Hi everyone,

first, here is my car so that you know what i have done so far

78 280z non-california coupe:

zxt block bored .40 over

rebuilt n42 head with performance cam from p.o.'s old engine

new zx flat top pistons, also .40 over

high volume oil pump

msa 6-1 headers

twice pipes exhaust

a/c removed

all emmisions equipment except bcdd removed (vacume lines to it are plugged)

stock intake manifold

stock ecu

stock injectors

new f.i. fuel filter

now a little background

I have a 78 280 that i have been restoring on and off over the past 2.5 years. I took it for its first drive with my rebuilt engine a little over a week ago. The car ran like a bat out of hell for about 7 miles then blew the oil pump gasket as soon as my house was in sight. My aunt (who i currently live with) didnt like the idea of oil spots all over her driveway and strongly insisted that i get the oil up. after cleaning the driveway i used engine degreaser and a garden hose to clean the engine bay before more oil leaked onto the driveway. bad idea. after installing a new gasket (and waiting an appropriate amount of time for the gasket sealant to cure) i put in fresh oil (i took out old oil before using degreaser), and cranked it up to find that i was now plauged with ill timpered f.i. demons. after cleaning all electrical connections, replacing

crappy bullet connectors, and adjusting tps almost all problems have dissappeared.

HERE ARE THE PROBLEMS:

during warm-up car will not idle below 1000 rpm. before the engine degreaser debocle the car would idle at 800

as soon as car warms up (temp gauge at about 1/3) car will cut off if i do not use the gas pedal. its not an abrubt cut off, the engine slowly drops rpms over about 3 to 4 seconds untill it dies. no scary mechanical sounds, ect.

has anyone had a similar problem or know a solution?

MORE (hopefully) USEFUL INFO

-the cold start valve was leaking so i removed it before i even drove it the first time

-the auxilary air regulator was stuck in the open position so i removed it as well

-all vacuum operated devices and cold start valve have been blocked off with hard 1/4 in. plastic and sealed with gasket sealant. egr is blocked off with thick aluminum plate and gasket sealant

-i cleaned the afm with brake cleaner and its connections with electrical connection cleaner

-i cleaned the throttle body with brake cleaner

-all wires are connected

sorry to make this post so long, but it is my first post and i thought it would be best to provide all information that could possibly be relevant so that there wouldnt be as many unknowns for all of you to sort through. if needed i can take some pictures of the engine bay, ect. in the morning and post them (if someone could tell me how) but right now it is extremly late (read early a.m.) and i need sleep.

Thanks,

Joel

Kind of tough to do a traditional trouble shoot with those items disconnected/disabled but it sounds like you have either a bad connection at your temperature sensor or the temp sensor is bad. It's function is to richen the mixture during warm up and normalize the mixture a operating temp.