Zed Head

When does it miss? All the time, even at idle? Accelerating, cruising... What is the tachometer needle doing when it's missing? Try to distinguish between a fuel problem and an ignition problem. Maybe your power transistor is dying. Considering the time you're spending, switching to the HEI module might be worth a shot. $25. The injectors all fire at the same time, even on the turbo engines. Sequential injection didn't show up until in the 90's. Just sayin'...

Looks like the hood vents aren't broken yet, although the hood is. Back lights not bad, rims might be okay except they're probably curb-rashed from the stretched tires. This is about like the parts car I bought. Engine's in my 76 right now. http://portland.craigslist.org/clc/cto/5746677801.html Edit - @Mark Maras

I think that's starting bid. eBay says "0 bids" so far. It has some rust, some in odd places. Check behind the left headlight bucket. Sutherlin is waaay down I-5. Farm country. The description says that there's a Dannys Datsun down there.

79 is probably the L24E engine, with the "MN47" head. It's the same basic engine as used n the 240Z, 260Z and 280Z, but designed for efficiency and emissions control. Somebody was recently giving away a Maxima in Indiana. That engine would fit, probably perfectly. Or the head would swap over easily. Cam and rocker arm swaps can lead to new problems. Found it - http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/125917-one-owner-1984-nissan-maxima-come-and-get-it/

One more thing - the 4 speeds have a plate that bolts on to the the top that none of the 5 speeds have. That's the best tell.

Just spitballing, but is it an early B or a later B case? I don't think the later B cases, 81-83, came in a 4 speed version. Are you turning the input shaft while you try? Could be just synchro gear teeth points jammed together. The later 5 speed later cases also have a 5th gear lockout mechanism. Don't know if it jams up or not, but it would be an outwardly visible sign of it actually being a 5 speed.

The T/C rods are much much easier to install with the car on the ground and suspension compressed. The extra length of your assembly would be because the new shocks extend farther. May not be directly tied to full travel.

You mentioned looking for data about going from 83 to 86 so I thought you were working with an L24. Going from 86 to 87 if there's no problems wouldn't make sense even if it were free, I'd say. Unintended consequences, plus you take 1mm of life off of the block. Might as well go to 89. And stroke it. Deja vu.... Good luck. You know about these engine calculators right? They're fun to play with. http://www.ozdat.com/ozdatonline/enginedesign/

The increase in displacement will far outweigh any effect from increased piston mass. The increased mass would only be a factor for very high RPM engines. But there are already big engines available. 280Z or 280ZX L28's. I wrote the thing below up a while ago but didn't post it, but might as well. I ballparked an L24 at 150 HP. No offense but you might do some reading on general methods for increasing engine power. David Vizard is known for writing good material. I'm no expert myself but I can see that you might be getting distracted with some of the racing engine factors, like piston weight at 10,000 RPM. You are pretty far away from that concern. An overbore to 86mm gives 7.4% more displacement. If you can get the same power per unit of displacement that's 7.4% more power. So a 150 HP 2.4 liter engine gets bumped up to a 160.5 HP 2.6 liter engine. 10 HP for the cost of the new pistons, rings, etc. Notice that's about the same as the stroke change to 2.6 liter. Mass of the pistons doesn't really affect power output. 87mm gives 9.9% more. 2.629 liter, 165 HP. You could just buy an L28 and get 17% more displacement. More stroke and an 86mm bore. Seems like designing pistons might not be cost-effective considering all of the other limitations in the stock engine design. It's been said, but the power gains are in the head. Most people leave the bottom end alone until they get the top end working right, as I understand things. The short block is very basic and very durable. The head is poorly designed and full of potential problems.

Sounds like you're still having problems getting the pump to pump. It really shouldn't be that difficult, unless there's a problem with the pump or the inlet lines to the pump. If you want to try some things without disassembling everything, you could remove the valve cover and actuate the pump lever by hand. The pump mechanism and drive eccentric are right there, easy to get to. Disconnect the fuel lines, place the inlet side in a cup of gas and the outlet inside in an empty cup and see if the pump moves fuel, by moving the lever. That's all the camshaft does, is move that lever back and forth. Turn the engine over so that the lever is on the small side of the eccentric so that you're operating it in the normal rage of motion. Who knows, the eccentric might have fallen off or the lever might have broken. Quick examination and test.

Back again. I found one. Browse the diagrams in Body Electrical if it's not the one.

A final thought - I might be assuming that the central ground point is like the EFI harness, which does have several grounds ganged in to one point. But it might be that there are many grounds dispersed around the harness in the back. Somebody just posted recently about a ground point buried back there for the fuel tank sending unit. They shined it up and reinstalled it. So there are probably several points. The diagram just combines them for ease of drawing. Good hunting. Note that the wires will be black.

Too cramped. I would look in a spot that could get wet. That would be why the corrosion started. There's a relay under the passenger seat, bolted to the seat mount rail. That would be a good spot for it, since Nissan thought it would be a dry spot. But it fills with water if there's a leak..

Good that you have a solution path now. I actually might be trusting that diagram too much, it shows a connection along the way, but who knows. It could be two separate wires to a ground point. Knowing a little about how cars are designed to be manufactured, the end of the wire might actually be back at the starting point. But the big diagram shows all of the things in the back half of the car ending at the same ground point. They're all behind the C-8 connector though, and C-8 is the one by the passenger seat, I believe. Maybe under the passenger seat? I'll go take a look in my 90 degree garage. Where the car sits when it's over 90 outside.

Are you on a phone? I posted a picture from the Body Electrical chapter and underlined the splice. The modern super phone is the worst efficiency improvement mechanism that has ever been foisted on modern society.

There's a splice along the way. The right side has essentially two ground points, one at the splice and one at the terminal end of the wire. I put a picture n my other post. Maybe you're reading your own schematic?

Don't know if you're grounding to the ground pin or the body when you take those measurements but the ground side could feasibly be the issue. Find that splice. It's probably one of those scary looking crimp splices, buried in some tape somewhere. Edit - actually, take a measurement from the power pin to ground first. That will tell you if the ground is bad.

Have you taken a close look at the socket the bulb sits in? I had one get so hot the electrode melted the plastic and it shifted sideways and shorted.

I misread the first post. Thought he was just having problems getting the car started after sitting. Even the EFI 280Z's with electric pumps supposedly have problems refilling the lines if the tank runs dry.

Someone posted this on another site. Don't know how to embed. http://imgur.com/gallery/EBCe0dI

Somewhere out there you might actually be able to get a rebuild kit. But who rebuilds their fuel pump? Then you test it. You can test it first to see how strong it is.

Don't know the ins and outs of the mechanical pumps but shouldn't they hold fuel in they lines when shut down? Is there an anti-siphon valve, like the electric pumps, either in the lines, at the tank, or at the pump? I'm suggesting that there shouldn't be air in the lines, you're basically "losing your prime". Could also be just a weak pump. Clogged fuel filter comes to mind also.

Sorry Richard, but you have a tendency to bloviate. It just bugs me. And your advice about L=F and S=N is just wrong and could lead people to problems. So I corrected it. It's not trolling. Trolls hope for a response. I'm doing the opposite. And I'm not a moderator, that's kind of an honorary title. Because of my tendency to correct errors.

Beware - http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/55976-slicks-garage-interested-in-z-cars/#comment-501094 Your project is beyond my ken (I have no idea why I know how to use that word. Too many books as a child). Considering all, risks, the joy of seeing progress, a reason to take a drive...maybe a local shop is the way to go. Arizona was just one suggestion. Really hard to keep track, especially if you get a non-communicative shop.

I wasn't warring just trying to get back to common forum courtesy. Read other people's posts, consider, then reply. CM has a tendency to repeat what's already been said like no one else is there. When I used the zcarcreations method (see below) I noticed that either the Brake light did not light up anymore or it stayed on all the time. So, to my mind, it did not work because I wanted a functioning Brake light. It indicates when the engine is running in addition to brake system function And the atlanticz method did not work either since the relay drained my battery after a couple of days. A common problem with problem threads is figuring out what people mean when they say work or not work. Too general. One person's good enough is another's doesn't work. CM's link to zcarcreations's site is the generic "how an alternator works" page, not the specific instructions that most people refer to. With the general knowledge of what S and L mean all you need is the L wire, which is where I ended up. Here's the specific zcarcreations page that can give poor results. http://www.zcarcreations.com/howto/voltreg.htm