Leon

Only one way to find out... If the head is not shaved and you have spark and fuel tuned right, you can probably get away with regular with a stock E31/L24. Otherwise, you may need to bump to a higher octane. Dynos help determine this. Oh, how I wish I had pressure transducers inside each combustion chamber and a data-logging software for it... one can dream, right!

You guys realize that this is going to drive up the prices of 280Zs and ZXs, right?

What I'm saying is that you shouldn't discount an idea, a design, simply because it doesn't have "perfect" 50-50 weight distribution. This is an automotive fallacy, 50-50 isn't necessarily perfect. What's "optimized" for you may not be optimal for someone else and their design intent. Like I said, one single thing (like weight distribution) isn't the bane, nor is is the the sole key of success in vehicle design.

Unless you set it up correctly... People often mistakenly equate weight distribution to the understeer/oversteer propensity of the car. The suspension can be tuned to match the weight distribution, among (many) other things. You can take a 70/30 car and make it have steady state oversteer. Weight distribution/location does affect the rotational inertia of the vehicle. The more centered the mass, the easier it is to change it's velocity. This is good for quickness (anything involving changes of direction) but also has a destabilizing effect (less resistance to turning, i.e. less time to react, harder to correct, more sensitive to inputs, etc.). The other point is that a front heavy, rear-drive car will be at a disadvantage regarding traction on acceleration. There are myriad things that affect vehicle dynamics and you can't chalk up a car's handling to just one of them, e.g. weight distribution. Veering back on topic, looks like the owner has already dropped down to $1250 upon realizing that it's a 1600 and not in the best of shape...

Disclaimer: I'm no MS expert, nor have I even played with it. Sounds like there is some closed-loop feedback coming from the O2 sensor. Turn off O2 feedback and see if that helps.

No problem, be sure to check the sub-forums in the FAQ section!

You mean something like this?

FYI, Here is a follow-up post from CL: FWIW...

Nice! I believe that's a Honda N600.

Let me know if you're ever in the area! PM me and I'll give you my number so you can save it for when the time comes.

I'd take you up on that if I were anywhere near LA! Glad to hear that you've solved the problem. On to the next one...

I've seen them on a few Zs, pretty sure they were made by American Racing.

http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/105590-1977-280z-l28-engine-transmission/page__pid__987869#entry987869

Nice! I've been using the EDM at work, looks like a good project! Keep us updated.

Damnit. Did you put in a new gasket once you straightened the flanges? Check both flanges with a straight-edge? You can also try to use some of that copper gasket spray to see if it will help seal up once everything is true.

Also, check your flanges for straightness. I've seen them warped enough to never seal.

A cool car and beautiful engineering, but that was a mechanical form of fuel injection.

I'm with John, set them to German torque spec.

There's a 76 on Woodside Road in Redwood city that sells 100 octane. Just sayin!

Use a stethoscope (i.e. a screwdriver with the soft end butted up to your ear and pointy end used to probe around) to find the locus of the noise.

I also quite enjoy Tony's high-revving LSR car!

On the right is a Clifford Research header, the one on the left is a Hooker Super Comp. Both are NLA, along with many other Z headers.

The chain tensioner is hydraulic, so the chain will have some play in it without the presence of oil pressure. Follow the procedure that Tony outlined, to make sure that the knock is not localized to one cylinder.

C'mon Tony, that's cheating!

That's the range that was in my mind as well.