Daeron

Before doing any of that, I would pull all the spark plugs out of the motor, pull the fuel pump fuse, and crank the engine for at lest 30 seconds without spark plugs in it a few times and see if the oil pressure builds up then. Also, do a cicuit check on the sending unit; grounding it should turn the light off (it may be the other way around.)

I have to say I agree... hmmm.. off to read some previous pages and crunch some numbers....

This is going to be a reality very soon... I can't believe how excited I am getting!! you *are* going to put a big horn or two on the exhaust, right?? not trumpet-style horn like the intakes, but more like old school, low-tech megaphone style.... I've never been fond of superTrapps, but the shape is about right.. and a pair of flared exits on slightly upward tilting, dual pipes (say, 2" apiece, you can flatten a couple sections for clearance to make the run back and across the car with 'em and they'll flow as well as a single 3"; just gotta make sure you have about a linear foot of "collector pipe" in the system then split it back into two pipes) just fit this intake.... After all, you are "that horny Z guy..."

I know, I know, I just couldn't actually bring myself to believe in tininess of that caliber It was a long day yesterday, and my brains were too fuddled to think about how small the stocK 2.8L EFI ports are.

Tony... just making sure I have these details correct here. Block/head: L28, N42 Intake Manifold: L20E, ~36? 34?mm runner diameter Injectors: L20ET (Flow rate compared to L28E? Were they the same or were they the same as L24e?) ECU: L28E??? You didn't mention. I ask because I'm fixing up a honda CRX for a DD.. its an HF CRX, which was an oddball, 1500 sohc 8 valve roller-rocker motor that got 62 hp but like 90 lbs of torque, and pulled about 45-50 mpg. However, my block has been replaced with a more ordinary, 1500 sohc 16v non-vtec civic motor... longblock only, still stock intake manifold (with tiny ports feeding past what I am certain is a significant anti-reversionary step into the head port) and stock injectors. I haven't actually *DRIVEN* the bloody thing yet (even though I have had it for almost a month) because it took a while to get a radiator, headlights etc in and its only now coming together to a point that I will even dare an unlicensed test flight down the side street in. So I am just beginning to wonder what I might have here..... In short, if you used injectors smaller than typical on a stock NA L28.. I may be okay just as-is.. but if the L20ET injectors were the same as L28E, then injectors alone might be a worthy attempt... I had previously anticipated injectors hand in hand with a manifold. /threadjack

Great letter, but I know at least some of that information has come up in some of the other cam damage threads (if not this one, I'm afraid they've all blurred together in the wipe pattern of my mind..)

Hey, I was going to the junkyards tomorrow.. I'll keep my eyes peeled for the applicable models! the U-Pull on Benoist Farms Road shows a 98 Pathy in the online inventory (hardly guaranteed) and my oldest brother needs a headlight assembly from that vehicle anyhow, so if it is there I will be A-pickin' at it. I need parts for my 91 CRX that are pretty model/year specific, so I will be walking both yards on Benoist.. Not sure if I am going to hit the one on Dyer Road or not, even though it is on the way.. that place seems to be falling slowly into the crapper... PM me with your telephone number if you want; I'll probly be leaving the house around lunchtime.

I did, too, for a long time, but the more I thought about it... Who really wants to install a gas tank into a car that will REQUIRE you to stop MORE frequently for fuel?? Just about ANY fuel cell installation is going to either use space less efficiently than a factory gas tank and be smaller in volume, or be a large affair requiring cutting into your rear deck area, building a shroud to go around the cell, etc etc. So, for a car that gets any reasonable amount of street mileage, it starts hurting you immediately right there.... The reasons are many. Don't get me wrong, sometimes fuel cells get put on street cars... but usually that happens because "someone" bought a fuel cell that didn't fit/didn't groove with "the rules"/got too old/insert some reason "it couldn't go on the racecar anymore" and someone else coincidentally had a gas tank crap out and, hey, why not.... Its one of those things, if you catch my drift... but, generally speaking, no reason to DO it, is a pretty decent reason not to do it.

you need it when rules specify. If you don't have rules telling you you need a tank, IMO, any other concerns would be best addressed by a surge tank or sump to the stock fuel system. Messing around with the gas tank is messing around with explosives; I am not one to just muck about with that sort of design without a specific need. A racecar for track only use, in certain classes, has rules requiring use of safety fuel cells. Then, it is appropriate. Any other time, its money and effort spent without need.

Sweet, stealth triples! I guess I'm just a youngster, but that "remote bowl" setup on the center carb is kinda wild.... is that typical, or would most OEM applications have the carbs spaced more "normally?" I see things that I would do differently, but I think the second manifold posted is niiiiiiiice........

*collective*groan*

yah WTF!!!!!1!!11!!! I saw it and for a moment my heart leapt.. then I saw the carb flanges and..... ??? I couldn't ID the original manifold, but I smelled something fishy to say the least. Well, I suppose with three EGT sensors you could tune it up OK.. I just cannot imagine what would possess anyone to think to themselves "Gee, I could make myself a triple SU Datsun manifold!!" and then follow that up with, "Well, it just doesn't make sense to use three identical carbs.. what moron would do that?!?"

Thats why you're supposed to submit all ideas to us in writing 90 days prior to priming the hydraulic ram on your engine hoist

okay.. in your original post, you typed 1.2 million miles on the engine. I assume you meant 120,000 Before you tear the motor down, I would do a compression test and (if you have the tools) a leakdown check on the motor. If it is in Good shape, I would find a way to repair your threads without removing the head (read: heli-coil, something inventive.. not EVERYthing needs a machinist now.) 120K is not THAT much on the clock; a manifold gasket is a manifold gasket. If the compression numbers aren't so hot, go ahead and pull the motor, take the head to the machinist, and have him inspect it (or read up on how to inspect it yourself.) If you want to change the timing gear while you've got it apart go ahead; flip the shortblock, pull the oilpan, and inspect the crankshaft.. Examine the bores of the cylinder walls for evenness, etc. There are books and posts online and other places that tell you in much more wondrous detail. If the motor is really toast, just bring it to the machinist and say "rebuild!" Get your wallet out. Get ready. Those are pretty much the "levels" and how you determine them.

+1 on stock tank, a fuel cell is something you put in because you need it.

mounts easy

Popular or not, this gets a +1 in my book. for street cars, AC Condensor at the same time (ideally, find a combination of the three that lets you run the AC condensor and the IC side-by-die in front of the radiator core)

Engrish... This is a very helpful tactic, indeed. I have had this issue myself... until it was politely pointed out to me.. Hitting "enter" a couple of times never hurt anyone

Thanks for chiming in with a definitive answer... I had thought from the original pictures that it might be a closed chamber head, but these definitely show it to be open. It COULD be milled a touch to give you a bit of a quench pad on the side, but then you might get into valve clearance issues.. I would run it as-is and let us know what you think.

Hey.. There are two different E88 heads (actually three I think but two of them are virtually identical) and the biggest difference is in the combustion chamber. This difference SIGNIFICANTLY alters the answers to the question you have, as the volume is slightly difference and the shape is wholly different (closed chamber versus open.) I cannot tell from the photos which E88 head you have, but it almost looks like it might be the earlier, closed chamber head. To answer definitively.. Does the cylinder head firing deck have a round, circular recession describing the piston bore that makes up the combustion chamber or; Does the combustion chamber form a "heart-shaped" recession that leaves a flat surface, crescent moon-shaped, on the manifold side of the head? Pics will answer.. closeups of the individual combustion chamber at a couple angles please?

why not just bore the engine you have to 86mm, and run a stock L28 crankshaft and stock L28 pistons? The 2.8 geometry really is pretty well super... 2.8 liters with twin SUs or triple webers and electronic ignition is a GREAT motor to throw into a Z; it has logged billions of miles and who KNOWS how many smiles in the last 35+ years and proven its worth. I understand the desire to do something less typical.. but sometimes going the tried and true method is simplest and wisest.

that is too sweet

Ay, that was a great video, but what a TEASE... five minutes of you describing your car (don't get me wrong, it was a welcome refresher on what you had done thus far, and I liked seeing your car) and then 15 seconds of idling and some mild cold revs with the camera right behind the pipe on the ground... Not to bust your back, but You could pick up the camera and step away while it warms up a bit, then walk back to it and hang the camera out the door while you hit the gas pedal to give us a GREAT idea what it sounds like.. but just FYI, dropping the camera there winds up with the poorest sound quality for exhaust notes on alot of these digital cameras. I can't tell you why so many people do it anyhow, and I hate to preach about it, but next time, walking around while idling, and then getting some hot revs from a decent distance *usually* winds up with the best sound capture. B-E-A-UTIFUL car though.. white, well flared, shaved upper side trim line, early model B pillar covers, and that maroon interior is the only Z interior color other than black and white I have ever been able to STAND, and then only really on a white car. (Me eldest brudder's 280ZX was the first ZX I was exposed to, and it was 82 NA white/red int.)

+1, I was going to suggest the same thing. six wires: common ground, common power source, two signals, two outputs. Probably, anyhow; study the wiring schematic for the car and that should tell you how to rig something more generic into place. (pair of four prong bosch relays, anyone?)

nope, P-valves are a hair longer IIRC. I *think* its .080" longer.