speeder

I will look through my pictures but don't think I have any- Will get some the next time the 18s are on there.

My 10.5X17/ 315/35-17's (Street Setup) tire sidewalls are about 1/2" in from the inner surface of the fenderwell. Measured by dropping a plumb bob - My roadrace tires, 305/35-18, on 10" Saleen replica rims, Have an almost exact same fit (The 18"Toyo RA-1s have a wide section width that makes up for the smaller size) "But" my rear fender arches are radiused oversize to accommodate my other rear wheel/tire combo, a 28" tall 325/50-15 Drag Radial on 10X15s. These clear, by the way, with more than 3" of squat. Like I said, They're all different! You MUST measure your own!

Note the drawing at the bottom which is how you hook up the Diz . I think that single blade connection on the distributor is a ground point for the ignition module. In any case, make sure the distributor (with module) is well grounded. Pretty simple hookup.

The diff we need is the Armada REAR one. Armadas have independent rears. The boneyards should be getting these by now. Available ratios are 3.36 and 2.93:1. BTW,The ZXTT rear cover (with 2 mounting studs) fits the Armada case. I'm using the MMS axles and companion flanges.

"Lying sack of sh!t" Good show, Jon.

It is better to start with an Armada Diff and intall the 300ZXT LSD unit into it. The 300ZX case will not house the Armada gears. My 2:93 R230 has: Armada case, Armada R&P (of course), 300ZX carrier, LSD, bearings, input and output flanges. The flanges had to be machined to fit . Member Cyrus started with an Armada diff and installed the ZXT LSD and had a much easier time of it - but he is using the Armada CV axles, I believe, and I wanted to stick with my existing shortened ZXT ones. Cyrus has documented his build (Search, I'm too lazy to right now) here, and I'll post mine once it's totally (it's 99% now) done. This looked like a pretty ecomnomical operation (new r&p were ~ 300.00 and I had a spare R230) but got expensive in a hurry. One of those things that you wish you knew what you were getting into, but with the time and money spent so far, you might as well finish.

OK- In the first case (280Z Dizzy) you had an MSD being triggered via its VR inputs, triggering the coil, which produced a spark which was not making it through the distributor. In the second case(280ZX Dizzy) I think you are trying to trigger the coil directly from the distributor's integrated module, thus eliminating the MSD, and having no spark anywhere. Looks as if you're going bassackwards. My ZX shop manuals are at the shop, where I haven't been for 2 days. I'll look up the proper wiring for the ZX dizzy/module/coil tomorrow. If it was me I think I would go back to config. A and replace the cap and rotor.

I'm using 10.5X17 Cobra wheels with 315/40-17 tires on the rear and IMHO, they are still too skinny for the YZ flares. I have the AZC 5-lug brakes which modify the rear offset about 3/4" outward from stock, and curently am using a 1-1/4" spacer on the rear. A 9" wheel would need a huge spacer to even come close to the wheel arch of the YZ rear. My fronts are the same wheel with 275/40-17 and a 2" spacer - again too skinny for the YZ front fenders. Dunno about the Subtles - We have a YZ rear, Subtle front in the shop now - no front fenders installed as yet - I'll report the wheel specs when they are on - the owner is ordering custom pieces. My Cobra wheels have 21 mm offset. I have coilovers with shortened struts and 12" springs. These wheels/tires are temporary until I get my 13/12 X18 CCWs with the correct offset to eliminate the spacers. As I've said often, you MUST measure your own setup, as most will fit a different size wheel as dictated by flares, springs, struts, ride height, etc. - Very few of our cars are still stock.

You can eliminate the stock 280Z spark box by connecting the distributor's pickup coil (red and green wires) to the MSD's VR input ( purple and green wires, respectively). If you are currently using the MSD's white wire to trigger then the MSD is being fed from the stock "TIU".

If you can pull the wire out of the cap, crank the engine, and see sparks from the coil wire to ground, but with the wire plugged in to the distributor see no spark at the plugs, then the distributor cap is bad. Probably the carbon button under the center coil connection is nfg. Either that or the rotor is somehow not turning. If the dizzy is the earlier VR type with no module on the side, then it needs an ignition amplifier such as the 280Z stocker or an MSD to run. Those red and green wires out of the dizzy go to the spark box, wherever that is. That male teminal is a ground that was connected to a noise suppression capacitor in a stock 280Z. Not significant. The coil positive terminal should have 12v on it when the ignition is on, and the negative terminal should have a negative pulse coming from the ( hidden) spark box. If your coil is sparking I would suspect that all the distributor and coil low voltage wiring is good as is the spark box. If the advance mechanism is bad, the car will still run, but badly. This assumes that any damage inside the dizzy isn't so bad that the reluctor wheel is looose/ cocked crooked and hitting stuff inside. That kind of badness should be evident with a quick visual inspection.

I use an ebay special Navy surplus Tektronix 465. I think I paid 100.00 for it. More than adequate for injection work. Probes are cheap on the surplus market, too.

I'm a big fan of the boost hit!

I keep hearing people talk about how expensive an L stroker is to build and will submit this and shut up: Over the cost of a proper performance rebuild, the stroker is going to increase the money spent only by the cost of obtaining the crank and rods, plus the slight cost of block clearancing( if required). This assumes that the builder is upgrading pistons, building a performance head, and upgrading the fuel system to support the desired power level. The rebuild process, including boring, balancing, and setting bearing/ ring clearances will otherwise cost the same regardless of the crank and rods used. So being a stroker isn't the issue. Being an L is. My 430 whp 3.0L turbo stroker L's long block cost about $4000.00, excluding turbo and fuel management hardware. I would probably not want to add up my costs for that stuff. I'm sure building an RB30 would be cheaper in Aus.- Less machine work required for a hybrid built with compatible components, and probably little or no head work needed to get comparable power to the L31. This said, talking 275 or so reliable and streetable whp , there is probably no argument that an LS1 would be the cheaper route to the same number. But, as Jon said, a torquey V8 would have a very different feel than a high revving L6. This dynamic, with cost considerations, is very individual choice.

Pete, I'm envious of your access to that kickass scope! Do you own it?

New injectors are in, the car runs, and my injector driver waveshapes look just like your voltage representation. With the old injectors the positive voltage spike was about 2X higher, and no PWM action was evident. Thanks Pete! This whole sorry episode has shown that injectors do indeed have a failure mode that does not involve burning out the coil. Ya learn something every day.

Here's what Joe Moyer of Moyer's Fuel Tank Renu http://www.gas-tank.com/ did for me. I recommend Joe with no reservations to anyone needing this kind of work. Cost was 450.00 including a complete reconditioning of the tank. This 280Z tank has an internal surge tank of about 1/2 gallon capacity whose outlets are at the bottom of a sump. Fuel is returned to the surge tank from the two side fittings. Two small holes in the internal sides of the surge tank feed gas into it. Joe made the square surge tank, them cut a square hole in the bottom of the fuel tank to insert and weld it in. The fuel tank was mistakenly made with the sump facing the front - I sent it back for a redo and Joe had the brilliant idea to make me some internal tubes coming of the feed fittings that extend to pick up fuel from the back of the sump. This lets me keep the front feeds which I prefer. The tank fittings are 1/2" pipe into which any -AN fitting can be installed. I currently have -10 feeds and -6 returns. This tank will feed my twin turbo Buick's two sets of 85-pound staged injectors via two Aeromotive 11104 pumps. It will be replaced eventually with two fuel cells. Dunno when, however.

Well, It looks as if I didn't do enough investigation. Seems that people who do high performance work on LS1 and LT1 engines use a drill fixture to enable a pin to be installed to prevent spinning the damper on the crank. This is mostly for the supercharger guys, but looks like something you should do for a modified motor. ATI makes a drill fixture for an LS1 - I'm checking to see if it will work on the LT also. I'll report findings.

This one's crank appears to have no slots in it for keys that extend out to where the balancer hub slides on. The only ones there are way back inside the front cover for the timing sprockets & stuff. The crank does have a tapered nose. Talking with some local Chebby mechanics, they say that the taper fit of the hub does not permit slippage if proper bolt torque is used - like the taper fit of the chuck on a drill press - and that you can indeed unbolt the damper from the hub and use the marks on the cover and hub to reference timing. I will find TDC and align these two for my reference when setting up timing. The owner of this car (a Mazda RX-7) wants to get rid of the opticrap, as he calls it - and needs a programmable fuel system for the huge turbo that will be installed. We're doing a MSnEDIS with a 36-1 tooth trigger wheel. Just to feel good about this I'll go out to the Megasquirt forums and see if anyone has experience with the keyless crank..

Thanks for the replies, Guys... I just got back from the local parts store with the old trusty Haynes, and here's what I found:

Please don't flame an inliner for this Chevy V8 noob question -- I didn't find any info by searching. I'm building a crank trigger for an LT1. Looking at the removed damper I see no keyway or other means to index it to the crank when installing. The damper's inner bore that fits over the crank does appear to be tapered - Can I install this damper at any index I choose to be held in position by a taper press fit, or am I missing something? Also, where are the timing marks on this engine? Thanks, Rick

It is indeed sad that a minority of small-minded butt-holes can drive away a person who has contributed so much . I would be willing to bet that there are many body noobs like me who have read and learned from Ernie's posts - and who are in the vast majority in hoping that he will change his mind about leaving here. If not, Thanks and good luck in the "next thing".

Odd -Fire engines are those that do not have an even angle between TDC events. Harley motorcycle engines are a good example of an odd-fire engine as is my Buick Stage 2 V6. My engine is essentially a V8 block with 2 cylinders cut off. In the classical V8, the block has a cylinder bank angle of 90* and a crankshaft with throws spaced every 90* (2 rods on each journal), producing an evenly spaced firing sequence with 90* intervals. In the odd-fire V6, the 90* block is mated with a 120* crank, still 2 rods sharing a journal, so the firing angles are uneven: 90*-150*-90*-150...... Even fire 90* V6 engines have been made by splitting the crankpins to give 120* between TDC events, but this comes at the expense of a weaker crankshaft. I have learned that there have been many odd-fire engines built over the years, including F1 designs. My crank and rods came from a long track NASCAR Busch GN motor, where the good ole' boys valued endurance. You would think that there would be a huge power loss using this seemingly screwball scheme, but whatever loss there may be has evidently been made up for by strength and packaging advantages of the odd - fire configuration. I really can't wait to hear what my motor will sound like - will definitely be unique. I'll not be using an experimental Megasquirt on my expensive new engine, however - Going with an Electromotive TEC3r that supports odd-fire.

Thanks for that, Pete- I have never paid much attention to injector driver waveshapes before, and now wish I had. Before now, I had never considered the finer points of working with a pulsed solenoid valve (injector) concerning driver setup. Rather more complex requirements (Than just a square wave pulling to ground) to deal with the inductive "kick" from the coil modified by the added inductive artifacts from the saturable mass of the armature. Add to this having to look after current limiting. Looking at my - side terminals with the scope again and playing with scope triggering, I see an initial positive spike of almost 3 times the supply voltage for about 1 Msec before the signal goes negative to ground, where it is a good clean square wave. Pretty sure the big positive spike isn't normal, and must be a sign of something screwed with the mechanics of the injectors. I have just never considered an injector failure other than burning out the coil! I may try to get some scoping done on another car to compare, but your example would be appreciated- I don't have another Megasquirted vehicle together at this time. After all this, I am making plans for a test bench. -Rick

Very nice work, Dan - I need to come over and see. Me = Wimp!

Right! - I'm gonna put 20 manometers connected to 20 holes in my hood and drive around to get a pressure contour map. I don't think so.