OldAndyAndTheSea

Thanks, Mate! I thought it was a pretty neat spot for it. And yeah, one of my other concerns was the long vacuum line as well. I did a quick measurement, and the distance from the stock FPR vacuum port on the intake to the current mounting position is roughly 22-23 inches. Then I measured to from the FPR port to the firewall, and it ended up being around 20-22 inches; was also roughly the same to distance to the passenger side inner fender, the other spot I contemplated mounting the FPR. I figure the +/- a couple of inches is probably negligible. And aesthetically, I actually don't mind the look of the regulator in plain sight. I actually kind of dig how it looks, haha. I also figured this would be the easiest place to access the regulator for troubleshooting, service, and replacement. I toyed with the idea of putting it on the firewall, but there just didn't seem to be a good spot with easy access for maintenance. Especially given the odd shape of the regulator. I'll just creatively run the vacuum hose, and I think I'll be in good shape.

Okay, so today I started playing with my fuel lines... I began figuring out how I was going to get the fuel where it needs to go. I changed the routing of my fuel feed line to now feed from behind my motor. Since I changed my fuel rail, I also needed to find a new place for my fuel pressure regulator. I decided to mount it to the front of the motor, I'm not 100% on if I will be satisfied with it here, but I thought it was a pretty clever, and almost OEM looking spot. Let me know if you think this will be a problem? The only issues I see is potentially vibration? Maybe I'm over thinking it. But anyway, I think it will work out pretty well. Err...I'm hoping so at least..... Oh, I made some hard lines too, I think they give it a really clean look. (I intend on putting a fuel filter in line before the injectors, I just didn't have one handy for this mock up) Here you can clearly see my fuel circuit. Comes in from behind the motor, leading to injectors, then to the regulator, then to the return.

Intercooler piping work has begun. Getting fitment right, making sure for easy access, and I still need to weld a couple bungs to the section just before the intake. One for the blow off valve, the other for a GM IAT sensor. Also, I'm planning on going with black couplers, I HATE the blue, and will eventually powder coat the piping crinkle black as well. But for right now, until I get the car moving under its own power once more, they can clearly wait.... I need to shorten the piping between the intercooler and the radiator support, as well. The gap is way too big. However, I'm waiting for my radiator to arrive before I do the final fit. Fun work!

With a fresh manifold gasket, I mounted the exhaust manifold, the turbo, it's oil line, and the shaved n42 intake. Also, I added yet another dedicated vacuum port for my MAP sensor for megasquirt (I completely spaced that out) for a total of 3x on the intake. (not including the stock fpr port) Here it is all bolted up and tightened down. This will push me to source out a 5 speed, I can't really hang the exhaust until I reinstall some sort of transmission. It's progressing.....More to come.

Motor is back in the car. Turbo is installed, oil line installed. Slowly assembling the motor, then I wait for cooling upgrades to arrive. EDIT: Intake manifold installed with 60mm TB

Do the conversion. What a deal..... And definitely swap to the vented hatch. I'm doing the same thing, once paint able weather arises. Screw the dash swap though, not worth it in my opinion.

ACT Clutch is installed. Motor is back in. Trans tunnel is painted. 240mm 2+2 Flywheel In Now I can assemble the motor for real! Hooray!

Took a picture of the 280zx sitting outside after the storm. It was a busy day

Love it Blu!

What was the condition of the removed water pump? How were the fins? Were they all there? Sometimes the fins rot away, which could potentially be stuck in the cooling system. Maybe try a flush? Also, make sure the clutch on your mechanical cooling fan (if you're still using one) is working. But I think this is less likely, but a good thing to test nonetheless. Hopefully it isn't something serious. Best of luck and yeah, its not the shroud.

I think one of the most important things to do is the mock up. Once I had my measurements, and cut the pieces I needed, I took Gorilla Tape and taped the whole exhaust together, and hung it under the car with some wire. (Granted I still use an L motor but it should be no different for a v8) Then once I tweaked for the fitment I wanted, I welded the pieces together, starting from the rear of the car, leading forward, and ending with a flange. Just get comfortable with getting out from under and then back under the vehicle many many times before you are done. Unless you have a lift, then I'm jealous. You can't be too creative. I used some line, jack stands, masking tape, stainless wire etc. Make sure you take a ton of pictures as you go! I love exhaust builds.

Yeah, you should probably figure out what your goals are before you decide to do a project like this. What power do you want to make? Daily Driven? Race? Drag? Figure out your goals first, then we can weigh the pros and cons of the swap.

Okay, so in my normal perusing of the internet, I stumbled across this. Apparently its a type of coating that "uses nanotechnology to repel almost any liquid" I thought this was pretty neat. And aside from the obvious "will it give me cancer?" thought, I really am interested in trying it out. Pretty expensive though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEnsYMPccuQ Anyone have any experience with this stuff? At first I was thinking it would be great for protecting paint, but apparently its supposed to wash off with soap, so that's probably out. But, MAN I could find a million and one uses for this stuff.

I'd say a sure fire way to see what the original color was is to peel the paint off of the front of your door jams (near the hinges) Or you could just pull the hinges/door off real quick, as most people don't remove these things while repainting. I bet there is a beautiful factory color hidden beneath.

I hate it when the family fights....... Haha But yeah, I agree with John and the "older crowd" My generation is definitely generally lazy, and I am NOT proud to be associated with them. Luckily, I was born in the late eighties, JUST before the internet, so I was raised to be self sufficient. An ideal, that I feel no longer exists for the vast majority of the populous. It forces you to be creative (that and living in a Lighthouse for the first 14 years of my life, far from the reaches of kids my age) But when the technology came along (IE: the interwebs), my creativity only grew. As did my quest for knowledge, which was NOW readily available at my finger tips! I have very little patience for people just asking for answers, considering GOOGLE is only a few clicks away. There should be NO question unanswered, if you are willing to contribute the time. And if you aren't willing to put in the time, you probably shouldn't be doing this type of work.

Hey thanks! The kind words mean a whole lot. And I am very happy that you are learning stuff from my experiences. I'm definitely trying to be more concise and descriptive when explaining what I do to the motor, and how I did it, etc...Not only to help others, but also so I know my exact process in case I need to go back and figure out something that went wrong. Megasquirt will be a long and arduous process, as I intend on writing how I do it step by step, with even more pictures than usual. I'm now spending lots of time researching and understanding the system, so when I go to make my purchase I am well informed. But until then, I am going to slowly work my way to the back of the undercarriage of the car, cleaning, painting, and replacing as need be. Thanks again for the compliment! It certainly makes this whole process much more fun. Cheers! Turbo parts still to buy before Megasquirt: Oil cooler Radiator + fan(s) MSD-6AL Greddy RZ BOV Drivetrain parts still to buy: 5 speed r200 (not sure if I can swing a LSD yet, but either way,) 280z Mustache bar CV's MM adapter Then I think about suspension.....Ugh...money money money mon---ay..

The cross member has been painted, and I pulled my transmission so I can clean and paint the tunnel. Plus I am looking to source out some sort of 5 speed to replace my whiny 4 speed. Ideally I'm looking for a 1980 5 speed. But I'd really be up for anything, and I'm throwing around the idea of the 240sx trans, but until then I'm still finishing up my last odds and ends for the turbo build. But if anyone knows of any decent 5 speed transmissions for sale, willing to ship, let me know. I'll be needing one.

I upload my phone pictures/videos to Photobucket. Droid products have the option to do it automatically. Then I just embed the code in my thread. Done and done.

Nothing special. I've been slowly reassembling the engine bay. I'm going to paint the crossmember in the next couple days.

This is what mine looks like at 1 TDC. corresponds correctly via the dizzy rotor and #1 on the cap

.....But my car needs an alternator...

Awesome! LOVE the headers...Such beautiful craftsmanship.

None that look good. Unlike yours, which looks like absolute sex. Phenominal work, Mate!

The engine bay prep/refinishing stage is well underway. I've spent the passed 4 days removing anything I didn't need in the bay, and rerouted my fuel feed to behind the motor. Then, I welded up any unused holes and got to sanding. Pictures do the paint NO justice. But here goes... Also, I'm ordering an oil cooler this week, as that's one of the only remaining components I need in order to be able to put the motor back in the car. EDIT: Untaped. Hard to see, but I rewrapped my headlight/charging harness.

I always buy Nissan OEM waterpumps. Haven't had any problems with quality. Haven't justified the electric water pump, since I figure a mechanical water pump is always running if the motor is.