sblake01

I don't know about that. I think that non USA cars use them because that what they came with in many of the other countries, but here I think it's mainly done for looks. I'm not even that they are legal in the US, not that that stop people from putting them on their cars. I had them on a 510. My take on them is, basically they are the same size as a door mirror but mounted farther away from the driver which to me seemed less functional. I'm sure you've seen picture of cars with the driver leaning out the window to look in his fender mounted rear view mirror.

From the way I understand how the cars with fuel pump contacts in the AFM work (75-77), the only way you would see power on the output side of the relay with the key in on position and the engine not running, would be to manually open the flap in the AFM.

Many of them were dealer retroed to roundtops.

Actually, it's a 78 FairladyZ.

I made my own chain wedge by tracing a plastic one that a friend had bought from Motorsport (I think) on to a piece of wood and cutting it out with spiral saw. Never had a problem with it.

His car should have that feature. 77 was the last year for fuel pump contacts in the AFM.

Sorry. I more or less went through the same thing when I bought my 78. Tried to troubleshoot it with a manual that wasn't specific to the 78 and though some of it worked, I wasn't able to get it right until I followed the 78 troubleshooting instructions. There are subtle differences between the four years of 280Zs. Like the fuel pump circuit, relay type and location, fusible link type and location, etc. I wish I did have that 'magic answer'.

Nick, the earlier non factory systems, which is what Mitchka is describing, often had the compressor mounted on the passenger side. Many of them had an upright compressor mounted on a bracket that placed the compressor right over the area where the mechanical fuel pump is located. If your car has factory air, pictures of it will be of no help to him.

I don't think that most people realize the the 280Z EFI Theory and Troubleshooting manual, sometimes referred to as the "EFI Bible" for whatever reason, is pretty much geared to the 75 280Z and many of the functional tests outlined in it will not give proper results for other year 280Zs and 280ZXs etc. Since your's is a 77 the best thing to do is go through the steps outlined in the 77 FSM from page EF-18 in the Engine Fuel section through the end of that section. Everything prior to page EF-18 in that section is just description of the system and how it works. EF-18 and on is about fixing it. That's some 50+ pages of reading but it's the only way to find out what's working properly and what isn't. In those pages you will find all of the troubleshooting info, component functional tests, 26 pages of the individual circuit tests, etc. All geared to the 1977 280Z. I know it can seem overwhelming but it's the only way to get to the root of what's wrong.

I'll have to check the numbers on his and I won't be able to do that until tomorrow. I do believe that the 75-76 are interchangable. Remember, I have no way of testing them (but I'm working on something that might allow me to do that), but I assume it's good because the car was running when he got it but he took the engine out the put it in is 240Z. I'll get back to you on this as soon as I know something because I'm sure it will cost a lot less than $200.

Well what I said in that post were two seperate things but I promise to leave this alone after this post. The first part of my answer was "I don't have a problem with proper spacers", period. The second part was about my spacers/adapters. Two different statements and nothing that said that I felt that either is any better than the other. Mine are centered to the hub on the hub end and to the wheel on the wheel end. That's how this shop builds them, if you pay for that. And they build them for and test them on race cars which my truck is not. But I won't say anything more about my spacers/adapters or how I feel about them or any others since it doesn't have anything to with the original question plus the fact that mine are on a 320 pickup and not an S30.

That is true. All I was trying to do was keep the same wheel centerline with a wheel that has 1 3/4" more offset. 97 Hardbody wheel vs a 64 L320 stock wheel. Those would have been one thick spacer and some incredibly long studs! But in that respect, I guess my comments were more of a hijack to this thread and for that, I apologize.

The missing pins would bother me. Auto parts stores sell generic ECUs and I doubt if that one would work properly in your car. I know where a 76 ECU is but I don't know if it works or not but I assume it does because it's not the reason the car no longer runs as it is a friend's parts car. If you want me to check into it, let me know.

Right.

I don't have a problem with proper spacers. I was just giving an answer to Mr Camouflage's question. My spacers, or adapters according to Bo (though their primary function is as a spacer as those wheels wouldn't fit the truck without them even though the bolt pattern is the same), were machined from alumimum billet, using an auto cad based carbide end mill with conical seats to fit over the existing lug nuts and splines for the pressed-in studs that the wheels mount to, and are hub-centric to vehicle and wheel. They might be the strongest part on the truck.

Actually, that's the downpipe which is connected to the exhaust manifold. A header would replace both. The reason that one wouldn't work on your engine is the difference in the shape of the exhaust ports. It'll bolt on but the header wouldn't match the ports. I've seen people put square headers on round port heads and vice versa but as they say 'that can't be good'. Put a good, free flowing exhaust system on your car with the stock manifold. The performance gain from that will be better that that of just installing a header. IMO, a normal driver type EFI car doesn't need a header.

If you 75 has the original engine/head then that header won't fit because you should have an N42 head with square ports and that one is for N47, round ports. By itself, a header doesn't do anything noticeable for performance. That's a very general but true statement and I'm sure others will elaborate.

They can't be harmed:

I have a box of spacers (Mr. Gasket brand) on the shelf that I purchased for some vehicle I once owned but never used. This is on the box:

Comparing an L24 to an L28E, I really don't know how much 'greener' an EFI engine would be than an properly set up carbed engine anyway, if at all.

I think that Bruce means putting the 280Z engine in is easy as long as you don't use the EFI with it.

The ignition module, the fuse box and a relay bracket are in the passenger side footwell on a 78.

Expect somewhere in the vicinity of $200-300 for the set of 4.

I doubt that it's a 'drop-in' but I'm sure it can be done. The plugs and wire colors will likely be different. Maybe the fuel gauge will hook up easily enough but you'll need to do some modification to the wiring to switch from a ammeter to a voltmeter. I have a 76 volt/fuel gauge. I have no clue if it works or not. I can look up the specs in the FSM and try to test it. I have no use for it. You can have it for postage if you'd like to experiment with it.

You don't really have to worry about long studs if the spacers are made right. The spacers would actually bolt to the original lugs and the wheel would bolt to the studs that are pressed into the spacer. That's how the ones on my truck were made. Pricey but made specifically for the wheels I used and the hubs on my truck. (And they were made by 'Fearless' Fred Goeske but only old guys like me who are/were NHRA fans would know who that is)