Zed Head

So, basically, part of the hardness issue is about how hard you have to press the pedal to get the car to stop. You're saying that the brakes don't work better, they work worse. It sounds like the booster works correctly. It's hard to tell how far the pedal is moving when you're pumping the system up, and how many times you pump. That would be a clue about whether it's air in the system or something else. Pumping the brakes is just a way to compress air bubbles. The fluid doesn't get pushed back out of the caliper faster than your foot can push more fluid in to it. So, if th pedal moves a long distance and it takes a few mups, that's a big air bubble. On the other hand, if the fronts don't feel like they're working after being pumped up, then you might have a pad and/or rotor problem. Any chance there's something slippery on them? Once the system gets pumped up and the air bubbles are compressed then it should behave like it will normally. If the pad friction on the rotors is sufficient you'll get braking force. Hope that helps. You need to separate the system in to its parts and think about each. Here's a clue about big bubbles in the calipers - the brake check light should come on if your switch is installed and working. Mine did when I had my stock calipers installed upside down. It was a clue that made more sense when somebody noticed a very large quantity of fluid leaving the reservoir and coming back as I worked the brakes..

Are you converting from automatic? Just confirming. There is a whole bunch more you should know, depending on what you're planning. Those 4 speeds are a dime a dozen. Almost can't give them away, believe it or not. Looks like someone has tried to get in to yours.

and..... "The pedal is hard with very little braking force." and.... "help me test which wheels are locking etc" I pulled out the information as I found it. It seems like you're saying that you only swapped front calipers and rotors and left everything else exactly the same. Is that right? You described a lot of stuff that you did before, but the brakes apparently worked fine with those things done. So they kind of don't matter. What would the "stock system" be? More than just rotors and calipers? You said hard pedal, and pedal is hard with little braking force. But then you talked about locking wheels. That would be very much braking force. And you mention pumping up the brakes before you start the car, but not while the engine is running. Do the brakes pump up with the engine running? The pedal gets higher and harder with pumping? That's a sign of air in the system. You didn't say which end of the hose you removed, and how you know it was holding vacuum. Sorry to pick apart your writing. Can't tell what you're trying to describe though. It's not clear if the brakes even work at all, in slowing the car. It kind of sounds like the caliper pistons are locked up in their bores. No fluid is flowing, so the pedal does not drop. But it can flow when the bleed valves are open. Fluid does flow when bleeding the calipers right? The bleeding is a test of the hydraulic system. You could remove the calipers and have somebody gently press the brake pedal to see if the calipers move. Put a thin board between to be safe, thinner than the rotors.

I've found that an old used Nissan original alternator puts out more idle amps than a "new" reman parts store alternator. I have an old 81 ZX alt on my car and a new reman on the shelf.

Sounds like the wire that you chose is not the actual L wire. If I read the diagram right, the two wires I marked in red are the ones you want to jump, which looks like what atlanticz says. Seems like you were there but undid it. 2-5 looks like the circuit is always powered. Might drain your battery through the alternator windings.

That's the model with the crank triggered CAS. Maybe. Sometimes the yards go off of build date. It might be an 82. Some parts might have value if you're in to picking. The J tube, the exhaust manifold, maybe the turbo. The CAS if it's not the crank trigger. Stuff that can be put on to any L6. Then Megasquirt it.

So, pretty much everything that could go wrong, went wrong. Weird! Did ZCD pay for shipping on the exchange?

People often run in to problems when they start deleting stuff the factory installed. Even the emissions lines have the benefit of containing the smell of gasoline. I'd try to get them all back to where they were, unless it's a race car.

There must be a sketch somewhere of the new tank design. People don't just start cutting and welding without at least a simple sketch. Do they?

Do you know that your engine builder didn't give you a distributor tuned for the engine? You never answered the "what distributor" question. That coil does not look stock 1973, you might look under the distributor cap to see what's there. You'll need to learn all about tuning engines with the XDi200. Could be fun. Get some good air filters on that new high-performance engine. You don't want to suck dust and debris in to grind away at the shiny new surfaces.

So you have a 1973 points distributor and "6 volt" coil? There are many many electronic ignition system options. The XDi 200 looks nice but it's a little bit over the top for just fixing the idle quality. https://electromotive.com/our-products/xdi200-ignition/

Changing to a programmable ignition system will have no affect on your idle quality, unless, maybe, your stock system is a points distributor running a low energy coil. 20 degrees with Electromotive will be the same as 20 degrees with what you have now. There might be other reasons to go with Electromotive but idle quality would not be one of them.

It's a thing! I saw it on the internet! If bats are bad, then some detail on "pounding" might be in order. Seems like, with the way the edge is formed, that you'd almost have to place many short relief cuts all along the inside edge, if you really wanted a good smooth bend, that didn't deform the outer edge. The "do it right" approach. Then, if you wanted it to be strong you'd have to tack weld each cut back together.

I thought people were using baseball bats to roll their fenders? I've seen a few accounts about it. Put the bat between the tire and fender and roll the car.

You do know that the K&N's let very fine dust through, right? They're mostly for looks and hype. They don't protect the engine well.

That's a pretty cool fix, although it's not directly what Ian was implying, I think. I think he was trying to weaken the magnetic field by removing loops. You made it weaker by making it bigger, which you probably could have done with multiple loops too. Now that I see it again, I remember that that type of fix is out there on the internet, in various forums. But as I recall it, they were adding more loops. Anyway, why don't they just put that in their instructions? How many sale do they lose because of tach problems, I wonder? I'm surprised that Pertronix actually has a capable support person. A rarity in today's world.

The tires must have been brand new in 1995. 23 years ago. Should be able to knock $10,000 off the price with that info. The dash looks great. I wonder how fragile everything is though. Will it turn in to normal Z dust as soon as somebody starts using it.

That would be a standard example of a time capsule, or survivor car. He should left the dust and grime on, and just clear coated it.

I quoted his post in my reply, #17, and made a joke. He, apparently, was offended so he erased his post and replaced it with a question mark. Hence my comment in #20 about the fact that you can edit posts after they've been quoted, without any sign that they've been edited, from the phone apps. You can't do that on a desk top computer. Etc., etc., internet confusion, blah blah, yadayada.... Sounds like you're about where I was at one point and have all the knowledge you need if the squeal shows up again. Good luck.

Looks like somebody died or was severely injured. I was in a wrecking yard a few months ago and the blood from an accident victim was left in the side panel pocket, you could see where it had drained out the bottom. Could have been just a bad cut, but who knows. I've seen hair and blood stuck in broken windshield glass. Just makes me queasy.

Could just be parts added later. I notice that there are no driver's side pictures. And missing bumpers. Might be some damage.

That's a 240Z bumper, even though the car is a 280Z. Bad karma on that car anyway, don't you think? Looks like they hit so hard the car pivoted fast enough to hit something else and tear the rear wheel almost off.

Where are those CSI people when you need them? Enhance image...

But, at least the big old text-covering ads seem to be gone. Positivity.

The mechanical pumps are really simple in concept. They either stop pumping because there's a hole in the diaphragm, or the lever that moves the diaphragm broke. Apparently the broken lever is not uncommon. You have to remove it to find out.