Zed Head

You don't need the adapter, it's for the Multi Spark Discharge (MSD) ignition module. But the Blaster coil might not be right for your 76 ignition module and ballast resistor. You should match the resistance of the Blaster coil circuit, with or without resistor, to the resistance of the original 1976 coil with ballast resistor. Otherwise, you might have too many amps through your ignition module, or you might not be getting the benefit of the Blaster coil if you use the ballast.

Where in the process are you getting stuck? If you have the parts all laid out, there may be a simple step someone would know about. I've dis- an re-assembled a couple myself.

With the flow path blocked your temp sensor is in a dead zone. Probably not very accurate. Could delay the fans coming on.

olzed makes a good point. I wonder if a long bolt was used on the front thermostat housing hole, pushing the guide in to the chain. In it's normal/proper position the straight guide, even with its plastic, doesn't touch the chain, except for the odd deceleration event when the slack might pile up in one spot. At least the ones I've seen. Looks like your guide, sans plastic, is riding the chain all the time. I second (third?) the metal on metal making the noise.

I had a 78 and its AFM had the cutoff contacts in the AFM. Not used, but they were there. The AFM looked original to the car. I now have the 78 AFM on my 76 car. I adjusted the contacts so that they worked correctly. I would guess that there was a point in manufacturing where the old inventory ran out and the 1978 AFMs didn't have the contacts anymore. But some do. The 1978 FSM shows the pins in a drawing but labels them as "useless" or something similar. Kind of funny. Just posting for a little clarity from another perspective.

It's the difference between cylinders that is important on a cylinder pressure test. 150/158 = ~95%. That's in spec. and pretty good. 80% is the worry point according to the FSM. The volume inside the gauge can have a big effect on the pressure numbers. That's why the actual pressure reading is not too important.

There should be a sticker on the bottom side of the hood with the timing spec.

For fun, I used an inflation calculator to see today's savings in real dollars - "What cost $65 in 1984 would cost $134.61 in 2010." 6 x $134.61 = $807.66 http://www.westegg.com/inflation/infl.cgi

Testing the AFM according to the procedure in the Engine Fuel section of the FSM would be the first step. All that you need is an ohm-meter for the basic testing. When things go wrong with the EFI system it's often hard to tell which piece is actually the problem. www.xenons30.com/reference More symptoms described of what's happening will also get more suggestions. Good luck.

On second thought, where's there's a dent, there will be displaced, raised, metal. Make sure that the area around the dent doesn't have a raised edge that would wear the rocker arm and screw up your lash measurements. You're in uncharted territory. Some very careful work with a whetstone might do the trick.

It is odd that the price didn't follow inflation, for new injectors. Who knows, maybe mass production benefits of injectors in general, as more cars went fuelie, kept the price down.

Still haven't seen any evidence that you know that the clutch fork is moving and pressing on the springs on the pressure plate. You can actually see the fork and slave cylinder from the engine bay, you don't even need to jack the car up. You might be spinning your wheels (pun intended!) until you know that for sure.

The gouge on your cam looks like it's on the base circle so it won't have any pressure on it, and most likely won't cause further damage. Although, in your pictures it looks like the lash might have been tight on a few lobes. The base circles are shiny like they've had the rocker arms riding tight on them. Just a couple more observations.

The 78 N47 cylinder has exhaust liners in round exhaust ports, but otherwise is essentially identical to the N42 head,with rectangular exhaust ports, on the 76 engine. All of your 76 pieces should bolt n to the 78 engine. There are tricks to working on the valves without removing the head, involving hose or rope jammed in to the spark plug hole or compressed air to keep the valve from falling in to the cylinder. You'll need a valve spring compressor also. I've never done it but apparently it's not super difficult. Are you sure it was the keepers and retainer that you found or was it the lash pad? Without the keepers I believe that the valve would fall in to the cylinder unless it was jammed closed from bending or binding.

It does sound a little bit like an alternator going bad. Or, if you have AC, check the idler pulley. You can start and run the engine for a short while with the belts removed to see if it's a noise from something belt-driven. With the alternator belt off the water pump won't be turning so don't overdo it.

Min came out of either 76 or 78 cars. They have the same number as yours, that cover looks like a typical 76-78 AFM cover number, maybe even 75. I assume that it's possible that someone removed the counter weight, maybe with some misguided idea that it would increase throttle response. Or maybe it just fell off and they ran it anyway. It's main purpose is as a damper for pulses on the vane, if I remember right. Or they took the cover off of the 1978 model and stuck it on a different AFM. The design is a Bosch design and common, you'll see them on BMWs, Audis, Volvos, Alfa Romeos, etc. No idea what you should now. If you could borrow an intact AFM, that might tell you something.

I am pretty sure, based on what I've seen, that the specs are the same as the licensed Nissan injectors. The real question (for me anyway) is if Bosch quality is better than Nissan quality. You can get the Bosch 0280150116 injector from these guys for ~$70 each - http://www.fuelinjector.citymaker.com/catalog/item/7638068/9161583.htm $420 total

Looks like someone has done more than the usual messing around with your AFM, not right for 1978. Looks like your counterweight is completely missing. Was there a number on the cover? Maybe someone installed a ZX or even a BMW, or other brand AFM. Maybe it came with the Bosch injector. You might have the balance right from your calibration, but the potentiometer trace or aerodynamics of the air flow path might be totally wrong for the engine. You have a new puzzle piece. Here's a link to the atlanticz site, probably Blue's work, for a comparison picture - http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/afm/index.html All of mine (4 so far) have looked like the atlanticz pictures. The injectors look correct for a 280Z, one's a Bosch (the same number that I have on mine, that I've seen on several local Z cars in the salvage yard, no confirmation on the cross-reference though), the other is a stock Nissan or their supplier (I think that's tan color under the black grime).

Do you have the Bosch part number? I have a set on my car, from a wrecking yard car, and they work very well. I've never actually seen a cross-reference of numbers for Bosch to Nissan though.

What color are your injectors and what are the numbers on the side (tiny numbers on the plastic)? The assumption has been that you're working with stock parts, but since you've found that your AFM was leaned out, maybe someone has misguidedly installed turbo injectors for "turbo" performance and leaned out the AFM to try to make them work. Just a guess, but worth confirming that you have the right ones. The stock Nisaan injectors for the 280Zs and ZXs were either tan or green. Turbo injectors are a purplish brown color. There are other injectors that have the same form also, like Bosch injectors.

It's a stock part. There are drawings in the FSM, AC section, of where it mounts. The threaded holes will still be there. You 'll need one of them at least if you want your heater controls to work. That might include the vent, depending on year of car. All they need is a vacuum source and the correct wire hooked up, easy.

I would try driving it (start it in first gear) and getting on and off the throttle, with the clutch pedal down, to shock the clutch free. Same effect, just tapping it free instead of pounding it with a huge sledge. I assume that you've confirmed that the slave cylinder actually moves the fork when the clutch pedal is pressed. New parts have been known to be bad.

Saw your post about your collector pipe on another forum and though for sure that someone would respond that it was not stock. I have three 280Z collector pipes and they all look like the attached picture. I have a portion of a ZX pipe also and it looks similar.

Might be a magnet valve. If so, you have disabled the heater and AC controls. What's the other side look like?

Have you done the testing of the AFM described in the FSM? At least the resistance measurements? You can do those without removing the cover. You might be about to waste a lot of money. When the AFMs fail, the signs are usually poor, "stuttery", jerky acceleration with popping back through the intake manifold. Running rich is not a typical failure mode. I looked back through your thread and it doesn't indicate AFM problems. Replacing the AFM is not a cure-all, even though it seems like a magic piece of technology. If the cover is chipped you might as well pry it off. There really is nothing holding it on but the silicone, not even a clip or two. It would probably fall off without the adhesive.