HB280ZT

Well no takers!! I put on the new ignitor but still no spark!! I changed out the ECU and that did not change anything. So what next?? I am not sure where to check now. I may try and swap the distributor as a last resort but other then that I am out of luck and time on this swap. I will just have to put in the old setup and get it running for my road trip the end of this week. HB280ZT

GetZ, I have two ignitors that have numbers but niether on of them seems like a good power transistor number: 6N03 New just out of the box 0N16 Used Other then that still no fire on the car!! Oh well back to the drawing board!!

Hi All, Well i need help. I have the complete 82 turbo harness and all other parts installed in my 77 280Z. I am not getting any spark so I think my ignitor is shot!! I have a new one on order and the correct one ( long story) should be here tomorrow morning. I have good fuel pressure and the pump is running like it should on start up. I also have a good ECU green light in the on position but it goes out when I crank the motor, is this good or bad??? Please let me know if this is correct and what else I should check. Thanks HB280ZT

Hi All, Well getting closer to having my 82 wiring harness installed in my 77 280Z. But I have a question about where you put the 82 ECU?? It is bigger then my 77 ECU and will not fit in the same spot. So did you all remove any of the mounting tabs to make the 82 ECU fit in the 77 location?? Pictures would be nice!! Thanks HB280ZT

GetZ So anything on the ignitor transistor replacement. I am with you on this one because I just check mine using you little test and it is bad. The stealership wants $190 for a new on now!! Please keep me posted. HB280Z

So Bastaad525 how did the swap go?? Did you get it up and running without any head aches? I am still working on mine and hope to have it running this weekend if I can find another ignitor. Also does your MSD unit still work with the 82 distributor installed?? If so how do you have it wired?? Thanks HB280ZT

GetZ, Well I tried you test and my ignitor reads about 230K with the blue wire checked to groud and when I add the battery it drops to 35K which to me is not very close to Zero. So is my ignitor bad?? Or am I just doing this test wrong!! Thanks HB280ZT

Well for starts take at look here: http://www.arizonazcar.com/ and here: http://www.modern-motorsports.com/catalog/default.php This should help you get started. Also do a search and you will find lots of good information. HB280ZT

Guys, Well after going crossed eyed looking at the wiring diagrams in the Haynes manuals I think I have something for the MSD wiring. What I am seeing is that the 77 harness has inputs to the ignition module from the distributor pickup, Green (G) and Red ®. Out of the module you have a Blue (L), Black/Blue (BL) and a Black/White (BW) going to the dropping risistor and then to the coil. If I am not mistaken I have my MSD 6BTM running off of the Green and Red wires from the distributor pickup. So with this said I am now going cross eyed on the 82 wiring pictures in Haynes and I see that from the ignitor you have a Blue (L) and Black/White (BW) going to the coil. Also you have a Yellow/White (YW) and Black/White wires going to the ignitor from the ECU. So do I tie the Blue and Black/White (from ignitor) wires from the 82 harness into the Green and Red wires from the 77. Then after the ignition module gets done with the signal I run it into the MSD unit Green and Purple wires then out to the coil?? Please look at your setups and let me know if my wire colors are correct or if I am out in left field. Thanks HB280ZT

bastaad525, What I would do is put the motor at TDC, have a reference where #1 cylinder plug wire is location on the distributor. Then remove the distributor and the oil pump. Then replace the distributor with the rotor pointing in the disired direction, then put in the shaft for the oil pump, then the pump. That is how I plan on doing my swap next week. As for draining the oil I am not sure about that one. I just planned on putting a pan under the pump and having at. The only item that I need help on is how to hook up the MSD unit to the 82 distributor/wiring harness?? HB280ZT

Hi All, Well I did a search but did not find what I was looking for so here I am. Here is some information first: 1977 280Z with an 82 turbo motor and tranny. However the idiot that put the motor in did not use the 82 ECU and wiring harness. So now I have the 77 N/A ECU running the turbo motor with the help of a MSD 6BTM. Well I am in the process of installing the 82 turbo ECU, harness and distributor and I am not sure how to wire the MSD unit into the 82 system, no way to pick up a trigger from the 82 distributor that I know of??. So for all of you with turbo motors in 280 how did you wire in the MSD units??? Thanks for your help. HB280ZT

Hi All, Great write up so far. I have an 82 turbo motor in my 77 280Z but it still has the 77 N/A ECU and wiring harness. I am getting ready to put in the 82 harness/dist/ECU/AFM and am willing to provide bumble zee pictures and information to make this sticky and his web site better. My only concern is in how to wire the fuel pump?? So if any of you guys have some good info on that part of the wiring please let me know. Thanks HB280ZT

Jesse, You may need to look into an MSD Tach adapter 8910, here is a link that explains more about it. http://www.msdignition.com/pdf/8910_tach_adapter.pdf I had to put one on my setup to make the tach read correctly. I hope this helps. Also any info on how you set up your MS? MSnS? would be great I am thinking about putting one in my 77 280Z turbo. If you have pictures that would be great also. Thanks HB280ZT

Jesse, I am not sure if you have the MSD 6BTM or not if so then you have a tach trigger on this unit. I have one myself and mine does have a tach trigger output. Here is a link to what I have : http://www.msdignition.com/pdf/6462_add_frm23654.pdf I hope this helps. HB280ZT

I would look at making a bracket that attached to the front attaching point of the center console. Then I would make it follow the contour of the trans hump. I would do it this way so that I would not have to put holes in the trans tunnel, just my .02. HB280ZT

Nice pictures! Just one more question for now. How did you get the trip reset to work correctly? Because on my 77 the bottom of the factory gauge comes out at an angle making it seem like the post on the new speedo will not work. So how did you do it? Thanks for the help. HB280ZT

Nice Job!! You must tell how you did it! Also what did you do about the turn signals and the high beam indicator? Please put something together so that others can do the same to there cars. My tach and speedo are AFU so I will be doing something like this in the near future. HB280ZT

510SIX, Thanks for the info, by the way nice setup. I was looking at the 6-speed because of the extra over-drive. Right now I spend most of my time on the road but I also race it on the weekends (autocross) so I need the extra gear. My current setup has a 3.90 rear gear with an 82 5-speed so I have a good over drive but I am still running about 3000 rpms as I drive so having an extra over-drive lower then .74 would be great. HB280ZT

Oops!! I should never post before my first cup of caffeine kicks in. Now that I think about it the T-56 that they are talking about probably just has a custom bell housing to work with the Ford 5.0L. Oh well, maybe someday someone will make a bell housing so that we can put a T-56 or some other 6-speed into our Z's HB280ZT

After looking at the Astro Performance Warehouse website I saw the Tremec T-56 6 Speed Part# 1386-000-012 and started thinking, hum what if. Would this tranny work with the bellhousing from the 83 T5???? Boy would a 6 speed be really nice to have in my 77 280Z. Lots of thinking to do about this one!! Will have to contact Astro and see what they think, hum hum!!! HB280ZT

Hi All, Well I put some BFG G-Force Sports (225/50/15) on my 77 and went autocrossing over the weekend and dropped about 5 seconds off of my time from my last run. To me the Sports hook up really well and can hang a corner. Now when I was really getting on it the backend would get a bit squirrelly but that is to be expected. Currently I am only running about 7 psi on my ZT setup but the handling is great. Also at the price of $81 each that was better then most out there. I really wanted the Falken Azenis in the same size but they are not offering them yet. HB280ZT

Hi All, Well I looked at the electronic speedometers, ouch!! I also need a tach so I will stay with the mechanical speedometer and get the tach to go with it and spend about the same for just the electronic speedometer. I can live with it not being perfectly correct, just as long as the odometer and tripmeter work. Thanks for your help. HB280ZT

Ok, Just for a what if, how would you attach an electric speedo to a factory Datsun 5 speed? Most of the parts that i have seen still use part of the cable but just make it shorter,ie it still runs into the passenger compartment but it attachs to a pickup vice the back of the speedo. Good question??? HB280ZT

Thanks jaime240z for the info. I hope the speedo comes with calibration information, if not does anyone here have any info on how to calibrate a Autometer 5" speedometer? Thanks for the help. HB280ZT

Hi All, For starts I did a search and did not find any answer. I need to know if I will have to modify or get a new speedometer cable to attach an autometer 5" speedometer to my 77 280Z?? I am using the engine/transmission from a 82 280ZXT. Also any other useful information would be great. I did find some interesting ways to mount the unit. Thanks for your help. HB280ZT