Zed Head

That's a good point. Glass adds stiffness. The hatch might be warping as he moves it up and down. I'd also take some measurements just to see if those sides will ever fit in to the body correctly. And, see if the top rail can be moved, squeezed downward. Back to glass adding stiffness, and shape. You might be trying to fix a problem that won't exist.

Good luck. I predict a big number. Nice driving video, I think I saw a 56 Chevy. That's a good sign!

If you got 14.5 volts then the alternator was working. With an external regulator you can get up to 15 volts. I'd check the wires to the VR for short circuits to ground. Where did you get the VR? What brand is it?

I see the same thing as RacerX about the length of the hatch, or length of the car itself. Just doesn't look possible to get the front gap right and have the back edge match the back of the body. It is not possible. Looks like the back end of the car has been worked on and it's not right now. And it's not just the center of the hatch lid, the sides look right at the front corners, but the length of the side rails is too long for the car. The car is too short. Sorry to be so brutal. These two things cannot coexist.

Browse these listings and see how yours stacks up. Yours is kind of up in weekend race car zone, with the 12:1 CR. Without pictures, really it's just a list of parts. Good luck. Put it up on Hybridz. https://bringatrailer.com/datsun/280z/?q=280z https://bringatrailer.com/datsun/240z/?q=240z

I pulled a few things out, out of order. Fuel pressure should never get down to 20 psi. But you can check that without the engine running. That will tell you if the pump is running and if there's fuel in the pump. Just disconnect the small wire at the starter solenoid and turn the key to Start. But maybe that's what were doing with the AFM flap. If you have to wait quite a while for pressure to build that's not right. A good pump and clean filters and pressure will jump to 36+ in seconds. Might be that you have a blockage or a bad pump. There are stories about pumps that overheat and quite producing pressure and I've had one myself. This was me just testing a pump off the car. Started out just fine but after a minute or two of running it started making noise and pressure dropped. The bouncing resistance I'd guess was just bubbles passing by the sensor. I assume you tested with the engine off, so no flow other than convection through tiny holes in the thermostat. Not sure why it doesn't start. But once it does use a timing light to see where your timing is.

That's true of pretty much everything. You should add a driving video.

Probably fine for a short time running but you might check your oil for gasoline. Gas-thinned oil is probably bad for new bearings. And cylinder walls/rings.

So it's not really for sale. You put 1978 in your ad, but the title says 1975.

Kind of vague. "Etc." and "nothing" implies that you did not find a single 280Z part on rockauto. Rockauto is full of 280Z parts. Even one of the ones you asked about specifically. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/nissan,1978,280z,2.8l+l6,1209260,suspension,control+arm+bushing,7532

Could also be the throttle valve switch. A meter and some time spent at the ECU connection will give a good idea of what's working right. This book has all years through 1980. Page 59 is where the meter tests start.

Couple more red ones coming up. One has 300,000 miles. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-datsun-240z-195/ https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-datsun-240z-192/

I wonder if the collecting/investing community was nervous about crossing "TheGuild". Does his opinion influence the value of a Z? He put his bid in early then implied that car might have flaws. I didn't read all of the comments. Maybe he overbid. Or maybe the seller lost out because TheGuild scared away bidders. Most buyers wait until the last day to make their bids. The auction flow was not normal.

Weird. The ZGuild guy bumped the bid by $5000 to $40,000 at the very beginning of the auction and nobody bid after that. No 2 minute extensions, just faded away to that first day bid. A ton of comments on the auction page though. An odd one.

Dave Irwin, aka Zs-ondabrain, designed those and made them for MSA. He has moved to the boonies and might be hard to contact but worth a shot. @Zs-ondabrain https://www.facebook.com/DatsunLEDS https://www.datsun-240z-upgrades.net/ https://www.datsun-240z-upgrades.net/home/products/ https://www.datsun-240z-upgrades.net/product-info/

Koni put a lot of effort in to getting those gland nuts made. Wonder what went wrong. The gland nut is meant to center the shock body in the tube in addition to clamping it in to the bore of the strut tube. @KONI Lee @Joseph@TheZStore

76 had a 60A and an external VR. There's a procedure in the FSM for checking the VR.

Obviously the solution is to build a plastic enclosure around the engine, or paint it with a durable non-conductive coating. I didn't say either way was better. I just pointed out that his battery post orientation is not the way the factory sent it out. Many alternatives possible. How about in the storage box behind the seat? Uuuummm...sulfur.

As I was thinking about this a bunch of memories passed through my head in voice over type thoughts. "Is this one exhaust or this one?" Do they just alternate from here? Exhaust - intake - exhaust - intake... No? Crap. The engine's tilted. Up is not Up". Is this still hot? Should I start over? It was perfect before I tightened the lock nut, now it's too tight. Does it matter if it's hard to get the feeler gauge in? Am I scratching the cam lobe with the feeler gauge? Where's my small sledge, I don't want to bleed anymore. #1 is a B___h! I should have wiped that oil off the edge before it dripped down the side of the engine. Wow, I really wacked something when the nut came loose. Hope nothing got bent. I could have just taken my time setting them cold, then rechecked them when they're hot. And that's just in the first hour.

RacerX, this is how these valve lash adjustment threads always end up. The guys that have done many and have practiced (that's the real key to speed - practice), and have calloused burnt finger tips, say it's easy and everyone should do them hot. "It's easy, don't be a weeny!". They have forgotten that their first time probably took a couple of hours. Logically, setting cold and checking hot has no flaws, except time spent. In the big scheme of things, for a guy with an engine that's new to him, the time spent looking at the engine parts with no reason to hurry might be more valuable than actually adjusting the lash. Plus, mistakes in lash settings can cost a lot of money. One hanging valve and the head might have to come off.

The battery you have has a common change that people make. You have swapped polarity on your terminals. Negative close to the chassis is not an electrical issue just a convenience issue. The factory setup has positive right next to the chassis for the occasional spark adventure. Some people even switch to side-posts screw type terminals. So you're off-spec. already anyway. But if you're worried about sparks from that close terminal it's not a concern. That's the negative terminal, it's already grounded.

If you have a test light, use it between the negative post and the end of the battery cable before you connect it, with the positive cable connected. The only draw you should have is the clock. You could remove the fuse for the clock, whichever one it is, if you want to remove all potential draws. You can also look for sparks, and/or measure amps drawn, depending on what tools you have. This is what people have to do when their Field wire is not connected. That comes through the VR. Might be that your old alternator was fine and the VR is the problem. Measure voltage at the bottom of the "T" in the plug at the back of the alternator with the key on.

My post was basically a regurgitation of things I picked up from various other posts on the forum. Odds are almost certain that you're correct. My main point was that you can't really "tune" or adjust anything between the inputs and the outputs. It's all hardwired/soldered in. I did take the opportunity to dig up a neat article about the history of A/D conversion. I think I've mentioned in the past that most of my electronics experience is just dendrites of knowledge taking me just far enough to solve a problem. Many gaps. Like a piece of Swiss cheese, it will support some weight but it's definitely not solid. Kind of squishy. https://www.analog.com/media/en/training-seminars/design-handbooks/Data-Conversion-Handbook/Chapter1.pdf

Why did you replace the alternator? The VR has current path errors possible also. If you were getting zero charge, probably the alternator. Overcharge, probably the VR. And don't assume that Autozone gave you the correct product. Could be they gave you an internally regulated alternator. Here's a nice diagram. Note that what people are calling Red now actually started as Brown. Had it Copied, didn't Paste it.

As SteveJ said, it's for the external regulator plug. MSA should have them in stock. 😁 "It is small, weather-resistant, and simply plugs into the wiring harness in place of the original voltage regulator."