Leon

Wired in the MJLJ controller and started it up. Looks like things are working as they should! I'll need to tidy up the wiring and clean things up a bit, but I should be essentially done. Whew... I may do another dyno baseline and some ignition map tuning if the local shop has an opening this week. Next up: transmission, LSD swap and HID install I have until 9/13, and I'll be out of town over Labor Day weekend. I sense some long nights ahead...

John, he has an S130 chassis.

Damn, that is impressive!

Here's a vid from last night (video correction: "spark plug wire orientation"): http://s518.photobucket.com/albums/u345/LeonVin/RLS30-004406/?action=view&current=Startup.mp4 The throttle response and idle are way crisper than it was with the stock distributor, keeping in mind that this is on a cold startup with triples and disconnected starter circuit. Ok, so I do run a bit rich... but still this is nice!

Right, I think that's what he's getting at.

Work or free time, it's one or the other... unless you're very fortunate!

We have ignition. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8GRQHsAVjI

Man, I was feeling that today!!!

I suppose I can leave it as is, park it at JCCS and pretend it works. Besides, I need to complete a tranny and diff swap, and HIDs at the very least before the show. I need to invent a time-stopping device. It'll get done, I'll troubleshoot more tonight. My goal is to have EDIS installed and working by Friday since I'm going camping and won't have the weekend to work on the car.

Well, I guess no matter how good of a job you think you did, there are bound to be issues with things such as an EDIS install... I got the urge to work in the garage around 10pm last night. I was overjoyed upon realizing that my EDIS, VR and coil pack harnesses had enough wire to hook most of them up without additional wire in between. It helps that all the EDIS hardware is clustered together. Luckily enough, I didn't design it this way, it just happened! I connected the VR and coil pack to EDIS and ran power and ground wires. This is all that is necessary to have EDIS run an engine. It should go into "limp-home" mode and default to 10deg BTDC without the presence of PIP/SAW signals. 1st attempt: Re-connected the battery. Turned the key, heard the accessory relay click and saw the brake light flash on in the speedo, turn to START and nothing. Couple more tries. Nada. I had to think for a second, but then realized my mistake. To trigger the new fusebox relay, I needed a switched +12V source. After reviewing the wiring diagram, I went with the Neutral Safety Switch (see snippet of diagram below). It gets power at ON and START and is located right by all the EDIS stuff! I used the BW wire for the relay signal but what I forgot to do was send +12V through to the BY wire. Therefore, the car was acting as if the NSS was open and not letting me crank it over. Connected the BY to switched +12V at the (new) fusebox and boom, done. 2nd attempt: Re-connected the battery. Turned the key, got accessories, turned to START and she cranks. And cranks and cranks and cranks... damnit. Hook up the timing gun, crank, no flashie. Damnit. From reading many threads and articles on the topic of EDIS, the first thing I think is incorrect VR sensor polarity. I connected Blue-to-Blue and Grey-to-Grey, but what the hell, let's switch them around. It was probably around 1230am by then, and I was making more mistakes. I decided to put spade connectors on the VR sensor wire so I can switch them around more easily. Should have done this in the first place, but what's done is done. I then go on to put a male and female on one end of the VR sensor wire. CRAP, you idiot, you still wouldn't be able to switch them around wired that way... 3rd attempt (3rd try's a charm right?): Got the VR sensor rewired. Connect battery. Turn key. Crank. Check the timing gun. The light blinks!!! Praise the gods, we are making fire! Not quite. I confirmed spark with the gun, but the engine still cranks and cranks with no signs of life. What else could be wrong? Only thing I thought of was firing order/timing. I went to work moving plug wires around on the coil pack. 4th, 5th, 6th... attempt: When using wasted-spark, two plugs fire at once. One on the compression stroke and the other on the exhaust. That means that on the coil, you pair up 1-6, 2-5, and 3-4. It was past 1am by that point, and I tried all 3 combos (I think, things are getting fuzzy at this point). Hell, I'm pretty sure I tried more than 3 combos, but nothing worked. No signs of life. At this point, I'm thinking that I set up the wheel wrong. However, in reviewing my wheel install photos, I'm pretty sure it should be close enough to start the car. Maybe not... At 2am, I finally gave up and went to bed. Gotta be positive, at least I have spark! This morning, I decided to start it on the dizzy and check where the timing mark was at. Started, ran it for a minute and shut it down to switch over to the EDIS plug wires. As a side-note, I'm going to love having a completely independent backup ignition system! After switching wires back to EDIS, I decided to crank her over since the engine was a bit warmed up. Crank, crank, pop, crank, pop. Alright, making progress! We're popping out the carbs. Looks like the spark just isn't at the right place at the right time. Unfortunately, I had to go to work and didn't have much time to do more troubleshooting. Hopefully, I'll have some time this evening to hook up the timing gun and get some readings. To be continued...

Well, I'm a bit late to the party, but my 4.375 CLSD has a similar side-axle, up-and-down play. You're narrowing it down, good luck!

I hope you have a big enough compressor and tank to keep up with a sandblaster!

Good, just making sure!

Excellent job! This will be useful when I get to converting my early 260Z.

I'm pretty sure the Nissan A cam is assymmetric, just from looking at it. I haven't directly measured though...

That's the same guy...

Yep, Ray is right, my early 260Z doesn't have that Tee. I'll be using a pipe plug for the thermostat housing (BSPT threads, order from Mcmaster). I've deleted the Y-fitting near the dipstick as well.

Sorry, keep forgetting to do this for you. I will set a reminder for myself to check tonight.

Let's see, it was about $150 for the trigger wheel and sensor mount, $50 for EDIS hardware, and $180 for MJLJ. After adding in assorted relays, wiring, fusebox, etc. it's probably closer to $475-$500 but well worth it, IMO. It can be done for less with some time and ingenuity by making/adapting a trigger wheel and sensor mount. I bought Derek's kit, secondhand, because I didn't have the time to mess around with custom triggers and mounts.

"Finished" the bracket tonight, bear with me, I'm no master fabricator. It's not pretty but it works. I used existing holes in the body for bracket mounting. I fab'd the coil bracket a while ago. It's ugly but fairly thick steel. Dangit! Looking at the pictures, I just realized I need to file down those sharp corners on the coil bracket...

You'd want new rear outer control arm bushings if you're doing spindle pins. I'd go to PU for the rack bushings and steering coupler as well.

Quite the bare-bones Z you got going there! There is just something about electrical work that is very calming and satisfying to me. Crimping, soldering, running wires, making circuits, etc. is just fun! I should be done with my ignition module, fusebox, and relay bracket pretty soon. It probably won't be pretty, but it'll do for now. Keep it up!

Wow, nice job Alex. I'm sure that took quite a bit of time and patience. Every little bit of work adds up, as tough as it can be to squeeze it in sometimes. Keep it up, little-by-little and you'll be on the road soon enough!

Nice work. Does the throttle cable clear, looks pretty close in the pic?

Ouch, I love working in the garage when the sun is actually out! We usually get fog and wind. I hate wind. The Panas are 16X7. RKR's would look nice too, they look similar to the Type R Wats which look fantastic on Z's. Heck, pretty much any banana-spoke wheels just look great on Z-cars! I look forward to seeing your Z mobile, keep it up man! Thanks! I hope I can make it, but I heard rumors of a family function on that day while at dinner yesterday. Fingers crossed...