Zed Head

The bottom line is - if the cooling system can't cool with no thermostat it will never cool with a thermostat. You're probably spending your radiator money on thermostats that you don't need.

The thermostat is actually opening and closing continuously during operation at designed operation temperature. If it just opened fully and stayed open there would be no temperature control.

They're all the same I think. The internet multiplies the population of potential victims. The internet makes conning people much much easier.

I hadn't thought about the old Google Maps. It's usually one of my go-to's. https://goo.gl/maps/nukesb6RXc6yStYc6

Have you done this, to confirm that more flow will actually solve the problem?

How are you measuring the draw?

Went back through your posts and see that it's not really clear when the draw occurs and/or how much. And, my memory of a current draw I had was that even 0.3 amps will kill a battery after a day or two. So, you have a draw with both the VR and alternator disconnected. How big? Fluctuating does not tell enough. How many amps or milliamps? Seems like you might have a short in the wiring and the short is to a wire that passes through the VR and/or alternator. My wiring harness in the engine bay had some melty looking wires in it when I unwrapped it. Something had shorted in the past and heated them up but they survived.

p.s. also measure from the VR case to W. The case is used as ground according to one of the previous drawings. They show the meter between yellow and the case.

W is connected to the battery through the fusible link. Signs are pointing a short to ground inside the VR. If it was in my hand I would measure resistance from the W pin to the B pin on the VR, with it disconnected. That would be where the path to ground is.

The field wire is connected to ground. The short is inside the VR. The path is not as long as it's supposed to be. With the key off. We can argue semantics but the test is valid.

You need a simple but effective test. The "click" is not it. Looks like you know how to measure amps. Set up your amps measurement and disconnect the two wire plug at the alternator like SteveJ said. No need to identify wire colors or look at diagrams. Then you'll know if there is a short to ground through the F circuit of the VR. Make sure the key is off.

These guys are still business. The Z's look a lot better though. They had a few that came straight from the wrecking yard for way too much, in the past. https://www.beverlyhillscarclub.com/inventory.htm?make=[Datsun]&orderby=make,year

That's not a bid, it's a price. Looks like a consignment shop. The cars are all in different locations. Sell, sell, sell... https://www.ebay.com/str/exoticcartrader

Since you have the valve cover off now is a good time to verify all of your timing marks and check your timing chain for wear. Set your damper mark at zero, make sure the tight side of the chain is tight, check the notch and groove alignment, check the distributor timing marks. Determine where everything is now so that when you're trying to get it running you'll know your starting point. It will save a lot of fumbling around later.

I think that dutchz means that there is a plate missing. If it was a bike or motorcycle chain we'd call it the "master link". Not sure that Nissan timing chains have one though. But, considering the odd fuel pump who knows what the PO did in there.

Some of the stuff I wrote above is probably wrong for this specific case. Because A is also usually connected to the battery positive post. So if it was shorting through the alternator it would short even with the VR unplugged. It's just one of those things to check overall. So, in sum, it still kind of looks like a bad VR. IF the wiring is not shorted to ground somewhere.

It's more of a hot weather problem. But it is something to be aware of. Another thing to be aware of is the quality of today's mechanical fuel pumps. Quite a bit on the forum about problems there. So even if you get an eccentric you might still have a problem. You can do a fair check of the pump by moving the lever by hand. It's just a part of owning an old Z car. Each model and year seems to have their own special problems. I'm posting doom in everyone's thread. I'll take a break.

Here's the plug to the VR. Not sure if it's the harness or the VR side though. Nissan just kind of stuck it in there with few words attached. They show the labelled plug but the test is done from the "yellow terminal".

Pretty sure the wiring for it is there though. Look at the last few posts in the Z's on Bat... thread about the V-3 kit. Mechanical pump alone does not work well.

If you measure low resistance from A to ground then your alternator is probably bad. BUT. It could also be the wiring. Check resistance from the A terminal in the harness to ground with both the VR and the alternator unplugged. No offense intended, but this is one of those cases showing why people should get familiar with how their meter works, when everything is working right. This problem is really kind of a "measure...check, measure...check, measure" kind of problem. Simple things to check to narrow the problem down to a certain area. Many of us have a list in our heads and once the meter is in hand it's just check, check, check, fault. You can even check resistance through the pins of the VR. I was going to suggest to SteveJ that he do that before he sends out his unused VR. Check resistance from the battery feed pins to ground. If it's open there should be no draw caused by the VR. If SteveJ was at your car he probably would have done this already. The meter is your friend.

It is.

Didn't find a specific test but did find a drawing. I think that "A" might be stamped in to the back of the alternator. Set your meter to resistance and measure between the A terminal on the back of the alternator and the alternator body. It should be infinite resistance. OL.

I retract this statement. I didn't really look at the diagram I posted. If the alternator A circuit is shorted through the alternator stator coil then you'll have a draw also. It would short when the VR was plugged in. You could easily check it with a meter. I think it might actually be a test procedure in the FSM. Heading there now...

My conspiracy theorist side says that the market is being artificially inflated. Some of the bids are antithetical to the whole point of an auction. The same guy that got the last 73 by bumping the bid by $27,000 bumped the bid on the 145 car by $15,000. Just not normal. If this was the stock market the FTC would be investigating unusual activity.

Here's the bidding on the car above. Makes no sense. Makes you wonder...