labrat

An old heating/AC worker friend told me once that adding a 90* turn to ducting was just like adding 10 feet of straight pipe as far as resistance to flow is concerned. For what it's worth.... Bill

I have a stock '99 miata sport, and it's about as underpowered as my stock 280ZX was! Yeah, they do seem like a slug until you get over 4k, then they really shine. Redline isn't till 7k, with the rev limiter at 7250. And these little japanese motors will live at 7k all day long. These cars really get into their element powering out of a curve at 70 mph in 3rd gear on a mountain road, with my girlfriend white-knuckled and ashen faced in the seat beside me, with the top down and the wind blowing through my hair, under the texas sun.

If you ever get up to the austin area, look me up! I'll let ya wrench on my 81 ZX, and if that isn't good enough, we'll take my 99 Miata on some twisties with the top down! I know the frustration you're feeling! I worked on my z for almost 2 years, then overheated the motor and have to do most of it again! Working 3rd shift full time, and going back to school full time doesn't help much, either (you ever try working on a car in your driveway in texas heat in the summertime? Not pleasant). But i'm graduating in december, and then the Z becomes my full time hobby. I've had the Z parked in the garage without so much as turning a bolt on it for almost a year, and that "cooling-off" period has been just what the doctor ordered for restoring my motivation.

I just got a 99 sport, and that's the one I hang out on. also try http://www.miataforum.com

Gotta say mine was a 98 mitsubishi montero sport. Customer thought we were ripping him off when we quoted 300+ for a tune up. Then he took it to a couple of other places, and we were the cheapest! INtake manifold, throttle body, .... UGHHHH!!! At least it uses platinum plugs that only need to be changed every 100000 miles. Bill

I had the same problem when I let my 81 280ZX sit for about 6 months or so without driving it. It seems that corrosion builds up on the terminals inside the turn signal/headlight switch and on the contacts to the bulbs themselves. I actually had to replace an entire socket because of the corrosion. I still have to jiggle the stick to get my left hand turn signal to come on...

Well, if you want to get really cheap, you can go my route and get a brake cable from a mountain bike and lots of zip ties. Cost about 6 bux if I remember correctly, and works great.

No tomohawk, still got the Big Red Ed, i actually traded a holley for the injection. with the pro jection (BTW, how do you like the digital version, griemann?) I'm hoping at least a performer RPM will fit with a drop base air cleaner. The lid of my air cleaner is actually even with the top of the throttle body when everything is tightened down with a 3" element. I had a performer intake with a 1" squarebore adapter on top with an edelbrock carb and the same aircleaner, and it worked OK. I just gotta be sure to leave 1/2" or so of extra clearance for the spray plate.

I'm leaning toward the intake as well. I already have the heads laying in the garage. Brand new, never ran, with brand new stainless steel swirl polished valves. All I need is a manifold and gaskets. Sounds like a nice weekend to me! Anyone have a recommedation for an intake to use with vortec heads, 2" stock manifolds, and a crane energizer 272/272 advertised duration cam with .454/.454 lift? Should I go with the performer or the performer RPM style? Air gap? Got efi now, Vic JR?

Need a quick opinion here on which direction I should go next. A little background: 81 280 ZX w/ a 350/TH350. points type dizzy with a new shortblock and old, leaky, just-get-it-running heads. My problem: Ignition misfires caused by oil fouling of the plugs. So bad that wet oil is on the plugs when I remove them. Nice, clean, wet oil. I have recently ditched the points for a pertronix ignitor mag trigger, and tossed the 750 edelbrock carb for a holley pro jection analog TBI system. Should I next A: Get an MSD ignition box and coil for better spark to keep the plugs clean B: finally buy a vortec compatible intake to run my brand new heads (without leaky valve seals) C: Get a high torque mini starter to get rid of the starter noise (grinding) These all cost about the same, and are all I can afford this paycheck. Which would you do?

Does anyone have any feedback as far as the quality of this system? It's a two barrel 670 CFM system, and I think it has the closed loop option added on (at least the truck it was on had an O2 sensor...). I found out the fuel pressure regulator is built into the TB, and I think my chevy temp sender should work Ok, just need an A/F guage to tune open loop with...

Never mind, I figured it out. It's a holley Pro-Jection 2 analog TBI setup. I was kinda bum-fuzzled because I couldn't find any product data or information at all on this system, but I finally found a picture of the ECU and that told me what I needed to know. Even found someone who had scanned an installation manual as .jpg files (all 21 pages) so I have a manual without paying holley the $21 they wanted for it. HAH! Anyway, looks like I need a few more goodies to get this to work (o2 sensor for closed loop, adjustable bypass style fuel pressure regulator, and holley's coolant temp sensor), then BYE BYE CARB! Bill

Prolly the fastest i have ever gone was in a 2000 rental dodge neon automatic. No Kidding! I was going across loop 12 into Dallas at about 2 AM (doin 85 or so) when a late 70's porsche 911 blows by me like i'm standing still. So of course, since it's a rental, I floor it. I keep it floored. Max out 100 MPH speedo. 4 miles later, slowly creep past porsche... Bill

I second the potato gun! How else can you have that much fun for 20 bux? I mean hard hittin, knocking boards out of the fence, potato mashin, BOOM baby, BOOM! I had great fun with mine, till I left it in the hatch of the Z and it warped in the texas heat. Caused all the PVC pipe cement to pull apart from the stress. It would launch a 3 oz. spud over 300 yards, though. I know one thing, i would definitely not want to be hit by one! Bill Btw, right guard, while expensive and smelly, makes the best propellant!

Ok, I just traded a spare carb and 200bux for a complete holley aftermarket fuel injection system. This came off of a good-running 350/Th350 suburban, and was working well, but i'd like to know what I have and where I can find the technical info on how to tune it, although it seems pretty self explanatory. It is a tbi-style system with twin throttle bodies and injectors (that bolt on in place of a squarebore carb), O2 feedback, and a control box that says simply "Holley Fuel Controller". There are five knobs on one end of this control box labeled (in order) Choke, Accel. Pump, idle, Mid Range, and Power. Has anyone seen anything like i've described? I can't seem to find a part number on it, or identify it with any of holley's current products, so I'm assuming it's pretty old. Anyone? Thanks!!!| Bill

And then, to buy a stinking watch battery, you have to give your name, address, and phone number. Sorry, my mom doesn't even have all three of those...

Well, if it's a stock unit installed with stock timing, line the dots up. Cam at 6 o'clock and crank at 12 o'clock. Some aftermarket timing gears allow you to install the cam advanced or retarded, but I figure the cam grinders know more about this stuff than me, so I install them straight up... Bill

So, when is jtr gonna start selling that suspension kit? Bill

As far as your other question goes, cars didn't even have that feature till the 80's or so, and I can't stand it anyway. Just put the car in neutral to start it. Saves wear and tear on your crank thrust surface. As long as you wire up the starter to work directly off of the key switch, you will be fine. Bill

Thanks for the reply, us ZX people are definitely in the minority here! Any idea what stock cast iron manifolds limit me to HP-wise? I know i'm taking a hit here, but is it 20 HP or 80? Thanks again! Bill

I'm looking to upgrade my exhaust soon, and i'm on the lookout for headers. Has anyone done a 280ZX conversion with headers? Or am I limited to cast iron manifolds? On the driver's side, I have a power steering gearbox in the way, and on the passenger side, I have a really tight fit between starter/frame rail/tie rod end. Has anyone gotten this to work? Any ideas are, as always, greatly appreciated! Bill

Well, that all depends on exactly what you want to do, and how far you want to go, and how "creative" you can get. I managed to get my swap done with simple hand tools, a good craftsman electric drill, and a 9" disc grinder from a pawn shop. If you are going to be rebuilding the engine you use, you will need some other specialty tools, but by and large, just for the motor swap, you really shouldn't need too much. I think you could definitely do this swap if you can change a timing belt, some of those are a real bitch! And the best part of all, if you run into something you just can't figure out, there are 2000+ HybridZ members just a keystroke away with more assistance than you can throw a wrench at! I guarantee, no matter how good they are, that no kit car has EVER had tech support as good as the forum you just posted in. Never. Just my $.02 Bill

Getting the air out of the system has also been a problem for me, the filler cap is lower than the upper radiator hose and manifol. I actually removed the radiator from it's supports and lifted it above the engine while it was still connected via hoses to fill it, and it still gave me problems. Not running any heater hoses, so I know that's not an issue. Hmmm.... This cooling system thing is a nightmare! Easily the most difficult part of the swap. Thanks for all the input from everyone involved, I feel like you guys are just one big happy helping family! Bill

When you do this, IE is using old cached information from your temporary internet files to make it faster. Just hit the refresh button at the top of your browser or hit the f5 key. Works like a charm! Bill

Yeah, the sad thing is, I was actually putting a new transmission in a chevette. Like it was even worth that much work. Oh well...