Dave WM

Great news!

you also should make sure all the heat shielding is in place, will help a lot with the splitting.

ah yes suspension you will get a lot of advice there. Your biggest decision will be stock or modify. I find stock very satisfactory as I am more of a driver vs a racer. in the stock configuration the ride is pretty rough, its a very connected to the road kind of car. Making it stiffer for "performance" would be unbearable to my old bones. I never hear anyone mention a smoother ride with suspension upgrades. AC is some fun stuff, its a very very simple system, works marginally well (not great but much better than the old 240z pull thru evap). you got to decide if you want to stick with R12 or 134a, The only real upgrade you could do is maybe a PF condenser. brand new evaps are available but expensive. The biggest complaint seems to be the volume of air flow in really hot climates. here in the sub tropics middle of summer (95f 80%humidity) can really require more than the system can handle, at best you will not sweat in the car. In LA you should be ok with the lower humidity. Looking forward to some threads on these topics once you get the current problem worked out.

sent out another email requesting an update on the status of the 280z dash, will report what I hear.

1st things 1st, check fuel pressure. rich running is a function of two things duty cycle (ECU) and fuel pressure (FPR). Best practice is to check the pressure 1st. Duty cycle is controlled by the ECU with inputs from the AFM/water temp sensor/throttle position sensor. Clearing internal fuel leaks into the intake will require leak testing of the fuel injectors. you have cleared the FPR of leaking fuel, that leaves the injectors and the cold start system. if everything checks out, the ECU itself become suspect, but that is prob the least likely to be a problem. Its solid state, lives inside the cabin so has a easy life. after rich running is resolved air leaks can be looked into, generally speaking they would allow unmetered air in a system that would account for rough idle but not rich mixtures. The split hose on the valve cover would prob make it run BETTER since its allowing air in when something else is allowing too much fuel in. Sounds like a combination of problems exist keeping the FI from ideal, so you may have some set back in performance before it all gets better. All the above being said the easiest thing to check and the most likely to be causing the issue is a defective water temp sensor. they live in a wet environment, can corrode and generally fail in a high resistance reading resulting in rich run. HOPEFULLY no one has messed with the calibration of the AFM. There is really no reason for it to become "UN" calibrated. In the electronics world we have tuned circuits that often become in operative due to "screw driver" drift... people can't seem to resist tweeking things in an attempt to resolve a problem. Tuned circuits have a very definite "peak" that can be ruined by the slightest turn. Now the AFM is not a tuned circuit like I have described but it can still be messed up I would think.

Once you get it sorted out the EFI works very well. The only odd thing that seems systemic is the hot restart issue. Its manageable by simply popping the hood up at filling stations. Seems both the carb and EFI had issues with this. Eventually Datsun came up with cooling vents and cooling fans that help keep the hot restart issue at bay. There is even mention in the owner manual about it, recommending holding full throttle while cranking when the conditions are very hot. Other things to look into, the water pump, keep a close listen to it, check it for play in the shaft (try and shake the fan side to side). I have had two Z's both water pumps went out on me while on a long drive. Usual warnings about breaking bolts apply during replacement (there are two bolts that are very long and skinny, easy to break). Use what ever technique you like to prevent breakage. this applies to a LOT of the bolts on a Datsun of this vintage. Personally I like my induction flameless heater. My 75 is not a DD either, but I do get out on the weekends to take it up to highway speeds, and have had a few long trips (over 400 miles) with no issues after the water pump replacement. just use common sense, hoses, belts (not too tight), no water pressure cleaning under the hood etc... These cars are so simple to work on and not a lot to go wrong once you work out the EFI I find it to be very reliable. Back in the day Datsun was very well regarded for reliability and economy. I owned a 1972 Datsun 1200 for my college car, it was perfect for that. I miss that car it was the definition of "basis transportation" 35mpg back in the oil shortage days came in real handy.

have some vacuum tube handy, if that is the OE piece it will be hard. I used some hemostats to get at it to remove, can be a bit of a bear. after confirming leakage from that you can just replace with some new stuff, much easier to slide into place if its the type with the real short piece.

the oil cap off runs better confirms the rich fuel mix, unmetered air entering thru oil fill hole. a couple things look for gas leaks (no engine fires) from ALL the rubber hoses, if they have been replaced I hope it was with FI rated hoses. do the engine off fuel pressure (36 psi with fuel pump on engine NOT running). The process requires disconnecting the starter solenoid (spade connector small on starter) so the engine will not turn over, then key to START position until fuel pressure comes up, should be full pressure in a matter of seconds. should be 36psi (sea level). Release key and watch pressure. It should hold for at least a few minutes, if it drops off instantly then you have a leaking injector or FPR or something else. Try that and report back.

too funny!

got the sparkler working

Remember the episode of TNG where the alien race spoke only in metaphors? you can kinda do that by old TV shows if you have an extensive enough "vocabulary" to recall. Darmok. here is one for you: ghost/phantoms/specters...

Yea it was like a contact high watching the others relate to his talking about the craving (x files) no more cole slaw for me. Gotta give the lady shrink credit for hanging in there at the end.

I'm as dense as a pine not... Miami vice. Glades... I kill in jeopardy on old tv shows :)

yep, that's a haul for and unproven car. I had a alt go out on mine, taking out the electrics, then there was the water pump, both of those can get you. At the very least if you must drive it, with the engine off see if the fan will rock showing play in the bearing. Bring some water and bars leak stop incase the rad springs a leak. oh and the most important thing, a fire extinguisher. Start the engine and look for fuel leaks around the hoses. If the hose are OE, then you are likely to spring a gas leak, don't want a fire ball on your hands.

found it https://theoffice.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Cars_Owned_by_Dunder_Mifflin_Employees?file=I165891.jpg he says it was a 280z, but they must have goofed up the models in the show. funny he talks about buying for 1200, fixing and selling for 3000. While on the topic of TV, If you have not seen "the office" binge watch it on Netflix, great show.