Danno74Z

383 240z, I sent you 4 emails with sections (scans) of an original electrical schematic for a 260Z. This came from the official Datsun repair manual - 30 year old book. I also enlarged the combo switch to show all the pinouts. All are very legible and are 1000 times better than the Hanes book. Hope this helps, Danno74Z

MIke, I just saw you post and I figure the full length headers are such a hassle to deal with in the Z that I don't want to even go there. Thank you for the offer for the picture but it's not needed. I'm sure some HP is left on the table with using block huggers over full length but it seems to be next to impossible to find ones that work in the Z very well. Danno74Z

You have convinced me to move on - Thanks Danno74Z

That was my thought also but if someone has actually tried it I could forget about it and move on. I know it's not talked about in the JTR book and most folk’s just use the block huggers as recommended but I do like to experiment some. It would be an expensive mistake if they did not fit as I don't think anybody would take them back. Danno74Z

A question for our LT1 engine folks or anybody who may have experience in the header department? I went through the search engine and I came up empty on this one. As you guys know when you install sporty headers on the LT1 engine they hit the knock sensor. Not a big deal, but I thought perhaps if I could use mid-length headers (pictured below) I could skirt the relocation of the knock sensor entirely. I know its a long shot but has anyone tried this type of header within the confines of the Z engine compartment? Thanks for any help, Danno74Z

Pop N Wood, The article you make reference to converts an early style Optispark module into the "later design" type. Better and cheaper then trying to change over the entire opti system system but hardly bulletproof. The only way to make the LT1 Opti system bulletproof is to change it out as Your car is slow suggests. Not a very cost effective thing to do especially when a used LT1 engine costs less then the computer management system you are going to put on it. Both systems whether it is the LTCC or Delteq removes the high voltage from the optispark module. Very good since the Opti sits under the water pump. Delteq goes one step further which I think is great by also changing out the optical sensor with a Hall effect sensor which is more robust and a better sealed unit. Unfortunately the module is physically located in the same location as the original OEM unit. You can thank GM for that. Danno74Z

Sounds like you have very deeeep pockets. Your looking at $2000 minimum for that system and how do you plan to run the engine in sequential mode? To my knowledge you need a cam sensor for that. The Optispark module has a duel Optical wheel system that determines cam position and crank position. Putting a crank trigger on is easy but how do you plan on getting the cam position signal to the Haltech if you dump the Optispark? It is a catch 22. Like I said, LTCC and Delteq are relatively low cost fixes to a mediocre ignition system. Danno74Z

Mike, The LTCC product seems from all accounts that I have read to be an excellent product and Mr. Bailey is excellent to deal with. For me (and this is just my opinion) the $399 price is a little steep as one needs to locate 8 LS1 coils. Personally I would not use used coils and a set of new ones run around $200. One still needs to fabricate a bracket to mount all the coils etc. I wrote to Dynaspark and never received a response so I have written them off. Their product is nothing more the a direct Opti replacement module put in a nice anodized case which you pay for. I think it is way over priced for what you get but again that is my opinion. To their credit the other two offering at least move the high voltage out and away from the water pump and offer multiple coils. Why the hell GM ever used the Optispark in the first place especially in that location is incredible but that is a dead horse subject.

I have some excellent news for all LT1 engine owner’s who are having Optispark related problems. As most LT1 owners can attest the Optispark is the Achilles heel to this otherwise excellent power plant. I have been in contact with one of the engineers (Peter Visser) at a company in Virginia called Delteq. Delteq currently has a product that removes all the high voltage from the Optispark module. This high voltage over time can cause arcing and then Optispark failures. This “stage-1†product uses Delteq design electronics along with a 4-coil pack instead of the one coil currently used. The optical sensors however remain intact. Delteq’s Stage 2 product, which will be released in April, will replace the optical components with a more robust housing and Hall effect sensor. Stage 2 is not inexpensive and I think it will run about $800 but it is an alternative to just replacing the defective Optispark. Stage 2 if I'm not mistaken will include all of the stage 1 electronics. Below is some email that I had with Mr. Visser. Dan, > > > > Our Stage 2 system replaces the factory Opti-Spark sensors and > > encoder disk with a different sensor and encoder. So why is this > > any better or reliable than the stock system? Because we are > > replacing the optical sensors with Hall Effect sensors. Hall > > Effect sensors work by detecting magnetic flux differences when a > > ferrous target is passed near them. Unlike an optical sensor, > > they are not susceptible to dirt, moisture, or any other physical > > "masking" of the sensor. Additionally, our sensor unit is sealed > > much better than GM's. If GM had sealed their opti-spark sensors > > as well as they seal all their other ignition components (i.e. > > ignition modules), we probably wouldn't have had as much of a > > problem with the opti-spark sensors. Then again, the sensors used > > by GM were made entirely by Mitsubishi! I guess they got a good > > deal on them... > > > > Our website does not list too much about the Stage 2 yet simply > > because it is not yet available. We are doing in-house testing on > > the Stage 2 sensors now, and we anticipate them being ready for > > purchase sometime in April. > > > > Our Stage 1 system is in-stock for immediate shipment. Our > > website is being updated with pictures of all the kits (Vette, > > Camaro, Impala). > > > > The Stage 1 kit does not require that you remove or modify your > > opti-spark. The factory Opti-Spark sensors are used, providing > > they are in good shape. Incidentally, the second design Opti- > > Spark sensor is sealed much better than the first design. As a > > result, we have not seen many failures of the second design opti > > sensors that were caused by a bad seal. The most common failure > > point of both opti-spark units appears to be when the cap and > > rotor become worn, and a high voltage arc jumps from the rotor to > > the distributor housing, which sometimes kills the sensors. > > Eliminating just the cap and rotor from the equation with our > > Stage 1 kit seems to help the longevity of the system greatly by > > removing the possibility of arc-over into the sensor. > > > > Thanks for your interest in our products. If you have any other > > questions, please feel free to ask. Also, if you would like me to > > email you some pictures of the systems installed on vehicles > > (before they are posted on our web site), just let me know. > > > > Best regards, > > Pete > > -------------------------------------------------- > > Peter Visser > > Mechanical Engineer > > DI Development, makers of "Delteq" > > 2758 Viking Drive > > Oak Hill, Virginia 20171 > > Phone: (703)476-3566 > > Fax: (703)476-1506 > > pvisser@cox.net > > http://www.delteq.com

I just happened to visit HybridZ after a long hiatus and boy things have changed! All for the better. "The one constant is all the great folks on this board." When I wrote that original question we were at 80 members or so now we are well into the thousands - unbelievable to say the least. My car is still not done but that is my fault. I'm still going to finish it but other things (life) derailed me a bit. I got laid off last year like I'm sure many other members have and decided to go into a new field, which required additional schooling. I love aviation (everybody has a passion) so even at an advanced age I decided to get my A & P certificate. I've been a Landscape Architect, a Test Process Engineer for a high tech company and now hopefully an A&P mechanic in about 6 months. Definitely my last career change for me! One last note. If your not happy with your profession it is never too late to try something new. You may have to start over but that is OK! The desire to work on my Z has returned and I thank this board for that. Everybody have a Wonderful Christmas Season and Happy New Year! Danno74Z

Hey guys these are all really good suggestions, but I'm afraid they are falling on deaf ears in this forum. You, me and other folks need to express these suggestions to the editor of SportZ if the magazine is going to stay around. Sport Z is not a great magazine. I really don't know of any magazine that is off the charts. I admit, I'm a magazine junkie and my wife reminds me of that quite often as I subscribe to several car magazine. Out of all the ones I get the one I really like is GM High-Tech Performance. When it comes I read it cover to cover - period. Danno74Z

jimzdat, Before I wrote, I did read the whole editorial! Why in the world would an editor even broach the subject (about closing down) if something wasn’t going on? To see if were paying attention, come on, this is not school. Anyway, if it is a joke, I don't find it amusing one bit - sorry. I and countless other people got burned last time around by the "other" Z car magazine a few years back and that still is hard to forget. Danno74Z

Yesterday, I received my fall 2003 copy of Sport Z Magazine and I'm afraid it's nearing end of life. The publisher, Robert Bell wrote an editorial "Best of? Worst of". Sounds like he is retiring: "With the Fall 2003 issue, Sport Z completes its third year of publication, and it appears the Winter 2003 issue could spell curtains." The article goes on to say that the numbers are just not there. Too bad as this is one heck of a magazine! I also just put in for a two-year extension to my subscription. Let's hope we get refunds and don't have to go through the BS like the "other" Z magazine pulled. Danno74Z

Tim, FYI - One must also delete VATS (vehicle anti-theft system) from the PCM (or know the key resistor value) before the engine will run for longer then about 30 seconds. I've read it's about a 30 second run duration, but I don't have first hand experience on this. Danno74Z

Guy, Let me know if you received the pictures. Today for some reason I seem to have an email problem. Danno74Z

Guy, I took a couple of pictures for you of my stock 95 LT1 engine coil/module setup. You got mail! I hope this helps Danno74Z

Mudge, Yes, you can edit the GM PCM program with Tunercat or the LT1 Edit programs, but the engine has to be off and then you "download" a new program to the Flash Memory - slow but very doable. You are still stuck with the GM ECM and more importantly your still dealing with the Optispark time bomb. When GM designed the LT1 computer back in the 90’s or for that matter even today’s PCM’s, flashing a new program to the computer is a gamble. They do have an Flash chip, but every time you flash that computer you run the risk (small) of frying it up. What I was trying to do here was come up with an alternative to both the GM ECM and the Optispark and have it be as cost effective as possible. Granted, $2000 bucks is expensive in anybody’s book, but again it is an alternative to the OEM “SYSTEM†if someone wanted to go to something else. I have a quick question for you. Do you have a LT1 Z conversion?

Mike C You make a valid point about the distributor and the hood latch. But I would have to say 90% of the folks here have the distributor by the firewall and have to modify the latch so it's not a big deal. But you are correct. Danno74Z

Here is a schematic of the 1995 electrical system going to the optispark. In order to keep sequential fuel injection on the LT1 engine you must retain the Optispark distributor. The Optispark acts as both a crank wheel and cam sensor. You MUST have both of these sensors in place to run the injectors in a sequential mode. Everything else falls into a batch or bank FI mode, which I don't want. The Electromotive system (very expensive) uses it's own crank wheel but the LT1 engine has no provision for a cam sensor so you can't plug in Electromotive cam sensor cable - the fine print always gets ya! Again, you need both engine timings (crank and cam) for TRUE sequential fuel injection. The 5.7’s little brother engine – the 3.4 has the cam sensor (go figure) so one can use the Electromotive’s system without too much problem. It is very difficult to eliminate the Optispark Distributor but it’s doable. I’ve been mulling this over for some time and here is one idea. I’ve know about the place that accurately drills out the stock LT1 intake to accept a distributor. This fellow takes stock LT1 intakes and adapts them for use on OLDER 350 engines. My idea would be to just reverse this thinking. (You loose your EGR valve so this could be an issue with emissions.) A person could take the Accel Gen 7 Duel Sync Distributor (has both the cam and crank timings built in: -D ) along with the Dual Sync Distributor adapter wire harness and attach this to a DFI Gen VII computer system. Drop this new duel sync distributor into that new distributor hole you had made and you just eliminated the OEM computer and the Optispark distributor entirely. Prices: To have the manifold drilled-out for the distributor is $100, the duel sync distributor and cable is $350 and the Gen VII computer system is ~ $1500. Grand total is around $2000. Not cheap, but now you can control your entire engine through the use of a laptop. Another way to look at this conversion is If you have to change out the Optispark just once the conversion just got $400 less expensive and then naturally ones time in the repair work. Just a thought what do you think?

About two years ago a thread was started about the use of a hydraulic throw out bearing replacing the mechanical parts i.e. fork, slave cylinder, and TO bearing. That topic sort of died without any conclusions and I'm very interested in pursuing the hydraulic system on my conversion. I never really liked the pull system on the LT1/T56 and I'm hoping someone here has done this conversion. I believe the LS1 with the manual tranny comes from the factory with this setup so perhaps the LS1 conversion folks have some knowledge in this area they could share. I know Cartek Racing makes a system for the LS1, but from the description of the product, I can't tell if it's only for the LS1 or the LT1 too. I have a call into them. Thanks, Danno74Z

dewzenol, I looked into this and there is one knock sensor on the 95 LT1 engine (out of a Camaro) not two. You may be right on the 96 and then I believe they went to the LS1 in 97. The sensor is located on the right side of the engine about 3 inches forward of the starter as you can see in the picture. Hence all the fitment issues with the blockhugger headers on the passenger side of the engine block. Danno74Z

dewzenol, Danno74Z to the rescue! I found what you looking for at Wire Works. Here is the link for the knock sensor relocation adaptor (go to the bottom of the page). I will probably get one too! http://www.wire-works.com/M6.asp Danno74Z

I'm glad you guys like the site as much as I do! THANKS - I just found it today, but I'm going to email the owner and thank him as well. Danno74Z

LT1 Conversion Folks, I found this LT1 site which I think is just great! Whoever put this together has his/hers &*^( together. http://csce.uark.edu/~jgbertr/rb/4th_gen_tech1.html It has wiring diagrams, PCM pinouts etc. ,photos on where and how all the sensors work on and on. it would be nice to have something like this up on HybridZ. Looks like a ton of work Danno74Z

Tim (dewzenol) recreated the LT1 wiring delete thread. I added some more information on the computer pinouts, wire color used by GM and a brief description of use at each location. Computer # 16188051 http://www.hybridz.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=19316 Danno74z