seattlejester

Sludge all over my magnetic drain plug. Pulled some of the oil out of the pan that was sitting at the bottom after the oil drained, and put it on top and let the oil drain away. Came back to all these bits of metal. Surprisingly I didn't find any rod ends. Given the absolute clatter I was expecting to find bolts, nuts, and rod caps if not crank caps, but all of them are in place. These big chunks do point towards me finding a couple rod bearings missing. I took one of the rod caps out and was surprised to see a bearing in good condition. Given my limited space no real ability to use a hoist, there was some talk about this being the end. Talk about parting out and cleaning up and such did come up and I have to admit there was a part of me that wasn't too opposed. I could pay off my lease on my car and start saving and buy something else down the road. Adding the part out however shed some light on things. I had an upgraded 7mgte specific turbo that I had paid good money for, valve covers that I never got a chance to install, and some parts that I would really have a difficult time parting out like my bare shell. Then there is always the concern that I would part out my suspension or something critical to the car functioning as a car and then find no one wants parts which would leave me absolutely screwed. So my plan is to do a complete tear down with the block in the car for the most part. Take off all the accessories and manifolds, then remove the head, jack up the engine via the transmission. Then pop out pistons and rods one by one. After which I will hopefully be able to identify where all this bearing material came from and if the crank and the block survived. If not I should be able to lift the block out as the bare block only weighs 130lbs. I can have it machined and rebuilt it and my friend's parents heard of my mishap and offered their driveway for a weekend, so I could put it in that way. I also figure a complete running car will fetch more then a part out. And I STILL haven't driven this thing in anger. This was my first drive after my alignment and I had just sunk like 3k into the suspension. I really want to get some use out of this thing. Then there was talk about the rebuild. I talked to some people, I was thinking maybe I should go all out and just do forged rods and pistons etc, but the consensus seems to be that the return is always going to concerning as it is not as stout a block as a 2jz. In the scheme of things a used 2jz almost fetches as much if not more then a built up 7m. An engine builder familiar with the engine said the stock rods are good to about 500hp, and the forums say the stock pistons should be able to withstand 400whp. I don't plan on going above that, and I have to say I am a bit fickle and not sure this will be the last power plant to grace this engine bay. The rebuild parts are actually not that bad, I think about 600 for new pistons, rings, bearings, seals, gaskets, thermostat, ARP bolts, and a set of used rods. There is a bit of "while I'm at it" in the form of doing some reliability, flow, and quality of life upgrades in regards to the oil in the form of a new cross over pipe, higher volume/pressure oil pump, and AN feed and return lines in addition to AN lines and adapters for the culprit which was the loose worm drive clamp, that is going to set me back about another 7-800. The clutch would be my next weak point and is a reused stock unit with unknown miles. Throwing in my light weight fly wheel with a new friction disc, a higher rated pressure plate and a new clutch and a new starter is going to set me back another 7-800, but would allow the power to get to the wheels without problems. All in about 2k just in parts. I'm really hoping to get away with minimal machine work in the form of resizing rods, maybe a deglazing of the cylinders and a polishing of the crank, not adding up to more then 500 would be great. Theory would be that after this I still have a shelf of parts to install and solutions to come up with for things like a heater that should keep me occupied. The power will be reliable and stout at the 350-400whp mark. That is the plan.

http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/95789-seattlejesters-1971-240z/?p=1169508 http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/95789-seattlejesters-1971-240z/?p=1170181 Jmortenson recommended a 1/2 inch spacer made from aluminum. Made the holes line up almost perfectly. Spacer can be seen in the first link. In the second link 3 pictures down you can see the sway bar. I don't think there is any interference problems.

Good job guys, Just as a refresher as this does give some people trouble. Generic automotive relays usually have 4 pins. 30: Usually 12 volt power. Straight from the battery. This is going to power your accessories down the line, put a fuse that is slightly above the max operating amperage to protect the circuit from drawing too much power. 85: Ground. This is for the relay. This gives the differential for the relay so the relay can work. Sometimes it can be used as a switched setup by putting a switch inline if you have a constant 12 volt signal source. Usually I route this one straight to the mounting screw used to hold the relay. 86: Signal. This is to signal the relay to turn on. Usually a 12 volt source. You can use a toggle switch between this terminal and the battery, but be careful that means that one side is going to be hot all the time. Ideally taken from ignition, fuse box any other triggered 12 volt source. Ideally you DO NOT want this to be constant as that means you can leave it on accidentally. 87: Output. This will be 12 volt power to the accessory. This will take power from terminal 30 when the switch signal is tripped. This will go to the +12v side of the accessory and the accessory. Sometimes you will run into an 87A: this is usually on 5 pin or 4 pin relays that are AO, always open. That means that the power from 30 will always be going to 87A, until the relay is switched via 85/86 at which point the relay will stop providing power. Also there are a couple ways to run this setup. You can put an inline switch from the 12 volt source. You can put an inline switch to the ground. You can put a switch on the ground side of the accessory. Most diagrams I have seen are wired with the 12 volt signal wire being switched. The only time I have had to wire a relay with a switched ground was the fuel pump from megasquirt, which the signal wire controls the ground circuit instead of the signal circuit. I'll leave it to someone smarter then me to explain the difference. You can use redundancy for the trigger signal which is usually a good idea. Using an ignition source on top of a trigger is a good idea. My friend's nitrous setup was wired to have a master toggle, a WOT switch and tied to the high beams. You had to have all three conditions met to run nitrous, that meant no one would kick it on accidentally.

He has people driving down from canada so that he can drive their cars, at one point when he had less offers he was offering to fly to a location if you could guarantee a running car and a location to shoot/film. Now I think he is a bit more spoiled for choice. Kind of a bummer as the Tuned videos were very cool, same backdrop and awkward conversations in the car make some of his one takes hard to watch.

Kind of unrelated, but I had a rallye 3 in my daily. It was a bolt in type so I bolted it to the rear seat. I would honestly make a harness bar and wrap it as getting the correct angle with the stock belt is going to be impossible. I think I have profi II's in my 240z, they wrap around the harness bar that bolts into the three bolt holes behind the seats. They came with the bolt in buckle, but I removed those as I like the wrap around more. To keep this on track, I got a set of sparco R100's installed and I've gained even more weight since before so I'm hovering around 240lbs at 5'9 and they fit me pretty well.

I'm curious what "latest technology" means. Also I think this is probably in the wrong section.

I started the weekend with a couple hours of work, I installed some new to me seats and harnesses that were more legitimate. Was very happy that they were nearly spot on and very easy to install. Finally added some bolts to my front spoiler instead of just zip ties. I packed up and with little drama, made it to the show. There were lots of awesome cars, the weather was good, and good atmosphere. Friend and I decided to leave a little early to miss the crowd. Since i have had this motor it has been smoking a bit from the exhaust. When we got on the freeway, I was suddenly greeted with a plume of smoke. I checked my AFR gauge to see if it was stumbling and running really rough, but it was showing a cruising of 14ish and 13 when I tipped into it. An exit was coming up, but the road also opened up, I decided to try and drive it a little more to see if the cool air would help it run a little better. I was an idiot. What I didn't check was the gauge two over. The oil pressure gauge. A little bit later and I signaled my friend to pull off at the next exit, as I was getting off I heard the ever so slight bit of a clatter. Pulled over to a furiously smoking engine bay. A quick look and the problem was apparent, an oil line had blown off the remote oil filter. Dip stick confirmed no oil left. Damn. Cleaned it up as best as we could, tightened the oil line back down with a leatherman multi tool and filled it with overpriced gas station oil. Took it to a car wash to get rid of the oil residue and hoped for the best. Right as I got on the freeway I could tell it was a bad idea, a small rattle was definitely audible over the exhaust. Oil pressure was still being generated and I was hoping to limp it home, but two exits later the drive line jerked and I pulled over. The off ramp was a hill and I couldn't make it with inertia, I had to put it back into gear and my fear was confirmed it sounded like a can of bolts. To my great dismay there was no shoulder. So back into gear to get it over a hill again and still no shoulder. Whoever decided that needs to be shot. After an agonizing two blocks mercifully some side streets appeared and I was finally able to coast into a safe spot off the main road. Called AAA thanking my former self for getting the premium package and went to a DQ to drown my sorrow in sweet frozen treats. Toe truck driver arrived and pulled my powerless car onto the flatbed. This sorry puppy followed me all the way home. Finally got back to my storage unit and unfortunately had to turn it on to pull it back in. Engine is completely toast. I almost don't want to open it up in fear of what I'll find. Turbo is also most likely toast although it did sound like it was spooling. I had planned on renewing the drivetrain, but that was in several months. I'm not sure what to do at this point. Kind of bummed out.

Video won't play for me so I can't view it. This is going to be something much easier to see drawn out. The bare minimum can be determined using a megasquirt diagram, 2jz one would be fairly close as well.

Any pictures would be super helpful. Did you adapt from the steering linkage coupler? Or did you cut the shaft near the firewall and adapt to the column and then to the steering coupler?

Please do, I think the work is fascinating!

Competent is good, but I guess committed might be a better word? I mean with floors and rails as I'm sure you know if you have done them before, it is a pain in the arse to do them from the bottom, so a rotisserie and such can take up a lot of room, and the time to scrape off all the undersealant and all that can be quite tedious. I guess it depends on how much time and effort you want to throw at it. If you have a couple years, then I don't see the harm, if you want to run and drive it before the summer is out and you have a full time job, then that may not be the best starting point. I think poking and prodding the underside would be a good idea if you really plan on fixing it up. Making a list of all the parts that need replacing and adding it up, factoring in time and money, then seeing if that could net you a better starting base is always a good plan. My temptation would be to buy the car, take all the hard to find/monetary parts, scrap/sell the chassis, then go shopping with your bigger budget.

I think everyone is kind of waiting not to be the first. I think I will pickup the controller and a motor. I think I have a little easier access with only an intake manifold on the driver side.

Parts on that car are worth more then the what they are asking for it. I would pick it up. Worse case you part it out, send the rest to the scrap yard and pocket quite a bit of money. Bumper, carbs, emblems, lights, center console, all those pieces are quite a bit of money. Even looks like there is a roll bar in there. As the base for a project, I don't think that is a good idea unless you are a confident welder with sheet metal. Floors usually means frame rails, usually also means rusted out dog legs, dog legs also tend to mean rear quarter panels. Then the hatch and the battery tray area are also going to need repair.

I wouldn't mind having the file. Or posting it up could be helpful for others. I wonder if the stock tower is thick enough with the material removed away like that. I've seen others cut slots to adjust camber between the bolt holes just to access the allen head bolts. Pretty cool regardless.

^That would be ridiculous and amazing. I have heard mustangs have a strange cult following over there.

I don't know the storage situation, but 4 years is a long time to impose on someone. Things can change and trailers can be stolen or broken into. It would also be something to think about for 4 years, that could definitely be baggage you leave behind. Pin holes usually do mean that it is hiding something underneath. I have rarely ever found "just a pinhole." On the other hand, 6-7k now might get you a Z car, but the stock continually dries up. You used to see very well sorted ones for 5k, now you see pretty crummy ones trying to be sold for 10k. There are enough of them that they won't sky rocket like some other classic cars sitting on the edge at least from the looks of things, but that can change. Who knows a good one might fetch 20k in 5 years and a bare frame might cost 5k, depends on the area I suppose. And if you have sentimental values and you don't have to pay for storage for 4 years it wouldn't cost you anything while still letting you hold onto something. I would fog the motor and pull the battery unless you want to further impose and have someone drive it around the block every two weeks for 4 years. In the middle of the situation is that a running and driving Z car should fetch more then 2k. Clean it up, throw on some wheels and it should fetch a pretty penny that you can save to spend on your return. Who knows you might fall in love with some old german car in the land of porsche and mercedes Tough call.

Would you happen to have any pictures? Very curious as to how these things are mounted/adapted.

Yes, the Vue one is of interest. 1500 is a lot to spend. The engine bay would be out for an L-series I think. The shaft runs pretty close to the collector. You could try to pull the shaft more towards the rail and then try and make a sharper turn towards the steering rack like I think Myron did with his VQ swap, but then you would have to cut quite a bit of the frame rail to accommodate the motor. It would work pretty nicely with a RHD setup I imagine.

Those came out nice, I would have really liked the extra width to adjust it without having to drop the struts. Although if you are welding tops in, you loose some of the value the BC coilovers provide in being straight bolt in.

^Sounds very cool also interested in details. Once you get going it is fine, but at low speeds these are a real struggle to maneuver.

I will confirm with my meager experience that the front hinges pretty much right at the firewall with rotten rails/floors. Not much there to hold it up. The rear will deform as well, can't close my hatch when the car is slanted. I did 2x3 0.083, the 2x3 is harder to do as if you stay with the stock rails you end up with a beam coming up through the floor. 1x3 is better in that regard, 0.065 is 16ish gauge so thicker then the floor. I wanted to be able to jack the car up by the rail so I added additional plates and went for the thicker material. As others have mentioned 300ft/lb isn't a whole lot of torque, I would say replacing what you have lost should be adequate for that power level. If you are worrying about power affecting the frame rail that would imply launches and such, then you have to combat the twisting motion of the car which means heavier rated springs which in turn means reinforced suspension mounting points which would best be accomplished via a cage as NewZed mentions. I would say a triangulated STB for the front is high on the list as well as stitch welding seams that are coming loose or can come loose. The engine bay frames are C-channels and prone to rust so that should be looked at. If the floors are gone then the rockers will not be far behind. That list RT listed is really golden, there used to be an album associated with that list. Quite overkill for street, but it would definitely address the weak points in the chassis. Keep in mind that it is more of a package, you reinforce one part of the box then other parts can fold. Either let the box flex, or make the box unbreakable, try not to compromise there or you will get some weird stress points.

You can see why I was irritated, finger is close to perpendicular. That bolt is screwed, hopefully it didn't rip through the seat mount. Figured I would install my new trans mount since it was sitting on the shelf. Put the car up and realized that I need to take the exhaust off again which is quite an ordeal to do for one person. I think I might take it back to the exhaust shop and have them install another v-band in the middle to make it easier to remove, also the exhaust touches the trans cross member so they could deal with that as well. Noticed that the trans mount is missing a retaining nut and a bolt to mount to the transmission. I never gave it two looks when I got the transmission, seems more and more like this guy just threw some parts on his old transmission and sold it to me. That might account for the rattling and such. Painted my other wheels with the bigger tires. Also tried my hand at the white lettering. Kumho isn't a great name for a tire, I probably should have left it out, with the two it looks a bit too american for some reason. I think the konig has a better design. Mesh wheels just make the car look off, reminds me of jeep wheels from the 90's. The lettering also doesn't help either. I don't know, I'll have to think about it. The konig's for comparison look much better despite the tiny tires. Metal ordered for my tubular bumper along with a new fuel cell cap. Turns out the diameter is too big for the retaining tab on the cap. I basically ruined mine figuring that out so I should be able to get this one to fit nicely without grinding most of the tab away. Found a pretty good deal on some Sparco seats, a little sooner then I had planned, but combined with my F'd up seat bolts I might just bring the schedule forward for getting those installed with the new harnesses. Also welded holes and cracks in the spare driver door shut and threw some primer on. Pretty excited to have a working windows on both sides. More to come, there is a car show on the 12th, I am shooting for. Nothing big or special, but would be nice to be mostly complete.

Not belittling you, but it is as NewZed says, a narrow band reads stoich, lean, rich. It really doesn't tell you much, reading spark plugs would probably give you a better picture. I am guessing you have one of those sweep gauges that don't actually put out numbers which is why you can't give us any for that one. If you look up a narrow band voltage curve vs AFR you will see that all the voltage range the moment it moves off of stoic uses like 80% of the voltage, and it is exponential at that point if you flip the axis, that means the "richer" it gets the more inaccurate it gets. To have an accurate narrow band gauge you would need a very very advanced algorithm that could break down an exponential function and read all the way down to a very very small voltage unit, that would probably cost quite a bit as it would basically be a computer attached to a very precise multimeter. Comparatively the wideband sensor is a straight line. Much more telling. I agree though, if you can provide numbers that indicate a real decrease in fuel economy we can kind of go from there. If you plan on swapping out to megasquirt in the near future you will need a wideband o2 sensor so you could get one early. It could be something as mundane as a slipping transmission, if I remember you have an auto? Or something more complicated like a sticky injector.

The 1% a mile was with a 16 gallon fuel cell, I guess time will tell and you can always step up as long as you leave room for it. I bashed the bottom of my car on a metal plate last week, and I'm sure glad I had a steel case instead of aluminum. Progress looks good, I think the front flare usually sits in line with the bumper in the front so it sits a little more crooked, I've seen people go several different ways with the rear.

Full rich on a narrow band gauge can mean anything from 10.3-14.5 AFR. The tail end of the voltage is all compressed. You should not be using a narrow band AFR gauge to tune your car. It is not in the right ball park you are using stadium lengths to try and measure yard increments. You should not be aiming for stoich at WOT. That is really really a bad idea. Please read up on AFR and narrow vs wide band. Look up charts and see why it is a bad idea.