Zed Head

Not the same kind of Z but the principles are the same. Hope yours runs better. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymb36xGUC8c

Very nice. Somewhere around here there is a good writeup of things you should do before even trying to rotate the engine. Surprising amounts of water can condense in a cold engine and surprising amounts of rust can happen on what should be dry metal. Maybe somebody knows where that list is and will post a link. At least, pull the valve cover and check the camshaft for rust, drain the oil to see if there's water at the bottom of the pan, and squirt a bunch of oil in to each cylinder if you plan to try to turn it over. Plus, drain all of the old fuel out and look for rust. There's a drain plug on the tank. Almost no way that the fuel is good, but you might get lucky on rust. Drain the carbs too, if there's anything in them, they're probably gummed up with dried fuel residue. Probably need to rebuild them. Don't get in a hurry and spin the engine too soon. 25 years is a long time.

Can't remember if we talked about Pin 1 and the blue wire. No blue wire pulse, no injection. The first EFI book, 1975, even talks about pulling the ignition coil power wire several times, with the key on, and listening for the injectors on every third disconnection. I don't know if the later book describes that. It's a simple test of the Pin 1 blue/wire circuit and ECU function. No whirring starter motors to try to hear over.

Pretty sure it's the ground for the ignition module. They even show the little eyelet. From that point the path from the engine to the battery negative and alternator body needs to be good. A resistive ground circuit will cause weak spark. Always a good idea to measure ground circuit resistance when troubleshooting. It's commonly overlooked.

How about the ground wire? Maybe you left it disconnected. Might cause problems. Here's a picture of FastWoman's engine with an arrow.

Your best shot would be to dunk it in boiling for a few minutes to heat it up and to let it absorb water. They're nylon and nylon sucks up a lot of moisture which makes it softer. It will expand and be less likely to break. But if it is molded on there is probably cross-hatching or grooves to keep it in place.

I went out and looked and mine look like they were molded on. I've worked in some molding shops so am familiar. The ends don't look like the MSA unit at all. You can see where the plastic flowed over the end on mine.

Here's an old thread about it - https://forums.hybridz.org/topic/60419-halfshaft-length-and-r200-swap/

John Coffey had a nice writeup about this on his old Beta Motorsports web page. He even transferred it over to the Facebook of his new company when he shut Beta down. They compared a whole bunch of shafts to show that they're all the same length. The only reason for binding then is if there's less space between the hubs of a 240Z versus a 280Z. The 240Z hubs, actually the distance between the flanges, would actually have to thicker since the wheel bases are the same. That's the number that is still unclear. So, comparing the flange to flange distance of a 240Z rear axle to a 280Z rear axle might show something.

That's a good question. Kind of looks like it might be pressed on. Or molded. You might destroy it trying to find out. MSA's picture shows splines on the shaft. I have some old ones in the garage. Maybe I'll dig one out and see. https://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/21-7183

I just reported your post! Sorry. Should have given a chance to clean it up. At least get rid of the words that got through. @240260280

1978 has the "high energy" ignition system so you should get a strong blue spark. I damaged my GM HEI module by leaving two spark plugs disconnected by accident and starting the engine. Ignition modules are kind of sensitive. Yours is old too. Any chance you've created a big vacuum leak by accident? Damaged the hose from the AFM or knocked off a PCV hose? That would lean things out a lot. All hoses must be intact.

Were the old plugs wet when you took them out? Or dry? And did you measure sensor resistance at the ECU connector? You said that you have up above but you didn't say specifically here. You haven't really confirmed good spark either. I had weak spark once that looked decent but wouldn't start the engine. My bad ignition module would start with starting fluid but not with gasoline. Did you use real starting fluid or some other fluid like carb cleaner? Starting fluid is pretty potent if spark is present. If you have spark and dry plugs you should get a few pops with starting fluid. You could wire up a GM HEI module pretty quick for about $25. A fairly inexpensive test, and then you'll have a spare. If all else fails the last suggestion is another ECU, according to the FSM. What you're describing is typical of how ECU's fail. One last thought is bad gasoline.

It says it's in Blaine, WA but it has MO plates, with October 2019 tags. Seems odd. There's not much up in Blaine. About 30 miles from Vancouver, B.C. if I remember right. Maybe the guy just moved up there.

Those eBay injectors are odd. They don't list 75-79 which also use the same injector. They've had the tops machined off so that you can use a hose with a clamp. I'd stick with the readily available barb style. A known quantity. Amazon sells injectors too, of course. https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=280z+fuel+injectors https://www.ebay.com/itm/7-1980-to-1983-Datsun-280zx-Bosch-4-Hole-Spray-Direct-Replacement-Fuel-Injectors/202569390132?epid=26009781693&hash=item2f2a139834:g:zR4AAOxygKZSThrJ:rk:1:pf:0

Is the car going to sound like the Terminator when turning? The Turninator? I've never seen, or heard, an electric power steering system. Will it need a high output alternator for the twisties? My inner nerd needs to know....

I have 205 70 14's on my slightly lowered car with stock size wheels, whatever that is. One brand rubbed very very slightly in a tight corner if there was a bump, the other brand never rubbed. 195's should be fine. No pictures.

Dang...we've gone from $40,000 to $4,000. So sad. Kidding. It looks like a fairly nice daily driver 240Z that a guy could restore a piece at a time. All the parts are there, except the front bumper. I didn't realize that granny had worked with so many Z's. Nice history.

used to be Datsun Parts LLC. He changed the name and tried to get away from past bad press. His prices are very high and he'll make it very difficult if you have a problem. Many of his parts are available from Rockauto, eBay, or other vendors for much less. Search the site and you'll learn. Here's one thread from way back. https://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/29706-terrible-vendor-datsun-parts/

"I refuse to buy your car because the price is too low!" How do you know what he deserves? Anyway. It's a 240Z in SE Texas, with minor front end damage from some sort of collision. Getting down there and transporting it will be the big issues.

Seems priced about right, except for the 4 speed. We all have 4 speeds sitting in our garages, left over from our 5 speed swaps. Hard to even give those away. You might add mileage on the engine to your ad. Good luck.

Are you going V8 or did the car get damaged? @Tempestas Should have made a video of the engine running.

I'd leave it. It looks small. It might even be sealing itself once the manifold gets hot.

He's probably posting all over the net. @Snaponfitz

I think that people are excited over the fairly low VIN and the fact that it looks unmodified. Except for the accident. 3266 isn't really that low though. How much damage is there underneath? Looks like somebody hit or ran over a large object.