Zed Head

Kind of an odd set of parameters but you'd probably have better luck on Hybridz. This is Classic. http://forums.hybridz.org/forum/72-cars-wanted/

So you're saying that there's a bolt head under there?

Could be the old wild-goose chase. Maybe the OP didn't look for the bolt and took bad pictures. I gave the benefit of the doubt. From this post and that Hybridz one though it seems that the CV flange clip-in axles have a different spline count. There doesn't seem to be a clip in u-joint halfshaft option for a Nissan R180. That;s the part I'm wondering about.

I think that you are right and that is just the ground connection for the condenser. The condenser is probably still stuck in your harness somewhere, by the coil wiring. I'd try to find it and use it. I'm not sure that all of the condensers are just for radio noise. Other circuits might be affected by the noise. I know that my tachometer will not work without a condenser, but my ignition system is modified. Here's another wiring diagram that shows a condenser grounding next to the distributor. http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/wiringdiagrams/78_280Z_wiring.pdf

The R180s diagram above shows the 6 (3x2) bolt flange. I assume that that's supposed to pop out and the four bolt flange and shaft pops in. Someone on Hybridz had one of those though and the spline count was wrong, apparently. Many ways to get confused with the R180's. http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/123135-stub-axle-confusion/

The Nissan FMS's all the way to 1983 show bolt-in axles for the R180, not clip-in. And the Hybriz link shows how to convert a newer Subaru clip-in diff to Nissan bolt-in. But doesn't show a Nissan R180 clip-in diff. Maybe Subari used a clip-in diff on their older models, and you have one of those, and somebody converted a halfshaft. You can convert a half shaft by putting a different flange on the u-joint. If the u-joint size is the same size. So that is a weird one.

Anybody remember the 1974 Pontiac GTO? The marketing guys will milk a moniker for all its worth. 400 HP to 200 HP. A Nova with a shaker scoop.

How many people submerse the rotor of their water pump in water prior to installation, to lubricate the bearing? And do not spin the pump before installing? Who can resist that?

Hey, are you sure that the AISIN has the cast impeller? I notice that they don't show it and their web catalog shows all stamped steel. http://aisinaftermarket.com/uploads/rh4yebzy_CoolingCatalog2013.pdf The catalog is interesting to read, regardless. I replaced my leaking radiator with a cheap Murray brand from OReilly Auto Parts. The mounting holes needed work but it does a great job cooling.

Looks promising. If it was correct, cylinder #1 would have intake and exhaust lobes up, and the damper pulley timing mark (for setting ignition timing) would be on zero. Not sure what you mean with the 4 and 6 comment. You should really get a timing light and set timing. It's time. You can't force a valve open from inside the cylinder.

As madkaw said, forget about the bright links. If you can't see the corresponding link on the crankshaft gear, it's meaningless. If you turn the engine one revolution the link will be somewhere else. So you have a sprocket that was designed to be set up one time, with a new chain and never adjusted. Because there's no easy way to tell if chain/sprocket wear has occurred. I've also read on the old interweb that Cloyes started adding notches to the later sprockets, and only the old ones are notchless. Regardless, you have no way to confirm proper valve events unless you add a degree wheel to the damper and measure valve lift. Kind of a dilemma. Might be easiest to assume the PO knew what he was doing and work on everything else until cam timing is the last possibility. Or replace that sprocket with one that has the notch.

The key turns in the button with no pressure on it, to get to the unlocked position. Then the button can be pushed down. In other words, if you're pushing on the key to try to push the button, that's not the way to do it. Just in case. Could also be the wrong key.

And, of course the classic meaningless performance terminology - Stage 1. And sprayed with special "moly" spray for polishing. Sorry to bash on the show. The car modification show formula is just so common today, it's hard not to make fun of it. Still fun to watch though.

Considering all of the problems people have stopping cam lobe/rocker arm destruction with new or reground cams, the "hard-welding" is surprising. The shop looks iike it's called R&R Cam, or H&R (it's on the side of the building). Probably never worked on a Datsun camshaft. I'll bet many of these car show cars self-destruct after the episode is done, Or the car sits in a storage area somewhere, where nobody can see what they really did to it. I'm a cynic, but they are just TV shows.

At 20:45 they have a woman describing "hard-welding" the cam lobes to build them up, then regrinding the new profile, to maintain the stock base circle. Not sure what shop they were using but doesn't seem like standard practice. Maybe they couldn't find lash pads.

Another thought on cam timing - since your sprocket has been replaced that means someone has been wrenching there. It's been known to happen that the cam shaft dowels have sheared, so even though in theory the worst the timing could be is at spec., or 8 degrees advanced, it's possible that things are totally screwed up. Still, simple stuff first, especially since it runs and the pressure numbers look good. Although, removing the sprocket nut is easy and will tell you if the sprocket is loose on the dowel, without actually having to remove it. You might do that first. No need to lock the chain, just make sure the sprocket doesn't fall off. Actually, lock the chain anyway, just for insurance. You really don't want to tear off the front cover if you don't have to, unless you're looking for a bigger project.

Maybe that "8" is a "6". Sure looks like an 8. Here is the Cloyes Datsun part. Looks like yours. Pretty sure that I've read that the Cloyes sprockets don't have the notch.

The numbers do look good. Check your sprocket to make sure it has the notch. It looks aftermarket, the factory sprockets have four holes, yours has three. Some of the aftermarket sprockets don't have the notch. If it doesn't have the notch, what will you use to reposition the sprocket? Oddly, S-482 comes up as a Toyota sprocket on the Google. And it's much easier to check ignition timing than to remove the cam sprocket. You might be getting ahead of yourself. Do the easy stuff first. Eventually, if you want to be sure on cam timing, just buy a new sprocket, with notch.

If the doors still open and close correctly, and the gaps are even, it might be a fairly simple repair. The unibodies are pretty stiff.

Here are some answers from his other thread on Hybridz. - "I'll definitely be adjusting the valves. The mechanical timing seems OK from what I can tell so far. I guess I need check the crank sprocket to be 100% sure since I have no idea whether the pulley is the original one or not. The ignition timing would be really hard to do given that the car won't idle. That's pretty much my goal at this point - to get the car to idle enough to check things out with a timing light. The distributor is from a 280ZX. I guess I forgot to mention that. I'm going to check the compression as soon as I get a chance. That should at least allow me to rule out a valve if the compression is OK. As for the lobes, I don't see anything that jumps out at me as far as wear goes, but I'm not ruling out anything at this point. "

I think that emissions control was a big part of fuel injection development. With an adjustable FPR and some tricks I can get low 20's mileage on my engine. But at the sacrifice of mid-range performance. Tunability is the major benefit of carbs, compared to old EFI systems. But the newer aftermarket tunable EFI will probably beat them both. I get about 21 mpg mixed highway and city in the summer, and 18 in the cold of winter. With things set for performance. There are several parts that could cause low mileage, like out-of-spec. injectors, a coolant temp. sensor on the high end of the resistance range spec., an ECU on the high end of the injector open time spec., an AFM on the high end, stuff like that. The easy way to increase mileage is to use an adjustable FPR. Then you can move the whole fuel enrichment curve down. The problem is finding an adjustable FPR that is as good as the stock ones. They all leak down and cause a new aggravation. I modified a $34 Bosch FPR but that takes some fabrication work. Some of the California cars have an altitude switch that cuts enrichment by about 7% (I think). If I had a CA car and it was rich, I'd short that switch and put the ECU in lean-mode. Just one possibility. Overall though, carb tuning is probably easier and quicker.

The transmissions from around 1971 up to 1983 are all the same, as far as the slave cylinder and clutch fork pivot relationship. That picture is from my 280Z, and it's an aftermarket slave cylinder so it looks different. But the distance from the mounting bolts to the end of the fork, at rest, should be the same for all of the Z car transmissions in that range of years, regardless of year or model.

The one "trick" that always works but can be embarrassing if not done just right, is to put pressure on the lever while slowly letting the clutch pedal up, The gear will eventually move just enough to let the gears mesh. But, if the clutch grabs too quickly, you get a grind or a ka-chunk. It's odd that the problem came up with the oil change but maybe the Redline lets the non-synchro reverse gears gears snag each other, rather than sliding past to mesh. Maybe an unintended consequence of better synchro perfromance. Reverse is just jamming two gears together.

Another thought - daily driving an investment is scary. If it's worth a lot, it will probably sit in the garage. A Z that's not worth a bunch is more fun to drive, I think. And leave in a parking lot while you shop. Investments have to be managed to retain value. On the other hand, if you wait long enough, the 75 will probably increase in value. So time-frame has to be considered.

On the throttle body. Check page EF-39. There's only two.