Guest faulball67 Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 For the first time in my life I have a car and no clue where to start. I have been working on chevy's for years. I decided I wanted to get an old Z because i have always loved the way they looked. I found a 260Z for $300 and decided to get it. I didnt realize that there was absolutley no differential in it until I got it home! I plan on dropping in a chevy 350 that pulls right around 425 hp and is bolted up to a TH350 tranny. I need to find pick a rear end that will bolt up the quickest but handle the power. I have looked at the stickies and searched the forums but I feel totally lost with all the cars listed and the letters and numbers. I know I want an lsd but other than that I have no clue. It's not going to be a drag car, just a good powered street car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage42 Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 Well, you are limited as to options. The TH350 is going to kill you on the hwy unless you run a 3.36 or similar rear ratio. For obvious reasons, a built 700R4 is the ideal transmission. If you are going to put down that kind of power, an R200 or larger is what you need...alas, LSDs are rare or $1k for a good carrier. I'd say your best bet is to go with Ross' R230 Z32 diff/axle conversion. Just my 2 cents. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=132062 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RB26powered74zcar Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 Just try and find out what you had in there already. That will help get you up and running the quickest. If you can somehow jack it up enough to get us some pictures, we can see what you need as far as replacing the stock rear, so you can then plan out a better option. If you just go back in with what you had (either a R180 or a R200) you can get by pretty cheap for now. Even if its the smaller R180, plenty of guys have made do with that diff (taking it easy on it of course) until they can afford/decide on a up grade... Get some pics up for us to see what you have there!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linchpin360 Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 Well, you are limited as to options. The TH350 is going to kill you on the hwy unless you run a 3.36 or similar rear ratio. For obvious reasons, a built 700R4 is the ideal transmission. If you are going to put down that kind of power, an R200 or larger is what you need...alas, LSDs are rare or $1k for a good carrier. I'd say your best bet is to go with Ross' R230 Z32 diff/axle conversion. Just my 2 cents. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=132062 not always the case. i found my r200 lsd for $200 on craigslist. that was for the whole rear subframe. it had 98000 on the clock when pulled and is in great shape. you can find a diff for cheap, you just have to be patient and look for deals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage42 Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 Let's just say that you are one of the more rare and lucky to find one of those these days. They used to show up on ebay quite often....not so much anymore and typically $500+. The same can be said for the R160 LSD Subaru diffs. I bought one for $150 in the early '90s from an '88 XT turbo. Now, those same diffs are rare, too and go for $300-400 or more. Craiglist is a crap shoot, as you hope to find one for cheap and then hope it's close or the seller will even ship it. If you plan on waiting for an R200 LSD to pop up for cheap, you may be waiting for a long time. The Z32 swap is something that can be done NOW and those diff & axles are almost free around here. So, just depends on how anxious you are to find an LSD. You can get an open diff for cheap and then do the "one tire fire" deal until it drives you nuts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest faulball67 Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 I would run a 700r4 if I can find a decent one for cheap or can trade some one looking for a TH350. I found another 260Z for $275 near me and might grab that up if the rear end is still in it. But I have a ton of time until I am really worried about getting this done. Having patience isn't an issue, since I am in the middle of cutting out all the rust and patching it up, which needless to say is going to take some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest faulball67 Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 Here's som pics of the void of a rear end in my Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowtiez Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 I have been through the whole route. I started with a 260Z 350 V8 350TH Automatic. For drag racing, you cannot beat the simplicity and ease on the drive train of an auto. For track days, forget it due to down shifting problems. For street use, gas mileage is awful with the common 3:54 Diff and the 350TH. I changed the 260Z R180 to a 78 280Z R200 and then added a Phantom Grip LSD. I changed to a Richmond Super T10 4 speed and promptly broke a half shaft u joint at the drags just using road race tires. I now have gone with the Techno Toy R230 Conversion and a VLSD TT diff. Unless you can weld and cut, you would be well to stick with a short nose R200 conversion which will easily handle 400 HP. All of this costs money and is not simple. I suggest you find a long nose R200 complete with axles and be sure and get the mustache bar, forget the LSD unless you like oversteering and doughnuts, and make sure the half shafts have non lubricating ujoints of the best quality. The stock 260Z suspension with a 350 with a 2400 stall converter does some amazing launches with a mild Chevy and street tires. (11:06 in the 1000 Feet) Summit sells some new generation 400's that do not require a computer and have an overdrive. Also, be sure and get the JTR diff coupler for a 1310 Chevy driveshaft u joint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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