Zed Head

The web (of deception) gets better-defined: A Florida engineer cracks ignition flaw GM kept hidden | Nation & World | The Seattle Times

Do you still have the lower phase or did you dump it? See if it burns.

That's a good point on the ethanol. Even if it is water that started the problem, the water will pull the ethanol from solution. 1% water ingress = 11% of a new phase in a 10% ethanol fuel. Phase separation Maybe Euro got some of the new 15% stuff >>> 16% new phase BEST Bioethanol for Sustainable Transport - BEST bioethanol for sustainable transport Edit - if the phase separation happened at the gas station, he would be pumping 100% (minus the water contribution) ethanol at the pumps if he pumps from the bottom of the tank. If the station uses a phase separation device to pull "water" from the fuel before it hits the pumps, he could pull all of the ethanol out, pumping 100% petrol. Interesting problem. Here in Oregon, apparently, ethanol usage is monitored over time. So, from what I've read, the range can vary from 5 - 20%, for example, as long it averages to 10% to stay in compliance. It's funny that the main driver of the automotive industry was fuel standardization.

I wonder if you could install a water separator in line, for a short while, or permanently. They make them with sight glasses. Water is a common problem with the boat guys. And they're above water level. Apparently they make fuel "polishers" also. Shiny fuel, uuummmm... How to Get Rid of Bad Boat Fuel | Boat Trader - WaterBlogged

You raise a good point about BSPT. I searched around the interweb on just generic "japanese pipe thread" and the word seems to be that Japan used British standards for pipe threads, both straight and tapered. Car guys, tractor guys, various official-looking documents. But I've never seen an official Nissan document. I dinked around just now in the garage though and find that if the female fitting is big enough (I had a spare 1/8" union) , both thread standards will start in the hole, one just goes farther. But they both engage enough that they would probably seal with Teflon tape or pipe dope. If the hole is big enough. Which exposes the real problem with the L6 block oil sender hole - it's just too small to easily start any adapter or pipe nipple. For whatever reason Nissan didn't drill and tap the hole as big as they could have. The pressure senders seem to taper down to a smaller end, which generally fits the hole (I have three old ones to look at). So if you decide to just force an NPT fitting in there, pick through the hardware store bin and find the smallest nipple end that you can. Maybe shave, file or sand the end threads down also so it has a better chance of starting. Or run a die farther up the nipple to cut the end down to size.

Is it saltwater? That's what happens when you drive around below sea level.

I picked up one from the wrecking yard a while that works great. Matches my mechanical gauge. It has a rubber cover, and a wire with a bullet connector. Looks like the one in this link except the wire is black. Amazon.com: Sankei Switches Oil Pressure Sender: Automotive

The early cars, like that 71, use a mechanical pump. It's bolted to the side of the cylinder head. Later cars had electric pumps, installed just in front of the fuel tank, under the car. Many people install electric pumps in place of mechanical pumps. They typical electric pump is in in the $90 range. You need more info.

The problem with talking to other Z guys is that they already have one. They can wait. You have to do your own economics analysis. How long are you willing to wait for a deal? How much is the next few months or even years without a Z worth to you while you look around. Do you want a car that's ready to drive or do you want something to work on? What skills do you enjoy applying?... Etc. I bought my non-running 1976 280Z mainly because it had no significant body damage and I hate doing body work. I enjoy doing all of the other stuff though so didn't care that the drivetrain might be worthless. That car looks very nice and it runs and you know where it's been. You'll probably wait a long time to find something similar. You might save cash but you'll end up paying more in aggravation, time and disappointment. You've a got a bird in hand.

The radiator position changed from the 240-260Z to the 280Z. So the bends and lengths of the hoses would be the key, therefore the 240Z hoses would be the way to go, to fit the car. The front covers of all of the engines are the same, so the bottom hose diameter would be the same. The only thing hard to verify by part number is if the top hose diameter changed, but that seems unlikely since it would be designed to work with the bottom hose.

From CL - 1976 Datsun 280z (BLUE) I've heard that PnP's valuation for a car's parts and scrap metal, or their break-even point, is about $1100. Might be worth an offer, the car looks pretty clean. Says it's a 76 but looks 77 or 78. PnP just uses a chart of VIN numbers to determine year and it doesn't seem to be right.

That's a good point about memory. I've been limited to 1 GB since Compaq used two 512's to get there, no slots to easily fill. Will Windows 7 be that much worse than XP because of memory usage? Another $40 to get to 2. 100+25+ 40, $165. Not even addressing the 32 vs 64 bit question. Apparently my CPU has hyper-threading ability but not true 64 bit (whatever that really means). For what it's worth, I've been on both ends of the "power" spectrum, computer-wise, I'm just working the low end for now (low cash flow). Extracting the most from the least is a challenge.

Thanks for the feedback, especially from the pros. Hate to ask you to talk about work on your hobby site. I've wondered if the talk about the wave of viruses and attacks waiting to happen is Microsoft hype to get people to switch. I can see my modem and hard drive activity and don't click on weird links or applications so riding XP until it dies has been in mind. I've not been hacked to-date. But for $100 I can get to Windows 7, another $25 gets me a Windows 7 capable set of software to run old Excel spreadsheets and open Word files (there seem to be a few consultants out there who get paid in software licenses). I've been running Office 98 on the install disks I got with my first Gateway computer, hence the XP mode question. And I just replaced a couple of capacitors in my power supply so my old dinosaur Compaq should last a few more years. I'm on my fourth hard drive. Anybody running Linux?

Who is doing what with the coming Windows XP support expiration? I've been in economy mode for a while, plus am not generally a "early adopter", so am still using Windows XP. I'm leaning toward just getting Windows 7 to keep running on my old computer. Has anyone switched to Windows 7 recently, from XP or backwards from 8? Problems? Anyone using XP Mode in Windows 7?

Do some math before you start. Make sure you have enough room to move the engine hoist forward or the car backward once you get it lifted. Don't forget the that car will rise to the top of its suspension travel with the weight of the engine removed so if you don't get the engine high enough, you'll be stuck. Get a load-leveler if you can, it will help you keep the tail of the transmission low to get it out of the engine bay, then raise it back up to get it over the radiator mount. Consider dropping the transmission from below first, if you feel uncomfortable handling the bulk and weight of the two combined. Double check your lift points, the one in the back uses an exhaust mounting stud, which may not be as strong as it was. Don't forget to disconnect all wires, and the speedometer cable. Don't try to squeeze it out without removing the radiator. One small mistake and your down $150. Basically, play out the whole operation in your head or on paper, before you begin. It sucks to get half-way done and realize you need to reset the motor or transmission or car because you ran out of room.

The eccentric drives a mechanical fuel pump. Moves the lever back and forth. Only necessary if you have a mechanical pump, although you might need a washer to make up the thickness for the bolt (not sure on that).

Hard to tell from the tiny picture but there's something here that looks similar - Datsun 280Z Wiring (Engine Room) (From Aug.-'76) Shows up on the Courtesyparts.com site as available. Who knows... CLIP :: Nissan Parts, NISMO and Nissan Accessories - Courtesyparts.com

Motorsport Auto has lowering kits. You should call them though, their web site has out-dated information and seems to be missing information on the spring sets for the 74-78 coupes. Welcome To Motorsport & The Z Store! Nissan-Datsun 240Z-260Z-280Z-280ZX-300ZX(Z31/Z32)-350Z-370Z Parts! Cutting springs takes some expertise but will work. Finding decent shock absorbers might be difficult since Tokico is out of the Z car business, at least for the time being. Many people use KYB's but they come with a warning to avoid using them on lowered cars. It's a dilemma. Are you looking for a bolt-in option, or do you have some shop skills and tools?

Those two things are not well-tied together. Straight pipes, no muffler, and a header, would give the "best" performance increase, although the total benefit fit might be small. The stock factory manifolds flow pretty well, apparently. But they might not have the sound you're looking for. Post a link of an engine making the sound you're looking for, or describe it, and someone might be able to to tell you how to get there. It's very subjective.

Executive level fraud has gone on for ages, so no comment on the following link. I just thought it fit the thread topic. U.S. eyes bankruptcy link in GM ignition defect probe: report | Reuters

Your timing changes are probably masking or confusing the real problem. Seems more like an air/fuel ratio issue. Fuel supply or AFM issues. Considering all, I would hook up a fuel pressure gauge, zip-tie it to where you can see it and go for a drive. Verify that you have 36 psi or greater when the problem happens. If you want to check your mechanical and vacuum advances, just for peace of mind, hook up your timing light, set timing to zero (you'll have to adjust idle speed to keep it running) then disconnect the vacuum advance hose from the distributor. Rev the engine up until the mark stops moving. It should go to just about 20, the last mark, or ~22 degrees, depending on distributor weights. Then, at a low idle speed, connect the vacuum advance hose to an intake port that has full-time vacuum. The AC bottle port is a good one, although it's small so you'll need an adapter (tape works). Timing will jump to full vacuum advance. You might have to drop idle speed again to make sure you have no mechanical advance. It's a little bit tedious, with lots of connecting and disconnecting and idle speed adjustments, but you'll know exactly what the distributor is doing while you're driving.

Check between the head and the block right above the starter at the back of the engine. My last engine leaked there, from the headgasket, and dripped down the back of the engine. There's also a core plug in the back of the head that you can check.

The numbers are high by about 9 psi. It's odd because your pictures show what appears to a be a stock fuel pressure regulator (FPR) with the vacuum hose attached. There's an old trick people do where they dent the top of the regulator to put preload on the internal spring to raise fuel pressure. I wonder if the PO did something like that. This wouldn't really explain the lack of power. You would have a gassy exhaust smell and might foul plugs but it would probably still rev higher with reasonable power. Overall, just another wrongness. I still wonder about the AFM/ECU match as a cause. These engines will actually run without an AFM, on idle fuel enrichment, indicated to the ECU by the TPS idle position. With high fuel pressure you might have just enough fuel to match the air to get you to 2500 RPM. You might not be getting any AFM enrichment fuel at all. Try disconnecting the AFM plug and see if anything is different. That would tell you something.

Make sure that you turn the engine in the normal rotation direction when setting the pointer on zero, or put a wrench on the sprocket bolt and back it up to tighten the "tight side" of the chain (the left/driver side). There's enough play in it with no oil pressure on the tensioner, to get your marks misaligned if there's slack on the wrong side.

Maybe they'll discount you what they would have paid to have it fixed if you had sent it back. That would be fair since they had planned to pay it anyway. Worth a shot. Everybody's happy. They'd probably like to know about the errors their rebuilder made also. Future customers...