HoustonZ

Where the heck do I find one used?? With the groove for AC...

Progress has been made! I made a quick trip out to Autozone (they know me well by now) to pick up the 27mm socket and take off the pulley. After that it was quick work to pull the timing cover and see the little #$)%* tensioner. It had most definitely popped out of its guide. My timing chain for some reason does not having any timing marks or bright links. To make matters worse, my timing marks on the damper aren't correct (more on that later). So after sitting there for a while thinking, I figured out a method. After taking off the head, I used a dial indicator on the top of the piston head to get a real accurate fix on #1 TDC. The head was a little trickier. I'm not sure of the specs, but it is most definitely a high overlap cam. By taking measurements with the dial indicator on the lobes, I managed to find the exact TDC of the camshaft. After putting the head on the engine I verified that indeed, there were 42 links between my crankshaft sprocket mark and my camshaft sprocket mark. After spinning the engine around a few revs, the marks came back to their proper places. Success. Now for the bad. Upon inspection, I saw that my damper ring on my crankshaft pulley is separating around the rubber. Who knows how long it has been this way? I can just barely spin it slowly by hand. This engine has seen 7k on a few missed shift in the past. Otherwise I pull to 5600 maybe once a week. The problem is that I NEED this engine running sooner then I can source a replacement damper. Should I just use a little high temp epoxy to bond them and hope for the best in the next month?

Well I've started taking it apart. Got stuck at the part requiring a 27mm socket for the crank. I'll pick up one tomorrow morning and get back to it. In the meantime, I fixed my power locks!

Here are some pics from this method. This was a year ago with the old peeling paint.

Can anyone find a nice clear picture of the front of the engine with the chain installed and the tensioner in the proper place. If I only knew what the heck it looked like down there I might be able to fiddle the thing back into place.

Well I'm not sure if the tensioner is completely out or not. I'll try to take a picture and let you guys be the judge.

The dreaded thing has happened..... Yesterday I started taking the engine apart. A friend had mailed me an N47 head with a hot cam awhile back and I haven't had a chance to install it since leaving for college. Everything went fairly well up until the point of putting the pulley sprocket back onto the cam shaft. No matter how hard I pulled or which way I turned, the sprocket could not physically reach the camshaft. It was always about .125" too short. Then I look down into the block to see the tensioner dangling by the spring, obviously way out of place. *sigh* I know what this means. Pulling the rad, oil pump, water pump, crank pulley, and all that other crap to remove the front cover. Does anyone have any advice or encouragement as I tear into this thing? If there is anyone in the Houston area that would like to come by and assist, I'll certainly buy you dinner

I did the same thing. It took a little while to get all the cuts and angles right, but it turned out fairly nice.

Gotta love stuff like that. Got a thumbs up from a Porsche 911 turbo, a 240sx, and another 280z today.

What is the ballpark price on something like that?

HAHA!! Was that you in the Dillards parking lot yesterday afternoon?

I trimmed, welded, and molded to get a clean line just like the first picture. It's something that makes the car stand out, in my opinion. Timeless!

Wow! I've never been a fan of white on a Z, but that just looks amazing!!!

That's my own design, cut myself. Justin and I aren't involved together. If there is any interest I may make a few flanges, but there will be no large runs of them. PM me if you're interested.

I'm in!

Quick shot of the 1/2" aluminum intake flange.

I've come to a mutually beneficial agreement with a Houston Z guy. Thanks!

Interesting I'm in San Antonio often to see friends. How many days do you think it would take for a running system I could drive home with? Any idea on rates, or is beer and bbq an acceptable form of payment?

It goes against my DIY nature, but I have to ask..... How much would a knowledgeable Megasquirt guru charge me to install everything? Of course I could attempt it myself, but then hours of headaches and profanity laced wrench throwing will ensue:roll: So is there anyone in the Houston area with too much free time on their hands?

USPS shipping is $9, so let's meet in middle and say $55 shipped.

I'll drop the price to $50 because I want to get rid of them.

Anybody else?

Yeah, all of the cars that day taped up.

1/4 should not be considered sheetmetal. That's a freaking tank of an intake. You shouldn't have any problems with boost.