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Ross I think he may have been refering to the MSA kit, which I think uses 280ZX calipers. Pete

The best stock style gasket is the Nissan, so if you are going that route, spend the extra $$ and get the Nissan one. A freind runs them exclusively on his GT2 L28 race motor (~14:1CR), without problems. Pete

OK, drove it to work today , and took some on and off ramps pretty hard (got my 245-45ZR16 Toyo RA-1s on there). No problems to report. I had about 1/4 of a tank, and watching my O2 display, it never leaned out. The lift pump I'm running is a Bosch pump that I picked up on Ebay new for $20. It was supposedly used in a Renalt. I think it is going to be fine for the street, but on the track it may not be able to keep up. It looks just like my big Bosch pump, but just a little smaller (little brother). It seems like they operate at the same RPM, because it still sounds like I've got just one pump under there. Pete, looking at the plot you posted, it looks like a high pressure pump should be fine as a lift pump. It looks like that pump will deliver another 10+GPH at zero PSI as compared to 40PSI (~22% more), and the current draw is way down too. There should be zero PSI in the surge tank, it's all flow, no pressure. Pete

Wow, that Z is gorgeous. I really like the rear flares. Nice color too (not to mention the engine!!!!)!. Pete

Couldn't get the camera last night, so I drew a schematic of how I connected the expansion tank as a surge tank. The drawing is in my photo album. The surge tank seems to be working fine so far. I'll let everyone know if I have an problems with it in the future. Pete

Yes, I used the steel expansion (EXP) tank that is on the passenger side, behind the rear wheel. I couldn't do three fittings on top because there isn't room. There is an existing one on the top that I used for the return back to the main tank (stock 240Z). The lift pump (low pressure) pumps fuel into what was the large hose barb to the rear of the EXP tank (that used to connect to the rubber filler hose), it's about 2/3rds of the way up the EXP tank. The main feed to the high pressure pump is connected to the existing 3/8" barb at the bottom of the EXP tank. I then added another 3/8" barb to the bottom of the tank for the high pressure return (from regulator). The last remaining stock hose barb I squished flat on the end, and then soldered it. I checked the tank for leaks with a vaccume pump, and it held the same vaccume for 3 hours. Solder all your fittings to assure you get a good seal. Yes, you definetly want the return from the fuel rail to go into the surge tank. It's 4 new hoses running around under there, so it's kind of a rats nest, but it should work OK. Pete

I installed a surge tank in my turbo 240Z last night. Not sure if anyone has done this, but I used one of the steel expansion tanks as the surge tank. So far it looks like it's working perfectly. Mounts in the stock location, as if it were designed to be there (ahem, it was ). Here is basically what I did, I'll take some pictures tonight and post. I used the stock ~3/8" barb on the bottom to feed the high pressure pump. The large side barb I soldered in a right angle 3/8" barb and ran it to the low pressure pump outlet. The 5/16" barb on the top of the tank is the return back to the primary tank. I then soldered in another 3/8" barb in the bottom for the return from the high pressure regulator. I drilled three holes to the rear of the filler hose and installed grommets. I rasn the new hoses through them. I'm using a EFI pump as the low pressure lift pump. It seems to pumping lots of fuel. I'm asuming its is OK. I figure that with litttle to no pressure, it sould flow a lot. Here's a question, will an EFI pump flow more at zero pressure than the normal 43psi they are measured at? I haven't had an expansion tank in there since I've owned it (all of the tank vents are connected together with pipe fittings, and connect to the hole in the filler hose). I've always been able to fill the tank OK. I won't know for sure if this fixes my NHIS turn 6 starvation problem below 1/2 tank until late May. Hopefully this fixes it. Pete

As far as I know, you can't use the Maxima brakets with 240SX calipers. You need to uses 280ZX calipers with those brakets. You need to buy the custom 240SX brackets from Ross to use the 240SX calipers. Pete

Put a few gallons of fresh gas in it and see how it runs. Pete

I used stock used L28 head bolts on the same setup. I torqued them to factory specs. No leaks so far. I think the most imortant thing is to have clean and flat surfaces, and use a good quality gasket (Nissan OEM if you can). A freind of mine runs Nissan head gaskets on his L28 powered 300ZX SCCA GT2 car (~14:1CR), and swears by them. They are kind of pricey ($48 through Courtesy with club discount). Rember to clean the head bolt threads, and also oil them so you get an accurate torque. BTW 70ft-lbs seems high. The turbo bolts I think should be torqued to 68ft-lbs. NA bolts I think are around 55ft-lbs Pete

Nobody actual saw the dog BTW

Get either the molded lower hose for a 280Z, or get one of those flex hoses with the spring inside. I have the flex hose on my can it works fine. Also, check you throttle linkage for proper lubrication. You throttle should NEVER do that. Also make sure the throttle retrun springs are in good shape. Pete

You really won't notice that much of a difference just putting the 4x4 calipers on the stock solid rotors. If you are sticking with the stock front solid rotors, use the stock Z calipers. When in good condition, with good pads, they fine for street, autocross, and light track use. There is a huge selection of pads available for the Z calipers too. I gues it all depends on what you are doing with the car. Properly adjusted rear drum brakes in good shape are also fine for the street. Remeber, all SCCA ITS cars you see on the track use STOCK brakes, and they are pretty darn fast. Stock brakes in good shape, is the easiest route. If you have decided that you have to have better than stock braking, the 240SX rear disc setup that Ross sells is and excellent choice. I have them on my car, and I'm very happy with them. For the front, look at using the Z31 front rotors with the spacers that Ross and JSK sells so you can use the bigger 4x4 caliper. Remeber that as soon as you start modifying the stock brake system, you will probably need to install a proportioning valve to get the rear bias set correctly. If you don't you may end up with brakes that don't work as good as the stock ones did. The next step is to go with a Wilwood or other race type setup. A lot more money, and more maintenance. If you aren't driving your car on a race track, you don't need this much brake. Pete

I did a little more research BTW, and the 260-280Z boosters will fit with a slight re-drill to the firewall. I am sticking with the 240Z one for now. Since my original post, my MC appears to have fixed itself (maybe an air bubble somewhere?). I will be putting the inthe 15/16" one next time I open the system again thought. Pete

My completely stock 78' 280Z: 28MPG on a trip My highly modified Turbo 240Z: 20MPG if I'm lucky Pete

Thanks for the replies. I just ordered the 15/16s MC (79-81ZX). I was wondering if it would be worth replacing the booster with a 280Z unit? I figure this will give me abit more power assist. Anyone know if this requires fire wall hacking in a 72 240Z? Thanks, Pete

I did a bunch of searching, but didn't find a solution. Here is my configuration: Front: Wilwwod Forged SL calipers with 1.75" pistons (4). 12" x 1.25" rotors. Rear: 240SX calipers and Z31 rotors. Stock 72' 240Z 7/8" MC, Booster, and prop valve (worked fine all last year). Here is the problem. When the engine is not running, the brake pedal is nice and firm. When I start the engine, the pedal gets a little bit softer. If I hold pressure on the pedal while the engine is running, then release the pedal, and then try to apply the brakes, the pedal goes to the floor, and I have no brakes! If I drive a bit, then apply the brakes, they work OK, but the pedal trave seems excessive, and it feels like the pedal is bottoming out before I'm getting full power to the calipers. I have bled the brakes many times. I've also bled the MC many times. I know I will need to change the prop valve, but I would think that the brakes would function good enough for the street with the stock valve. I checked everywhere for leaks, and I haven't found any. I had a feeling that I would have a lot more travel with discs in the rear, but this is way more than I expected. Any and all comments appreciated. Pete

I'm running the same setup as Tim, and there is no problem with tire to coilover clearance (you definitely need coilovers with a 5" BS). I think I've got my Z set a bit lower than Tim, because I did have to trim about 1/4" off the horizontal rear fender lip. No front modifications needed. Pete

If you find a shop with an Lseries torque plate great, but if you can't (they are rare), don't sweat it. Just be sure to install and torque the main bearing caps before boring. Thousands of L28s have been bored sucessfully without a torque plate. Pete

I used the Wilwood FSLs (Forged Super Light) on my front brake setup. Very light, and supposedly much stronger than the standard SL caliper. So far they are working awesome. Pete

I'd bore it 0.80 (2mm) over also. Just make sure that the piston dish is correct so that you end up with the CR you are looking for. Figure that boring 2mm over will give about 0.3:1 more CR. I would think if you were in the ball park of 8:1, you should be OK. Pete

It's much easier to buy the oil filter sandwich plate, and plumb it in from there. Plus, when the engine is cool, you don't really want to be cooing the oil, especially in a cool climate. The sandwich adapters typically have a bimetal valve which closes wen the oil is below a certain temperature. Pete

I run a set of 16x8 Centerlines that I bought through the overstock program they have. They are 5" BS (coil overs required). You can get these through Summit, which are a 4.5" BS (0 offset): CLL-8066805507 Wheel, 806 Thruster, 16"x8", 5x4.5-4.75" Bolt Circle, 4.5" Backspace $189.50 Call to Order I'm getting a set of these for my street wheels through Summit: CLL-8066806425 Wheel, 806 Thruster, 16"x8", 4x4.25-4.5" Bolt Circle, 5" Backspace $189.50 Call to Order They look like this: They are very strong, and fairly light wheels. Pete

The only problem with upgrading to bigger injectors is that there is no way for the ECU to know what the new flow rate is. It will run way rich. The stock ECU will continue to fire the injectors at the same duty cycle as with the stock injectors, but much more fuel will enter the cylinders because of the increased injector flow rate. The stock ECU does not have an O2 sensor, so it cannot compensate for bigger injectors. Even if it did, chances are that it couldn't compensate because the mixture would proably be out of the narrow mixture band a narrow band O2 is capable of taking accurate O2 readings within. Pete

The short answer, no. Totally different mounting. A fair amount of hacking and fabrcation is required to swap a Nissan V6 in an early Z. A much easier swap would be a SB Chevy. Pete