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All I can say is SEARCH SEARCH SEARCH. All of those mods have been extensively covered here. With that in mind, a few words. If indeed your fuel pump is on its way out, an aftermarket is a good way to go, often cheaper then a replacement stock. Keep in mind that the pump alone won't give you any more power, it will simply give you headroom for future upgrades. The adjustable FPR isn't needed at 10psi (AFAIK, someone correct me if I'm wrong), as it's considered the safe thing to run with an otherwise stock car w/o intercooler. For a wide-band O2 sensor, check out the Innovative LC-1, for 200$, it simply cannot be beat. The popular fuel pump around here seems to be the Walbro (SP?) 255. Congradulations on your purchase, and welcome to HybridZ!

Good threads never die. They just get posted to again.

My list is FAR longer then I want it to be. Here are a few I remember off the top of my head. A year and a half ago, I rebuilt a 327 that was laying around and dropped it into A 74 Nova, replacing the inline-6 that had one under-sized piston from the head getting cracked one upon a time. Did a perfect rebuild, started up perfectly on the first try, but idled awful. Shut it off, checked a few things, wouldn't start up again, just popped out the carb. My uncle took one look, told me to turn the distributor 180. Runs perfect now. Another time, I changed the oil on my grandmother's Grand Marque. Real annoying oil filter to get to, have to do it all by feel, and I was doing this at night. I changed the oil and filter, started it up, the oil light on the dash went out, and I started backing away from the shed. Then I see in the headlights a HUGE puddle of oil. Crap, what did I do? Turns out, the old gasket for the oil filter was stuck to the block, so I had two rubber gaskets between the filter and the block. Leaked like a sieve, but built up enough pressure to turn off the idiot light. Asside from cleaning up one heck of a mess, no harm done. Another time I was driving my old 84 Mercedes 300SD. Absolutely bullet proof car. I had come off the interstate, and I downshifted (it's an automatic, but they're ment to be shifed that way) to help me slow down, and it started to rev the engine a little too much, so I shifed up again. I must have missed a gear and put it into neutral, because I thought I was still one gear too low, and moved the shifter up one more. Right into reverse. There was a VERY loud clacking noise just like trying to engage the parking gear while moving, and the tires nearly locked up a couple times, but I got it back into drive REAL quick. No harm done, transmission works fine to this day. One that still ticks me off is the only stupid thing I've done to my Z. My very nice alarm system has a remote start as part of it. Very useful in cold weather to warm up the engine/car, and in hot to cool off the car with the A/C. Now, my car is a 5 speed, and you can see where this is going. After hooking the system, I went to test it, not while in the car ready to hit the clutch and brake, but standing next to it. The remote start worked perfect, propelling my Z that I left in 1st gear right into the open door of my 83 Mercedes 300SD. Put a nice 2x2 inch dent in the hood of the Z and some scrapes on the headlight bucket. Engine never actually fired, and it didn't hurt the Benz. The remote start is disconnected until I get a reliable neutral safety switch. Another time, I managed to give my friend's dad's car a flat tire. It was a nissan altima (I think, might have been a sentra), top of the line, every feature. CD changer, leather, everything. But no power steering. I didn't even know those cars came without power steering. I backed out of the driveway, then put it in 1st and started to turn into the street. The wheels didn't turn as far as I expected them to, and the front right wheel got to meet the curb on the left side of the driveway. Flat tire, but at least the rim was okay. Yet another time, long before I had a license, I was moving heavy machinery around my grandpa's farm. Tractors, swathers, etc. I went to move one tractor around, and since it was the first time I had ever driven it, my grandpa was supervising from the ground. I started it up and went to raise the bucket nice and high so I could see where I was driving. I stopped midway when my grandpa yelled at me saying I didn't need to raise the bucket WAY up there, since there was no need to. I started backing the tractor into the spot we wanted it in when the loader hit the back of the swather. Smack into the 250 gallon propane take the thing ran off of. Made one heck of a clang, like an out of tune church bell, but it didn't leak, break anything, and I'm still here to talk about it. Would never have happened if I'd just raised the bucket all the way in the air to give me the extra room to manuver. That's all I feel like writing about for now, but I've had several close calls with farm machinery that wasn't working properly and nobody bothered to tell me when I was asked to help out.

A diesel dosen't weight much more than any other well-bulit engine of the same design. Some diesel engine designs may weight more, but they're built to last forever and take a pounding. There is nothing about being diesel that makes the engine heavier. Take a look at the 2JZ if you want a heavy engine, and that's gas. Also, many of the diesel motors you see are truck motors. Look at the LD28, it's not heavier then the L28. I'm sure the little TDI motor you have dosen't weigh much at all.

My 64 Jaguar XKE is a straight 6 and runs true dual exaust. Two exaust manifolds, three cyl per manifold. Sounds great with dual glass packs, no crossover pipe. The true dual exaust (also glass packs w/o crossover) on my 74 Nova does chug a lot at idle but gets quieter while cruising. Never sounds like it's backfiring, and just purrs when I decel.

I agree, the CA laws are terrible, and so complicated that the people at the DMV don't know them for crap. That is BS that they wouldn't give you a TITLE for ownership of a car without a smog cert. It's registration that may need smog, but you could title it non-op and they couldn't say boo. Beaurocracy fails.

I can count one one hand all the things I own that I haven't taken apart. I can't count on one hand all the things I've taken apart and never put back together. Including at least six of my dad's electric shavers. Those things were just so dang interesting and every new one he got had new features that I just HAD to know all about.

IMO, that's a pretty healthy cam. Stock for the 240 is .289 lift and 248 duration, same for intake and exaust. IIRC, the stock valve springs start to bind around .500 lift.

TORQUE WRENCH: A tool used to snap heads off bolts, because it's always set to foot-pounds instead of inch-pounds. DIGITAL MULTI METER: A device used to blow fuses and/or explode in your hand because when checking for 12 volts, you left it set to read amps. Also...Have you ever read or used a Haynes Manual? If so, here's a handy Translation sheet... Haynes: Rotate anticlockwise. Translation: Clamp with molegrips then beat repeatedly with hammer anticlockwise. Haynes: This is a snug fit. Translation: You will skin your knuckles! Haynes: This is a tight fit. Translation: Not a hope in hell matey! Haynes: As described in Chapter 7... Translation: That'll teach you not to read through before you start, now you are looking at scarey photos of the inside of a gearbox. Haynes: Pry... Translation: Hammer a screwdriver into... Haynes: Undo... Translation: Go buy a tin of WD40 (catering size). Haynes: Retain small spring... Translation: "Jeez what was that, it nearly had my eye out"! Haynes: Press and rotate to remove bulb... Translation: OK - thats the glass bit off, now fetch some good pliers to dig out the bayonet part. Haynes: Lightly... Translation: Start off lightly and build up till the veins on your forehead are throbbing them re-check the manual because this can not be 'lightly' what you are doing now. Haynes: Weekly checks... Translation: If it isn't broken don't fix it! Haynes: Routine maintenance... Translation: If it isn't broken... it's about to be! Haynes: One spanner rating. Translation: Your Mum could do this... so how did you manage to botch it up? Haynes: Two spanner rating. Translation: Now you may think that you can do this because two is a low, tiny, 'ikkle number... but you also thought the wiring diagram was a map of the Tokyo underground (in fact that would have been more use to you). Haynes: Three spanner rating. Translation: But Nova's are easy to maintain right... right? So you think three Nova spanners has got to be like a 'regular car' two spanner job. Haynes: Four spanner rating. Translation: You are seriously considering this aren't you, you pleb! Haynes: Five spanner rating. Translation: OK - but don't expect us to ride in it afterwards!!! Haynes: If not, you can fabricate your own special tool like this... Translation: hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! Haynes: Compress... Translation: Squeeze with all your might, jump up and down on, swear at, throw at the garage wall, then search in the dark corner of the garage for whilst muttering "bugger" repeatedly under your breath. Haynes: Inspect... Translation: Squint at really hard and pretend you know what you are looking at, then declare in a loud knowing voice to your wife "Yep, as I thought, it's going to need a new one"! Haynes: Carefully... Translation: You are about to cut yourself! Haynes: Retaining nut... Translation: Yes, that's it, that big spherical blob of rust. Haynes: Get an assistant... Translation: Prepare to humiliate yourself in front of someone you know. Haynes: Turning the engine will be easier with the spark pugs removed. Translation: However, starting the engine afterwards will be much harder. Once that sinking pit of your stomach feeling has subsided, you can start to feel deeply ashamed as you gingerly refit the spark plugs. Haynes: Refitting is the reverse sequence to removal. Translation: But you swear in different places. Haynes: Prise away plastic locating pegs... Translation: Snap off... Haynes: Using a suitable drift... Translation: The biggest nail in your tool box isn't a suitable drift! Haynes: Everyday toolkit Translation: Ensure you have an AAA Card & Mobile Phone Haynes: Apply moderate heat... Translation: Placing your mouth near it and huffing isn't moderate heat. Haynes: Index Translation: List of all the things in the book bar the thing you want To do! For Added Haynes Fun: Go to the first section, Safety First, and read the bit about Hydrofluoric Acid - do you really want the advice of a book that uses this form of understatement???!!? Now look at the lovely colour section on body repairs - as you look at these two pages say to yourself over and over until it sinks in "mine will never look like that..."

You can profile the cam just by taking off the valve cover. There is no reason to remove the cam. With nothing more than a dial gauge you can determine the lift. With a degree wheel and a dial gauge you can fully profile the cam. Any good engine building shop should be able to do it in under half an hour.

My '82 N/A Non-BW 5-speed with an R200 3.9:1 goes through first and second WAY too fast on city streets. I end up cruising in 4th by 25mph and 5th at 30. 4000 RPM cruising on the freeway also sucks. Unless I'm facing up hill from a dead stop, I don't even use first gear. Starting is smoother in second, the engine dosen't bog and I don't slip the clutch any longer then trying to do a smooth start in first with such a low ratio. I would only immagine the BW 5-speed would make you want to skip gears and keep you constantly shifting even more. The one thing that makes it easy to drive is the great torque curve (more like a line) of the L6. I can be doing 30 in 5th, and just give it a little more and it'll pick up speed slowly but surely. I'm actually looking for a 3.7 or 3.54 rear end now to make first more useful and lower my highway RPMs. If I ever go turbo (working on the legalities of that now, darn CA) I want the 3.54 or a BW with a 3.36. If I were you, and were switching from the R180 to the R200, I'd go with a lower ratio such as 3.7 or 3.54 (3.36 would be a bit low for a non-turbo) and if you really needed the acceleration, you could always just slip the clutch a bit. I personally think the 3.9 is too low. BTW, absolutely amazingly beautiful car. And do you know the specs of your cam? And you should see my driveway...

That sounds a lot like me. When I was 18 months old, I took the door knob off the door to my room with a screw driver. And was re-tuning the stereo (gotta love analog!) once I was old enough to stand. kilten, is that an anthro-pc as your icon?

It's stuff like this that made me think that swapped engines need to emit less smog: Engine Replacement and Rebuilding Guidelines Certification Standards Make sure the engine and emission control configuration on exhaust - controlled vehicles are certified to the year of the vehicle or newer, and to the same or a more stringent new vehicle certification standard. As found here http://www.smogcheck.ca.gov/StdPage.asp?Body=/geninfo/publications/Engine_Change_Guidelines-Jan_1994.htm This may not actually be enforceable, as there's a good chance it's not written into law, but only tentative policy.

No, E85 is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. But a diesel Z running on bio would be fun too.

One of the old Mercedes 300SD or 300D TurboDiesel 3 Liter motors would be a good way to go. I used to have two, now down to one. I would stay away from the 6cyl E300D motors, as they have aluminium heads and warp SUPER easily if they overheat. The 5cyl turbos are just fine if you put a manual boost controller on there. Those KKK turbos are supposed to be good for up to 40psi on a 3 liter engine. I had mine up to 11psi and it was quite quick in a 4800lb car. 11-12 psi is the most you want to do on a stock engine. If you use a metal head gasket and head studs, 14psi is about the top, if you re-inforce the intake manifold and use studs, 18-20. Intercooled, who knows! You also can find a 4 speed for those engines, the ones from the older 220SE if I recall correctly will bolt up if you use the correct bell housing. For that engine though, I would stick with an automatic, as if you want to get a bunch of speed off the line you need to trans-break, even if you just do it using both feet. Plus, you can shift the automatics in those cars as if they were manuals, always controlling what gear you're in. For engine swap purposes I'd stick with the VW or Nissan engines, as they're smaller but still make decent HP, just not quite as much torque. If you want to just buy a daily driver, the , 81-85 Mercedes 300SD (those are the most luxurious models) are serious tanks and quite nice to drive.

Oh yea, I'm not saying it couldn't be used practically, and produce good power. It's just an engine designed to take advantage of it couldn't be used with regular gasoline. E85 is very high octane, yet contains less chemical energy power pound, so high compression engines are used to make up for it and get back most of the lost MPG. 14+ to 1 would be mighty tough to run regular unleaded on. Only thing I can think of is EXTREMELY varriable valve timing, to alter the compression drastically. But you're very right about having to change nearly every part in the fuel system to handle E85. I'm not sure it would like aluminum heads and blocks either.

My only doubt in converting a Z to diesel is that I belive one of the rules for the engine swap certification is to use a CLEANER burning engine, or an engine that was offered in same vehicle. Unless you're running some very specific modern equiptment, and have a high GVW, diesel is a dirty alternative. And I have seen E85 around the Bay Area, especially in the North Bay, but I don't have a high enough compression engine to make good use of it. E85 isn't always a bad thing, you just need an engine specifically designed for it. It's the flex fuel vehicles that have a lot of compromise and sacrafice a lot.

Lucky for us 240/260/280Z/ZXs aren't even OBD, much less OBD2. The 'Something Wrong' light on my dash dosen't even have anything to do with the EFI system. While a MAP-based EFI system may work a bit better, the Bosch L-Jetronic is very simple and easy to work on/troubleshoot. I'm not that surprised to hear you're having problems with CAN systems. It isn't a well-defined standard.

Having a smog license might be a dangerous thing to admit around here. You may have people banging down your inbox asking for advice. By the way, I’ve always wanted to know exactly what all gets checked during a normal smog check. The only checks I’ve ever been close enough to observe were done kind of half-assed. From what I understand, the following is checked, please correct me if I’m wrong about something and I’m sure I missed a few things. Vacuum Hose Routing Presence of SMOG devices (EVAP, CAT, SMOG Pump, etc) Timing Gas Cap Seal Tail Pipe Sniff/Dyno & Tail Pipe Sniff

Hey, that's a really good idea. How about going electric? Might not work as a temporary solution, but I've seen some electric cars that did some crazy things in the 1/4, and still got 300 miles or more range when street driven.