SleeperZ

I'm not using either. I use a Profec B electronic unit. I tried a MBC from MSA that sucked, very temperature senstive, and slow to boost - it was a bleeder type. The other type of MBC gets good reviews, the ball and spring type; apparently it spools quickly and the temperature instability is safer (boost goes down when hot, as opposed to the MSA where boost goes up when hot). My opinion on the threaded wastegate is you are limited on how much boost you can control if you preload it too much - you can lose the ability to fully open the wastegate.

The Porterfield pads I use racing I also use on the street, but I don't drive the car much, and they squeak a bit. Porterfield also makes a softer pad for the street, but so far the race pads are OK. don't know about wear - the only wear they get is on the track really. I used the whole 280ZX caliper and bracket. The OD of the brake disc was turned down 1/4", and the caliper bracket mounted to the other side of the ears on the strut (the non-machined side). The strut ears had to have the threads drilled out, as the 280ZX calipers are threaded. In order to get the calipers to line up, I used 240Z front hubs, and about 1/8" stack of washers to center the caliper on the rotor. I was a little leery of doing all this ghetto modding, but they have worked flawlessly for 3 years now. Also, I was parting out a Porsche 911 for a friend, and I removed the front calipers (Wilwoods) to discover they were mounted in much the same way.

Post your times, we are not prejudiced (or afraid ) of V8s.

Personally, I did option 1). I don't think crush tubing is a good option, and if you've nver welded before, piping is not the easiest thing to learn to weld on.

3.7 LSD is nice, but if you are going with the Quaiffe, the 3.54 is an excellent choice.

Gads, that sounds insane! That motor is claimed to have 1000+ hp naturally aspirated?!?!

Pretty sure that is correct, knowing a few DSM racers myself.

You are correct. You do not want the fan current running through the thermoswitch. Just run a relay off a fusible link or a high current fuse to the fan, and switch the relay with the thermoswitch off a normal source from the fusebox. I prefer to wire it through a non-switched source so I can run the fan with the ignition off.

I'm very happy with with my 280ZX caliper/300ZX vented rotor front brakes, but the item that made the MOST difference was the carbon/kevlar race pads. Before the pads, I still faded out the brakes in a hurry, stock brakes or the vented rotor upgrade.

Sounds right. The signals should pulse as the diz spins. I'm surprised there is no section in your '83 FSM for the distributor - the '82 certainly has it.

Wow, you are set up for some serious volume. And I might add, that should be a good seller - I see lots of folks wanting to go with DSM injectors. The DSM folks are spending the $$ to replace their 450s with 550s and bigger - I bet they wish they could grow 2 more cylinders and use 2 more stock 450s, saves money for the Zs.

Are you running an '81 turbo? There is a factory supplement for the FSM for that year, then there should be a section included in the '82 and '83 years. If your car is running, the CAS and trigger stuff inside the dizzy works. If it fails, the car flat will not run. If you have power to the coil, can you confirm there is no switching on the negative coil terminal? You can probe for power to the dizzy at the harness on the ECU. The signals back should be pulsing as you crank the engine, or spin the removed dizzy with the ignition on.

That looks like it'll work fine. I didn't get away with using a straight pipe back either - my downpipe points a bit down and in, I had to run straight from that to clear my driveshaft loop, then up and out to get to my 90* bends to the stock muffler location. It was only one custom welded piece, and it scrapes if I'm not careful, but otherwise I'm happy with it. Not including the stainless downpipe ("Scottie" style for $150), I've got almost $400 into my 3" exhaust, including welding labor and the Dynomax muffler. It was more expensive than I anticipated when I set out to do it myself.

I'm pretty sure you would be hard pressed to get mpg in the high 20s with a hot L28 atmo motor. On the other hand, I get 27 mpg with my 300hp L28ET. But lighter weight and good mileage, with 200hp on tap sounds like an SR20 or CA motor to me, with a good flowing turbo upgrade (less exhaust restriction )

8.6 @ 85

Good point about testing current...don't do it unless you know what you are doing. If you are tracing live circuits, use the voltage settings. Just connect your black lead to the chassis or the negative lead of the battery. Unless your alternator is totally hosed, you will always read positive voltage with the red lead. To test a fuse, check for voltage on both sides - it should be the same (and at battery voltage) if the fuse is good. And if you come across a test procedure or otherwise that requires a continuity test, you can use the resistance (ohms) setting on the meter, but remember - the circuit must not be powered, or your results will not make sense. It's also possible to damage the meter.

TPS should be closed with throttle at idle. Set timing. BTW, congrats on finding the problem, that was a tough one.

Stock downpipe is cast iron. It's an excellent material for turbo applications, but it's hard to fabricate custom stuff with it - more suited for casting and mass production. Stainless is the next best thing - it's not about heat dissipation, stainless is a poor heat conductor - it's about fabrication ease and heat resistance. Unprotected mild steel will not last long.

Have you confirmed the driveshaft U-joints are lined up? I realize there is no slip joint that would allow this, but if it was fabricated poorly... What about your halfshaft U-joints? Your shocks? Your mustache bar bushings? Tires balanced, not flat-spotted?

That happened to me in my '78. It was bad connections in the headlight harness under the hood.

Search, and ye shall find.

Believe it or not, this topic has been discussed extensively. What information are you looking for specifically? If you are handy with wiring, it's not a hard swap at all, and I feel it's worth getting rid of the flapper. Keep in mind both the NA and turbo Z31 ECUs are designed to run the 260cc/min injectors, so that's another piece you will need for the swap, in addition to the 280ZX turbo or Z31 engine wiring harness.