GrayZee

I have a idea, but I don't know if it'll work on a L series head that well.. (it works awesome taking off stubborn crankshaft bolts) especially on a automatic cuz you can't brace the pulley. 1st figure out which way the crankshaft spins and brace a johnson bar to the frame (or something solid) and give the starter a quick crack. Loosens them up everytime! However there ain't much solid enough on the head for that... in the past I have always used a pair of vise-grips on the cam (right where those square tabs are) with a rag underneath so as not to damage the valve cover gasket surface.

First are you sure it is a fuel problem? check to see if you have any spark, (remove a spark plug wire from a plug and insert a screwdriver or something, hold it NEAR a chassis ground and have someone run the starter) If you see a spark it is probably ok. Regarding the fuel pump, can you hear it run? (it should make a buzzing noise when you first turn the key to on) For some reason however mine won't automatically prime itself but I recently discovered that if you remove the small wire from the starter (slips off easily) and then turn the key to start, the pump will begin to run. Let the pump run for at least 30seconds and then put the wire back and try to start it. (assuming you have spark) it MIGHT start. However you have to face the fact that your car may have bigger problems and you will have to tow your car away from there anyway right? Your car could die at 40mph for lots of different reasons: fuel filter, pressure regulator, ignition module, pickup coil.. even a loose wire somewhere, but you cant effectivly tinker with it all day in a parking lot. If you can't get it started right away probably best to tow it away from this so called "rough area"

Ok I'm a long ways from having my L28T in my car but I have a couple of questions. I've never driven or been in a zxt but I was talking to a guy the other day that had a 280zxt and he said it was really fast however it had a really bad problem with lag. Do these engines really have a long delay, or was there something wrong with his car? The newer vehicles don't seem to have that problem, so what is the remedy? Also can anyone tell me what I should expect from my new powerplant? It's a stock 76Z and I'm gonna drop in a 83zxt engine (stock) What sort of 1/4mile-0-60 times could I expect? I'll probably add a intercooler and turn up the boost later on..

Yeah well I look at it this way, it's nice to have a car that you can lose your top gear and still cruise down the highway at 70mph! Actually it could be a good thing, because when my fifth gear was working I found myself always drifting up to 80 or 90mph! (not good when the maximum speed limit around here is 100km/62mph) It was too hard driving in fifth at the speed limit (felt like I was lugging the engine!) LOL

From what I understand the n/a computers were quite primitive but the zxt comp was much more refined. I guess it had to be to safely manage the boost. I do know it controls the timing and the EGR. There are vacuum control switches mounted under the AFM and the distributer uses a light emitting diode system rather than a pickup coil, either that or a crank-sensor (depending on the year)

I wanted those MSA mirrors too, but yeah.. pricey indeed! I had a problem getting mirrors because most of them had a flat mounting surface and the Z door is curved at that spot. I ended up using power mirrors from a 83ZX they mounted up quite nicely.

The computer system on the stock zx turbo is pretty complex and everything is designed to work together. Removing the PCV system may not be a good idea, I've even been told that when I install mine I should leave the emission system alone, and that even the EGR system will allow me to keep the combustion chamber cooler! At first I thought that sounded kinda bassackwards. (how could hot exhaust gases cool the CC?) If you think about it though putting a small % of EGR in the CC dilutes the air/fuel mixture. Seeing that the air/fuel is what creates all the heat in the first place, having less of it keeps the CC cooler and the computer won't automatically retard the timing because the detonation sensor is signaling the computer. Remember that the computer on the zx turbo controls everything, the Auxillary air system, timing, and even the the PCV breather gets its air from the air intake system (after the AFM) therefore the computer measures the airflow from that to! If you were running a programable engine management system then I would say do whatever you want, but seeing that the stock computer is tied into so many systems and can't be reprogramed I suggest you leave everything alone. However this is just my humble opinion.

I believe it is www.zcarparts.com and www.victoriabritish.com You can order free catalogs off their websites and there is a pic in there of the V8 conversion stuff but it is pretty small. I'm sure it would be easy enough to fabricate some though.

Ok so I checked my mileage again. This time I got 15.2mpg (that was before I left the city) I rechecked again after a 200mile drive on the highway at 65-70mph and I got 20.5mpg in fouth gear@3500rpm's or so? (I did put a 83zx 5speed in there but 5th gear seems to have screwed up so I couldn't use it) I am guessing that in 5th I coulda got 23-24mpg?? Opinions please.. is this really bad?

If you do this swap you'll need the harness from the turbo car as well as the ecu, airflow meter, oil cooler, fuel pump, and there is a fuel pump regualtor mounted under the dash near the ecu. Depending if you want a totally stock install or not you could use the air cleaner from a zx turbo but I would advise a K/N filter system. Also I would imagine that the bracket that the airflow meter bolts to would be different so you might wanna grab that.. (depending if you don't wanna have to fabricate anything. If possible your best bet is to find a whole car that runs good but is beat up (cuz you might get it cheap) If you can find one that is.

That sounds great DAW! Any chance of posting a pic of the Saab IC in the Z?

I had a minor fuel leak which I recently fixed, Now that I can fill my tank up I decided to calculate my fuel mileage and lets just say I was quite shocked to see how bad it really was... 14mpg!! Right now I'm running a stock 280z (L28-injection) It runs good and it's not like it is in dire need of a tune up. Do you guys consider this normal or is something wrong? I shudder to think what it will be like when I drop my L28t in there! BTW: This was all city driving and I drive it hard once in a while but most of the time I drive it like a normal person.

I would like a copy too. (looked for it in town but no luck) Looks like so far me and clint78Z are the only canucks that wanted a copy, unless you wanted one Drax? I could probably get my hands on dual VCR's

No man, actually my bike is still in Nanaimo! LOL We bought a Found On Road Dead (FORD) truck, and had to rebuild half the truck just to get it home, but that is another story.. no wait, it is more like a novel! Anyway, I got it home but haven't done anything with it yet. I wanna build a stand that will allow me to start it up right on the stand using a removable bell housing from a automatic datsun 510 that I've had in the garage for years. That way I'll have something to bolt the starter to. If it runs good I think I'll just do some detailing of the engine and drop it right in!

Yeah well I didn't intend to put a roll bar in so that won't be a problem and I figure you only look at your fuel level once in a while (just to make sure you're not empty) Leaving the more important gauges out in the open (oil,temp,boost) I did think of the fuel pressure thing too, however did you ever check out the price of a high pressure gauge that can be safely mounted inside the car? Quite costly indeed! I do like the idea of having a boost and fuel pressure gauge in a pillar though.. Anyone know of a pillar mount kit that will fit nicely in a Z?

Ok here's the problem, my oil/temp gauge dosn't work. What I would like to do is put some autometer gauges in the three gauge holes the center dash of my 280z (temp, oil, and boost) My stereo has a clock anyway.. but where can I put that volt/fuel gauge? This was my plan.. You know the round vents on the dash? (one beside the glove box and the other above the trip-meter/dimmer knobs. Has anyone ever put a factory gauge in there? Looks like it just might be the same size as the factory gauge holes.. I know that on a 240 you can turn those vents sideways and they will "pop out" with a pull. But it don't seem to work on these ones.. anyone know how to remove them without damage?

Thanks for the diagrams guys, that is what is great about this site. (if you don't have the info you need, you can usually get it the next day!) Anyway I found the problem, seems ALL THREE GAUGES ARE TOAST!! Don't ask me how all three of them could be bad, seemed kinda weird to me.. However I did have a fuel/amp gauge, I took it apart to see if I could make the fuel gauge work in my fuel/volt gauge from the 280. Seem that one on the 240 the fuel faceplate folds under the amp faceplate and on the 280 it is bassackwards! No problem though.. I just used the 280 faceplate on the 240. Also the "circuit board" (for lack of a better term) interfered with the illumintation bulb, but I was able to grind a corner of it off. Now I have a 240 fuel gauge in a 280, and nobody will be able to tell.. Now at least I can tell if I'm gonna run outta gas or not.. Just need to find my self a temp/oil gauge.

Hey dude, that's great! Looks like the guage uses a additional ground rather than just using the sender unit as a ground. That just might be the ticket. I'll let you know if it works. However you sent me a diagram of the oil and temp but no info on the fuel guage, think you could send me that too?

Hey that would be great! Where's your webpage? or you could just send it to eyeamdeath@hotmail.com Later..

My oil,temp and fuel guages on my 76z don't work at all. I've grounded out the senders on the temp and oil with no effect so I thought what do these guages have in common? Well probably the power from the ignition circuit right? Well I checked that out too and I seem to be getting power there. So why do all three guages not work? (actually the clock and the low fuel light don't work either) Anyway I am pretty good with electrical but what I really need is a wiring diagram of the guage circuits of a 76, anybody got one they could send me?

They do have the same CR, the problem with the 79zx is the dished pistons (10.9cc) Now if you had a 81-83 engine (flattops) with a E88 (orN47) that would give ya about 9.8/1CR

what year is the car?

I had a 240 that wore out a alternator, so I replaced it with a newer one with IC regulator and higher amperage. Bolted up fine, I believe that it had a different plug. (no big deal) However here's the strange part, you see I left the old regulator alone and I found that the car would start and charge but when you turned the ignition off the engine would continue to run! So I unplugged the external regulator and everything was fine. I never bothered to try to follow the wiring system to understand why it does this. Anyone else have that experience?

as far as I know the hoods are the same (other than the vents that is) even one of my aftermarket catalogs shows them as the same part #

about what you guys said about the relay, if you do a swap I STRONGLY suggest you use one! I put a chevy V6 in a datsun P/U and I noticed that the wires were getting ready to burn under the starter load. I used a starter relay from a old Dodge van. Only $10 for a new one from the local parts store.