Phantom

Someone else dive in here but, if I remember right, the centerline for the R180 which the 240 Z was originally equipped is offset from the centerline of the R200. If you are using the R180 as your guide then the front of your motor will be swung in one direction or another from where it would be if using the R200.

Not knowing where you live it's hard to know what your potential resources may be. You might check and see if theire is an automotive electric shop in town. They normally rebuild alternators but they also get into distributors. They might have a lead on the parts you need. I know what you mean about distributor parts. The stock S30 distributor has a bronze bushing in it that wears out eventually and allows the rotaor to wobble. the only way to fix it is to buy an entire distributor even though the bushing can be easily removed & replaced and only costs about $3.

What a great thread! I had my car do 3 pulls on a dyno about 3 years ago to get a baseline and to have an idea of how well the reflash had been on my ECM for the conversion. It came in at 311 RWHP and 326 torque with the torque curve at 250 by 1,500 rpm and 300 by 2000 which it held until about 5,200 and then back down to 250 by 6,000. I've been contemplating a dyno tune and now know that I need to: 1) Tell them the car weighs exactly 3,000 lbs with a full tank of gas, 2) Be sure my tires are inflated to 32-35 psi, 3) Take my last 1/4 mile slip with me, and 4) make sure the operator knows in no uncertain terms that he's tuning for maximum area under the torque/HP curves, not for peaks. Thanks so much for all the info!!

I feel your pain. I went through that same search about 2 years ago and came up dry. Anything that fit a 16" wheel wouldn't fit inside my fenders and anything that would fit inside my fenders was either a 14" or 15" wheel. With coil overs and a little lip flaring you could get either a 245 or 255 under there but that is a lot of expense - especially if you have already repainted the car like I had.

TXZ1956 - Use the tried and true Texas solution - run your water hose on that location very slowly for a couple days. You ovbviously have expansive soil (clay) and it has dried out and sunk. The water will cost less than the electrician and it will also help reduce settling cracks on your walls & brick veneer. Everyone - Evidently my combination TXU delaying action and National Arbor Association Diversion are paying off. Asplundh has been put on hold temporarily for my house which has allowed my trees to get some much needed rain and for the heat to break which will reduce the stress any trimming would put on them. I also got a visit from a TXU supervisor this morning and they are going to remove the pole that is in the corner of my back yard and replace it with a taller one but put it in my neighbors yard where it will be more easily accessible for them. NOt only does that get the pole out of my yard but it pretty much guarantees they'll be able to lift the line running down the back of my yard high enough where the trees there won't need to be trimmed. :D Plus, it should lift the linee running down the side of my yard higher which will reduce the amount of trimming required there. :D I've also generated so much interest/concern that I'm pretty confident that any trimming done will be held to a minimum to preclude follow-up photographs being sent tot he National Arbor Asociation and jeopardizing the award TXU is so proud of.

Also, since my transmission is tied to my differential with a pair of 4" c-channel it's tailshaft location is set by the R200 location which, in my case is exactly where it was originally in the horizonal plane but about 1/2" higher in the vertical plane. Lason, Is your car a late model 280Z?

I have the forged Willwood Superlites on the front on 12.2" vented rotors along with the 240SX/300ZX disk brake converion on the rear and the the 15/16" 280ZX master cylinder. My first experience with the brakes was locking them up at about 60 mph and almost putting a flat spot on my tires. Since then they have degraded due to other problems but I can still lock the fronts up. Also - at this point my car does NOT have an adjustable propotioning valve and it is very front brake dominant.

You can go on-line with Courtesy Nissan in Irving, Texas and obtain a CD version of the Factory Service Manual for your car or go to: Nissan Service Publications 20770 Westwood Drive Cleveland, Ohio 44136 Attn: Photo Copy (440) 572-7280 And get a hard copy reproduction of the FSM. With the extensive work your doing to the car it might be good to have one.

I got an email last night from a guy with the National Arbor Foundation asking for photos. I'm hoping that if TXU feels their annual Arbor Foundation award is in jeopardy that they'll get more proactive with Asplundh and get things under control - well - maybe at least for my house?!?

Vinh, The key to the JCI parts is the engine mounts. They position the engine to allow all his other components to work properly. That way if you get stuck on something you can throw money at it and get a specific component from JCI. If you haven't already, spend some time looking at the photos in my album. They'll give you a pretty clear idea of how the engine mounts, which accessories work, etc. I don't have the same transmission mount as everone else. Mine is a modified torque tube design that locks the transmission tailshaft to the differential input snout. It is more complicated than a simple crossmember so John went the crossmember mount for his general offering. I know this is all pretty straight forward for someone with your experience - how refreshing is that - but give my a holler if you need any specifics on the JCI stuff that isn't in my album. Bill

So when you call them tell them that mine has the same problem - and it's been on my car for 8 years!! I don't think this is a random problem with this part. FWIW - Mine has, in fact, been mounted on my car for 8 years and I haven't had a bit of trouble with it - just the curious noise of something moving around when I lift the hatch and close it.

The key is the rust. I would want to inspect the frame rails underneath, the battery box area, around the gas cap, the trailing edge of the hatch, the rocker panels, etc - very thoroughly before buying. I just can't imagine a rust free Z after 28 years in the Seattle area.

Actually coastal Texas is like coastal Washington - just hotter and West Texas is somewhat similar to Eastern Washington only even drier and hotter. I grew up in Boise, Idaho so I would expect Eastern Washington to be like Southern Idaho or Eastern Oregon. The key is that Texas is hotter. Things finally broke this week. Sunday it was only 98°F, Monday we had a high of 82 and yesterday 90. This morning it was in the high 60's and I thought I'd died and gone to Washington - that is God's country, isn't it?

Anyone on this board from Yakima or close by? I'm flying up there 9/7 for a job interview on 9/8 and then back to DFW on Saturday only to turn around and fly to LA on Sunday and then up to Eureka, Ca on Wednesday the 13th. Any input on the Yakima area would be appreciated. There is just so much you can dredge up off the internet.

Mattsun, OK - you know what you need to do. 1) Go to a 50/50 mix of antifreeze & water, and 2) Get a fan shroud on it ASAP!!!

Lason, No, the engine is offset 1/8" from the center of the car. You have to divide the difference by 2 to get the offset.

Vinh, I was in your neck of the woods last week. I flew into Baltimore and then drove up I-83 to York. That's about 100 miles from Philly - right? Beautiful country - but then with 3-4" of rain every month - it ought to be! It's an interesting coincidence that I was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin about 3 weeks ago and went past the Harley-Davidson Headquarters and then was across the street from their main manufacturing plant in York last week. Hmm - wonder if there is something there? Anyway - hope the measurements give you what you need. I know my car has never been involved in an accident so they should be pretty accurate.

Be advised that may not save you. Legally a tree trimmer cannot touch a tree within 10' of a powerline. TXU will actually send their own crews out and do the trimming for you so no one gets electrocuted. The problem is that, in my experience, their trimming techniques are very similar to Asplundh - just not quite as aggressive.

Hope you don't like those trees Pete. When these guys get to your neighborhood their charter is to clear a 10' radius around the power line if it's a feeder line. If it's an individual service line they only have to clear 3-5'. Think how much of the trees will be left if they come down 10' on them. I've lived in my home over 20 years now and this is the first time they've come through. I've been told they're going through the entire DFW area.

It has less energy per gallon than regular gasoline so your MPG will go down. If it costs significantly less then that isn't a big issue. It does burn cooler, however, so if you can get enough extra fuel introduced to make up for the lower energy and get your A/F ratio right you should do well on it.

These folks advertise themselves as tree trimming experts - Bull!!! They are an international organization that specializes in trimming trees away from power lines. In my area, Texas Enery (TXU) has hired them to clear their easements. These guys are the butchers from Hell and have absolutely no regard for the homeowners or the health of the trees they are trimming. My neighbor behind me had a 40' tall Live Oak - one of the most beautiful trees in the neighborhood decimated. They cut the main trunk off just about 6' off the ground and left limbs standing in a 'V' shape. They did this during a drought when then temperatures have been running in triple digits for weeks. My wife freaked when she saw this and denied them access to our property, contacted TXU, and had them send a representatitve out to evaluate the status of the lines on two sides of my property because one has a huge sag in it that will eliminate the need to trim on that side if the sag is eliminated. Today the Asplundh area supervisor was at my house and, to put it mildly, he needs to be beaten within an inch of his life and taught some manners and how to respect women. ANyway, I have now tallked with Asplundh, and several people at TXU. Asplundh has been told by TXU to back off until they get done adjusting the one line. I have also requested a site visit from their Vegetation Management group and one of their arborists. TXU has received a reward from the national Arbor Association every year since 2001 for their work in tree preservation while keeping their lines clear and they're proud enough of it to mention it prominently on thier website. AS a result I have also contacted the National Arbor Association and asked them to check into it. The Asplundh guy should not have dissed my wife.

OK - I've just been up to my elbows in black crap off my hoses. Here are the details. 1) It's a 1977 280Z - somebody has pleased someone! 2) From inside of frame rail to inside of frame rail it measures 25 1/4 inches. 3) From driver side inside of rail to the center of crankshaft pulley is 12 3/4" 4) From passenger side inside of rail to center of crankshaft pulley is 12 1/2". That means the engine is offset 1/8" to the passenger side from center as perfect center would be 12 5/8" from either rail.

If you are running the I-6 and stock radiator and fan set-up then you have a problem. Your needle should run in the dead center of the gauge - all the time except when it's warming up. If it is drifting above that when you're at a stop light then you have one of several possible problems: 1) A fouled radiator 2) a bad water pump 3) A missing fan shroud 4) a bad centrifugal clutch on your fan 5) a bad thermostat. 6) an improper coolant mixture or low coolant 7) a combination of 2 or more of the above.

Vinh, I'll try to get out to my car today. FWIW my engine sits slightly toward the passenger side, maybe 1/4" off center? My alternator sits low on the drivers side and the cooling port clears by only about 1/32". There are photos in my album of the front and top plus the clearance from the engine to the firewall. It places a T56 shifter about 1/2" forward of the stock position. Welded a tab on the front and a slight angle of the stock Z T-5 shift lever with the T56 bolt pattern in it and that brought the shifter up through the stock boot and into a very comfortable location for me to use. You may end up having to trim the alternator cooling port a bit as every car is just a little bit different. Bill

Going from a 25" diameter tire to a 26" diameter tire will only reduce your engine RPM's at cruise by 4% or about 125 rpm. Likewise, going from a 3.54:1 differential to a 3.36:1 will reduce it again by about 5%. The only way you're going to serioiously affect your cruise RPM's is to get an overdirve transmission. Oh - and unless the 2' of exhaust pipe is about 1/2" in diameter you'll never notice the difference and I doubt if a dyno would even be able to tell the difference. You have a higher probablility of asphyxiating yourself than gaining HP.