Phenomenon Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 (edited) Hey guys, I have an 81' Datsun 280ZX that I am for sure swapping to a Chevy 350 V8 with a carb and turbo 350 transmission. My question is for the guys who have done this swap and did not use the JTR kit. I have lots of tools and know-how but i'm curious to know how hard this swap is to do without the $315 kit, there appears to be a ton of parts in that kit. Just not sure if they are all neccessary to do the swap. My first thought is to use an aluminum front engine plate and solid mount the engine to the frame. The car is mostly going to be used for weekend drives and of course the race track so vibration is not a big issue. Second thought is 1/4" steel plates cut and drilled to "extend" the mounts from the stock location to the Chevy engine and utilize rubber engine mounts. Would appreciate any/all info on the subject. Thanks, Gordon Edited June 24, 2010 by Phenomenon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoov100 Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 (edited) Pony up the measly $315 and save yourself a big headache. I had the "scarab" mount kit in my s30 with the hooker long tubes and it was a total pain to do anything short of changing the oil. Edited June 24, 2010 by hoov100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z2go Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 +1 for Hoov's comment! If $300 in parts seems like something you want to avoid in an engine swap, you might want to consider a different route... the whole engine swap can run you between $5k and $20k, or up! $315 for the incredibly well made, ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY parts is well worth it. You can also go the route of making them yourself, if you have access to very thick steel, large, thick pieces of billet aluminum, and the tools and machinery necessary to bend and carve those pieces. Also I would not recommend solid mounting a motor to the frame... that sounds like a disaster waiting to happen... the motor is supposed to move with the torque, otherwise you are going to rip your Z in half... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phenomenon Posted June 26, 2010 Author Share Posted June 26, 2010 This car is going to be 90% track car so i'm not worried about the vibrations. All I want to know is if anyone has done it using an engine plate and how it worked out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emeraldlion Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 Check out Terry oxendale's swap page. He plate mounted a 289 then 351W IIRC. He had a pretty cool alternator setup too. USed front and mid plates. Would be similar in a SBC situation but believe me it is going to shake rattle and roll, I rode in a willy's jeepster last week with a 350 plate mounted. I had considered doing this at one point because of the extra stiffening it lend to the unibody structure, especially if you tie the strut spports to the engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo Meister Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 My engine is not that radical, so the vibrations are not bad despite the solid plate mounting. My springs are all fairly soft and for cruising I adjust my rear shocks on the lightest setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phenomenon Posted June 27, 2010 Author Share Posted June 27, 2010 Lol... "my engines not that radical"... pulls a 60ft wheelie!! What is that motor, 355 SBC with twin turbos? Thank you for posting a pic for me of the mounting plate. Did you make the brackets its sitting in or are those the factory mounts? What trans are you running? Gordon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyro Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 The only thing in the kit that is worth anything is the speedo cable. And that is good only if you use the stock speedo. the engine mounts are easy to make. just make them to the jtr drawings the trans crossmember is a real piece of junk. I have made 3 or 4 over the years and they look much better than the jtr design. I make them so the trans crossmember mounts to the body on the vertical wall of the trans tunnel instead of the floor pans. this makes it much stronger and much smaller (lighter) and doesn't hang under the frame rails. I say make your own kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z2go Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 The only thing in the kit that is worth anything is the speedo cable. And that is good only if you use the stock speedo. the engine mounts are easy to make. just make them to the jtr drawings the trans crossmember is a real piece of junk. I have made 3 or 4 over the years and they look much better than the jtr design. I make them so the trans crossmember mounts to the body on the vertical wall of the trans tunnel instead of the floor pans. this makes it much stronger and much smaller (lighter) and doesn't hang under the frame rails. I say make your own kit. Why do you think it's low quality? It might be a different design than making it mount to the inside of the trans tunnel, but I don't see how that is a bad design, and it is no lower than the bottom of the frame rails (unless you are mounting it upside down). The crossmemeber is heavy duty, but I would probably be skeptical of something lighter weight. They also tell you to use a backing plate for added reinforcement, so I don't see that thing going anywhere. Not trying to start an argument, just wondering how you came to that opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phenomenon Posted June 27, 2010 Author Share Posted June 27, 2010 I'm a little leary on buying from JTR, I have emailed them twice about the shipping cost to Canada for the kit and have gotten no response either time.... has anyone had a bad experience with JTR or are they just super busy and don't have time to email? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z2go Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 No bad experience here, they are very helpful and look out for their customers. They might just be busy, or out of the office. Try calling them, they are definitely helpful over the phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators BRAAP Posted June 27, 2010 Administrators Share Posted June 27, 2010 I'm a little leary on buying from JTR, I have emailed them twice about the shipping cost to Canada for the kit and have gotten no response either time.... has anyone had a bad experience with JTR or are they just super busy and don't have time to email? JTR has been around since I think the late '80's, building and selling Z car engine conversion kits since at least the mid '90's, did my first JTR V8 Z back in '97. There is no reason to be leery of JTR. Customer service is is reliable, they stand behind what they sell. They are well established having been around for long time, they plan to continue, having invested in some very nice CNC equipment over the past couple years that is helping them to not only improve their current kits, but offer more kits and engine conversion bits and pieces for other vehicles. I keep in touch with JTR on a semi regular basis and the past few months they have been real busy, as such, delayed E-mail replies are to be expected. When time permits, JTR is good at replying to E-mails, phone calls, etc. I do know that shipping to Canada is expensive and Mike has mentioned is also a bit of a headache, so be prepared. If you have a friend/relative on the states side of the border that JTR can ship to and then you/them can hand carry the parts across, you might look into that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekiernan Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 JTR has been around since I think the late '80's, building and selling Z car engine conversion kits since at least the mid '90's, did my first JTR V8 Z back in '97. There is no reason to be leery of JTR. Customer service is is reliable, they stand behind what they sell. They are well established having been around for long time, they plan to continue, having invested in some very nice CNC equipment over the past couple years that is helping them to not only improve their current kits, but offer more kits and engine conversion bits and pieces for other vehicles. I keep in touch with JTR on a semi regular basis and the past few months they have been real busy, as such, delayed E-mail replies are to be expected. When time permits, JTR is good at replying to E-mails, phone calls, etc. I do know that shipping to Canada is expensive and Mike has mentioned is also a bit of a headache, so be prepared. If you have a friend/relative on the states side of the border that JTR can ship to and then you/them can hand carry the parts across, you might look into that. I would concur with this. They have been fine to work with for me too. I am in the midst of a conversion and I am using their kit. Of all of the items I've had to work with fitting, the JTR parts have been the closest and have made the critical engine placement as close to perfect as can be. They were quick with me on the phone because I got the feeling they were busy. In my oppinion, I would like them to be busy and in business for many more years. I would do business with them again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phenomenon Posted June 28, 2010 Author Share Posted June 28, 2010 I don't know anyone in the USA I'm likely going to use a front plate anyhow... soooo much cheaper and easier. Trying to nail down which engine to buy though... 82 chev 1/2 ton 350 and T350 trans or a 86 suburban 350 and 700r4 trans. Both have about 180,000 KMs on them (no idea how many miles that is). I'd like the OD trans but i hear they are not as strong as the T350's are and shift kits are cheap for the T350's. This car might see 100 kms a yr of highway use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo Meister Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 Lol... "my engines not that radical"... pulls a 60ft wheelie!! What is that motor, 355 SBC with twin turbos? Thank you for posting a pic for me of the mounting plate. Did you make the brackets its sitting in or are those the factory mounts? What trans are you running? Gordon Gordon, 409 ci Chevy small block with TH400 trans. The brackets were welded onto the frame rails. By "not radical" I meant low compression pistons and a strong but not wild cam, that allows good vacuum for power brakes, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phenomenon Posted June 30, 2010 Author Share Posted June 30, 2010 That is a sweet car man... excellent choice of drivetrain. Did you have to do anything special to the engine to keep it from overheating? I've only ever owned 1 chevy 400sb and it always overheated on me when i pushed it hard (it was in a 87 camaro). Gordon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo Meister Posted July 1, 2010 Share Posted July 1, 2010 Did you have to do anything special to the engine to keep it from overheating? Nothing to the engine. I'm currently running the stock Datsun radiator but will swap in the Arizona Z Car radiator for the summer. The secret is not in the radiator but in the 2 speed Taurus Fan and shroud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phenomenon Posted July 1, 2010 Author Share Posted July 1, 2010 never thought to use that fan... hmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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