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Wow that's a lot of work. It looks great, but I can't help wondering if there would have been an easier way to skin that cat. He says from his comfy armchair...

Love the mission summary. I've heard it put this way... Misfires leave oxygen in the exhaust stream. AFR pics that up and interprets it as "lean".

I am - I did today actually. Got put off with all the exhaust work. Good thing, since I only weld a few times a year, I had practice before doing the flanges. This was all TIG work, not wire-feed MIG. All the pieces are mild steel, at least they puddle/ flow at the same rate. I wanted the stock offset, as I have seen several posts & YT vids where the Silvermine flange offset was an (binding) issue - especially if the car is lowered at all. He does say it's only for stock height cars, up to 1" lowered. I'm using the Eibach spring set from MotorSport, so I don't know if that ends up more than an inch difference or not. Clamped the outer ring so I could weld it flat. removed the hub/flange so I could weld the outer ring. I added a collar to act as a heat sink & prevent the ring from warping. Got a little hot on one side, but it's far enough inboard that I didn't get any distortion - getting down into the narrow gap on two sides was a bitch - which was another issue with some of the ppl using these flanges as intended. After that I (MIG) tacked the hubs into the flanges - with them clamped in a vice to make sure they stayed flat then I welded the inner lip, to make sure they stayed put before seaming the outer ring to the hub Then finally welded the rings to the hubs - kept the two clamped to together to act as a heat sink pressed 2" studs space for CV flange, without diminishing total spacing from diff to outer flange Hopefully get it all back in the car tomorrow - wheel bearings, strut inserts, driveshafts, rear disc brakes

Whidbey Island was a great place. The Navy built the NAS there because it was drier than other parts of the Puget Sound, as it was in the "rain shadow" of the Olympic Peninsula. Supposedly had more VFR flying days than NAS Miramar in San Diego because of frequent fog there. Supposedly... Bought my 240Z from the Datsun dealer in Mt. Vernon. The new owner, Jack Gubrud, sponsored fun runs for all local Z owners. Here are pix of the run he sponsored in 1974 over the North Cascade Highway to Winthrop. (I think I've posted some of these before here)

, dream pistons. Yes the engine is properly assembled.

P.S. have also got it to move to the right enough to engage third and fourth gear but not reverse yet. Just very very stiff.

They can apparently get squashed from hard usage or accidents.

I have a 1973 240Z that Motorman7 restored in 2018 and 2019 discussed in the thread https://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/60309-were-bringin-back-the-flat-tops/. I saw the new Z at ZCON Colorado Springs where our '73 240Z took first place in the Stock judging category. (Thank Motorman7!) I knew then I wanted that beautiful Seiran Blue Z they had there and have been looking to buy one since. Finally, on April 14th, 50 years to the day after buying my '73 Blue Metallic 240Z, I bought a new 2023 Seiran Blue Z. The new Zs in blue are harder to find than the Proto Spec version and I found our new Z at a price I could live with at a Chicago dealer. Drove it the day we picked it up to our son's home in Kansas City, where we left it until June. Then in June, we drove it home to California all on US Highway 50, cause Interstates highways in a new sports cars are boring! (especially Interstate 80...) Sightseeing on the way included the National Tall Grass Prairie Preserve and the Cosmosphere space museum in Kansas; Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, Monarch Pass, Black Canyon of the Gunnison in Colorado; the beautiful ridges and mesas of central Utah; the Loneliest Road in America across western Utah and central Nevada; and Lake Tahoe. Conclusions: it is a great car for such a trip! Very comfortable for long days (Day 4 was 852 miles from Ouray, Colorado to Carson City, NV in 14 hours) Very fun to pass cars or trucks on the open and lonely highways of the Midwest and West. Mashing the throttle was like a catapult shot off the Kitty Hawk! (my long '72 deployment on that ship was what enabled me to save enough to buy the '73 240Z) Head snapping acceleration! Wheee! Long distance trips in my 240Z, the blue line was in 1974 after discharge from the Navy. Whidbey Island WA to Huntington Beach CA via Vancouver BC, Winnipeg, Chicago, and Kansas City. 2023 Road Trip on US Highway 50 in the new Z: A photo op in Dodge City: After crossing the flat eastern half of Colorado, took a side trip off Highway 50 to Pikes Peak: Summit of Pikes Peak was closed, turned around at the 16 mile mark (of the 19 mile drive to the top). Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs Highway 50 crosses the Continental Divide at Monarch Pass. 11,312 feet altitude. Turbos make this easy. Turns out the new Z is off-road capable! 4+ miles of US 50 in central Colorado under construction.. . At the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Actually did some Interstate. US 50 is co-resident with I70 in eastern Utah. Beautiful fast road. No traffic. 80mph posted speed limit. A View Point on US50 / I70 A photo of our 240Z somewhere in Utah in 1974: US 50 from central Utah to Carson City NV is called "The Loneliest Road in America". With good reason! This was part of a 184 mile stretch in western Utah and eastern Nevada with only one gas station. Which appeared closed when we went by... (To be honest, at the speed we were going, things were a little blurry...😁) Couldn't pass up a scenic stop at Lake Tahoe. On the Nevada side looking west. Now home with the great, great, great, great grandfather. Taking both to ZCON. Conclusions about the new Z. An excellent Z for a long road trip. Comfortable, quick, and fun! Neck snapping acceleration. (Like a catapult shot off an aircraft carrier) Wife convinced me to get an, uh, "9 Speed Paddle Shift transmission" (don't call it an auto...😁). And that paid off in the stop and go uphill drive on the Pikes Peak toll road. Highly recommended if you can find one at close to MSRP.

Interestingly enough, the springs are the same length overall but the 280Z spring as a longer wound section than the ZX spring. I am sending the 280Z spring and collars to ea6 as they are all in better shape. I assume the tension on the spring is different too, with a longer wound area. Of course the English language has two definitions for wind and wound "I will wind my watch until it is wound all the way" or "The wind sent a shard into my arm and I now have a serious wound" WTF!!

I'm almost positive when I had my E-31 updated my machinist was able to use seats for a Dodge Hemi motor, they measured out the same size. Just an FYI little tid-bit.

Upgrade valve size is no brainer if you already have to replace the seats and yes it might raise CR slightly . To mitigate that you could unshroud the valve areas which would help it breathe and slightly enlarge the combustion chamber. BUT - you will have to clearance the cylinder bores unless you have over sized the pistons. There is a chance the larger valve will catch the edge of the bore . There are plenty of threads addressing this . This will also decrease CR - but with added benefit of better breathing . I do have tons of used 35mm exhaust valves if you want to run Nissan stuff . They all in good shape and I would about give them away . They all came out of Maxima engines so maybe less abused than Z stuff . Not trying to increase your work - but the seats MUST be addressed or all your work will be in vain.

If that’s the ground from the AFM iirc it’s a short double lugged wire going from the bottom of the AFM to the ground point on top where it attaches to the frame.

Thanks Patcon and dutchzcarguy. Trying unsuccessfully to get a couple of clarifying pics up. found no water in the tranny and added new lube. however, the barrel shaped piece that the shifter fastens to was seized up. probably from water intrusion over a few months time. it moved fore and aft in first and second but not to the side to get to third and forth or reverse. managed to loosen it some with PB blaster and equivalent and some prying/light hammering. moving it backward in an attempt to get it off and clean up. Have moved it rearward about an inch so far. Continuing in the A.M.

I dug into some boxes here and took some pics. Apologies to @Yarb and everyone else for the incorrect info I posted earlier. Here's the 280Z linkage. View from the top: From the bottom: And here's a close-up where you can see washers on either side of the spring: And here's a shot where I'm holding the mounting bracket with the second return spring: And since I had boxes open, I pulled out a ZX throttle body. Looks like this: So it appears (to the naked eye) that the torsion spring, washers, and center tube are the shared between the Z and the ZX, but the part where the linkage ball and socket joint attaches is different. I believe that part pictured above is from a ZX, not a Z.

Thanks Patcon and Alan, I didn’t know that, there was a paint manufacturer from Germany for our cars. And the paint samples! They must be so good, because it is German quality. Kats

For a split second on start up . I had been welding dirty steel on my work bench and the head was also on the bench . One of those molten BB’s must have danced right into the port opening . Some more had burned themselves into the side of the port that I found later . That’s how I figured out what happened . It did take a while if scratching my head . What made it more strange was I had a rod bearing go on that engine . They issues were not related

That black ground looks like the one off the AFM mount. Looking, I found a thread that might be just what you mentioned. Good luck! https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-americamovil-us-revc&q=280z+afm+ground+location+classiczcars.com&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjw3-_G4KCAAxVWjIkEHXMCCvoQ0pQJegQIChAB&biw=320&bih=545&dpr=2.25

Well, that's what I get for not suggesting looking at your ignition after I read your post. I could have looked like a stud...well, yeah, that is going too far. 😞 Of course for a sparky type, we usually suspect electrical first.

Well, that was fast. The connecters arrived a little while ago, and I have put them in a divided storage container so they will be ready to use. If you need YPC connectors, hi-1000ec.com is legitimate. I purchased extra male 3-pin and 6-pin waterproof connectors. The 3-pin is for wiring a conventional Bosch relay for the AC relay. The 6-pin is for jumpering out the voltage regulator connectors in 75-77 280Zs when converting them to internally regulated alternators. I bought connectors that could be used for the center gauges, too. It could also come in handy for a conversion to Speedhut gauges.

There. See? It was the loose dizzy cap. Guess it went wonky (sorry for the technical term) above 4k. I knew if I asked you guys would help me solve it! Even if only in spirit..... So what did we learn today? -Misfires can cause a lean condition as read on the AFR gauge, just like the reverse. -Change a bunch of stuff and get the same result? You are changing the wrong stuff. -Tunnel vision is blinding.

The reliefs are going to be different depending on the orientation of the intake and exhaust valves in each cylinder. Half are I-E and the others are E-I.

Thanks for the suggestions I'll be trying those out today. I'll post any results.

Welded up all the seams, took almost 4 hours(!) After that, I had to reinstall it to figure out the center mount. I decided to make one that used the stock mounting points Once I had that figured out, I tacked it in place & then removed the entire exhaust to finish the mount welds for this & the rear muffler hanger Archie was hanging around me much of the day I had forgotten about the trans mount / carrier bushings, so I did those now put the exhaust back in (hopefully for the last time) clearances still good Hangers Still waiting for the Redtail Performance tailpipe 😞

Yeah, Stanglehold was a favorite of mine years ago. He's snorted too much talcum powder and maybe stangleholded himself more than he should've. Politics need politicians to get stuff done. I wouldn't hire Carrot Top to roof my house.

I agree, but only get there very rarely. (like driving through in a Z...) Another interesting thing we saw on the stretch of US 50/I-70: Every seen a curve ahead speed sign of 75mph? (Saw this on our trip, but did not get a picture then. Had to go back to Google Street view to find this again)

While editing, I noticed something very interesting. The 1974 photo of my 240Z "somewhere in Utah" had cliffs in the background that looked similar to the View Point stop in the new Z. Notice the profile of the cliff right above the 240Z. This it the original photo. (The one in the post above was cropped.) And again the photo of the new Z view point stop in Utah: The profile of the cliffs on the right was the give away! Realized both photos were taken at the same place! 49 years apart! Using the geotag info in the new photos, identified the location as the Black Dragon Canyon View Point on I70 in Utah. Google Street view of the View Point: I guess Zs like to stop at the same place.

Sorry about the photos. Hopefully I got it right in editing.

Oh yeah, here's another little thing that makes a huge difference while you're there. Replacing those plastic bushings on the shifter with bronze door hinge bushings. Thanks @240260280 http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/shifterbushing/index.html Oh yeah again, make sure you get the slave rod and pedal all adjusted right. Before they started using the automatic adjusting slave cylinder the older ones were able to be longer or shorter by loosening the nut and running out or in the rod. When i first bought my 240 it wouldn't get up the driveway from slipping so bad. I got on here and read how to adjust them and ran that old clutch for a year until I rebuilt the motor. Sorry but I'm just getting up and some coffee in me, starting to remember things after a few cups. Removing the old console is tricky too if you haven't done that yet, you have to unplug the choke light switch to the left of the radio. Then the choke holder from the console. Mine was cracked already so I bought the tunnel mount from Art Singer, one of the best cheap upgrades of all time in my opinion. Well I just found out it's for the later 240s. https://zcardepot.com/choke-lever-mounting-plate-reinforcement-240z.html

I know from personal experience that the u-joint on a 280z driveshaft is not replaceable in the conventional sense. It is pressed in at the factory and requires a press to replace it. When I ran into this problem, I bought a replacement driveshaft from MSA that comes with a replaceable u-joint. It worked very well, and I think I paid about $150 for it about 5 years ago. It did not come with bolts and nuts.I used a box end wrench to turn the nuts and a steel spike, about 16" long, through the opening in the u-joint, to secure it while turning the nut. Also, by having the rear end up on jack stands (a must for safety), I didn't have issues with the transmission fluid leaking out after I pulled the driveshaft. The most helpful thing I did for this procedure was to have patience. Good luck.