datsunlover

I had an 81 zx do this, and I couldn't figure it out. I swaped in an AFM, TPS, plugs wires cap rotor, NOTHING worked. Really, I feel quite stupid now, understanding a lot more about FI cars... After I sold it, the next owner eventually found the problem; A bad injector. (He spent a bit of time and $$$ at a shop to figure it out though) IIRC, the FI tries to compensate for an injector not firing by making the others rich. It doesn't know an injector is bad, but gets readings from the 02 sensor that the motors running lean, so it dumps more fuel. Causes a vicious circle, as the longer it runs like this, the more it'll plug up the 02 sensor and that will start to cause problems, ect, ect. First thing I would do is check the wiring conections for the injectors (they ussualy crack and corrode over time) and maybe pull them out and have them cleaned.. or replace them, although that will cost a bit.

I dono man.. maybe a bit low, but they're all pretty even across the board.. I'd say the smoking problem is all in your head.. Pardon the pun... Sounds like my stock N/A engine last year. (before the rebuild this past winter). Valve seals were shot, and every gasket/seal was dried up and leaking. Smoked like a bugger on startup, and didn't get much better after warm up. I got similar compresion readings, and figured rings/hone/head, ect. Bottom end was mint when I pulled it apart.. go figure.

Glad to help out. A bit of an update here, it's been a while.. a few hudred door closings I guess.. And the passenger door is still perfect. (The girl freind is quite happy) My drivers door is starting to get a little hard to close (a slight slam, but not near as hard as before the mod) although I think the lower hinge/pin is to blame for these new problems. It's been dying for a while, and now I can hear/feel a 'clunk' when I open the door. I assume that with that amount of slop and play in the hinge, it's only a matter of time before it wears more and becomes missaligned. so be it, I'll replace the door pins in a few years (maybe..) when I do another body job.

Heh.. I've dropped the site name to some people, but thinking about it now.. I've actualy bit my tounge a few times too! Sometimes IMO it's better to NOT tell people about this site, as they are the kind of people who would only cause problems.. ussualy the purists and (I use this term loosely..) "ricers"

Thats rediculus! Working in a machine shop, I can say the MAIN idea behind 'math' is to use it as a TOOL! (IE, a hammer is for hammering, pry bars are for prying, ect) If I was never taught the basic 'dry' math (+ - x / ) and evrything built on it, how the heck would I be able to do my job?!? I don't care about the 'uneven distribution of wealth' or how ancient myans used math.. absurd...

To clarify; The front frame/unibody of my Z is.. well, a little scarry. Plates welded it, lots of ugly weld bubbles, patches, ect. Most of it was done before I got the car, and I KNOW when I rip into it, it's gona be a few months worth of work to do it properly. (I didnt and haven't yet because I simply did not have the space, and wanted to drive the thing.) Not to mention the stock front brakeing and suspension is barely acceptable, (all stock) and would obviously need some 'beefing up' for a V8 install. As it is, it's holding together alright, and can handle the mild L28 I'm running. Another thing; I now have a lot of time, and a modest amount of $$$$ tied up in it, and just want to drive it for a few years...enjoy the ride you know? Not that I'm gona do this RX7 because I'm against 'bastardizing an old Z' but the way I see it, I'd be up against a lot more ($$, work, stiffening, moding, ect) trying to V8 MY somewhat rough 280.. I'll post some pics later if my digicam will work, to show how clean this RX7 is.. I'd just rather start with something rock solid to build a hybrid out of.. Find me any s30 as clean as my RX for $240 and I'll glady do that! I still think the z's LOOK better than the 2nd gen rx's, but the mazda is a newer/stronger design, has a tough suspension/rear diff, and can be had dirt cheep.

When I got my motor back, the guy who rebuilt it said it would be fine to just fill the oil and go. The assembly lube took care of the first 'dry' start, and it doesn't take much to get the oil pumping. I rolled the motor over a few times with the coil disconected anyway, to be safe. Have to make sure to change the oil right away (after first start and heat cycle) as it gets contaminated with the assembly lube.

Nah, you just have to get custom cams made and those mazda rotax engine just scream. And yes, it's 'rotary experimental' as far as I know..

Oh don't get me wrong, the 305 would be a 'for now' motor, just to get the thing going. Around here, you simply do NOT find a good running 350 w/700r4 for $100, unless it's in a vehicle, and the seller doesn't realize what's in there. (I'm keeping my eyes open) As for 1/4 mile runs, you have to keep in mind that I will be letting the girl friend drive this one (main reason for the auto..) and she gets freaked out when I go full out in my Z. Its a mild 280Z; cam, SU's, open exhast, MSD/zx dizzy, KA 5 gear and 3.90 rear, pretty basic) and I havn't run it yet, but I'd be impressed if it did a mid 14 sec 1/4 mile. The low down torque of even a 305 is going to push her eyes back into her head. So I figure by the time she's gotten used to it, and wants to go faster (and can HANDLE going faster) I'll build a healthy 350 to drop in. For now, I'll keep it on the cheap..

Well, I've done a first gen w/305 and it was fun.. didn't look too much like a sleeper though with the 2" cowl hood and HUGE 265/60/15"s sticking out from the rear.. I like that there is still quite a bit of good aftermarket stuff availible for the 2nd gen, and it's got an IRS with a tough rear diff.. Oh yah, aparently since it was an auto, it has a 3.91 rear gear too. I should get pretty good milage with the 700r4, but this thing is gona fly... hehehehhe

Wow.. I feel 'old' now.. I always had AIC blasting on my stereo...Never into the Cult really, better than country though! Ahh.. the good old days.. AIC, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, STP, Metallica... lots of good partying.. Sounds like it was a good show man.. Keep on rockin.

I've decided that my Z is going to stay the way it is. To do a V8 swap, it would need a LOT of work (to handle it) and I've grown to like the sound of the L28 winding out. Sure it's not insane fast, or even the best looking Z, but I've got so much into it to get it where it is now, I don't feel like ripping into it again. (also, I'll have it to drive while I do this next project..) Hopefully, I'll go pick it up this afternoon; A 1987 Mazda RX7 in almost MINT shape. Minus engine/tranny. (blown and removed already) The car came from Hawaii originaly, and has almost NO rust! Only place that has rust is the sunroof panel.. which I thought was weird, but not really a big deal. Factory red paint is in great shape, even in the engine bay! Black/grey interior, leather seats, but it's all taken apart and needs to be re-installed. The best part? Guy has to unload it cause he's moving and I made the deal for $240!! Oh yah, comes with a Hurst ratchet shifter too. I've got a line on a 305/700r4 dirt cheep too, so I'm thinking I can throw it together for under $1000.. It'll be weird NOT having to do any metal/body work for once.. I'll post a pic later maybe..

DOH!! didn't notice that...

HarrisonTX; I'm impressed that you have what you have on your own, without help from mommy and daddy. Nice stable you got there! The thing is, I'm sure you KNOW your vehicles because.. well, YOU built them correct? That's the diffrence.. Personaly, I would not buy a car (hybrid, project, hotrod, ect) 'ready to go'. Hell.. I couldn't leavw my daily driver pickup alone; First week I had it I cranked up the torsion bars, put 31"s on it, fender flairs, and a custom stereo. Like Pope said, building them is the real joy of having vehicles such as this. It's been my expirience that 90% of people who buy turnkey vehicles buy them 'done' because they can't, or dont want, to WORK on them. They can't understand the effort that has to go into projects like that, or better yet, don't apreciate it. Someone rolls up to me in my Z, I can talk to them for as long as they want about it. What I've done, changed, discovered, ect. People like this kid in the V8 RX7 have no clue what makes their car 'tick' and if something major goes wrong, they are lost. (Ex; blown motor, custom fab'd pieces breaking/wearing, wiring issues, ect) Really, I hope he DOESN'T crash it, cause it's a really nice car overall.. maybe he'll mess it up just enough to get fed up with it and I can pick it up for $1000 in a few months..

I think it'll be fine. The shaft IS suported iirc by the front cover, and the 'drive' for the dizzy is a smaller diameter that just sticks through that.. I'm pretty sure there is a boss internaly that the main shaft diameter rides in/on. Besides, if is WAS going to be an issue, I would think you'd have had problems by now.. First thing I think would go would be the oil pump, or the gear on the shaft.. and if it's been running good for 4 years, I'd leave it be.

Man I'm bothered by this.. The other day I see this first gen RX7 tear off from a stop sign, close by my house, as I'm backing out... I'm thinking.. wow, thats really cool! Widebody kit resembles a Porsche 944 (done well), nice fat rims/tires, and a growl that is unmistakably V8 chevy. Yesterday, he goes past me (going the oposite way on the highway) in a red blur, and again I smile.. I notice there is a 10 day permit on the windscreen, so I KNOW he's just got the thing on the road. (for those of you who ar saying WTF? Here in Ontario you can get a '10 day trip permit' when you purchase a used vehicle, in order to drive it home/to garages to get it fixed up for the emisions and safety check, before getting plates) I think back to MY rx7 V8 that I built, and how much fun it was, yada yada.. I tried to chase him down in the Z, but I got stuck in traffic. Oh well.. some other day maybe.. Anyhoo, I see this guy in a mall parking lot today, so I roll over (in my beater pick up truck) to talk to him. Looks to be about 19 or so, and it is obvious he thinks he's pretty cool. His window is half way down (dark tint) and the little bugger doesn't even roll it down more.. (Um.. a bit rude?) So I ask "350? Nice man.." Kid says "Yah, 5 speed. Just got it." I say "Oh, you didn't build it?" Kid; "No, just picked it up. You can buy it for ten if you want.." (yup, 10 grand and I could buy this car he obviously doesn't understand, and can't drive very well.) I told him I'll stick with my Datsun for now, as I'm getting close to 10 g's invested in it, but WAY mroe if I counted the hours I've loged on it. He just drove off. I felt like yelling at him "Hey, tell your parents they bought you a nice car!!" Just bugs me.. he might as well be driving a civic or something..

First thing I'd do is take the alternator off, and get it tested. Sounds like a bad short to me..

Man.. if a garage smacked my car up, I'd loose it.. Go get two estimates to fix it, one high one low. (explain to the autobody shop what has hapened.. :twisted ) Show them the high $$ one and tell them you want some $$$$. Muhahaha...

I think it looks good right there. Nevermind what the rice-friend says, he obviously wouldn't know style if it bit him in the arse.

I believe any zx block from 81 and up will have the same block (F54) that you can just pop all your internals into... The 280z's blocks are suposedly not as strong (N42 iirc) but I've heard of people using them for turbo applications with no problems. I think the 'turbo' block is more desirable for those building strokers and doing big overbore jobs, as it has more internal webbing/bracing.. but maybe it is a concern with a HUGE power turbo setup.. I dono. Not that I can actually locate one for you there, but I think you should be able to find any old zx pretty cheep.. edit; Dang.. ya beat me!

I got some studs from NAPA for the front, I'll see if I can find the old box's and get a P/N for you. I agree about the length.. 4 threads is not enough IMO. For typical nuts/bolts/ect (espasialy for something under load/stress, like wheel studs) , you want the length of thread engagement to be 2 times the diameter of the stud/bolt. IE M12 studs; there should be about 24mm of thread. This isn't always the case, or even feasable, but I'd get as much as possible. My rear studs are a diffrent P/N (it was all they had, the knurl was bigger so I drilled out the rear hubs/drums apropriatly) and I'm wary of them as it is... I have about 8 threads engaged, and I check them EVRY time I go out in the car.

Can you even call it a crank? It's just a splined shaft isn't it?

Oooo.... I sence a war starting...