josh817

Thats good information. Oh my about the advance... I may have that problem as the motor was firing and we set them all back 1 plug and it ran. Got it running today and the timing light is showing like... over 30º of advance, we could get it down to 18º and thats about it so I'm not sure... According to the numbers on the dizzy and using the searchy, I have a California model dizzy which is restricted to 8.3º compared to the usual 10º. I'll see if thats my case and I think it very well may be as we marked #1 TDC but had to set it back so it may have been pointing like between the 2... Didn't have any misfires when we ran it though so I'm not sure. When we dyno it we can see. Lets talk oil pressure. I'm not really sure what to think. I'd like to see some of your numbers at idle RPM from you guys... We filled the passage way with oil and started her up and we saw a couple of pounds.... I mean only a couple, it worries me. A new pump is in my future just for good measure or my sending unit went bad... It read some but not a lot and we ran the motor for 10 minutes today at least. Cranks over fine, revved MARVELOUSLY and no tapping noises. Sounds like a diesel up front so its tricky to confuse it with a tapping noise. The crank case vent on the valve cover spews a decent amount of smoke/steam but we have a quart or 2 more than what we should have... So many things confuse me about the oil... Too many variables. Too much oil should release the bypass on the pump and maybe thats why I lack oil pressure. Maybe the pump is bad, perhaps the gasket has something to do with it, bad sending unit (doubt). I'm picking up too many clues and I'm slightly confused about some stuff... 1: I clearance checked the pump and it was fine BUT does the gasket not add to that? I don't see how if I get a brand new pump which should be ready to go will work properly because that gasket is .003" or whatever thick so it throws everything off... 2: The motor ran hot. NOW this brings me into 2 branches. Either A, oil isn't pumping properly and isn't doing its part to cool. B, new motor runs hot (205º, between the middle of the gauge and 250). C, here it comes, wrong choice of flywheel and cam. I think the cam is fine but I don't like my idle. I want like 800 RPM idle. We can achieve this and the cam doesn't kill the motor but when you rev and it drops a little lower than idle, the motor dies so I'll have to deal with 1100 RPM idle, I'm just picky. My flywheel is too light though it seems. This is fine though, built a beast not a street lover. However, we were revving the motor to 4-5k and we weren't driving around so with only the electric fan running, I think thats fine. Put some water wetter in there, drop it by 10º or so and let the motor settle down. 3: Bad pump? If it shows some but not a lot that makes me think maybe the clearances are a little off and its pumping, but losing pressure within there... 4: If it ran for 10 minutes with no metal in the pan or anything and no seizing up, I think things are getting lubed. Maybe just enough though 5: Bypass is opened and its not holding pressure due to over filling. 6: I'm going crazy and its normal pressure. I remember it being low before. We only blipped the throttle so I couldn't tell if it went up much. I saw it move slightly... Actually... I need to drain a little anyways. I'll do that tomorrow and check for metal. Start it up and then see. I'm not scared to run it without Dad anymore now that we have cleared everything up. Well... I am somewhat scared. Its a dragon under the hood. The car shakes and the headers are right under your feet so its pretty loud. We scared the neighbors away... :/ ... and we only blipped it up to 5k... Haha. GOOD VIDEOS COMING UP!

Ok before I do this, let me ask, is it even possible for me to drop the pump with the motor in the car?

Oh I see... My goal was to try and fill the oil pump by using that hand pump and and going through the send unit. I don't want to try and get pressure using the hand pump. I'll jack up the car and see if I can do it from there... When I checked the sway bar was in the way I think. You don't think the hand pump will fill the oil pump?

I think we are somewhat confused on one thing. I don't have an external pump. The only pumps I have are fuel and oil. I'm just running the normal oil pump on the front cover. My hand pump is the type that screws into the top of a quart of oil or whatever fluid, they all share the same cap size usually. And you pump it with your hand into hard to reach spaces. Like that but with a rubber hose on the outlet.

That sounds good but I don't have another shaft, nor do I want to cut into one. However I am slightly confused by how this stuff works... If you get pressure, drop the pump, oil comes out. Then you put it back up. All of a sudden, because you dropped the pump, you have an air bubble. That air bubble is the cause of no pressure right? Our original plan was to drop the pump and pack it with grease and then try, get some suction. However using my hand pump, and pumping oil into the sending unit hole probably does the same thing as you priming, then dropping it (essentially losing the oil), then mounting it back up. You were just reassured of pressure with the drill. Correct me if I'm wrong but if I pump oil into the sending unit hole, it SHOULD go into the pump... or I guess it could go the other way back into the pan... :/ All it needs is oil closer to it so it can get that suction going.

Yah we did but that gauge is stupid slow. I remember before on the old motor it was a creeper but it read properly so as long as it shows pressure I knew I was good. We have a battery charger so its ok if it dies. Main thing like I said is oil pressure so we don't blow bearings within a minute of running. I'm guessing everyone who has rebuilt an L motor or in fact any motor has primed their pumps. Its not as much of a big deal for Dads motors because the pump is inside the pan on them so its not a big stretch to suck oil through. If you have to change it, you have to drop the pan, so that sucks. I'll keep trying. OH and not to forget. I fixed my distributor problem too. Apparently my model dizzy is the "dumb" kind which doesn't have the ignition module. It runs off the ECU which tells the coil when to fire. In order to avoid getting a new dizzy since I wasn't running any ECU's I went to O'Riley's and bought the GM HEI module with lifetime warranty for $41. Hooked it up in ten minutes and its ready to go. Works like a charm. You can see it in the 2 pictures to the right of the coil. EDIT: ONE more thing! I couldn't help but notice the manual and the write ups exaggerating on the installation of the dizzy/oil pump drive spindle. It doesn't matter what position it is in. Install it, turn the motor to #1 TDC compression, and mark the plug which the rotor points to. It doesn't matter if its 7 o'clock, 10 o'clock, 3 o'clock, whatever, it doesn't matter. My #1 is in the 6 o'clock area, from there just do 1-5-3-6-2-4 counter clockwise. From then on out just note yourself that #1 is in a different spot than what the book says. The wire/dizzy/cap doesn't care which plug is #1, just as long as you have them in the right order. Write up I used to install GM HEI Ignition Module (searchy helps ;]): http://dimequarterly.tierranet.com/articles/tech_hei.html Video I threw together, nothing fancy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcN9bIYFPgU

Well we got her started up today but no oil pressure so we didn't run it past like 5 seconds... Fires right up though. Turned her over and it wanted to start up while Dad was giving the dizzy some advance but we maxed it out. So we moved all the wires over one clockwise and she started right up first turn. Sounds lovely but the oil pressure thing sinks my heart... We never primed the sucker because the oil would just run back into the pan while the motor was still on the stand. I should've packed it with grease but I didn't... Dad said not to and the only reason he said that is because everyone is saying its a stupid thing to do with his motors. He knew it should have been done but I guess we didn't do it thinking everyone else was right. Anyone else have this problem? The sump pickup is so far down the length of the motor, if the pump isn't primed I doubt it could suck oil all the way through the main galley from the sump... I unscrewed the sending unit and it wasn't damp, oil didn't dribble out the hole, and when we turned the motor over with the sending unit out, oil didn't spray out either. We filled the sucker up 1.5 quarts over and we'll drain some out later but our main goal is oil to the pump. I'm having some doubts in my work on checking the clearances on the pump... BUT I don't think any oil is in the pump at all... So my plan is the get the little hand pump that I used to fill tranny fluid, $4 at O'Rileys, and pump another quart into the hole which the sending unit screws onto. As soon as I do that I'll turn the motor over and check then. Along with that Dad will bring over a mechanical gauge from the shop and we'll run a Tee fitting. This way we can check pressure right off the bat instead of waiting for the slow old electric one... Other than that we have fuel pump, electric fan, everything else, minus the hazards/turn signals which I will tackle tomorrow before work. In the mean time I'm going to listen to the videos on replay and savor the sound of my open headers. I'll upload them tomorrow or something, but they're short. I'll also give Mom lessons on how to take videos since she was kinda... bad at it.

I just don't like the thought of a Z being on Myth Busters. Something is bound to happen.

Ok well I have the episode here online. Theres some website thats like youtube, and this user has posted all of seasons 2 and 3 it looks like. I'm afraid to post the link to an unlawful online video. :[ I'll take snap shots.

AHHHHHH! What are they doing?! Season 3 Episode 4! They put the front up against the wall, jack up the rear tires, and spin them. AH! Its a good looking Z too! Mind you, the jack was a fork lift.... >_<

Never mind I've got answers. The transistor is what the ECU sends the pulse to, to fire the coil (thanks to TonyD Mr. Wikie). Went to Orieleys and they have the GM HEI module for $37 and life time warranty so its all good. Just more money... >_<

Oh god... Bondo... :/

I have a turbo dizzy if want to grab it... and its not several hundred dollars either... Why are they so expensive, I would even ask $100 for mine... >_

I would try and trash it. I'm trying to get 12v START and RUN. Junked the ballast resistor that you probably don't have as my car is a 1972 240z. However I would like to ask you, Uefa5 if you have the transistor which sits above the coil, and if it is even necesarry. My coil was used with a turbo motor before but I switched to the D6F4-03 distributor, which is the California model electric single pickup distributor from a '77-'78 280Z. I want to know if I can trash that transistor and run straight lines or will my dizzy fail without it. If it works then I wonder if you can trash your resistor/maybe we're talking about the same thing. I'm too scared to hook up 12v to it from the tach/ignition switch because I don't want to fry my dizzy or my coil. Also check the position of the key. Perhaps your Z is setup like mine was where it does 12v on START and then on RUN it does the 6v or 9v, whatever its suppose to be. Here is a picture of what I'm talking about (right above the coil with the connector): So not to steal a topic, hopefully this can help us both but while we're at it, is it possible the we can trash these things which connect our coils?

Its not that pretty anymore now that Mom's knee high panty hose are the air filters for the front carbs... >_> I have to get some more Uni filters or make a cold air box.

Why do you think I ran away from that turbo stuff. I have a big bucket of vacuum tubes, connectors, relays. Blah blah blah. We got all of that crap out and its finally clean. However I want to focus on the coil and distributor question because like I said, don't want to fry it. I did a Google search on my dizzy number and its not the typical "match box" (IC ignition unit) distributor a lot of people use to convert from points to electric. Its a '77-'78 single pickup dizzy (D6F4-03). Apparently its a California model so its limited to 8.3º of advance rather than the typical 10º... I'll get over it though. Do I need that transistor or can I junk it like I did with the ballast resistor?!

I have the same thing.... Does it have a green and a red wire coming out of it? I didn't feel like spending $100 for the match box (IC ignition box) distributor. EDIT: Did a Google on the number and its a '77-'78 single pickup dizzy. :] EDIT AGAIN: California model... limited to 8.3º of advance rather than 10º... This sucks.

Alright! We have ignition, fuze box, headlights, all that crap. However, I need to get 12v to the fuel pump, I need turn signals, and I'm hooking up the electric fan now. I have a question for you guys and thats: There is a transistor above my coil. Now I'm not running that E12-whatever match box dizzy that a lot of dudes use to convert from points to electronic. I just bought this electric dizzy off some other 280z, it doesn't have the match box on the out. So what I'm getting at is... can I take out the transistor above my coil or does that transistor do the job for the electric pulse that is for the electric dizzy. In the conversion I do not see this transistor but I REALLY REALLY REALLY don't want to kill a dizzy or a coil.... Link to conversion that I'm talking about: http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/distributor/index.html

Feast while I work today, men. Its not pretty yet because all the wiring and hoses are dangling around...

Dude >_> you have all the crap on the inside. I don't use half of it (seatbelt light, defroster for the hatch, and the choke light. Along with the E brake light. I just want my car on the road. XD And it won't catch on fire, we will rewire what we need to, and then hook it all up and test everything. Nothing is going to be unexpected, you can see the smoke. :] Engine bay is: Oil pressure Water Temp Head Temp Starter Alternator Fan Ignition Thats it. Makes me so very happy. :]

Actually both my 280zx and 240/260, PLUS the diagrams online (which is basically the same thing) have typos which annoy us. The wire will go from like Black White, to Black Blue, but never enter into something like a relay which would essentially make it a different color coming out. Supposedly its one big long wire and half way down it, it randomly changes colors? We found 2 of those so far but its nothing major really...

No it started smoking because he shorted out to ground on the plug by accident... The fuses in the box are all good, new, and correct with the 10 amps and 20 amps. I have boxes of those that came with the car for guess who... previous owner when he was doing the l28et conversion. It appears he was learning by the fuses... So when one blew he new he had to change the wiring to make it NOT blow, which can be various ways but as far as I am concerned there is ONLY ONE correct way to wire up the car and tahts by its schematics. It also appears that he had a big bucket of white wire and blue wire because he didn't bother to follow the color code either. You can tell he was experimenting and learning because some wires were cut, and then crimped back together. Of course I don't want to chew him out too much because I would do the same thing if I didn't have Dad to slap me outside the head going "What the **** is this ****?!" The one that he was smoking and stuff was the in-line fuse, linkable fuse, whatever you call it. It looks like a little plastic chip with 2 prongs coming out that you plug into the thing. In the future I want toggle switches and such without putting a panel in for the air controls. I'm thinking put them inside the ash try so you can cover them up. :]

I know dude. The car was just wired up poorly. The original stuff was tampered with. It only smoked for a split second but it was enough to give us a scare that we screwed the wiring in the whole car. Funny thing is before the day started I said if we have to rewire the whole car its not going to be moving until October with school and Dads work schedule. I think we just have to fix a couple of wires and it should be good. As soon as we get 12v to the fuse box we should get everything else. I'll tell you what scares me is that the fuses never blew. When we were playing with this relay and Dad is being an idiot hard wiring stuff and then putting a fuse in so it sparks, smokes, and gets hot quickly, but never blows. Maybe they have to get crazy hot but non of the fuses blew so I question at what point they usually go. They're all new too. We'll try everything once we get power so I don't go to school and catch on fire. There are only so many switches in this bad boy.

Reminds me of this: Give someone like me, who has no idea what they're doing when it comes to body work, some fiberglass and watch in wonder.... thats a big fail right there. The only way it will die is if it is burned. Start the grills boys.

Every time I see the tires some of you guys are running I feel extremely bad for your wallet and the street you are literally tearing up. Back to subject though, that would cause heat by your feet yes. But I bet you could do some sort of foil around the firewall there if you really wanted to make it nice. Setup the exhaust, take it out, and have it ceramic coated. 1000º to 300º with ceramic alone. The other problem is a muffler. I have a tiny single chamber but it wouldn't fit in there. You'd have to have something that acts as pipe and muffler without any weird, non-pipe sort of shape. First thing that comes to mind is a 2.5" maybe 3" glasspack. I do like the pointing down of the exhaust. That should keep and oil or whatever else your car belches on the ground. However if its for racing don't do what my dad did and have it facing down so when you go through the sandy and gravel barracks you blow rocks on people... Here are some pictures that I found to show the space you have underneath I guess.. From a v8 conversion. If you have a header, dump pipe, or just stock manifolds, there isn't any room to go up, otherwise I would say go in between the big brake booster and the wheel well arch. There are wires and such in there though unless if you neatly hid them between the fender and the chassis. This would make your exhaust pop out midway high on the fender though rather than the bottom so that may not work for you.