Captain Obvious

Nice condition base to start from. Good to see that it still has the original intake manifold and balance tube. You just need to find someone who knows flat tops. And shift knobs.

LOL. I don't think there was any disrespect. Here's my translation: "You know that for the 78 280Z, Datsun went to a three prong oil pressure sender that has a switch built in. And those switches are still available aftermarket for cheap. So with that in mind, why are you messing around with adapting Fiero parts (which may or may not have the correct plumbing thread) when you could just buy the sender unit for a 78 that already has the switch AND has the correct threads?" I believe that's what SteveJ and ZedHead are alluding to.

Seconding the above. Going to a larger sized pin should be fine. Mine squeaks too, but it's further down on my priority list. Nice! So is it velvety smooth? Did it work out as intended?

Thanks Jim. I understand much of this isn't a huge help to you if you are still using the original temp control valve. I will spend a little time exploring options that do not require moving the valve into the engine compartment and see what I can come up with.

I'm sure you could find a cool low value resistor at Sky-Junk to use as a shunt. Or an old surplus military grade panel mount ammeter with a 100A scale. Another option would be to use two of those cheapie Harbor Freight VOMs in parallel on the 10A scale. Based on the assumption that the internal shunts of the two meters are close enough to the same value, this should work and two of them in parallel should share the current. I've done it with good success. But the bottom line is there's no way you should be generating enough heat there to melt your fuse box lid. Is the melty at one end of the fuse, or over the whole thing?

And another option, if you are a little crazy. Remember that (probably rusty) feed through assembly to pass through the firewall? You could do something like this... Make up a template based on the original and get yourself some stainless sheet and stainless tubing: Form the stainless sheet like the original: Build yourself a cheap-o bead roller to use on the lathe and use it to but the beads on the ends of the stainless tubing: Braze the tubes into the bracket: Clean it up. I really like this shot with the rusty crusty original in the background: And once you've gone through all that, you can use two simple generic 90 degree bend hoses on the interior. And since it's all stainless, it should last pretty much forever:

I'll take a look at my fuses next time I've got the car out of the garage, but I'm pretty sure I used AGC everywhere. As for the heat... There's no way your fuse clip should be getting hot. Have you loosened the whole fuse block off the side panel and peeked around the back side? Maybe the connection where the wire is crimped into the clip is failing? There's no way you should be getting any significant power dissipation in the fuse block. If you are, it's a problem and you need to find it before you burn something up. You said this is for the blower motor? On full speed? What does the motor draw? Have you measured it? I remember you had a thread about such things, but I don't remember the details.

It's not SFE because those are variable length depending on the amperage rating. And the AGX doesn't seem to have all the values we need. I thought I used the ubiquitous AGC style. Those are the ones that you're finding are too long?

Glad to help guys. Here's some more pics showing some different ways to make the water connections to the Escort core. Only drawback is that all of these methods require moving the water control valve out into the engine compartment. Not a problem for me as I had done that long before I switched over to the Escort core, but those of you using the stock water control valves under the dash are left a little "out in the cold". (See what I did there?) Anyway, here's one way to make the water connections. This method utilizes the original feed through assembly to get through the firewall bulkhead: And here's another method that eliminates the (probably rusty anyway) bulkhead feed through. Two generic 90 degree bend tubes feeding through the firewall: I made the holes a little bigger and used some rubber grommets to protect the tubes. Here's the tubes up in the engine compartment before I put my water control valve back in: When I get another couple minutes, I'll upload some more pics of another option.

Here's a summary with some reloaded pics. Heater core for a 91-02 Ford Escort SOHC (not the ZX2). The heater core is aluminum, and the one I got was Spectra Premium P/N 94741. I decided on the Escort core because it was the thinnest, smallest, most generic, cheap core that I could find with tubes that stuck straight out on the same side. No long funky bent tubes. No weird mounting flanges. Generic, small, thin, and cheap because it's from a ubiquitous car and not from a low volume hard to find Ferrari. Here's a pic of the Escort core next to the original 280 core: Escort core with a layer of foam around the outside for a snug fit inside the air box: Build a little shelf for the Escort core to sit on. Since the Escort core is a little thinner, it allowed me to move the core up a little so it doesn't interfere with the floor duct control linkages at the bottom of the heater box (like the stock one does). Aluminum angle material screwed into place as a lower support shelf: Escort core in place before putting on the access panel cover. Can't see it in the pic, but it's resting on the new aluminum shelf on the far side: Cut some new holes in the access cover for the inlet and outlet tubes and put the cover in place. Tape over the original holes so air doesn't come out where it's not supposed to. I put a support shelf on the back side of the cover for that end of the core as well, but after doing that, I'm not sure it's really necessary. If I were doing it again, I would probably skip that second shelf and just use the inlet and outlet tubes poking through the cover as the supports on that end. But if you look carefully, you can see the heads of screws that hold the shelf in place: When I get a couple more minutes, I'll post some pics on how to make water connection to the core.

Mike, Thanks for the help. I'm not looking to have upload the photos to your server. They are already hosted elsewhere and I just want to link to them and have them show up embedded. Done it thousands of times before, but it wouldn't work this morning. However... I don't know what happened, but it's working fine now. I'm assuming some sort of user error.

My pleasure. Did you verify that the plumbing connection taper threads are the same? Most, if not all, of the plumbing on the Z is BSP, while the Fiero should be NPT. If you're just looking to jamb it in there once and have it not leak, you'll probably be OK with some schmutz and/or Teflon tape, but if you're a purist, you might not like mixing the threads.

Two weak pumps is unlikely, but certainly possible. For me, it's more about doing anything else I can think of before I would go through the PITA of dropping the tank. Maybe it's just dealing with the rock hard petrified filler tube and vent hoses, but I would do a lot of other things before I would finally concede to go through that again.

@Mike, can you please take a look at this and let me know why my links won't embed as pics like they used to? Am I doing something wrong, or did something on your end change? For example: http://www.240260280.com/co/au57-v/theduke.jpg I get this error message whenever I try to post a pic: Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead The link could not be embedded because of an unexpected error: Forbidden: "Something went wrong. Please try again.".

That's true love, right there! You're a lucky man.

Well that's some progress, huh? I still think you've got a fuel delivery issue upstream, and I wonder if the pump just isn't up to the task. If you're thinking you've got a blockage issue at the tank itself, you could test that theory by running from a fuel can in the hatch area feeding the input to the pump. In other words, same pump but different (temporary) tank. If the problem goes away, you drop the tank. But if not, try different pump?

The "BRAKE" warning lamp should light if that wire is connected to ground. That's what happens if you lose one half the brake system (like the rear axle) and the brake warning switch shuttle inside gets pushed all the way to one end or the other. That's also what happens when you pull the parking brake handle, it shorts that same connection to ground.

Hi Jim, I do have the pics and will try to reload them for you tomorrow. As an aside, I'm very happy with my Escort core. The difficulty for you would be the temp control valve stuff under the dash. Are you still running all the stock valves and hoses?

Yes, both sender analog, and an on-off for the fuel pump. I didn't look anything up in any manuals, but anecdotal data says the switch should close over 4 psi. Here's a page with some info about the sender units. Note that 87 and earlier is different than 88, but I think it's mechanical differences only. Electrical they are the same 84-88. http://web.archive.org/web/20151002182213/http://home.comcast.net/~fierocave/oilsender.htm

Do you think the plastic would hold up to powder coat temps? @wheee! had some pretty impressive results with the chrome powder coat. https://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/50908-1976-280z-restoration-project/?page=66&tab=comments#comment-535792 And for the outer black portion... I was messing with one of them today as well. Not as impressed with the results as I had hoped, but I have two more things to try tomorrow. If I'm lucky, I may have a good option for you then?

Wait... I got an idea. How about we get a monkey to sit in the driver's seat of one of those driverless cars? That would work, right? Can monkeys use smart phones?

Actual testing would be awesome. I'm just operating off anecdotal and uncontrolled data. When I get a chance, I'll try to whip up a sketch or two showing why I contend the CV carbs would be less finicky than other designs.

That part of the HVAC system was evolving and changing a lot through those years. I think factory installed A/C started in 74 with the 260, and in that year they had the fresh air floor vent pull knobs on both sides. They pulled the air in at the front of the fender frame channels through those plastic ducts on both sides. Sounds like 75 and early 76 had the accordion vent and fresh air floor vent on just the passenger side. They still pulled air in through the right side frame channel, but only the right side. For 77, they had redesigned much of the sheet metal, including the frame channels and the cowl area where the windshield wiper motor lives. So for 77, they went back to fresh air pull knobbies on both sides, but they pulled the air from inside the cowl area instead of through the frame channels. Just another reason why the 77 is the best year.

LOL! You guys are the best!

Sounds like my Sunday... Or was that Monday? Probably both! You ever seen the problem solving flow-chart? Good luck with the project. I don't remember... Do the stud holes go all the way through to the underside, or are they blind in from the top? If they're all the way through, you could potentially get some penetrant onto the threads from the underside.