Jesse OBrien

I think I need to pay my local pick 'n pull a visit more often, then. Looks awesome!

I ended up not getting the engine (it was already sold when I showed up) but the seller felt bad and has a friend who owns a wrecking yard that he's going to put me in contact with on Monday. I'm not entirely sure, but I think this carb is a 500cfm. I have some pictures of the specific model here somewhere, I'll try to dig them up. Yeah, it really helps when I use the right words and don't randomly drop letters. The 283 was pretty much destroyed, not supercharged, so I'm looking for a replacement motor. Craigslist has been good to me thus far, so I'm going to make some more calls today to see what I can find cheaply. I found out that the earlier (GenI at least) SBC engines had the water jacket in the intake manifold, which would make my ITB plans next to impossible. If I end up going LS1 or LT1 I'll probably fab something up, but for now I just want the car back on the street. I'll post on my next great find

I thought the 94 was Gen3 not Gen2, honest mistake. I'm a big fan of carb, the only reason I was considering EFI was to do ITBs. If it's easy to toss a carb on this motor, I'm all for it. I believe they were all 4bolt mains, and unless I'm mistaken they were all aluminum blocks. I've got a great edlebrock quadrajet-style carb that I'm pretty fond of that was on my 283, and I THINK it'll flow enough for a 350. We've been throwing out a lot of anagrams here, so here's a quick legend for anyone who doesn't get what we're discussing: TBI = Throttle Body Intake ITB = Independent Throttle Bodies SBC = Small Block Chevy EFI = Electronic Fuel Injection Yes, I meant carb not car. I'm comfortable with carbed setups, but I'm not sure if I'd need a different manifold than I have now. I'll have to do some research, I suppose.

Oh, I'm very well aware of the ITBs being only for sound (not looks). It's still worth it. I did a bit more research and found out that the suburban probably won't take my edelbrock performer intake manifold and carb (which is a huge disappointment) and that it's a tbi motor (only four injectors, i think... works similarly to a car). I'd have to add an o2 sensor to the exhaust, which could be problematic since my I essentially have two seperate exhaust systems. The mounts I have would work for a '71, if the mounts haven't changed 'till after '94, I should be set. As far as the electrical, I can take EVERYTHING out of the suburban and use the ecu and wiring harness from that. That would essentially mean that I'd be running two entirely seperate wiring harnesses, though. One for the body and one for the engine. I suppose it's not all that different from stock.

I just found a great deal on a '94 Suburban engine/tranny/ecu combo (the vehicle is totaled, and is being towed off tomorrow). I've been looking for a new engine for awhile, and this seems like a perfect opportunity. The trouble is that I'm not sure what's involved in the swap. Currently, I have a blown 283 installed. I'm pretty sure I'd have to fabricate new motor mounts and tranny mounts. I'm not sure if my fuel lines would need to be replaced, or if any other unexpected changes will need to be made. My primary concerns are: motor mounts fuel lines + pump (mechanical pump on the engine currently) electrical (my electrical system is VERY simple right now) transmission mounts (going from a turbo 400 to a 700r4 vertical fitment (will I need to cowl the hood for this? I'm strongly considering fabricating and installing ITBs and getting a cam for this engine, but I wanted to come by and have some people yell at me for not searching first. By the way, I did search, and got way too many results that weren't directly related to what I'm doing, so I decided to ask. I believe this engine is an lm7?

I really like that steering wheel. Did it come out of a 350z or does it just fit the car like a glove on its own? Where can I find one?

Awesome find! I think I'd be okay with paying $100 (after shipping) to be able to keep the stock speedo. We'll see how long it takes for me to get to that part, though. I still don't have a shop light, so I can't work in the garage at night

Hey everybody, I haven't had a working speedometer since I bought my Z, and was wondering if there's a way to get the stock speedo working with a sbc (I have a turbo400, if that changes anything). Has anyone tried it or researched it?

I really want to use as many stock gauges as possible, and I'm going to see about mending my current dash. That might end up needing to be ditched, but we'll see how it goes.

If your wiring is set up properly, there isn't a difference between fuses and circuit breakers. I'm looking at circuit breakers as a more reasonable solution for future diagnostic purposes only. Costs won't be vastly different, and as long as the driver (me) is intelligent to NOT immediately and repeatedly flip the circuit breakers if they blow, there should be no more fire hazard than with fuses (correct me if I'm wrong, electrical engineers). While I like the stock look, I don't like the excess. Trying to figure out what's in use and what's dormant from a different fusebox is just unnecessary. I like my electrical to be brought down to the bare minimum. I agree, but I hate having fuses rattling around in the glove box "just in case". Circuit breakers are easy and quick to flip, almost like having a can of fix-a-flat instead of a spare tire (fix-a-flat is lighter and more minimalistic, and for all intensive purposes serves the same need as a spare tire). Having said that, here's my running list of circuits, organized by switches: electrical components (all on their own separate circuit) horn button windshield wipers switch + relay (for speeds and intermittent, donor wiper motors to be decided) choke (electric edlebrock choke) *possibly* alarm system (I'm not convinced that alarms actually accomplish anything. I'm considering adding a pda with a camera and wireless, and any time someone sits in the driver's seat it takes a picture and attempts to email all pictures to me whenever wireless internet is present. That would give me a picture of anyone who stole or attempted to steal my car, as well as a last known location. Then I can break out the baseball bat and go meet up with them.) ignitionkeypad - numbered keypad which, upon successful entry of the ignition code, provides power to the following: distributor starter motor button(pushbutton switch) alternator cooling fans gauges tach speedometer oil pressure coolant temperature fuel level lights - separate circuit from the main 'running' circuit. (I'm going to have to research running this on the alternator, I liked that idea, essdeezee) directionals (plus hazard toggle) headlights brake lights reverse lights gauge lights *possibly* interior lights (again, I enjoy minimalistic) trunk engine glovebox dome This is turning out to be a lot like programming. I'll be running my wiring opposite my fuel lines (fuel on driver's side, wiring on passenger's side) with a kick box on the passenger's side with the circuit breakers in it (where a/c would normally go). Someday I may add in some sort of media capabilities to this car, but for now the growl of a v8 is enough to keep a grin on my face all day long. As far as dealers go, I've been looking at http://www.chiefaircraft.com/airsec/Aircraft/InstallationSupply/CircuitBreakers.html with high hopes. They appear to have a wide selection of gear that is directly applicable to my project.

Hahaa, please understand that having my car back in my garage has granted me a sense of humor again, and I'm going to take advantage of it (at anybody's expense). So, while I do chuckle when I hear far-reaching phrases on Fox News that don't accurately deliver the news but definitely make the news more interesting, that statement was meant as a joke. As far as fortitude goes, everything should be approached with two basic rules: Do not attempt anything you can not or will not follow through with for as long (or as hard) as it takes. Follow through as far as you are able on everything you attempt. If that's all it takes to impress people, then there should be a lot more finished projects out there!

As some of you may already know, my wiring in my 240z is a complete mess. Nothing is bundled together correctly, opposite ends of the same wire aren't labeled the same more often than not, no fuse box existed when I got the car, and some of the wiring is just flat out missing. I've been planning a complete rewire of the car, and researched: modifying the wiring I have now, correcting problems as I come across them painless wiring kits complete rewire from the ground up I've decided upon a complete rewire for a number of reasons: I can clean up the appearance of the wiring greatly, tucking and bundling wires as I need to I end up with a detailed wiring diagram that I'm 100% certain is accurate I can use aviation circuit breakers in place of fuses I just drew up a basic wiring diagram that I plan to use for the installation and purchase of wires (I'll have to get circuit breakers depending upon the amperage needs of each individual component, which I haven't researched yet. I also need a new front fairing/cowling/valance, so I'll be wiring up my jdm corner lights that came with the car, and fabricating a brake light setup. I'll post the wiring diagram as soon as it's complete (and I can get a picture of it). It's very basic, since my sbc is so simplistic (starter motor, alternator, single-wire distributor, and electric choke is all it needs). Does anybody have any recommendations for a reputable aircraft parts dealer (or anywhere I can get good switched circuit breakers) and what relays are actually necessary for the 240z?

All part of why we're all here. If it were just facts and no entertainment, we'd all end up watching Fox News just to make up for it all. (explanation: Fox News has fewer real-world facts than the Daily Show)

Working on it. We'll see how things turn out, but I'm not sure I'll be at liberty to discuss what happens. If I don't post again, assume there was good news and the PD made an honest effort to protect and serve, and not rape people.

So, we're all resolved, my car is back in my garage, and I'm getting ready for a hefty teardown then rebuild. I'm just torn as to how deeply to delve into the teardown. I'll start up a new thread for that.

Celica Fastback:

It's sitting inside my new garage, safely locked and alarmed. Getting my new engine on Friday since my work schedule didn't fit around the engine delivery time as nicely as it could. Thanks for all the support everyone. Let me reiterate that this matter is completely closed. If I hadn't been compensated, I would be taking this to court. It's important that you research what your rights are if you feel like you've been taken advantage of or wronged, and make sure you weren't actually the one at fault. If another party was in fact at fault, hope that they have the sense to make things right. Otherwise, fight them with everything you have. I don't believe in just wasting energy left and right because you aren't willing to fight for what's yours. I'd rather fight and lose than to give up and know i was right.

Local newspapers hold a lot of sway, apparently. I just picked up a new motor, I'm pretty excited about that. If anybody wants to see what I got, you'll see an article about it on my site this week.

I spoke with the Chief's assistant, and consider this matter completely resolved. I get my car back on Monday (they can't release anything over the weekend) and am legally bound to not disclose any aspect of the settlement reached. But I will say this: I came out on top.

Sorry I've left you guys waiting so long. The only reason I haven't updated is because I'm waiting for a solid answer from SOMEBODY as to what needs to be done. The PD has told me twice now that I need to pay the tow company before they can release it, and the tow company is telling me to go to the PD first. Yesterday, I kind of threw the nice lady from the tow company against the wall (verbally) and demanded some kind of answer. I was told I'd get a call back by noon today... It's 6:36 now, as I write this. I'm more than a little pissed off. Again, I'll keep you all updated. Anybody know if AAA will tow from the impound lot? I'm moving down to San Leandro on the first of July, I'm ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ sick of this town's inconsistencies (public transit rates/hours of operation, police coverage, laws that get enforced, gang moods, etc). It sucks, and there's no payoff. I'll get pictures of the new place asap, and I'll be bringing my CRX down there as well.

Here on http://municipalcodes.lexisnexis.com/codes/vallejo/ I found the following: I might just have a leg to stand on with this.

I wasn't aware of that. ... you can see that I just kinda dove in when I bought my Z now, can't you? I've been exposed! Well, it depends on how dirty you want to get. Surface rust can generally be reparied by sandblasting (if you don't mind the mess) the surface, then a skim coat of fiberglass, a quick sanding, and touch-up paint. If you plan to do any sort of heavy modification (like putting a V8 in your datsun) I'd definitely suggest getting very familiar with a welder. Once you've built up some confidence, you might even feel up to fabricating your own motor mounts, radiator brackets, transmission mounts, seat rails, frame supports, and everything else that comes up where you'd think to yourself "I wonder where I can get a bracket for that..." In the end, I think learning to weld is something you should absolutely take advantage of if you have the opportunity.

I just want to take a quick moment to point out that I do not in any way have a problem with Police Officers in general. I do feel that a bad day for an Officer is a bad day for someone else, but without them I wouldn't be caught walking down the street without a gun. I was even considering becoming a volunteer for the PD until my job began to eat up all of my time. I still need to attain a copy of the Vallejo Towing Policy. If it states that everything that was done was legal, it's time to revisit that policy. If it doesn't (or even better, argues against my situation), I think I stand a chance at getting partial or full restitution. I just need to make sure I keep my recipts when I get the car back.

Whatever course I go with, I have to get my car tomorrow. I'll decide on the legal matters after I have it and i've cooled off a little. I don't want to go into it with the wrong intentions.

So you don't believe that we have control over how we are governed?