FricFrac

I had previously read the Oil 101 thread and its very good. I guess what I'm saying is that hot oil is a very broad and vauge term rather than stating the oil should be at operating temperature....

Why do you want hot oil? Is it just for start up wear? If so isn't viscosity different now with synthetics (eg 0W30, etc)? I noticed in my VQ37 the oil is used a lot more in cooling the engine compared to older engines like the L28 and an oil cooler is a necesity for very agressive driving. Just curious as I would have thought an oil cooler would help as well with the L series...

Just remember what the padded vinyl did on our cars. I'd go with regular vinyl if you plan on keeping it unless you need the padded vinyl for ah... padding ;P Also aluminum scratches pretty easily but stainless is a lot tougher (tougher to work with too though...) I had a set of door sills made out of stainless but even those I'm concerned about the abuse they'll take.

I suspect the E-Bay $150 ones are the cheap chinese knock offs - last thing you want is the impeller flying through your engine.... Lots of turbos for sale on the forums....

I'm putting in a ceramic coated header which should help. Since its ceramic coated is there any advantage to wrapping the header and will moisture be an issue if it's coated?

Normal disclaimer - yes I've searched and read literally for hours but the results are inconclusive..... With a EGR intake on an L28 (mine is an F54/P79) if I choose to use the heat shields is it better to leave the webbing in (trapped air as an insulator??) or remove some of the webbing to release the hot trapped air to reduce heat soak on the intake? I know if you aren't using the heat shields traditionally the webbing is removed or a non-egr intake is used. My thought is that its likely optimal to use the heat shields and remove the webbing but I'm far from an expert on this one.... Beuler?

You don't need to buy the MSD 8920 - use the power resistor mod and do it for a fraction of the price if you want to use the original tach.

My concern is to be able to adjust the camber. I may autocross the car from time to time but its not likely to become a track car. I HATE the stock suspension and I don't like to do stuff half way then wish I'd spent the extra money and done it properly. If I put coil overs in I want to be able to adjust the car back to a stock caster depending on its ride height. From what I can tell the offset bushings don't hold their position especially when used for autoX, etc.

I e-mailed Dave at ArizonaZcar and he says he has a suspension designed for the S130 but hasn't implemented it yet as he's quite busy. It would probably be a good idea if you are interested to let him know. There just isn't anything available for the S130 right now but I think if people see there is a market they are more likely to make something for our cars.

...and don't forget to get a LONG extension cord as well....

Looks awesome. A lot more work than shaving the S30 rear end - any updates?

I've been reading for weeks on this trying to figure it out. I'm assuming there is going to be some slight variations between vehicles but would it be reasonable to get a set of 235/40/18x8.5 on the fronts and 275/35/18x9.5 on the rear? If so what offset are we looking at? Would 18s avoid the issues with the control arm?

Here's my S130 with my S30 and Z34

Doh! Forgot about the injectors. Sounds like the spare F54 NA block and the E31 would be a good combo for my 240Z instead of putting it on the 280ZX. I could just take the intake/triple Mikuni's of the current engine and put it on the F54/E31 and run that in the 240Z. I've got a line on a L28ET/ECU/Harness so I'll just patch the N/A setup for now with the P79 and do the header and exhaust while I've got the intake off. Thanks for the help again guys - I like to do as much research as I can before jumping in!

There is sooooo much info here that searching is an art. I've spent more hours than I'd care to admit reading and searching on various topics. There are a fair amount of repeated questions but for every repeated question there are usually three or four space filling replies about using the search function. I've been looking for info on this topic as well - hopefully someone has the magic link. Oh and thanks for asking the question so the furry of the search stick is directed at you instead ;P

So it would be a decent head to use when I go to a Megasquirt but for stock its too lumpy. Thanks for the help!

I'm wondering if there will be any issue using a modified E31 head on an F54 block in an '83 280ZX with the stock EFI. I know the stock EFI doesn't like a agressive cam but would this E31/cam be mild enough to run on a stock EFI? I searched but I didn't find anything about the stock EFI having issues with the higher CR or the larger valving on the modified E31. Any known issues? Also what do you do with the head temp sensor - just leave it dangling? Does this cause problems because the ECU thinks the temp is too low on the head? The E31 specs: Some porting (mild) 1.73 intakes 1.378 exhaust ? Heavier Roadster Springs (U20?) 200 thou lash pads Run 25 lbs fuel pressure (not sure what this info is for) Distributor- total advance 38-40 degrees (not sure what this info is for) 3-4000 miles on Shadbolt M445 Cam Shadbolt M-445 cam specs: Duration: 280 degrees, Overlap: 60 degrees, Lift: 0.507†at the valve

....and I'd say you're right. There was a bunch of gunk on the shafts and I had to literally brace myself and work it back and forth to get it out. Thanks for the tip - I would never have been so forcefull with it otherwise! PS - nice thumbnail

I have an '83 280ZX with a P79/F54. The rear exhaust stud is broken off below flush on the head. I'm going to pull the intake and manifold off and replace the exhaust (Ceramic coated header and 2.5" aluminiumized exhaust from MSA) while I've got it pulled apart. I have another p79/F54 in the garage and I have an E31 a friend is selling that has a cam/springs/valve job. He's getting the specs for me but I don't have those right now. If the E31 head has the bigger valves would that be a better option on a stock EFI 280ZX or should I throw the P79 from the other engine in our just get the stud removed from the P79 on the car? My main concern on the E31 is that the P79 has a head temp sensor and I don't believe the E31 has the sensor. Will this cause an issue with the stock EFI? Does it care if the sensor is hooked up or do people just leave it dangling? If its dangling will the EFI try to run in "cold" mode and if so does it affect performance? Also if the cam is mild will it be OK to run with a stock EFI/performance exhaust? I know the EFI doesn't like an agressive cam but there isn't much info on a mild cam. Any idea of what the spec range on a mild cam that would work with the stock EFI would be (yes I've searched)? I know the stock EFI doesn't like an agressive cam but is there an issue with the raised compression from using the E31 with the stock EFI? Can I get around any EFI issues from a cam/higher CR that a E31 swap would cause by using an Z31 NA ECU? I've spent hours searching this and other forums regarding this swap and most of my other questions have been answered but the above was the remaining questions I couldn't find answers for.

That is one of the nice things about the Z car is that they don`t go for the insane money that the American Muscle cars do. We for now at least.... 20 or 30 years ago American Muscle was what most people went for - now adays kids aren`t nearly as interested in American Muscle as they are Imports. The tides have changed and it will be interesting to see what is collectable in the future.... but for now restored Z cars are a bargin. Most people who restore their car do it because they enjoy it though.

You`re basically buying a car by its individual parts which is absolutely insane. What about rebuilding your own harness from scratch. Does your diff need new seals or can you get one in excellent shape for $75. Tear it down and powder coat it and it will be better than new. There are a ton of options if you want to build a cherry car without spending $30K. You should see what the guy who restored my car did with $10K worth of parts - amazing!

I had an '81 280ZX GL with leather seats and you just needed to push in the clip on the rail to remove the headrest. The headrest on the '83 is different and I can't for the life of me figure out how to remove them. I looked in the FSM first then did a search on here. Any trick to removing them or do I just need to be more forceful?

Why is this stickied if all the initial data that the thread is based on is missing?

Subscribed. Interested to see the results. Surprised no adjustable solution has really solidified on this over all these years. We use to slot the mount then use a star washer to hold it in place to adjust the camber. Looking for a better solution for my new 280ZX...

Just curious how the rear wing works on the track and if you have any frame of reference how it compares to other wings such as the whale tails, etc. I'm assuming there is no real effect until 60+ MPH?