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Young buck's first big project; 240z l28e swap then turbo conversion


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I'm pretty new to this forum but I wanted to start a build log for my car so i can document my progress and hopefully get some tips along the way so i can truly get the most out of my car. A little backstory on the car and the swap is that there are few people in New Jersey who really know how to take care of these cars and tune the Su's properly and webers also proved to be quite rare and i wanted something a bit more reliable. My car had been breaking down going lean, going rich, backfiring, all sorts of engine problems that i just didnt want to deal with so i thought id upgrade to fuel injection...being 18 and having this as my only car i need something that i can get around in and wont die on me. So im starting with my 240, taking the l24 out along with the terrible wiring the previous owner did, and putting all new wiring in along with an l28e thats going to be spruced up a bit in the coming weeks, once everything is running and well, im going to ditch the ecu, put in megasquirt dial it in, then turbo the engine, i already have a turbo manifold, im working on getting a turbo dizzy, and oil pan.

 

Today is day 1, the car is covered in snow, and the l28 just arrived itll probably be a few weeks before any work can be done because the swap will be done in my mechanics backyard

 post-40424-0-20853200-1390586758_thumb.jpg

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My goal is to have the engine bay look clean maybe not a show stopped but something i can be proud of, horsepower goal is 275 at the wheels 

 

post-40424-0-93392700-1390586886_thumb.jpg

Thats what im hoping to get the car to look like

 

any advice before i start? ( ive read the forums hundreds of times and will probably still read them a hundred more)

 

 

- nzarano

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is it worth spending the money on megasquirt or just getting a performance chip from MSA? http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/CTGY/classic18i

 

 its about 400$ cheaper than megasquirt not to mention alot less time / stress but i want to know if itll be good for 260/300 hp i know alot of the power on a basic turbo set up comes from proper tuning

Edited by nzarano
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360 HP is 90-95 300ZX.  You'd be looking at the 81-83 ECU replacement.  They all look like scams though - "The results are proof positive" - then they don't show any results.

 

Surprised to see MSA selling those.  Seems like they're going down the "new customer born every minute" route.  They'll be selling gas mileage improvers by vortex technology soon.

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oldandy do you have a link to the build thread? didnt find one of a 240z...

 

http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/97180-luna-the-cause-and-solution-of-all-my-problems/

 

It becomes relevant to your interests around page 2

 

I'm a couple days work away from being able to turn the key. But I'm in school so I have to wait til March to start it.

Edited by OldAndyAndTheSea
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Skip the chip. If it does what is advertised, it still only gives you one map.

 

For what it's worth, the megasquirt 2 is around 460$ and it is programmable. It may indeed be closer to 800 with the sensors and the wiring harness, but it is infinitely more adjustable. 

 

And I don't think there is anything much more reliable then a carb'd, distributor driven car. Other than the parts being old, there is far less to go wrong. A car will only be as reliable as the parts that are installed on it, don't skimp out and make sure to review your wiring and looks like it will be a great car!

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more pics to come just finished with midterms so more time for the car, honestly its pretty hard to drive when the weather is bad so it doesn't really go out in the now/when there is salt on the road but whats the point of owning a car you love if you don't get to use it as much as possible?

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Skip the chip. If it does what is advertised, it still only gives you one map.

 

For what it's worth, the megasquirt 2 is around 460$ and it is programmable. It may indeed be closer to 800 with the sensors and the wiring harness, but it is infinitely more adjustable. 

 

And I don't think there is anything much more reliable then a carb'd, distributor driven car. Other than the parts being old, there is far less to go wrong. A car will only be as reliable as the parts that are installed on it, don't skimp out and make sure to review your wiring and looks like it will be a great car!

 

while this should be true, I've had terrible luck/experiences with my l24, theres a lot of bad wiring, the carbs are terribly tuned and every time i try and get someone to tune it they get worse and it just doesn't work/ start when its cold out…. i think when done right the fuel injected engine can be more reliable although have more areas to have errors in… part of the reason for doing the swap is to put good, reliable parts in it to make the car as a whole more reliable

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but whats the point of owning a car you love if you don't get to use it as much as possible?

I completely agree with you, but...

 

1) Salt will make your car rust faster than you think. Newer cars are galvanized to help prevent rust, but our Z cars have nothing.

2) You can't really enjoy your car if it's in the shop for months on end having rust repaired.

3) Rust repair ain't cheap.

 

Which is why I'm planning on moving somewhere else where I can drive my Z year round. I'd highly recommend you pick up a winter beater to drive when the roads are covered in salt, in order to keep your Z pristine.

 

while this should be true, I've had terrible luck/experiences with my l24, theres a lot of bad wiring, the carbs are terribly tuned and every time i try and get someone to tune it they get worse and it just doesn't work/ start when its cold out…. i think when done right the fuel injected engine can be more reliable although have more areas to have errors in… part of the reason for doing the swap is to put good, reliable parts in it to make the car as a whole more reliable

I agree, EFI is more reliable than carbs when done right, and I plan on going that route as well, but it sounds like the carbs aren't your issue. Carbs can be extremely reliable. Rather, your problem is that they aren't tuned correctly. If you think you'd like to give carbs another try, check out http://www.ztherapy.com/ ... but in the long run, EFI is probably the right way to go.

Edited by rturbo 930
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the car has about 20 miles on salted roads, but you are right it probably is rusting faster than i think… any way to at least slow it down on the z? just pain the entire undercarriage in por-15?
 
 
already got the engine, I'm going efi…. an other reason for efi include the possibility of doing the turbo and gaining some good power so the car can keep up with some modern cars, if this was a weekend cruising car then i agree that the carbs sort of add to the experience but I'm trying to add a bit of range to the car, its not 100% a sports car in its DNA and its not 100% a grand tourer, i think 100/150hp and some work will help bring out both of those aspects (I'm hoping the turbo quiets the exhaust to make the car a bit quieter/more enjoyable for highway driving) and the power speaks for itself….

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realized i haven't even gotten pics of the l28 up so here's what I've got...

 

post-40424-0-38257200-1391124529_thumb.jpg

post-40424-0-68471700-1391124526_thumb.jpg

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engine has cut up wiring and is missing it's ecu and maf/intake but those parts are on the way...

 

also saw this online and was quite interested…..

 

post-40424-0-55722400-1391124523_thumb.jpg

 

id love to have an engine bay that clean swell as a painted (I'm assuming is hydrographics? but i have no clue..) valve cover thats original….anyone have tips for keeping an engine bay that clean?

Edited by nzarano
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….anyone have tips for keeping an engine bay that clean?

To keep it clean you have to start with it clean and IMO, that requires as total a stripdown as you can bear.

Since you'll be pulling the engine, you're already halfway there.

POR15 or bedliner are popular choices for the bay if you don't want to go body color paint; their thick matte finish covers myriad flaws and makes a nice background to feature the engine.

 

My approach to the engine bay as a whole is to keep everything at about the same level of finish.

To me, nothing looks more jarring than shiny/obviously new parts juxtaposed with older/janky hardware...the new stuff just emphasizes how bad the old looks.

This came from a lesson I got from a pro polishing guy...he did nothing but metal finishing, everything from Harley parts to antique clocks.

He would study the part and pick the hardest area to begin with. Do as best he could there and then bring the rest to that level, but not beyond (even though some places could get much shinier). The final finish might be less than ideal but the overall appearance was actually better because there weren't any obvious "bad spots" where it looks like you gave up or failed.

 

Basically, it's the application of the test pilot motto "Maintain an even strain" to engine bay aesthetics.

 

Viewed as a whole, the valve cover is the obvious centerpiece of the bay.

(I'll admit a bias here...if the car is carbed, the whole cover and intake area shares interest but I think the stock FI setup is lumpen and ugly and chose to minimize it's look on my engine)

So go ahead, visualize how you want to treat the valve cover- polish, paint, camo...doesn't matter.

 

Now, everything else in the bay has to look that good.

Not necessarily the same finish of course, but the same amount of attention paid to them.

 

I find that an easy way to approach this daunting task is to get very up close and personal right at the beginning.

Sit in your engineless bay, start at some logical place and start unbolting everything you can get to.

Remove a bolt, run a tap through the capture nut, replace the bolt.

The Z bay has A LOT of hardware.

 

When you're done, you know where everything is and have probably discovered a few things you didn't know existed.

You've also probably had to fix some broken bolts along the way...your future self will thank you.

You've also gotten hands and eyes on every nook and cranny, so you know exactly where you stand.

How you proceed from there depends on ambition, budget and resources.

 

If, for whatever reason, you're not willing to commit to a full strip and clean/paint right now, I'd urge you to resist the temptation of a quick and dirty (usually flat black) rattle can job. It will only look "good" temporarily and just means more cleanup later.

Better an honest shabbiness than lipstick on a pig.

 

My $.02. 

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the car has about 20 miles on salted roads, but you are right it probably is rusting faster than i think… any way to at least slow it down on the z? just pain the entire undercarriage in por-15?

If you search here you'll find some info on rust prevention. Some people have suggested coating certain places on the car (ie, inside of rockers) in some sort of oil - maybe marvel mystery oil? I don't remember what it was. There's a number of things you can do to prevent rust.

 

But your best bet is honestly to just avoid driving it in the salt. I hope I'm not sounding like a broken record here, but here's a little personal experience:

 

In 1980, my mom's car was stolen from the airport, so they got a 1978 280z to replace it. And from then until 1992, they put ~160k on it, driven year round in NJ. They had a lot of rust repaired in ~1989, which included the passenger door, driver's side outer rocker, both doglegs, hatch sill, and floors. That's a LOT of rust to repair on a 10 year old car. My dad's '86 Jetta on the other hand, after 500k miles and 28 years in the same climate, has just a small rust hole in the floor, the trunk jamb, and there's a small spot in front of the rear wheels.

 

Zs have NO protection against rust, whatsoever, and many of us simply store them during the winter. That's my recommendation. But if you do decide to drive it in winter, that's up to you - but I think you'll regret it.

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 Some people have suggested coating certain places on the car (ie, inside of rockers) in some sort of oil - maybe marvel mystery oil? I don't remember what it was.

The product is probably Waxoyl (although there may be others similar).

Very popular with the British car folks (who know a lot about rust).

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clocker, which por-15 do you think is best? the engine painting kit or the truck liner kit? (common sense is telling me the painting kit might be more fictive but the truck liner kit will be a bit heavier duty and look better…) i can probably sand the engine bay and give it a decent paint job myself but there isn't time/money to get it into a paintshop and have them do the engine bay… I like the look of a good flat black paint job for the engine bay, i think it helps to hide wires and dirt….. think with a kit from pro-15 and a good sanding it can be done? it has a pretty shitty half flat/half regular black paint job in there now that the previous owner did which I'm not a fan of...

 

ill look into that waxoyl, i want to keep this car for a while...

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I've only used their bedliner, no experience with the engine paint.

Properly prepped/applied, POR15 is just about indestructible but you must follow directions implicitly.

 

On our Z we tried Rustoleum bedliner which turned out to be very easy to apply and seems to hold up pretty well so far.

I doubt it's as tough as the POR but we really haven't put it to the test, so conclusions must wait.

 

IMO, the Rustoleum has a nicer looking final finish out of the can but POR sells a topcoat that might change that.

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