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Hello Guys, first post and straight a brake thread - I`m sorry, but I read hours on hours in the FAQ section and in a lot of other brake related threads but couldn't find anybody who has done this. So on the weekend I bought a 78 280Z and I´d like to go down the performance road while still keep it kinda periodic correct so I don`t get problems with TÜV in germany and a historic licence plate. So the car will get fully striped down, an exterior backdate to 240z, suspension upgrades, fender flares, exhaust, maybe tripple weber (have to inform myself a bit more on that vs EFI) etc. etc. A lot of people go straight to a rear disk brake conversion and complain about the brake bias and sometimes even damaged axels due to a different load on them compared to drums. Basically thats not what I wanna do plus the TÜV thing mentioned above. But what about keeping the drums in the rear, change the front to S12W and go with a 15/16 master. If I`ve seen that correctly thats what they did back in the day with the original FIA brake upgrade out of the competition catalog. They just went with 13/16 wheel cylinders inside the drums. (not sure about the mastercylinder with FIA brakes...) I just can`t find the size of the original cylinders inside the drums... Somebody did that conversion here in the forums? Is it working well with the original proportion valve or is a manual one capable of dialing in a proper brake bias? Probably have to run a couple calculations to find out (which seems not that easy with drums). But as of the drums are able to create a higher brake force with less hydraulic input they should work better as a rear disc conversion. What do you think? Any help or experience is welcome
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Sooo, I thought of doing a small write up after I did this today, so this will not be my best write up... Pictures will suffer, but I tried to pull all the information together. I have added some generic pictures, and how to re-wire your car to use an internally regulated alternator. (not my instruction on how to rewire) First things first... WHY do I need to upgrade?! Well, if you're like me, I now two fuel pumps, two electric cooling fans, blah blah blah... When my car was at idle, I could hear the pumps complaining, and if my fans came on, forget about it. Was it a grounding issue? No, my car has a full painless rewire, and I have more grounds then girls you stalk on instagram. My initial upgrade was to an 84 maxima alternator. While this put out 60 amps, it definitely did not put out enough amps at idle. I am not sure if this lead to the death of 3 Odyessy batteries, but I will soon find out. On to what you came here for. My first want here was bolt in, as in no cutting, making a brackets. (I have power steering and didn't want to undo a bunch of stuff) This ruled out the GM alternators, as you have to cut up the stock bracket. I spent a few hours on rock auto searching for all the combinations, amp, ear locations and have come up with the below. 1994 SOHC Nissan Maxima GXE Alternator (i believe this starts in 1991 up to 1995) 1990-1995 Nissan Pathfinder Pulley OR 1990-1995 Nissan D21 Pick up Pulley (I ordered a 1992 pathfinder pulley and i know this works) The Maxima Alternator puts out 90 amps, but at idle put out 58 amps! I looked at the Nissan Quest, and while it puts out 110 amps, it only put out 41 amps. So the clear winner for me here was the Maxima. Plus, it would take no fabrication to "bolt in". (the idle amps may vary, but this is what i found after buying a whole heap of alternators at once) The Pulley: almost all the higher amp alternators use a ribbed belt, vs a V-belt. After much searching, the best combination was to find, purchase, junk yard the v-belt pulley from a Pathfinder and put that on the 90 amp Maxima alternator.I used an impact to swap the pulleys with a little red loc-tite. The Wiring: I didn't need to do this due to my Painless harness install, but if you are still stock read the following site! Or search how to swap to a later Datsun alternator for more details on going from an external regulated alternator. (if this applies to you) Alternator rewire - click me There is now a plug for the Light/Sensing wire. Below is the diagram of the pins for that plug. You can either buy this connector/plug online for a few bucks or use spade connectors. I had bought the plug, and misplaced it, so I used blue female spade connectors. The adjustment bracket: I had already bought one of these adjustable guys yearrsss ago, so it worked well with this. You may be able to use the stock one with slight bending or buy/make one of these adjustable guys. I believe the guys over on Ratsun have a how-to on how to make these, or I could just be mixing that up with another site. Otherwise, just buy one them... As always with electrical work, ensure you unplug your battery, etc. I take no liability for you setting everything around you on fire, etc. When upgrading anything electrical, be sure all wire upstream are in good shape. I cannot stress this enough; higher amps is not going to fix an electrical system with hacked up wiring, bad grounds, etc. Be sure everything electrical is in good shape before doing this!
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I have read every post I can find on brake upgrades and have run into an issue I hope someone can help with. I have a 4/73 240 with a brand new 8.5" booster that I really dont want to replace, but will if I have to. I also have the non vented Toyota 4x4 calipers on the front with stock drums in the rear. The master is a stock 7/8" unit and the fluid volume is not sufficient to operate the new calipers to full brake pressure, which is exactly what numerous posts have mentioned. I have read and heard countless stories about premature failures in the 15/16" rebuilt masters ('79 to '81 ZX?), so I have been looking at the 1" Tilton, which looks like a good unit. However, I have read in my many searches that using the Tilton with the 8.5" booster gives a very stiff pedal and high braking effort. I dont really want that feel when I'm just cruising most of the time. I did auto cross my last Z at times, and may do the same with this one, but it will mostly be used for fun runs and the like. So, my question is, what to do?? Is there a good vendor with reliable 15/16" masters? Am I wrong about the 1" Tilton/8.5" booster combination? I tried another larger booster, from an unknown year Z, but it didnt fit. The diameter measured out around 10.5" but that could be off a little. The bolt pattern was correct to the firewall, but it hit the throttle bracket going in. It also looks like it will interfere with the clutch master, but it is out of the car so not sure. Maybe this one is just too large and their is another year that will fit?? Thanks in advance Bill
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I spent several days researching ways to improve the air output on my 76 280z and wasn't able to find a really nice walk through, so I thought I'd share what I did. It looks like most of the people who put 1988-1991 Honda Civic blowers in their Z weren't able to feel a big difference. I noticed some people also suggesting using 1993-2004 Kia Sportage blowers. So, off to my junk yard I went. I found both a Civic and Sportage blower. After comparing the two, the Kia blower seemed better built and had a larger cage so I bought it for $30 and proceeded to my Z. The nice thing about this upgrade is that the Kia blower is roughly the same size, it rotates the correct way, it uses the same wire harness, and it uses the same mounting holes. It just so happens that I have taken my dash out to install a dash cap and add LED instrument lights. I don't know if you could do this upgrade with the dash in place because the entire blower housing has to be removed. This is the guide I followed for removing my dash (PITA!) http://www.classiczcars.com/topic/5934-removing-dash-and-interior-for-paint/ Here is the blower housing location The original blower and cage are on the left. The Kia unit is on the right I removed the foam padding from the fan housing since the kia unit doesn't need the extra spacing. Next, I placed the Kia blower cage over the hole, lining up the bolt holes, and marked the area to widen. I highlighted this in red. Using some aviation snips, I cut out the excess metal. I cleaned up the hole with my Dremel later. I then placed the new Kia unit in the blower housing and secured it using the original bolts and washers. The unit spins free and has just enough clearance The original Z wire harness fits right into the new motor. I plugged it in to make sure it works and it really seems to put out some air. I'll post another update once I get the dash back in.
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Stock 280z setups use a vacuum system powered by manifold vacuum to operate various the water cocks and FICD. On a turbo system, without the vacuum accessories like the tank and VCM, using the heater is theoretically difficult, plus the control panel looks out of place in the surprisingly modern interior of the s30. So why not swap out all the vacuum actuation, and the mechanical linkage, and install the modern HVAC controls from a newer vehicle? Has anyone done this? My overall dream is to make my s30 a formidable GT even by modern standards, and it's coming along well. If nobody has tried this, I may need a few pointers as to vehicles with relatively standalone HVAC controllers. A 2000s Mustang comes to mind. The more I can shrink the size the better the end result.
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Someone pointed out to me recently that one of my fuse blocks had been cut out, and the remaining wires wire-nutted together. And the other fuse block had wires connecting the terminals, as opposed to fusible links. So, I wired in the distribution block. On my car, it's (the installation guide online, I think it's on atlanticz) showing 3 of the wires get a 50a fuse, and one gets an 80a (for a 77 model year, which mine is). So, it didn't matter which wire went where in the block as long as the wire needing the 80a had an 80a fuse. Checked out a wiring diagram online. It appears that three of the wires go to the same plug, while one of them goes to the alternator. Makes sense this would be my 80a (I tried searching this but was surprised not to find anything that explained differentiating these 4 wires. I know I saw it somewhere...). So, I checked for continuity between the alt plug and each of my 4 wires at the fuse block. Found one wire with continuity, so I stuck the 80a there, and the remaining 3 slots got the 50a's. I also put in a key switch (from Black Dragon) between the starter and the pos terminal on the battery. After I get the car back together (painting and pretty thorough budget frame-off), I'm gonna wire the stereo and fans straight to the battery with an inline fuse (and toggle switches for the eng fan and ac fan). I figure that way I won't lose my stations if I take the battery key out. And later, I'd like to get the megasquirt to control the engine fan, but I'm putting it off at the moment bc of time constraints (moving in...2 weeks?). And the fans will all get their own relay. My question is....Does all that sound right? I've been looking at this car for 6 months and I feel like Jack Torrance in The Shining. So, does all that sound logical and won't immediately burst my car into flames?