Challenger Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 Alright, never made a thread like this for my 78 so I thought Id make one for my ZX. Got the car for $550, anticipating just to pull then engine and part out the car. That didnt last long, I started driving it to school and as of a week ago I tore down the engine for some upgrade/refurbishing. What it looked like when I first got it.^ There was and still is some problem causing it to run rough on occasion, still trying to sort that out. Anyways, heres some of the stuff I got and am in the process of installing. - Fuel Rail - New Fuel tubing - Capped egr - Sandblasted intake - plugged idle control opening on manifold - removed most vacume lines/emmision controls - replaced intake/exhaust manifold gasket - cleaned up the ports as much as I could, cleaned up the gasket area Next in line, is a manual boost controller, new plug wires and dist. cap, hopefully a better downpipe, need to find a flange first. Will also finish the wiring on my injector pigtails, only got three of them done. Still need to buy one more injector since my dad dropped one and broke the spintle cap. Ill update when I get more done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comrade_Charlie Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 Where did you get the fuel rail from? barbed for injectors and feed and return fuel lines? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bart628 Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 That looks really good. Removing the vacuum lines and emission controls tidies the engine bay quite a lot. Interested on how well that MBC performs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowlerMonkey Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 I like that fuel rail. I should make two of them to use with the dual feed injectors which should alleviate any vapor lock problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comrade_Charlie Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 That looks really good. Removing the vacuum lines and emission controls tidies the engine bay quite a lot. Interested on how well that MBC performs. I and 2 of my friends have had zero probelms from a mbc on z31s, the only thing that sucked about them, they seemed to only go up to 18psi, Might actually be a good thing if your running lower than that. if your running over that id go ebc any way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted May 24, 2009 Author Share Posted May 24, 2009 I got the fuel rail from Ron Tyler. Its basically just a threaded aluminum tube. Im hoping to just make a mbc from home depot parts since I wont be going past 10psi for now. Also forgot to mention Ill hopefully be upgrading to the 300zx coil... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comrade_Charlie Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 z31 coil? Does he sell them regularly? I know it looks simply to make but I dont have the tools to make it, and stock fuel rail is making me mad at times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted May 24, 2009 Author Share Posted May 24, 2009 I dont think so. He might have just had this one sitting around. Yes it is alot nicer than the stock rail, I got really tired of cutting my hands up trying to work around/under it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowlerMonkey Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 If you're going to the 300zx coil, you might want to use the power transistor which is usually attached to it and wire in the condensor/resistor unit (usually located elsewhere on the harness) that you find on vg30 cars. The condensor/resistor unit has both the resisitor and condensor in a single unit that plugs into a single 4 conductor connector. It looks like a connector with a nothing more than a blank plug inserted but does have both. It's easy, to get both the condensor/reisistor unit and the harness plug from the junkyard for about 3 bucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted May 27, 2009 Author Share Posted May 27, 2009 Got everything back together and pressurized the fuel system just to find leaks... switched out one fitting on the fuel rail and added a little loctite. Hopefully itll be ok now. Id like to get the car started tomorrow, just at least idleing since there are a few things I need to check before making boost. Ill post some pics of the new engine bay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferrariferg Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Its amazing how much you miss boost once you don't have it isn't it? lol. I pulled the motor from my turbo and now the NA just doesn't feel the same. Love that fuel rail. Maybe I'll try my hand at making one. Can't wait to see those pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted May 27, 2009 Author Share Posted May 27, 2009 Well I miss just driving the car, but yes I want my boost back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BleachZee Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I kind of miss the torque and quick response of a 1982 NA engine with 3.9 gears vs my 1983 turbo with 3.54 rear lag and high gearing feel sluggish but its only just the beginning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 Here she is. Pressurized the fuel system and it seemed that the loctite was coming out of the threads. We kept it pressurized for a few minutes and it all cleared up. Everything looks tight and sealed. Heres a picture of the egr blocked off, makes getting to the downpipe alot easier than before. That is good because it seems like something is burning in/on my downpipe and is making a little smoke... Im hoping its just some wd40 that I had put on the egr bung in an attempt to remove the fitting. I might have to take it off and clean it up/check the gasket. Heres a picture as it sits now. Anyways, I was able to get it fired up and running "reasonably" well. The car is MUCH louder being that it only has a downpipe and about 3-4 ft of exhaust tubing. It is still stumbling when I give it throttle, something it was doing before. Ill have to address that once I get some other things buttoned up. I really have no idea what it is... Also a member in town has an extra DSM bov Ill probably pick up. That way I can remove the large pop off valve on the intake. I was conveniently left over with one line coming from the afm to turbo boot and one fitting on the manifold. Perfect to provide a vacume signal for the BOV and a vent line to after the afm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferrariferg Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Very nice. She cleaned up nicely. I don't suppose you would want to part with that spoiler anytime soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 Sure. Anything I can pull off to make a little cash.... Pm me what you feel is reasonable. Also, in the picture you can see that the boost sensor has the vacume/boost signall coming directly from the intake manifold. Is that ok? Im pretty sure it was hooked up to the vcm rather than strait to the intake. Will it get a proper signal? I dont want to build boost quite yet so I cant test it.. Another question. I connected the breather on the valave cover to the fitting in front of the TB. It basically does the same thing as before just it enters at a different spot. Think it will be ok? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueTurboZ Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 The boost sensor connection should work fine. It is normally fed direct vacuum from the metal pipe array just below, on the side of the manifold, with a short run of hose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BleachZee Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Another question. I connected the breather on the valave cover to the fitting in front of the TB. It basically does the same thing as before just it enters at a different spot. Think it will be ok? It used to connect to the hose between the AFM and the turbo. In that location it was always under vacuum, never under boost pressure. Now it connects right to the manifold which will pressurize your valve cover only when under boost. Its probably ok, but its not totally the same as before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 Oh ok, now that I think about it that makes sense. As long as it works.. Well spoiler is gone now. I think it actually looks a little cleaner... also got the rest of the injector connectors wired up. Rearranged the wires a little bit to fit nicer. Looks alot better and hopefully the non corroded connections will help the engine. Found a valve cover gasket in my room so Im going out now to pull the cover, inspect things, clean things up and reinstall. Might even paint the cover since I have a little black high temp left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBZINYA Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Man I want your power-train for my early Z. Does your car run more freeley with all of the smog eqiupment removed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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