bigbreak_2000

Radioshack. i can get you the part # later when I'm home. Only couple cents. You get two in the bag. I had to go through this with my 1981 280zx when I upgraded to MSD ingition system. Never had the run on problem before the upgrade. But problem solved by the diode.

Thanks. It is a question I've asked the cam maker. I'm guessing he will say I need to check all the lash pads...

I've been running the 420c now for about a year, on a L6, 3.1L fuel injection, NA, MAP based Ve tuning, single ignitor, EMS 6A. Would like to see if there are other members out there with similar experience or want to exchange questions, ideas. I've been pretty happy so far. Started with zero knowledge of ECU functions or tuning, so the learning was quite interesting.

I'm planning on a different/larger cam for the engine. The cam supplier asked me to check the base circle of the current cam and also measure the lash pad thickness. Its a 3.1L stroker. Its a relative new engine top to bottom. I measured the base circle, it came to 1.141. The lobe, nose to end measures 1.461. Is there an easy way to remove a lash pad? I'm not a mechanic and never worked on valve gear. My thinking was if I push hard enough down on the spring retainer, the relieve on the rocker would allow me to slip a lash pad out/and back in. So I proceeded without removing or loosening anything, I tried to push down on the spring retainer of the valve where the lobe points upwards, but couldn't get it to compress. Do I have to unclip the valve rocker spring first? Do I need a special tool to compress that spring? I'm afraid of loosening the rocker pivot locknut; that might adjust the valve clearance right? If its that's risky procedure and gets complicated without specialized tools and experience I'd rather take it during the week to a Datsun mechanic nearby and pay the $$$. Any recommendation?

The other goal is to improve acceleration. The car has the R200 3.9 diff, and the Nissan 5 sp with the high 5th OD and very low 1st and 2nd gear. Geared for a low 30mph and 50mph in 1st and 2nd. That is with the tire diameters I have now. I love the drivetrain and dont want to change that out, just not happy with shifting that often, and idea of loosing traction on fast upshifts, on 1/4 mile runs. Esppecially 2nd to 3rd is notchy/long shift. Now I understand bigger wheels won't get me to 100 in 2nd gear, the new engine is still going to deliver max HP at 6100rpms. The advantage of the 60 profile tire would be as you said softer ride, and I would think slightly higher speed in gear, a bigger footprint, but at disadvantage of being a (slightly) heavier tire, and risk of rubbing on rear fender since these cars squad so much. I read somewhere on this forum that 25inches or higher rub on these cars under hard acceleration, but I have no first hand experience to tell if that is a true or not. I'm not ready to start modiying the suspension.

I'm preparing the car for occasional track events at the Carolina Motorsports Park (speedway) in Kershaw SC. Full course is 2.279miles, so mostly fast turns. That is my goal for starting early 2011. Right now the car is only used for weekend driving and has Michelin Destiny 195/70-14's on, with the factory 6 spoke wheel. It is riding to soft for me (and springs, shocks, suspension bushings are all still very good, and factory). The new NA engine with 284Hp/277Lbsft will go in about a week from now, and it was recommended that I get better tracking tires. There are several other performance modifications on the way. The local Nissan mechanics helping me with the car suggested that I start with upgrading the wheels from 14in to 15in, and get better tires.

Thank you for all the replies. With the 60 profile tire I'm concerned about the weight. It adds another 3-4lbs per tire. Johnc thanks for pointing the Bfg GForce Sport's out to me.

John, thanks for the reply. That is a 1.2 inch lower tire than the stock setup (stock tire height is 24.7-in). I already have the new 15-in wheels that I would like to install. I have difficulty visualizing how the shorter tire (not talking about profile) will look on the 280zx. That would leave a theoretical 1/2 in bigger gap between top of tire and fender. If its not going to look to terrible I would go for it. Anyone with a picture of a 280zx with 225/50-15 tires on?

I'm planning to install 15x7 Front and 15x8 Rear rims. This is on a 280zx NA with stock/original suspension. The tire shops don't recommend tires narrower than 225 for the rear, which are 8 in wide rims. But I dont like 225 wide tires on the front. Perhaps I can do 205/60 Front and 215/60 rear. Then there are two questions: rear tire would be about 1/2-in higher than front tire, would this be noticable and have castor impacts that I should avoid? and second question, what negative effects are there really to mounting a 215/60 on a 8-in wide rim? I thought that Porsche had run this setup (215/60-15x8)for years on their Carerras and some 944's as stock, but nowdays the tires shops are totally against it. If the castor and steering consequences are great, I could go with 215/60's on all 4 corners. Alternative is go with 225/60's on all 4, a much higher tire setup, added weight, not desired in my opinion, or go wth 225/50s on all 4 which I think will look not so good considering the car is not lowered and it will leave a wide fender gap. My goals are the lighest possible tire setup for scrisp steering, braking, but rear tire must be safe for fitting a 8 in whide wheel. Recommendations please.

I'm planning to install the Cusco catch can. The can has two connectors. Couple questions on maintaining a closed loop system: 1) is it best to install the catch can between the crank case and PCV valve on the intake manifold, or install it on the "other side" of the system , that is between the valve cover (after flame arrestor) and air duct pre-throttle chamber? I'm not sure which side of the system will be more prone to pushing oil and fumes back into the manifold. My thinking was best to place it between crank case and PCV valve, but seems from what I read on most other forums folks install it on the line between the valve cover and intake. BTW engine is a NA 3.2L Stroker, newly built, and I still need to meet emission requirements which calls for a visual inspection that PCV system is in place (therefore need to be a closed loop setup)

91iroc I just sent you a PM, I'm also looking for a 280zx distributor

Perhaps $1,000 (usd). I did a quick check on the internet, a rebuilt engine can be anything between $1,200 and $2,500. A scrapyard engine may be around $350 but then it will be stripped and you would not know the condition until you open it or have it running. The good thing about this engine is the cam tower alignment is all stock factory, same with lash pads, rocker arms, etc. This engine is a very desired combination F54 turbo block, flat top pistons and the p79 head. The p79 has a good champer and is one of the less expensive heads to modify for performance. Less than 3,000 miles ago I had the pressure tested, and it was even across all 6 cylinders. I don't exactly remember all the readings but the wet pressure was around 160. When driving the oil pressure is constantly close to 80-90 range. In the winter, on startup, I dont think I ever saw pressure readings below 50. When it is warm at idle maybe it drops to 45-50 range. I dyno checked the engine (Mustang dyno, conservative)and the wheel power came in 149lbft at 2500rpms and stayed over 140 all the way through about 5000rpms. I also had it serviced (incl valve adj) very recently. The local Datsun/Nissan service shop with over 30 years of certified technician experience can vouch for the condition of the engine. I plan to pull the engine first week of September. So the engine is still in the car if anyone cares to test drive it and see the overall condition of the donor vehicle. Location is Charlotte NC. Buyer would have to pick it up or ship at own expense. Email me if you are intested : bigbreak_2000@yahoo.com. Should move this to the classified FS section.

Honestly the ZX is soo clean and all orginal it belongs in a museum. The irony is I actually bought it from a museum. It was the clean original condition of the interior and body and paint that sold me on the car. Untimately I wanted a clean car that would be reliable and fun to drive. In a specific configuration: 2+2 for my son to sit in the back, and t-top since my wife wanted a convertable. It won several 3rd place trophies at car shows. In my experience on the East Coast the top places go to modified Z's. This one had everything except the peformance talk that attracts so many entusiasts. So that brought me to the decision to do the engine upgrade. A few weeks back I advertised the original engine on a few Z car forums but had no responses. So I figured either no one believes the low miles, or the L28 NA configuration is not popular, or folks may think it is cheaper to buy a high mileage engine and rebuild it. I have to sell the original unmolested engine if anyone is interested. It will break my heart to let it go, it runs like a top, but don't have the storage. Ultimately I would have liked to put the performance engine in another Z car and keep the ZX all original as collector car, but I can't afford two Z's. Hopefully the swap is actually going to maintain the overall car's value, or slightly increase it, since the performance engine is technically all new components, remains NA and uses te same block/head codes. Another goal of my project is to maintain as much of the original engine look as possible. The only visual clues of the upgrade may be the header, coils, and replacing the AFM with a modern MAF meter. And the block will be clean/painted and a clean valve cover. The work done on a stock intake manifold (porting, flowing) will hardly be noticable. The rest is internal, even the ECU upgrade.

My expectation is around 250HP at crank. I'm using a fairly well known racing engine builder in SoCal. He is more optimistic and based on his past experiences expect around 300HP. I've asked for the engine to be tuned for street use. And I'll need to run with stock emmission controls (PCV, CAT, O2, etc). Aftermarket ECU (Adaptronix e420c). Engine will use core from stock 1981 engine (F54 block P79 head, FI manifold). We'll see...

I'm having a stroker 3.2l FI engine build to replace the stock L28 NA (1981 280ZX, 5-sp). While the engine is going to be out during the swap, what parts should I consider ordering/or service before we install the new engine? My question is specific to things that can only be done when the engine is out, or much easier to do when engine is out. Overall the car is very clean, original with only 16,000 miles on, so not a lot of wear and tear. But I accept things deteriorate, rust-crack-harden, just by age. The new engine comes with certain new components such as a water pump, harmonic balancer, oil pump, and a header. 1. Is it advisable to put fresh engine mounts in? The current mounts show no signs of cracks. But they are 29 years old and the high power engine may potentially put a lot more strain on them. 2. Is it also advisable to upgrade the transmission mount or U joints at this stage? 3. New engine does not come with a clutch pulley for the fan. So, instead of putting the old fan mechanism back on, should I install electric fans? On the outside the stock radiator looks brand new. However since the radiator is going to be pulled out, should I really replace it with a modern aluminum style radiator, or the JTR radiator package from a Chevy? The higher HP motor will create more heat, but I’ve been told the stock radiator should be fine for normal street driving. Perhaps install an auxiliary electric fan to help push air flow at low speeds? 4. I recently had a new Daikin Excedy clutch kit (cover, disk, release bearing) installed specific for 2+2 model, new master cylinder, along with a stock lightened (18lbs) flywheel. Mechanic told me the original flywheel bolts still looked good. The new engine will have substantially more torque. This will be the second time that we will install the flywheel. Is it advisable to get new/stronger bolts? Should I upgrade the clutch to stage 1 organic type? 5. Are there any steering components that are easier to work on when the engine is out, or are they mostly accessible from bottom up? Forgive my lack of mechanical experience here. I can confirm car has power Rack and Pinion. No problems here, but I don’t think the fluid has ever been replaced. There is no visible rust, but I will be doing rust prevention touch up to the cross member.

Thanks for the reply. I have not thought about changing from the pulley/belt driven system to replace or augment with electric fans. Now that I'm thinking about it...additional fans or larger fan = increase air circulation. The rest of the car is all stock (no mods to the hood, no aftermarket front air dam that could restrict air flow). Perhaps it would also make the motor run quieter when fans are non operational?. Any recommendations on an electric auxiliary fan setup? I also plan to keep the stock heat shield between the intake manifold and header, and wrap the header (ceramic coated) to keep any incremental radiant heat out of the engine bay.

I want to get some opinions. Car is 280zx 5 speed. I'm planning to upgrade to a 3.2L NA motor with 300hp. Only use for street driving, car wont see race track or drag strips. However I live in southern North Carolina, where day temperatures can easily reach 100 degrees. I don't use the car to commute in traffic and no stop/go, it is purely used for open T top driving around town/country trip 90 minutes here and there. I would do the occasional fun 2nd and 3rd gear acceleration bursts, and overtaking downshifts. I heard the stock radiator is pretty decent. I probably won't need to upgrade the radiator. But I do want to hear a few more opinions. Perhaps there are folks who had been running cars with HP in the over 280 range or been tracking with their cars on stock radiators. If it is recommended to upgrade as cheap insurance is the JTR radiator package the recommended direct fit and most reliable option? Thanks

I recently replaced the cat and exhaust on my car. Header and front pipe remained. Then I also experienced a rattling noise only at certain speeds. Mine occurred at speeds over 55mph, when lifting off the throttle. But not always. When the installation was done the mechanic told me there IS enough clearance between the exhaust pipe and the prop shaft and the exhaust and rear end is so tight nothing will move. Well, it turned out the car needed at least one inch of clearance. At certain speeds, under power, or lifting the throttle, on these cars the inline 6 engine tilt slightly to one side. Does not matter how tight you think the exhaust is fitted, it will shift and vibrate with the engine. In my case the scuff marks could be seen where the exhaust was hitting the prop shaft U joint, just before the rear differential attachment. The mechanic also told me often the cats on the old cars could start breaking apart inside, the loose pieces inside could also make a rattling noise (occasionally you will hear it). Hope this helps to indicate a place to look for what may cause your troubles. My problem was solved by adjusting the exhaust fittings.