TomoHawk

Larry, I still have those copies of the Alpha buildup you sent to me a couple (3?) years ago. I could scan those for you & email. I'd rather pack up the car and the body in a moving van & drive out to Oregon to do it up right. That way I'd be closer to the PCH than in Ohio. thx

I want to see if I can clean up the connector pins on my 280Z fusebox. Is it difficult to get tthe fusebox out? I think there are 2 pigtail on it, but I haven't been able to find them ( too busy/too many wires in that area). thx

It still won't be that easy to do. You can get one of those 4-barrel performance intakes for the carbs, but you'll need to get out your wiring diagram for the fuel injection system to see how to wire up the fuel pump power (remove the old f.i. pump and put on a carby pump- TOO MUCH pressure). If you have a JTR book, it'll tell you how to do that with a (Mopar, I think ) oil pressure switch. Maybe the same deal with the ignition, unless the stock dizzy will work for you. I heard that an early 90s Jaguar 4 litre engine uses the same f.i. harness and ECU. This might be a good opportunity to see if it really does, but only if you happen to have one handy. thx

You should see a thick bundle of wires coming through the firewall behind the kick panel, and the 36-pin connector on the end. If you don't have that then you are in trouble, because it's an OEM part and can't be bought or made. The only relays in your car are connected to the ignition switch and don't have much to do with the ECU, but to turn the power on & off. The only thing you could do now is to find a Z car with fuel injection- another 280Z or maybe a 280ZX. You'll need the entire f.i. harness completely intact to transplant into your car. The ECU plugs into the AFM, coolant sensor, all 6 injectors, etc. Can we assume you got the car without a running engine? Without a working ECU, the engine won't work, unless you convert to carbs, which is a whole different story.

The ECU should just bolt in place of the old one. Then the harness connector attaches to the side.

Larry- Did you have any thoughts about the Stanza hood hinges on the GTO hood? I've been looking at the Corvette hood hinges on old Corvettes, and they seem to be strong enough for the job, as long a you mount them right, or maybe reinforce the mounting area too. Mark who? What's the URL? thx

What do you guys think about using the chrome-plated plastic- body bullet (Talbot) mirrors on a GTO? Some of them look really nice; about as mice as real Talbots. So if there wasn't the chance of stripping the threads of the mounting holes, or the lack of pitting & patina, they look like top quality units. Darn cheap, too. Oh- I did a quick check of eBay for Ninja mirrors, and there was only aabout 99 auctions for theregular & carbon fiber units, so if I need to get some, I'll go there. But I'll go to a cycle shop first to check them out- mounting & such. thx

I was thinking about the Long-stalk mirrors, and I realized that when it's raining, you can't see what's in the mirror because it's too far away. The fender-mounted mirrors are even worse! Not only do you have to look into a circle 2 feet away to see what's behind you, but you have to look through the rain too. But AFAIK, the Talbots mounted to the door are just fine for the Alpha-bodied GTOs. thx

Larry- I got a couple 3inch Talbot-style mirrors off eBay already. I'll consider mounting those if the ones I orderd from MSA aren't the same thing. Later on I'll get a matched set or some Green Dots from some MG or Jag parts dealer... thx

Those guys over at classiczcar.com are all laughing at the idea. Partly because it's not a "real car part," and partly because it's not OEM. I've seen some real GTOs in the vintage races at Goodwood on TV, and I saw one with the modernTestarossa-style mirrors, so if you can get over that skinny stalk of the ninja mirrors, all you need is a mounting plate. BTW- Where would you get a set of the Ninja mirrors? Cycle shop? thx

I would like to replace my floppy sideview mirros with new ones, and I don't think I can find the same ones that are on there now, so I thought about using motorcycle-type mirrors. I would make new baseplates and I assume the mirrors bolt through the base. There is already a hole about 20mm in the door where I assume the original mirror poked through. thx

how tall is that? My goal is to have the thing up high enough so you don't have to take your eues from away from the road. I think I'd still like to go with a metal bracket on some kind that doesn't look like it will fall over when you push on it or put something heavy on it, and mount it up on the dash someplace solid. thx

Thanks Hugh, No problem right now- all ideas welcome at this point. Brainstorming means all ideas- good & bad. Sometimes the (bad) ideas give you an good idea, or point you in the right dirction to a solution. If the thing was mounted to the trans tunnel via a 2-point mount, it would be kind of wobbly, so I think a 3-point mount should be the least. And you are right about rust. Driling holes through the floor (or anywhere in the engine bay for that matter) isn't the best way to reduce places for rust to start. Welding a nut or nuts to the floor would be mbetter. Like the seat mounts. Tim- I've never seen how the phone holders mount. If I were to try one, the initial question still remains- how to mount the phone holder to the car. When I get time, I will go look at one and take the heater controls off again to see what's under there. thx

Maybe I should mention to you that there is no center console in my car. If you attach to the trans tunnel, it will need one leg on each side or it would flop over. I also prefer to have the thing pointing at the driver for tyhe time being, and I would figure out how to point it to the passenger later on. I was thinking more of a braket that attaches with the bolts that attach the heater controls. thx.

Does anybody have some info on how one would make a bracket to mount something like a rally clock, or even a pocket PC? Or just where would it mount? On a 280Z. thx

That's an interesting system. Sounds, animated smileys, video....

You don't need the relay. It'll be simpler and more reliable that way. I just want the buzzer to go off if the lights are on and the door opens. I don't care if the ignition switch is on or not.

I think this is your idea: +12v (sidelights) | +-+--+ | | Buzzer (12v) +-+--+ | +-------|<|-------- To existing drivers interior light switch | Diode | O ----| Drivers door switch O | Car Chassis for a better diagram: http://www.google.com/url?sa=U&start=1&q=http://www.ee.washington.edu/circuit_archive/circuits/F_ASCII_Schem.html&e=10313 I think another big question to ask would be where to get the things in the first place? You might say the JY, but if you don't know exactly where it is or what it looks like, the JY isn't much good. You're better off going to a dealer's parts counter. thx

People are ALWAYS bumping in karts, no? At least they were the last time I was out karting. I even figured out how to bump somebody to cause my OWN car to spin around to make a corner.

I like things simple, like just a plain dinger. No thanks, bud.

Does it tell you if somebody stole your wheels or battery? Before I get that fancy, I want to fix the low-fuel light.

Has anybody fooled around with the dingers you get in new cars? Like which wire is ground, power, etc, and which wire makes it ding? I'd like to put in a dinger for lights-on reminder, and maybe a dinger is nicer than the oem buzzer. Maybe a dinger would sound 'out-of-place?' Also, does anybody have a circuit for a lights-on reminder thing that isn't too complicated? maybe a PC board or kit? thanks, tired of jumping the battery because I forgot to turn off the lights (again) LOL

I saw that. It gives you a lot of info, but no wiring diagram. I'd like to see the big picture, not pinouts. Maybe if I have time, I can printout the pages, and try to draw something. trhx

Are there any good wiring diagrams for this motor swap? I haven't been able to get my wiper relay out, until I get the engine runniong so I can get out of storage. thx

Hey Mody- I though you were going to say something like, "When you left, my kids were in kindergarten, and yesterday the grandkids stopped by with the antique 350 to get my help in swapping the transmission."