michael wales

Welcome man, lots of good info in the archives here also a lot of personal feelings and opinions some from some of the great guys with tons of experience and then you have the "experts" with little behind them haha so go good luck. I'm running the bob sharp setup with an MSD atomic EFI setup and it seems pretty good from my perspective. The pump will probably be an issue and you'd probably be better off getting one made for carbs instead of trying the it with a regulator and worrying with all that goes along with that. It's been done plenty of times but I'd avoid it if it was mine. Put up some pics so we can check out your ride!

So while I've been dragging my feet with the turbo setup I've also been looking at the few items I still need in addition to just my manifold/turbo to put the boost into effect. Mainly the turbo lines and associated equipment. Well then I found this. http://compturbo.com/spotlights/oil-less Anyone heard of oil-less turbos?? Seems like it would ease my install and add to the oddness. Let me know what you guys think!

Tony, I don't doubt you, seeing as you seem to have had the pleasure of testing just about every type of Z build, but in the mean time it helps me put her away and sleep at night, when I cant live in the garage haha. I'm getting there slowly but surely though.

Well the Z has been on the back burner a bit while I have been toying with a Honda CB175 my brother gave me. Other than a few fun drives on the back roads I haven't got it out or changed much since I think I'm going to have take the throttle linkage apart to fix the last little bit of issues I'm having with it. It is still running great and the fact that I'm enjoying it so much has been+ slowing my enthusiasm to put the turbo on. I will say that the air cleaner that is on it the low profile Edelbrock is killing the top-end more then i realized after a few quick runs sans air cleaner. I'm wondering if going ahead and getting the "carb hat" I'm going to need come boost time and then running some piping and a regular cone filter out to the front in the cool air might be better than what I'm running now.

http://www.speedhunters.com/2013/02/engine-porn-os-giken-tc24-b1z/

Quick update, I decided to take TonyDs advice and tune the N/A portion and after hitting a seeming wall and not feeling like i was getting everything i should, so after going over every, and i mean every last setting I noticed that my throttle position sensor was only going to 50%...I was sitting here the entire time with half throttle because in a hurry we put the throttle cable into the mid slot not the top, its still only hitting 82% throttle but the difference is amazing its actually putting my Triple Webers to shame... I really cant tell you guys how nice it has to have my Z start on the first turn of the key, idle perfectly, and now scream from drop of the clutch to the rev limiter. I still feel like an idiot for not figuring this out sooner now I just have to solve the last 18% issue.

Info like this is why i frequent this forum. A crappy situation for one leads to good info for the rest so we can keep more Zs on the road/track!

I second jthom you'd be surprised how fast that cash will disappear and we've all seen way to many projects left to sit due to half finished swaps etc... save that cash and get everything around the swap, brakes, suspension, beefing up the rear end/half shafts and bracing the body to deal with the extra power, electrical, frame/paint/rust you see where this is going...there is so much and if you have a running Z you don't want to start subtracting before everything else is ready. If you decide to go ahead anyways just know there is tons of info here and most likely a Z club near by that I would check out for some help at home, I wouldn't have been able to DD my 280z in college without the guys in the emerald city Z car club helping me with parts and knowledge. Good luck man hope you enjoy your ride as much as I have.

i would second these guys in saying a swap of that nature right before a trip is asking for trouble. You seem to be looking for the cheapest route in addition to being easy but i have to say that my EFI route of bolting the MSD Atomic EFI Master Kit to a 4bbl intake (sold new by Arizona Z) can be done in your drive way in a day or 2 with no major mods to the car if you've got simple hand tools and a couple biddies. If you have a car lift and said buddies you can probably get it done in 12 hours or so. Good luck with whatever route you decide on, the owner over at Patton is a really nice guy and puts out some awesome stuff.

thanks for all the inputs guys. I went ahead and leaned out the idle and cruise and didn't notice much loss of power just a little less of the gas smell from the exhaust. The car seems to be running well so I'm wary of making many changes but the settings I do have other then the basic ones above are pump squirt and power valve which are set as a percentage from 0 -100% here is MSD's explanation of each Pump Squirt - To assist in throttle transitions the Atomic EFI has a feature to mimic the pump squirt of a carburetor. This works by increasing fuel delivery by a prescribed percentage any time there is an increase in throttle position. If needed, make small changes of no more than 5% increments without further testing. 25% is sufficient for most engines. Almost all vehicles will use between 15 and 35% pump squirt Power Valve Enrich - To assist in manifold pressure transitions the Atomic EFI has a power valve feature. This works by adding fuel based on MAP transitions while moving the throttle. Large cam vehicles with low vacuum generally required a slightly smaller number while stock/small camshaft vehicles with a high vacuum may require more. If needed make small changes of no more than 5% increments without further testing, 25% is sufficient for most engines but between 15-35% is normal. Typically, the higher the vacuum (more stock) So I'm assuming these are similar to the settings you were describing Tony? I'm partially torn between just leaving it alone until I get my turbo parts all assembled since ill need to start over again I think even though MSD does have a completely separate setting for boost... either way thanks again guys, its nice to have somewhere to bounce ideas off people who have similar setups and experience beyond the MSD forum, where if its not above 5 liters they have no idea... the higher the percentage needed.

You don't think given all things equal, other than the engine, that a tastefully modded car that still appears stock to everyone but the purists wouldn't gain the edge and most likely a higher sales point? I can see engine swaps and even possibly the turbo swap hindering an otherwise stock cars sale or at least not giving it an advantage but Eijis work seems like it would be an exception and something I would gladly advertise!

Thanks for the response, now are those AFR settings safe given the chances of uneven fuel distribution (that I haven't seen but am still wary of) with the 4bbl intake? I left the settings where they were to err on the side of caution.

how much for the speedo and tach posted/pictured above?

Quick Update - So after putting a few hundred miles or so on this setup I was beginning to get very worried about fuel mileage. I had to fill up twice around 3/4 empty with 125 - 150 miles or so on the OD both times. Needless to say the low teens is not where I wanted to be, that being said I was laying on the throttle pretty hard and hadn't had a drive longer than 20 minutes or 10 miles and very little highway cruising (but a lot of off and on ramps ). Well I decided I'd use the Z for my daily work commute which is about 30 miles of mostly 55 -60 mph HWY cruising, pretty calm. This has bumped my MPGs up to low to mid 20's which if I'm honest I don't think is bad as my self control is still lacking and 'I'm no where near hypermiling this thing. Questions I have still Atomic has 3 user settings as far as AFR Idle, Cruise, and WOT as well as Boost and Nitrous which unfortunately I have neither of at this time My current settings are Idle - 14.0 Cruise - 14.0 and WOT - 12.5 Would you guys recommend any changes? I still haven't found a solution for controlling my timing but it hasn't been an issue yet. Also I've noticed that my Odometer and speedometer are way off. Probably due to the 17 inch rims and tires the rear-end and tranny are stock to my knowledge. so if it is just wheels is the solution to change the gear in the transmission that the Odo reads off? that I can change to compensate or am I completely off?

Well if you decide to scrap this setup is gladly take the intercooler, tubes, piping etc off your hands it looks like it would be bolt on to my Atomic EFI setup.

What intake are you using? Can you show pictures of the engine and your boost tubing in particular? Did you set it up yourself or have it done by a shop? Sorry for all the questions but it seems few and far between here for a blow thru setup like that and i will be building something similar with my atomic efi soon.

After doing some research it seems the optics are left open with a rotating disk (looks like a open circular drill bit) with cut outs serving to shroud and un-shroud the the two lenses from seeing each other. Seems odd to me as well that this is left to collect dust and debris but I guess they were expecting the module to fail before it was as filthy as mine was, mallory seems to have poor reviews all over and may no longer be made in the configuration I have. Either way I'm glad to have the Z going again and I'm going to try to move forward on collecting the final bits for adding the turbo.

http://www.xenons30.com/Engine.html Will give you a good idea of the different piston/head combos that Datsun produced for the Z in the U.S.

UPDATE: After tracing and confirming all of the wiring related to the ignition was intact and in good condition I decided to start testing the individual components. Everything seemed normal until i opened the distributor and noticed how filthy it was. It seems that the self contained optical module was covered to the point that it was not registering that the engine was turning over and not sending either spark or registering engine rotation to the EFI either. I was both shocked and amused at how such a simple act such as wiping the module between optics solved what was such a perplexing issue.

this will certainly be within my means, just the main thing (electrical/wiring work) that seems to overwhelm/ confuse me it seems. I wish i was able to work from scratch and not have to infer and work through so many changes and modifications from previous owners/mechanics over the decades. The intermittent nature and the strange rapid clicking were what made me think there must be a relay somewhere underhood that is responsible for the seeming lack of power. I will update when/if i make any progress on this front. Thank you for your inputs I appreciate and willingly take any and all info from the more experienced and knowledgeable around here.

well im not seeing any spark from the coil right now. i am still hearing what sounds like a relay rapidly switching(clicking) on and off multiple times when i first switch on the ignition key. .

well after putting some decent miles on the system i have run into a road block. my car is currently having an intermittent no start situation. The MSD EFI unit is not receiving any output from the dist/6al ignition box. at first MSD tech line told me i had wired it incorrectly to start with and that was remedied by running the tach input for the EFI unit to the spade connector on the 6al for tach output. this resulted in a quick start for my car and all seemed fine. after trying again i am again having strange symptom where it only shows rpm outputs immediately after i release the key from cranking but again is not starting. I think there is an issue with the wiring mess i have where the ignition(key on) positive is as there are multiple connections that i have no idea where they go or what the function they serve all connected by a single nut and bolt. this is in addition to some other wiring that is around the factory ballast resistor that seems questionable. i also noticed while i was checking the connection from the mallory distributor to the msd box and the tach out put connections that there seemed to be some type of relay turning on and off that i am unsure of both its location and function and i am no longer hearing (i heard it click right before it started last). i know this is alot and probably not the most coherent. i will try and update after i work with msd tech line hopefully i can get some resolution to my no start issues.

The MSD Comes with one wideband that it uses to monitor AFR, beyond that will probably be beyond what I am capable/willing to implement I.e one WB02 for each port.. As far as Egr I'm assuming this is usually done with a probe/gun while on the Dyno? On another note I may have made some strides towards getting the ignition timing under control of the MSD Unit. I was able to speak with eiji Of Datsun spirit while attending tidewater Z car clubs show this weekend and he expressed that he should be able to mate the adjustable rotor to my distributor. On a third note my Z took home 3rd place!

Before i take the Z to the Tidewater Z car club show this weekend i figured id give it a once over to check the new setup and replace the sparkplugs so i can keep an eye on the supposed AFR discrepancies that the 4bbl intake can cause. according to ngks own guide my plugs look fine but these were admittedly ran on my triple setup for the last few years and only about 150 or so miles on the new setup.

Will do. I'm mainly interested in how others have went about intercooling and routing the necessary pipes and fittings. Not sure if it's as DIY as I'm hoping for it to be. Any pictures of your current setup?