1976 280 Z from Ohio to Dubai

[wheee!]

Super good news brother!!

[BAS_DXB]

9 hours ago, wheee! said:

Super good news brother!!

Having this tooth log complete was euphoric after 2 weeks of troubleshooting and trying different wiring, I even extended the shielding (wire + aluminum envelop) to reach the CAS connector as I thought I had noise hiding some teeth.

So to anyone using aftermarket Crank Angle Sensor (onesixindustries in particular), always open it and check the VR sensor vs. wheel gap, even in a brand new part that is supposed to be quality controlled, and also blow some air to remove any metal dust...

Before:

After:

Also, I understood how the IAC valve is linked to the inlet port on the Jenveys ITBs.

They got one single entry port from the top of Throttle Body, right next to the injector port, but two outlet inside of TB, one going diagonal and on the air side in front of the throttle, the second one is vertical on the engine side / back of throttle, where we have the vacuum. Jenvey provides the IAC valve kit with 6x 2 inserts types, shorts and longs.

The short ones could be be used for second fuel input maybe (Nos ?! Ethanol ?!) as it will just go above the diagonal hole (red), but the long one will go deeper and obstruct the diagonal hole, only communicating with the vertical hole (green, next to injector hole), on the correct side of the throttle.

SOme of you might have found this ages ago, but I was happy to get my IAC stepper to work so I can refine my idle today and hopefully put the wheels on once brakes and clutch are bled.

[BAS_DXB]

Question for idle refining following the MS3 manual:

Both case I run 2 squirt alternating, primary fuel and ignition load based on ITB (not alpha N or speed density), semi-sequential, and wasted COP.

Case 1:

#1 tooth angle (BTDC) is set a 330*

Fixed timing advance is set at 15* (same as cranking advance)

Required fuel set at 6.4ms (refined the calculation with 2753cc instead of 2800cc) with my big A$$ 480cc injectors and the ITB throttles are slightly open (IAC valve taking care of the rest).

Engine runs fine and stable, BUT at high rpm for idle (1200-1250) and I am 20* off my TDC mark on the harmonic damper. When going up the rpm the timing marker on damper stays same and the throttle is responsive.

 

Case 2:

#1 tooth angle (BTDC) is set a 310*

Fixed timing advance is set at 15* (same as cranking advance)

Required fuel set at 6.4ms (refined the calculation with 2753cc instead of 2800cc) with my big A$$ 480cc injectors and the ITB throttles are slightly open (IAC valve taking care of the rest).

Engine shaking a little, acceptable idle rpm (800-900) and I am on my TDC mark on the harmonic damper. When going up the rpm the timing marker on damper stays same but the throttle is less responsive.

 

I know this is idle and the fixed advance is not meant to be for all rpm range, so it would eventually arrange the RPM and engine shaking once using the table (that I will have to make anyway).

From your experience, better to start from case 1 or 2 ?

Also in both cased I run rich and the gasoline smell is everywhere, AFR gauge shows 10.2 (I have a Nissan 350z narrow band O2 sensor), but I respect the required fuel calculated and the air coming in the engine seems minimum => Will try to reduce injectors to 1 squirt and refine the timing to ensure the whole mix is burnt.

Edited April 12, 2021 by BAS_DXB

[Patcon]

Get the afr closer first.

Which scenario is actually running less spark advance, 1 or 2?

[BAS_DXB]

8 hours ago, Patcon said:

Get the afr closer first.

Which scenario is actually running less spark advance, 1 or 2?

Thank you for the advice 🙏

Scenario 1 running less spark advance and sounds better as well. I'll dig in the AFR today:

- reducing a little fuel and see how is behave

and/or

- adding a little air with the throttle setting at idle

Edited April 13, 2021 by BAS_DXB

[Patcon]

Too much fuel can make idle idle funky. Big injectors can make tuning difficult because the resolution is so poor on the low end. On a 350 I once tuned, I had to go to variable fuel pressure regulator to get it tuned properly

[BAS_DXB]

15 hours ago, Patcon said:

Too much fuel can make idle idle funky. Big injectors can make tuning difficult because the resolution is so poor on the low end. On a 350 I once tuned, I had to go to variable fuel pressure regulator to get it tuned properly

My FPR is at 3 bar, straight from Jenvey to match the injectors and the ITBs,  Also noticed that my fuel pressure gauge needle is shaking a lot between 42-50psi, seems like am good for a new fuel pump soon 😂

I got a pretty decent idle today (850-900rpm), and reving sounds healthy. The idle AFR is around 15-15.2 and lowering (so richer) with higher rev, as I did not work on my AFR table yet.

Had the wiring double checked for lights/signals/gauges and turned out my "Brand New" alternator from ZcarDepot is fu**, the internal regulator is defective so it doesn't charge my battery... Nice 150$ spent, sending it back to them for replacement would cost me too much time and money... Quite pissed as I will have to get a new one tomorrow morning so I can go register the car, as I now need to drive it to refine the tuning...

And for those of you who remember the idea of putting the side markers in the wheel wells, I confirm it's clean and almost made for it (its tight on the back side, between the headlight and side signal bottoms, so make sure you place them as much as possible on the outer side of the car).

 

Also, as I changed the harmonic damper to an ATI one, surprise surprise the original mechanical fan could not fit anymore... Only Spal was fitting in depth and available locally, and made a great deal on these 2, now wired to the MS3.

The wiring and fuel line are not cleaned up and definitive as I am still expecting some looms, braided hose and AN fittings. I will also remove the useless temperature sensors and thermo-contact used prior the ECU control of the fans. As much as I love the air horns on the ITBs, too much sand in the area, cannot risk the engine, so big monster filter for runner, and naked for showing...

 

Edited April 13, 2021 by BAS_DXB

[grannyknot]

You can't go wrong with Spal fans especially in your part of the world, I can only imagine the heat when stuck in traffic in Dubai.

[BAS_DXB]

On 1/15/2021 at 1:58 AM, wheee! said:

Finally received my digital to analogue tachometer converter. The Haltech sends a digital signal that needs to be converted into the old school coil signal for the tach to work properly. 
Pretty simple solution using one of these converters made by Gene. He’s on eBay and sells cool little gadgets like this for a reasonable price. 

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/142171581596

@wheee! always got great findings, and I ordered the same Tachy converter from Gene, UAE was not in his destination list for shipping but he agreed to give it a shot, so let's cross fingers so it doesn't get confiscated as it apparently happened in the past.

I am also ordering the mechanical to Electrical VSS converter (metric) from Protuners, as I already converted my speedo dial to kmh + electric pump for 60psi as my FPR is set at 3.0bar and my fuel pump seems to be a little weak (needle bouncing 42-50 psi on the gauge).

Already received my wire loom and expecting the fuel lines today.

 

[wheee!]

Great stuff!

[BAS_DXB]

Another win yesterday 🙏

Passed the test and registration as a classic, first time the car got license plates since it arrived in Dubai on 17th of September 2020.

The Road and Transport Authority is literally 1km away from the workshop, but risking 6 months confiscation of the car to drive without registration was not worth saving 20$ for the recovery truck... The way back was the first drive, EVER, and was FANTASTIC ! Now I can focus on the mapping and test driving, still waiting a bit for the paint to fully cure before the polishing (that's why the Z side emblems are not on the car yet).

I will probably lower it a bit more, especially the front, and still have plenty of work to clean up the engine bay, once I wired the fan control and changed injectors and CAS connectors as well.

 

Recorded the start up and rev after driving it back from the registration: https://youtu.be/9yHdlEbfSG8, there is lot of work to be done.

 

[grannyknot]

4 hours ago, BAS_DXB said:

Recorded the start up and rev after driving it back from the registration: https://youtu.be/9yHdlEbfSG8, there is lot of work to be done.

The video of your start up is labeled private and can't be seen.