rossiz

i'm fine to take the conversation off this thread, but i think lots of folks might like to see a thread on your install - pics and lessons learned would be great.

using some oil and the little stem condoms is a must - otherwise the valve collet keeper groove will cut the sealing surface on the rubber seals as they pass by. be sure they 'snap' all the way down onto the retainer on the head - a small socket or a piece of pipe of the right diameter will work if your fingers can't do the trick. the first one will be a PITA and the next 11 will go on just fine once you figure it out.

nice! nothing more satisfying than home fabrication in my book, no matter how simple.

what year? are they all the same?

pics when you can - interested to see if they are in scale w/the z interior. i put a heater kit in my oem seats when i installed new foam and re-upholstered them and it's quite nice since my z is a DD but i have to say i'm not a fan of the stock seats. uncomfortable and let you slide around, probably my biggest disappointment w/the entire build as i put a bunch of work and $$ into them. they look great but i've been on the lookout for a better solution since the first day i sat in them.

+1 on cleaning connections - there are a set of bullet connectors about midway on the intake manifold that connect the sensors at the thermostat housing to the harness, i'd start with these and the connections at the sensors themselves. the coolant temp sensor is used to enrich the mixture at cold temps and if not functioning it will cause problems. check your plugs - i'm guessing they're black. do NOT mess w/the AFM to start with - usually the last thing you need to touch and many have chased their tails by starting here only to find the real culprit in other areas. once the AFM is out of adjustment it can mask other issues and make it difficult to diagnose. the efi system on these cars is pretty simple, but it requires multiple components to all be working together and connected correctly - and no vacuum leaks. btw: where did you find a 10K mile car? are you sure it's not 110K? the odo rolls over at 99K...

i feel your pain. i went through multiple heads w/this guy that were assembled all wrong and finally built it myself. the rockers fell right off and showered the inside of the head with bits & pieces. his assembly guy is not exactly "meticulous"...

the steering wheel will sand down easily - work your way up to 500 grit then a furniture oil finish (i used lemon oil) will rub in and it will look fantastic and feel even better. even though it's not real wood, it has a great feel and will actually take a little oil nicely. some folks use heavy clear coats, but they feel a little "plastic-like" and you have to deal w/chips & flakes over time.

helicoil - as long as it's in straight and deep enough that your fastener doesn't bottom out you'll be fine. the injector fasteners don't require a lot of torque (hence the philips head) so you'll be fine.

one thing to keep in mind - a vinyl film thin enough to follow detailed textures/contours will telegraph any cracks/imperfections in the substrate. so in order to get a good looking finished product, you will need to ensure the dash is repaired as perfectly as possible. the other thing that will be interesting to see is how it handles the continued off-gassing and flaking/crumbling of the dash material due to UV exposure and extreme temp cycles.

Thanks for the part #s - hope to get rid of that horrid squeak-n-streak problem...

i feel your pain... getting past rotten fasteners and frozen parts is no fun, but once you've done it (and invested in a tub of anti-seize) you'll sleep better knowing it's all good.

hey site - do these fit the original sst 240z wipers? i got a set of them for my 280 (i like the polished sst vs the black) and i tried buying some replacements i found at orielly's and pulling out the rubber blades to swap into mine, but they were too narrow to be held in place by the 240 armature. the 240 assemblies came with rubber blades that had a pair of thin sst strips on each side of the rubber blade and locked into the armature. been looking for the right refills to use...

i believe you'll get more poke out of the motor with porting/matching and running full advance than just more CR, and detonation is a bad thing to have to worry about, plus if you shave too much you'll need to shim the cam towers. if you drive it regularly, there may be times when you can't get the best gas, so i'd err on the side of safety w/CR.

rather than worry about the model year, why not just cc the chambers? simple task with a piece of plexiglass with 2 small holes, some grease for a perimeter seal and a measuring beaker - then you'll know for sure.

nice find - looks like the body is pretty clean as well. there are a few threads on efi re-furb here, i'd read up before buying parts to save yourself some time and $$, as many, if not most of the parts can be cleaned and re-built. keep a watchful eye on anything rubber - fuel & vac hoses, throttle body boot, pcv hose, coolant hoses, etc. as they may be dried out and brittle. easy to replace if done methodically. don't fall into the trap of removing a whole bunch at once - best to replace one at a time to avoid mistakes with routing. same for electrical - you'll want to systematically unplug, clean, inspect and re-connect all the grounds and pathways from the sensors (under the t-stat housing) as well as the injector connectors. be careful of those injector connectors - they get brittle from exposure to heat. have fun with it - looking forward to the progress!

teardown, reassembly and new seals are easy money to save - several threads on this forum showing how to do this (including one or two that i've posted) and i can assure you it's not rocket science. all you need are a clean bench, a few simple tools (spring compressor, feeler gauge and a crows-foot for the valve lash adjust - all cheap) and you'll soon be good to go. the cam doesn't look "shot" to me, just needs a re-grind. i believe Blue posted a pic of a cam that had been sitting in an open engine (no valve cover) for years and looked as rusty as a boat anchor and it cleaned up & re-ground just fine. i'm also pretty sure you can find a shop to weld up the hole and grind smooth, this happens a lot while porting and it shouldn't be big $$. head work is what makes these engines come to life, so learning how to get in there and do the basics (cam & lash pads, CR adjustment, de-shrouding, basic port clean-up) will really empower you to get the most out of your mill and have some fun in the process. really, it's waaaaay more fun than rust repair!!

if you haven't yet, download the fsm - it has some great diagrams outlining the various harnesses that will help you identify them and their routing.

i'll have to post up some pics on this, gather up all the bits and pieces - been meaning to do so for a while. 1/4 of my garage is filled w/engine parts that i need to liquidate...

su's rock. but for me it wasn't cheaper in the long run - because i spent $$$$ replacing/rebuilding every wire, sensor, everything in the efi system before getting the carbs. had i just gotten the carbs first it would have been way cheaper. but then again, i learned all about the L-Jet system and i'm a better man for it. poorer, at least... oh, and i have a completely re-built efi system that i gotta sell, including new injectors, hoses, shaved/polished manifold, wire harness, ecu, afm, throttle body, the works.

that kinda came out funny...

why not use it as a core for a re-grind? the japan cams are good steel and you can get whatever custom grind you want out of it.

well, at least when you're finished you'll only have done the work twice vs. my 3 times - so i'm happy if my thread indirectly saved you some work!

first thing i thought too. reminds me of my buddy's late 60's olds toronado back in high school - monster of a 4 dr. w/front wheel drive & transverse engine mount. i went over to help him work on it and he had climbed into the engine bay and was standing, both feet on the concrete, in the space in front of the engine.