baddriver

I've been on this board about six years, and I am not at all surprised to see that there are dozens of engineers here. I might have even been able to guess who was an engineer based on the answers they give to posts. I am currently working as an electrical engineer, designing ECU software for an offroad diesel engine manufacturer. I've been an engineer for 2 years now, having spent 6 years as an environmental specialist when I got out of school, my degree is in physics. In our department, we have ME's working as EEs, EE's doing CE stuff, and CE's working as EEs. I agree that the degree you get does not lock you into a specific type of work, but it does give you a little advantage when trying to land your first position. After that, it's all about what experience you have. Do what you enjoy the most, and you won't go wrong.

Make sure the V8 Z still has the transmission mounts intact or else you will need to do some fabrication to get the z engine back into it. Many v8 transmissions do not fit with the datsun mounts, so they get cut out.

You've done a very good job of estimating the cost. I'm around 75% done with my conversion right now, and I'd say, for the things you've listed, you're right on. Now follow everyone's advice and double that, and you'll have a budget. As has been stated many times before, it's the little things that people tend to drastically underestimate. For instance, I notice there is no fuel pump on the LT1 path. A good pump will run you $100, then add standard fuel line ($30) high-pressure line (I used SS braided, with end fittings, around $50) in-line filter, wiring, a relay, crimp-on fittings, in-line fuses, and you've got at least $250 in parts in the fuel system. The list of little things is enormous, I spent $35 just on the bolts to install the JTR mounts, and of course, don't forget that you still need a standard chevy mount to actually connect it to the car (the JTR kit has the spacer and set-back plate, the mount is sold seperately) Most of these parts by themselves are inexpensive, but they just keep adding up. I started a similar list for my conversion, and when you include paint, sandpaper (you want your engine compartment to look nice, right?) wiring loom, holders, thermal insulation, etc, these things really can be a major component in your build. Oh, and fixing any leaks you find in that donor engine, replacing o2 sensors that were in the y-pipe (add $100 to the LT1 side for 02 sensors, you'll never get them out of the stock pipe with the threads intact) , oh, and....well, you know. I also noticed there were no headers on the list, the $ figure you used for "exhaust modifications" would have covered the cost of headers, but I think is pretty optimistic as far as a working exhaust system goes. I think you've done a great job estimating the cost of the major components, and that's a great start to a successful project. It's the minor parts that are hard to get a handle on. If you are lucky enough to have a good shop and a complete set of tools to start with, then that will also help greatly. Otherwise, plan on spending $1 on tools for every $1 on parts. Good luck with your conversion.

DSMTuners.com isn't really too bad, but they will pounce on you if you post pretty much anything. I've used that forum for a couple of years now, and you really don't need to post anything if you spend some time searching. There are a lot of idiots there, and the moderators know it, which is why they will attack pretty much anybody who posts a question that had already been answered. The mods have a tough job to do on that site, probably hundrededs of dumb questions a day to sort through. But if you have the patience, there is a wealth of information there as well. I've managed to build custom exhaust, upgrade my turbo & intercooler, install injectors, fuel pump, new 2g MAF sensor, and re-program the ECU all on a minimal budget with info from that site, and the yahoo DSM ECU group. Also check out http://www.vfaq.com for some great info. Self Promotion: I've had good luck hacking code and burning EEPROMs for my 1g talon, and would love to try out some 2g code. If anyone is interested in EEPROM editing on their 1g or 2g DSM, I am looking for the work. I can replace caps, socket ECU's and burn EEPROMs, just send me a note.

Is the car running or off at this point? If the car is off, it could be as simple as the reference voltage for the sensor is changing. When the car is running, you can count on about 14 volts from the alternator at all times, but when you are running on battery, you get around 12 volts, and if you have a load (like an electric fan and a set of headlights) you can get anywhere from 8-11 volts. It's true that the sensor changes resistance when the temperature changes, but it's the current, not the resistance, that makes the needle on the guage move. For a fixed resistance, if you change V in ohm's law, you get a change in I. The guage is calibrated for a specific voltage. If your guage reads normally when the engine is running, and only shows this behavior when the engine is off, it's probably fine. If the lights change the tempurature reading when you are running the engine, then you need to look for a voltage regulator problem or a bad ground. For reference, every time I've ever found an electrical problem causing absolutely weird, impossible nutty things, it's been due to a bad ground.

I've got a copy of that schematic at home, I don't remember the details, but I'll look at it. I'm pretty sure the FSM states that the oil pressure switch is used to power the fuel pump if the fuel pump relay fails. The PCM does continue to power the fuel pump relay when the engine is running, the oil pressure switch is a backup so a relay failure doesn't cause the car to die. It seems like a second relay would be a good idea, rather than powering the pump directly off the oil pressure switch. I'm not sure if a second relay was used on the original car.

This one says it all... "are ya sure they're actually racing? late model sportbikes will get to 60 in first and, even with an average rider, do it in 4 seconds" This is a case of someone taking off fast at a light, getting ahead of other traffic, and calling it a 'race.'

wingnutthehutt That's the movie! You could tell it was made by people who knew nothing about cars ("350 chevy, bored and blown" says the mechanic, then cut to the car, where you notice the suspicious lack of any type of forced induction....) but it was still less corny than F&F. And it had some good music. I think I've still got it on VHS, but no VCR, so I guess I won't be watching it any time soon.

Ahh, Two Lane Blacktop. People still remember that movie. While a little slow at times, it was a true to life story, people b.s-ing and in the end, nothing really happens. If that isn't true to life, I don't know what is. My favorite car movie is still "Catch Me if You Can," not the recent one with that twerp from Titanic in it, but a movie I remember being on Showtime in the nineties, I don't know if it was made for Showtime or something, but it was a fun movie. A high school drag racer gets cheated out of a bunch of cash, and his school helps him get it back. Cheesy, yes, but a couple good cars and a fun movie. There was another movie I remember, "The last Race" or something, I don't know the name any more, about a guy who was trying to escape a society that had outlawed cars, trying to get to somewhere a little less facist. Wish I could remember what it was called.

Thanks Grumpy!

I've never seen numerical values assigned to 'quench' before. I always thought it was just an abstract concept that had to be determined experimentally. I know that it is related to the shape of the compressed charge, and the bore / stroke ratio, but I don't really know what it is. Can someone tell me how it is measured/calculated and what are the variables involved?

In my younger days I tried all those things. Goop works well, dish soap is also OK, cleaning your hands in brake cleaner is definately a bad idea, especially if you're a smoker . Now that I'm an old man (turned 30 this year) I wear gloves, the leather 'mechanix' gloves work great and give me something I can ask for at xmas that people will actually buy me. You never have enough, since they are always filthy and I only get to use our washing machine for shop rags a couple times a year. But the best trick has got to be putting hand lotion on your hands BEFORE you work on the car. It fills in all those little nooks and cracks and makes it a lot easier to get your hands clean afterwords. If you must clean something with brake cleaner, clean the engine compartment before you put your hand in there.

I got a LT1 out of a manual tranny car, and it came with the flywheel. I'm going to use a t5 for my swap, and I've seen in at least a dozen places that the 305 TPI flywheel will work with the LT1 and the T5 combination, but the question I have is can I use the LT1 flywheel with the T5? Does any body know why I couldn't? I know I need to use the t5 clutch and slave cylinder since the t56 uses a pull type cylinder, but what about the flywheel? Will the t5 pressure plate bolt on and function? And while I'm at it, who is using a hydraulic throw-out bearing, and was it easier than using the stock camaro clutch? Thanks! Jeff E. Edit - After getting my hands on the t5 flywheel, the two are completely different thicknesses. No chance to use the t56 flywheel w/ the t5.

The mid 80's v6 camaro rad is a popular choice, the camaro v8 rad is too wide, but the v6 rad works pretty well. As pointed out above this is the one recomended by JTR, they sell it for a reasonable price, or you can pick it up local. I can check my book for exact year.

I really like kerosene - the catalyzed flame type, not the blower type. They burn clean and quite, put out a lot of heat, and are pretty safe as long as you don't do something stupid. Unfortunately they don't put out as much heat as the blower-type burners, but I have two in my garage that heat the place up nicely, and a gallon of kerosene in each will last twenty hours or so. They are kind of expensive, and kerosene prices this year have gone through the roof, but they are nice to use. I had a blower-type propane unit. open the door if you use one, just like it says in the above post. especially if you are working under a car! I really found the noise to be annoying, but a garage is rarely a quit place, you just have to turn the music up more.

I don't know first hand what the pressure in a diesel fuel injector is, but it would certainly have to be significant. Diesel engines typically use compression ratios of around 30:1, meaning that the un-heated air in the chamber would have to be around 30*15 psi = 450 psi. Add to that the effect of heating the air, and I could believe well over 1000 psi in the chamber before the start of combustion. Then, remember that combustion starts as soon as the injection pulse begins. This means that the temperature and pressure starts climbing while the pulse is being injected, and to complete the injection, the pressure in the injector has to be more than pressure in the chamber even after a significant quantity of fuel has burned. As far as how mechanically to generate this pressure, remember that moderate forces delivered over a small area can produce remarkable pressure. Try figuring the pressure on the head of a nail when you drop a 20 lb hammer on it. We have an airless paint gun at work that sprays paint at over 3000 psi. Before you get to use it you have to watch a video showing what can happen to your fingers if you put them in front of the bright-orange tip. (It jost pokes a tiny little hole, you see, and it doesn't hurt a bit,....until the toxic solvent in the paint starts to spread throught the tissue over the next few hours and you get to have your finger amputated) 3000 psi is necessary to atomize the paint being sprayed into the air. If we were spraying into a high-pressure chamber, it might very well require 10x as much pressure.

I'm sure you already thought of this, but check to see if the compressor is turning. I go through this every year because the connections on my old pressure switch are broken, and I soldered them back on. Generally during the spring tune-up i bump the wire, breaking the connection again, and then months later when I need the AC it's not there. two minutes with the soldering iron and I have AC again. I really should get a new switch someday. A sudden failure when it was working hours before suggests an electrical problem to me, if it held vaccume for 24 hrs before you filled it, it shouldn't have leaked out already. Check the fuses and switches. moisture in the system will generally cause the unit to stop working when it is already blowing out cold air - the orifice will freeze shut. It will thaw out a few minutes later and start working again. Insufficient airflow around the condenser will cause the compressor to work too hard (because the high pressure side will be too hot - and therefore the pressure will be too high) It won't cause your system to stop suddenly, but will shorten the life of the compressor. Good luck. PS just curious, are you using R12, R134, or a liquid petroluem mix (like duracool?)

Are you concerned with the actual force of impact, or the velocity of the object after it is struck? If you want the final velocity, conservation of momentum is probably a better way to estimate the outcome. If you want to know the destructive force, use kinetic energy. And if you want to know the impact, use momentum divided by the time elapsed during deformation. You have to have some idea of the hardness of the two objects.

$129 per lock???!!! I don't know how rare the steering interlock and hatch hardware is (could probably get a set off any part car) but if it's only your door locks that are giving you problems, let me know and I can run down to the local farm/fleet for this. I had the lock out of my Z recently, and I'm sure this is an exact replacement. From what I've heard, any locksmith can re-key the locks to match the ignition key for less than $40 too. Let me know if you need one.

It's obvious why he doesn't understand rwd traction. There is no such thing as weight transfer when you are driving a honda. (Credit due: My cousin drives a civic that is unbelievably fast. Found to be the exeption, not the rule, however)

I ran some statistics on the numbers in this thread, just so you guy's wouldn't have to re-read the whole thread every time you add up your cost. Here you go: Average cost of a running Hybrid Z:$16,614 Lowest cost:$6000 Highest cost:35,000 Median: $15000 That's only counting the guys that claimed to have a running z. Anyone who mentioned that they still had some 'little things' to buy got put in the other category Average cost of a non-running hybrid z:$11,050 Lowest:$1800 Highest:$50,000 median: $7,800 Clearly the 'little things' that make the difference between a running and a non-running z come out to about $5000-$6000. It also appears that to make a 30 year old z car into something you can drive every day costs around $4000-$5000, and those over the $10,000 mark had mostly invested in racing equipment. It looks to me like the cost brakes down as so: Buying an old z and making it fit for the road: $3000 (you either pay more for the car, or more for all the parts you have to rebuild) Making it pleasant to drive: $3000 up (Eliminating leaks and carbon monoxide headaches, updating sterio and other misc pieces) Actual cost of conversion: $3000-$4000 Building a motor with more power than you'll ever get to the ground: $3000-$4000 Getting power to the ground: $2000-$4000 Total $10,000-$15,000 Results of a search for a new 'sports car' costing from $10,000-$15,000 on NADA.com..... "We're Sorry. We didn't find any vehicles that match your search criteria. For better results, we suggest you refine your search by selecting a different combination of desired features. "

If you are going to take the system out completely, you just need a shorter belt. Trying to guess at the part number is pointless, just go get a piece of rope, put it around the pullies that are still there, tie a knot in it, and take it to the store with you. Find a belt the same length, and you are set.

I recently solved my fume problem by replacing my hatch weather stripping, putting new hatch plugs in, and sealing up around the fuel tank vent hoses. My exhaust pipe still exits below the bumper, but when I get my new exhaust system, I think I'll try to extend it out a little further as well. I'm very happy with my car now. It only took 4 years to fix all the fuel and exhaust leaks, and I only had to drop the tank 5 times!