livemeyer

Wow it's been a long time since I've been on this forum. I've been tweaking/tuning with my 85 Z24 the last few months, particularly with jetting for my Weber 38 Outlaw. Also replaced plugs and coils, wires and cap and rotor. Purring pretty good now. A quick backstory: 2003 blew head gasket. Got engine rebuilt, including a mystery grind performance cam off eBay. Engine runs poorly unless distributor timing is maxxed out. I suspect maybe the oil pump or distributor is off a tooth. Had previously suspected maybe the cam pin was in the wrong hole on the timing gear. With the cam, pacesetter header and Weber 38 truck screams at 3,000 to 6300 rpm, but lacks the torque of the original stock engine. Although I would guess the engine's power output is 20-25% better than stock, I'd still like to get more out of it. If it's maybe 125-132hp right now, I'd like to reach 160-175hp. Been considering the blow-thru turbo setup. Considering a kit from eBay that would include the KA manifold which I would port match, T3/T4 turbo, plus the carbiehat I've seen from a Aussie or New Zealand web page promoting their Z24 turbo conversion kit. Also thinking if my engine's timing quirks might be a positive for a turbo setup, or at least maybe a turbo setup can alleviate some of the current engine's issues. Understanding that not modifying the engine's fuel delivery system can cause the engine to run lean, I find my current setup runs too rich. I dropped the main jets down from 145 to 135 and then again down to 125 to try to get a leaner mixture. I'm now back at 145 because the transition from the idle circuit to the leaned-out acceleration circuit was very poor. Perhaps keeping the richer running tune with the bigger jets can be offset by the lean condition often found when running a turbo. Also, in regards to timing, wondering if timing can be retarded slightly with the installation of the turbo. Regardless the question of the oil pump or distributor being off a tooth, just reigning in the timing just a bit could prove helpful. Q: where can one find this Kameari adjustable timing gear? Q: How easy or difficult is it to pull the oil pump and adjust its position? Q: Are there any ways of changing the advance curve in the distributor? Q: Can a Kameari timing gear be easily installed? Q: Can a cam swap be easily done without removing the front timing cover and the head?

That’s cool, and yes we may be able to help each other out. I had a hell of a time getting the pitman arm broke loose from the center link at the wrecking yard, and even then dropping the steering box through the gap between the fender and frame rail was a pain. I think I won’t be dealing with a size issue on the swap since my truck is 2wd and the ST I was robbing from was also 2wd, but we will see. I won’t be getting to this project very soon as I am taking vacation next week and when I get back the work grind takes over for a little while. But at least, I know that when I do, I’ll be in the relative comfort of my driveway, with the truck up on jackstands, not like at pick n pull laying in the dirt and mud, trying to take parts off a rusty truck that appears to have been sitting under a tree for 15 years.

I'm planning to use my stock (base) steering wheel. Unfortunately the pick n pull steering column already had the ST wheel picked, otherwise I'd have offered it to you.

Good to know about the alternator bracket, I was looking at the truck I'm going to take the steering from, and I wandered if that alternator bracket was the same or different than the one in my truck. Now I know that I'll need to grab that too. (Basically, I arrived too late in the day at the wrecking yard to pull everything I want, and now I have to go back next free day I have). The ST is an auto trans, why?

Cool, it's good to know you did it, it can be done. These two extra wires you mention, are they from the stalk/switch to the amplifier? In addition to connecting that 2-wire plug at the multi-function switch?

So I did a google image search for this amplifier part, it looks like it has a 5-pin connector, would the wiring already be there in a truck without this option? Just wondering if it's a plug n play situation or if I'm going to have to dig up a wiring diagram before cutting some wires. I suppose when I retrieve it from the donor I might find my answer as well...

Cool. Thought so. I'm going to picking apart a 720 I found and now I know where to look for that amplifier part. I haven't been on this forum much recently because I've spent the past few years building my '51 Chevy 5-window. But it's been in a shop since February for a new transmission (they're reeeealllly slow) so I've been turning my attention back to my '85, Lil' Blue.

I have located a complete 85 KC ST model and plan to remove the entire steering column (including tilt), steering box, lines, pump and reservoir to mount on my standard cab that has non-power steering. Not only do I want to do this to have power and tilt steering, but also to retire the original steering box that after 260k has become pretty sloppy. Rumor has it the steering columns are different lengths? If so I'm having a hard time understanding why this might be, if the engine bay size is the same across all models. Maybe that's only an issue if you're crossing up steering parts between a non-power and a power steering unit. Or are there other issues to be concerned about?

Hey Datzenmike, I just swapped my turn signal/wiper controller over to the one with the variable resistance for intermittent wipers and I plugged this link in, but I get no intermittent wipers. Is there something else I need for this upgrade?

Any time I start a discussion about what I've done and what I want to do, I get more critique about what I've done (wrong or right) than helpful comments about what I can do going forward. The discussion about the 32/36 versus the 38 is pointless. I did this years ago, the 32/36 is long gone, and the 38 gave the truck a good idle and great performance. I'm not going back. A secondary question would be can I continue to use the 38 if I go to a blow-thru system? Regarding timing: the info about the number two hole on the timing gear is great info. I was thinking if this cam makes the distributor need more advance, why not move it in the timing gear, take that 4-degree advance, then pull it back at the distributor? To be clear: I like the way my truck is set up. It's powerful, runs great, is a blast to drive. I'm in a good place I just crave more power. Story about the timing: when I had the engine rebuilt I took it to a reputable shop. They pulled the motor and took it to a machine shop that did the overbore, planed the head, everything. It came back to the shop, they put it back in, and set the timing to stock. They called me, said it was done, but it wasn't running very well. True that, at stock advance it runs shitty. This race cam needs much more advance to run properly. That's it, end of story. Nobody needs to stand up and say "well, the correct way..." you'd have to be here and see what it does. The only small issue I have with advance timing is run-on after shutting it down. I kinda think running a turbo might be ideal, that it might give me the opportunity to retard the timing a little bit. There's probably a thousand little things to do to get it tuned right, but a little more torque and power might make this quite the performer.

I moved the photos so here's a better link: In 1990: https://s112.photobucket.com/user/livemeyer/media/My 85 Nissan/scan0019b.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0 In 2019: https://s112.photobucket.com/user/livemeyer/media/My 85 Nissan/IMG_5961.jpg.html?sort=3&o=11 I'll do a video, post on youtube, share it here. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must be ten thousand.

Was there a problem? I haven’t used photobucket much.

Great idea about running the 12v + from battery. You mentioned the exhaust coil but it is the intake coil that was weaker. I have always run both coils and will continue to do so. Was just wondering if it could be beneficial to have both coils tied together so the power of each coil is shared. I mean, could I try it, it wouldn't damage anything, right? I also see occasionally for sale aftermarket coils for sale, but I don't see the purpose to that unless one of my coils is significantly weak or nonop and needs replacing.

I noticed the spark jumping from the intake side coil is not as strong as the exhaust side coil, at idle. I have heard about some people doing a delete on the dual spark ignition system, but I wonder about the opposite. Can you run a jumper wire between each coil to get a hotter continuous spark across both coils/spark plug sides at all rpms? It was interesting to discover that removing the coil wire from either coil the engine would keep running at all rpms high and low and idle.

Today: https://s112.photobucket.com/user/livemeyer/media/IMG_5961.jpg.html?sort=3&o=11