Zed Head

Then he'll want to read this thread - http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/50208-the-ultimate-l28et-guidewhat-you-need-for-350whp/ Even trying to stay cheap, stock and NA, I easily went over $3000 spent to get mine in good running condition within about a year (I drove it anyway in bad condition for that year). The nickels and dimes just add up: master cylinders (brake and clutch), slave cylinder, wheel cylinder, calipers, booster, brake lines, tires, lug nuts, fuel pump, exhaust manifold resurface, gaskets, clutch set, injectors, more gaskets, shocks, etc. These engines are so durable that, unless the camshaft has gone flat, you can almost always get them running. If he goes out and buys a turbo engine thinking he'll drop it in and be driving, his budget's probably shot before it can even power itself out of the driveway. Edit - sorry, just feeling blunt. Nothing wrong with getting information for a plan...

Might be easiest to build your own. It will have some leverage at the junction so you'll want a good tight fit on to the existing shifter, and some thickness for rigidity. You might also be able to find a truck shifter that's longer and cut it down.

High performance cams also do this but the 274 seems like a fairly mild grind.

Hybridz would be good for you once you decide. But those guys tend to know what they want - more power, more speed, better handling - so maybe not be much help deciding. Restore here, modify extensively there. You won't find much stance or drift over there except for how to go faster low, or how to make more power for drifting. There's a thread on swapping a stock turbo n to early Z's, well read since most people have problems with it. Just saying, it's not like a transmission or diff swap. http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/38461-240z-260z-280z-turbo-swap-guide/

This is a better clue. You're saying that the idle speed fluctuates, like up-down-up-down-up-down. That's different than just idle speed decreasing. I'm not a carb expert, let alone Z carbs, but this sounds like a carb issue.

I was more concerned about driving high in nighties... Anyway. Back on topic.

Please...even though there is a Boobs thread, this is generally not that kind of forum.

Oops. I read it backwards. Or sideways. The L28ET will take a lot of money-dumping also. I'll stick with the basics then, drive the car first with whatever inexpensive engine that can be found. You just can't make an informed decision until you've driven the car. He might decide he doesn't like straight sixes at all and go V8. And you can't even find a used turbo engine these days for less than $600, probably $1200 or more. Then you have to do engine management, wiring, exhaust system, new drive shaft if he goes T5, etc. It's a big big project. That second big is not a typo.

Didn't realize you were planning to sell the car already. So the real question is "will this car be worth more with a turbo engine or with the L24 that's in it?". From what I've seen, the only modified Z cars that make a profit are those that are very well-done, by a professional shop. Otherwise, it's always just some guy trying to sell his own personal vision of what modifications he thought were worth doing. The ads always say spent lots of money so the car is worth lots of money. But they never get it. The other side of the spectrum is people who want to modify and drive their own personal vision. They like to start with an unmodified car. So, your best path to making a profit is probably to just clean up what you have, fix the PO's mistakes (his vision, like the bondo roof), make it more presentable, and sell it. Maybe get it running with as little money spent as possible. Basically, flip it quick like one of the car shows on TV. Edit - forgot to say, the "turbo swap" is nowhere near as easy to do as the internet makes it sound. After your budget gets nickel and dimed to a huge number, you'll probably have an engine that almost runs okay. The forums are full of turbo swap problems.

That plug doesn't look bad. The ground strap is getting hot and burning off deposits like it should and the center ceramic looks clean even though it has some color. Why don't you describe a typical situation where the idle starts to drop. "Stuck in traffic" doesn't have any detail. Are you driving down the road just fine, then hit a stop light, and the idle drops immediately? Or does it take 5 minutes of slow driving before the idle drops? Does the engine temperature increase as the idle starts to change,or is it steady, and the idle changes just from sitting? Tell a story about driving in to traffic and what happens, with lots of detail. Don't tell what you've done to the engine, just what the engine does from your view, inside.

Overall - more power, different sound, different on-throttle behavior. The second part is on you. Everything's a bolt-on, except the T5, which only takes minor modification to install. And the T5 is generally thought to be over-rated. Good intentions, not well-executed by Nissan. The 71B has does fine for numerous high-power engines. You could even convert your L24 to hydraulic lifters if you wanted, but nobody ever does that. Most go the other way with the turbo engines. Many have said it already, but you should really get what you have running, drive it, then decide what you want.

Did the PO tell you there was a layer of body filler or have you started sanding? It's pretty common, I think, to lay a thin layer down on most large surface areas to fill any small dings and defects. Because they'll stand out otherwise, after painting.

Looks like Nissan depended on the mechanical to start the engine. The engine has to be running to get power there. Looks like the correct plug though.

Might be that the it's not the AFM work that's fixing the problem, but the ignition module cooling down. What happens if the car sits for the same amount of time that it takes to diddle with the AFM? Does it start normally and then have the same problem? What is the tachometer needle dong when the problem happens, does it start jumping around or is it steady and normal? If the tach needle acts weird and doesn't seem to follow RPM, and the engine doesn't run right, might be module. The key for you now is to make good observations about what's happening and only small changes so that you're always able to start the engine.

Without knowing what fooling around with things means, it has all of the symptoms of a bad battery connection. The connection will pass low current, to light the charge light (which is correct, with the engine not running and the key on), and beep the seat belt beeper. The high current draw of the starter when you try to Start causes the bad connection to heat up and open and everything goes dead. Check the connections at the battery posts, and the cable itself if you have the clamped-on "fixed" cables. They have to be cleaned with a battery terminal cleaner to be sure, and clamped tightly. No screwdriver-scraping and press-on-and-twist operations.

There's a conversation going on about modifying old Z cars. Made me think of this Gas Monkey Garage car that got hacked up, probably because the show is running out of ideas (Tequila and a hamburger anyone?). Sorry, there's an ad to suffer through first - Take a collectible classic and cut it up so bad that it can never be restored. Also just saw an article about putting batteries in old cars. They'll probably do that next. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt. http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20150521-vintage-gas-guzzlers-ripe-for-a-battery-powered-reboot

Have you measured anything? Fuel pressure, timing, engine temperature (there's a gauge in the dash, with numbers), resistance values at the ECU? The bogging out could be a clogged fuel system, maybe in the fuel tank. Leaving a pressure gauge hooked up until the problem happens is the best way to see that. When you say "shut off while driving" do you mean at idle, while going 50 mph, while accelerating, dies then restarts, loses power like it's about to die, makes dying noises? See the problem? Those are all "shut off" but there are different possible reasons for each one. If it happens while driving it could be the ignition module. I've solved a lot of problems just by trying to figure out how to tell someone else what the problem is. You need to do more work on the description. "Die", "shut off", and "bog" are not enough. Sorry, that's just the way it is. All we have out here are the words you write and the pictures. You've only posted three numbers, one was the year of car, and the other two were RPM. Did the car sit for a long time before you got it (how long) or was someone driving it?

You're way ahead of many in that your car runs. And that it used to run well before you "cleaned up" the intake manifold. But you'll need to get in to the fine details to get it back to where it was before. Even that little vacuum port will change the air-fuel ratio a small amount. Add up several like that and it's a big effect. Good luck.

EFI just requires more accuracy and precision than this. Seriously. "Random" and "need for air" just won't get it done, you have to get numbers. It seems difficult but once you make some progress you'll see the value. The EFI system just can't be beat on like old carb systems can. Here's a case study on how to go from bad to good - http://www.classiczcars.com/topic/51367-project-boondoggle-or-so-i-went-and-bought-a-z/ http://www.classiczcars.com/topic/51531-sanity-check-on-280z-fi-tests/

Nice. Even when the things that should work, do work, it's still a surprise. Those are low numbers. Consider the coolant circuit potentiometer tweak for adding a little bit of fuel, if it's lean. Many of us use it,

If you tighten the spring the fuel/air ratio gets leaner. Loosen and it gets richer. Adjusting the AFM away from the factory setting should never be necessary on a stock engine. Stock cam, head, intake system, etc. If you can tell where the old marks are you should put it back to that spot. The cover over the EGR port could be a problem if it leaks. It's also possible that your EGR passage is corroded inside and leaking. You should be able to see ii it is by looking under the cover you've applied. Both of those will make things lean if you've also removed the EGR exhaust tube. If the exhaust tube is still connected it won't be leaner but it will be weaker. Can't tell from your picture also, if you blocked the CSV hole well or not. Vacuum leaks can add up. And when describing the problem, you should tell whether the engine is hot, cold or warm. There is a temperature actuated switch that can affect timing, which will affect the way the engine runs.

Good eye. I looked closer and there's a huge leak in the boot between the AFM and the TB. Massive quantity of unmetered air. I'm going to guess that "tightening" means adjusting the AFM cog for more fuel. Probably didn't mark the starting point either. More tears...

Nice work!. In your picture it looks like 3 and 18 are open, and 2 and 18 are closed, which is correct for idle. But you can see how it works, with the common center pin moving closer to 3 as the throttle opens, if I'm looking at it right. You should be able to see it touch, and maybe even a tiny spark if you open the throttle with the key on. But it looks like you should have some rotation possible before 3 and 18 contact. You might check the connection itself for dirt and grime or a short. It does look futzed with. The two screws are different and one has been abused. I would go ahead and loosen those two screws and adjust it until you get the right numbers, if you can. That's an important circuit and could explain your problem.

This level of detail will not work with the EFI system. What does it mean? What was tightened? You have a long frustrating path ahead.

Are you asking for the part number for a 1979 280ZX ignition relay? Or help with the no-crank problem? You didn't mention finding the short that caused the fusible link to smoke, or if the 30 amp fuse blew when you tried to start it again.