Zed Head

As site says it should start without any of those broken items. Except for the BCDD and the dash pot they are all to make cold starting and running easier but shouldn't stop it from starting. Maybe add some details about what it sounds like when it's turning over. You said that you have spark and fuel. Are you even getting a pop? Spark plus gasoline almost always gets at least a pop.

The manufacturers LOVE customers like this. They can do whatever they like, take your money, and put a little stamp on the product to divert your attention from the the people truly responsible for the poor product - themselves! Nissan spec'ed the product, sent the specs to a Chinese company so it could be made cheaply, then took your money, now you're blaming China! How much better can it get. I'll bet Takata blamed China also, for defective air bags. NASA probably blamed China for a defective O-ring. China meddled with our last election, not Russia. Russia used computers Made in China. It's Nissan! Nissan sold you the defective product. Nissan is responsible.

No codes, even in 1982. In the FSM troubleshooting charts the last item, if you can't find any other cause, is often "replace ECU". Hard to say. Somebody might have an inexpensive used ECU. Borini63 sells a lot of 280ZX parts. @borini63 Does you new distributor come with a module? You can wire up a GM HEI module if not, for about $25.

For the 280Z's the TVS is supposed to send the signal to the ECU to add an extra 27% of fuel over the base. Maybe it's not the TVS thats' the problem but the circuit in the ECU that uses it. Maybe you have a bad ECU. I can't find the percentage of fuel for 1982, so copied 1976 to show it. This is from 1982 - This is from 1976 -

I think that you'd have to make it super rich everywhere else to overcome a stuck vane. It's more of a dead end than a dead spot, I think. Air flow blockage might factor in also. And it was just a thought. Could be something else. Never seen a stuck vane on this forum though, so that would be a new one.

This is the most descriptive description so far. Stuff to ponder. Nothing comes to mind. An alternative ,or complementary (practicing my words), description might be that it "bogs" in 3rd gear at a certain RPM, if the gas pedal is held to the floor, but picks up again if the pedal is released a bit. It feels familiar, back from my carb'ed car days. When you release the pedal, you're throttling the air flow. Maybe making it match a stuck AFM vane. That just came to mind. The AFM vanes have been known to get stuck. They're delicate, meant to respond only to air. A stuck vane would cut air flow slightly, but reduce fuel enrichment, a lot. The air would slide by, but the ECU would only see vane position. You might check that.

What year is it? VIN? No offense to the late model 240Z owners, but as we've seen here, the early 240Z's have more inherent worth to certain potential buyers. Make sure that you see and get all of the interior parts. They're hard to find. If they're not there, use it as a haggling tool.

Might be chasing your tail 246... Edit - actually, these guys might make the rotors - http://www.advics-na.com/AdvicsPages/global network.aspx The globe is global now. These guys, the pads - http://akebonobrakes.com/OEM https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akebono_Brake_Industry

Trial and error is the way. With mine, I can kill the engine easily by adding too much fuel, by adding too much resistance. The way I've set mine is just by throttle response. At full throttle the ECU adds a lot of extra fuel via the signal from the TVS. It's mid-range RPM and throttle that the potentiometer will have an effect. The typical lean problem is mid-range, idle and full throttle will be fine, but mid-range will stumble and hesitate, maybe even pop back through the intake manifold. I'm not familiar with the zcardepot device. Do you know what the resistance range is? Is that the one you got?

Post a picture! We love pictures. Make sure you include the "Made in China" stamp.

Check out the Economy bearings at Rockauto. $11 to my house. http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/nissan,1976,280z,2.8l+l6,1209226,transmission-manual,clutch+release+bearing,1968

I've been surprised at what those little ultrasonic cleaners will do. Sometimes they do a lot, sometimes they don't do anything. Vinegar as a derusting agent also. Is that rust, or just old brake fluid goop? If it's goop, maybe soak it in some carb cleaner. Might destroy the rubber though, if there's rubber in there. Or maybe use the same trick that's used for pilot bushings. Pack grease in to the other end, put a cylinder that fills the hole in to it, and hit it with a hammer. Create a burst of hydraulic pressure.

I've often thought that idiot sounds would be better. We have idiot sounds for the lights and the key in the ignition. A couple more sounds for temperature and charging, plus the lights to indicate which problem, and the odds of surviving it increase. How about a cylinder killer, like they use on the newer cars? Kills injection for half the cylinders to drop the heat load.

They do seem to be rising rapidly. https://www.hagerty.com/apps/valuationtools/1971-Datsun-240Z Not so for the 280Z's though. Maybe later... https://www.hagerty.com/apps/valuationtools/1976-Datsun-280Z

It should work great.

That is a lot of nice modernization. What's going on with the red light and the RPM?

You can get them at any auto parts store for about $25. BWD seems like they make decent parts. Or you can get AC Delco for about $55. Rockauto has a wide selection also. Don't forget the coil. If you want to use the whole GM setup, get the module and external coil for a 1977 Nova with the 6 cylinder engine. Or just get a good coil with about 0.6 to 1.0 ohm primary circuit resistance. The 1978 280Z coils are in that range and will fit the bracket better. You'd have to make a bracket for the GM coil. https://www.oreillyauto.com/shop/ignition---tune-up-16776/ignition-module-control-unit-ignitor-12521/1977/chevrolet/nova?q=igntion module https://www.oreillyauto.com/shop/ignition---tune-up-16776/ignition-coils-19690?q=coil

I've always thought of you as a 280ZX guy. That has to change now. #6920 is pretty low. Better leave the dust/patina on it in case you decide to sell.

Never mind. 2012 isn't that long ago.

Spray the carb with soapy water, blow in the port, and see where the bubbles happen. Or put a hose on the port so that you can get your ear in the right place to hear a hiss when you blow in it.

I did this same swap on my 76. Use the 1978 Engine Electrical chapter, Transistor Ignition Unit, as a guide for testing. Here's the proper pinout for the plug. "L" = blue.

You don't need to worry about the white wire, except to make sure it doesn't short out. It's looking, though, like you're jumping ahead of your problem. You need to confirm that the wires connected to your current module are correct. There's only five to wrry about. Green, red, blue, black with white stripe, and black.

Site's pictures are for the ZX distributor. Same idea for the single point reluctor though,which you have. You'll see the difference when you remove the distributor cap. You really do need to check the position of the rotor. It's easy and not uncommon for them to be a tooth off. If it's a tooth or two off then your plug wires might need to be off also. Might explain your intake flames. The fact that you got a flame means that you got a spark though so you know that things aren't terrible with your ignition system.

There are some basic tests that you can do to figure out where the problem is. Have you confirmed power to the coil?

I think that EuroDat addresses the single versus dual pickups in his writeup. But, you don't need to swap distributors, you can use the just one of the two pickup coils that's in your current distributor. You'll have a spare pickup coil already installed if you do it that way.