while if I do some new mods. But other than that I will only use it to beat up on unsuspecting Hondas (God I hate Hondas! ) So is that it then just those strut bars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 24, 2002 Share Posted July 24, 2002 Run a strut bar across the rear tower struts and connect them.Use the rod ends if you can. Roll bar would come in handy and would add support if connected properly to floor board and trunk area, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 27, 2002 Share Posted July 27, 2002 Where do you get strut bars for a Z anyway ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 27, 2002 Share Posted July 27, 2002 I made mine out of pipe with the ends flattened and 1/4 X 1 inch flat bar welded in the flattened ends with 3/16 inch angle for brackets on the firewall and strut towers. For the rear I welded a section of 2 inch square tubing to tie the rear strut towers.. It would have been nice to have the adjustable rod ends for the front. A good source for suitable pipe is the long reinforcing rods or pipes in the engine compartments in 70's GM cars that support the radiator bulkhead and fenders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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