Mark Maras

My first question would be, why the valves & pistons are kissing each other?

How big was the spark? Did the wrench hit grounded metal when the spark jumped? I'm assuming something that you did caused it & it wasn't random. Anyway, I'd look at the fusible link(s). Unfortunately, I don't know the location on the 280s but the info should be avail. in any manual or on line.

The right firewall is usually worse because of the battery location. Corrosion from the battery wipes out the battery holder, fender well, firewall and often the frame. After looking at the pics, it's not practical to rebuild it. The seams that you will be attaching to, on these cars, were spot welded and rust creeps between the layers & just keeps going. You'll have trouble finding solid metal to weld to. I don't know what the market is like in your part of the country but around here you can pick up a repairable Z ( floorpans & rails & lots of work) for $1500.00 - $2500.00. The more money the less rust but there is ALWAYS rust. The good thing about your situation is you already have a good parts car.(Sorry). Your new one can be & will be a hybrid of parts from both cars.

Jalex. I'm quite sure the pump you have will work just fine. The pressure specs. on the pump are exactly what you need.You don't even need the FSM flow test specs. Just disconnect the coil wire, pull the f. line after the pump, insert into a fuel proof vessel & crank the engine with the starter. You'll know immediately if it's pumping enough fuel to idle & rev the engine. As Patcon said, these engines don't need much fuel but it does have to be at the proper height in the bowl.

When you order the kits, assuming they're coming from ZTherapy, get the "SUs only" DVD too. The knowledge shared in this DVD will take any guess work out of the rebuild.

Ok, Had to check your "Level of Desire." You do have a reasonably realistic view of this project & I like your motivation. Just realize that the Z will be torn apart for quite a while & getting discouraged is an unintended consequence of taking on a rustoration. That said, Keep your dream alive & have fun.

If #s 4 & 5 were getting black but not #6, I would suspect there is an electrical problem in 4 & 5. Check the rotor, cap, plug wires & plugs. The front carb. feeds #s 1, 2 & 3. The back carb #s 4, 5 & 6. There is a balance-equalizer tube between them, but it has a limited effect on plug color. There is another possibility however. It could also be that the rear carb is set rich & there is an air leak into the #6 cylinder, maybe an intake manifold leak. That scenario would give you the same symptom. Black #4 & 5 plugs but not #6.

Anything over 4 psi will overwhelm the needles & seats. 2.5-4 psi is OK. What color were the plugs the last time you pulled them? In fact I'd like to see a pic of them & a description of what it was running like when you shut it off. There are still other things to confirm. I've read the many threads about your build but refresh my memory, what have you done to ensure the basic tune-up procedures were done properly? Such as valve timing check, valve adj, ign. timing, & vacuum leaks. You will be chasing your tail trying to find the problem in the fuel system if any of of the basics are wrong. So, give us more info, pics.of the plugs, & any changes to the carbs you have made except mixture & normal tuning.

I don't know, maybe we're overthinking this. If anything draws attention to your car by the driver behind & keeps their attention, you've got less of a chance of getting rear-ended.

I'll have to agree with ksechler. Think of the visible rust as the tip of an iceberg. Well, maybe not quite that bad, The problem I've had is when I have removed any panel to be replaced, I have found the rust just keeps going, requiring even more material removal & replacement than I had planned. This gets very tricky when you start removing critical strength areas. Yes. you'll find rust in those hidden areas too. Unfortunately, The fact is you will end up spending A LOT MORE TIME & MONEY fixing this car than buying a better Z & using the current car for any parts you may need. It is very easy to get discouraged after starting a "rustoration". Honest. That said, Should you go looking for another Z & find more rust, IMO you don't want to have to repair much more than floors & rear frame rails. That is a PITA job as it is & is considered an easier job than the rest. Sorry for the Rain on your Parade. Don't let the disappointment get to you, you'll have plenty of time for that later.

As i have always understood it, backfire thru the intake indicates the mixture is too lean, ASSUMING everything else is fine, valves, timing, etc. IF the mixture screw IS being adjusted & the backfire is still happening there is only two possibilities. Not enough fuel or too much air. Not enough fuel? I would check fuel pump volume & pressure. Float level, if you've changed it from ZT settings. In fact, review anything you have changed on the carbs since they came back from ZT & return to their settings. Too much air? Vacuum leaks, intake manifold leak, loose carbs, brake booster, anything that can pull air into the intake. Mixture adjustment mix-up. If you are looking down at the top of the carbs, the mixture screws turn anti-clockwise for less fuel. They are being screwed into the carb, leaning the fuel mixture but the manuals want you to adjust the m. screws as if you are looking at the bottom of the carbs. Now, clockwise is the direction for less fuel.

Thanks for doing the research. I really like the BikeAlert products. The license frame light would make this project an easy & effective install. I didn't go into the Wa & Ca regs in depth yet but I think the license location will work for either state. Oregon, it appears, has no regulations on deceleration lamps.

IMO The easiest way to set the needle height is; Turn the mixture screws all the way up, keeping track of the number of turns. Remove the piston, loosen the needle set screw, pull the needle out about an 1/8", tighten the set screw just until the needle won't fall out. Install the piston & chamber, using a pencil or other soft item push the piston down using the oil access hole on top. The piston should move down about 1/8". This will bottom out the needle against the nozzle, which is the proper height. Remove the piston tighten the needle & reassemble.

I like the way this idea is going. Now I'm thinking that an amber deceleration flasher & a red brake flasher would offer the best protection. I think using the cars hazard lamps(too large) would irritate anyone sitting behind you in traffic. The question is how large can you go to get attention but not wizz people off.

Wow, who would have guessed that part was avail. Makes me wonder what else they still have that we don't know about. I think I'd invite the Nissan parts guy out for a few beers and pump him for info. That looks like a great pattern piece to me. Before you frame it, some detailed measurements could be useful in the future.

OOOOH, I like that. A smart light for dummies. I too am surprised that the idea didn't catch on yet. I can definitely understand motorcycles wanting them. Here in Portland I wish our local bike riders would use them too.

Nice work Jim. I would think in Arkansas everyone would have hog-rings.

I've found when dealing with a bureaucracy (DMV) tell them what they want to hear. Everything works out just fine when you don't make their day difficult with details.

I've used the methylene chloride strippers in the past. They do work well but the fumes are tough to deal with. On this Z & a few home projects dealing with multiple layers of 70 year old paint, I've been using Citristrip. No fumes. No burned skin. It does take a little longer to work. I generally leave it on for 24 hours and it seems to work as well as the other nasty strippers.

Strobe lights are also used to attempt to trigger a seizure during an EEG test and flickering TVs have been know to trigger seizures too in those people afflicted with static in the attic.

Thanks, that sounds great. I really didn't think the over-lap method was the best option. Guess I wanted to hear it from some one that had been down this road before. Harbor Freight sells sheet metal welding clamps (8 pack) that I will use for aligning the edges. They worked great for aligning the footwell insert that I welded in. That one I carefully cut & fit. It turned out good but it took a lot longer than I estimated. Doesn't everything? I wasn't looking forward to precisely fitting the floor pan prior to welding. There had to be a better way. I'm working on the right side only at this time. When it's done, I'll take a look at the left. It has to be better than the right. No battery. I didn't want to be overwhelmed at the size of the project. Kind of like eating an elephant-you can only do it one bite at a time.

IMO No need to remove the carbs. The problem is in the floats & valves as Patcon said. Properly operating f. valves should be able to handle 4 psi. Remove the float covers & dash pot domes. Don't bend the needles. Clean everything up, fix the float & valve problem, check mixture needle height, operate the choke & ensure the nozzles are moving down & up, set the mixture screws (nozzle height) 2 1/2 turns down & do a drop test on the pistons (dash pots). It should run at this point in time.

Interesting, I hadn't thought about all the options available today. A gadget guru could take this idea to another level. Originally, all I was going to build was a deceleration light & mount it in the third brake light position.

A quick question about floor pan installation. On the tunnel & rear side of the floor pan, what does everyone do, butt-weld or over-lap the welded seams? If they are over-lapped, I think it would be a good idea to weld the out-side solid to prevent rust. Thoughts?

They weren't a total waste. I'm sure that they have prevented many accidents. I like the idea of LED brake lights. Maybe a LED reader board. One could post messages(imagination time) to the car following you. Or even line drawings such as Blue's opening remark about F.B. and another plus, you could out-run them, if you had to, in a good Z.