calpoly-z

I've got a 78 service manual that you are more than welcome to borrow and scan. Shoot me a pm and we can figure things out.

I don't have any pics right now, but the Formula SAE team at my school has been using CF wheels for at least the last year or so. Granted they are only 10 or 12 inches in diameter, but they are still made on campus. I did some CF manufacturing at a job I worked at last year and if you have a CNC machine to make the molds ,a vacuum source and an oven big enough, I wouldn't think it would be that hard to make a set of wheels, but it would still be quite expensive. Quality carbon fiber weave is around $50 a square foot or so, and it would take dozens of layers to build up a wheel that would be strong enough.

I recently converted my car to megasquirt and decided to an old MSD 6A I had laying around from a truck I used to have and encountered a problem that seems to be pretty common with MSD units; a non working tach. Now everyone knows you can go out and buy an adapter for $30-$50 that usually fixes the problem, but I'm cheap so I decided to keep looking around and see if anyone had found another solution. I found a lot of mixed responses; some said the 280z tachs worked fine without doing anything and others said they couldn't even get the adapters to work.Then I came across this: This seemed like a much better solution to me but I couldn't find a reference from anyone else saying that it worked or not. Since the tach is useless now anyway I figured I might as well pull it out and give this little mod a shot. I was skeptical at first, but it worked brilliantly. Here's how I did it along with pics to help you through. First pull the tach out of your dash. This can accomplished without pulling the dash by unscrewing the one bolt in back and the one in front and carefully pushing/pulling it out the front. I had to pull my steering wheel and the steering column cover to get it out, but I have an after market small diameter wheel. You may not have to. Heres what it looks like from the back with the harness removed. The red circles indicate the screws and nuts to remove in order to get the guts out of the housing. Don't unscrew the other two as they hold the tach assembly together. Before you do this take the four screws out on the sides and remove the black plastic housing and lens. Once you have removed the screws holding the tach assembly into the housing you will probably find that it doesn't want to come out of its shell. I had to apply a pretty good amount of force to break the seal, but please do this CAREFULLY. The needle is VERY sensitive and will break or bend easily. Here is the unit out of it's shell Next you need to locate the "medium sized resistor" mentioned in the post I found this was the the trickiest part for me as I was not sure which one exactly he was talking about. The next pic shows the correct one circled. All that has to be done to get a working tach is bypass this resistor with a jumper. I just stripped a short piece of wire of its insulation, tinned it, and then soldered it into the joints the resistor was soldered into. I then reassembled the whole unit and plugged the harness back in to test. Before I test to see if it worked though, I needed to remove yet another resistor. This one is much easier as it is simply plugged into the wiring harness in the passenger footwell and taped in place. Here is the resistor and here is my ghetto short term connection to see if it worked. on my car the blue/white wire was the one that went to the tach, so I just connected that directly to the TACH output on the side of the MSD box. I'll make a much nicer more permanent connection later when I have some more time. I hope this helps ease some of the confusion I faced when trying figure out to get my tach working without having to spend any more money.

fuel hose fits over the end of the supra injectors as well. I'm currently running a set of yellow 310cc lo-impedance supra injectors that I picked up off ebay along with the connectors for a whopping $12 to my door. I already had a barbed fuel rail for the stock injectors and didn't want to spend the money on more fuel rail stock to make an o-ring rail so I was pleased when I determined that 5/16 fuel hose fits over the ends very snug. The hardest part was figuring out how bolt them down since the injector bodies are smaller in diameter than the Z injectors.

I tried to calibrate to the CHTS using Moby's values in the install sticky, but I may have screwed up somehow. I'll try again tonight with my own resistance readings. As I drive the car more I'm beginning to notice a few more little issues. Mainly that at light load, low throttle cruising I sometimes get a bit of jerkiness. Is this due to my overrun settings? I think I have it set to initiate over 1700 rpm and less than 25kPa and when thottle is around 25 (this is about 4-5 points higher than my closed throttle value because it tends to vary a bit around 20 +/- 3).

Well P90A means it left the factory with hydraulic lifters. Plus I don't see any nuts or threads in that crappy pic you posted of the valve train so I would say you have hydraulic lifters. If there are studs and two nuts to lock the rockers down then it is solid lifters. If not, then they are hydraulic. By the way, you'll be hard pressed to get the power you could have gotten for $700 through megasquirt and a turbo than with a N/A stroker, but I feel you on the need to be different. Good luck from a fellow young texan. I've been there and you're lucky your dad knows cars. My buddy and I learned the hard way... through lots of failure.

If I had to guess I'd say late 80's BMW, but no guarantee's there.

I've been running an aluminum radiator for years without any issues so i don't think it's a cooling problem. Plus my coolant gauge reads right in the middle, though it is probably about time for a coolant flush. I'm thinking its more likely I screwed up the INC file or didn't import the file to the right place or something. I'll try again tomorrow if I get a chance. IAT sensor is mounted in J-pipe just before throttle body. On another note, I was looking through one of my old datalogs, and is it normal for the WBO2 sensor to oscillate at idle? It just seems like if the idle is pretty stable and pulse width and timing aren't changing that AFR would be more constant. Granted it is only +/- a couple tenths.

After almost 2 years of a semi completed MS1 v3 box sitting on my shelf I finally got the time and extra income to actually finish building and install megasquirt on my 77 w L28ET. I must admit I am in love with my car once again. Motorcycles had stolen the attention away for the last couple years, but now that it runs and drives like it's supposed to the Z will get much more of my attention. Anyway, on to the reason for the post. First let me list the specs: MS1 v3.0 w 29y4 code New wiring harness from DIYautotune wired through its own fuse panel GM open element air temp sensor from DIYauto threaded into bung welded onto J-pipe just before throttle body Stock CHTS LC1 240sx TPS (I also have the throttle body that I will install when I get an intercooler) 82-83 distributor w/ CAS MSD triggered by megasquirt 310cc low impedance Supra injectors w/ stock resistor pack All of that is on a .5mm overbored and balanced 81 L28ET w/ stock T3 I've got the car running pretty well now, but I was bit curious as to the temperatures those of you running the cylinder head temp sensor are seeing. I haven't had a chance to take my own measurements of the sensor so I plugged in Mobys values from the sticky into EasyTherm and followed the instructions to get those values into MS. Now for some reason I'm seeing around 215 F whenever the motor is warmed up and running. It never seems to get any hotter than that even under load, but it never really gets any cooler when cruising. I think Ive read that the cylinder head reads about 10F higher than the coolant, but my coolant temp gauge sticks around 180 for the most part. Do I just have it calibrated wrong? Also, I'm noticing a huge amount of heat soak in my intake temps after shutting the car off. For instance, when I start the car 10-15 minutes after shutting it off at operating temps my MAT will read about 140F and it can be 5-10 minutes or more of driving (light load) for it cool back down to around 100F. This seems like an excessively long time and I'm worried I don't have good placement of the sensor or maybe it's not far enough into the airstream. The car also runs pretty rough after these hot starts. I'll post some datalogs soon when I get a chance. Thanks guys, I never could have done this without the people and information on this board

Thanks for the quick responses!! Looks like I'll be holding on to MSD to use since I am using an 82-83 distributor. Plus the last thing want to worry about is missfires under boost. Thanks again everyone

I just finished building my MS1 v3.0 and I'm in the process of gathering all the parts I'm going to need for the install. What I'm trying to figure out is if it would be worthwhile to use the MSD I have laying on a shelf or if I should sell it and use the money towards something else? I've already got some supra injectors (cleaned set of low impedance 310cc for $12 shipped to my door off eBay ), a 240sx throttle body and TPS, and the other sensors I need. An LC-1 is in the budget as well. My goal is around 300hp eventually on a recently rebuilt L28ET overbored .5mm and at about 8-8.5:1 compression. I'm still running the stock T3 on stock boost un-intercooled for now, but that will change soon enough. For now I just want the car to run reliably and as efficiently as possible. I've done lots of research on this and know the VB driver will run my ignition just fine, but I want to know if the MSD will give me any advantages in either my short term or long term goals. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Those guys on the supra forums have got to be the most arrogant a**es on the internet. I sure am glad I'm a Z-car guy.

I think the one on pinemount is the one I'm thinking of, but I'm not entirely sure. Hopefully you can find something to replace yours with or someone to check it out for you.

If you can get access to a hydraulic press and shop manual then you can easily do it yourself. I did a 77 5 speed 4-5 years ago with a kit I bought for about a hundred bucks. It included syncros and bearings. On a another note I KNOW there is a good manual trans place down in south houston somewhere. I don't remember the name, but it was on telephone or mykawa or somewhere down near Hobby airport. I put everything together and then had them look over it to make sure I didn't totally screw something up since I was only 17 or so at the time. Also there used to be a junkyard up just little bit north of 610 and east of 290 that had a bunch of Z's as well as some Z trannies that were already pulled that he was selling for $100 apiece. It was either on W 34 or Tidwell , but I'm not entirely sure since I haven't lived in Houston for about 5 years. You had to know what you were looking at though cuz none of them were labeled so it could be a bit tricky figuring out what year it was out of. I think I ended up getting a early zx 5-speed, but I'm not positive on that.

Fiberglass would definitely be the best option for finishing off what you started, but I can't think of a product that looks just like the factory plastic texture. I've used paint that wrinkles up on my valve cover, and Hammerite which leaves a hammered like texture, but I don't really know anything that pebbles. Hopefully someone's come across something that gets close.

Careless- I agreeabout the wood. I never would have thought it work as well as it does, but I got the idea from a custom stereo shop that was in a comples I used to work at. They almost EVERYTHING out of MDF. They did some sick fiberglass work as well, but MDF is so cheap and easy to work with. I had little to no woodworking experience before this, but with the help of a nice saber saw and a disc/belt sander things came out pretty well. This morning I blew off one of my GE's and finished covering my armest. It's not exactly what I had envisioned, but it came out pretty well and should be functional. I'll get pics up this afternoon when I get home from class.

To answer the questions posted, there is no foam involved for this part of the console, just wood and vinyl, and I rounded the leading edges on the front of the console. The vinyl actually covered sharp edges pretty well. Daeron - I actually have though about just posting dimensions and I probably will in the near future after I update my initial SolidWorks drawing to match what I actually built. To keep yall updated I am about 90% done with the armrest part of the project and I'll post some pics when I (hopefully) finish this in the next few days. I managed to incorporate a padded lid, a locking storage area and even a cupholder. Right now I'm not entirely pleased with how it looks, but I'll have to reserve judgment for when its finished and mounted in the car. This part has definitely proven to be a lot more difficult that I initially anticipated. I really wanted to find a lock and latch in one (like in the glovebox), but my searches around town all ended in vain. So I'm just using a cheap cylinder lock I got at the hardware store. I'll post some pics later.

It depends on whether or not you have the steering lock already or not. If you do, you should be able to find just a lock cylinder. The cylinder by it self should be less than $60, but i dont know that for sure or if they are even available. Otherwise the auction is for a brand new part with keys so $60 bucks sounds fair to me. You could also rig up a generic keyed switch from autozone or wherever that would be real cheap, but then you lose steering wheel lock capabilities.

The switches are electric fan, hazards , fog lights. They work great but they just didn't quite end up where I wanted them I might be willing to make another couple of them depending on how much yall are willing to pay. The materials are pretty cheap, but it is pretty time consuming to build. If I get some time in the next couple months after I finish my armrest I might make a couple, but we'll have to wait and see. Depends on how much free time I can get. I'll ask again since no one answered me before, but any idea where to find METRIC secturity screws?

The carpet is modern cut pile thats used in most cars today. I picked it up from a local fabric shop that supplies all the custom shops around here.

Thanks for the encouragement. Now I just need to make the thing a little more theft resistant by getting some security screws for the front mounts. I've looked at mcmaster and fastenal and I can't seem to find any metric security screws. Everything seems to be english, but I need a couple M5 screws. Does anyone have any idea where I could find something other than a standard allen head or torx?

Well a few months ago I had the stereo stolen out of my car. It seems like the stock console never really held it a modern stereo in properly and I didn't particularly feel like giving away another head unit so I decided to pull out the stock console and build my own. At least thats how things started. While thinking about how I was going to do this i decided on building a two piece unit and carpeting the tranny tunnel between the front console and an arm rest. This lead to me deciding to carpet the entire front of the car. Pulling the passenger carpet led to a reminder of the rust holes which had to be fixed as well (pretty much a case of one thing leads to another and another and ...). Finally two months later the car is carpeted and the rust holes are fixed and part one of the original project is complete. My new center console now holds a standard single din unit very securely. the bare basic design made of 1/2 inch MDF heres the back with sheet metal support and mounting bracket bare console fitted in place Vinyl covered with switches and speakers some of the rust holes and patches For the most part I'm pretty darn happy with how it came out. The switches arent quite where I wanted them but now that I have an initial prototype it wont be hard to build another if i decide to do so down the road. Next is an armrest for between the seats w/ at least one cupholder and a locking storage area. Let me know what you guys think and if anyone else has done similar I would love to see them for some more ideas.

Well it turns out i didnt take many pics of the carpet but I have a few of the center console I made where the carpet is visible. I'll try to take a few pics of the carpet later.

I ended up picking up some nice cut pile carpet from my local upholstery shop and cutting all my own patterns. I wanted to eliminate the center console and carpet over the tranny tunnel so no kit was going to be available. I had no upholstery experience before this but everthing seems to have come out pretty well. I bought 2 yards of a 72'' wide roll and about 2 yard of jute padding. I took rough measurements and then cut everthing little bigger than needed and trimmed it all down to fit. The passenger compartment took 6 pieces to cover (2 footwells and 2 behind seat areas plus the rear vertical wall and the tranny tunnel). I didnt bother to get the edges seemed so if edges begin to fray I might do this later. Considering what I had before (really crappy 2 piece JC whitney loop) it looks amazing. I'll post some pice later tonight when I get home. Total cost was around $80 for the carpet and $30 for the padding but i bought about 3/4 of a yard too much carpet (it might be enough to recover the rear deck though) and it was high quality stuff. It took me about 6-8 hours total but really wasn't hard at all. Just took patience to ensure everything fit well. BillZ260- I would get the roll and just go for it. What do you have to lose?