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I've posted my first set of photos from ZCON 2015 (Day 0). https://fiddlingwithzcars.wordpress.com/2015/07/13/zcon-2015-night-shots-29-photos/

Whoa bringing a thread back from the dead! Funny enough Matria's car ended up in my hands anyway so I feel some obligation. My first set of advice is to just get the AC unit in and set your idle to about 1100 RPM. The most important thing is to make sure everything works and not worrying about the fast idle will make things slightly easier. When that's working I would use an electronic solenoid to kick up your idle when the AC is engaged. There was a conversation about this last week with pictures and sources: http://www.classiczcars.com/topic/51811-servo-diaphgram-and-control-valve-for-ac-on-a-240z/

And I bet he gets every penny he wants for that car. Excellent read

Here's the alternator mount painted:

Loved it haha, that's some good description right there !

Must be taking a writing course at the Community College, that's a good read.

Replaced the seal, and after consulting the how to modify book I removed the oil slinger. I hope that was the right choice. So far she's not leaking and I'm pretty happy. This motor certainly has a little more go!

Congrats SteveJ, Glad the ride was good.

"Speedometer" was probably meant to be odometer. You can check your odometer using mile markers on the freeway. They wanted you to check spark plugs because they can indicate how rich the fuel-air mixture is by color and carbon buildup. The smell of the exhaust is also a clue. Does it smell gassy? My 76 suddenly started getting terrible mileage when the fuel pressure regulator (FPR) went bad. Check fuel pressure if you can. It's very important. And you can get a good idea of the quality of the coolant temperature sensor circuit by measuring resistance at the ECU and comparing it to the temperature chart in the FSM. You have a lot of "should"s and "should be"s in your post. You have to get numbers and take a close look to really know. All of your shoulds say you should be getting better mileage. So they must not be what they should be.

Bittersweet drive but the car ran good. SWEET! Save me a chair at the pool!!

Wow, that stomps the James Bond theme CL ad I ran for my BMW Z3! Made my day!

This is what I do for replacements, whether for my 72s, 75, or 78. I don't want to give up the original blade...just the rubber.

I'm happy with the Pontiac blue/turquoises .

I've used a 1/2" breaker bar with a 3 foot pipe over the end. Came off in a jiffy. Safer to remove the rad though... Craftsman Tools Lifetime warranty was great for situations like that. No questions asked, but sometimes a raised eyebrow from the salesman as he looked at the snapped off swivel... and then handed you the new Tool.

That's the thing about being "good". It's a curse in a way, they ask me to do stuff, I do it the right way. They never stop asking me to do stuff. Same thing at my job, do something good, do it from now own.

Today is interesting. I missed my ride to church this morning. And after calling all of my other friends I did not reach anyone. So! My only choice was to take RedBird. My church is about 3 miles from home. I figured that if she ran for 30 minutes before stopping yesterday, that maybe she would be ok. She did fine, I was grinning ear to ear both ways. There is a Mazda ad on tv. It is about a boy growing up with the cars involved. Starting with a roadster, then medium before marriage, finally a bigger car with wife and child. The last image was saying "something new "(as the garage door opened up to a new roadster) "for you to remember When You Were You!" Oh Boy that says it all, resonates with me totally with my RedBird. I feel like me when I was myself!!! Oh joy!

That is what I like about this site too. The members are friendlier than other forums Im in. I don't know why the others seem to be so "agressive", there is no need for it. Unforntunatly I can only offer advice and mental support. Back to Redbird and redwing. I think when you weigh up all the pros and cons the 280Z still seems to me to be the best option for your current situation. If funds were not a problem than the 240Z would than be a better choice. Some more photos of redwing would also be helpfull. Redwing has been sitting in the weather for 8 years and I persume something went wrong with her before she was parked. If I was in this situation with all the history around Redwing I wouldn't sell her. I would try to preserve her more. Just sitting in the outside elements like in the photo don't do these old cars any good at all. And you never know what opportunities may just be around the corner. Once you get an fsm, you can read up on the tech stuff and start doing some fault finding and assessing the situation before spending any money on both the Zeds. I wish you all the luck with your endeavours. Maybe Steve wiil come to the rescue. Chas

I have read through this thread multiple times to make sure I understand it. Just to re-cap below. 240z = RedWing Cost estimate to get back on the road = Approx. $2000 Timeline = Long term, 1 - 2 years depending on ability to raise funds Labor needed = many hours Current condition = Has not run in 8 years. Value = one owner series 1 car. Work space = back yard, could be pushed under car port after 280z is sold. 280z = RedBird Cost estimate to get back on the road = Unknown Timeline = Near term, 30 days. Labor needed = Unknown Current condition = Not running but complete and maintained. Car ran correctly up until 6/1 and has had other work already done to it. Value = fuel injected car with regular maintenance. Work space = car port As others above have suggested, get the 280z running again first. It ran well not that long ago and ideally could be brought back to life with some trouble shooting and repair. Could be something simple but I would not ditch the FI unless absolutely necessary. Overall it sounds like a nice car and I think would make a better driver than the 240z in a much shorter amount of time. Get the AC fixed if possible and just drive the 280z. The 240z has a lot more question marks, costs, and time needed. It could easily spin out of financial control. If you sold the 280z and sunk all the proceeds in to the 240z there is no guarantee it would be road worthy after $2K was spent on it. It will need everything plus many weekends of time to tackle all of the known projects. This does not take in to account what will be discovered as things are taken a part to be rebuilt. I fully understand and appreciate the sentimental value the 240z holds. However, it will not be back on the road any time soon and really needs to be gone through bumper to bumper. The money factor is huge at this moment since even at $100/mo she is looking at 20 months just to pay for parts. Working under just a car port is not ideal and will make each project take longer. From the way it sounds the 240z needs to be someone elses project car in a garage so it can be secured when it is apart being repaired. I would say get 280z running, clean up the 240z, take some good pictures, provide an honest description, and sell it. Series-1 cars, as long as they are complete bring good money. That way she would have a running classic Z car that is dependable and money in her pocket for future repairs.

i agree with the carb swap to get the 280 running more affordably - while the efi can be made to be quite dependable, there are just so many variables that can go wrong and the diagnostics (though simple by today's standards) are an order of magnitude greater than a set of su's. if you add up the relays, injectors, sensors, afm, harness connections, fuel pump, vacuum system, etc. it's a daunting prospect. a low-pressure fuel pump, a carb re-build kit, some fuel line and a few misc. fittings will get the swap done for less than $100 (minus labor, of course). i have a big hunch that the all-too-common rusty/cruddy gas tank is involved in her situation as well. the low-budget, get-her-running solution is to get a half-dozen in-line filters between tank and fuel pump and keep an eye on them and change 'em out every couple months when they fill up w/crud until she has the $$ to drop the tank and clean it out. this is, of course assuming that the bottom end and valve train are in decent shape (not clattering away and/or burning all sorts of oil).