Oddjob

The key to a good beam pattern involves two items: the envelope (housing) and the lamp. These are actually the only optical elements. The envelope contains the reflector and either a clear cover or a lens. It isn't "just" price, but price tends to be an indicator of good engineering, thoughtful materials selection, and careful manufacturing. There are perhaps a dozen different reflector types, including shape, faceting and mirror material. There are probably half-a-dozen different lens types. More than a few of the possible combinations will give good results, subject to your personal preferences. The one thing which absolutely must be present is very precise optical performance. That usually comes down to price. None of the many conversions you have found will work well in a poor envelope. If it will help, I chose 7" Hella H4 Euro spec envelopes for my Z, which are about $35 each, empty. I'm pleased with them so far, but I'm still in the process of optimizing them with other technical tricks. The lamp must also be well engineered, use good materials and be manufactured well. The precise location of the lamp filament or arc (at the focal point of the reflector) will determine whether your reflector works correctly or scatters light everywhere. The blinder, if present, (small reflector on the lamp axis) must be precise. A badly engineered or manufactured lamp will make a good envelope perform badly. Sadly, you probably will have to either try a few combinations or study up on the technical details and just take a chance. The only shortcut I can recommend is buying from a well-known, reputable manufacturer. Please note that I have only discussed optical performance. There is also electrical performance, another bag of worms.

Thank you for the nice compliment. Here's a cheat sheet for finding the buried information on grounding: For the link above (in the quote), scroll down to Post #15, and then to Post #25 on page 2. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=151560 For the link immediately above, scroll down to Post #15.

Here's an example of a copper buss bar star ground on a Z.

This topic is actully quite involved. The fact is, you can obtain a sharp, bright, high quality beam from a reflector, a reflector with a lens, or a projector. The results you get are, like most things, proportional to the money you spend. The laws of physics apply, and good engineering makes all the difference. Furthermore, the "no free lunch" dictim applies: each solution involves trade-offs. A couple of folks above seem certain projectors are the only way to go. Here's a cut-and-paste from the Wikipedia article on headlamps: "Headlamps using projector optics cause much worse dazzle to oncoming traffic than those using reflectors for the same light output. Dazzle from the headlights of a distant oncoming vehicle is caused by the extreme contrast between the intense spot of light and the darkness of the background. Projector optics emit the light through a much smaller area than reflector optics do; therefore, for the same total light output, the light spot of a projector headlamp is much more intense and more dazzling than the larger, dimmer light spot of a reflector lamp." "It is sometimes argued that the more tightly controlled beam pattern of projector optics reduces dazzle. In fact the beam pattern is irrelevant, since unless the headlamps are misaligned, an oncoming vehicle is sufficiently far off the beam axis as to be completely outside the beam in both reflector and projector cases. The dazzle is caused by the off-axis emission arising from such factors as scattering from optical imperfections in the lamp surface, and is worse where the more concentrated output of projector optics causes that emission to be more intense."

You wouldn't. Seriously, I have two fail-safes built in. They are both so obscure, so inconvenient, and so time consuming to use that a thief would never bother, unless he were a pro who had towed the car to a chop shop.

This is, unfortunately, absolutely true. You really can't stop theft with absolute certainty. But you can: 1. Make it increasingly inconvenient. One reason thieves take things is because they are lazy. Make it hard, and many of them will go down the street. 2. Make it likely they will be caught. Thieves are in it for the easy score, not the consequences. 3. Understand the enemy. There are at least a half-dozen types of thieves. A pro will get your car. The kid down the block who wants your stereo and maybe a joy ride need not. The best security is layered, robust and both obvious and hidden. If you like games of strategy, vehicle security is some fun.

You might like to reconsider the hood pin idea. Take a look at these: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/TRD-4062/ The locks are built in, and come with the round security keys. The installation is very clean. As to whether you can lock the hood electrically, yes, you can. I did it on my Corvette. There is a spring momentary key switch on the dash which pops the hood. If someone disconnects the battery, they can't open the hood. Here's the main part: http://www.jcwhitney.com/REPLACEMENT_ELECTRIC_DOOR_and_TRUNK_RELEASE_KIT?ID=12;0;0;0;100001;ProductName;0;0;0;0;2003047;0 Good luck.

The next step was to remove the mechanical pump, and re-set the fuel pressure regulator to about 4 psi at idle. Unfortunately, doing this caused readings on the fuel pressure gauge which didn’t make sense. I really hate things which don’t make sense. So, I left the mechanical pump connected and re-thought the fuel system. After fooling with the fuel pressure regulator for a week, and being unable to get it to adjust correctly, I finally got annoyed and shot-gunned the problem. The first thumbnail below shows the fuel plumbing at the carburetors “beforeâ€, the second thumbnail “afterâ€. The major change was to re-connect the fuel bypass line, which necessitated the following: The existing fuel pressure regulator was removed, and replaced with a bypass-type regulator. Although they look the same (both are Holley), they have different internal valving and different port assignments. The bypass regulator goes behind the filter and distribution, rather than ahead as the old one did. It also turns out that no one makes a fuel log with a 3/8†port both in both ends. The “out†end port on everything I found was 1/8â€. So I drilled and tapped the one I had to 3/8†(thumbnail 3). The 40 micron filter remains as it was. Thumbnail 4 shows the mechanical pump removed and blocked off, as well as the new braded steel lines on both supply and return. The Holly electric pump added previously flows more than double the later-years Z electric pump/mechanical pump combination, so there was no performance penalty. On the contrary, the Holley pump works better without the mechanical pump. The shotgun scheme worked. The fuel pressure gauge now makes sense, the pressure adjusts, the electric pump is obviously much happier, and, most surprising, performance has increased yet again. OK, now I’m done. With this project. Forever. Well, for now….

Generally, the aftermarket filters from reputable speed shops and performance manufacturers will give you better performance and longer life. They are also often servicable, rather than throw-aways. The auto-parts-store filters, particularly the off-brand ones, are of variable quality. Lastly, the performance filters come with specifications stating flow, particle size filtered, and so on. You are unlikely to find that on a parts counter model.

Yes, you can, and probably should. You don't say what sort of induction you have, or your engine size/modifications, so it's hard to be specific as to sizes. I run a 100 micron filter back by the tank, ahead of an electric pump, and a 40 micron filter up front, just ahead of my SUs. You might want to go with a 10 micron filter for injection.

All right then... http://www.xrp.com/XRPCatalog.pdf page 7.

Aeroquip AER-FBM1533 (that's a Summit part number) @15.95 Summit SUM-220752 @ $3.88 ...to name a couple.

I was having some fuel supply issues, and as part of the repair, I did vent my gas cap. It improved my performance a noticible bit, but did not "fix" the problem completely. (My Z has all stock components in the fuel system, including the vapor recovery cannister.) If you look at the gas cap carefully, it has something like a sealed circular passage under the cap. I drilled one hole into this passage from underneath, on the downhill side, and a second hole from the top into the uphill side of the passage. This makes something like a staggered vent, which seems to have worked, as I have not had any liquid overflow. The hole sizes were 1/8" underneath, and 5/64" on top. You can read the whole "fuel supply problem" narrative here: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=147928 starting at Post #19.

1971 S30, maybe 65% restored/modified, driven daily by my wife Rose, since May 2009. Probably about 300 suburban miles a month. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=147928

Here's another question... Note the 1955-1957 Chevy Bel Air (#7 on the list). Certainly these cars belong on the list. But while the '55 and '56 are quite similar, the '57 is practically a different car. The styling changed, the engine was bigger, the first FI cars were made. And yet, the Z listing is for the '69-'73 240Z (#47). Why not include the 260 and 280? Did they somehow become un-cool?

Any list like this raises a great number of questions about the reasoning behind the list itself. One question would be when was/is it cool? If the answer is "now, today", then yeah, the Hudson is very cool. I had a Hudson Jet when I was a kid (it was old even then). If I had it today, it would be the coolest thing in the State. The same logic might apply to the Checker, but I do confess they've lost me on the Rabbit. The early Beetle or the Microbus might have been a better choice. Another quibble would be "why 60"? Obviously, Motor Trend picked it because they've been in business 60 years, but the list could just have easily been 100. The Advanti? Yeah. Doc Brown and the rest of us might also nominate the DeLorean. The Nash Rambler, yeah, with a 350 SBC.

This article just posted, and ought to set off some discussion.... The 240Z is # 47 on the list (the list is in random order). The 60 Coolest Cars Six Decades of the Rides Everyone Wanted September 01, 2009 / By Arthur St. Antoine, Matt Stone They weren't always the fastest or the most expensive. The sexiest or best designed or engineered. The most radical, iconic, famous, desired, or most outrageous. But they're the coolest. It's hard to define cool, but you know it when you see (or drive) it. As we kick off Motor Trend's 60th Anniversary celebration, here's a look-in random order-at 60 of the coolest, illist, chillist machines to roll earth's highway during our watch, 1949-2009. http://www.motortrend.com/features/consumer/112_0909_60_coolest_cars/index.html

With no other changes but the addition of the electric pump, the car is now running very strongly. The “running out of gas†feeling in the higher gears is entirely gone, and the engine now pulls strongly to redline in all gears. Acceleration is also improved, along with a newly-found tendency to break the rear tires loose. I consider my hypothesis (from Post # 19 above) to be proven. In summary, it was: “… the inlet of the mechanical pump is 18†higher in the chassis than the opening of the siphon tube in the gas tank. … most fluid pumps do not “suck†well, although they will “push†fluid quite well. Most pumps prefer their inlets be gravity fed, so that they are flooded continuously. This is obviously impossible as the car was originally made.†“From all of this I have concluded that installing an electric pump at the gas tank should solve the problem.†The thumbnails below show the homemade adapter for the fuel pressure switch NC contact-to-starter connection. This adapter avoids having to cut up the stock wiring loom.

Can't believe I hadn't seen this thread before. OK, I'll play.... More pictures here, Posts # 4, 5, 6, 7. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=147928

In the process of installing the electric fuel pump, I had to partially disassemble the star ground buss (Post # 15, above). I found that the steel hardware on the copper buss bar was corroding at an accelerated rate. There are only 961 street miles on the car, (over 3½ months), and there should not have been nearly that much corrosion in this period of time (thumbnail 2). It’s true that Florida is a big corrosion laboratory, but even so…. I have replaced half the bolts with brass hardware (thumbnail 1), and will do the rest when I get the larger hardware. This should resolve the issue, and brass is a better conductor anyway. I think this corrosion is probably due to dissimilar metals corrosion (galvanic corrosion or electrolysis), brought on by the high humidity, rain, heat and the current flowing through the star grounds. Although these copper buss bars regularly use steel hardware indoors and it works fine, apparently it isn’t a good idea on something exposed to the elements. Brass, being an alloy of copper and zinc, will not do this. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In a discussion on another thread, grounding came up, and I did a quick study on star grounding versus stock grounding to prove a point. So if you followed Electrical Part 2: Grounding (Post #15, above), here is some further information which may be interesting: Take this link, and scroll down to Post # 15 there: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=151560 The sheer amount of voltage drop through the stock grounds surprised me, and I had expected it. (See the chart in the link.) The take-home lesson is that the small amount of voltage drop you experience in a properly done ground buss will be less than the voltage drop in a stock ground, and the star ground will improve the electrical performance of any device connected to it.

The electric fuel pump is finally bolted in, plumbed and wired. It is bolted to the spare tire well, in a space in front of the stock fuel tank. This spot is convenient for line routing and is in a good spot for future maintenance (thumbnail 1). Note in the second thumbnail that the inlet to the pump is about an inch below the bottom of the fuel tank. This is to insure either a gravity feed or an effective siphon so the pump inlet is flooded all the time. This plan worked, as fuel ran all over me while I was making the connections. It looks like the pump might be exposed to road hazards here (speed bumps), but this is more a photo illusion than real. The rear suspension is lower, and would protect the pump. This picture was shot behind the RH rear tire, at the back of the wheel well. The third thumbnail gives you a better perspective on the installed height. Note that the siphon side of the pump uses rubber line. The bend to get around to the tank outlet is too tight for braded steel line. The last thumbnail shows the results. The car started first try, and the fuel pressure came up to 6 psi on the fuel rail at idle. This is with the stock pump still in line and the pressure regulator left set as it was. You may remember from the Problem post above (# 19) that fuel pressure varied randomly between 0 and 2.5 psi all the time. Time to road test the car; one more post to follow on this topic.

If you are doing, or are going to do one of these installations, this is worth knowing. There are also some troubleshooting tips. Scroll down to Post # 8 http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=151929

Yes. It's an aftermarket unit made by MOTEMTRONIC.

Yes.

Yes, I think I do. You are ahead of me in your installation. Mine is wired but not connected, as I haven't installed the fuel lines at the pump. Your post caused immediate anxiety, so I ran out and verified the circuit with a VOM. Thank you! I discovered on mine that the NO and NC connections were reversed. The markings are hard to read anyway, and half under the terminals. I'm not certain whether the switch is mis-marked, or my eyes are going. OK, I'm certain. The !@#^**!! switch is mis-marked. If the COMMON is connected to anything but the pump, it will blow fuses. With a VOM on resistance (ohms), verify what the switch does. This will also eliminate the switch as defective. Disconnect all wires from the switch. The switch logic is this: engine off, C and NC should be connected and C and NO are open; engine running, C and NO connected and C and NC open. NO and NC should always be open. After verifying the above, (and fixing the cross) I reconnected the switch and set the VOM to DC Volts, and checked the connection at the fuel pump. It did what was expected: engine off: zero volts; engine start: +12.4V; engine run: +14.7V and no blown fuses. Here's one further test: disconnect the switch, and connect the C wire running to the pump to the NO wire running to your fuse panel. Start the car. If the fuse does not blow, and the pump runs, that eliminates most of your other wiring as a problem. One more thing. The NC connection on the starter; you are on the small slide-on terminal (black/yellow stripe wire) and not on the battery connection? (You should be.) Being on the battery connection would blow fuses as well.