Drax240z

Nice cars, underpowered from the factory was my take too. You've got all the "exotica" of a high end European sports car, but it's just not fast enough to fit the mold. However, with the drivability and comfort of a Japanese commuter, it's in pretty unique company. They are a very nice starting point for a project IMHO, a project that includes more power and a slightly louder exhaust.

A breast in hand is worth two in the bra...

91 that games bites. Argh!!!

Groove is an estimated 0.020" deep by 0.040" wide, with 0.040" wire. I didn't spec this stuff, it came complete on the block I bought. The wire was a PITA to put in, I believe my life will be better without it in place, and use the groove to cause some extra mechanical deformation and improved sealing in the gasket. I suspected at the time that the installed wire height was higher than it should be above the deck, but being my first experience with O-rings I just went with it. Mistake. Lesson learned.

http://www.hawkridgesys.com/ Last time I bought a seat, it was a $2200 one time fee. If you want the support it's another $1200 a year. That support allows upgrading your origional seat to the latest version, so effectively you could buy the current SW for $2200 now, and get the support NEXT year, and have the latest versions then. Hawk Ridge was good to deal with, I've used them on more than one occasion with more than one company.

Agreed. I think the issue is my O-rings combined with the gasket. I am going to run empty o-ring grooves with a new gasket, but I was having trouble finding that new gasket...

Ended up ordering an Ishino from http://www.autohausaz.com... We'll see!

Ah, good point. 2850cc, 87mm bore L28, turbo, 75 280z block, P90 head. Custom pistons, 140mm crower rods, knife edged crank. All new ARP head and main studs. Motor has 0 miles on it, was not over torqued, and was magnafluxed before assembly/machining.

Exhaust will be the biggest bang for the $$$ power wise. That, and some dyno tuning. (bring lots of jets)

OK guys, the story is I put the engine together with a felpro and it leaked before I even started it. I need to line up a replacement before I pull it all apart again. The only one I seem to be able to find is another Felpro, looking for ideas. Tried the local NAPA (Victor Reinz) and it's NLA Nissan is 14days + and $129 Placed an order with MSA for a 2mm metal - NLA All the other stores around here seem to carry felpro and that's it. To top it off, I have a 87mm bore, some gaskets are a little too tight for my tastes. Ideas? Anyone know a place with 2mm metal ones in stock?

Very cool, its nice to see people thinking outside the box a bit!

Well there goes that plan. MSA was kind enough to respond to me saying they've shipped the chain block, but the 2mm head gasket is back ordered until "tomorrow, 6 months from now, or never". So now I am paying shipping and freight forwarding (and customs) on a $12 part, which when it's all said and done will have cost me $60. It was much easier to swallow a $200 order that would cost me $250. To top it off MSA included the line: "If the 2.0MM metal head gasket arrives in our inventory it will be processed and sent out through Fed Ex ground at no additional shipping cost." So basically if they receive it anytime between now and never, they will bill me for it and ship it out? What an unbelievably ludicrous way to do business... Phoned a few other places in town (NAPA) and the head gasket they normally sell (Victor Reinz) is NLA as well. I did however locate another Felpro I could have tomorrow...

Bentley is by far a better choice that Chiltons, or just about anything else short of a FSM.

My gut feeling is anything over about 0.002" you'll feel under braking.

As I recall, there are 3 in the lower thermostat housing on the 280zx. (it's been a while) One for the ECU, one for the gauge, and one for the fan. You want to check the ECU one... I couldn't say for certain which one is linked, as I haven't had one out in quite a number of years. FSM!

A picture would be helpful.

It's probably not a matter of adjusting the air fuel mixture. It IS possible, in small doses, by modifying the position of the AFM's toothed wheel. I suspect however that didn't get you to this point, and that won't fix the problem for you either. Using your FSM, check the coolant temp sensor output, and also the two bullet connectors under the fuel rail from the coolant temp sensor. They notoriously corrode and don't conduct the correct signal, leading to a rich condition. If that fails, keep going through the sensors, cleaning contacts and checking outputs.

I think you'll find 0.010" of run out is much too much...

Instead of being a total smart ass, I am going to post some helpful info on why your car might be falling on it's face at 4500rpm. What an interesting thought on a bulletin board. Ben, if you want more power you should take a good hard look at what you have now. Your L28 should not be maxing out at 4500rpm. It doesn't matter what you add, unless you find out why it's falling on its face, the addition of more parts won't help you much! I'd start by taking a good look at the basics and make sure they are ok, or simply swap with new if they are questionable. Spark plugs, fuel filter, distributor cap & rotor, air filter, ignition leads... you should likely replace all of these as peace of mind. (esp. fuel filter!) I'd take a good look at the size of your exhaust system, a 2.25" crush bent system works very well on a street build L28. Anything smaller than that is likely costing you some power. After you are sure everything is in good mechanical condition, THEN tune your carbs. Biggest bang for the buck for a faster car for you: - Make everything work properly - Exhaust - Increase rear differential ratio (at the sacrifice of highway speed a little) Hope that helps.

Great job, nice progress pics on your website. Can't wait to see more assembled photos!

Ordered a 2mm metal head gasket and a timing chain block (can't believe I've never had one!!) today from MSA. The dealer here wanted $129 for a Nissan head gasket and it was going to be 14 days away. $189US for the metal one seemed like a no brainer. Going to remove the O-ring material and just run the metal HG as is with the ARP studs. Turns out I have another felpro head gasket kicking around home, but I am not going to tempt fate again. On the bright side (as well), I forgot my head was planed 0.015" when I calculated earlier, meaning my CR was up to 8.67:1. My goal was 8.5:1 or slightly less. The 2mm gasket change will bring things back down, to 8.31:1. Not exactly where I wanted, but it will allow more boost in the end.

Bump, I know it's a post from the dead, but any followup? I need to order a new headgasket for a 280z block and a P90 head... The 11044-P7911 is the right one for the head...

Well today was the day... first day back at the Z since my daughter was born. My wife's a trooper, forced me to go out and work on the Z while she baby sat. I got outside early and was making tons of progress all day long... Unpacked my new wheels to make sure they were all the should be, and they are great. They won't make it onto the car until next year I suspect, just too good a deal to pass up. Rota RB-R's, 17x9 -13 front, 17x9.5 -19 in rear, gunmetal centers. Front Lip: Rear Lip: So once I took a good look at those, it was back to work. At first I didn't think I would be able to, but by 3pm I was almost ready to start it up! Ran out for a new Optima Redtop, some 94 octane, and a few odds and ends... Put coolant in, and *#@$ there was a leak... bad news... Head gasket is seeping from both sides around cylinder #2. My best guess is the O-ringing/O-ring wire combined with the Felpro head gasket just won't sit down enough to plug the coolant passages. No point in trying to torque it down more... so it will have to come apart. Everything I did today was undone, what a frustrating end to a productive day. Going to remove the O-ring material, leave the O-ring groove, and get a Nissan head gasket this week. Corky Bell recommends the option of the groove, no O-ring and a regular gasket, so I'll give it a shot. Clearly the PITA that it was to put the O-ring material into the groove, was not worth doing. Hoping I can get another chance to work on the car soon, but it's hard for me to break away from my wife and daughter at this early stage, when we are so "busy" all the time.

Can you blow it out backwards using a leafblower?

Given the rain situation, tell him to pull off the distributor cap, make sure it is 100% dry inside. Do the same with each spark plug lead, 1 at a time. Sounds to me like classic water/moisture in the distributor cap.