highly

I just got my Chrysler coil pack and Magnecor wires installed. All I can say is "WOW!" I thought I had done a clean enough install that EMI wouldn't be an issue. I was wrong. Even though I had taken every precaution (nearly every wire pair is shielded, everything is grounded to a bus bar, etc.) the MS is more sensitive then you could imagine. Installing those wires completely changed the character of the car. I didn't realize how poorly it was running until 5 minutes ago as I took it for a walk around the block. Believe every word you read on this forum when it comes to EMI and the MS. Install quality wires from the very beginning unless you are looking to waste your money. Your local parts store's best "EMI Supression" wire is garbage compared to the Magnecor KV8.5 wire, so do yourself a favor and do not bother with them. For the record, I mounted my coil pack on the passenger inner fender well just behind the shock tower below where the fusible links originally sat and ordered the KV8.5 wires direct from Magnecor. I purchased two 23", two 21", and two 17" wires with 115 degree plug boots and HEI coil ends, and the total was $90.06 with $8 shipping. The wires fit perfectly in a ramshorn pattern toward the center. **If you are converting an EDIS install from the Ford pack to the Chrysler pack with the inline connector, the wiring is a piece of cake. Ignore the molded-in plug assignments on the Chrysler pack, they don't apply here. The Ford plug is wired ABC+ and the Chrysler pack is AB+C with both packs in the same orientation (coil towers up, plug facing you, read left to right). Lacking a proper Chrysler pack plug, you can use tweeter-sized female spade connectors (Dorman Conduct-tite Female Disconnects .110" #84541 fit tight after opening them with a small screwdriver a snidge)** Now time to get some tuning in before work...!

Looks like the cap cleaned up the power. I figured out what the real problem was, though. Seems that the small cig-lighter power inverter I was using to run the laptop was spewing EMI like nobody's business. With that out of the loop, everything stays quiet and the car runs muuuuuch better. I will have to find a way to resolve that as this laptop isn't that great on batteries (shoulda sprung for the Turion X2 instead of the Athlon X2!) Tomorrow I will be swapping out the EDIS coil pack for a Chrysler pack along with the Magnacor 8.5's that arrived today. Hopefully that will take care of the intermittant RPM spikes I am still seeing. Then, finally, I will get to start tuning this thing. Thanks for the help, and wish me luck!

I played around with megalogviewer running in trace mode with a 35v 20mfd polarized cap across each powered item in the system. I settled on the cap on the external relay that provides power to EDIS, run from the 12v source (relay post 30) to ground. This smoothed out the power read by MS to a .3v peak-to-peak average. I'd say that is within the switching voltage of the alternator's internal regulator. Here's a log with a short drive at the end: Clicky I do NOT know yet if this has cured the injector pulsewidth dropping to zero as it was raining this morning and I couldn't get much of a drive in. The logs show a couple of dropouts but none were while accelerating, so they may have been the result of overrun fuel cut. I will post logs soon of the result during a drive as soon as the weather clears so you know if that cured the problem or just cleaned up the voltage "spikes".

I guess I should probably take a moment to mention what I have and have done so far. On the EDIS install, I made sure that SAW and PIP are shielded from end to end, including the relay board to the ECU (replaced the "brown" wire"). The VR is shielded end to end and grounded at the EDIS module. All sensors (IAT, CLT, TP, etc.) are also shielded. The EDIS has the factory Ford condensor installed. All grounding is done to a copper ground bus bar that also grounds to the engine block, firewall, and alternator. The Alternator is an internally regulated GM unit. Power for the EDIS, fans, and WBO2 are fed from a seperate power line with fuse and condensor. I have one relay for EDIS and WBO2 switched by the MS 12v output and a second external relay for the fan controlled by the MS. The MS only powers the TPS, FIAV, and injectors plus the two external relays, though initially I had everything running fine off of the 12v injector outputs. I changed it, so don't yell at me. I think that's about it. I have wondered about my TPS sensor, though. It only outputs a min of 10 and max of 170 in MS. It's a brand new 240sx sensor and is being supplied a clean 5v. It works fine, but provides less resolution. I have not seen any resets in MS that didn't involve the key.

Thanks Matt! Clicky Included are a log, the .msq, and a text file "hits.txt" with the time codes of when I see them in the log. LMK if the link gives you problems.

OK. First the good news. YAY! It runs! "It" is an L28ET in a 78Z running MSnS Extra 029y4 on a V3 MS1 with relay board Stock turbo, injectors, rail, fuel pump, and longblock Injectors have 8ohm resistors installed inline EDIS ignition wired per the stickies, reads dead on in limp mode. EDIS Advance verified. Power from seperate relay. PWM Fidle Closed Loop Idle running a Passat air valve @ 50Hz Electric fan control on a relay Initial tuning stumbles now and then and the logs seem to show why. Every once in awhile I will get a tach spike on acceleration, and it always spikes to twice the actual engine RPM. I'm looking into that, but what really bothers me is what I see below. Pulsewidth and duty cycle dropping to zero for no apparent reason. I've looked at the raw logs and what you see in the graph is what's in the log. Thoughts?

I got ahold of a brilliant 78 Z that has already been started. It's a nearly rust-free chassis with what I suppose is a Alpha kit. Pictures can be found here. Feel free to have a look around while you're there. First up is getting my 77 on the road; it is a very rusty car that I have swapped a turbo L28 into and have been using for the drivetrain proving grounds. It's currently getting Magasquirt installed with EDIS ignition. Once the car's on the road and tuned it will be driven regularly. Following that the plan is to begin work on a multiport CNG (compressed Natural Gas) fuel system. If I decide I like it, the motor will be built for CNG-only use. In the meantime I will begin teardown of the 78 and start restoring it. Once the body's ready, I will swap all of the drivetrain and electricals over to the 78. I expect it to take awhile, but the idea of a high horesepower GTO-bodied daily driver fueled by 120 octane CNG at $.91 per gallon (equivalent) should keep me working at a reasonable pace for awhile. As you will see in the pics on the Photobucket site, I took some measure ment photos. If anyone can use them to help identify the kit it would be greatly appreciated! Looking forward to all of the work to come! -Highly Caffeinated (Todd IRL)

I have found and purchased what I was looking for. Thanks for everyone's help!

I'd like a 280 shell that I can clean up at my leisure, install a rebody on while still maintaining and tuning my DD car. The chassis I am building on is mostly rust concealed under a poor resto job. The chassis parts have been cleaned up and powdercoated as I do modifications, but the chassis is a lost cause. A 280 chassis would allow this with minimal modification, whereas a 240 or early 260 would require additional modifications to get things to fit. I figure this is the easiest way around the problem with the least downtime later.

Unfortunately not. All of my modifications are to my 280. Since I plan on building the rebody on the shell and then swapping running gear over a 240 or early 260 won't work so well (running gear fitment issues) Thanks very much for the reply!!!

WTB low rust 280Z shell with doors and hatch in or around the OKC area. Rust is the first concern, followed by distance. Planning a shell-up 250 GTO rebody and have a 280 that's being built up now but it's a rustbucket. Prefer sub-$1K.

That's exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. A second relay would completely negate the point. Thanks!

I have a L28et that I'm installing an MS1V3 with EDIS. I've modded my MS for PWM Fidle and relay fan control. I was pondering swapping the wires in my MS-to-relay-board cable to put the fan output on the relay board's FIDLE relay effectively making it a fan relay. Besides the silkscreen on the board being wrong is there anything there that will turn around and bite me in my "third point of contact"? It puts my PWM FIDLE on a spare output without a relay socket and gives me a fan relay and is completely reversible at the harness (no soldering). I can post a rewired pic if needed, but this seems perfectly straightforward to me. Thoughts?

Hey there Chris! That sounds like an extremely cool setup...complete with tube frame? Wow. I'll have to check it out if I get out there to look at that chassis, though with the Flintstone comment it makes it a tough sell. I have my eye on this one at the moment: eBay. Talked with the guy today and it has a clean chassis and is complete minus the headlight covers. I'll try throwing my budget at it and see how it fares. With a little luck it will save me a bit of work. Anyway, let's see some pics of your new find!

Here’s what I mean by following the lip over. This keeps it seated tightly against the ring instead of buckling further. Here you see half of the flats done. Looking good! Taking every other one over prevents you from making an oval instead of the nice round, tight fold that you want. There you go! See, that wasn’t that difficult. It takes a little while, but the results are worth it, I think. Assembly of the other end is straightforward. Be sure to put the boot on first, then the mounting flange. Grease the flange and pack the tripod bearings, then replace the tripod and circlip. The mounting flange will not fit over the tripod if you install the tripod first. Two axles ready to go back onto the car! Note one appears much longer than the other; reinstallation of the base cap and spring forces both outer joints to expand making them appear closer in length. I have not replaced those parts in this picture as I am making 6 to 4 bolt adapters a’la those in the downloads section.

With the tulip in place, peen the perimeter of the lip at the point that it meets the tulip. You want to begin folding the lip over. Take your time from here on out as you will be shrinking and stretching the metal with each consecutive blow of the hammer. At this point we just want to head it in the right direction; towards the stub. Once you have started the crease around the lip where it meets the tulip, grab your cold chisel. Begin by creasing the lip down with the cold chisel using an alternating pattern; 12, 6, 3, then 9 on the clock. You want the chisel to create a creased line here as that line will be the point that the metal shrinks into in the last steps. Don’t beat the snot out of it, just bend it over. When you have 4 creases, do 4 more. It should begin looking like a bottle cap. Go around one more time using the same technique. Now that you have what looks like a bottle cap with 16 creases, it’s time to grab your flat-nose round chisel. You will want to fold the raised areas over one at a time. As you do so you will be shrinking the metal into the creases from the cold chisel. Try to follow the lip over with the chisel to keep the metal from stretching more than it has to.

Here’s the easy way to get the tulip cover off without damage. Three good whacks gets it moving and the 2x4 prevents damage to the stub. Once the cover is removed you can gently tap the sealing ring (the part you left score marks on) off of the tulip. Once you have it all apart you should be left with these. Ready for cleanup! The other end of the axle is pretty self explanatory. Disassemble and clean everything. Replacement is the reverse of removal. Be sure to lubricate the inner o-ring and the inside of the tulip cover. Be gentle as the cover bends easily. Once the cover is in place, replace the sealing ring. When the sealing ring is almost in place, replace the outer o-ring. I then give it one whack on a 2x4 against the sealing ring/tulip face. That seats the ring, o-ring, and tulip cover without bending anything. The sealing ring should be flush with the base of the tulip, not inset. Insert the axle into the rubber boot, then install the tripod and circlip. The paint dot should be visible on the tripod. Grease liberally with the supplied grease. Do your best to pack the bearings in the tripod with grease. Place the tulip on the tripod. Note that in this picture the metal step of the boot is just resting in the vise. Don’t clamp down on it as you will be turning it regularly in the next steps.

First we will have to grab our cutoff wheel and make a cut around the face of the raised band. Cutting on the stub end of the raised ridge could cause you to cut the rim of the tulip cover. This could prevent you from being able to seal the boot to the stub later and will damage the o-ring. Cutting on the axle side should be OK, but I chose to cut in the middle. Wherever you decide to cut, be cautious not to go deeply into the ring underneath. Minor scarring in this area should not be an issue. Once you’ve made your cut be ready to catch the old grease. My cut was more of a dotted line and held things in place until I was ready. Now wipe the old grease off the end of the axle and remove the c-clip. Discard the clip as the new boots should include them. This pic indicates the white or yellow dot on the tripod. Note that the dot is on the circlip side and will help you locate the outside of the tripod later. You can usually slip the tripod right off the shaft.

280ZX Turbo CV Axle Boot Replacement Visual How-To Here’s the method I used for dealing with those pesky inner boot cups. I hope the following visual how-to helps those that are unsure how to proceed. I hope to use this format and document as much as I can as I go through the various rebuild projects on my car. First, the tools: A cutoff wheel Snap Ring pliers At least one small ball peen hammer A flat chisel (flat round) A cold chisel (sharp line) CV band crimp pliers (not shown) A vice is really helpful (not shown) Here you see one completed axle and the one we will be working on today The new boots we’ll be installing. You will want these on hand before you begin. Some of the boot kits include the O-rings and some do not. Recommended are the Beck-Arnley parts that do: Inner # 103-2280 Outer # 103-2282 (Thanks to zcarnut’s post here)

After doing a good bit of searching here, through Google, and even calling a number of web-advertised companies I had come to the short-term conclusion that it is just too expensive to move a car worth less than about 4-5k. Relocation expenses seem to easily be totalling in the 600-900 range. On a clean shell that's valued in the 750 to 1000 range, that easily doubles the cost of the shell. I was just wondering if anyone was aware of a back-door method to move a car from one state to another that totals less than the value of the shell. What outside-the-box options might be out there that I don't know about? * Is it possible to get an S30 shell IN a U-haul? How? * Can you RENT a flatbed cross-country? * Do Junk Yards have a transportation network? I figured that I would be remiss in not looking at all the options- even ones I hadn't considered - to get a shell worth building on. I guess I must have missed the discussions on that in my search.

I was wondering how most people go about transporting their project cars from state to state. I've used DAS and others for moving running vehicles, but what do people do for low-dough donors that don't run? What's the most cost effective way to move a car like that across the country or even a few states? Just wondering if there is some other way for cars whose value is less than the cost to relocate them using the commercial carriers.

Now why didn't I think of looking there? Lol. Thank you!

Correct you are! Those would be DB15HD (high density, or three rows in the shell). They also happen to be the connectors used on the Megasquirt. DB-37 from the MS to the Relay Board. I'd like to make that cable the right length for the locations I have chosen for the two units and so need a pair of DB-37 female connectors to do that. Anyone with thoughts on where to get a "pair"?

Where are people getting their crimp style D shell connectors for harnesses? The few places I have found online either want a lot for the connectors or a lot more for shipping. Nearing $25.00 for a pair is just plain silly. Recommendations? Any of the MS resellers carry them and just not have them listed? Thanks!

2000 Toyota Celica GT seats in a 1977 280Z. You will need a very large hammer, a crowbar, and a shoehorn. Oh, and lots of grease. Lol. They go in there, but not easily. I'm 5'9" ~160 and I fit fine. I get 5.25 to 5.5" between the stock steering wheel and the seat. Sitting in the seat with my foot on the clutch I can easily slide my hand between the wheel and my thigh. It took a lot of playing to get the seat straight and square. More pics here: http://s183.photobucket.com/albums/x153/HighlyCaffeinated/Zcar/Nov12/