6/7/06

I've been giving more and more serious thought to a V8 in Maxine. I've been to a few websites now that specialize in Z-car V8 conversions. I think the 280ZX kit should work for me. But hey, I've got a plasma cutter and a welder, I can make it fit! The big question now is: slush box versus manual transmission. In a car like Maxine I think I could be convinced that a slush box would be acceptable, especially with the torque a V8 will bring to the program. Another factor is the fact that an automatic-to-automatic swap should make life a little easier. A V8 with a carburetor is also virtually a three-wire affair. One wire to the distributor, one to the starter, and one to the alternator then vroom, she’s running. It would eliminate any worries about the stock electronics leaving me on the side of the road someday. Any hillbilly mechanic in the country can fix a small block Chevy. Parts are available at the grocery store, practically. Oh, and stomping on a punk at a traffic light with my “grandmother’s car” on occasion wouldn’t hurt my feelings either! Am I trying to justify this or talk myself into it? The thing I really need to assess is whether the V8 or a five-speed on the six would be an easier and quicker swap. Of course I mean “quicker” in the time-to-completion sense rather than the zero-to-sixty sense. Another concern is with the parts I already have. Will the Torker II manifold be right for Maxine? Have I limited myself to making top end power and sacrificed too much low-end torque? How much torque does a Maxima need though? I'm already going to make, probably, 75% more torque than the six that is coming out. Ok, I think I may have calmed that worry. I wonder what Maxine weighs compared to anything that V8 would have come in. It’s probably quite a bit lighter. Even though it is a station wagon, it is still quite wee. Well, it isn’t as wee as a 1200 or even a 610, but it isn’t all that much bigger than the latter. In fact, I'll bet it weighs in favorably compared to a 610. I don’t have any science to back that up but the 610 seems like it might be a tad portly. Ok, so the torque issue has been eradicated from my concerns list, albeit on very shaky grounds. It looks like I may have just talked myself into this. I may do it even if Mr. Ullom doesn’t buy Barbecue Bob now. Ok, here’s my biggest complaint with the slush box in the Pimpmobile: it is never in the gear I want it to be in. Couple that with the “Hey, I’m a douche bag who can’t drive” aspect of the thing kicking down into a lower gear and making all sorts of noise without actually accelerating. I think a V8 in a car weighing at least 1,500 pounds less and it won’t matter what gear I'm in. If I can roll into the gas on the freeway and actually accelerate before it “needs” to kick down, I'll be content driving a slush box. Besides, any hillbilly mechanic in the country can work on a Chevy slush box and parts are available at the grocery store, practically. Ok, so I'm going with a small block Chevy with a slush box in Maxine. Now I need to decide if I'm going to live with the Nissan rear axle or swap in one from a Camaro or something. It sure would make life easier using a Chevy axle. The suspension pickup points might even line up if I got a three-link car’s axle. Width will be a concern. Well, I have to go pee and it is lunchtime. I may be back later.