GrayZee

Hey dude, that's awesome! I think I was the one that told you that it would not fit, but then again I was never faced with trying to make it work regardless. Definatly a good trick to know!

I know it's not the same thing with a different engine but.. I wanted a especially quiet exhaust for my turbo-pathfinder. I used two magnaflow straight thru mufflers in series. It is super quiet! If you stand at the back of the truck when it's running, the noise from the engine itself drowns out the exhaust!

Yeah, I would suspect flakey wiring before the ecu. I've seen problems with those wiring harnesses more than once, that is why I built one from scratch. Works 1000 times better now.

A 89 Lebaron? Is that the one that was driven by Jon Voit and George Costanza by chance? (sorry, couldn't resist!)

I learned to drive stick on my cousin's 68 Datsun p/u. I sucked at it, didn't get really good until I got my first car, a 77 Honda Civic. I haven't thought about that old p/u in a while.. what a primitave thing it was.. 1300cc I think?

Funny, this is the first time I have noticed this thread.. I have a different kind of door slamming issue.. My bodyman does know his Z's.. and after he painted my car, the doors close so easily that EVERYBODY slams my door when all it needs is a gentle push. I find it rather annoying.

Get a timing light! timing is VERY important on a turbo car! Wouldn't wanna be too advanced and start pinging!

There are some minor modifications that need to be done to the harness. Even if you use a stock 84-86 300zxt ecu there is a big improvement in the way the engine runs. I would never go back to the L28et computer. This is a little bit of a complex subject however as there are many routes you can go depending on exacty which ecu you get your hands on. I suggest that you read Afshin's sticky post at the top of the turbo/supercharger forum. BTW, I'm glad that car-parts.com helped you guys out.

I think you need to explain exactly what your car is and what kind of engine is in there..

1. The + wire that goes to the coil is 12+ when the ignition is "ON" That wire will have nothing to do with the starter, however you will be able to read 12+ on that wire when the key is in the "start" position as well. 2. I believe it is the top two prongs. To check for sure use a ohm meter, connect one terminal to the middle prong. There should be continuity to one of the outer pins with the throttle closed, and continuity to the other pin with the throttle wide open. You want the pin that makes a connection with the throttle closed. If you mix them up, all it will do is bag the engine RIGHT out under full throttle. (I just found that out the other day getting my turbo Pathfinder going) I made a post about it called "Pathfinder fuel pump modulator" or something. 3. Those brown and green wires should have fusible links attatched to them. They supply main power for the ecu and injectors. You can connect them directly to the + terminal of the battery. (assuming that you DO have those fusible links)

Happy to help, this site has sure helped me out alot.

Yeah, I dunno.. the search engine asked me if I wanted a turbo or non turbo.. Obviously I put turbo, but who knows what the wreckers actually enter in their database. It couldn't hurt to give them a call anyway. Also, that is just the results I got from RWDAWG's local state. I'm sure with a wider search, something's gotta turn up.

Yeah, I just had another thought on the knock sensor. The real purpose of the sensor is to prevent the engine from knocking. When these cars were new, Nissan had to warranty these machines. Obviously avoiding knock was a high priority. Do you really think they would design a ecu to retard timing under boost only based on when the engine DOES knock? Yeah, that would make sense, let the engine run on the edge of the knock threshold all the time, not likely.

I just did a search for a 83 turbo engine on car-part.com (a network of wreckers across canada and the US) Here is what I came up with in GA alone.. 1983 Engine Nissan 280 ZX MATCH ENG02 $550 Hon's Automotive USA-GA(Cochran) E-mail 1-800-852-1526 1981 Engine Nissan 280 ZX SOLD TURBO 890 $450 A and B Auto Salvage USA-GA(Griffin) E-mail 1-800-726-1570 1983 Engine Nissan 280 ZX $400 AAA Parts Plus USA-GA(Columbus) E-mail 1-877-324-3777 1983 Engine Nissan 280 ZX 2D0HB,HB,RWD,2XR,SIL ,2.8,5SPD,9 82 5L0060 $350 Lavonia Auto Salvage, Inc. USA-GA(Canon) E-mail 1-800-895-1492 1982 Engine Nissan 280 ZX AT,2.8,1-82,REPLACED ,VERY DECENT 171,142 5657 $350 Capital Auto Parts, Inc. USA-GA(Thomasville) E-mail 1-800-868-7879 1983 Engine Nissan 280 ZX ,",",05C12-0.1 -321 $Call C & L Used Auto Parts USA-GA(Atlanta) Request_Quote 1-404-755-3595 Request_Insurance_Quote

Ha ha.. I bought a engine from a wrecker on the island for $300 complete with all the parts needed. When I brought it home I ended up finding a entire running 280zxt here for $500 (bought that too)

If he was a Nissan mechanic, no doubt he knows alot about the setup. However you have to consider that he probably never dealt with any sort of modified application. It has been my experience that most "professional mechanics" really frown apon any thinking outside of the box and believe that everything should remain stock. Basically a don't change anything or it will NOT work kind of attitude. The ecu has it's own timing retard programmed into it. The knock sensor is just there to further retard timing IF it thinks there is knock. I guess he will also tell you that you MUST have the pressure relief valve installed in the intake because any more than 9psi and the engine WILL blow for SURE. Why? because Nissan put it there, that's why. Nissan also put many other useless and redundant features in their cars, that nobody uses once they start to modify their cars.

Look into the gear ratio's available with the Datsun 4speeds that were available in the old Z's. I think you will find the ratios in 1st and 2nd to be most undesirable for use with the power and torque of a L28et. The old 240z's had a 3.36 rear axle ratio but made up for it by having very steep gears in the tranny.

It should

you don't need the knock sensor you DO need the head temp sensor (it might run, but not well) you DO need the CAS (obviously) When you bought the distributor did you also get the oil pump drive? A turbo dizzy will not just bolt in, you need that drive shaft as well. Assuming that you have a complete turbo engine harness you have all the wiring you need. True the wires to run the coil are not included, but you can easily run one wire from the ignition switch to the coil trigger and you're set. I'm sure there are solutions to the head temp problem, but I've never had to deal with that. Do a search on the subject.

Maybe, we never did get a chance to do any serious tuning as the wideband o2 controller went south shortly afterwards. (bad connector) However I think what Bernard was trying to point out was how filthy rich we were able to get my A/F's on STOCK INJECTORS! even at 15psi it wasn't going lean. You see the washer fluid acts as a fuel as well.

Well I was right, the problem was being caused by the TPS. I flipped the outer wires around on the plug and now it's fine! I took it for another drive and hammered it up to 60mph and it hit 5.5psi. Definatly a improvement from the stock throttlebody injected Vg30 that was in there, but considering all the work that went into it.. well it's a little disapointing. 5psi in a Pathfinder just isn't that interesting when you have a 15psi 280z! Obviously the next step is to start increasing boost. I'm sure once I get the alcky injection going and run 15psi, it will be alot more interesting. Stay tuned.. LOL

I can't claim to understand the science of combustion chamber shape and detonation, but I had the understanding that the older heads were kind of outdated in that way. Something to consider anyway if you want to use a older head.

I already set the system to turn on early. Right now it comes on @5psi. No need for that as I already know I can run 9 or 10psi without any water. However since I put on a checkball style manual boost controller the boost can really hammer up to full boost in a hurry and I like to give the water a head start just in case.