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Time to settle this thread Forever! After about a year of tinkering with a very sick motor, and doing everything per the FSM manual to no luck, I gave up and sent my Z to a doctor to be fixed. The shop I took it to was Sakura Garage in Phoenix, Arizona and I highly recommend their work, as they are some of the most knowledgeable Z car enthusiasts I have ever met. Anyways, they decided something was up and hooked up the car with an AFR Gauge. With the car idling I think they said it was running somewhere along the lines of 24:1 being on the extreme lean side. So they turned my little potentiometer to control the fuel to full rich and could only bring it down to 20:1 (should be around 13-14:1 I believe). So they went through the entire EFI FSM and found absolutely nothing wrong with the car. They wondered if it was the injectors so they did full spray tests into graduated cylinders for fuel flow, consistency, and volume, and it looked totally fine. Swapped in a different ECU, still no luck! With fuel pressure solid, and literally every other option exhausted, they decided on a whim to just toss on a new set of injectors anyways and....... my motor purred like a kitten. Now they still don't know what exactly is wrong with the old injectors as they are what came with the car, OEM, and I had them rebuilt as one of the first things I did to the car when I bought the car. However, when I bought the car, (completely original) I remember the only thing disconnected were the fuel injectors. So my guess is that these injectors were the culprit to why the car was parked back in 1991. Anyways, glad its settled, figured I'd share this with the community in case anyone ever has a problem like I did. thanks @siteunseen, @Zed Head, @Captain Obvious, and anyone else for helping me a while back when I started this thread!

Ya, we pulled the injectors and fuel rail and used the ECU. I suspected a few clogged injectors (I knew that they were all opening or at least "clicking") but when they all fired properly and filled the graduated cylinders equally, it obviously wasn't that. The injectors on his engine look relatively new - green top hose type - but they need to be flow tested on a real bench and perhaps resized. The ultra lean condition immediately disappeared when I installed some "known value" injectors. Young Kurtz has done an great job with help and advice from you guys! His undercarriage looks amazing and he has accomplished a great deal. We're going to finish up a little engine work for him and he'll have a nice 280Z to cruise around in.

The main reason I let them know is so that they don't have a problem that goes on for months or years, damaging their business, because they did not know about it. They've been around since land lines but things are changing. Trying to help them keep up.

In MSAs defense they are the best overall place to buy Z parts, in my opinion. They actually answer the phone, are very friendly and willing to answer questions. It’s hard to be good all they time, I’m just frustrated because I was just left in the dark for about 26 days, waiting on a part to be coated. A part I could do without but not the other stuff. Oh and try calling zcardepot….they never pick up, you get voicemail and it can take days for a email reply. Both places have a good selection of parts and competitive prices. I default to MSA because I can talk to a human if I have a question and they’ve all been super nice.

Engine spins way faster than it should. Like there's no compression. Have you ever measured cylinder pressure? I posted this picture of your cam lobe earlier. It looks like wear on the base circle which should not happen. Like there's no valve lash. Who last adjusted valve lash on the engine? Looks and sounds like the valves are all hanging open.

There you have it! Thanks Chuck for the kind words, didn't realize you were on this forum🙂 You all have been a great deal of help. Can't wait to rip the Z around town!

What Steve said. The GL over at the steering column should be hot at all times. If it's not, you need to move upstream towards the fuse block. And you don't need to check fuses by swapping them into other locations... You've got a meter, right? I bring that up because I can picture a scenario that goes like this: You pulled the (burned out) park/tail fuse and stuck it into the cigarette lighter position. Then you checked the brake lights and they still worked. All completely true statements, but tells you nothing about the integrity of the fuse that came out of the park/tail location. Not saying that's what happened, but simply saying it's possible. Here's a rough non-pretty layout of what fuses do what for the 77 and 78 years. Might help a little?

on carbs yes that works.. i think you should find a lot of threads about this on this site.. It's known that the orig FI system does NOT like a bigger cam, it just does not work very well because the system is not tuned to a bigger cam.. you need a aftermarket FI system that you can programm. like mega squirt or something.. (I have no experience with those..yet..) If you have a L28 injection then you could put some Hitachi (L24) carbs on it and tune it to the bigger cam and get a nice increase on the horsepower..

If indeed, your problem is caused by the damper bolt bottoming out, no matter what your set up is,(and it sure sounds to me like it is), I can promise you that you will destroy the crank in short order if you keep running it. If it were me, I would 1) either reinstall the old damper with the stock bolt, or 2) add another spacer washer to your set up to prevent the bolt from bottoming and see if the noise mysteriously disappears. Nothing else I can add.

From the FSM on compression testing. Of course, you'll have to do it cold right now, but follow the rest. Note that the compression ratio will probably be lower with the engine cold, but there should not be a lot of variation in readings.

Use this stuff for starting. It's the cheapest you'll find.

Use something more flammable. Starting fluid, carb cleaner, hydrocarbon brake cleaner. Or gasoline. And make sure it gets past the pistons in the carbs in to the runners.

The compression number range is not terrible. 12.5% on #4, the worst one (actually 15% - 25/165). The equipment used will affect the readings. And the lash readings do show lash so the valves should be closing. Maybe the engine spins fast because you have a powerful battery. You have reasonable cylinder pressures and the engine is spinning. The engine should start. So, spark is left as the unknown. With the engine spinning that fast you should be able to get a nice stable ignition timing reading with a timing light. If you can do that, it will tell a lot. And, there are no pictures of your spark plug wiring. Might be that they are incorrect. 1 5 3 6 2 4 counterclockwise. Spark and ignition timing seem like the main unknowns at this point. They have not been confirmed.

Wow, how about shooting some video of you taking measurements just to make sure you're doing it right. Those measurements are way off.

Considering the engine was worked on, the readings seem low and all over the place. However, there can be variability in compression gauges. Also, technique is important. Make sure you look at what the ET section of the FSM says.

They also changed from the spade terminals to the round Yazaki terminals for that connector in 77. As @Captain Obvioushas pointed out in other threads, the dash to engine harness changed to AMP connectors. At least we can track those down easily.

Shoot, sorry - I wasn't being very observant. They do have a kit for later S30's, but unfortunately it's only compatible up to '77. Something about Nissan changing to a 10 pin connector by '78 (of course), and the upgrade harness is for a 9 pin connector... Here's the link, anyways: https://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/classic10l/12-4653 You could call MSA to see if there's anything that could be done - it might be worth a try. Otherwise, happy hunting for the problem!

You measure valve lash with a feeler gauge. While there has been plenty of debate online about doing it hot or cold, you're definitely doing it cold. I hope your mechanic used properly sized lash pads. Use 0.008 for intake valves and 0.010 for exhaust valves.

I think the reason they did the spinny nut on the ZX version is for better thermal conductivity between the head casting and the sensor tip. I think sensor tip is designed to bottom out in the dry hole against the aluminum of the head. And they did that spinny nut thing so you weren't scraping the sensor tip as you tightened the nut. You could hold the sensor from rotating while you tightened the nut. Of course, that would also make it such that the spinny nut would not necessarily bottom out against any sort of sealing washer. I wonder of they used an O-ring seal there instead of a brass crush washer. I've got some ZX stuff around here someplace and if I can find it, I'll take a look. In any event... If you filled the hole with thermal conductive goop it would probably be fine. I can't believe the head temp changes that fast and I can't believe there would be a huge thermal gradient between the head and the sensor regardless if it bottomed out or not. But I wasn't there when they designed it.

Here is a thread where I was asking for previous experience and thoughts on a .480/274 cam with stock fuel injection. People with a great deal of knowledge suggested that I would be disappointed with the results. I ended up installing a .460 lift cam on a .080 shaved P79 head with DSI lightened flat top pistons. I went for Zcardepot's FAST EFI system. It's nowhere near as tunable as Megasquirt or Haltech, but it works just fine for my application. The car runs beautifully. Didn't even bother seeing what would happen if i tried to run the stock FI. https://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/63898-lift-480-480-duration-274274-cam-with-oe-fuel-injection/

My '71 240z had the orig. US type 240z springs in the rear and were very soft... i replaced them with euro 240z rear springs and can now load 150kg ( about 330lbs) without the exhaust on the ground! The wire thickness of the euro version is thicker.. they are also a bit stiffer. Also know that the front springs are different! One is stiffer than the other for as far i heard.. 600 dollar for a new set is reasonable i think... Look if they have different stifness in the front ones! then you know if they are really the right ones.. (Look in the serv.manual if a '73 240z has different stifness springs in the front!) SO... I looked it up for yah... The wire diam front is both 10,6 and coil diam. is 100mm coil turns 10 and coil eff turns is 8,5 spring constant is 1,48kg/mm (for both sides) now: !! Free length left is 373,5 mm (22.72 inch) and right hand side is 386mm (23.56 inch) !! (where would we be without a service manual hey???) So there is a big diff between length of R and L front springs.. Looked also for you on the rear springs, they are the same (L & R) and have: wire diam 11,4mm coil diam. 100mm 10,65 windings free hight of spring is 381mm and installed 225 mm spring constant 1,85kg/mm this came from my (euro/US?) 1971 serv. manual. i often wonder if we have different service manuals.. i do have the mm and inches in it also Kgm and ft-lbs ... so it's for euro and american service-men? ...

Pages BE-13 and BE-15 in the FSM cover these circuits. Common points of failure are the fuse box, the steering column connector connector where the green/blue and green/white wires pass between the dash harness and combo switch, and the combo switch. Unplug the steering column connector and check for voltage to ground at the green/blue wire on the dash harness side. It should always have battery voltage. Also examine the connector carefully for signs that it has overheated. I've seen many meltdowns at this connector. If you don't have voltage to ground, go back to the fuse box and test the voltage to ground on both sides of the fuse. The loose wires in the first photo are for the key buzzer. I'm not exactly sure where the second photo was taken, so I can't give an answer on those wires.

Why the Ebay one is cheaper.. From the ebay site: This gun is made from a cast and is not milled (machined) like the DeVilbiss guns that cost hundreds of pounds. This keeps the cost down but means that there are minor imperfections where the casts are joined together. This is merely aesthetic. The functionality of the internals are top class. Years ago i heard that DeVilbiss had a lot of trouble with fake sprayguns.. I wouldn't be surprised if these ebay ones are totally fake.

I just nabbed a pic off rockauto that shows the original ZX version with the spinning body: That said... The part above was the only one that looked like that. Most (all?) of the other aftermarket stuff looked like it did NOT have the spinning nut and could be used in either a wet or dry hole.

View Advert 1975 280Z "museum car" for sale Bob still wants to sell this 1975 280Z. This is the car we had up on BAT in 2019. There have been a few modifications since then. The bidding on BAT went up to $27,000 which didn't meet the reserve. This car has 4,800 original miles. It is almost all original and in excellent condition. Since then we installed a Nissan stereo radio - this wouldn't have been offered in 1975 and is out of a later model 280Z. We also removed the bumpers, pistons and bumper trim and installed "Euro or JDM style" thin bumpers - stainless steel with no holes. Bob had us install an aluminum radiator when he first brought the car to Arizona which caused a bit of a stir on BAT. We removed the aluminum radiator and installed a stock brass radiator. The story behind the car is this: It was originally purchased in Pennsylvania and traded in with relatively low miles to Thompson Toyota in Doylestown, PA. Thompson Toyota kept it in their collection until 2013. They sold it to the current owner with a dealer verified 4,000 miles on the odometer. I have the paperwork. It now has a clean Arizona Title ready for transfer. The original wheels, tires, and hub caps will come with the car. It has the original spare tire in the well. It is currently on new tires and alloy wheels. All the stock bumper parts are in excellent condition and will come with the car. Even though I've only put up 4 pictures from the BAT auction time period, I have hundreds and can take current pictures for anyone interested. And I'll answer any questions as quickly as possible. Personally I don't think of this as an excellent, original, low milage 280Z - I look at it as an excellent starting point. The buyer will never need to look for interior pieces or replacements for worn out weatherstrip, or trim items, The car has rarely been on the road so the sheet metal, undercarriage, frame rails, and entire unibody are in excellent condition. As are all the lights, lenses, and exterior trim. Gauges, switches, wiring and connectors are all nearly perfect. A great platform for whatever future modifications you want to make. I'm not posting a price - I'm open to serious offers - but keep in mind the final offer on BAT... Advertiser cgsheen1 Date 11/10/2021 Price Category Cars for Sale Year 1975 Model 280Z Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) HLS30-211146

These two were at the very end of the search I posted. Searching is definitely more difficult than it used to be. Hard to find the right place then get it to do what you want it to do. I used the CZCC function this time but usually I just use Google and "site:classiczcars.com"

haha, and thus the thread on a new gun acquisition 😋

I ended up getting a Devilbiss FLG5, very versatile and has a low cfm requirement, I had to buy the 1.8 set up in addition to the 1.4 that came with the gun. I think I paid $340.00 https://sprayfinishingstore.com/spray_gun/devilbiss-flg5-gravity-feed-spray-gun/ Edit, I just checked the price and they have come way down from what they were, https://www.ebay.com/itm/203638824293?mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5338830130&customid=devilbissflg5&toolid=10001&mkevt=1

Have you reached out to the Z Car Club of Colorado? https://www.zccc.org/ They are currently holding meeting via Zoom. Details are on their website, Twitter and Facebook page.

This sounds like a great time to shoot some video when trying to start so we can see what is and is not happening.