Zed Head

Any idea why yours failed? Was it a stock Nissan damper? Wrong bolt length or washer? Looks painful.

Just to add - the head itself can get new valve guides so if it's not cracked you'll be fine, probably. That camshaft is probably good also, the surface rust isn't bad. Also just noticed an anti-rattle spring hanging of the head in the first picture. So you probably have all of the parts BUT you won't know which rocker goes with which cam lobe, assuming that they fell off in transit. That might or might not be a problem. Probably depends on the wear of the rocker arm lash pad. Endless discussion...

What's up with all of the missing rocker arms? Spendy to replace if they're not in the box. And the camshaft is falling out. Movement during transit? Doesn't look terrible.

Compression ratio, cam lobe profile, and ignition system are the main differences and they are minor. Some option will probably drop in to your lap while you're working on other things.

I was serious about having many parts if you want to start with simple NA EFI or even carbs, or an engine swap. Engine, distributor, EFI harness. I'm down here in the Portland area and trying to reduce my parts hoard. You could even leave the turbo on and run exhaust through the waste gate. Lots of crazy options.

Now you've got the virus. Searching for and collecting parts is part of the condition.

Forgot to say, that's on old tach. sometimes they just die. Confirm that the blue wire at the tach is continuous with the coil negative blue wire. And, a GM HEI module would be more powerful than that XR700. The XR700 is another primitive points-to-electronic conversion system. If you still have the 260Z electronic distributor, with electronic pickup coils, for $25 you could have a much better ignition system.

I have an engine in my garage from a ZX that I was thinking of selling. My current engine is very solid. I also have a 78 280Z EFI harness that I used to run it, to make sure it was good before the one month warranty period ran out. And some spare electronic distributors. You know he's going to swap an LSX in there after he looks at all of the options though. Mark, that yellow 280Z is still there.... @Mark Maras

The 260Z was the first year of electronic ignition so your tach would be the voltage triggered tach, not current triggered. So scotta's solution won't work for you. Here is a link to the instructions for the XR700. Look at page 16. Your tach should work if the blue wire is connected to the coil negative terminal, and the blue wire is unbroken on the way to the tach. Looks like yours have been hacked at by the coil. Also, make sure that original electronic ignition by the fuse box is disconnected, but the wires aren't cut. The blue wire branches at the module and one leg goes to the tach. If somebody cut the wires you might lose that tach leg. https://static.summitracing.com/global/images/instructions/xr700%20instructions.pdf

Just trying to define the do it / buy it line, that's all. To each his own, just laying out a smorgasboard of options, without too much of what I would do myself. Don't really know smackhq's situation or preferences. He might like making wiring harnesses. Apparently some people do.

I just linked this thread in someone else's, and noticed the above. Now that's commitment. Bought a new house so you can do your Z project. O Canada...

Wheee! defines one end of the spectrum - https://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/50908-1976-280z-restoration-project/ Smackhq has a simulator. So he'll get many of the bugs worked out from the beginning. I think that many options depend on what's nearby. If he gets on CL and finds a four barrel carb setup, who knows. Quick and easy, a drivable Z while he's messing with MS.

Wheee! defines one end of the spectrum - https://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/50908-1976-280z-restoration-project/ Smackhq has a simulator. So he'll get many of the bugs worked out from the beginning. I think that many options depend on what's nearby. If he gets on CL and finds a four barrel carb setup, who knows. Quick and easy, a drivable Z while he's messing with MS.

Wheee! defines one end of the spectrum - https://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/50908-1976-280z-restoration-project/ Smackhq has a simulator. So he'll get many of the bugs worked out from the beginning. I think that many options depend on what's nearby. If he gets on CL and finds a four barrel carb setup, who knows. Quick and easy, a drivable Z while he's messing with MS.

You guys seem to be on a different page about why people take on car projects. I can't imagine paying somebody to put together an engine management system. What's that leave for me to do? Why not just buy a FAST EFI self-tuning, throttle body based setup? A manifold change, some money, a couple of wires and it's done. Or just buy a four-barrel manifold and an old Holley. That's probably the very simplest way to get on the road. One carb, very simple. Again - a multitude of "what I would do" s. Since I've sorted all of my car problems out, it's kind of boring. I barely drive it any more. I miss my problems...

Fuel pump relay. It gets power when the fuel pump gets power. Learn, learn, learn.... Edit - but, apparently, the ECU grounds the circuit. I'm still learning too. Although, I have faint memories of some weirdness with the diagrams. Can't remember the details. I had my fuel pump on its own power once, no power through the relay it was bypassed, and my idle stayed high until I remembered to switch it back to relay power. That was on a cold engine.

There you go smackhq. There will be ten opinions for every possibility. Some people breeze through an MS installation, some never get it done. If you have a hoist and space an engine swap is a "pop in", if you don't then it might not even be an option. If you have good knowledge of how engine's work, you could have a set of carbs installed in a day. Once you know the 280Z EFI system, it can be done in a day or two also, but you have to get the right parts. How soon do you want it to be running, how well do you want it to run, what are your capabilities, how much do you want to spend or not spend, etc. Good luck. Pick one and go for it. The FMS's are great educational tools, Nissan goes in to great detail about how things work. The Engine Fuel chapters and Engine Mechanical are worth reading even if you stick with Megasquirt. You can download them from the Resources section.

Actually that's pretty spendy for a used L28E. If you're not in a hurry you can find better. The engine in my car is from a $300 parts car that I bought mainly for the transmission. Runs great. You really could just use your turbo engine without the turbo until you're ready to returbo and Megasquirt it. A distributor, an EFI harness, an ECU and some odds and ends and you'll be on the road.

Unlimited question quotas. Your turbo engine has all of the same bolt patterns as a non-turbo, or NA, engine. It's the electrical and electronics that are different. Nissanintroduced a new and different engine control system iwth the turbos, acronym ECCS. You could remove the turbo and bolt on NA parts or carbs, while you work on and learn about Megasquirt and turbos. Your turbo engine has lower compression than an NA engine but it will still run fine. An option or two.

That's Oliver, a member of the club. He runs zspecialties. He has a lot of parts and some are of good price but he really values others. http://www.zspecialties.com/

The guy on zcar said that his email got returned as undeliverable. Maybe he had a typo. Is there a reason that you don't have the web site address in your sig? Seems like a good place for it. Good luck.

There should be a letter stamped in to the back. http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/cam/index.htm

Well, that's a bummer then. Apparently his email address is down. Someone on zcar tried to use that web site. I was going to send him some business. Thanks.

Thanks. I don't know why I never tried to find one of those ZX timer units. Probably because I never found a good coolant switch.

Mr. Irwin, I tried to find your web site address for your alternator swap kit but there's no links. Are you out there, still making them? How does a person get one? I'm looking for someone else. @Zs-ondabrain