Daeron

an SU/EFI hybrid manifold, or a subaru EA82 intake? Back to the greater topic at hand, One could always go with a TBI off a V8 RS camaro, fitted onto a four barrel manifold.. hmm. I am The Junkyard Warrior, aren't I? I just want to see a Datsaru, thats all. One way or another, I want to give my uncle a fuel injected roadster before he leaves us. The old man deserves to have one good, reliable vehicle... He gave my brothers and I so much more than my dad could, just in terms of "room to grow" with cars.. Dad couldn't have the nice shop, with drill presses and a big air compressor and things like that, because he had us to feed.. bah, I am waxing sentimental. Must be past my bedtime, I'll shut up now. I just cant resist ANY temptation to post in this thread

the TC I saw the other day was all white, with black rubber spoiler and air dam, possibly side skirts as well... and had some fox-body Cobra rims on it. looked DAMN hot.

Copper sleeve used for shifter bushing FTW. Take your shifter boot off, and look at the shifter bushing.. it is very easy to mock up a bushing out of pieces of copper, and it lasts longer than rubber. Maybe it transmits a bit more vibration to the shifter lever, but I couldn't care less.

I haven't seen a turbo-coupe Thunderbird in YEARS AND YEARS, possibly not since I heard/learned of the potential of this motor (I am only 27) and I drove all the way in to work alongside one the other day. Naturally, I thought of this thread... Nice to hear the rapid progress updates! My uncle has a machinist friend who has done alot of work on his Roadster engines (1600 and 2000) who absolutely LOVES these turbofords. (to me, "turboford" is the name of this engine, kinda like "L-gata" or "the iron duke") Good luck getting your machine figured out; I am sure it is only a matter of time.

yah, this picture right here: is PURE sex. I have ALWAYS loved the way these cars look without that final little trim piece up underneath the dash.. I like it when a car gives you a hint of whats under her shirt

nope. when I was 13 I met a guy who had an early 80's chevy conversion van that ran exclusively on LPG ("carbed" of course)... and to the best of my knowledge thats the only vehicle I have ever seen that ran on it. I search and search for information that would help convince me that I can put together an L-series that runs exclusively on propane, in a high performance, "efi" type application (as opposed to a simple venturi "carb" type setup) but I cannot find the info I want.. In case it needs to be said, I am thinking about high compression, forced induction, to take advantage of that octane rating. OR, maybe simply pushing the high comp NA envelope on the street.. but those specifics are fuzzy to say the least. I know it has to be do-able, and when I get into THAT point I may just have to blaze my own path.. but I want to learn what I can now and am totally surprised at how many websites I have looked at that made me believe it was possible, BUT were only selling complete kits for specific engines, and didn't have any info that would help the un-indoctrinated do-it-yourselfer. I have FAR bigger fish to fry, but this is my favorite pipe-dream, and it makes sense in so many ways that I cannot believe it is out of my reach entirely. /hijack off

In my experience, this is the place where shawn just smiles and nods at the tranny guy as he rebuilds my buddies T5 in his camaro, and finally gets him a transmission that doesn't blow up from the way my buddy drives. Thanks for all the illumination on a confusing topic; in the end my knowledge is no more concrete than it was, but I feel confident that I understand the "big picture" of the situation, and it all boils down to what the tranny guy said. Basically, in the real world, dumping the clutch breaks things The way I have always thought of it, to simplify it, is that torque is rated in foot-pounds... and those pounds are intimately linked to the pounds that the power is moving. The specific physics underlying it are beyond my ability to explain, (damn i need School.) but this thread has made me certain that I understand it myself. Tony, Great story. Might not be the best marital advice for all people, but it was amusing to read.

are you my freaking brother? LPG powered Z car has been a dream of mine since I was thirteen

s2000 IIRC, too

I am a super nice guy, but you need a bit of a reality check. You do not know enough about this engine to start playing around customizing things; you WILL, best case scenario, make less than ideal decisions, worst case scenario go through more than one motor, making less power than you want, spending more money than you could, and generally being unhappy. I say this, for a couple reasons: 1. I don't have enough knowledge to help you directly on the topic at hand 2. I have spent enough time sitting here sponging up data to realize that I have a very good idea on what I know, and do not know (see sig) 3. You have not demonstrated that you know virtually anything about working with a turbocharged engine, and getting down to the nitty-gritty of things. It is NOT a simple world like say, building a PC, or even a Camaro with a smallblock in it.. I am trying to be frank and honest, but also not go on at length about this. I am not trying to sound insulting, but you would do well by visiting the L-series sub forum, along with this one and maybe the aftermarket EFI subforums and read through all of the stickies. If someone recommends a link in a post, click it. Read, read, and read some more, and take a break once in a while to go out to your car, look at things you've been reading about, and connect the abstract data to the very real car and engine you have. A great first step is to find the EFI bible here http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/EFI&fuel.htm and read through it. It provides a GREAT technical repair and diagnostic manual on the Z-car EFI system, but also a great tutorial on basic fuel injection function, theory, and componentry. It is a good first step towards REALLY understanding whats going on inside your engine, and the better you understand that, the better the results you can get. This difference is made MUCH more visible on the lower budget ends of the spectrum. In other words, the less money you have, the more of an ally knowledge is to your efforts. I hope i don't sound like an ass, because I am just trying to be friendly and point you in a good direction. These cars are in my blood, and have been my whole life; I look at the Z community as an extended brotherhood and am trying to help you out

I like the idea of the SU manifold used with twin TBs; http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=124201&highlight=manifold for more on another project with that in mind. 2nd gen 300ZXs used a twin throttle system that might be useful to scavenge for the cable linkage and maybe parts to link the two throttle drums. I don't quite understand the point of retaining the SU's as carburetors in any case, but that is personal preference as much as anything else. Route the fuel return back to the main tank, not the surge tank; this will dump the fuel already warmed by being in the fuel rail back into the tank, and avoid storing it up in your surge tank. Z-ya, in his project, simply cut off and welded a stock EFI manifold's flange onto the SU manifold runners; I am not sure of the benefits or advantages of staying with a two piece SU manifold or welding it into a single piece with the stock mani's flange on it, but it saves placing the bungs in the SU manifold. I am very very interested in this build idea.. Z-ya and I started thinking about it virtually simultaneously, and independently (although I DO suspect we may have been stimulated by a few of the same comments on this board) but he has actually done one, and I sit on my behind, Good luck!!!

original owner of a 50th anniversary 300ZX? major

THAT was going to be my response... I was going to phrase it thus: 1 fast Z, please don't take this the wrong way, but if/when this motor gets grenaded, I think it is going to be in some FANTASTIC way that L-series engines do NOT typically do. I personally simply take it as a given that your head is solid as a rock; if it isn't then it will show up in its way, whatever, I dont anticipate that but it must be admitted as a possibility. Personally, I am wondering if youre going to wind up splitting the block to kingdom come... and I hate to think about your engine in such morbid terms, but my POINT is that once you REALLY get playing with this, the L-block is gonna see AMAZING things it isnt used to (I am hoping for 800 whp in my DEEPEST dreams) and when it finally gives way, it should be worth pictures, because it probably won't ever be seen again. NOW, regarding toyota supra turbo setups... THERE IS A TT late 80's SUPRA INTACT IN MY LOCAL JY AS OF THE OTHER DAY. I will check this thread, and even PM you my telephone number, if you want me to get out there ASAP and try to get it for you. If you want it that bad, i can try to see if its still there and lock it in a trunk or something, and come back after youve wired me some cash (im broke right now) but, in any case, if this is something you are interested in (or anyone else, I guess.. I need to get to the boneyard soon anyhow) let me know.

/me does a dance My FAVORITE Z will always be the 1975 280. Except for the bumpers.

TonyD, you are all that and a bag of fish sticks.

Kinda like pinball, right? Possibly; I hit a mustang at about 2 mph (feathering clutch, I thought she had already turned out from in front of me) with no bumper on the front.. (I had made that hood PERFECT, too... oh well, scratch that one! time for hood three!) but I think you're seeing a combined optical illusion from 1: shitty camera (two pics snapped one after the other, in the same spot, and the car had somehow morphed its shape a tiny bit) 2: halfway open hood, that may not be aligned perfectly and 3: front bumper that DEFINITELY isnt aligned correctly, AND has a 240 bumper sitting on top of it. The bumpers were thrown back on hastily by yours truly to comply with equipment laws so I could resolve a ticket shortly before the big futz. Regarding the fusible link block, blue's techtips page http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/ should have a write up on removing the fusible links, replacing them with a maxi-fuse block, and simultaneously converting from an externally regulated alternator to an internally regulated alt like the Nissan Maxima 90 amp or a GM 100 amp unit. It always comes as a surprise to see this thread resurface, cause i just wrote it to make the term "fusible links blow" in my sig a link BUT, its nice to get the odd drop of encouragement from you folkses.

That last one looks like its sick, or malnourished, or somehow deficient.. Deflated almost. Someone feed that poor thing some BOOST!

Well, if you ask me, the louvers put on the hatch of a Z are designed to do nothing with air; they are there to block the sunlight. But you would probably know better than I what the aerodynamic characteristics would be like. Personally, I wouldn't imagine that a well installed, flush mounted set would cause much difference in either direction.

My thought was to use the manifold as stock for a cheap FI manifold; cut off the flanges on either side, replace with an FI flange and a throttle body.. I am a packrat always on the scour for junk that may be recyclable in less-than-orthodox ways... so maybe the idea was a bit eccentric, but I had to ask:icon54:

That is WILD, I was going to post that I thought I had seen a carbureted VG30 in either a pathfinder or a pickup in one of the junkyards on benoist farms road last weekend!!! Blew my mind, and to date you are the third member i've noticed in the WPB area (grumpyvette lives in lotsascratchee) and I was also going to inquire as to the possibilities of THIS idea, but I imagine that the budget on this project is not likely to permit it, unless a stroke of luck comes along. IMHO, the triple mikuni or weber setup like that would be best on this puppy; BETTER than EFI and I don't typically say that. Good luck finding your solution; I would have loved to see the stock EFI running on it because I am a devout follower of all things Fuel Injection.. but certain vehicles want a carb, and I can see this must be one of them.

I have heard arguments made that 89 mm is too much to bore... needless to say the answer to that question will vary depending upon who you ask.

Hmmmm.. interesting. What does the bore of the runners look like on these manifolds? probably too narrow to bother with, but if its larger than the stock FI manifold runner...... might be worth investigating possibilities with those things (IE, remove flange, replace with huge by large TB )

neat read, thx

I have many times wondered on the potentials of a turbo brick motor.... but the turbo ford sounds great, too! Good luck with your project, should be a blast!

I have never looked at the louvers as a style thing, they were always functional to me. This car is a greenhouse, and putting a set of louvers on the back blocks (by MY estimate) about 60% of the radiant heat from the sunlight that gets in the car. My uncle runs with the louvers and always uses a sunshade, and his car is ten to fifteen degrees cooler than mine ever was when parked in full sunlight. fortunately, to my eyes, on a Z, they just look right.. but it WOULD be interesting to discover what impact they have. To my thinking, installing vortex generators on the roof ahead of them may lessen any spoiling of laminar flow.. and for all I know the louvers may even aid in this endeavor by pushing the boundary layer further from the car... ..but then again, for all *I* know, I am talking way over my head and mis-using terms and concepts left and right. So I will shut up now