NewZed

You just need to spend your money in the right place. You've already saved distributor and header money, just through discussion in this thread. That's about $400.

That is the essence of what I've extracted from what's out there. But I just saw your comment in the other thread about your LS engine in the BMW track car. So the real question is, do you want to make "vintage" power or just power? Or be unique? Some people out there are actually destroking their L28's to make a high-revving lower power potential engine that's fun to drive. Lots of different things you can do. Just trying to fit your stated goal and add a few not obvious things, like the fact that you'll have essentially the same ignition system with a ZX distributor as what you have now.

Seems like you really have a vision of what you want to see when you open the hood. Triple Webers. The early ZX distributor has about the same timing as your 77 unit, and 77 has a decent electronic ignition module. No great reason to change distributors. In addition to what I mentioned above about cam profiles, others have tried the mild cams and been disappointed. Your list is the basic "incremental change" list that people put together, then wish they'd gone bigger or spent money elsewhere when they were done. Seriously, the only thing on the list that will add much power is the cam profile, and without the head work the potential won't be realized. If you're going to do actual track time, spending money on suspension might be more effective. Again, I'm mostly regurgitating what I've seen. You've only searched for a few days but if you keep reading you'll find that you're about to spend much money, time, and effort and have essentially the same performance when you're done, with less reliability. Your list is more of a "this part broke what should I replace it with" list, instead of a performance build list. Don't like EFI - switch to carbs, clutch wore out - go heavy duty, distributor died - get a ZX replacement, etc.

Odd. Maybe he has you on Ignore and that's what happens. No offense. I just posted in his thread. http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/127430-no-overheat-still-get-oil-cooler-for-race-car/

Testing Leon's problem - http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/127475-database-error-when-trying-to-reply/?do=findComment&comment=1191560

I've heard of these sprockets with no notch. It's a dilemma. You do have the bright links though, and the parts are new, so the best you can do is follow the procedure in the FSM, for new parts installation. 42 links between the two marks. The notch and groove are more important for showing wear, I think, and as a secondary check.

You might search out some of JMortensen's comments about cam profiles. He's a proponent of big profiles and says that most people can go much bigger than they think, if I recall correctly. HD clutch is vague. A lightened or lightweight flywheel would be worth consideration. Fidanza, or a lightened 240mm flywheel are common ways to get there. There are some programmable timing options out there that might be better than just taking whatever curves you get with a ZX distributor. And you'll have a hard time finding an early ZX distributor in good shape. You'll probably have to buy reman. But you could transfer the centrifugal advance mechanism over, probably. You can also get electronic ignition via other routes. If you're going to have the head off you might as well have some work done, if you can find a shop that knows. That seems to be where people get the most bang for buck. Just regurgitating. Add real detail to your plan before you tear things down and you'll avoid headaches.

I saw your original post, opened it, and noticed that there was no content. Haven't had any problems myself though. Your post today is odd in that the thread shows "started" three days ago, but doesn't show "edited" in post 1, even though you must have edited post #1. Maybe that's a "Site Support" thing though. Edit - Testing Edit... Edit 2 - mine shows Edited. Weird.

Don't see how you can move the trigger wheel and have timing at 8 degrees no matter what. It's like you have some other sort trigger mechanism. Like you forgot that you're running a regular distributor or something. The 8 degrees no matter what you do is a clue to something.

In theory the hose to the filter should provide a slight vacuum, pulling air through the filter you have on the lower hose, through the crankcase, and in to the air filter housing and engine. The road draft system that's described would really just reverse the flow direction of the blowby gases. If you have lots of blowby you'll probably still get the smell. And if you have lots of blowby, blocking the lower hose would probably oil up your filter. So, you could block it like AZC says and all of the smell would probably be be consumed but there might be new problems. There is no "period" for any of the possible ways you could go, or "entirely wrong". And there are a variety of reasons to do any of them from saving the environment to saving your oil, and levels of difficulty, from simple to complicated. Best to just read up on PCV systems and choose a method. You could block the lower hose while you're reading.

You can block the lower hose. It will just be a 60's style crankcase vent. Blowby will get sucked in to the engine and burned instead of sucked in to your nose. Blocking the lower hose will be one level better than what you have now, but not as good as full "positive": vent system. If you read down to the bottom of the AZC link he describes blocking the lower hose.

You could block that lower hose and run a hose from the valve cover to the air filter, like AZC describes. http://www.arizonazcar.com/cableinstall.html

Actually, big-picture and big-money wise, the type of connector is really barely worth a thought. It's just two wires, easily cut and spliced. One of those mental traps we fall in to. Funny.

If you're running stock engine control then you'll want to match specs on the the coil so the ECU can handle it correctly. Thought you might be running Megasquirt.

Modern coilpacks (actually all engine bay components) are designed to handle very high engine bay temperatures for 100,000+ miles. Seems unlikely that they would be overheating. Might be in the same boat when you're done. Forgot to say that another reason for overheating might be bad ignition settings. Too much "dwell".

There's no significant drop in RPM when the meter reading drops. The load on the alternator would jump, like it does when you turn on the wipers, fan and headlights, causing RPM to drop a bit as the engine strains to turn the alternator. Seems more like you have an open circuit at the meter leads, or on the circuit the leads are attached to.

Where are the leads connected? Might be a clue.

The CAS is used by MS, which then controls spark and injection. So the wheel you use is really determined by how you want MS to work not which ignition system you use. Most people here would suggest the DIY wheel since it was designed specifically for MS. https://www.diyautotune.com/support/tech/hardware/quadspark-ignition/megasquirt/ The other way to use GM DIS is to use its reluctor wheel instead of the Nissan CAS wheel. http://www.megamanual.com/ms2/GM_DIS.htm

Here's another write-up. Can't remember if he talks about shifter position or not. http://zhome.com/ZCMnL/tech/240SX5spd/transmission.htm

That sounds like a pretty significant short circuit somewhere. The voltage drop would be from excess current flow. Each time the short happens the voltage drops, and to go from 14 to 8 puts a big load on the alternator as it tries to bring it up to 14. It might be that you just have a dangling wire somewhere that is bouncing around. The high voltage when you start might be because the battery has capacity that is being used and the alternator can supply a charge on top . As the short continues the battery dies and the alternator can't keep up with the short. Does the battery get warm while this is happening? And do you have to recharge the battery to restart the whole process? If it's not a loose wire it could be an electrical component that shorts out more as it warms up. The coil is a possibility. I think somebody mentioned that. Whatever it is should be getting hot as the current flows so touching things while the engine is warming up might find something. Another thing to check is if you have replaced fusible links with regular wire, or wired something directly to the battery with no fuse. If it is a short that's draining the battery that quickly, it really should be blowing a fuse or fusible link. That's the other benefit of fuses, they tell you where the short is.

You should probably study up a little more on electrical basics. You might be killing your own alternators with improper wiring. You're still having problems describing what's happening. "moving on the gauge from 12" doesn't tell much. Describing the problem is 90% of solving it. Edit - seriously, all that can be pulled from your posts is that your alternator has quit working twice, you have odd readings on your meter, the engine dies after it wars up, and the injectors make a humming noise. Here's a question to ponder - how do you know the alternator has quit charging if the reading on your meter is jumping around?

I would put some better numbers on your description and don't use any "etc".'s "I disconnected the alternator etc" How long does the engine run before it dies (number of minutes)? Have you tried another multimeter (maybe you just have a bad meter)? Does the meter in the dash jump around like the multimeter does (78 has a dash volt-meter and an internally regulated alternator)? Might be that you don't really have a voltage problem, just an engine that needs an idle speed adjustment.

Probably depends on seat position and how long your arms are. Here's some pictures of a job done - http://www.motortopia.com/cars/1973-datsun-240z-11118/car-pictures/240sx-transmission-swap-14041/DSC04555JPG_Thumbnail1.jpg-290017 p.s. Nigel is a Hybridz member if you wanted to message him.

Did you tell ACT about it? Be interesting to hear what they say. http://www.advancedclutch.com/ http://www.advancedclutch.com/contact

I think that's better ID'ed as the "yoke" that holds the joint. The joint itself looks okay. And it's actually the flange that let go. Looks like it might have had improperly sized, or loose, bolts, allowing stress risers at the holes. To my earlier comment about finessing all of the various pieces and areas that a person can, to distribute the loads most effectively. The parts look crude and hammer-proof, but they are actually precision-machined at the areas that matter. People tend to just throw them together and torque 'em down and if they break they go bigger. Is that a custom shaft, the u-joint clips aren't Nissan style. Another precision piece, Nissan actually has a range of internal clips to precisely center the u-joint caps. Installing the u-joints by the Nissan method is a highly skilled procedure in itself.