deja Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 It seems like I worked my butt of this weekend but really didn't get that much accomplished. I got the headers mounted and the plugs installed. But when I tried to connect my new Accel 8mm wires I ran into more optispark "what were they thinking" issues. The LT1 has a little plastic wire guide sitting on the accessory mount to keep the wires away from the belt and pulleys, mine is broken, dammit. I guees I'll have to go to the Chevy dealer for that, grrrrrrr. Plus because I now have the Bower AC mount on the other side the rear wires won't reach, grrrrr. Looks like custom wire time. And of course the knock sensor is going to have to be moved, not a big deal. I made a bracket to mount the computer inside the car and rearranged the wiring to clean up the engine bay on the passenger side. I also put new heat tape on the wiring that runs down the sides of the engine. I mounted the radiator for the first time and figured how I'm going to connect the tranny cooler. I'm not real happy with the aluminum mounting ears on the JTR top radiator mount, it seem a little flimsy. I think I'll reinforce those to keep the radiator from moving around. I need to figure out how to mount the Z28 fans for the radiator or just get a Taurus fan. I made a mounting plate for the firewall to accept the Z28 accelerator cable but the stock cable is still about 1 1/2" too long, I will have to cut it and recrimp the end. One of the problems I'm having with this project is that much of this car was already adapted before I got it, so what others have done on their cars won't work on mine. The accelerator cable is one of those. Oh yeah, I sold $400 worth of Z28 parts Saturday, yahoo, more money for the 280Z!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno74Z Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Deja, Thought about doing this with my wires when the time comes. Danno74Z http://www.lt1engine.com/techaids/otcvwires.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nullbound Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 I'm not real happy with the aluminum mounting ears on the JTR top radiator mount, it seem a little flimsy. I think I'll reinforce those to keep the radiator from moving around. I need to figure out how to mount the Z28 fans for the radiator or just get a Taurus fan. How are the mounting ears flimsy? I found mine to be very solid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 If you click on the pic of the engine in my signature you'll see a larger version of the image. Notice the ignition wires? When I did all my engine modifications I also decided to route all my wires from bellow. I think it makes a much cleaner install and no custom lengths required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deja Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 If you click on the pic of the engine in my signature you'll see a larger version of the image. Notice the ignition wires? When I did all my engine modifications I also decided to route all my wires from bellow. I think it makes a much cleaner install and no custom lengths required. No I don't see the spark plug wires, unless its that black thing that looks like a hose coming up between the bellows and the alternator. If so did you just wrap them with something or use spilt loom? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deja Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 How are the mounting ears flimsy? I found mine to be very solid. If I pull even slightly forward or aft on the top of the radiator I can see the aluminum flex. I don't think it will hold up over time, its might thin aluminum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Did you just buy the radiator mounts from JTR? Some months back JTR said they were going from steel to aluminum. Maybe the new stuff isn't as sturdy as the old? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deja Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 Deja, Thought about doing this with my wires when the time comes. Danno74Z http://www.lt1engine.com/techaids/otcvwires.html Hmmm It didn't look like I had room to do that, I'll check again. I even have brackets to run them along the covers. thanks for that link. Dale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deja Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 Did you just buy the radiator mounts from JTR? Some months back JTR said they were going from steel to aluminum. Maybe the new stuff isn't as sturdy as the old? Yep, the new aluminum JTR mount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbc3 Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Dale, With headers it is tough to get the wires to run under the headers without subjecting them to burning. Over the valve cover wires are a great solution. I have been running mne over the valve covers for 8 or 9 years and have never had a wire probem since. Cut to fit wires are expensive, but necessary. I do like the clean look of no wires on top, but if a wire burns, the under routing is a major pain to deal with. Jody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dat240zg Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Deja: This past weekend was radiator install time for me as well. After I mounted the JTR radiator kit, I found that I could get almost an inch of flex out of it after the fan was bolted up, so I went to Home Depot and got several L brackets and bent them to fit from the top of the Z's radiator support over to the top of the JTR radiator mount. I'll take some pics later today. Bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deja Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 Deja: This past weekend was radiator install time for me as well. After I mounted the JTR radiator kit, I found that I could get almost an inch of flex out of it after the fan was bolted up, so I went to Home Depot and got several L brackets and bent them to fit from the top of the Z's radiator support over to the top of the JTR radiator mount. I'll take some pics later today. Bryan Thats pretty much my plan too. Maybe adding a piece of 1/8" angle to the ears might help too, if there is room. I'll post what I come up with too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deja Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 Dale,With headers it is tough to get the wires to run under the headers without subjecting them to burning. Over the valve cover wires are a great solution. I have been running mne over the valve covers for 8 or 9 years and have never had a wire probem since. Cut to fit wires are expensive, but necessary. I do like the clean look of no wires on top, but if a wire burns, the under routing is a major pain to deal with. Jody Looks like I have little choice. I'll see what I can route with the wires I have, hate to have to buy new ones again. BTW Jody, do you have a good shot of your fans setup? I just can't see how those Z28 fans are going to fit on the JTR radiator even without the shroud which I alreay have removed. How close to thr radiator are your fans? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Your not going to be able to see my wires since they are running up from the bottom. I made a couple of small brackets that connect them to where the oil pan connects to the block and made sure they are routed so that they have plenty of space between them and my headers. The only issue will be when I need to replace them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbc3 Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Looks like I have little choice. I'll see what I can route with the wires I have, hate to have to buy new ones again. BTW Jody, do you have a good shot of your fans setup? I just can't see how those Z28 fans are going to fit on the JTR radiator even without the shroud which I alreay have removed. How close to thr radiator are your fans? Maybe I can take a picture of the fans and send it to you, but they sit about 1/2" off the surface of the radiator and they are partially offset. I took 4 steel strips and bolted them to the top and bottom radiator mounts. I drilled holes in the radiator mount brackets, tapped them, and ran bolts from the inside, sticking out, making it easy to put the straps on and get them off. Then the fans bolt to the steel strips. They actually overhang the outside edge of the radiator a little and I shaved a little off of the outside of one of the lips of the fan outer shell to make them fit. They are TIGHT. When I pulled the radiator to do the cam swap last week, I just unbolted the bottom of the fan mounts and left the fans attached to the mounts and left the mounts attached to the upper radiator mounting bracket, then after unbolting the 2 upper radiator mount bolts, I lifted the whole assembly out easily. Jody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deja Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 Your not going to be able to see my wires since they are running up from the bottom. I made a couple of small brackets that connect them to where the oil pan connects to the block and made sure they are routed so that they have plenty of space between them and my headers. The only issue will be when I need to replace them. LOL, I totally misread your post last night. In the ideal world that is what I'd like to do too. Keeping them away from the belt and pulleys is scarier than keeping them away from the headers. The 8mm wires don't fit too well into that plastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 I have my expensive Taylor wires running under the headers as well and have burned 3 so far. Jody, Which set of cut to fit wires are you using? Wheelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deja Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 Maybe I can take a picture of the fans and send it to you, but they sit about 1/2" off the surface of the radiator and they are partially offset. I took 4 steel strips and bolted them to the top and bottom radiator mounts. I drilled holes in the radiator mount brackets, tapped them, and ran bolts from the inside, sticking out, making it easy to put the straps on and get them off. Then the fans bolt to the steel strips. They actually overhang the outside edge of the radiator a little and I shaved a little off of the outside of one of the lips of the fan outer shell to make them fit. They are TIGHT. When I pulled the radiator to do the cam swap last week, I just unbolted the bottom of the fan mounts and left the fans attached to the mounts and left the mounts attached to the upper radiator mounting bracket, then after unbolting the 2 upper radiator mount bolts, I lifted the whole assembly out easily. Jody I wonder if my JTR aluminum radiator mount will support that much weight. I may have to mount them the the Datsun radiator frame, that's what I did on my old setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 I wish I had taken some pictures showing how I routed my wires, but I think that the way I have them routed the headers are not an issue. Here you can see how the route directly to the sides from the Opti: From there they run alongside the block and up to the sparkplugs. The sparkplug boots are 'L' shaped, so the wires run straight down from the plugs. I used to have the wires running along the valve covers with these aftermarket holders that bolted directly to the valve covers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deja Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 I wish I had taken some pictures showing how I routed my wires, but I think that the way I have them routed the headers are not an issue. Here you can see how the route directly to the sides from the Opti: From there they run alongside the block and up to the sparkplugs. The sparkplug boots are 'L' shaped, so the wires run straight down from the plugs. I used to have the wires running along the valve covers with these aftermarket holders that bolted directly to the valve covers. I really am getting tired of moving these damn things, LOL. I just spent an hour routing them up and over the valve covers. But it took all the longest wires and what is left will only do 1 on the passenger side. I have the "L" bends too, I see how that works tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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