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I'm not sure they'll let you do that. I don't belive they're supposed to certify engines in cars if they're more polluting then the original. Even if they aren't, diesels are generally considered more polluting. There also is the part about using ALL the smog controlled parts from the doner, and an engine the same age or newer then the chassis. But I like the idea about getting the exemption, then being able to do anything. I had quite a bit of fun with my 83 Mercedes 300SD TurboDiesel, until it died. Don't worry, it's death was unrelated to anything I did to the engine.

What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty? It seems that more and more often people are cited and then have to prove their innocence and pay the price for a long time after because they were 'suspect'.

I couldn't find any reference to having a lambda, afr, wideband, o2, etc gauge at all in the California Vehicle Code. I found a nice html copy at http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/vc/vc.htm and you can download it in PDF at http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/vcpdftoc.htm so if anyone can show me I missed something, please do. Also, dosen't the EGR on the Z's L6 run off manifold vacume through a thermostatic valve so it only works once the engine's warm. I figure since it alters intake O2 content and not MAP, megasquirt should be able to handle it in the stock configuration with a warm engine and closed-loop mode.

The AFR gauge thing seems like something us CA people would put in place. Everyone I know who has one uses it to tune their cars for better MPG 99% of the time. The other 1% of the time they're on the track and exempt from smog requirements. This is a very dangerous slippery slope, pretty soon we won't be allowed to have timing lights because we might use them to change our cars to an illegal setting. Gauges are diagnostic tools, they tell us when things are working correctly. If I wanted to make my car run rich and get some more power, I wouldn't even use a gauge, just turn my AFM wheel a couple notches, then turn it back to smog. Sorry for the rant, but I feel that any law forcing us to become less involved in something we own is full of it.

Yea, normally I'd agree with you. The thing that makes me think the LED says something is it has roughly a 50% duty cycle. Also, the light goes off once I hit the point where my WOT contact in the TPS and the car takes off like a bullet as it ritchens up instantly. I see no reason why it couldn't be going into open-loop mode at 3600rpm (about 75mph in 5th gear) with the light on solid then uses open-loop mode with the light off in WOT mode. That just seems a bit odd to me, as isn't the closed-loop system controlling the LED, and that system would be ignored completely in open-loop, or dissabled completely puting the LED in a certain state all the time the system isn't being used? I may break down and take appart my ECU and trace the circuits if I get ambitious and nobody knows. I guess I could always use some old DAC hardware I have laying around and make a plot of LED on/off and narrow-band O2 voltage. Might be easier. -Eric

If I look carefully while driving at night, I can see my little O2 sensor LED blinking on and off while I'm cruising. My question, if anyone happens to know off hand, is the engine running slightly on the rich side or lean side when the LED is lit? I ask because once I get a bit above 80, the LED stays lit solid, but if I floor it the light goes back off. I'm just curious if I'm running lean (and possibally getting slightly better milage?) when I'm moving at a decent speed and not flooring it and thus kicking in the acceleration enrichment. -Eric

I absolutely love the torque curve (or should I say line?) of the straight-6 engines. Super-easy to drive when cruising on the highway without a lot of shifting when you want to pass, and easy to launch, not bogging down like a 4cyl or over-revving like a v8. That, and they're very rugged, being easy to internally balance and having lots of room to put strong (wide) main bearings in. Plus, they're easy to work on in the car with so much space on either side.

Well I'm glad everything is working. Stick around here, it's a great place.

Jeese, I'll take a set of those injectors too, at 10-15$/6 +shipping. Drop me a PM if you decide to go back to the junk yard and pull all the supra 440s you can find.

I hate to burst your bubble, but if that's Mill Valley, CA you're in, then you're out of luck on the waiting to be smog exempt. Check here: http://www.smogcheck.ca.gov/StdPage.asp?Body=/Smogcheck/doineed.htm "Beginning April 1, 2005, the 30-year rolling exemption has been repealed. Instead, vehicles 1975 model-year and older will be exempt. Therefore, 1976 model-year and newer vehicles will continue to be subject to biennial inspection indefinitely."

The absolute best way to find out if you're going to have any problems with anything you remove is to read, read, read, read. Learn why those parts are there in the first place, learn how they work, learn what will or may happen when you remove them. That way, if anything ever does go wrong, or weird, or otherwise, you'll be far more likely to know what it is immediately and if it's caused by the removal of one of those parts or if it's something else all together.

I'm not sure how much they'd be worth today as anything other then a rare(?) and collectable(again ?) cool piece of history. The ZXs with their nice electronic ignition do the same thing just triggered by a reluctor, not points. I figure that magneto works exactly like an old GM HEI system triggered by points. Any system system triggered by something other then points is going to run your car better, especially things using a trigger wheel. The ZX is a couple of generations better, EDIS or anything else without a distributor is another generation or two better. Still, if you could get it for absolute dirt, it's a cool old after market preformance part. I guess that system was supposed to make a stronger spark and take load off your points. By triggering off the points and fireing off solid state electronics, I guess you could have more charging current safely and not get carbon build up on the points from all that arcing.

Aw man Dtsnlvrs, that little guy is awsome. If there's anyone anywhere that should have a Powerwheels Z, it's him.

Dang, that's a good drawing of Vash. Who did that? (The drawing, not the actual application to the car)

Okay, I welded it. It's now very, very quiet. I'll post pics later, but it turned out interesting and extremely restricted. Later, I'm just going to make a new flange/2-into-1 piece from a piece of sheet iron and some tubing.

I ended up pulling it because I absolutely couldn't find the leak. It didn't fall into two pieces until I unbolted everything. I'm not so worried about welding on it, I'm just gonna cut out the rusty part. Asside from maybe 1" of rust along the pipe, everything else is rock solid, I've been checking it with a pointy hammer all over. Also, after getting everything out I found my gasket broken in several places also.

1400$ for 500amps isn't bad, that's a lot of power to handle. How much does the car weigh? No fuel, no motor, but add the electric motor and batteries...

I've been seriously considering the conversion to electric, not so much for the speed and acceleration (although I know I'll abuse that) but for the cost. No valves to adjust, oil to change, exaust to weld (long story, currently an issue), and rising gas prices, it would be great. What motor controller did you use? I've been looking around but can't find one that's decent and under $1000.

Here are some pictues: The pipe going to the cat Another angle The Manifold Another view Yet another Still more JessZ, thanks for the offer, but I'm hoping I can handle it. I got my hands on a nice cheap buzz-box and I'm gonna see what I can do, but I may just line everything up, tack it together, and take it down to a muffler shop. That is, providing I can unbolt the pipe from the front of the cat.

It's not the manifold/header that's broken, it's the section after the 2-1 that's part of the exaust that runs down to the cat. Just above the 2-1 before the break is where the manifold bolts to the rest of the system. I was gonna cut out the entire section that's either been welded or just looks that way due to rust and weld in a new section of pipe. I just can't decide now if I should buy a cheap wirefeed welder or take it somewhere. Also, being in CA any parts I add would need to have a CARB number to be leagal for use on a smog controlled vehicle. Anyone local to Oakland wanna drop in with a welder?

Okay, I got the intake and exaust manifolds off, thanks so much for the tips. Lo and behold, the exaust broke in half right below the 2-into-1 collector. That would explain why I was louder than any sane car on the road. Looks like it's off to a welding shop for me, as it looks like it may have been welded before and will need to have about two inches cut out and fit with new pipe.