randy 77zt

last summer at redding california drag strip i watched a subaru wrx wagon beat a 350z buy .1 sec..it surprised me.but it was about 105 degrees out-it sucked for drag racing that night.if i was buying a 350z i would get the track edition with the brembo brakes.but i would have to drive other cars if i was shopping in that price range.cars picked-zo6 vette,porsche boxter s(used),honda s2000(put about 30 miles on 1-a very handy sized car),rx8(just to see what its about,subaru wrx sti-already drove one-not much car for the money-comes with no radio.the honda handles like a surgical instrument.

trans has to be completely torn down to get out cluster gear/countershaft.i built a few working at ford dealer.remove tail shaft housing.remove bell housing and input bearing retainer.the input shaft is notched-remove it.remove shift rails.remove 5th & reverse.remove clips & main shaft.remove countershaft-not exactly.but be ready for complete tear down.if it is a ford t5 there are rebuild kits in mustang mags.rebild kits have new bearings,seals,syncrhos.t5's are easy.make sure you have a big work bench and nobody around so you can concentrate.are you installing a wc kit?

i have the intake matched for the twm throttle body.it was a bolt on and linkage is fits.i like the feel of oem z throttle linkage.the throttle body is a little over 60mm.making an aluminum plate to hold tps is easier the reworking throttle linkage.i swapped out a stock one a few years back on a zx that my buddy had for sale.so i got a free throttle body.the local pick&pulls dont have any ka24 tps sensors-they are always gone.from the picture it looks the tps might bolt on.

ignition is easy-there is a solonoid on the diesel injection pump.the hot wire from the coil goes there.if you drain the tank and change the fuel filter you can put diesel in.this swap would be easier than l28et.a stock l28 turbo might be worth a try.if you worked hard you might be able to swap a stock engine in a day.

when it goes on boost it wont have vacuem-so that drops out of total advance.initial+vacuem+centrifigual=total advance.total should be set up about 36btdc for highway cruise speeds.best dizzy for msd box is 75-78 280.it has a magnetic pick up.connect to mag pick-up wires on msd box directly.if you get a used dizzy make sure to vacuem test the advance diaphram and test the centrifigual advance on the motor with a dial advance test timing light.if you disconnect the vacuem line run up the engine and check for centrifigual at about 300 rpm.it should read more than initial and you should see it advance.to set msd 6btl run engine up to 3000 or where to centrifigual is done.disconnct vacuem advance.put a hand pressure pump on msd vacuem line .pump it up to your max boost.timing should retard to 20-24 btdc.if you chip the sealer away from dizzy vacuem can you will find an adjustment screw.you might be able to build a dizzy that will work.read up on distributor tuning theory.when my 77 had original motor i used 2 dizzy to build 1 good 1 with the advance curve that i wanted.the original advance curves were set for emissions-not performance.

went to get a new 240sx tp sensor.the parts counters are showing a difference between automatic and manual trans applications.anybody know the difference?i am installing megasquirt-want all new parts.i have an old twm throttle body for a z but i am making an adaptor plate for the tps.

give me an email when you are coming by.i live 1/2 mile off of 99.engine is not in car yet.have to update the car now.engine is ready.i got the notepad stuff fixed so i can look at the megatune for mss&e.mss&e should run it

the exhaust manifold warps .check it with a straight edge.it can be trued at a machine shop -usually about $30 or $40.put the exhaust manifold on first then the intake.i use anti-sieze on the exhaust bolts.alot of times the studs on the ends of the cylinder heads break.soak parts with pentrating oil thr day before working on.

the problem with ford is that the oil pump is in front-meaning no short oil pan.i think i remember somebody on this site saying they were shoving the ford motor behind the crossmember completly.and build a separate crossmember to hold up the engine.the zx might have a little more length but i dont know for sure.the steering gear box can probably be fixed by swapping crossmembers.but use what ever comes up for an engine.ford didnt run good until somebody made aftermarkit heads with chevy valves in them.

tennessee-just starting testing?good luck.what are the rules on engine swaps?the communist state a kalifornia has had testing for many years.but you can update a car with a newer engine.but the newer engine must have a emission controls hooked up and working.

i have a 3" magnaflow 19"long oval muffler underneath the heat shield for the cat convertor.i left the heat shield on because it gets hot where i live.i like the sound-quiet on the freeway unless you gas it.the magnaflow is kind of like a cheap borla-no baffles -just a perforated pipe & packing.baffles arernt supposed to be good behind a turbo.i dont like flowmasters.if you put a muffler in the back yoou cant get a big 1.i used 2 3" 90 mandrel bends behind muffler and a 3" chrome tip.nice mellow sound for a daily driver but some people might like more noise.

if you like fancy high dollar stuff for tpi you can get high flow runners from arizona speed&marine.throttle cables specific for tpi from lokar.i get lokar part# from thier website then order from summit.tpi unit makes good low/mid torque-just the thing in a z with good hook up.there is a guy on ebay that sell injectors cheap.the 350 engines had 24lbs.the 305s had 19s.30s and 42 are easy to get.

some body said valve seals from a 2.9l ford ranger engine will work.those should be cheap.

it all adds up for money.510six just sent me a set of vg turbo pistons.but after i get the rods bored for bushings and a set of rings i have still spent money.probably $300.so whats the diff?

try rebello or sunbelt on east coast

i have a set of throttle bodies from a 2003 yamaha r1 1000cc sportbike.the reason they dont stumble is becuase there are vacuem operated slides in front of the throttle blades.kind of like an su with a injector behind it.throttle bores are 39mm.if i could find another set you could dissassemble them and make a row of 6.the map sensor has a vacuem line from all the cylinders.fuel rail is on bottem.

that track looks like thunderhill in north california.that must have been 1 of those private test days.the scca posts the schedual for thunderhill on the sf region website.track is for rent on weekdays.the bed must really improve lap times.or is it some new kind of enduro race they have there.

thanks tony-i get the waveform stuff.i took 2 years of electronics in college.but that was in early 80's before windows.so i suck with computors becuase i dont know much about software.so now i am trying to figure out the megatune initial settings with the ms notepad.i dont know notepad.i am going to run mss&e.at least that is what the pre-assembled ms is supposed to be loaded with.i might try hooking the little yellow wire to the ms just to see what it will do.i figure if i am going to trigger a msd it might work on the yellow wire.i am going to have to get my girlfriend to help me with the notepad though-i am getting pissed.my motor is on a stand that i can run the engine on out of the car.if i put moby's tune in it it should run-i got his file.but i want the engine to run before it goes in the car.

my brake set up has been used/abused on track for up to 1.5 hours at sears point.its not rocket science.front=toyota wide calipers,mm .3" spacers,84 300zx rotors drilled,porterfield r4 pads.rear=dp racing 2 piston willwood calipers/brackit kit,84 300zx rear rotors,porterfield r4s pads.i have a willwood propertion valve by the gear shift.lines are earl's.i use off the shelf front pads on the street.i change the pads when i put on the slicks.the r4s pads in rear are the only pads that dont squeek like wrc car brakes .sometimes installing race parts isnt a win/win situation.master cylinder is stock.i use ford brake fliud.car will remind you of why you need seat belts.be prepared to do some work after bolting stuff on -you might need to juggle brake pad types from front to rear if rears lock up too soon.

if you got a totaled 350z cheap and wanted a simple swap job with no turbo it would work good.scrapping the car for the big brakes and r230 rear wouldnt hurt either.the obd2 efi wiring would be a hassle but somebody like jim wolf could probably rework the computor to ignore some sensors not installed.welding motor mounts would have to be done.good luck.

has anybody fired the zxt ignitor transistor with a megasquirt?the little yellow wire at the ignitor ?never had a problem with oem ignition.

a neighbor has a clean california 810 for sale -email if interested

try changing the coil-could have shorted windings.

i was reading on ms forums-from what i read it said to use version 225b358.but since i suck with software(i am much better with a hammer)i downloaded 390,366,462,417,358 looking for correct screens for programming ignition.found out files in the downloads-they have to be extracted & filed correctly.before i work on this more i would like to know which version is most trouble free .as far as getting it set up i made a copy of the webpage but i can get the it guy from across the street help me set it up-he owes me alot of favors for fixing his boat trailer wiring.i did manage to get a cherry hall effect sensor flashing with a pull up resistor and a 9 volt battery and a led.i am not recycling any old z stuff on my install-even wiring from battery will be new to supply ms.will be using msd6a.

cremmenga-i have working a/c-it gets real hot at thunderhill.and the drive home needs cool air.