Zed Head

I use plain old modern oil and haven't rounded a cam lobe yet. Break-in seems to be where the problems happen. Fresh metal.

Here's something interesting. An F54 block dip stick is 6 7/8" inches from the High mark to the rubber seat. An N42 block dip stick is 7 1/4". So if you had a 280Z dip stick in an F54 block you'd be low on oil, because the High mark would be lower. Probably a lot more than a fraction of a quart though. Looking at the dip sticks does make me question their accuracy though. It's just a rubber seat on a piece of metal.

Why do all that when a hose in the T-stat hole will tell the story? There should be nothing between the T-stat hole and the pump inlet that will stop coolant flow. Here's another experiment. Remove the block drain plug, start the engine and see what happens. If coolant blows out of the drain plug hole you'll know more. Could be that somebody filled your block for racing.

Probably should have dug deeper when you had it apart. There's not much to the system. The pump moves water through the block, it pushes up past the cylinders, through the head gasket in to the head, then it flows out of the head at the thermostat housing. Somebody recently left a cork in the lower radiator hose port. Had a similar problem to yours. Forgot about the cork and put everything together. If you're really stuck, check each system separately. Remove the lower radiator hose and be sure that coolant actually will come out of the radiator. Remove the thermostat housing and be sure coolant will be pushed through and come out of the block and head. You could even remove the bottom hose and the thermostat cover and everything should drain out of the head and block. Stick a hose in the T-stat hole and see if water flows backward, down to the lower hose. Redefine the problem as a coolant flow problem. Your coolant is not moving through the block and head. Why? Where is the blockage? Check for rags like JSM suggested.

Take the thermostat cover off and remove the thermostat. Start the engine and see what happens. If you get no flow you'll know the problem is between the pump and the T-stat housing. Or just remove the thermostat and do the same.

It is weird that Nissan doesn't seem to have created a wiring schematic for the cabin heating system.

You can see coolant flow in the radiator with the cap off. Might lose some coolant but it will be informative.

The dilemma is if you do fix the problem you might not know it because you've created another known overheating situation.

Search these words and you might find something. Might not be the source of your problem but the results will be worth reading, long-term.

The 280Z's are spec'ed at 5 quarts. The OP has a 280ZX engine. Then there's always slope of the driveway, both when draining and checking the dip stick. Oil expansion too. If you add it cold, then measure it hot it will show more than what you put in. Oil expands a lot. Like when you pop the fill plug on a warm transmission. https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/cubical-expansion-coefficients-d_1262.html http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/nbstechnologic/nbstechnologicpaperT77.pdf

Are you afraid that someone is going to buy it before you do? Just pictures and some videos. Where's the words? The description of what it is, with a VIN? The passenger door looks tweaked. Closed at the top, gapped at the bottom. Edit - and why do people think they know how to produce music videos? Weird. Bad music...

It's the oil pan that determines capacity. Assuming the oil pan matches the block and head, you just need to use the right book. And maybe the right filter. Are you using one of those new mini filters? The dip stick is the indicator for proper level for the bearings, without aeration. I'd be happy with that.

I would test continuity from the "no idea" wires to the pins on the other ends of the harness. It's all right there in front of you in the big red picture, not hidden inside the dash. They probably go to the blower or the switch and that will tell something.

You'll only have power on both sides of the injector connectors if the other injectors are still connected when you measure one. If you disconnect them all and check for power you'll only see it on one pin. When the other injectors are plugged in power comes back through the ground point at the ECU through the wire to the other pin in the connector that you're measuring. It makes more sense if you draw it out. It's a parallel circuit. If you want to simplify things, disconnect all of the injectors and check for power at one pin on each injector plug. Then plug them all back in and check for power at the ECU connector, for each injector. You can remove all of the odd readings and parallel circuit back-feeding that way. Then you'l know.

Is there supposed to be a "no" in front of power? No power to the dropping resistors, etc? Or are you saying that you have power there but it doesn't start? You know the timing is right because you used starting fluid? Sorry. All I see is "won't start, fuel injectors not firing".

This is all I'm asking. Some simple evidence. It changes everything about a discussion. Funny thing though, the guy complimented the disc for lasting 211,000 miles.

I was relating the two sets of non-facts. The unknown rusty rotors and the pads of unknown origin, supposed to be made of mystery metal, called "black steel". Connecting the two things that aren't really connected to anything else. They float alone. Together.

That article fits the theme. It has some "stuff" in it that the author seems to have made up, and is irrelevant. Discs aren't painted or coated. I think that somebody just made up the term "black steel". It doesn't appear to be a real thing. Notice that the guy didn't supply any links to the study or any publications by the "Global Council". He showed the percentages when it was convenient but left them out to tell the "black steel" story. Fake news! Black steel is hot rolled steel that has not gone through the ‘pickling and oiling’ process to remove impurities, scale, and other contaminants. This will prevent paint or anti-corrosion treatment from sticking to the metal, leading to early death by rust. Still waiting for any proof that those rusty rotors were Made in China. Labels or it's fake! Salt water will make any non-stainless steel look like those pictures.

Bring A Trailer (BAT) has some nice cars go by. https://bringatrailer.com/datsun/280z/ Can penguins tea bag? Don't know...

I keep forgetting that this is a ZX. I think that they incorporated the dash pot's function in to the BCDD. Which you do have, it's under the intake manifold. Good luck. Enjoy. See if the parts supplier will just swap the module.

I hate that too. If the wires were longer I'd probably do more console removing to do more things that need doing. I've thought about making a set of a extension wires for it.

The BCDD can affect throttle off/drop behavior. And the dashpot. The dashpot is easy to adjust and can have a big effect. Loosen the big nut and screw the dashpot body inward to delay the throttle drop. Too far and you'll get throttle-hang though. Your original reason for the new/reman distributor was the hesitation wasn't it? So you got a bad module (or a poorly grounded module) on a better distributor. Once you got the right parts together, problem solved, apparently. There are other electronics in the distributor than can have problems like the pickup coil magnet. It tends to break. Can't emphasize grounding enough on the ignition system. It's not about voltage, it's about current. Current needs ground. Don't throw that new/old module away.

Might be here. Summit is great about having instructions for the parts they sell. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/maa-3748201

Welcome. Browse the Downloads area for useful files. Menu on the right - http://www.classiczcars.com/files/

I would put the old distributor back in and see if the problem goes back. To the original problem. You've already had two bad parts. A third wouldn't be a surprise.