beandip

This is a long shot but , it could be a misalignment of a butterfly disk on the throttle shaft. It means you need to remove the carb to check it. Take the offending carb off and adjust the throttle adjustment, balance screw, so that the butterfly closes completely. Hold the carb up to a light so you can look through the barrel and see if you can see any light around the disk. I should seal off completely with zero light showing around the perimeter. If you do see any light, loosen the screws so the disk can move but not loosely. Close the throttle a couple of times firmly and see if the disk now seals. When it does tighten one of he screws and check again. If all is OK then remove the loose screw and use some lock tight and install the screw tight and do the same with the other one. this could vary well be the problem. Check for gaskets on the both sides of the carb spacers. I am thinking vacuum leak from somewhere. What ignition are you using? 12 degrees Before Top Dead Center is plenty of advance for the engine to run smoothly. L-24 with OEM points ignition calls for 10*. Gary

Congratulations on the ''new''z . You did a wise thing finding the cleanest car you could. You saved a ton and many hours labor. Especially since , it seems , you are not experienced in a project like one of these. this way you can enjoy the car as you learn and make the Z your own. Your way. Gary

Welcome to the site. There are several members from your state and surrounding area. good looking Z. Is it a 2+2 or is it the Angle of the picture. that is a great color on the second picture. It really pops in the sunlight. Gary

Well I took a look and didn't find anything that would be helpful , at least for me or my Z. Maybe I didn't dig deep enough. If you make use of the Search function here on this site I think you will find almost everything you need . If not there are many here that can and will help. Gary:rambo:

I stress do not over tighten the plugs . My advise is to buy some anti-seize and apply just a little on the threads of the plugs before you install them. This will prevent any future aluminum to steel galling if you were to remove a spark plug when hot. Most everything you need to tune the engine can be found at your local parts store. These are vary basic engines and there is not much to tune. In the future buy a good timing light, and also torque wrench . If you have a Harbor Fright close by they are a good source for those. I would buy a good quality metric socket set and end wrench set in metric both open end and box end. Sears is good for them or S&K , Snap On , but Snap On is spendy. also a set of feeler gages. Used to gap the plugs and set the valves. Just buy a little at a time . You won't need all of this at once or right away , hopefully. If you keep up on the maintenance on your Z it won't leave you stranded. Enjoy the ride. Gary

good looking Z for a freebee

Much depends on what your removing or the reason for blasting in the first place. There is blasting using baking soda for paint removal, much cleaner but one BIG problem with it I have been told and have read. Be careful to neutralize the metal afterward or the primer and paint will peal off like plastic wrap. Otherwise it is a great way to prep if you must strip the metal. Walnut shells is also a media.

I really squinted HARD but I just cant see what year your Zs. After that you need to sort out the ignition key problem so you wont need the hot wire . One thing you will learn about fuses is that you cannot count on the sight glass to tell if they are good or not. Use a multi-meter. Likely cause of your problem is your multi switch.

With the EURO stage 1 springs and KYB g2 struts . I ended up cutting 2 1/2 coils from the front and 1 3/4 off the rears. My Z has 195/70-14s at present and sets at 25 1/2 at the front fender arch and 25 on the rear. Being that these springs are not progressive the stiffness is not effected by removing coils. I vary much like the stance and ride of my car. She corners flat and is only limited by my present tires. I did add a OEM rear anti sway bar on my '73 and I think this helps also. At this setting I rarely scrape on speed bumps or driveways. I do come vary close. The ride is firm but not harsh and I seldom bottom out on the bump stops. My new 205/60 14 should lower me about another 1/2''. I have been driving on this set up for a couple of years now so the struts should be settled in. Gary

Anyone that owns a Z should have some kroil. I have been using the same spray can for years and it is the best I have ever used. PB Blaster comes in secound but it smells like he##. KANO Laboratories kanolabs.com Headers vs. OEM exhaust elimination of back pressure, or not is a topic for a different thread.

I want to welcome you to the Club. Frankly I cannot remember if your '78 had a internal regulated Alternator or if it has a Regulator on the inside fender. You said that the engine will continue to run if the battery is charged. Does it go dead or become discharged? If you check the voltage in the Battery with the engine running and then with it off, you should be reading about 13 v+ with it running. If not and you have a side mounted regulator , be suspicious of the regulator. Have you or anyone altered the wiring or has there been any damage to the wiring harness? Thinking a bad splice or broken wire. Some one else will jump in here with more info. You came to the right place. Gary

I agree about the front end damage. The car took a pretty good hit to bend the support. I am of the same opinion with the sun roof , but if you are going to gut the car for a racer , just have a panel wilded in. I am curious also where and in what class are you going to race a 280Z. With the damage up front , I would pass on this one . Gary

Welcome to the club. I hope to see and hear from you in the future. If there is anything you need to know about your Z , someone on this site has been there and done that. Make use of the search and you will find a wealth of information. Gary

The thing is with a show like this they need about 10 different cars to be used for different sort of gags. On the original show the car used to jump over things was powered by a VW engine and was just a skin over a tube frame. They had a couple of them because they usually bent in the middle if jumped to high in the air. There was only one car that was complete and the actual driver sat on the floor in back of the seat with his legs under the front seat. This was the car that was shown driving around with no one in it. Some of the cars were smaller versions of Kit. They were never seen with things that would give away the scale. Like the jump car. I personally think the Mustang was a good choice for the show. they used stripped down versions for other than the car that showed the actors in them. Also the interior shots usually were taken with a car body with no glass and was just an interior and no engine or frame and shot in a studio, I worked as a safety officer on many of the shoots where they did stunts on location. As they say , ''back in the day '' Gary

Brake drum. this can be a stubborn job in it's self. If you look at the brake drum there is a rubber plug in the face of it. Remove that plug. Can you revolve the brake drum, or is it tight and difficult to turn? If it is hard to turn likely the brake shoes are in contact with it and will need to be adjust away from it. This is what the little hole is for. The E-brake is attached to the adjuster that keeps the rear shoes adjusted. There is a lever that must be lifted off the adjustment wheel on the wheel cylinder. This is where you really need a manual so you can see how the lever is setting . This brake drum is sandwiched between the rim and the Axel flange. It is common that rust has formed between the drum and this flange causing them to become stuck together. If the drum can be rotated easily, then take a rubber mallet and strike the flat face of the drum at 12 o'clock then 6 o'clock , 9 then 3 . see if there is any movement , even slightly around the lug bolts and drum. What you are attempting to do is to dislodge the drum from the Axel flange. Repeat this mallet to drum trying to rock it loose. Do not use a hammer and do not hammer on the fins of the drum you will just brake them off. I use either P B Blaster or Kroil and spray it around the face of the Axel flange and lug bolts to help with the rust loosing. You can try and using a length of wood against the fins from the back side , I use a old hammer handle or like hard wood, and strike the wood with a hammer , again at the 12 ,6 , 9, 3 points. Take a deep breath and keep your frustrations at bay , because this can take time . Just keep repeating with the mallet and wood and hammer. The drum will come free . If the shoes are tight against the drum This MUST BE LOOSENED FIRST. Or the drum will not come off. In our case the Axel could come off with the drum. Hope this helps. Gary

What year Z is it? Is what you have in hand the companion flange with a portion of the stub Axel and nut attached? If this is the case you should be able to see some of the splined shaft sticking out of the Axel housing. right? If this is the case you are lucky you didn't loose the wheel. I am supposing that this is a early Z. Gary

Kerrigan, I really want to complement you on your Z, she is beautiful. I have been at the show for the past two days , helping set it up. And I have looked her over a number of times and others have commented also, how great a job you have done . Gary

The thing you are referring to is a one way valve in the vacuum line to the booster. Did you bleed the master before you installed it? Another thing did you take the booster off the car or did you by chance pull the rod out that comes out of the booster, that activates the master? If you have pulled on the rod in the booster , this is the problem. there is a disk that the rod rides on that is in between the rod and the diaphragm . If the rod is pulled forward the disk falls out and from then on the peddle will go to the floor. Gary

If the Reluctor is not touching the Stator and the main shaft is not free , there is something else wrong. Can you feel any play in any direction in the shaft? Like side to side or up and down. Just wondering about the shaft bushings. Gary

Be sure to support the car securely , either on jack stands or blocks so that it is solid. Just remove the four bolts on the u-joint end and slide the shaft to the rear. Be sure to take care that you don't damage the yoke coming out of the trans. This will just slide out . If the yoke is scratched or damaged it will cause the seals to fail in the tail shaft of the trans and you will loose transmission lubricant. Removing the propeller shaft is not a hard project . You will find that you will need to rotate the shaft to enable fitting a wrench to the nuts . There is not much room. So with the rear wheels off the ground this is easy to turn. Gazza

What year Dist is this? And exactly what are you doing? for one thing if the stator is hitting the reluctor which it should NOT. Then the shaft will not turn. If this is a ZX dist. Just use a feeler gage and balance the distance, air gap, between the 6 points on the reluctor to stator . Since the circle of points cannot be moved individually this is all you can do. I have done several of these zx dist. I don't know why you are having a problem. Try and tightening the screws slightly so that there is friction keeping the parts so that they wont move easily. Make the adjustments then tighten things down. ?? That is the only thing I can think of here. with it info I have. all the best . Get back to us with this and let us know if we can help further. Gary

Absolutely it could be a u-joint . If they are making this much noise you should be able to see and feel the play in the u-joint. Just lift the car and grab the half shaft and see if you can see any play. there should be zero play. The u-joints have vary small needle bearings in each of the four cups. When they fail the bearings just desintigrate and the shaft will start to wobble. When it gets to this point it is no longer wise to drive the car. If the u-joints are lubed from time to time properly they will last for years. Gary

Boyd Coddington the Custom car builder died today at 63.

:classic:Welcome to the Club and Congrats on the ''new'' Z . You didn't state what year your Z is , however I think your PO has jury rigged the fuel pump to a power source not intended for the fuel pump. The 240s , at least '71---73 were wired for electric pumps but only the '73 was equipped with one. If you look back by the gas tank on the passenger side , find the wires that attach to the sending unit mounted in the tank. If you follow up the wire there will be two wires rapped with blue tape. One is green and other Black. the green one is meant for power and black ground. Up forward under the dash and next to the console you will also find a in line fuse holder green wire also. This gets its power form a black/white that is attached to the fuse block. The pump will run as long as the ignition switch is turned on . But it should not pulse with the turn signals or any thing else. Is your battery charged? If it is vary low it might cause this. These cars have a fuel delivery system that has a return line to the gas tank for excess fuel not required by the carbs. keeping cool gas circulating through the lines. Hope this helps . Gary:classic: