CURRENT STATUS OF THE L28 260z
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  Specs:
1974.5 Datsun 260z
2.8L 280zx Turbo L28ET Engine
Megasquirt II EMS (v3.0 PCB, Extra Code) - Ford EDIS Ignition
Stock 280zxt T3 Turbo
2.5" Cat-less Exhaust, 2.5" Resonator, & 3" Turbo Bullet Muffler
Pallnet fuel rail with 440cc 7MGTE Supra injectors
240sx 5spd Transmission (FS5W71C)
NISMO 2-way LSD - 3.545 Ratio
240zx Alternator Swap
240z Front and Rear Thin Bumpers (pending)
240z Xenon Front Air Dam
Momo Hub & 320mm Leather Racing Wheel



PROJECT UPDATES
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11/23/08

Didn't even think about it at the time, but I ran the ZX alternator (internally regulated) along with my stock external voltage regulator. Needless to say, it toasted. I bypased the external voltage regulator, and installed a 240sx alternator. After about a week that alternator decided to give out too, presumably just old age and bad luck. So today I picked up a new 280zx alternator from Autozone. At least it'll have a warranty.

  11/08/08

Wow... this thing is getting harder to update, since progress hasn't really been "all of a sudden". I've made little baby steps over the period of many weeks.

The Z is officially running on Megasquirt with EDIS. I'm getting awesome gas milage apparently, with 24mpg during high throttle tuning runs and in-city daily driving. Still working on cleaning up wiring and such, but it's pretty much all permanently installed. I also swapped in a 280zx alternator, and sanded the contacts of my voltage regulator. I'm getting much better charging, and the headlights even seem brighter. I'm getting some fluctuation until the regulator warms up (It's cold out now), but it's tolerable.

  9/12/08

Last weekend I used a pneumatic block sander and some rattle can grey primer to take care of the rust that was forming on my left rear quarter panel and the back hatch. I also was able to finally get my dash lights working. The PO plugged two wires together with banana plugs that DEFINATELY should not have been.

Today I installed my new LED dash lights, and I must say I'm quite pleased. I used BA9s-W LED's from SuperBrightLEDs.com, which have specs of 180* viewing angle and 11200mcd. They plug right into the stock base, but the green caps MUST be removed. The LEDs are much longer than the stock light bulbs. They are noticably brigher than stock, and with the green caps removed are a nice pure white.

I didn't do much in August other than little minor details. Before leaving for Midwest Z fest I flipped my speedometer pinion and dremeled a new slot into it, so now my speedometer works. I removed the pointless idle air devices off the carbs, hooked back up my PCV system (backwards, but it works), and pulled out the AC condenser box, which in the process of removing found that my horn relay was unplugged (fixed it, horn works now).

I also started to install the BlackDragon power locks kit, but came to a halt when I realized I needed to pull the doors to drill holes for the wires to route through. So, in the short term I need to finish installing the power locks and get the interior cleaned up and back together, and clean up the mess that is the passenger wiring harness.

  7/30/08

Thanks to a neighbor and his welder, the crossmember is now welded up, the tranny is mounted in the car, and I took it for a drive tonight.

It's better than I could have dreamed. Shifting is so smooth, 5th is geared nice and low, the new throwout bearing is silk...

Only problem is that my speedo doesn't work again. I'll figure that out later though, I have a pretty good idea what the problem is.

  7/29/08

Got my driveshaft back today, and tonight we mounted the tranny back in the car.

Unfortunately, I'm an idiot and didn't have the driveshaft shortened enough. It ended up 1/2" too long. Luckily I was able to dremel off the rear seal collar and now it clears and is all bolted up.

  7/28/08
Today I took my driveshaft to the shop to have it shortened 1.5" and the collar removed, and had the bellhousing machined at the physics department for the larger countershaft bearing.

The drill-pressed shift rod hole was horrible. Somehow it wasn't straight OR quite big enough. Between milling down bosses and fixing the shift hole we probably put in 3 hours of dremel work and about 6 test-fits.

But it's together, spins freely, and shouldn't leak (hopefully).

  7/26/08
This weekend I got the tranny dropped, and both transmissions taken apart.
280z Trans:

240sx Trans:

Thanks to a friend of mine with a drill press, I got my shift rod hole drilled out. When I got it home I measured, and it's just BARELY over 16mm (like it's supposed to be). I just hope it's in the right spot, and the rod lines up.

  7/20/08
Got both front LCA's redone in poly, the forward TC bushing is poly and the rear is stock shitty rubber till I can get new OEM rubber replacements.

Hit some major snags doing the front sway bar. Apparently the sway bar set I happened upon isn't for a S30. The front sway bar seemed too wide and deep, and is probably for a 280zx or Z31. Guess I'll be sticking with stock sway bars for awhile.

So, I decided to re-install the stock bar with the new endlinks. No dice. There is no way that bolt is long enough to get the nut on. When I went by Autozone to get some brake fluid, my room mate found me some identical but longer bolts that ended up working. I think they were only about a 1/2" longer. The nut did bottom out on the threads, as you can see, so I hope it's tight enough.

I swapped out my brake booster for the new one. The old one was full of nasty brown brake fluid from the old master cylinder, so that explains the failure. The brakes just make me smile. It feels perfect, like a modern car. Love it!

Also ran out to Gentry and got my 240sx transmission. Came with a 240mm flywheel and clutch, so that'll be a slight upgrade from my 225mm. Dunno when I'll get around to installing it though, kinda want to drive it for awhile first.

  7/17/08
Alright, got the Z back from the bodyshop...

Verdict is that it had been hit from the front at some point. The left side went down, right side went up, all of it shifted to the left.

They got it all straightened back out, and the body panels line up pretty well now. They'll look even better after some shimming and tweaking. This does show me how bad of shape the hood is in overall. Good thing I have a spare... no vents for it yet though.

It still tilts a little bit to the left in the front, but they said it's the springs, which I could definitely believe. Coilovers should fix that problem. Hopefully this weekend I'll get most of the bushings installed and take it to be aligned.




  6/30/08
Haven't had much time to work on the Z, but I have been driving it around a little, which has been nice.

I need to take it to a bodyshop. The passenger side front seems higher than the drivers side, and the fender and hood don't quite line up right. I think there must be some frame tweakage.

I got my pass door pulled apart to look at the lock and window. The window was just off off a couple of its sliders... popped them back on and it rolls like silk (old dirty silk). The lock was apparently not keyed to the rest of the car. Got the pass lock re-keyed but b/c the door didn't close properly for who knows how long (fixed both latches with some dremeling now) someone tried to force it and rounded off some of the cylinder material (see pic, blue line is where the original material should continue down to).

I also FINALLY just broke down and bought a MOMO hub, and after it FINALLY came in I now have my steering wheel mounted. The Momo horn button binds up and sticks down for some reason, so it's out for now. I'll have the dremel take a look at a few areas, and that should clear it right up.

So, I need to fix the passenger lock cylinder and put the door back together, get the frame looked at, then start restoring and upgrading!




  6/13/08
Got the car home all safe and sound earlier this week, no problems, all smooth sailing other than the tranny.

Had a fellow Z enthusiast friend come in for the weekend. Between the two of us we got the running lights working by turning off the dash lights, replacing a few bulbs, and cleaning some connections.

I also now have a properly sized air filter, and a working speedometer! Ordered a new speedo cable from autozone, and was able to slip the inner cable from the new one into the sleeve already in the car. Saved lots of time, and works fine.

I haven't put in the new speedo pinion yet, but somehow the speed is correct anyway. Followed a friend and checked speeds, it was right on all the way up to 70mph.




  6/8/08
I got the hood and fenders mostly bolted on, and actually got the air dam bolted on too. Nothing lines up very well unfortunately, seems like there will be some work needed likely due to some sort of accident at some point.

Got the new air box installed and changed out to some new NGK spark plugs, then took it for a drive to the nearest gas station. My fuel sender appears to be working, have 1/2 a tank now, after a cumulative 30 min drive. Had a blast getting to drive it that long!

The tranny grinds decelerating in 1st-3rd, but 4th is fine. 5th is touchy, I did get it to stay in and accelerate once though, so we'll see. I think I'll have to tear it apart at some point to diagnose the problem.

I just need to install my new speedo pinion and get a speedo cable, and it'll be somewhat daily drivable!




  5/26/08
Well I got quite a bit done this weekend toward getting the car ready to drive back.

I got the front cover gasket replaced on the tranny, and so far no leaks! Thank goodness for acetone to remove the 30 year old caked on gasket.

I got my gas tank fixed up and back in the car. The pinholes are welded up and epoxied, and the whole thing is now rustoleum painted. I now have fresh gas going to the carbs, and boy do they like it much better!

Not sure yet if the fuel sender works. I haven't put much gas in, but it's reading just barely below "E". I should probably take the sender out and run it up and down to make sure it reads.

Got my old melty tail lights put back in for now (reverse lights work now, sweet!), got the radiator rubber padded and zip-tie mounted, got the fenders partially bolted on, got my passenger seat reinstalled, and patched the leaky RR tire (nail).

I drove the car again, and that went well other than the grinding, and 5th still not working. At first I thought the grinding might be a lack of fluid in the diff (still need to check), but now I'm thinking it may be a faulty throwout bearing. I only get it when decelerating, and sometimes I feel some grindyness when the clutch is in. Other than that it was fun, got up to 5k rpm in 1st and 2nd, and man did it sound mean! Can't wait to get a video.




  5/11/08
Alright well I didn't do much this weekend what with mother's day and all, but I did get my gas tank cleaned and bumper shocks out.

We used a gas powered powerwasher to clean all the gunk out of the tank, and it seems to have worked well. I'm letting it dry now, and plan to slosh around some gas in it tomorrow to work out any remainting water. It's not perfectly clean, but it's good enough not to ruin any gas I put in the tank like it would before. Next time out I'll go ahead and paint the outside with some black rustoleum to protect it before putting it back in the car.

I also dissasembled all the stuff around the fuel filler to get a good look at the damage and what needs to be done to the area. The arsehat PO just filled it with copious amounts of caulk, which subsequently rusted the fark out of the entire area.


I used CLR and a toothbrush, then water washed and coated in wd40 till I get it back in the tank. I now get full range from 11-87 ohms, yay!

  4/26/08
Got my two problem studs replaced. The first had about 1/4" broken off, the second about 1/4" stripped. I still have one that is stripped going into the block, so I'll try that thread repair stuff on it tomorrow.

Also got my exhaust finished and welded up with the turbo bullet muffler. Got the headers soaking in the rust removal electrolyte bath to paint tomorrow.





  4/27/08
Sunday was semi productive, felt like going in the wrong direction, but it was stuff that had to get done:

Got my headers painted, so now they're nice and sexy looking, instead of crappy and rusty.