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Get the SUs on the car, and I'll help you tune them. The only better way would be to install triple carbs, and that's above your budget.

This is not precise enough. You need the numbers. Yarb makes a good point about things that might be getting stuck. Buzzers, light switches, corroded relays, corroded switches. For example, the dome light has constant power. The light comes on when the circuit is grounded, either by pressing the light itself, or when the door is opened. The switch is in the door jamb (I think). You could also try pulling fuses and watching the current. Eventually you'll find the circuit or circuits that are passing the current to ground. I did take the time to look at the diagram and see that there is a lot of stuff that has constant power. And lots of connectors. Really looks like a PITA. The black and white diagram hurts my eyes to try to follow. One blink and you have to start over. That's why being methodical and taking good notes will really help.

Part number has been superseded to 22660-30P10

@Mike How is it possible that i couldn't see the message from kcpope yesterday now in front of my reaction i posted at 01:28 PM? I'm sure that it wasn't there yesterday just after noon.. Computers...pfff... 🙄 Oh.. and something else.. i have tested.. when i click some new topic on front page i sometimes could wait a minute, if i click then let the cursor go from hand to arrow and go back to hand on the topic i want (click and) it works within 2-3 seconds! WHY?? Someone mentioned this and i tested it and it works!

I don't have a silver bullet for the problem, but I can at least explain why pulling either one of the fusible links kills the draw... The larger (black) link feeds the smaller (green) link for a number of the electrical systems. Goes like this: White wire from the battery (picked up at the starter) goes to the larger link. Other side of the larger link goes into the shunt. Coming out of the shunt, the White/Red then powers the smaller fusible link. And then from that smaller fusible link, it feeds a number of systems in the car. So armed with that info... If the larger link is pulled, the smaller link always goes dead. So pulling the large link kills power to both of the links. You're looking for something on the downstream side of the smaller link. Those things include such items as turn signals, wipers, heater, dash gauges, etc. Essentially anything that is only powered when the key is on. So..... @Dolfinz, you said it fluctuates. Is it regular, or seemingly random? If it regular cyclical, I'd look at stuff like the turn signals or the key in lock buzzer.

Good engineering practice to put a paint mark on any nut/bolt that has been torqued to spec. Indicates the task has been completed. Also provides a visual aid to show if the nut/bolt has backed off or been tampered with. Takes time to do and as they made more Z cars in greater quantities, they used the practice less and less and just did it in a few locations.

Good eye!! The first gasket Rockauto shipped me was bent in shipping. So it was trash. We experimented with it to try to figure out how to add holes. It could be I don't need all of those holes but they were open on the L16 gasket with matching ports in the head and block, so I made the new one match. I guess if I were willing to experiment and had lots of spare time, I could try it both ways and see what the temps did, but obviously I don't have that kind of spare time. I think at this point we have been working on this engine a year!!

I was thinking of blocked passages in the head gasket. I'd probably back flush the system myself, if I was reasonably sure that everything else was right. Push any blockages back toward the water pump and out the inlet. Disconnect the radiator, hook up a hose to the thermostat housing (outlet port) and see what comes out.

The bottom line is - if the cooling system can't cool with no thermostat it will never cool with a thermostat. You're probably spending your radiator money on thermostats that you don't need.

Yes, and the wood blocks seal the deal.

On my cars, the yellow paint (I assume lacquer) was blotched on with a brush. Fairly messy, seemingly applied in a hurry. So, I looked at all my glass, from both cars, and I can't tell what from the chart. I have some LAMISAFE M-146 and some TEMPERLITE M-215

They're all the same I think. The internet multiplies the population of potential victims. The internet makes conning people much much easier.

I hadn't thought about the old Google Maps. It's usually one of my go-to's. https://goo.gl/maps/nukesb6RXc6yStYc6

I saw that after I posted. Still, sixty grand for a lemon is a lot of scratch, eh?

Looks like it is on “the other side of the tracks”.

Beverly Hills has really gone downhill recently 😉

Who says it needs holes added? If the four cylinder is anything like the six, then they kept reducing the number of holes over the years. By the time they got to the end of the ZX there were a number of holes that were completely blocked by the gasket. I wasn't there when they did the engineering, but it appears to me that they were trying to encourage more flow to the back of the block. Maybe they did the same thing on the four? The point is... Just because there is a passageway there, it doesn't mean you have to (or even should) use it? And I spy some photo trickery.... I suspect you had more than one new gasket in your possession? Haha!!!

UPDATE: I spoke with my old Z mechanic to see where he got the OEM thermostat that was in the car before my changeover to the new aftermarket one earlier this year since OEM ones are supposedly NLA. It turns out Nissan still makes a thermostat that works but is not the original one designated for the car. This thermostat is a Nissan part (part number 21200-F3190) but works in a bunch of their engines (L-series included). This is the thermostat that held the car's temperature at 170 from 2015-2020 before I started having cooling issues. I threw the old and new OEM thermostats as well as the aftermarket one in a pot of water. The old OEM thermostat started opening at 185 (unlike the new OEM one which opened around 170) and after continuing to heat the pot, the old OEM thermostat only ended up opening about 2/3's as much as the new OEM thermostat so the old OEM thermostat was indeed bad. The aftermarket one opened and closed at the same temperatures as the new OEM thermostat but the opening indeed is about 30% smaller than the OEM thermostat and the amount of travel the plunger can physically move is again maybe 30% less due to it being physically shorter. I have not tried the new thermostat in the car because driving it around in this cold weather won't give me a definitive answer, but I am feeling confident that my old worn-out OEM thermostat not opening at the right temperature (and not to the right amount) started this issue, and installing an aftermarket thermostat that physically can't move as much coolant as an OEM one kept me heating up, but for for a different reason entirely. With the new OEM thermostat correcting both issues, we should be all set come spring time. Here are pictures of the OEM one (right side) next to the aftermarket one (left side). You can see the opening is considerably smaller and plunger's travel is considerably shorter on the aftermarket unit. I will update you guys in the spring. I don't understand how/why they sell this design...

Gents, I’ve been off the net that past month or so. Life, family, work and other issues have kept me away from my time in the garage with the Z. Currently sitting in the Paris airport waiting to return to the US. It’s been an 11 day trip and I’m ready to be home with the family and back to work in the garage. Here’s where I left off last time with the car. Working on the stereo speaker install, the work it a bit tedious because of my OCD. I bought some 6x9 speakers to build a box below the deck to improve the sound quality. I have a couple more days of work to do there. This is my extra deck, so I can always go back to OE look. My headers came in about a month ago from ZStory. They look great, very happy with the stuff he puts out. I had been waiting a long time for this last part of his system so that’s in the works too. Im taking it this week to get ceramic coated, for heat transfer mitigation. The car has been driving great, the more miles I put on it the more the kinks seems to be getting worked out. I have a couple issues to address. I also finished the from carbon fiber lip install. I like this much better that the xenon valance. I’ll post a few pics. 1. High Idle - car idles fine on start but after driving it around and coming to a stop the idle will hover around 1000-1100 RPM. In order to get it back down I have to pump the accelerator one time and then it returns to 800. Let me know if anyone has a clue why it does this but it’s pretty consistent. 2. I have a rattle on my right rear strut. I think I have the spacer loose from the shocks bouncing around there.. I’m not motivated right not to pull it out .and address it. 3. A small oil leak. Getting about 10 ml of fluid that appears to come from near the passenger side closer to transmission. I think it’s coming from the reverse switch but haven’t confirmed it. Got a new gaskets waiting to be installed.

I do now after a simple oil change proved tomorrow isn't always the same as today. After using a floor jack to get under mine I went for the oil catch pan. My car rolled back and fell off the jack hitting the very front of the oil pan. I have a badly dented oil pan to look at the rest of my life thankfully.