need help with the wiring, ive got the volt/fuel. oil/temp and a working quartz clock, also got a 160MPH speedo with the speed sonsor.

 

Wasn't there a thread on this already? Get yourself 280zx & 280z Haynes manuals & trace the wiring diagrams. Are you just gunna try to swap in those gauges to you 280zx dash?

 

hmm interesting, if you're using the 280Z dash then that'd be pretty interesting, i kind of like the way they're laid out more anyways.

 

yea, i was going to do the wholes z dash, but my source for it died, so now all i have is a bunch of z gauges, also. who accurate would a 78 280z speedo work on a 81 zx N/A

 

I believe all 280z's came w/ 3.545 rear differentials.... so it will depend on what gear ratio you have in your Z. Your 81 stock should have a 3.9 if it's a 5speed, a 3.545 if it's an Auto.

 

they all use the same tranny, so change the cable, and it should work. maybee the cables are even the same. then you gotta worry about the wiring.

 

But the speedo gear will be wrong if he's running a 3.9 outback (manual N/A). The 280z speedo will be calibrated for the 3.545. They're calibrated by the diff not the trans. The gear just happens to be in the trans.

 

but the gear determines the speedo output. if he uses the same gear as before there should be no change in speedo readout. should there????

 

Yeah cause the speedometer will think the wheels are turning at one speed (3.545) while they're actually turning at another speed (3.900). The gear is in the transmission and the transmission will be spinning the same speed no matter what your rear end gearing is. But the rear wheels speed will vary at specific RPM's according to the rear end ratio even with two identical transmissions. So the speedo gears have a varying number of teeth according to the rear end gearing cause the transmission can't tell it how fast the car is going, only how fast the engine is spinning. The speedo gear then makes up the difference according to the rear end gear.

 

Well put. The way I look at it... your speedo still shows your speed if you are in neutral (or clutch in & coasting). That is because the speedo cog is attached to the final output drive of the tranny, NOT the gears.

 

no i know that, i was trying to say that the speedo in the car should be easy to hook up due to the fact that all early z's use the same tranny and that the diff color gear can be varied due to rear end ratio. i was just wondering if he would have to change the cable due to the behind the dash hook up. the early z can be altered to use a diff. rear end ratio, as long as you match the speedo gear color to the diff. application.

 

ah yes...

I'd say the cable hookup is the least of his worries... it's gunna be how to mount it in his stock gauge cluster that's gunna be fun. Did 280z's have cruse control?

 

if it matters at all, i took it off a 77 280z 2+2 manual, with a 5spd installed, screw cruise control, all i need for cruise control is a brick. my car is also a manual with the 3.9 rear gear ratio.

 

Yeah I dont know what the hell I was thinking talking about speedo calibration I must've been tired last night. The only thing that has to be done is to hook the speedo up to the speedo cable and it's done. Since he's using his current transmission he's already got the speedo gear he needs Sorry about that SHADY, you were right in that it wouldn't matter. If he was swapping diffs or something like that then he would have to swap the speedo gear. My bad, I'm refreshed now after a good nights sleep.

 

glad to hear it, ill get some pics of all the gauges in, when i finish dremeling the foam out of the gauge pods.

 

sleep is always good, the wiring on that project may be a little screwy, you might just want to use the 280z's entire harness or something and then it would look professional.

 

im going to pull of some of the wires that go to the main cluster and wire them into the z's gauges...if that made any sense.

 

makes sense, gotta start somewhere, you gotta wiring diagram for both??

 

nope, but the wiring is the least of my worries now. the little spring inside the speedo that returns the pointer back to 0 broke off when i was fitting it in.anyone have any tricks on how to jerry rig something?

 

get a new one???

 

yea....got the gauges mounted and looking pretty

http://photobucket.com/albums/v353/hoov100/280zx/?sc=3

 

Right on bro-ski!

 

all i have to do is replace the 280z speedo, wiring isnt going to be as difficult as i thought, but i should have all this done in and working by next weekend, also i get my license tomorow, i think im gonna take the z around the block w/out the dash just for the hell of it.

 

man, I want one of those speedo's now. All of a sudden my 130 mph doesn't look so impressive

 

maybe i can finally top out my car and not have someone behind me (or a cop) tell me how fast i went.