nosebleedZ

Congrats Lowrider! I'm about 20 minutes from you in Kingston, TN & it's great to see Z boost addicts close to home! As a safe supplement to the 83 NA ECU your using, I am selling an SDS additional injector controller setup you may be interested in to take the boost up 5-7lbs more or so. Good luck in the east TN rainy season...LOL!

As far as my memory serves me (& it ain't perfect these days), I think all 70-84 Z & Maxima heads, had the same springs & rates. The differences were in valve stem heighth & face diameter on various heads. The last complete set I bought was from MSA as well. They were roughly $100 shipped to my door for 12 outer & 12 inner springs. If you go aftermarket or race cam, ie. Isky, Comp, Ferrea, etc. you will need to match the springs with "that" manufacturer's recommendations on spring pressures, bind rate, installed & compressed height, blah, blah, blah, to avoid wiping out an expensive setup in the first 30 seconds its fired up. Horsepowerfreaks.com, tomei, & jim wolf technologies among 40 others, have the exotic valvetrain goodies "usually available" Honestly, if you don't plan on revving your motor past 6K it's whole life, stock L6 stuff is great with a few mods (see Dragonfly & Braap's stickys). IMO, most people usually over cam, carb, & rev an engine for the street or weekend warrior, instead of building truly flexible cars. But if you want to move the power curve into a different band, or it's gonna be a mostly racer, open up your wallet & let Ben Franklin rub his light sensitive eyes, if the screamin' sound of a punished L6 what your going for bud!

"Don't sweat the petty, pet the sweaty..." "If you want sympathy, it's in the dictionary between scab & syphilis.."

Instead of purchasing all these items & installing them, plus the expense of a $75 7 pin module, wouldn't it just be easier to send the MS1 V2.2 back to Matt & pay him the difference for an MS2 V3.0 like I have in my car? Matt is this a possibility. I & he are looking for the "easiest" route for his car, if there is absolutely no other way to make the 2.2 work w/ the N/A dizzy, besides this, the way Naviathan wired his car w/ MS2V3.0 might be the cheaper & easier option. Whatcha think?

Matt, after reading through the second link you posted, I am somewhat getting what to do, but it is mostly internal mods on the V2.2 ECU itself. On the internal mods, it shows a jumpering of several items to accomodate the VR control, but I'm honestly having a hard time understanding some of it. Jumper with what exactly? A small guage wire (24 guage?) that will be soldered? Or a designated clip jumper from you? I'm sure I can figure it out, but there is some discussion of the VB921 & it's Bosch replacement not being reliable enough to directly trigger the coil. Naviathan's solution would be ideal if it could be done with an external resistor mod or another module. Could a single 4 pin GM hei module be used to make this work? In the post above by BLOZUP, it shows a dual setup connected to a MS V3 & using a ECCS dizzy. If you or someone else had a diagram like this that would be the ticket. I tried to find that info (diagram of V2.2 +4 pin HEI module+VR N/A dizzy+external resistors+connections), but didn't see it. I will read through it again until you reply. Thanks again.

Good stuff Matt & Naviathan! Let me read these links thoroughly & I will post anymore questions. I've only purchased the pre-assembled units from you Matt, so I need to read up on some of the board mods & what's involved with them to formulate the correct questions. I am @ work right now but I will get back on this evening. Thanks, this was exactly what I was looking for!

No, that's not what I was looking for, but thanks anyway, this is the one I was referring to when I started the thread that ended up being for V3.0. Any others for V2.2?

Bump, anyone?

I am doing a N/A to turbo conversion for a friend on hos 81 ZX 2+2 & need some suggestions from the Megasquirt masters. He bought a MS1-Extra V2.2 w/ GM sensors to use with the stock 81 VR dizzy. I know you have to lock out the mechanical & vac advance based on searching here. I found a thread similar to this with Matt Cramer, Moby, & NismoED back in '07 that was discussed with triggering with a V3.0 board, & he eventually ended up w/ a GM 8 pin module to make it work. If someone on here has done this w/ V2.2, please post a diagram if possible with accompanying Megatune settings/ values &/ or a link to a thread I might have overlooked that you participated in that resolves this. I and he really appreciate the input, he is a Z crazy college kid & this will be his first turbo car:)! And a Z to boot! Thanks guys.....

Enix, why do you want to use a cable instead of the pushrod linkage? It will work fine with a small accel pedal adjustment when using the S13/14 throttle body. Just make sure & NOT hacksaw the throttle plate shaft (passenger side when installed on L28 manifold), & correctly place the 240SX ball pivot cam at the end closely matching the pushrod. Requires no custom anything except the spacer & 1" longer bolts. But you have options here as well, if you haven't already taken the plunge & bought an aluminum one. Make it out of polypropylene that comes in 3/4" thickness. You can make one with a jigsaw, a 2.5" hole saw, 5/16" drill bit/ drill, & exacto knife in a few hours, without doing homemade metal work. Seal it with a trimmed sheet of make-a gasket material from a parts store (2 gaskets will be required). As the others have said, port match the manny or this mod is useless, & your AFM won't like it due to bottle-necking. The best part of using the poly, is it stays much cooler than the aluminum spacer & keeps a little extra heat out of the inlet air. This with a cold air intake system IN Front of the radiator support will give you a "little extra" power you can feel & much better throttle response. My 2 cents , if you've not already went another route. The spacer from Arizona is nice as well & a steal @ $35. Have fun!

Is this an additional injector system? What engine (L, VG, RB, VQ, SR, SBC, etc.?). Is it EFI or carbed blower setup?

Do an internet search for Treadstone intercoolers. They are sold in almost any configuration, polished, low pressure drop, & in most cases under $300, brand new. I've had excellent experiences with them. Best part is you'll have it in less than a week,there order processing is top notch! Good luck.....

Jacob, glad to hear it's cooled down for you buddy! To answer jc regarding my fan preferences, I do believe overall that the "correct" electric fan setup is more superior all around to a stock fan & fan clutch, but I believe oz started a new thread on this, so I will continue to explain there............

Tony, you are probably correct if you researched it that heavily. I was going from Napa's info from when I bought it several years ago. Doing an "off-the car test "at that time for experimentation sake, & like jacob, I was having heating issues, the T-Stat I put in my car was full open position in a pan of hot water registering 150-ish with a infrared heat gun. I would have to have Napa check what they offer still or if it was a 160*, I was only intending on nudging jacob in the right direction, and not trying to give him irrefutable information on nissan OE thermostats. As for the sludging, yes cooler oil can have less lubricity & sludge if not driven hard enough to thin the oil & its given additives, but this is also relative to oil viscosity, type (syn or con), & thermal expansion properties of the engine bearings relative to adequate oil clearance requirements. Also, during hard driving the engine will exceed the T-Stat baseline temp for short periods depending on ambient temp & boost, in my case. This probably relates little to jacob's overheating issue (unless he's using straight 50 wt), but informative info none-the-less! Jacob, your not experiencing anything out of the ordinary without a fan, like Stravi said. It's just a wiser thing to ensure all parts of the cooling system are up to snuff with a new head, to give it maximum life & that no other symptoms are hidden due to the fan being on vacation. Happy wrenchin'!

Yep, with the tendency of the L-series to run warm, dropping to a tropical thermostat will lower the overall operating temp of the motor because the thermostat will open about 20% sooner to be cooled again. Since I throw alot of heat at the engine (20-25psi boost), this further reduces the tendency to detonate. You just have to tune the ECU for the lower temps or it will buck & misfire when warmed up. If you look at many of the aftermarket tuning kits available, a colder thermostat is usually part of the overall tuning package- see hypertech, bullydog, venom, etc. Yes, emissions will be higher in states that have testing because a cooler engine requires more fuel to perform well. The reason most modern vehicles have normal operating temperatures from 180- 210F is because of emission requirements. Datsuns came with this thermostat or the 160* version OE in South America, Africa, etc. in the early 70's where emission compliance was not paramount. Napa still sells the tropical version here in the states.

Man, I need to start fishing in Texas!

At least modify a NACA duct from Motorsport Auto to the filter if your going to cut a hole in the hood. Honestly think about it: Z car hood- $400, K&N chubby- $50, this is an easy one. If not sell someone on here the car to save it from ghetto bodywork.....

If your looking for about 300hp, there are a few guys on here with the stock 280ZX T-3 making 240-280+rwhp. You can get these at pull-a-part or for $40 & get a rebuild kit from G-Pop Shop by mail for $45 more! Plus you'll learn alot about 'em as well. $85 turbo + shipping. Then you have the cash for MS ECU & Treadstone intercooler/ BOV-tuning is where it's at anyway. A ginormous turbo tuned crappy is a ginormous dissapointment usually. The stock turbo spools great, but turns into an 80 year old smoker above 15PSI. Also a T-28 from late 80's Z31 spools like a mother, not sure about HP though. Word to the wise- turbo's are like heroin, more is never enough & all your money will go to support your ever-increasing habit...good luck my friend....told by a recovering junky, who's wife staged a turbo intervention. I still crave it though...LOL!

Check dipstick, if it's above top mark that's what caused it. Bad news is the cure is probably what you suspect- timing cover gaskets/ oil pan gasket/ seal dripping. To find for sure clean the front of the motor w/ degreaser, wet some paper towels & stick to the places where oil can leak, start warm & rev engine until paper towels dry out, & when you remove the towels- viola....oil leaks will be transfered to the towels. If this fails get leak detection dye & a black light.

Stravi & KTM are on the money, man. Unless you like wrenching more than driving, do the following w/ new head job, especially on an L engine: 1)flush block/ head w/ descaler & pressurized water 2) change to new or colder T-stat (I use a 150*, stock is 180*) 3) A fan is a must! Stock is adequate, but the best IMO is a hi-flow electric(s) w/ temp sensor to turn it on, which is great in traffic on Z's. 4) Remove any & all debris from both sides of the radiator 5)Always do a new water pump with a new head, it's 25 bucks! 6)Replace all hoses that carry coolant & rad cap...period. 7)Fill with 50/50 coolant & distilled water if below the Mason/Dixon Line 8) Have rad boiled out & fins straightened if not a new one 9)Adjust water pump belt or replace & adjust correctly 10) Ensure ignition timing is not too advanced If it overheats then, only can be the block is in dire need of hot tanking (think of Draino in a 50 yr. old cast iron sewer pipe)- flow sucks, head or gasket is still not sealing, belly pan has been removed allowing airflow to the rad to go around it, or your turbo is being spun all the time (like most of us on this site), remember power & heat are same thing...LOL. Hope this helps!

Z or ZX body?

Did you ever get your MS problem fixed? I followed that one for a while & just wanted to know. Anyhoo, With a small body saw & some $3 door edge molding to cover the bare metal, you can make tips from 2.5"-4" work quickly. I dont keep up with brand names, but I have duals from 2.5" exhaust pipes to twin 3" x 2.75" ovals.

datzun90, Do you want my head? How soon? It's still on a car, but can work something out. Also, If your building a high compression motor, I have a set of 240Z (133mm) rods that will further bump compression on any piston/ crank/ head configuration. You can have those for another $60. Regards, NBZ

Sweet Z man! I love the custom work, that really sets the bar for the up & coming ZX guys on here. Personal touches mean everything in project. I need to get around to posting some pics & vids of my car too. It's really great to see these cars getting all the love they deserve & some outta tha box execution.

Believe it or not those headlights are cheap, & really cool....you can get them at your local Advance Auto Parts store for $10 each. They are a clearance item from the APC accesories craze of a few years ago. I've had 'em on my Z for over 2 years, but I still see them occasionally. They are a nice replacement for any car since the 60's with 7" round sealed lights. Get premium bulbs for them & you'll be very happy. Good luck!