NewZed

What dimensions are you using now? You said that you have one. The numbers are all over the internet. Check a few sources and you'll probably find a common set of dimensions.

If you have a decent meter that measures Hertz/frequency, you can get a number from your coil terminals and do some math. Or just drop idle speed way down for setting timing. Once you're below 1200 the mechanical advance mechanism should be fully retracted. You could also watch the timing while you drop idle speed, until it stops retarding. Many ways around it. In the long run that "0" is going to bother you though.

The 1978 tach use voltage, not current. Not that it matters probably, because the 35+ year old tachs tend to go bad eventually. Did it work on the car it came from?

The wedge is there to keep the chain from falling down and off of the lower sprocket, and to keep the spring-loaded chain tensioner from coming out of its hole. So, it depends on where the wiggle room is. If the wedge is of the proper dimensions it should be possible to make it tight. Just hit it harder. Some people don't use the wedge they use a tool with a handle of the proper size to do both functions.

Do you still have the original gasket?

There's a thread or two on this forum somewhere with pictures of many different head gaskets. The hole controversy pops up every now and then. You might see if you can find it and and the pictures.

Don't overlook that the Nissan engineers may have designed the head gasket to control flow through the head and block. Would't be surprising to find that they blocked a passage, after the head and block were designed and in production. You'd have tom compare holes and their sizes to a Nissan factory gasket to know for sure. You're assuming that all of the holes need to be open.

You edited and still came up with this? Unintelligible. I was just pointing out that your comment about the HG not fitting your F54 block was irrelevant. But you're right, an F54 and a P90 are a stock 1983 configuration. You should have posted the brand and part numbers of the three HG's you got. There might be a clue there. Besides that, they're all "aftermarket" if you get them from a parts store. The parts store guys only work from a database of car brand and year. You should have told OReilly 1983 280ZX Turbo

It's the holes in the head that matter. The coolant flows from the block to the head and if there's no hole in the head the coolant has nowhere to go anyway. No need to match a hole in the block if there's no hole in the head to receive it. Once it gets in to the head it flows out through the thermostat.

Generally, for a long beam you want to avoid stress risers, areas that will do all of the bending as loads concentrate there. So you'd want them to be the same gauge and size as the frame rails, with smooth welds and few discontinuities (bumps, crinkles, bends, etc.). Nothing is completely rigid so you want the loads and subsequent bending to be distributed smoothly down the length of the beam.

Read John Coffey's recommendations also. The roll cage seems to cover all bases. A frame in a box.

The Z cars are a monococque, or unibody, chassis. Essentially just steel boxes with stiffening elements, either extra "rails" or bends, strategically placed around the box. And the stiffening is done to specific purposes. You're implying that you'll be drag-racing since you're talking about high power. Thicker subframe connectors might be oversimplifying your situation. Generally, people recommend a full cage if you really want to stiffen things up. SunnyZ and RebekahsZ do drag-racing. Read through their past threads.

You are correct.

Search "wrong clutch collar" or "wrong TOB" or "transmission grinds" or "92 mm" and you'll figure it out. Did you match the TOB collar to the pressure plate? That's the most important act when installing a new clutch.

Ponder a complete set of combustion events (two revolutions) and you'll realize that there are always valves open. Look closer and you'll probably see that there are more than just two open.

Another reference source for you is the FSM. The specs. for the master and slave are not called out differently for NA and Turbo even though the disc and pressure plate are. A clue.

Rockauto and Autozone show the same. I think that parts guys you're talking to aren't really looking at the part, just the fact that their database requires them to choose a car. The clutches are the same. The only reason to use a slave cylinder would be if the master cylinder is a different bore size or the pivot point in the transmission was different, requiring a different clutch fork also. None of this is the case. When you go in to today's auto parts stores, you tell the parts people what's what. Never take advice from a parts person at one of the big chains.

Data from the WWW.

You have to pick one. The only way to fit your words is that the clutch is in a state of constant slippage. Is this a new problem on a system that was working fine? Or is it a bunch of new parts that aren't working right?

Common problem. The site owner just hasn't clarified that you have to be a donating member to post a For Sale ad. Besides that you're breaking the Rules. Post a price. http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/113791-classifieds-rules/

Since you can read a diagram and know the wiring the best thing you could do now is to sit down and draw up a new diagram for all of the things that you want to use. The answers to your questions will fall out of figuring out where to draw the lines.

I suggest that you stop thinking in terms of Megasquirt and computers and switches and focus on how electronic engine management systems work. Understand what the engine needs then use your Playstation skills to give it what it needs. Read the EFEC, and the Engine Electrical, chapters of the FSM and you'll be way ahead of where you are now. You're approaching your project from the wrong side. Here's another good starter book, written by the guys that run DIYAutotune. It covers most of what you're asking about. https://www.diyautotune.com/product/performance-fuel-injection-systems-hp-books/ http://www.amazon.com/Performance-Fuel-Injection-Systems-HP1557/dp/1557885575

You're way behind where you need to be. Does the car run and drive now? Because it will be down for a long time if you start tearing in to it. Is it an automatic transmission car or are you talking about controlling the various switches on a manual transmission car? Where does Rasperry PI come in to the picture? Any old computer will work for tuning. Most people use the word "launch" to mean leaving the line in drag-racing. You mean "start". And it's not the soldering that's important it's making the right connections. If you're asking about a kill switch and a start button, Megasquirt is going to be a nightmare for you. https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/raspberry-pi-compute-module-new-product/

Avoid thought processes that lead to random collections of words. Good that you mentioned that you talked to someone at DIY, but have you looked anywhere else? You know how to solder and read a diagram. What else? Seriously, you're not showing what your level of knowledge is. Do you know how the stock system works? Understanding the stock system, by reading the FSM will help you out a lot. The same basic principles apply. Have you looked through the FAQ's? Good reading there also. http://forums.hybridz.org/forum/93-megasquirt/

This is one of those "if you have to ask" questions. If you have to ask, then you'll probably run into problems. In principle, the E88 head, complete with cam, rockers, etc., should bolt right on easily, giving you a typical L28 engine but with smaller valves. Basically a flow-choked L28. Apparently there are several E88 varieties though. Better learn more about what you really have. http://www.ozdat.com/ozdatonline/enginedesign/ http://www.zhome.com/ZCMnL/tech/head.htm