Walter Moore

This is just a thought, but I have noticed that on my car when the fan belt is a little loose the volt meter jumps around a lot. But then I have an internally regulated S130 alternator. Just thought that I would mention this before you start replacing parts.

Glad to hear that you are alright. Hang in there!

There is a left-right aiming screw that can help with that. I think that the low beams have a really wide pattern that sort of hides the left to right adjustment.

That is cool! Mostly around here when someone talks about a "track day" they mean taking their car to the drag strip, which doesn't interest me at all.

Steve, Lines 16 and 17 are for the 1974 U.S. specification 260Z (As indicated by the color code described at the top of the page) I just copied the numbers out of the factory service manuals for the years indicated. I have no idea how to decode them. As you mentioned the -26 doesn't appear in the chart, but there is a D6K8-22 which was for a 1980 California S120. I suppose that it is possible that the -26 was for a different model Datsun from the same era. (Perhaps and 810 if it was still around, or the Maxima?) Some of the people on this site have access to the Nissan parts database. Perhaps one of them will add to the discussion.

Do you have a compression test kit? Most of those come with instructions for a leak down test. If the compression is good I would vote that it is just a mixture problem, but without testing it you don't know. Personally I twice replaced the rings in an engine that was still in the car, and I will never do that again. for two reasons: 1. It was a lot harder than rebuilding it on an engine stand. 2. Neither time did the engine work better afterward. If you have to "replace the rings" don't waste the time and money to do it without pulling the engine and taking it to a good machine shop for evaluation. Just my opinion...

What Gary means is that you need the synchronizing tool to set the idle speed. You have to adjust both carbs to keep the air flow equal while bringing the idle down to where it belongs. It is challenging to those of us who have a hard time thinking in analog mode after years of digital work...

Probably not the top of the tank, but one of the vent hoses. (there are three) Two are near the seam, about mid way up, and I think that there is one near the top of the tank. All three are hidden by body panels. You have to pull the tank to replace them. Search the site for vent hoses or something like that and you will get an idea of what you are in for.

When I replaced my battery this summer I bought a dual post battery. I used one #4 AWG cable to connect the top post of the negative side to the engine block, and a second #4 AWG cable to connect the side post of the negative side to a ground bar that I mounted on the firewall. (I have several relay circuits that connect to ground so I needed the space.) The ground bar was only about $3 at Lowes. It is rate to accept a #4 wire, but the opening is sized for a solid wire so a stranded #4 has to be trimmed slightly. Just throwing out ideas.

Impressive.

Oh, the temptation to misquote a really old Rolling Stone's song is unbelievably strong... must resist...

I assume that you have had the tires balanced recently. There are some aftermarket tire dealers who have uniformity measurement machines. (at least in the U.S. but I assume they do in Australia as well.) I think Hunter sells a machine here called a load simulator or something like that... It spins the tire under load to measure the force variation. It isn't as accurate as the ones used in car plants or tire plants, and doesn't have the load force capability, but it can detect tires with hard spots, or bent rims, things that can induce vibrations. Just a suggestion.

Do you have a factory service manual? If not you can download one here: http://www.xenons30.com/ It is always difficult to diagnose these things from a distance. I have noticed that if there is an electrical issue related to the fuel pump the car will run for a short distance after the pump shuts down, then stall. (But you say that the pump engages... Hmm..) There is also a screen in the fuel tank that could be clogged. Then again it might still be a connector on the ECU or a bad fuel pump relay. Sounds like you have some research to do. Good luck.

Wonderful, another classic saved from the junk heap. Looking good!

The fuse-able link is the main fuse for the car. If it fails you will have no electrical power anywhere.

Nice job.

The headlights wouldn't work if the fuse-able link was open.

I added Redline Water Wetter to my cooling system last summer when I was experimenting with the coolant temperature. My notes indicate that after adding the WW, the indicated temperature on the gage actually increased slightly. When checked with a thermometer however the coolant temperature was exactly 180 degrees F. I just have a mental picture of the "normal" temperature display on the gage and only worry if it rises past about 3/4 on the dial. (Which it never has, even in Nashville this summer when it was nearly 100 degrees F.)

Yep, always a good idea to mark everything possible, at least until you have taken it apart and re-assembled it so many times that you have memorized everything.

The presence or absence of the air reactor pump has no effect on the correct ignition timing. The static timing is determined by the type of distributor that you have installed. The last post in this thread: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34192&highlight=distributor+chart Contains a spreadsheet that lists the correct static timing, spark advance, etc for all distributors used on first two generations of Z cars. (Per the FSM from each year) The thread lists ZX (S130) models, but the chart includes all U.S. models from 70-83. For a 71, with the stock (U.S. specification) points style distributor and a working vacuum advance the correct static timing is 5 degrees BTDC. Anything larger and you risk significant spark knock once the engine speed reaches about 3k rpm. The 17 degree static timing is for a European specification distributor. They have less centrifugal advance but it kicks in at a lower speed. (The U.S. specification unit was an early attempt at emissions control.) Oh, and if you pull the oil pump off to set the timing correctly, be sure that you double and triple check the new position before you re-mount the pump. I have had to remove the pump multiple times because I moved the drive the wrong direction before.:stupid: (But I am sure no one else has ever had that happen...)

I never downloaded a FSM for a 78, but on the 79 FSM that part is called a "fuel check valve with vacuum relief valve." To me that description implies that it prevents FUEL from flowing from the tank to the carbon canister. (Which makes sense, that would be a bad thing.) It seems logically that under some circumstances air would have to flow back into the tank from somewhere. The diagram isn't clear on how that happens. Since there appears to be no other path, perhaps the fuel check valve allows air to pass both ways, but prevents fuel from leaving the tank. (As it otherwise would if the tank was completely full.) Hopefully someone here knows more than I do about this system.

Yes, the Challenger looks nice, but if you park one of the originals next to it the new car will completely hide the old one in profile. It is about 6 inches bigger in every dimension. It is also an overweight... well I should keep it classy:tapemouth Now the new Mustangs on the other hand... Personally I like the 370Z a lot. I don't have the money to buy one, and probably wouldn't buy one anyway since I have a sports car to keep me occupied. (Who needs two of them?) Granted, it doesn't really look like a 240Z, but this is 2010, not 1970. I don't look much like I did 40 years ago either...

Or the ocean... (either one, it doesn't matter...) But their are some muddy reservoirs nearby. The Southern part of the state is hilly, and that is where the "fun" roads are mostly. Most of our cruses run from Indy towards the Ohio river.

The Indy Z club meetings are on the second Thursday of the month at Hubler Nissan in Greenwood. (7:00PM) It is a pretty active club, mostly newer cars, but some of the first gen cars. The web site is still only partially operational due to rebuilding from last year's "incident": http://www.indyzcarclub.org/

Sounds like you have either lost the torque converter, or some clutches? Either way you will probably need to have it rebuilt.