Leaderboard

After 2 yrs of ownership, I finally got around to shooting my 77 280z. I spent about 10ys on & off looking for an unmolested, mostly stock example. I was lucky enough to find this one on Craigslist in Buffalo of all places. When I received it, it ran poorly, and handled worse. But it was mostly original. I've since replaced anything rubber, and all electrical connectors in the engine compartment. Along with new injectors, fuel pump fuel lines etc. Using genuine Nissan when possible. Suspension has been dealt with in a similar manner, OEM when possible, the only modifications were a set of Eibach springs, the Koenig Rewinds and cross drilled rotors and a set of performance pads. It sat all last winter in storage from Thanksgiving to Easter, started first try and been running great all season. A photographer from my local C&C took some really excellent photo's this weekend and we'll be writing up a story for Petrolicious and submitting it over the winter. If accepted, I'll add the link to this thread. In the meantime, here are a few photo's that I shot, enjoy!

Jai, Fuel tank products that contain iso-propyl alcohol are the best for making water in the fuel tank miscible with the fuel. The cheap products contain methanol and ethanol. I advise staying away from those since they can harm the rubber components in the fuel system. Fuel injector cleaner contains mineral spirits and possibly fuel system detergents. They help dissolve organic based compounds that can clog the fuel system. (Think varnish.) Stabil (and other fuel stabilizers) helps prevent the degradation of sitting fuel that happens as lighter volatile organic compounds (VOCs) evaporate from the fuel. While your car is under a carport, it is subjected to the effects of cooling. This can include condensation of water vapor in the intake and exhaust. It might take a few minutes to heat up the car to burn off all of the condensation. The whoosh you heard when you opened the gas cap indicates to me that you are less likely to have condensation in the fuel tank. That's a good thing.

My 72´ 240z is still not getting the correct tune up! I have tried almost everything but its still backfiring at the intake on both carburetors. I have watch the Ztherapy video like 10 times and followed their instructions but cannot get the job done. The Carbs were recently overhauled by them on last November. 1. Warmed up the car for 5 minutes 2. Took both of the Domes out and rinsed them throughly with Carb Cleaner 3. Cleaned the 6 spark plugs (NGK BP6ES) with brass brush and contact cleaner 4. Put the domes back with their springs and filled the carbs with ATF fluid. 5. Piston falls and rises freely. 6. Set the RPM with the throttle screws on each carb to 1,000 RPM 7. Balanced both carbs: Fast idle screw to 2,000 RPM and did the balance with the right balance screw and synchronizer. Back off Fast Idle Screw 8. Turned both mixture knobs on the front and rear carb 4 turns clockwise. Result: Car is still sputtering and backfiring on the intake. I step on the gas, the car is not running smoothly and both carbs exploding on their intake. Could the electric fuel pressure pump not sending enough pressure: I have an Airtex 8016S which pushes 2.5 to 4.5 psi. Should i switch to a more powerful pump? WHat could be the cause of this intake backfire? Cant believe i cannot manage to tune the carbs properly

Well, since you asked, my car has a cover story in the December issue of Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car magazine.

Have you checked the level of the radiator yet? When it is cold of course. If its low, Houston we have a problem.

Jai As I understand it, the car now starts & runs OK. If it were me, I would start her up, let her warm & start making trips to the mailbox & back keeping the RPMs up around 3000rpm. If it does start to crap out, push in the clutch & give it full throttle. I've had a moderate amount of success forcing small amounts of water to pass through the engine and managed to keep the engine running til it passed. You'll know if & when it has passed. The engine will start running normal again. If it doesn't crap out, you'll gain some confidence in her ability to be reliable. BTW the gas drier is still a good idea.

Alright. I was close. 402491. I pulled the VIN off the title and it's spaced weird, 40249 1 so I kinda omitted the one. I went and looked at the tag on the car....you learn something new every day. And here's another photo with more accurate color....

Could it be running good now and getting up to temp, maybe burning off some built up oil somewhere? We call it a "redneck tune-up", put some high octane in the tank and run the $^!# out of it.

Find an 80-83 280ZX with a good engine and 5 speed and swap them in. Use your intake and exhaust manifolds. That would be the most cost-effective way to get there, I think. Keep your old engine for "building" if you decide you want more performance. You'll have a DD and an engine project to work on.

Ok, made some progress. The carbs didn't need rebuilding, the spark plugs were just really wet. Remarkably it ran very good but at high rpms. I still have a timing issue I have to deal with I am guessing the oil pump is not aligned and I have to take it out and align it. Once the timing is done I will try and sync and tune the carbs.

I have been monitoring any over spill and have not noticed any spill yet. My mechanic says the valves on cylinder 4 need adjustment. Lets see if once they are adjusted, i can manage to tune it correctly and all plugs burn equal.

I bought these SU carbs used and have not run them yet. The visual inspection looks fine and I had Rebello do the big bore conversion and give them a good once over. The motor has never run so a backfire is to be expected while i get things sorted out. What concerns me is that on backfire fuel is shooting out of the banjo fittings on the sides of the carbs when the car backfires. My first thought was to replace the banjo crush washers, but if i seal those up tighter where is that pressure going to go? There aren't any leaks with the regular fuel pressure using an electric pump.

Give a girl a fish, and she'll cook a nice dinner. Give a girl a good fishing pole, and she'll have no more use for that lying, cheating, SOB boyfriend/husband of hers. Oh, FAIW, a lot of the auto parts stores will look up fluid capacities for you (e.g. AutoZone). I'm amazed they have fluid capacities for vehicles as old as my Z, but they do -- and also much older and more obscure.

I think he's saying "give a man a girlfriend for a weekend and his wife will never see him again". No wait...what?

No, I think he was suggesting that the fish give his girlfriend a pole and then.... Uh... No, that can't be right either.

Yes, if you give her a fish, she might indeed go away. For more than a weekend. Oh, sorry, you mean the OTHER opposite way, if YOU gave Her a fishing pole, then.... uh,... no, sorry, same result....

Would that work in the opposite way? Girlfriends birthday is soon.

"Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Give a man a fishing pole and his wife will never see him again on weekends...."