Zed Head

Your choice depends on what combination of money and time (down-time or your work-time) you'd like to be at. You could find a good shop and have an adjustable coilover system installed for a lot of money, very little of your time, and some down-time. Or you could remove and cut the springs yourself for very little money, a lot of your work-time, and an unknown amount of down-time (depends on how skilled you are and how fast you work). You have to pick a spot on the spectrum to get better advice. All of the above and everything in between has been done.

1977 would have fuel injection. If the hose to the distributor is plugged, then there would be no vacuum advance at all. These cars tend to develop a bunch of small problems after sitting for a long time. The best thing to do is to check as many things as you can to be sure that they're working correctly. A multimeter, the Service Manual and some time. You can download the manual at either of the first two sites below, and the Electronic Fuel Injection Guide on the third one. Use the 1980 guide, it covers all cars from 1975 to 1980. Index of /FSM/280z XenonS30 XenonS130 - S130 Reference

It goes on the old external voltage regulator plug. It jumps the proper wires and also has a diode to keep the engine from running when the key is turned off.

You guys are having an unclear writing problem. spark more interest on these cars from the Orient spark more interest....................from the Orient spark more interest on these cars Stupid editing software keeps fixing my spaces for me.

No problem. You probably just want to zip tie the plug to the back of the alternator with the plug angled down. Tape might hold dust/dirt and moisture. Drained and dry is what you want. I blew a fuse on an a car after the trailer light's plug got dirty and wet. Eventually there was enough conductivity to short. I don't know if the P terminal passes much current anyway.

That's a good point. I was thinking that the plate was loose and able to move back and forth with the torque converter. But if it's tight and pressed on the block by the converter, that's another scenario. You might have damaged the flex plate. Even though it's called a flex plate, it's not that flexible.

He's talking about the yellow wire coming out of the alternator itself. You can see it lower left in all of the pictures. I think that might be the "P" wire, it's in the general location that the P stud would be. Some cars use it for a tach signal for other ECU operations. Odd that they would put a plug on the wire but the rebuilders probably use the same guts for many different bodies. It won't be used in your case. Check the instructions that came with the alternator and se if they show a P wire. Make sure that you insulate the plug. OR, return it and get one that doesn't have it. It's extra.

I've heard that there is a spacer on the back of the crankshaft for automatic cars. Maybe you misplaced yours. By the way, for any searching, I think that most people call it a flex-plate, not a flywheel. Found a post with pictures of the spacers - Automatic Flexplate spacers - Nissan : Datsun ZCar forum :Nissan Z Forum: 240Z to 370Z

Yes, timing is set by aligning marks on the crankshaft pulley with a marker bolted to the engine. You need a timing light. The distributor is turned to change the timing. Some distributors have a mark or two to get you close but precise timing is set with the light. The timing mark you were looking at on your 71 might have been there to set phasing between dual points.

Sorry, I missed the part about removing the old 75 ignition module. The ZX ignition module is designed for 0.84 - 1.02 ohms, and for running with no ballast, so the PS 20 should be fine, whether it's 1.0 or 1.4 ohms. I got 1.4 from Summit Racing. I don't think that Crane really exists anymore except as a brand name. Do you know what the primary resistance was on your old Accel coils? PS20 Performance Coil http://www.summitracing.com/parts/crn-730-0020 Edit - as I noted above, I'm no expert. I'm pretty sure that there's more to the whole coil-matching thing, like inductance and other concepts. That's why I just use the stock parts. The ZX system was apparently a pretty good system from the factory. Plug gap was spec'ed at ~0.040" and nobody has reported high RPM problems, like with the very early GM HIE system. The Crane coil probably doesn't get you any significant benefits, except cost and convenience if you can't find stock..

It varies. The easy way to tell is by looking at the manifold intake runner. It points at the valve.

It's probably okay, but might not last as long as stock. The ignition module is probably also at risk, since it takes the current also. The stock 1975 specs are ~0.5 on the coil (pretty low, lower than I thought), and ~1.3 for the ballast at 68 F. 1.8 ohms total. The PS 20 is 1.4 ohms on the primary circuit (according to Summit Racing specs) , so the ignition module sees more current. Plus, without the ballast, the self-limiting current control is gone. The ballast is designed to heat up and increase resistance with time (very short times). So you have lower resistance, and no more ballast current-limiting. This is my current understanding. But from what I've seen many people don't really understand how the ballast resistor works, and I might be one of them. Many people run higher resistance aftermarket coils though, with no problems. Automotive engineers always design a large safety margin in to avoid failure. I'll bet that none of this makes you feel more comfortable.

Found another source for the cam oilers. A little bit spendy - Cam Oiler 70-77 Billet Aluminum: Engine Z - Misc. Engine Parts - 30202-ENEN - Z Specialties Online Store - If we don't have it in stock, we can get it!

It doesn't say it's for sale, or that it was purchased for that, it's just a number picked from somewhere. Plus it's shown in an online men's fashion magazine. Not sure that it counts!

You're a little late - http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/open-s30-z-discussions/52810-resto-mod-240-e-bay-%24120-000-a.html It's the most expensive asking price maybe. It's only up to $30,100 so far on the bid.

Look at Post #34 in this thread, it might be a new number. It looks like you'll have to call the number though, not use the email address. Spray bar MIA - Page 3 - Nissan L6 Forum - HybridZ

The car in Post #4 looks very different than the car in Post #6. And the car in Post #6 looks like the car for sale. So, is it the real car, just heavily modified from the Post #4 picture? Or not? The caption in Post #4 says 2010, not so long ago. I took it as 2010 is the original and the for sale car is not.

The yellow front tow hook looks pretty authentic, doesn't it? 70's era? There's a video. You might lose your lunch on the drive-over, be careful.

Someone put a lot of work in to it. I wonder if it's more show than go though. I see some odd things in the description like " front and rear shock tower anti-sway bars" and " ISIS voltage monitoring and starter kit." Makes one wonder. Not to start a pick-it-apart contest. It's up to $27,100.

There's a video link in the eBay ad. The designer, Kindig It, has a web site too. 15 years in business, apparently, but just got a web site in January 2012. You'd think for $120,000 they could at least show that the car drives. The video is someone else's music choice impinged on to the sound of the engine revving. Who knows? Interesting. Jonathan Glover Photography Custom Built Cars - Kindig It Design

You could heat up a screwdriver blade with a torch and melt it in to the plastic of the petcock stub. Might work. Drilling would be fairly easy also, except for the water dripping down on to the drill motor. You could also drill a small hole, or jam a red hot coat hanger through it to make a small hole, let it drain, then heat it up until it softens and pry or twist it out. Actually, if it was mine, I would probably do the last three things. I replaced my plastic one with a metal bolt. It stuck down farther than I liked. Looked like upside down Mickey Mouse ears.

POR-15 apparently is the brand name for a very good external coating, but I don't know that they've built a name in fuel tank sealers. I'm reading some questionable reviews around the interweb. You might want to do some diligence on that repair. Quite a few Z people have coated their tanks and might have some opinions. There are other brands out there. One key to keeping your fuel in good shape is to have the carbon canister, check valves, filler hose, and gas cap all in good working order. To keep air from moving in and out with fresh oxygen and moisture.

I replaced a couple of those spacers last year and they were so molded in to their little space that you wouldn't think they were a separate piece unless you knew before hand. They're pretty well protected, not exposed at all. Mine were shiny. I only replaced them because I had bought the parts before a spring replacement, just in case. I wouldn't bother taking things apart again. I might actually have a picture of them somewhere... Found them. A little farther back than a year. One out, one in, and a comparison of fresh and squished.

Here's something you can check that might be part of your problem. If you have the vacuum advance from your distributor connected, make sure that it is connected to ported vacuum, not full-time vacuum. There's a lot of discussion out there about the pros and cons, but the two main results of using ported vacuum are that the timing is retarded at idle, giving a cleaner burn, and the engine idle speed doesn't bounce around as timing advance moves with intake vacuum. One way for the engine to die,with full time vacuum advance, would be for intake vacuum to drop enough to reduce vacuum advance, causing lower RPM, ultimately leading to the engine dying. A vicious cycle thing, especially if static timing is set with the vacuum advance connected. Just a possibility.

I would find a small block chevy based forum, sign up, and ask a general "how do I tune my Holley" question. That carburetor has been around forever, but not many Z cars use it. I'd go to small block chevy land because there are more of those around. I'm sure that I've seen Holley tuning videos on youtube also. Forget about 1978 280Z, or Datsun, or L28, it has nothing to do with tuning a Holley. Here's a few that popped up when I Google "tuning a Holley carb". Holley Performance Products Forums - Holley Carburetor Tuning Tips - Blogs https://www.holley.com/support/ Holley Tune, Part 1