zgeezer Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 Yeah, my '72 required some fairly significant coercion. Use something to distribute the force of the blows, it'll be virtually invisible both inside the cockpit and under the car. I have a four or five pound short handled single jack that I used whenever I saw a need to "get ignorant" and pound on my sheet metal. However, if you have air, and a long stroke air hammer/chisel, a "planishing" bit works very well. The "planishing" bit was purchased from harbour freight for about $10.00. It has a concave circular head about the size of an old fifty cent coin. It really moves the metal and, best of all, when you are finished it the metal doesn't have that "battered" look to it. g Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyracer Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 The first pic shows the slight modification we made to the trans bracket. We modified the angle of the bracket to parallel the outer edges of the tunnel. Takes about an hour or so but worth the effort. This will allow you to get the exhaust pipes to fit nicer in the space . Dont beat the floor in . You will make the job of bending the front pipes more difficult. Love the exhaust install , what gas tank is that? Are those glasspacks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zgeezer Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 I used JCI's mounting kit to install my 5.3 with AT into a early '71 Series I Z. Very narrow tunnel. Only problem was the re-install of the tension bar on the driver's side. No problem with the rear mount. Perfect clearance. Two questions: have you emailed John with your photos and asked him what the problem might be and have you removed and rotated the transmission insulator? JCI mounts do place the engine and transmission offset to the passenger side. Send an email to John: he is usually pretty quick with an answer. G:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted April 8, 2010 Author Share Posted April 8, 2010 (edited) I haven't had time to work on the Z since I posted this thread, sadly. yes, i've rotated the insulator, and that doesn't really help. No, I have not contacted John yet. Unfortunately I don't have time during the day to call him (seriously) and he is 2 hours ahead of my time zone. I will try to shoot him an email later. I know I skipped the obvious step Edited April 8, 2010 by auxilary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kj280z Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 (edited) Told you, weenie. Now get out there and lay in the water and beat on that thang! FYI, now my frame rails look like YOUR butt, smooth and covered in primer. I just did a search and found this thread - since I'm having a similar problem... Unfortunately it's not as easy as just trimming and a hammer - especially with the JCI 280z mount since it fits between the frame rails... With the way it works out, the motor is angled too far toward the drivers side - this causes the drivers side header to interfere with the JCI motor mount near the TC connection point (in some cases) AND the shifter doesn't come up through the hole correctly (if the shifter were the only problem trim away, but it's not). Obviously this also creates drive line angles that are not optimal. In this case, no amount of hammering will suffice... There are only 2 options... 1. Make your own tranny mount (easier in the long run as it is not a complex part) 2. Cut the JCI mount and try to make it work and then weld on a new section which rectifies the issue which causes it to pull the tranny/motor toward the drivers side... I also have a 240Z JCI tranny mount which mounts through the floor which I'm considering using instead of the 280z mount... It appears that the bends/jig on the 280z mount are not all that exact so folks will have some fab work to do to get it right... In other threads I have read that several have experienced the driveshaft bolts (4 bolts that bolt the DS to the Diff) coming loose.... I suspect that this is partially due to the tranny mount pushing everything towards the driver side thus creating drive-line vibrations causing the bolts to loosen... This can be a dangerous problem so let's work together to share experiences... I'd like to hear more and also have a few of you take an angle finder and share some results - based on what I'm seeing with mine I'd bet there's more LS1/T56 Z's with this problem... I'm working on it now and will share more as I get further along... Edited June 15, 2010 by kjones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 So, I've not worked on my car in a year. It's sad. But I bring this thread up because I was cleaning the garage, and I was about to toss the stock GM trans crossmember (I have no idea why I kept it) when this caught my eye: The damn stock mount is angled... now, I tried to move it by hand, not possible. I don't think I've ever loosened that up since I just dropped the motor and trans straight from under the camaro when I pulled it. I know the car has been in an accident where frame rails got moved, so maybe this was the result? Or maybe there's a design issue with the trans mount itself. Basically, the mount needs spacers between floorboards and the mount. If I jack it up as it sits without spacing it out, the tunnel will be resting on the transmission. I'm going to start wrenching on it again within a week or two, and hopefully actually have a running Z. Hopefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spotmy4 Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 wow... finally..your car was one of the reason i got a z lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Just finished getting my engine/trans mounted in car. I turned the mount insulator and mount around backwards and the clearances were better. Bolts go toward rear of car. Then I cut 3/4 inch off passenger end of JCI trans mount and re-drilled holes. Hammered in passenger side of tunnel where crossmember goes up in tunnnel. Installed headers to make sure they didn't contact frame (drivers side is VERY close to JCI front mount), then had my wife pry on shifter with screw driver to hold shifter centered in shifter hole in trans tunnel. Drilled holes in floorboards and bolted it up! Let down jack and nothing fell! Now to mock up electrical, brakes and fuel, then tear it down, paint everything and do it all again. I still have contact between my alternator and the steering rack. Gonna remove alt, grind a little off both parts and try it again. See my Mentor Wanted thread for celebratory pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted May 23, 2011 Author Share Posted May 23, 2011 Haven't worked on my car in almost a year, so I figured it was time for an update. I resolved the trans mount issue, it's mounted up and bolted up. The idiots that welded in my baddog rails did such a piss-poor job, that I need to go back with an angle grinder and clean everything out and make all seams straight and flush. I could have done a better job with my shitty mig at home. Stevie Wonder could've done a better job. It's so crappy to the point that the JCI floor mount plate flexed over it. No big deal, I am planning on putting extra bolts anyway. You can see one of the plates flexing from the pressure in the last pic. I will probably reinforce these with mounts to frame rails later on, but that's not urgent right now. Now I need to yank it all out and start prepping the car for body work. I need to redo the chassis/undercarriage because it's half stripped, half covered in original sound deadening/rust protection and oil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Hawk Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Auxilary, RebekahsZ mentioned in another thread that you posted a comprehensive LT1 swap list somewhere. I haven't been able to find it through searching - can you point me in the right direction? Just got a 97 Z28 donor complete... will be starting this journey soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 I've never posted an LT1 swap list... So I'm not sure if I can point you in the right direction. I had a rotary swap in the Z, and I changed over to LS1. There's an LS1 documentation here: http://www.4moores.com/280z/files/ and also at the top of this forum in the top most sticky post. LT1 is pretty much same as SBC in terms of physical swap, so you would need the JTR mount kit for the front, and a JCI T56 transmission mount and driveshaft Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Hawk Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Thanks for the reply. Sorry for the misappropriation - I read something RebekahsZ said in his Project Mentor Wanted thread and thought he was talking about a swap checklist. He was actually referring to custom programming the PCM. Although the mounts are the same between the SBC (which I was building) and the LT1 (which I just got; couldn't pass up), there is a great deal of difference when it comes down to prepping the LT. So many more blockoffs, accessory and sensor relocations, pump deletions, etc! I have been picking up details thread by thread but have not yet found a comprehensive LT swap writeup. I have the JTR kit and Z Conversion manual, which was a great step-by-step resource for the 1st gen when I was going that route. It doesn't give the LT1 the same treatment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 Off top of my head you'll need to delete VATS (antitheft), o2 sensor, cags (skip shift. or you can just take out the whole solenoid out of the t56 and plug it up). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Juday Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Haven't worked on my car in almost a year, so I figured it was time for an update. ... I know the feeling Alex. Mine has been sitting under the cover in the garage so long I was seriously wondering if I would ever get back to it. Then this wonderful Memorial Day weekend came and I found myself with absoluely nothing to do. We can celebrate together actually working on our Z's again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted June 2, 2011 Author Share Posted June 2, 2011 Yeah, I need to get off my ass and start turning wrenches. I really need to build a rotisserie, because I have to drill and tap rear crossmember bolt holes - they're toast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Auxillary - sorry about weighing in so late but i've been busy shooting muskrats and other non-z stuff rather than lurking here on the forum. Having worked with John I know that he is very thorough in his designs. I also no that these cars are over 30 years old and few are the way they came from the factory. When I started reading the trhead the first thought I had is that something is out of alignment. I firsted looked at your crossmember but it didn't appear bent but then the forward frame rails could be off a bit - especially in a 240. The JCi kit is designed to set the driveline slightly toward the passenger side - the same as the original L28 - er - L24 in yours. It's time to tram your suspension points and get them squared up with where they need to be. Once that's done it out to go together well. The 73 240Z that Grenade 300 used to do his manual off had a badly bent front crossmember and he moved stuff around to accommodate it. That crossmember is being replaced by DarthZ now and the driveline is being squared up like it should be. That being said, widen your view area and look at everything that could affect the tranny mount - not just the tunnel and transmission. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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