TomoHawk

On the 280Z with EFI, there's no need to pump the gas when starting. Pumping will do nothing unless you have carbs with accelerator pumps. I know that disconnecting an injector will make the engine run rough, so have you checked or cleaned up the connections to the injectors?

You nitially said that the e-brake cable assembly failed, so if the cable gets loose in any way, the e-brakes shouldn't engage. The e-brakes require tension via the cable to engage.

The parking brakes aren't supposed to engage unless you pull the brake handle. If the cable breaks, you shouldn't have anything happen, so how did the parking brakes engage?

I didn't know a 280Z could have cruise control...

I was talking about both sets of fusible links; initially the ones for the EFI, and then the ones for the rest of the car. I didn't mind tht hijacks, a they were related, and so we got two sets of answers.

After all the reading I did on this subject, I concluded that thanks to MSA I have only ONE of the four fuse links correct. MSA has the colors backward, saying I needed 3 black & 1 red. Fortunately the car worked anyway. So now I have some extra black ones, after I get more red ones. thxZ

Click on this link and read the npage, then you will know. *end some time reading more on the subject at the same place, too.. thxZ

The relays used in newer cars won't work on the older Zs. You need to get the specific one from a Z car supplier like MSA (www.motorsportauto.com) or Black Dragon (www.blackdragonauto.com), or even rockAuto (www.Rockauto.com)

I'm not concerned about paint flex, but the panel is as stiff as the resy of the plastic panels, and the fasteners along the top aren't the easiest to get out. It would also help to have some backing for the screws that hold on the lamp covers too.

Is the plastic rear finisher panel supposed to be black or match the colour of the other major interior panels, like the rear quarters, under-quarter-window panels... IMO, it should be satin black to minimize reflections in the mirror. Mine has some paint overspray from whomever painted the rear floor. The hatch finisher panel is satin black. BTW- Can you get new ones in HDPE or something that'll flex without cracking? thxZ

How did you trim it? Razor plane?

Somebody had poated on this a long while ago, including a phone number to hget a free sample. It was the right shape and attached well, but it took a while to 'break it in' so the doors would close well.

I wonder if that kindf thing is like a two-edged sword; You have a venue for kids to have a legal (and safe) experience, but will it really keep the kids from racing in the streets? Kids might use the experience at the drag strip as a way to safely learn racing, and then take it to the streets any way. JMO

Well, I hope your boy has wisdom too. Too many kids here in the U.S. don't live long past getting their driver's license, because they don't realize how dangerous driving really can be. Some pedestrians too. I hope he realizes he's in a classic car, and treats it like one. Good luck to yer. thxZ

I was going over my engine, (a stock L28) and I noticed that the vacuum hose for the dstributor was a mess of plastic Tees and old, crumbly hose pieces. The vacuum hose for the Fuel Pressure Regulator (FPR) wasn't much better. I know that the distributor needs to be connected to a vacuum source from the trottle area, ( i.e., to one of the vacuum ports on the BCDD) but I couldn't find any information to describe where the FPR should be connected. The FPR was connected to a vacuum port on the intake plenum, which didn't have much vacuum on it. Are there any other available vacuum sources on the trottle section, besides the BCDD? Just putting your finger over the open end of one of the tubes doesn't feel like there's much vacuum there- malfunctioning BCDD? Is there a diagram, or just some descriptions of the proper (or a better way) to connect the distributor & FPR to the vacuum source? thxZ

Mine (on the 280Z) was supposedly new and looked so (even inside) and was the same blue colour as the engine block. thxZ

I was asking about wire clamps for a 280Z.

Is there a good source to get all those different wire clamps for your Z? I keep de-rusting mine so they shine some, but they get rusty after it rains a few times. I was thinking anout zinc plating them. thxZ

It sounds like he just wants you to spend some money at his shop. I've had a number of "tech" guys tell me to bring my 280Z to their shop and they'll tune up my engine, and even add an extra 50 HP by upgrading the chip in my engine computer!:mad::devious:I still don't think you can get vapor lock in a fuel-injected engine, unless you do a number of bad things to it. And after Googling 'air lock' all I get is stuff related to the engine's cooling system.

In addition to hood vents, some people here have mentioned that having a splash pan on the car helps even more to improve the airflow in the engine bay.

Since carbureted engines usually use a mechanical fuel pump located on the engine, they need to suck the fuel from the gas tank, and a bubble of vaporized gas can develop, which doesn't liked to be sucked through, and just gets bigger. This is 'vapor lock.' So you let things cool so the bubble disappears and you can suck gas again. Since fuel injected engines use a fuel pump near the gas tank to push the gas to the engine using much higher pressure, you pretty much eliminate any vapor bubbles in the fuel line. You'd need a really REALLY hot day for conditions to vaporize fuel in the lines under the car, but it might just be possible, like if a fuel line was too close to an exhaust tube or muffler.

No problem, Stephan, I just grabbed a picture out of the FSM.

I thought they were faking all those shots in the movies, that look just like the ones you took. Do you mean that there actually places like those??

There are two relays to operate the fuel injection systen, two to operate the fuel pump, and one is for the air conditioning.The dirty one in the picture is for the a/c. Pg BE-6 of the FSM. BTW, there isn't a Haynes book specifically for the 1978 280z. It's for the entire S30 class, with a supplement for the 280Z.

AFAICT, the BCDD diagnostric connector is to check if the BCDD solenoid has 12 Volts, and the speed switch on the speedometer is working. Remember, these engine sytems aren't as sophisticated as the current ones, so all they care about is the air & coolant temp, and the throttle setting & vehicle speed. All just to keep the air-fuel mix from getting too rich at any time and spewing gasoline fumes out the tailpipe.