Building Another Stroker Engine for the Track

[inline6]

I worked on mounting the gauges a bit more this weekend.  Some pics showing what I ended up doing for the tachometer: 
 

    

 

Basically, I drilled 4 holes through the outside of the modified gauge pod and into a sliver of a pvc pipe end cap.  I just cut a section off the cap to make a round ring about 1/4" in thickness.  The gauge goes in and seats against the much hacked remainder of the original gauge pod.  Then the pvc ring goes in.  Then the screws go through the housing into the pvc ring.  This locks the gauge in place in the pod. Then the metal frame I made slides on.  Then the trim ring that comes with the Speed Hut gauges gets spun on to lock the metal frame in place.  I welded some M6 x 1.0 studs onto the metal frames.

Backside showing metal frames for the tach and speedometer being secured to the original gauge mounting brackets. 

 

    

 

I also checked the fitment of the pod gauges.  Because the bezels are a little under the size of the dash openings, I decided to buy some 3D printed mounting brackets I found on eBay.  They will add a small ring of black trim around the gauge and facilitate a snug fit in the cut outs.  They should be here in about a week.  

For the three center gauges, I chose water temp, oil pressure, and oil temperature, which I will probably install in that order from left to right.

    

 

I have started looking at the wiring instructions... and comprehending what has to be done to get these functional.  That is where I will pick up when I can.

Edited December 1, 2025 by inline6

[Mitchel0407]

On 11/23/2025 at 3:37 PM, inline6 said:

Pictures from my engine builder when he was making the spray bar and fitting it to the engine:

 

  

 

 

I love the look of the spray bar and the use of the stock fuel pump hole! I believe those are blocked from factory for the L28 engines, did you just cut it open?

[inline6]

The head is an E88 casting which came from a 240z.  So, that opening was there for the stock fuel pump already.  Though not a desirable head as is, this one has been milled quite a bit to get the combustion chambers to be usable for this engine set up.

[inline6]

I purchased some gauge mounts from a seller on eBay for mounting the new Speed Hut gauges in the middle of the dash.  They are 3D printed items.  The design is pretty good.  The plastic seems sturdy.  And they incorporate metal thread inserts.  The screws have a taper head, so they self center, and fit of the various parts is very good.  However, I found that the gauges were loose when fitted to the housings with the backplates (which hold them in the housings) bolted tightly in place.  The gauges rotated easily in the housing as there was no clamp force against the back of the gauge to hold the gauge forward against the "stop" portion that the bezel of the gauge is supposed to fit up against.

After thinking about solutions for a bit, I pulled out some ancient Gore-tex I have.  Basically, it is rubber gasket material with an adhesive on one side.  It comes in handy for a lot of things.  In this case, I cut a strip and ran it around the back of the bezel on the gauge.  I fit the gauge into the housing and then pressed the backplate against the new Gore-tex rubber gasket to seat it into place.  I then briefly removed the gauge from the housing and took this second picture (below) which shows how the new gasket deformed under "crush".  Third pic shows that as well as the metal insert in the gauge housing.

 

    

 

Another issue to overcome though was that the backplate only has two screws to clamp it to the housing, 180 degrees from each other.  After I put the gasket in place and assembled the gauge in the housing, the backplate only pulled tight against the housing where the screws bolt up to the housing.  See the first and second pics just below.  
 

    

 

I realized that I could take the aluminum mounting brackets I had already made during an initial attempt to mount the gauges in the dash, and flip them (back to front) and use the Speed Hut gauge mounting rings to resolve the situation however.  See the third pic (above).

While I thought I wouldn't need them any longer, these aluminum brackets ended up coming in handy.  I simply screwed the Speed Hut mounting rings tight against the aluminum brackets... and this pushed the edges of the aluminum brackets against the plastic backing plate at the points which were not seating against the back of the housing properly.

 

    

 

So, with this distribution of force at the non-secured parts of the backing plate, I was able to resolve the issue.  

I see now that I didn't take a picture of the other part of the gauge mounts. There is an arm that attached at the top and the bottom of the housing in the same way that was done on the stock 240z gauges.  I hope I won't have any issues with that part bolting up, or with the gauge housings fitting in the dash holes.  I will probably check that out this weekend.

Edited December 15, 2025 by inline6

[inline6]

I found some time to work on the car today.  Where I left off, I tried to fit the arms of the parts I bought, but I found that the parts did not fit well as is.   They were a bit too long and the angle on them was not quite right.  But, I was able to modify one of the 3d printed arms by cutting off the tab, and then drill a hole in the horizontal portion of the arm so that I could bolt it to the original "L" brackets that were utilized with the stock gauges.

 

    

 

    

 

Then, I modified the rest of the brackets to fit the trio of gauges in the center of  the dash.  Though upside down, they look nice.  However, the OD on the bezel portion of that locates the gauge in the dash is also not quite right.  I have been in touch with the seller (maker of the 3d printed brackets) on eBay.  He is going to make some new front portions that have a wider OD and send them to me.  I will still use the modified arms I already have.  Changing projects (3rd pic):
 

    

 

I had need of mounting a 3/8 NPT threaded radiator fan switch.  I came across https://protunerz.com/ while I was shopping on Black Friday - I had never heard of them before.  They make some nice billet parts for Z cars.  I decided to buy this thermostat housing because it has several existing openings for fittings.  In addition to the radiator fan switch, I needed a spot for the water temp gauge sender, and two openings for custom lines that I have on my head to flow coolant from above the #4 and #6 cylinders. 

 

    

 

To fit the 3/8 NPT rad fan switch, I had to drill out the M14 opening.  That was not fun using a vise and drilling freehand with a 37/64" drill bit... and running the tap by hand.  I wish I had a drill press, though I still think it could have been a disaster trying to run the drill bit through the existing threaded hole.  Doing it by hand, the bit "caught" a couple of times nearly wrenched my arms around.

I had to finish the opening with a round file and VERY carefully tap the hole with a 3/8" NPT tap.  It did come out well though.  

Only thing I wonder about is whether the sensor might not work properly without more of an "air gap" between the housing and the body of the sensor.  I am assuming that the gap around the body of the sensor just needs to be large enough for coolant to get in and surround it.  But I wonder... do I need to grind the opening up a little bit more around the sensor (3rd pic above) for proper funtion?