X64v

It's been a long busy summer and an unusually cold and brutal winter here in southwestern Idaho, but I'm slowly making some progress. Last summer I borrowed a co-worker's 3500PSI pressure washer and blasted all the grease, oil, and road grime off the shell as best I could: Mid-progress pic, making my way down the firewall and into the trans tunnel. Incredible difference: Slightly visible in the pic above, the floor pans and frame rails are arched upwards from the front of the floor pan back to the front seat brackets, probably from a hard wack on a speed bump at some point in the car's life (I swear it wasn't me). Other than being a bit dented up, the frame rails and floor pans are generally fine, and I think I'm going to try to save them by straightening them as best I can and patching what holes the floor pans do have. I think a slide hammer, a dead blow mallet, and a block of wood should do the trick of getting them mostly true. From the front seat brackets back to the rear subframe the pans are straight and solid, so I'm going to add Bad Dog rear subframe connectors and tie them into the stock rails. At some point in the future I may add full Bad Dog rails and do more work on the pans, but this isn't a show car so I'm not worried about re-doing any paint or undercoating. Here are some better pics of the floor pan and battery tray rust: I knew my hatch had rusted in the window channel, but today I finally removed the glass and found out exactly how much: I'll cut the rust out of the outer shell and see how much of the frame underneath is damaged.

In the bottom of the firewall pic? That's the condensation drain hose hole from the (dealer installed?) air conditioning. They didn't take too much care installing it.

Front of the car disassembled: I'm not sure about how to go about cleaning all this up. I'm guessing a wire wheel to most of it and an angle grinder for the surface rust will be one of my only options without media blasting. I'm also considering removing all the flexible wire keepers attached to the sheet metal in favor of a real fastener system for engine bay organization. Better view of the rust underneath the battery tray: It's eaten through the firewall into the passenger compartment: Will be a tricky area to repair, I'm going to save it until I'm practiced up. First areas will be the floor pans: Pulled the gas tank, inside looked like this: I trashed it immediately. At the moment I'm planning on going with a cheap fuel-cell-style tank from summit, it won't be a proper cell but this car is realistically only gonna see street and autocross use for quite a long time.

Been slowly working on the car, a few hours here, a few hours there. Seats out: Dashboard and windshield out, they were surprisingly easy: Removing the tar mat sound deadening was by far the most time-consuming part of stripping the interior. I removed about half of it with a paint scraper and hammer, the rest I used dry ice on to make it brittle and then chipped it off with an old screw driver: The rust on the driver's side floor pan didn't turn out to be as bad as I thought it would be, I'm hoping to be able to get away with two or three patches and then wire wheel/rust convert the rest of it. The passenger side, however, turned out to be a little worse. The battery tray rust has not only eaten through the inner fender, but also about a 5" section of the firewall, and the floor pan has various rust all the way back to the front seat rail. I'll decide how to deal with it after I clean up the metal and see the full extent of the damage. Prevailing opinion is that replacing the whole pan is easier than many small patches but I'm really trying to avoid that if I can. I'll post some more detail shots soon.

I'm back! It's been over five years since I've been active on this site. Since then I've finished college and moved from Arizona to Idaho to start my career. My 240 spent most of that time just sitting. I drove it once or twice a month for a few years, but it's spent the last year and a half sitting outside my parents' house in Phoenix. Last month I sold my 190E and finally was able to bring my 240 up to Boise. Sitting outside for the past five years has not been kind to my poor attempt at a paint job, nor to the interior. Now that I finally live in a house with a garage, it's time to go through the whole car and redo everything. Current engine bay: The interior needs to be completely removed: It's going to get a fiberglass dash, new gauges, matching seats, some light sound deadening and simple black cloth. The chassis wiring is also in dire need of attention: Most of the wiring is original and/or hacked to pieces, and I don't need half the circuits in the car (seat belt buzzers, door switches, radio, hvac, etc can all be removed), so I'm just going to rewire the entire car. I was looking at Painless harnesses but unsure of the most cost-effective route, or if other brands may offer something more suited to my situation. I also would like to pick a style of connector to use throughout the car for consistency (or at least one for interior wiring, one for engine bay/weatherproof wiring). Finally, rust! The doglegs have already been repaired, but many of the other common rust spots for Zs (battery tray area, L/R floor pans, rear window lower corners, etc) all still need to be fixed, badly. I'm going to take care of everything in one huge sweep of the car. It may take me a few years, but I'd rather be working on fixing the issues than drive it in the shape it's in. It should be garaged for the rest of its life, so hopefully this will be the only time such a thorough tear down is needed.

Been gone from HBZ for a year. Picked up a '99 328i in the meantime though. Sport + Luxury packages. Threw on a set of Pilot Sport PS2s and this car really grabs the road hard. Not as fast as an E36 M3, but I do get 32mpg on the highway.

TR - Yeah that should work just fine. You should be able to drive those coils just like I drive these. I've been gone from this site for a long time, but I can report zero problems with this set up over the past year.

HA! Doesn't surprise me in the least.

Been running around all over the northeast. Currently in Rye, NY. Nazareth, PA: Greenwich, CT:

Thanks for the advice guys. Definitely will pick up an El Cheapo wrench set and a few other misc tools, along with spares. Nope Jeff, still have the Z, though it's getting hard to drive in this heat. The Camaro isn't mine, I'm just collecting it. Mike, can't respond to your PM 'cause I'm on my BlackBerry, but thanks for the offer, I put your number in my phone in case I have any problems up that way.

So, I'm being paid to fly from Arizona to New Hampshire tomorrow to pick up a mostly restored '67 Camaro convertible and drive it the 2,700mi back here. I don't think I could be any more excited for this trip. Gonna take my camera, will try to get some interesting pictures along the way.

Try this: http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php?/topic/55580-painting-a-intake-to-keep-it-cool/

Thanks Dave! Remove it, it's now a paperweight. Make a block-off plate or use a 35mm brass core plug to fill the hole: With the distributor missing, the quill shaft that drove the rotor will now be unsupported. In my opinion, it's a good idea to remove it, cutting it off after the bushing surface on the oil pump drive:

Complete interior, minus: Rear plastic Rear carpet HVAC

Hit the truck scales, fully fueled. Fine with me.

Dyno time is coming up for sure, as soon as I get the street tune nailed down. I'm looking for 185rwhp, but it's just a number, I'm pleased with how it drives and that's all that matters. With any luck it'll actually get current tags tomorrow. Write up on the ignition system here. I'd also like to weigh it soon, I'm really shooting for 21xx pounds with a full tank. I may have some more work to get there but I better see 22xx as it sits.

I bet it's got a lot more in common with an S30/S130 than it seems. I spy quite a few stock Nissan parts running around on that thing.

I don't know a single thing about Haltech systems. Might try posting in the Haltech forum.

I'm a Mech-E junior but whatever, close enough. Name: Sean Wright Age: 21 1. How would you rate your high school experience (academically, not socially) on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being a piece of cake and 10 being four years of hell? 2 2. In your opinion, were the college prep/AP/honors classes at your high school harder, easier, or about the same as “regular†courses? Slightly harder 3. Did your high school experience prepare you well academically for college? Not in the least. 4. Looking back, are there any specific high school classes that you now think should have been more difficult? Which one(s)? All of junior/senior year need to be more collegiate. 5. How demanding was your senior year of high school? Very demanding? Fairly demanding? Not demanding at all? Not at all demanding. I easily worked 40 hours per week in addition to keeping up in school. 6. If your teachers had expected more of you in high school, would you have tried harder? Definitely. Probably, Probably not. Definitely not. Probably not. I only did what I needed for a grade, nothing more. 7. If you had a choice in high school, would you take the teacher with the reputation of being an easy grader (probably higher grade than you deserve, knowledge may or may not be acquired) or would you take the teacher known to be a tougher grader (definitely the grade you deserve, high level of knowledge certainly acquired)? Justify your choice. I definitely would have taken the easy grader. I was a lazy little **** throughout both the private and public schools I attended. 8. Do you regret that you didn’t take your high school classwork more seriously? Not really. The knowledge to be had in high school pales in comparison to what can be learned in college, assuming one pays attention. I got just good enough grades to land a scholarship, and that was as far as I cared. 9. Compare your academic expectations of what college courses would be like to the reality that you’ve experienced in your first year. Much easier that I expected. A little easier. About what I expected. Somewhat more difficult than I expected. Much more difficult. Give an example. College classes were (are) far more difficult than I ever expected, but in ways I never thought. The material is challenging but never impossible. The real struggle (for me) is doing my work and studying when I should. Homework is worth next to nothing (or is often not even graded), so it's very easy to blow off assignments, look over the book the night before the test and think you know what's up, and then fall flat on your face during the exam (of which there are often only two per semester). The only way to get As in my classes is to do all my homework on time, and make sure I know every concept/formula/fact very well in advance of the exam. IMPORTANT: Please choose one of the questions and elaborate on your answer in two one three sentences below. Elaborating on No. 4: Students should be weened off heavily-weighted homework and in-class assignments. It was very easy to pass classes simply by showing up, filling out worksheets, doing five minutes worth of homework, and just barely squeaking by on tests. This will NOT fly in college, one needs to have the correct study habits to do homework fully and study for tests in advance with no immediate grading rewards other than doing well on the tests, which should be worth much more.

The write-up is in the MegaSquirt forum. http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php?/topic/90889-wasted-spark-ignition-no-edis/

I've been promising this write-up for a while now, so here it is. On my (previously turbo, now N/A) L28, I very much wanted wasted spark, distributorless ignition, but disliked everything necessary to use the Ford EDIS system (bulky 36-1 wheel with an awkward VR sensor, sensitive PIP/SAW wires, very limited choice of coil packs, no dwell control, no spark cut for rev limiting, the list goes on). The last straw was when I realized the EDIS control module does nothing my already-installed MS-I V3.0 box couldn't do on its own with the 029y4 MSnS-E code, so I decided to build the entire system myself, out of whatever components I wanted. The following write-up details how I installed my choice of components on my specific engine, chosen for my specific needs, but the beauty of this is one can substitute one's choice of components in almost any part of this system to better suit one's own needs. Part I: Trigger Input I wanted something flywheel-based; simple, light, and dead accurate. I chose the Cherry GS100502 geartooth hall sensor for its ability to read a 'gear tooth' pattern. It doesn't need magnets, it simply switches based on the presence/absence of a ferrous material in front of its nose. That's perfect for simply drilling the pattern of your choice into the back of a stock steel flywheel. For wasted spark, the pattern must be based on an integer multiple of the number of cylinders. MS will accept either one or two missing holes, though I will cover only one missing hole here. For example, common patterns include 6-1 (6cyl x 1), 36-1 (EDIS pattern, 6cyl x 6), or someone adventurous could do something with the flywheel teeth, which are 120 count (6cyl x 20). I chose the 6-1 pattern for simplicity of machining; some say it will be less accurate at lower rpm, but in my opinion the difference in error between a 6-1 pattern and a 36-1 patten is going to be smaller than the error in the rest of the system anyways, so it's absolutely no matter. My flywheel, with a quote from my build thread regarding machining: I found the correct M12x1.0 nut and tack-welded it over a hole drilled in the engine backing plate to place it over the flywheel holes. The sensor threads in here with a jam nut to hold it in position (be gentle on those fine aluminum threads). I screwed the sensor all the way in, then backed it out 1.25 turns for a 1.25mm (.050") air gap. This was a pure guess, but has worked flawlessly for the past six months. The sensor wiring is simple. I gave the power wire +12v from S12 on the MS board, the signal goes to pin 24 on the MS board (tach wire in the DIYAutoTune harness), and the ground to pin 2 (tach wire shielding). Internally, wire it as a Low to High sensor (it will ground when the flywheel is in front of it, which is not a tooth, the hole is). I made these internal connections on my MS-I V3.0 board: REMOVE C12 REMOVE C30 JUMP D1 JUMP D2 1K RESISTOR IN R12 OPTOIN TO S12 XG1 TO TACHSELECT OPTOOUT TO TSEL If you're copying my setup, use these settings (MSnS-E code 029y4): Looking at my flywheel, the computer will 'see' the missing tooth, then number the 'teeth' 1-5, starting from the hole by "JAPAN" and numbering counterclockwise. The sensor is about half-way between 2 and 3 at TDC, giving it somewhere around a 90° trigger angle. The three equally-spaced triggers are holes 1, 3, and 5. If you need any more details/explanation why/how this works, the MSExtra site has good info, along with numerous other sources on the web. Part II: Spark Output There are two general types of coil packs: those with built-in ignitors (sometimes called 'smart' coil packs) and those without (sometimes called 'dumb' coil packs). I will only cover the slightly more complicated 'dumb' coil packs, which covers most dual-post, wasted-spark-only packs. If you want to run 'smart' and/or single post (e.g. LSx) packs, refer to an LSx pack write up for the wiring. I chose to use three individual, dual post coil packs from a 3000GT, they're cheap on eBay and provide a very hot spark. I turned them into pseudo-smart packs by bonding Bosch BIP373 ignitors (easily found at DIYAutoTune) to the bottom of the pack, and making pigtails that included all the wiring. The right pin in the connector gives 12v to the coil's + terminal, the center pin connects MS to the 'gate' pin on the BIP373, and the left pin grounds the 'drain' pin of the BIP373. The coil - terminal is connected directly to the 'source' pin of the BIP373. Each coil pack will have a 'name' - A, B, and C. I didn't physically label them, but if you have a hard time keeping them straight, it might be a good idea. MS will fire them in order, ABCABCABCABC. Remember that our firing order is 1-5-3-6-2-4. If you correspond ABCABC with 153624, you see that 1+6 need to be fired by pack A, 2+5 need to be fired by pack B, and 3+4 need to be fired by pack C. To wire up the coil packs, simply connect the 'gate' of the BIP373 controlling pack A to the top of R26 on the V3.0 board through a 330ohm resistor, pack B to the top of R29 (again with resistor), pack C to to the top of R27. When MS wants to fire a coil, it will light the LED corresponding to each of these resistors, activating the ignitor. Provide each coil + with key-on 12v, provide the BIP373 'drain' pins with ground, and that's it. I chose to do this through terminal blocks on the firewall to keep the wiring neat. I mounted these coil packs to the valve cover. A in front, B in the rear, C in the middle: For plug wires, I took my regular NGK wires and just cut them to length, using these new distributor ends that fit nicely on the coil terminals. My MS spark settings: How to use the 240Z current-sensing tach I have no info on using any other tachometers, but if you'd like to use the stock current-sensing tach in your 240Z, it's very simple. Wire the BW wire that powered your ballast resistor to the GW wire that came off the ballast resistor. Use the BW wire that connected to your coil + to power all three coil packs. If you're not sure which BW wire is which, disconnect all three wires, and turn the ignition key to the ON position. One BW wire will have +12v, the other will not. Wire the powered one to the GW wire; the unpowered BW wire will now be powered through the tach, use this one to power the coil packs. DO NOT use the stock ballast resistor in any way. That's all you need to do, you should now have a crisp, accurate trigger signal, and hot spark as high as your motor can rev. I was able to do this very inexpensively, too. Including shipping, the major components were: Sensor ($35) - Digikey Coil Packs ($48) - eBay BIP373 x3 ($27) - DIYAutoTune I'll end with a screenshot of one of my datalogs. The yellow trace is the RPM signal, full throttle from 3500rpm to 7020rpm: Perfectly smooth all the way up. The lumpiness off idle is from my .504" at 290° cam, not trigger inaccuracies. Compare that to my previous VR dizzy trigger on a pull to 6700rpm, vac/mech advance welded solid: Much improved.

I've had the car running since Friday night. I couldn't be happier with the new setup. Nice lumpy idle, power all the way to redline, and plenty of torque right off idle for driveability no worse than the turbo motor. This engine coupled with the 4.38 rear end pushes you back in your seat just as hard as the turbo motor at 12psi with the 3.36.

Progress, now that I'm through twiddling my thumbs waiting for the headers to arrive. First, this is a lot of lash pad: .290" on all valves. Some were alright at .280" but it was easier just to make them all the same. Kinda scares me how tall they are. Next, how to make an O2 bung for $2. First, buy an 18mm spark plug non-fouler (usually a 2-pack for $4 or so): Then, cut off the top and discard the rest. Bam, correct size/thread pitch steel bung ready to weld in. Headers in, brand new 6-1 ceramic coated. I had to have the flange flattened, it was warped well over .100" right out of the box. My machinist bent it closer to straight in a press, then took off about .060" to make it truly flat. As the car sits now, the intake is bolted on, throttle cable hooked up/adjusted (amazingly smooth), etc. I hope to fire it up tomorrow afternoon, or Sunday.

6'2", no problems.

To add a bit to this thread, I just bought some brand new ceramic-coated 6-1 headers from MSA and got them today. They were warped well over .100", bowing in the center. My machinist bent it closer to straight in a press, then still had to take off about .060" to make it flat. I'd already seen this thread so I expected to need this done, but be warned it's still happening. For the record, I still have no problem doing business with MSA, I'm happy with almost everything I get from them.