Zed Head

You went from "don't want to turn the engine over" to "drive it up and down the road"? Sounds like something I'd do. We're still guessing but it seems like the focus should be on where the excess oil is coming from. Head gasket still sees reasonable. Combustion gases pressurizing the crank case, blowing oil vapor through. Maybe. At least it's not a path of destruction problem. Something happened but it seems stable. That's usually a good sign.

Sorry, wrong car, missed Post #3. There is an adjustment though, a bit more complex. http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/510/510 Service Manual Chassis and Body/510 Service Manual ST.PDF

One thing that I found when I was experimenting with removing the clunk was that some solutions caused more diff noise in the cabin. The clunk was gone but gear warble took its place. Beware.

There's a procedure in the Steering chapter. Tighten then back off 20-25 degrees. You can pop out the internals also and pack some new grease in. What's there will probably be dried out.

The tach counts sparks. The module could be sending extra pulses to the tach. You're going to need to find a full size computer and download the 260Z Factory Service Manual. The details of how to remove the tach are in it. It comes out from the front. http://www.classiczcars.com/files/category/12-260z/ Your car is a 1974 model. SteveJ knows the 260Z but he likes a good description of the problem. Your forum style might not work. Worth a shot though - @SteveJ Good luck. Add your location to your profile.

If it is a 260Z it could be a sign that the electronic ignition module is having problems. Or the tach might just be dying. How long is forever?

That kind of just leaves the PCV hose as the source to distribute oil to the carbs and the cylinders. A pressurized crankcase. So a hole or broken rings or blown head gasket sounds likely. I'm back to head gasket. Things move and twist around when the engine cools off. Fits the fine when parked, bad when started scenario, I think. Good luck. Edit - The volume of blowby gas, carrying oil vapor, would increase dramatically after the hole, or broken ring, or blown gasket. Just a guess.

Old engine , blocked PCV = lots of blowby pushing oil and blowby in to the filter housing from the valve cover?

The oil in the filter housing probably got distributed through the carbs back to each cylinder. How it got in to the filter housing is still a question. It could have come back through one carb, from one cylinder, or through the PCV hose. How about a bad valve seal, and maybe guide, on one cylinder, on the intake valve, fouling the plug so there's no fire, then sucking oil in from the head and pushing it back through the intake runner. It's odd that the problem seems to have occurred either while the engine was off and sitting, or at the restart. Edit - I'm liking a PCV hose route more than a valve seal. Just because there's more air velocity. Any chance that you got a hole in the crankcase seal somehow? Rear main seal blowout, cracked valve cover, oil pan falling off? How about a plugged PCV valve? I'm not clear on the carb PCV system. I do know that they can cause problems when they go bad.

Sounds like it's running on five cylinders. You can remove the injector plugs one at a time to find the cylinder that's not firing. Your video is all choppy and hard to watch. Might be my computer or maybe the recording. You might start a youtube account and put it there. Took a long time to download 74 MB. Take the vacuum hose off of the FPR, red arrow, and see if there's raw fuel inside the hose.

That's a good point about the ballast and too much current. But Nissan stopped using the ballast in 1978, last year was 77. The stock 1978 coil is spec'ed at .84 to 1.02 ohms. Maybe a super-duper high power coil, low resistance?

I think he's saying that it runs and drives without dying now, but it runs rich. It's almost normal.

So, two problems at once and you solved one? You said it wouldn't start when you pulled the TVS connection. Does it not start with the TVS connected? Might be worthwhile to restate the current problem(s).

Somebody actually reached up by the fuse box to touch the ignition module, to see if it was hot? Just want to be sure you were looking at the right part, or don't have an aftermarket setup already in the engine bay. The thing with the throttle valve switch (should be TVS, but people use TPS) is interesting. Maybe that's the circuit in the ECU that goes bad and causes ECU problems. Weird that it wouldn't start with it disconnected though. I think that should show the ECU the position between idle and full throttle, so just a little less fuel than at idle.

I just remember it from when I used to watch some of the financial shows, back when the stock market made a small amount of sense, before the government bailed out the financial institutions and forever corrupted the markets. Yes. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/deadcatbounce.asp?lgl=rira-baseline-vertical https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_cat_bounce Here's a UK site - http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/108600.html

Not much past the surface.... You should just blow the dust off, get it restarted and running, and make it a time capsule car. There's a bunch of restored cars out there already.

I don't remember much from my carb days but I do know that if it runs well at higher air flow levels but has problems at low air flow, that's usually a sign of a vacuum leak. Vacuum leaks get over-powered at high air flow levels. This is true for EFI also. So I might focus on small air leaks. With carbs those can be at the mounting gasket surface, or the intake runner to head surface. I know somebody that spent a lot of time with similar problem and it was a cracked base plate on the carburetor. That was a late-model Chevy V8. A test the EFI guys use will also work with carbs I think. Get the idle speed up just enough to keep it running. Then spray carb cleaner or starting fluid at the places you think might be letting air past the carbs. If the air doesn't go through the carb it doesn't pick up any fuel and you'll get a lean condition, with stumbling and poor running.

Missed that one. How many miles on the engine? I wonder if it's one of those "ran when parked" cars. Is penetrating lubricant really lubricant? And how much oil gets thrown up from the crankshaft at cranking speeds? Does it even reach the swept area? Just being tribological. It would be pretty cool if it cranked up and ran well after 34 years. You need to add a car to your sig now.

You turned it over completely dry, no oil squirts in the plug holes? Ouch. There's still time. Don't forget the valve train.

I don't have experience but I know that it's going to be weaker than an R180. But it will be lighter also. Are you looking for dimensions, or parts needed to mount it in your 240Z?

Sounds great when the RPM go up. Firing order and timing seem right. Any way to just turn up the idle speed to keep it running, so that you can mess with it? I don't know SU's.

He posted over on hybridz.org at the same time and "Globerunner513" gave him this link - http://www.300zx.cl/ga/300zx/images/serial number Datsun Z Car.htm Probably doesn't need the thread anymore. It did turn up a nice reference though, if it's correct. Seems to fit the numbers shown above, and my car. A dead cat bounce is when a small good thing happens after a big bad thing. Like when stock prices go up after a big crash. Kind of dumb financial term.

How big is the hole where the spare tire would go? What do the bumper ends look like even though they're off the car? Is the fuel rail multi-piece or one piece? You're gonna have to put a little bit of work in...

My 76 has one key that does everything. And my 1995 Nissan key from my other car will start the Z, but won't open the doors.

Also look at the fuel rail on the engine. 77 had the three piece, connected by rubber hose, 78 had the one piece. The rubber on the bumper ends is another good clue.